S7E6 -- Ohana Guest | Beñat Oliveira

The 2025 UM Australia created a star in the man who was behind the camera for the Live stream.  Beñat Oliveira is a former competitor from 2023 who returned to help out the Dream Team make more dreams come true.  

He joins me to talk about that experience and why he has returned to the Basque region from Sydney. Spoiler: Triathlon.  His current job has him advising the New South Wales Department of Health in Artificial Intelligence, so we also delve into that.  

You can find the full, unedited, conversation with Beñat on YouTube.  

515 is Now on YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/@515TheUltraPodcast

Also find the LiveStream links for 2025 UM Australia.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• UM Australia
• IM Vitoria-Gasteiz 
• Benat Youtube video about UM Australia 2023
• Euskara 
• Sydney Basque Club
• Txokos (basque kitchen)
• UM New Zealand
• UM Australia Day 2 final hours 

Shout outs and mentions in this episode:

• Steve King (S1E3)
• Jeff Morris (S4E8)
• Gerard Estivil 
• Fernando Durango
• Mario Vincent
• Gotzon 
• Iñigo Muñoa
• John Domandl
• Dee Fuller  (S4E12)
• Kirsty Sheehan (S7E5)

Transcript

Larry 0:47

My next guest is an AI specialist

UM Experiences

Larry 0:50

with a PhD in computer science. He enjoys bodyboarding and, of course, triathlon. In 2023, he raced at UM Australia. And this year he became one of the best known people at the event for his incredible tenacity in covering the athletes all over the course on behalf of our live stream. He lives in Sydney, Australia, but is joining me today from his homeland in the Basque Country, where he has traveled to compete in the Iron Man Vittoria Gaste. Welcome to the podcast, Bennett Oliviera.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

Thank you, Larry. That was a nice introduction.

Larry 1:28

Yeah. Oh, it's nice to see you again. Uh, after seeing you for so many hours while we were doing the live stream, uh, your work was incredible. Everybody loved it. Whenever I'm talking to people about the the UM live stream, they all mention you and how hard you worked. Uh so uh I hope you're proud of what you did while you were there this year.

SPEAKER_03 1:52

Yeah, I don't know if I'm if I'm proud or not, but definitely it was it's gonna be a good memory forever. And I I deeply enjoyed it too. So no, it was it was good fun. And yeah, I was starting to miss your voice, by the way, after 12 hours non-stop listening to your voice. So yeah, it's good to see you again.

Larry 2:12

Yeah, nice to see you. Thanks for coming and doing the podcast. Um, what what sort of memories will you take away from this year? I mean, it's different being on the dream team side of the race compared to the race that you did in 2023. So, what what did you take away from being on that side of the race this year?

SPEAKER_03 2:30

Well, first of all, it's like the understanding of the dimension of the race, like what goes behind the scenes, really. Uh it's way harder actually than competing. Uh, and I'm not talking about the live stream, but those guys, I mean, they just work their asses off. Uh, they they prepare, well, actually, they're already preparing for next year's edition. So uh it's it's a one-year-long, let's say, uh work task that they do. Uh, but then particularly like one week before, and actually even almost like a couple of days or three days later, that's where like most of the work gets condensated. And as an athlete, you you don't really realize like you show up early in the morning, you think that you need to wake up early, right? But the dream team actually wakes up like two hours before that, so that everything is prepared there. You would expect that, oh yeah, they put the banners, they put the the arc uh overnight, but it's not true. Like they put it just before you get there, because they gotta move it from one place to another. So there are all those like small details, and even how they back up everything after one day so that everything gets ready for the next one. Uh, there's lots of logistics going on, lots of camadri between us as well. Uh, it was just an amazing experience. So, experiencing that from the other side and yeah, realizing about the dimension of the organization, and all of those guys are volunteers. We were all volunteers. So it was just so good uh to be part of that family. So that is what I take from the dream team. And then when it comes to the live stream, well, uh being involved in such a crazy idea of being able to actually uh keep recording and keep commentating and narrating what was going on uh with almost zero resources, on course, uh and being able to cover that uh as good as we could possibly do it. Uh, that was amazing. And then after all the hard work that was put by you, that was put by Steve, by all the guest commentators, then realizing that that work actually mattered for the athletes and the crew and the family, and all those nice words that they told us, really. Uh, I'm still getting messages as well in my phone saying, like, oh, look, like it was the first time that my parents saw me racing. Thanks for doing that. You are a legend. Uh, pass on the message. Uh, so that that's something that you'll that I'll cherish for forever. I'll bring it with me forever. So definitely worthy, and thanks for bringing me along.

Larry 5:26

Oh no, thank you. I mean, you were a vital part of what we did there, and uh the the humor that you brought to it as well was was much appreciated, and and the way you just spoke with the athletes and were getting their insights, it was very well done on your on your part. So thank you. And I we did have a debrief with Jeff, and they were also very happy with the way everything turned out and are you know gung-ho to do it again next year. So um please put that into your um calendar so that you can take those days off and and join us again. I don't I don't think we could do it without you.

SPEAKER_03 6:05

Okay, okay. There might be a couple of complications there. Uh we'll we'll talk about it later on, but but yeah, we'll we'll definitely put something together.

