Luke ”Gus” Neale

My guest today and I met and worked together during an amazing season in Club Med Playa Blanca in 1996/1997. His first season, however, was at the opening of Club Med Lindeman Island in Australia and he arrived on December 12, 1992, as a Musician/Animator. From Newcastle, Australia, please help me welcome former Chief of Village, Luke "Gus” Neale!! Before Club Med, Gus was studying Tourism Management at the University of Newcastle. As part of his degree requirement, he organized a five-day field trip up the East coast of Australia, from Newcastle to Brisbane. On that trip, he met a Belgian Club Med employee called Bellings, who gave Gus his business card and told Gus that if he ever wanted to work for Club Med, to give Club Med that card and the rest is history. For those who have had the pleasure to work with Gus, know that he plays a mean violin (and guitar and didgeridoo). He started playing violin at seven years old and even got a scholarship to study music at the Conservatorium at the University of Newcastle, where he studied for four years. Gus worked as an animator and Chief of Animation in resorts such as Cherating Beach (Malaysia), Bora Bora, Kamarina (Italy), Bali, Playa Blanca, Turks & Caicos, Huatulco and Djerba La Douce (Tunisia). As a Chief of Village, he worked at Sonora Bay, Cancun, Crested Butte and Lindeman Island. Gus is kind enough to take us through his Chief of Village stage in France and what his first season as CDV in Sonora Bay was like during the summer of 2001. We cover a lot in only an hour, so I really hope you enjoy this episode with Gus! **My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.