The man who taught inner peace to Sydney’s A-list dies

While they have plenty of money, fame and power, for many of Sydney meditation guru Tim Brown’s A-list clients, inner peace in a fast-paced world of glittering materialism was the one thing that evaded them.

But through Brown and his Vedic Meditation teachings, where practitioners “transcend” through use of a mantra, they found it, some even attributing Brown’s teachings as having saved their lives.

Tim Brown has been teaching people to meditate for decades.

Tragically for Brown, that was not to be the case.

The shock news that Brown, a married father of teenage children, had died suddenly this week, came as a devastating blow to the wide circle who knew, loved and looked to him for guidance. Indeed, Brown had become one of Australia’s most sought-after mediation guides.

“Whatever you write, you must honour what he was able to achieve for so many people, including me. He really helped me through some of the most difficult times of my life,” an emotional D’Leanne Lewis, one of Sydney’s most successful high-end real estate agents, told PS, echoing the sentiments of hundreds of others, from the artist Joshua Yeldham to ABC music journalist Zan Rowe, who expressed their grief on social media.

Many of them signed off their tributes with “JGD”, or “Jai Guru Deva”, a phrase which featured on the Beatles’ song Across the Universe from their 1970 album, Let It Be, which was largely inspired by the band’s own journey into meditation and ancient eastern spirituality.

Luxe Listings Sydney star D’Leanne Lewis (centre) was a devotee of meditation guru Tim Brown.Credit: Getty

It roughly translates to “hail to the heavenly teacher”, a fitting descriptor of how Brown was seen by many of his high-profile disciples.

On Wednesday, a post on Brown’s Instagram feed confirmed the horrible news: “On Monday we lost this beautiful soul. Teacher, mentor, guide, friend, son, brother, husband and father. Our hearts are breaking and for now there are no words. We know there are so many of you grieving with us, and we feel your immeasurable love and support. We, all of us, need space and time to gather ourselves, and for now, that is all we can give. We will, in time, gather to celebrate his remarkable legacy, please be patient with us.”

Back in 2012 PS was invited to see what the practice was about and joined a meeting of a group called “The Conscious Club” which had gathered in the Chauvel Cinema adjacent to Paddington Town Hall.

Among those in the 400-strong audience were heiress Gretel Packer, television personality Jamie Durie, sass & bide fashion designers Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke, high-profile architect Nick Tobias, Wallabies player Berrick Barnes, and clothing designers George Gorrow and Dan Single, along with a band of models and corporate high-flyers.

Gretel Packer had also been associated with Tim Brown.Credit: Getty

Chatting with Brown afterwards, he conceded that for many people, mantras and meditation was more associated with hippies rather than fashion models, heiresses, fashionistas, socialites, television personalities and corporate high-flyers.

“But despite all the material trappings of their lives, they are seeking something more meaningful; we show them how to achieve that through meditation,” Brown explained.

Conscious Club was created by Brown, Gary Gorrow and Lee Te Hira, and was the forerunner to Brown’s Paddington meditation centre, where his clients would pay thousands of dollars for his one-on-one consultations.

Gary Gorrow and Tim Brown founded Sydney’s Conscious Club meditation.

“A lot of people think this is all hocus pocus, but we wanted to show those people who would not normally do this sort of thing that it can have very real benefits,” Brown enthused after the Chauvel evening.

“Instead of going to a club and getting unconscious on booze, we are promoting a night out which is all about enhancing your consciousness.”

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Versace man still in demand

The gilded Versace interiors of slain drug lord Alen Moradian’s former Sydney home got a lot of attention during the coverage of his gangland execution in Bondi Junction this week.

Michael Chard, who helped decorate the home of slain gangster Alen Moradian.Credit: Instagram

The man who helped bring Moradian’s ambitious luxe design ethos to life over a decade ago, Sydney decorator Michael Chard, is still in business, and by all accounts, demand for ancient Roman-inspired interiors has never been stronger across the suburbs.

Chard, who these days boasts of mingling with the likes of the Kardashians, Russian pop stars and Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Venice, is operating a high-end furniture and design store, Palazzo Collezioni, and bespoke design service, Palazzo Disegno, in the “Venice end” of downtown Waterloo.