Larry 6:14

Okay. At the very least, you'll have to join us remotely and and do some work with us.

SPEAKER_03 6:19

I will be there. I will definitely be there, but maybe in another capacity.

Larry 6:24

Okay. All right. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Um, well, you raced um UM Oz in 2023. How did you first hear about it? And and why did you want to do it? Because my understanding is at that time you'd only done a few Iron Man races, if I'm correct.

SPEAKER_03 6:45

Yeah, that that that is correct. Like, I mean, even doing triathlons, it hasn't never been my thing. I just love uh doing sports, being fit, uh sharing time with my friends while while training and things like that, right? But never really with an objective of doing a triathlon. Uh however, like, well, that was in 2017 or something like that. A friend of mine, as we were actually surfing, I believe, in in Sydney, he told me, hey, I'm gonna sign up for this uh thing called Iron Man. And I was like, oh, what's what's that? I didn't even know. Uh and he told me, well, it's it's a triathlon. Uh you swim, then you ride, and then you run. I was like, okay, yeah, I could do those three things, I guess. Uh he did it first, and then I joined him in his second one. And I really liked it. That was the half iron month. Then I did, as you you mentioned, a couple of full iron months. But but then that that was it, really. Like for me, doing iron months, it was it was just I'm not gonna say not worthy. I'll say that after doing one, you know that you can do it. So, what's the point if you don't have that like a motivation or willingness of going for a mark, right? So uh that was me. And then one day a friend of mine that happens to be one of my crew members, uh, he actually suggested that yeah, there is this this crazy race going on in Australia called Ultraman, and I was like, whoa, Ultraman. That sounds a little bit more exciting than the Iron Man. And then we started having a look at it. And let's give this guy some credit.

Larry 8:30

What what's what's his what's his full name? Let's give him some credit.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

He's uh Girard Estivil, actually. Uh he was uh he was I don't know what was his role in my crew, uh but he was definitely definitely fundamental. He does lots of racing, uh long distance racing, but he doesn't like riding and swimming as much. Uh he completed actually a half Iron Man with me in Kearns, and that was the reason why I actually did the second Iron Man because we were a bunch of nine friends actually doing either the full Iron Man or the Half Iron Man, and we trained all together. So it was more of the experience rather than and the journey rather than finishing the Iron Man itself. So yeah, it was actually him that put that kind of seat uh in me. Uh and yeah, I signed up. Uh the my registration, let's say, or yeah, it got accepted. Uh and yeah, and I started training for the for the Ultraman without really knowing much about it.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Right.

SPEAKER_03 9:38

Uh but yeah. What I knew though was that we needed uh a crew from the very beginning. So actually, before uh going through the payment, I made sure that I had a crew. And and when my friends said, yeah, 100% we are all in for it, then then that's where the true journey started with uh all the training and stuff like that. But but yeah, Gerard, Gerard was the one. But to be honest, I wouldn't be wouldn't have been able to do it without the rest of the crew either. So they also deserve credit, I guess. So let's put their names out there. Yeah, absolutely. Uh yeah, uh Mario. Well, his name is not Mario, his name is Marco, but for the world, it's Mario. So Mario was the crew captain. Uh he has done also one iron one Iron Man, yeah. Uh and he's a really good friend. He was the captain. Then we've got Fernando, uh, who is the one actually that started with the cycling in Sydney with us. And then uh I had got Son as the bike mechanic or the bike mechanic. I don't know if he really knew what he was doing, but but yeah, everything actually worked out pretty well. So yeah, that was that was my kind of like crew, yeah, and then lots of friends came over to uh to spend the weekend with me, which was crazy good as well. Right. So thanks to all of them.

Larry 11:03

Yeah, yeah. And I'm not sure if it was the people on your crew or other friends, but there was a group of people or a person um that also did an amazing video chronicling your race. Uh it was so well done that I I use part of it in the live stream to help people to understand what it means to be at a 515 race. Um for those that haven't seen it, I'm gonna put up a link here in the live stream for you to you can click on that. It's the YouTube video. Um, I'm sure this this video will get that video another eight, nine views um for people listening at home uh through the audio podcast. Please check it out on YouTube as well. I'll put a link in the show notes for you to get to that. Tell us a little bit about making that video and um and and how it all turned out for you.

SPEAKER_03 12:02

Yeah, so all the credits for the video actually go to Fernando, who is that uh cyclist guy, let's say. Uh, and of course, he was the brain, the technical person, the cameraman, uh everything, the director, let's say, for for that video. Uh initially, uh, he suggested me that I should record myself while training, uh, so that we could have that full kind of like journey recorded. Uh, I immediately said no, I couldn't be bothered. Uh, but he he suggested that at least we should have something from the race recorded at the race time, and that I would definitely appreciate that after the fact. So it was him really telling me, Bajat, uh, after day one, after day two, after day three, come to the bedroom, I'll ask you one question, and you just throw it out, uh, express your feelings, and and that's it. So I didn't even have to worry about what was going on. And he had his story already in his head, and he just like did it all. And it was great. Uh, actually, it's one of the best video I've ever seen, to be honest. It's not that it's at the time the protagonist, let's say, but but I think that it's really, really good and that it captures the essence of the race. Absolutely, like what it what goes beyond the race as well.

