Kintsugi Heroes
Luke Cook
Luke Cook lost his father at 4 and spent 35 years hiding that grief until three simultaneous losses at 39 forced him to reckon with it and build something his daughters would never lose.
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Luke Cook lost his father at 4 years old. The memory that stayed with him was watching a police car arrive at his grandmother's house instead of his mother's car. He spent 35 years trying not to think about that moment, tucking it away like a puzzle piece he couldn't face. When he turned 39, the same age his father had been when he died, something shifted. At that exact moment, three things fell apart at once: his best friend and father of two died, his business stopped overnight during COVID, and he realised he was now older than his father had ever been. The weight of it forced him to finally look at that hidden puzzle piece.
Rather than stay broken by it, Luke made a decision about what came next. He mapped out his entire life, every good moment and every painful one, and asked himself a hard question: what did he want to leave his daughters? He didn't want them to grow up the way he had, knowing nothing about who their father really was. So he started Cuppa TV, a daily platform for stories and connection. What began as a way to save himself became a movement. He wakes at 5:30, moves his body, watches the sunrise, and stays offline until 9 am. He sits in conversations with people whose lives look nothing like his own. He turned his moment of breaking into something deliberate: proving that the smallest actions, done consistently, can reshape everything.
Luke's story is about what happens when you stop hiding from the fracture and start building from it instead. It's about choosing to show up differently, not because everything is fixed, but because someone else's future matters enough to try.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief & loss, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au • GriefLine: 1300 845 745 · griefline.org.au
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