Ep127. McGrath's No.1 Real Estate Agent: Mat Steinwede's Inspiring Journey from addiction and homelessnessEp127. McGrath's No.1 Real Estate Agent: Mat Steinwede's Inspiring Journey from addiction and homelessness
The Truth About Addiction
Ron Isherwood talks with Mat Steinwede about his journey from heavy drug use and homelessness to becoming McGrath’s top real estate agent. The conversation focuses on integrity, discipline, health and the harsh impact of addiction on families.
36:39•11 Jul 2026
From Oxford Street Addict to Australia’s Top Agent: Mat Steinwede’s Comeback
Episode Overview
- Quick wins are a trap; aim for long‑term goals and accept that all good things take time.
- Build a daily formula of small actions and stick to it, even when it’s cold, late or inconvenient.
- Protect your integrity by keeping your word to yourself and others, especially in business and recovery.
- Treat your body like a high‑performance machine with better food, movement and gut health support.
- Drug use carries a brutal cost for you and your family; there is no glorification in it at any level.
“If you can't keep a promise to yourself, how on earth can you keep one to somebody else?”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head‑on against addiction? This episode tracks Mat Steinwede’s path from the party scene of Oxford Street, heavy drug use and sleeping on a bare floor in an abandoned building to becoming McGrath’s number one real estate agent across Australia.
Ron Isherwood keeps the chat raw and direct, drawing out details many people gloss over: injecting speed and coke daily, losing teeth, being under surveillance, ending up on *Australia’s Most Wanted*, and standing in court facing grievous bodily harm and malicious wounding charges. A judge gives Mat a final chance, and he rings his mate Dino with a bold promise: he’s going to become Australia’s number one agent.
From there, you’ll hear about starting in real estate with no car, no clothes and living in a caravan, walking the streets door‑knocking all day, and slowly rebuilding a life based on integrity and hard work. Mat links his criminal past to the discipline he shows today, saying he simply carried over his fierce loyalty and sense of honour into real estate, especially around protecting vendors’ prices.
The conversation also touches on the harsh cost of addiction: friends dying, teeth destroyed, and Mat’s son Logan, a talented young surfer, taking his own life after slipping into drinking and drug use during Covid. Ron shares his own family losses and the message is clear: "there’s no glorification in drug use".
You’ll also hear practical talk on health and ageing—gut health, plant‑based eating, walking after meals, strength training and keeping promises to yourself through small daily actions, even when it’s cold, late and no one’s watching. If you’re wondering whether a life this damaged can be rebuilt, this conversation might have you asking: what promises are you ready to keep to yourself?
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