Larry 13:28

Yeah, and and that's kind of part of what we were trying to do as well with the with the live stream, is is finding more ways to tell these stories. The podcast does it as well. Um, that's why I was so impressed with the video. Is anytime you can tell these stories in any form, is it's amazing. So uh yeah, congratulations to Fernando for for doing such a great video. And everybody, check it out. Check it out. It's not too long, it's not one of those ones that goes on for three hours and does every uh part of the of the race. It's it's very well done. Check it out.

SPEAKER_03 13:59

And you can and you can practice Spanish as well.

Larry 14:02

That's right, yes.

YouTube information

Larry 14:10

515 the Ultra Podcast is on YouTube, and all seven seasons, nearly 100 episodes, are available there for free for you as well. If you are one of my listeners who does not speak English as your first language, you can always listen on YouTube with the closed captioning of your language turned on to help you get the full content. Practice your English while you listen. Or in the case of Bonett's video, practice your Spanish. Just search 515 the Ultra Podcast in YouTube or follow the link in the show notes. You'll also find other video conversations that have not appeared in the audio-only podcast. Now, back to my conversation with Banette.

Basque connections

Larry 14:56

Well, speaking of practicing Spanish, uh, right now you're you're in the Basque country. Now, I know when you went to compete at UM Oz, they had to buy a new flag to represent you because you of the Basque. Now, I I don't know. Sometimes I hear it called Basque Country, Basque Region. Maybe you can explain to us what the geopolitics of the area are.

SPEAKER_03 15:21

Wow, Larry, I don't know if we want to get to the geopolitics because it's it's quite controversial, but look, uh I'm gonna try to explain it like as well as as politely as I can, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

Or the way I feel it at least. So I I always consider myself Basque, and that's it, that's that's how I think of myself. Uh and the Basque country or the Basque region, it's just a place, right? In the north part of Spain as well as in the south part of France, right? Where another language is actually spoken, and that is the Basque language. So the Basque country is the country of the Basque language, beyond any politics. So it's just how we identify ourselves, how we communicate with each other. We also use Spanish, we also use French, but what unites us, I guess, with gives us an identity, a national identity, is that Basque language, which is completely different to Spanish, which is completely different to France. So from there we also have a distinct culture, distinct traditions, uh, and that's why I identify myself as Basque. That doesn't mean that that I've got anything to do with Spanish, by no means I love Spain.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Right.

SPEAKER_03 16:44

But I am Basque. And I love France as well, a little bit less than Spain potentially, but uh but there is no no no hard feelings, no problems whatsoever. It's just that I am Basque, the same way as someone could consider himself uh Canadian, uh French, whatever. That's how I feel, uh regardless of what my national identity card shows, let's say. So we've got a flag, and I wanted to be representing that flag. There are some sports that actually consider Basca as an official, let's say, country that you could represent it. So for instance, in in surfing, uh kayak surfing uh and some other sports, you do have that possibility. Uh in Ironman, for instance, you cannot. So because it's not considered in the threatlon, the official threaton world, you you cannot represent anything that does that it's not an official, let's say, country. However, Ultraman race being just such a familiar race where the people that participate in it actually matter, they made the effort of actually putting the bus flag out there.

SPEAKER_01 17:59

Right.

SPEAKER_03 17:59

I said initially, yes, I'm bus, but but that's it, like you can put the Spanish flag if if that's what you've got. It's okay. I'm not I'm okay. I I I I don't care really. But they went out, they bought a bus flag, and they put it out there for me. And I thought that that was simply beautiful. That demonstrated that they really cared. And and that's one of the reasons why. Well, it's not one of the reasons, but that just goes on top of the list of all the things that those people do so that you feel supported, you feel comfortable, and that you will bring like the best memories ever back home. So so yeah, good kudos to the organization again. But yeah, that's that's the story.

Larry 18:46

Yeah. And and the language, uh, how do you say that? Is it euskara?

SPEAKER_03 18:52

Euskera, euskera.

Larry 18:53

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:55

Euskera. So actually, uh Basque country, right, is the country of the Basque, and Basque is the direct translation to from Euskera, let's say.

Larry 19:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:06

And the same happens in uh in Basque itself. So the name of the country is called Euskal Erria, and that means the the town, the place of the Basque language.

Larry 19:21

Right.

SPEAKER_03 19:22

So that that is the the common factor, let's say that unites us all.

Larry 19:28

Right. And officially you're uh a province or a state of Spain?

SPEAKER_03 19:34

Is that so officially, like uh politically speaking, I guess, yeah, uh the Basque country has seven distinct regions or provinces. Three of them belong to France, and four of the others belong to Spain. Within the Spain distribution, let's say, we've got the Basque Autonomous Uh Community, right? That's how it's called, and that integrates three of the Basque provinces, but there is an additional one that is Navarre, Navarra, and that also is considered the Basque Country.

Larry 20:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

So yeah, that's how it's it's it's

Sydney Basque Club

SPEAKER_03 20:20

divided.

Larry 20:21

And and obviously with such a unique heritage, when when people from Basque country go abroad, they they do want to stay connected. And I know that you do that as well. There's a Basque Club in Sydney. What what how how big is the Basque Club in Sydney? What do you do there? Is it is it only open to people from Basque or can anybody go in there? Um, tell me a little bit about your anybody. Yeah, okay. Tell me a little bit about it.

