Despina Karatzias

07/10/2026

01/10/2026

Fun fact: on the back of World Tourism Day, today is International Coffee Day and like tourism, coffee is kind of a big deal!

I didn't think anything of it when it came across my feed until a quick Google, and whoop, there it is, an International Coffee Organisation established in 1963 under the auspices of the United Nations. Check it out: https://internationalcoffeeday.org/

I'm a big lover of drinking coffee, meeting for coffee, making a good coffee (especially a good Greek coffee or frappe in summer) and as it turns out a camera full of photos of coffee. And discovering that more than 125 million people depend on coffee for their livelihoods, I can understand why it deserves its own day!

The day recognises the people behind our daily brew and the importance of farmers and their communities earning a fair living. Something worth thinking about when we order our next cup.

And, like tourism, coffee has a way of bringing people together. We seek out local cafés when we travel, get to know places through their coffee traditions and find ourselves chatting with people we might otherwise never meet.

There ain’t nothing like bonding over a good cup of coffee and long overdue for one with many of you!

So cheers to a new month, a new quarter and coffee love on International Coffee Day ☕️🫶

29/09/2026

Proud mama moment in time! The gymnastics journey started in preschool for our firstborn, and 14 years later, she continues to defy what is possible, inspiring us all to be better, be stronger, work harder and ultimately, when the going gets tough, to get tougher 💪

She does not get it from me, none of my kids did. I never played sports in my life in my younger years, but boy, has this journey of elite athleticism and the world of gymnastics taught me more about grit and determination than I could have ever imagined.

I started the Institute Of Excellence around the same time she started gymnastics, with three kids under five. As I learned how to build a business, I watched my little girl learn to get back up after a fall, practise something a hundred times, and try again when it still wasn’t right. It has not been easy. Nothing hard ever is. Somewhere along the way, she became one of mine and our family's greatest teachers.

Congratulations, my dear Olina. We’ll be cheering you on all the way to the US and back. But first, Year 12 exams Xox 🫣🫶

USA BOUND 🇺🇸✨

We are so proud to announce that Olina Karatzias and her coach Mr Yang have been selected to attend Gymnastics Australia's 2027 National Level 10 tour to the USA. Olina and Mr Yang will travel from January 17 - February 1, 2027 competing in Sand Dollar/Whitlow invitational in Orlando and the Biles Invitational in Houston.

This is a significant achievement and testament to the hard work, determination and resilience that Olina has shown over the past 12-18 months as she recovered from a long-term injury. In 2025, Olina transitioned from our international stream into the national stream, spending 2025 focusing on her recovery. In 2026, Olina has come back stronger and competed at the 2026 National Championships where she placed 3rd All Around in Level 10, 2nd on Vault and 1st on Beam. Alongside training, Olina is balancing her Year 12 studies and setting a wonderful example for our squad athletes.

Olina and Mr. Yang are set for an incredible trip where they will visit Disney World, Florida Gators Competition, Epcot and training at the World Champions Centre and Orlando Metro Gymnastics.

We wish Olina and Mr Yang all the very best as they prepare for this exciting opportunity. We’ll be following their preparations in the lead-up to their January departure and, of course, sharing updates from their time in the USA along the way! 🇺🇸✨

27/09/2026

Rethinking Tourism for World Tourism Day

One from the archives, filmed in Dubai on World Tourism Day 2022 and never posted, sharing today for World Tourism Day.

Like today it was World Tourism Day, 2022. Last day in Dubai, on the way home to Melbourne wrapping up an incredible European holiday with my family. I remembered today I recorded a video the night before we left and never posted it. That year's theme was rethinking tourism. This year's theme is all about "Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence" and redesigning tourism. Four years between those two words, and watching this back, I can see how much of what I was circling then I am only now able to name.

Four Greek words in here that I still come back to. Philoxenia, philanthropia, psychologia, technologia. More on these 4 key important words in business and life in the coming weeks.

Sharing it now as a time capsule and curious, whether you are in tourism and the visitor economy or you love travel, how are you rethinking tourism in your business and how you travel today?

Happy World Tourism Day, and happy Sunday 🌎🫶

25/09/2026

Happy birthday, love, and blessings to our dad.

Integrity. Honour. Love. Respect and a whole lot of courage as a young man barely 18 to leave behind everything he knew and loved, without a word of English on his tongue and not a single dollar in his pocket, like so many before and after him, in search of a better life.

I love this video so much. No music lessons, no YouTube tutorials, just a love of music and determination to learn. His first prized possession when he arrived in Australia, a bouzouki.

This is him doing what he's done our whole life, picking up the bouzouki and filling the house and our hearts.

Χρόνια Πολλά dad (to many years). We love you so much xox

16/09/2026

Proud sister moment Maria Ulas Artelia Jewellery is a finalist in the Diamond Guild Australia Awards and please join me in voting for The Peoples Choice (number 18) and go in the draw to win.

To enter simply follow Diamond Guild Australia on Facey or Insta enjoy the incredible finalists designs and visit diamndguild.com/win (number 18) to enter.

Seriously zoom in on this creation it is exquisite mastery and so proud of you both dynamic duo Maria Ulas and Roberto Ulas good luck 💎💕🫶

04/09/2026

My baby and head of the K Crew big sis division is 18 today.

Boy, what a ball of mixed emotions. A cocktail of gratitude, disbelief, sadness of the speed and joy for the journey. A farewell to childhood and a welcome to young adult life.

I found out I was pregnant with Olina on Christmas Day 2007, the gift that kept on giving every day after that. So many wonderful memories, so much love, so much responsibility juggling the dance of raising babies, leading humans, building businesses. Never balanced, mostly a beautiful chaos with family love and support.

On this day 18 years ago the love was intoxicatingly overwhelming, life-changing and life enhancing. As a first time mama, you receive a lot of advice, during those pregnancy months but the one that stuck with me throughout Olinas and her siblings’ life is:

“Raise kids that you want to hang out with”.

And the hangs, the belly laughs, the ugly cries, face palm emojis and eye rolls at her Olinaisms - my baby girl is just the best to hang out with. She has blossomed into a hard-working, dedicated kind and loving human and more together at her age than I ever was and could have ever imagined. Our baby girl we wish you nothing but love and blessings on your 18th birthday and eternity. Love your mama xoxo

28/08/2026

Final training of the week and month.

All of it centred on taking back control.

Control in mindset. Control in action. Control in reaction.

An hour of power with business owners across City of Melton this morning. Three exercises, written live, and everyone left with one commitment for the next 30 days, dated and signed.

Because to break through anything, you have to stop working on the parts that were never yours so that the one thing you can change, and control, gets your full attention.

Happy Friday 🙏🫶

26/08/2026

“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then, you are an excellent leader” Dolly Parton

A fitting quote from an icon after spending the day in the company of female founders who are just that!

From kicking off the day with an inspired conversation on ‘what it takes’ to start a business with Sarah Poole | Founder Self-Abandonment Sarah Poole to delivering the final training session as part of the Eastern Innovation Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Program!

The new Practical Business Training & Mentoring training: Acting Up, The Next 90 Days, was a three-hour working session focussing on more signals and less noise to create a rhythm in businesses centred around Content, Sales, Delivery and Operations.

Thank you Allira Cundy Saloni Kochhar Robyn Swanwick ACEcD and all participants for your energy and contributions, until next time, thank you 🙏💓