SPEAKER_03 20:49

Okay, look, actually, next year we'll be we'll be celebrating our 60th anniversary. So 6-0. Wow. Uh like, yeah, correct.

unknown 20:59

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 21:00

Uh those crazy people back in the if my maths are correct, in the 66, 1966, they decided that they were gonna buy a house in the middle of Sydney, very close to the CBD, where they could actually gather together and cook and eat and celebrate together. So that is when the bus club was kind of like born and established back then in Sydney. The reason why they decided that it's not because they had this magic idea, it's because in the bus country we do have like this sort of societies or also called chocos, right? Where people, friends, group of friends just go to that place and cook, right? So it's a place that it's similar to a restaurant, but it's a private restaurant. You go to the kitchen, you cook. And you eat your own food. You can invite people, you can invite friends, and it's just a community, a social thing that we do. Correct. It's a community kitchen. But it's it's the way we kind of like interact with each other as well. So it is normal that anybody here will actually belong here. When I'm here, it's in the bus country that will belong to one of those societies. Okay. And again, that's just another cultural, let's say, different thing or something that it's ours, that it's distinct from other places in Spain or in France. So they kind of took this idea and brought it to Sydney. Okay. And that's how it started. However, it's not the only bus club actually in the world. Everywhere you were, you will go, you would actually find one bus club.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 22:56

There are actually hundreds of them. So so yeah, that that's that's how we kind of like took those traditions and established them elsewhere as well. So in Sydney, the way we operate is everything is run by volunteers. Uh we open once uh a week, normally on Sundays, and we cook for whoever rocks up. You gotta do a booking, but if you book and you've got your seat, you will be kind of like served with uh three uh dishes meal. So you go for first, main dessert and coffee, and everything is gonna be home cook. And we've got a roster of volunteers that each of them will cook one weekend, and we kind of like rotate. We've got uh, I believe more than 15 uh people now actually cooking selfishly, like with no money involved for whoever rocks up on a Sunday. So that's how that's how we operate it, that's how we keep the place alive. Yeah, the the house is ours, like we we bought it, it belongs to the club, yeah, but it's run and maintained by volunteers, and the way that we get money is through those lunches or any other activity that we may uh do uh any other day, really. So yeah, it's it's really good. Um and actually, yeah, it's not only for bus people, like it's also for whoever wants to experience that cuisine. It's kind of like well known that the the bus country does have that culinary, let's say, uh fame. Like it's it's famous because of its cuisine and its kitchen. Lots of Michelin stars uh are there out there. Uh I believe that actually per meter square, uh San Sebastian is the one that has most Michelin stars in the world. So yeah, people get attracted by that and they go, like, okay, let's let's try out this Basque place. And yeah, if you come once, you definitely will come twice as well. So people come back.

Larry 25:14

Yeah. And and I understand that you personally are famous for something that's Basque related in the culinary arts.

SPEAKER_03 25:22

Oh, yeah, the cheesecake. Yeah, it's just I mean, I don't know if it's true or it's not true. Probably it's not true, but I'll I'll pretend that it's that it's a fact, okay? Uh so there is this uh famous cheesecake actually here uh in in San Sebastian, served in San Sebastian in one of its bars and restaurants that is called uh La Vigne. Uh my mother also used to bake that cheesecake, right? So one day that it was my turn to actually uh cook at the Basque Club, I said, you know what? I'm gonna bake that Basque cheesecake, uh, which is not, which I would never call Basque cheesecake. I would just call it cheesecake. Right? Yeah, cheesecake, it's just a cheesecake, a baked cheesecake, it's okay, it's my cheesecake, it's fine. But that was back in 2016 or something like that. Uh and it really got famous within the Basque, let's say, Sydney community, and I started to do it all the time. But I don't know what happened worldwide that all of a sudden all those like Basque cheesecakes start to be like popular in every single bakery across the world that you go. And I was like, hey, I was the first one actually bringing it to Sydney. So all the Basque burnt cheesecakes that are out there, it's because we did it first.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

Right.

SPEAKER_03 26:54

So yeah, that's that's the story about it. So if you go to Sydney and you see a past burnt cheesecake, you gotta know that the original one was firstly served in the Bas Club and that it was cooked by me.

Larry 27:10

Now, now, are you getting a cut from all of these people using uh past cheesecake as their title? Like they don't have your recipe. They don't have your recipe, though, right? It's that is correct, it's not authentic. That's correct.

SPEAKER_03 27:23

Yeah, it's not authentic. Actually, then so I started doing it in the bus club, and then other volunteers started actually doing it as well.

SPEAKER_01 27:31

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:31

Not only other volunteers, but actually my housemate started to do it, and he's gonna he has a secret ingredient that I I'm not gonna disclose it. Of course not, but he always adds it, and I'm like, no, mate, that just makes it a non-original Basque cheesecake. Uh so yeah, we've got that joke constantly between the two of us, and sometimes he says that he has put that secret ingredient in my cakes and that I I haven't noticed, but but I definitely have. Yeah.

Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz

Larry 28:04

Well, well, you're back in the Basque Country now. Uh you're there to do an Iron Man race. Um tell tell me what brought you back there to do an Iron Man race, and um what what is the course like there? Is it fast? Is it hilly? I'm assuming there's probably some hilly parts to it if you're you're in Spain. Um what what is it uh is it favorable to your strengths as a rider, as a runner?

SPEAKER_03 28:31

To be honest with you, Larry, I have no clue. I'm that kind of uh triathlist, a non-conventional triathlist. Um the reason why I'm as I I already told you, like, there's no point for me to do like Ironmans and keep doing races like that. Right. But I would definitely do more of those if there is a reason to do it. And there is a particular reason why I'm doing this one. Uh when I did my first Iron Man, I told my cousin that he should definitely do one because it's really good experience. And and he's actually a really good athlete. Like he runs like crazy, he has marathons, I don't know, two hours 34 or something like that. Oh wow. Uh he swims well, so he swims well. Uh he also can ride the bike. So I told him, mate, you should do one. And he told me, I will do one if you do it with me.

Larry 29:32

What's his name? Let's get his name in there.

SPEAKER_03 29:36

Okay, yeah. Uh Inigo. Inigo Munioa. Yeah. He's a machine. He's the best. So so yeah, this guy, he told me, yeah, definitely, I'll do one if you join me. And I promised to him that I was gonna do one. The first one that he did, that I was gonna be there. So, to be honest with you, I wasn't planning to do any Iron Man this year. I had other things in mind, yeah. But it was back, I don't know, in October last year or something like that. He sent me this screen capture, screenshot with his registration for um for for this Iron Man this year. And I was like, damn it. I guess that I'll need to sign up for it. So I guess that I'll need to train for it as well. Uh, and that's how it happened. So I'm here because he does it and we'll we'll just have fun. He'll he will smash it, he will go under 10 hours, he'll go crazy, I'll just finish it, I'll do, I don't know, 11 hours or something like that. Uh, and I'll be happy ass uh sharing the experience with him.

Larry 30:40

Right, yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. And and so do you think that uh with his success and your connection to 515 racing, that he'll want to look up and say, well, okay, now I'm gonna come to Australia and you're gonna be my crew member and I'm gonna put my hat in that ring.

SPEAKER_03 31:00

That's my plan. That's my secret plan. Uh but I think I look, Larry, can I say something? I don't think that like from Iron Man, Ultraman is actually looking up. No, yeah, it's looking somewhere else. It's saying, like, look, Iron Man is a format, it's great, you you definitely have that buy, but Ultraman, at least the race that I have been part of, it's a completely different thing. So yeah, definitely distances are longer, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a harder race, to be honest with you. So, but definitely when you get home, what you bring back home, it's it's way more. So I hope that one day he actually does it. And if he does, and it's now recorded, I'll either crew for him for sure, or I will do it with him.

Larry 31:55

Ah, there you go. All right. Well, now we we have we got it. You you have to stick to it. You're gonna be getting another screenshot of his application into Jeff.

SPEAKER_03 32:09

Oh, we'll we'll see, we'll see that. Yeah.

Larry 32:12

Well, I it sounds to me like the way you've described the people from Basque and and the people that you know are taking part in 515 events, there's there's definitely a crossover there, that that family kind of feel to it. Is that kind of what draws you into it, do you think? 100.

SPEAKER_03 32:31

100. That uh self-lesh, let's say, approach to life, saying, like, look, I'm gonna give up my time, I'm gonna invest it so that others can actually enjoy it as well. Uh that it's something that it's very common in the past country. Uh probably also in Spain, in many other places, right? But it's just my experience. So I'm not saying that we are better or something like that, by no means.

Larry 32:59

No.

SPEAKER_03 33:00

What I'm saying is that I don't know, like even when we celebrate festivities, you see people on the streets and you see people serving alcohol, food to others, and often those people are just volunteers, that they are getting money so that they can actually support uh a cause, right? Any other thing. Like, I don't know, like paying the bills for a particular society, um putting a charity event in a couple of weeks. I don't know, that essence, it's something that that I really like from here. That's what I've been, that's what I've experienced my whole life. So it's no different actually to be part, for instance, to the dream team. And yeah, definitely there is a correlation there. But again, it's not an identity thing. I think that it's a people thing.

SPEAKER_01 33:53

Right.

SPEAKER_03 33:54

People that are willing to invest their time so that others can actually pursue their dreams, have a good time, or I don't know, just have a good memory, really.

SPEAKER_01 34:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:10

So yeah.

Larry 34:11

Yeah, and and I I understand what you're saying. It's yeah, there's people like that all over the world. Um, I mean, we've seen that the the podcast reaches people all over the world. It's it's not a unique thing, but it definitely sounds like something that is a part of your culture and part of the identity

How to support the show

Larry 34:28

you've grown up with, so I can just see how you would be connected in those ways.

SPEAKER_03 34:31

Yeah. Yeah, 100%.

Larry 34:35

Hello, listener. I love getting your feedback and suggestions for the podcast. Keep them coming at 515ultraman at gmail.com. For those that want to help me promote the show, I suggest that you can tell a friend. Or the mouse is a great way to fight to the code. And if you don't mind, the free way to support the show by the way. Finally, if you're still finding it, you can show your appreciation for my work by clicking the support button at the bottom of the show notes to go to my buy me a copy page. Thanks for all of your feedback and support. Now back to the show.

AI in medicine

Larry 35:30

Um, I do want to get on to what you do for work as well. I want to hear a little bit about this. Uh, you work as a data scientist. Uh, can you tell us a little bit about your your current position?

SPEAKER_03 35:43

Okay, so now I'm working as a data scientist, AI advisor, uh advanced analytics, kind of like a main go-to person within uh New South Wales Health, uh, and in particular within Western Sydney local head district. So, New South Wales Health is uh the public health organization in one of the states of Australia. So Australia is divided in different states, and one of them is New South Wales. And the public, let's say, health organization of New South Wales is New South Wales Health, and within there, we've got different local health districts, so it's subdivided. And what I am, it's the data scientist of one of the local health districts, and now with all the AI boom happening, well, yeah, I know I've got uh a PhD in computer science, I know data, I know modeling, I know stats, I know maths, so I'm kind of like well located to advise the organization on how to invest, uh how to prepare for what is uh coming actually and what is coming uh in terms of artificial intelligence. So yeah, in addition to developing models and being a NERF, I guess, uh I also advise the organization in terms of next big movements in the AI space.

Larry 37:13

And and did you originally, when you were doing your schooling, were you already looking at AI, or is this something that you've just kind of fell into because you recognized it coming along and you started to study it on your own?

SPEAKER_03 37:28

No, no, no, definitely I wasn't seven years old from thinking, oh yeah, I want to be an AI engineer. Definitely not. Uh however, I was good at maths, I was good at physics, I was good at I don't know, at quite a few things, uh which took me to start my university, let's say, journey and became become uh a civil engineer. So I'm originally actually a civil engineer, okay. Uh, but with a master or a major or a specialty, I don't know how you call it, in numerical modeling. So that is when I started really uh understanding computers, how to use them so that we could solve true problems, okay, with it through simulations. So I wasn't really uh leveraging existing software, I was building it. Right. So I was coding. Uh so that's how the journey started. Then when I finished my civil engineering studies, it became clear that I didn't really want to act as a professional civil engineer, that I really wanted to think of the problems and the best way of solving them, which took me to do a PhD. And that's how I moved from Spain. I did the civil engineering studies in Barcelona, and I flew all the way to Sydney to pursue my PhD. And the PhD there was uh in the geophysics field, but coming from a computer science angle. And and that's that's how AI came, yeah.

Larry 39:05

Yeah, and looking ahead now, um, how do you see AI being used in the health field? And and what's what's on the horizon? What's in the near future for how we could use AI to keep people healthier or treat illnesses? And and what's on the long-term horizon? Like so, like from now to near-term horizon, a year or two, three out, and like 10 years from now, what do you see happening as a result of AI?

SPEAKER_03 39:35

Wow, Larry, I didn't expect this question, eh? In an ultraman 515 question.

Larry 39:40

I mean, we like to know everything about the racers. This is a whole biography, so that when the next time someone sees you at a race, they're gonna be like, oh, I I understand you you work in AI. And there's a new conversation.

SPEAKER_03 39:54

Yeah. Okay, yeah, fair enough, fair enough. Uh so you you you said it AI in health. Any technology that goes into health has to be uh triple-proofed because we are do dealing with really sensitive information, data, and at the end of the day, we are dealing with patients' lives, right? So whatever makes it all the way into the health sphere, it has to be really safe, secure, and super tested in other fields. That means that unfortunately for me, in that case, we are always behind. Okay, other fields actually are in the forefront of the innovation with AI, and it is our task to actually cherry-pick, let's say, what is being tested and proven right in other fields and adapt it to our environment.

Larry 40:52

Okay, yeah, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 40:53

So, in in that sense, uh, I'm not gonna be really, really innovative because the state of the art is happening actually in other fields. But, however, there are lots and lots and lots of administrative tasks that are low risk, high benefit, that we are actually starting to prioritize. Saying, like, okay, if we are gonna start breaking the ground in health with AI, let's identify those use cases and let's prove the technology in there first. So we are really looking at optimizing everything that can be optimized without being too sensitive. So things like scheduling patient appointments in a smarter way, being able to match patients' characteristics with the resources that we've got in terms of doctors, nurses, etc. In Western Sydney, in the local health district that I am working with or that I'm working, uh we've got a very multicultural, let's say, reality, cultural reality where yeah, people, the patients, families may or may know, may not know English, or may not be English their first language. So AI can actually help with that as well and generate that trust. So we are looking at all those use cases. Then another really interesting one that we are uh exploring at the moment, it's the so-called AI ascribes. And that means that there will be uh, let's say, not an entity, but the technology or the AI. I I don't really like to speak this way, but all the conversations between patients and doctors will be recorded, and that will facilitate the creation of all the documentation that the doctors will need to do regardless. Okay. That brings benefits because the doctors will be actually focusing on their patients instead of taking notes. They will be able to be more efficient, they will be able to save time, and ultimately that will impact on the health and the outcome of the patient as well. So, again, that is not predicting any disease, that is not prescribing any medication for the patient, it's just being able to document much more accurately and much more efficiently while increasing the time that the doctors spend with the patients. So that is like the type of technology that should be prioritized at the moment.

SPEAKER_01 43:31

Right.

SPEAKER_03 43:32

While we also invest and do innovation in, I don't know, in the genomics area, uh in the prediction of the diseases, in the creation of new uh pharma and all those things happening in parallel, let's say, more in the research environment. But when it comes to I've got a patient in front of me, how can the AI help me? It's in these sort of ways today.

unknown 43:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:57

And we are looking at how that can be compatible. With the legislation, current legislation. If there is any, if there is not, we have to actually make one for it, uh, and things like that. So that's why I've said before that I'm kind of like an AI advisor because I identify all those needs and I try to actually fill those gaps as well with policies, procedures, and things like that.

Larry 44:19

Oh yeah. So then you get a chance to meet some of the lawmakers as well, then, and uh advise them as to well, if we're going to be doing this, we need to have this law in place to cover that off.

SPEAKER_03 44:31

That that is correct. Or what should the law be even considering, really? What is our recommendation, our framework? Uh I don't know, simple things like normally now with uh let's talk about generative AI. Generative AI is think about it as chat GPT, right? Where you've got that, let's say one type of generative AI, sorry, where you've got that type of conversational relation with the AI. So if you are gonna deploy that in a hospital environment, the legislation forces you, at least Australian legislation as well as New South Wales legislation forces you, that the data cannot escape the country. Normally, the way that you would deploy those sort of systems in any other uh sector is by leveraging already existing technologies in the cloud that potentially could run outside the country, somewhere globally.

Larry 45:36

Somewhere, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:37

So we need to compare what is our health legislation versus what is what is the technology offering us and making those breaches. Yeah. So that is also my task. So some of the GPT models may be deployed in the States. Well, if that is the case, I'm sorry, but we cannot use them. Despite the fact that they are great, we cannot use them in Australia at the moment, or at least not. And we've got that communication as well with big technologies, big techs, yeah. Uh making them, let's say, think that potentially they have to deploy it also in Australia. So that is kind of like the feedback look. It's not only legislation, it's also what we've got available in terms of tech.

Larry 46:21

Yeah. And I I think most countries have rules around that as well to keep it within the borders as much as possible.

SPEAKER_03 46:28

Yeah, correct. But people may not think that Chat GPT or not ChatGPT, but any other system may be actually sending the data somewhere else.

SPEAKER_01 46:37

Right.

SPEAKER_03 46:38

So whenever we are making any product or or deploying any product, it is kind of my task to say A or to ask the question of where is the data?

Larry 46:49

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:50

Correct. It's not only where is the server, it's actually, yeah, yeah.

Larry 46:54

Where does the data end up going to? Yeah, to perceive.

SPEAKER_03 46:56

Yeah, correct. Well, uh, how uh is it gonna be then used for for training?

SPEAKER_01 47:02

Right.

SPEAKER_03 47:03

Uh the actual model, uh, will other people benefit from that training? Uh what for how long are they gonna keep that data? Are we able to actually audit the responses? What are the benchmarks of the of the model that we are using? What is the accuracy? How can we track it? All those things.

SPEAKER_01 47:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 47:21

Because now the difference between AI or the models that we are now seeing that are more popular or more fashionable, or that are at least in the media and everybody's talking about them, those ones are different to just purchasing uh a Microsoft license, for instance, for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, where you just buy it once and it will work. Yeah, there may be some bugs, but you fix them and that's it. And you have another release and that's it. Whereas in in AI, uh in deep learning to be precise, yeah, uh you need to keep track of the accuracy of your models because the reality changes and potentially the data upon which the model was trained, it's not relevant at the reality. Correct. So you need to constantly assess that uh to know whether you should trust or not the outputs.

Larry 48:20

Right. Yeah. Well, hey, thanks for indulging me in the AI conversation. Uh, you know, yeah, I'm a freak, mate. We we we appreciate getting to know everything not on the podcast. So um I appreciate you taking us on that little journey as well. Uh you were talking

Future plans in sport and 515 racing

Larry 48:40

earlier about how you're not, you know, one of those driven guys to do triathlon and that you do it for for a reason to to hang out with your cousin, um, maybe to introduce him to the 515 family as well, and things like that. But do you have any future sporting events coming up? Any bucket list things that that you are hoping to do or or maybe just looking at?

SPEAKER_03 49:06

Yeah, so well, you you know the answer. Uh in that uh celebration ceremony, uh the closure ceremony of the Ultraman, uh the race directors disclosed that Ultraman was gonna go all the way to New Zealand next year, sometime in December or January, I don't know, 2026, 2027, something like that. Um well, everybody that was in that room actually thought the same thing. I wanna be there. And definitely I was one of them. So that is definitely in my head at least. Yeah, I have asked a couple of questions around to see whether if I would have a crew. Uh, it looks like I could potentially have a crew for that event. So I'm not promising that I'll be there by no means, but that it's a possibility. So we are looking at uh in one year and a half's time, let's say. Yeah, that is one. Then there is another one that is the again, the ultraman in NUSA. Uh, next year I think that I will go. Uh it's not confirmed yet because because, yeah, the um let's say the athlete list has not been confirmed, it's not gonna happen until August. So we don't know yet. But I will not raise myself, but I will be part of it and not necessarily as part of the dream team. So that it's happening, it's something that I have been looking for for a while, and the opportunity just happened. That well, everything sounds super mysterious. Yeah, yeah, uh let's let's let's put some meat. So after seeing John uh the blind athlete compete and how he went through everything, well, and how all like he was supported by not only the crew but also the guides.

SPEAKER_01 51:19

Right.

SPEAKER_03 51:20

Uh something really happened there that I was thinking, maybe I could also guide a blind athlete.

Larry 51:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 51:30

Uh I would definitely be keen to explore that path. Uh it wasn't the first time that I actually thought about it. Uh D the winner of Ultraman 2023, the the edition that I participated, the woman that that won it, D suggested it uh two years ago to me, saying, like, Venat, I think that you you would actually enjoy helping a blind athlete actually run, uh ride, or or or swim. Uh I think that you would be good at it. And I never really thought about it. And I was like, oh, maybe. So the seed was actually planted by her. But then seeing John raised, I was like, well, I think that I want to be uh a guide. Uh and then the organization, like I I did not say a word, but the the Ultraman organization reached out to me to help an athlete go through the paperwork, uh, a blind athlete to go through the paperwork because he was uh he he doesn't speak Spanish. I mean he doesn't speak English, he speaks Spanish. So he suggested, like Jeff told me, Benart, can you can you help us uh bring him over uh to compete? And yeah, I said, yeah, let's let's let's work it out. So I started having conversation with this guy, and it was him actually suggesting me to be his guide.

Larry 53:08

Oh nice.

SPEAKER_03 53:09

Uh so if everything works out, and I'm not disclosing his name, so I guess that it's okay. Uh I will be I will be helping this athlete uh complete his third day. So I'll be his uh running guide.

Larry 53:24

Oh nice.

SPEAKER_03 53:25

Well on the third day of the Ultraman, yeah.

Larry 53:28

Well, we we all know that you are a great runner and that you can even run backwards if if needed. So uh I think you will be a great running guide for him, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 53:39

Yeah, I actually I actually asked him how like Jeff, I I mentioned it to Jeff saying, like, mate, he has asked me to be his running uh let's say guide. Yeah, is that okay? And he came back to me and said, like, oh, that would be great, Benya. That's really good for you. It's a fantastic experience. Just make sure that you know the pace. And I'm like, oh yeah, that's actually fair. Like, I should probably ask him at what pace he's gonna be running. And then I so I I sent him an audio saying, like, hey mate, like at what pace are you planning to run? Just to know. I guess that I'll be okay, but yeah, and then all of a sudden he comes back to me saying, I don't know, maybe five minutes a K, something like that. And I'm like, what? For 84K?

unknown 54:31

What?

SPEAKER_03 54:32

I was like, I don't think that's right. Like even uh uh like Christie this year, like she was actually doing that pace. Yeah, she was going for the winner. And I'm like, mate, are you sure about this? But we haven't had that follow-up conversation, so I don't know if if he has reconsidered that, yeah. But look, if he wants to go five minutes a K, I'll train to go five minutes a K. It's just only 84Ks, and we will make it happen. Just only it's it's 84, it's fine. We've done it before.

Larry 55:07

Yeah, but at least you won't have to do the swim bike beforehand. You you can come in with uh with just that focus.

SPEAKER_03 55:13

Yeah, but I think that I'll be part of the dream team then. So I'll be tired by that.

Larry 55:18

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:19

Or or maybe or maybe helping you out with the camera. I don't know. We'll see.

Larry 55:23

Please. They're gonna have to come up with a new award for you, the guy that does everything.

SPEAKER_03 55:30

Uh yeah, but no, no, no. The the the awards were were fine this time, and definitely, yeah, Micah was was was a star, so he he got the one of the the best awards, I would say. Uh and yeah, he went well above and beyond helping out everyone, and in particular on the third day as well. He spent that night in a hospital. He went to pick him up the other the next day. Yeah, uh, he he he's a legend. Yeah.

Larry 56:04

And John Demandel is also gonna be on the podcast in an upcoming episode. I've spoken to him and and we've made an arrangement to record as well. So uh he's coming up.

SPEAKER_03 56:13

Yeah, he will have more interesting things to say for sure.

Larry 56:17

What are you talking about? Your stuff has been incredibly interesting.

SPEAKER_03 56:22

I don't know, but those guys, oh, that second day, uh seeing him cross the line walking with his guide after being discharged from the hospital, just wanting to go and cross that line, yeah, seeing his tears, he he he cannot see, but he he feels way more than us.

Larry 56:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 56:45

And seeing those emotions so from every single body there. Wow. Wow, that was next level.

Larry 56:54

And and and uh thanks to you, we all got to experience that because you were there as the cameraman for us, still recording and and and bringing that to us. And and you did it in a very nice way, you didn't get intrusive, you kind of stayed back, and and uh we all get to we all felt it, even you know, you didn't get right in his face with the camera and stuff, but we all felt it. And uh again, I I really truly appreciate the work that you did and the and the quality of of what you did for for the live stream was amazing. And uh, and thank you for coming and following up with us. Everybody wanted to know more about you, Banat, after that event. So thanks for coming and doing the podcast. Uh, I really appreciate it. Okay, um, and I appreciate it too. Yeah, I look forward to watching you uh potentially help another athlete get through this race in the future. So great great stuff. That would be amazing. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 57:46

Thank you, Larry.