One of his feature projects promoted on the businesses’ website is Palazzo Sul Mare. Described as “a beachfront estate of rare refinement”, the multi-million-dollar confection of marble, sweeping circular staircases, twinkling crystal chandeliers and endless gold trim resembles something from the Vatican rather than the bayside sands of Dolls Point.

When PS called this week, Chard’s assistant explained he was in a “client consultation” and would call back. We’re still waiting.

One of Michael Chard’s more recent projects in Dolls Point.Credit: Palazzo Collezioni

Eleven years ago Chard, described as a Versace sales assistant at the time, sat in the witness box in the Sydney District Court and explained how his former client and then-alleged drug boss Moradian had spent more than $1 million on furniture and homewares. In cash.

“At Versace we had many clients who paid cash,” Chard explained. “We were trained not to ask and not to question clients.”

He said when he first met Moradian in 2005, “he was very passionate about the brand and what it represents. He loved the Versace furniture and the excess. It was his vision and it was my job to carry his vision through”.

Moradian’s McMansion in West Pennant Hills became a gilded palazzo worthy of Donald Trump, with trucks delivering richly decorated Versace furniture and antiques from the late Martyn Cook’s shop in Queen Street, Woollahra. Chard even arranged for an artist to turn the lounge room into a version of the Sistine Chapel, with a $40,000 ceiling mural of a sky full of angels.

Shower screens were replaced with ones featuring the Versace Medusa head logo, the kitchen was decked out in black and gold.

Chard sold them $9000 Versace bedspreads and $50,000 dining room chairs, but he never did get his client to buy the $850,000 Versace-decorated Lamborghini Chard he suggested to “go in your Versace house” before police pounced and Moradian was later sentenced to 16 years and nine months in jail.

Coe family death

A decade after Sydney’s wealthy Coe family lost its patriarch following the death of businessman David Coe, news has emerged from London that his 41-year-old son Christopher has also died. Details remain scant; however, friends say the father of two had been working in the finance sector.

David Coe, the former chairman of the collapsed Allco Finance Group, died aged 58 in 2013 while on a skiing trip at the popular mountain resort of Aspen in the United States.

Roxy and Oliver’s Singapore sling

The reasoning behind Roxy Jacenko and husband Oliver Curtis′ relocation to Singapore has become a little clearer following news that Singaporean-based ST Telemedia Global Data Centres has announced a significant investment in a global venture with Curtis’ formerly Tasmanian-based company Firmus Technologies.

The deal is understood to be worth more than $150 million and involves the construction of energy efficient data centres. This is an impressive outcome for Curtis, who became Australia’s most famous white-collar criminal when he was jailed in 2016 for insider trading.

Oliver Curtis and Roxy Jacenko.

Since his release from prison he has worked hard to rehabilitate his corporate track record.

As PS has previously reported, Curtis is listed as Firmus’ chief operating officer, while his father, mining executive Nick Curtis, was previously the company’s chairman, however that title now belongs to Edward Pretty, a former partner at media and telecommunications law firm Gilbert & Tobin.

Surf’s up! Rare boards for sale

A collection of rare surfboards created and shaped by legendary Australian surf champion Nat Young is being put up for sale by the world champion’s family.

Nat Young’s surfboards are up for sale.

In all 32 boards, some of them half a century old, are being sold in one lot, with the estimated value between $30,000 and $50,000. Some of the boards feature Young’s signature.

Born in Sydney, Young grew up in Collaroy, and today lives in Angourie. The boards have been collected by his children and were gathering dust under a house in Palm Beach.

The sale is being handled by former Bonham’s Australia boss Tim Goodman, who described it as a “fascinating archive of Australian surfing history” which deserved to find a fitting home.

“Sadly, the Australian National Surfing Museum in Torquay doesn’t have the money to buy the collection, but I’m hoping a surfing buff out there will see the merit in the boards and what they represent,” Goodman told PS.

A John Witzig photograph of surfing legend Nat Young and friends at the Australian Championships in Sydney in 1972.Credit: John Witzig

In 1964, Young was runner-up in the Australian junior championship at Manly, and two years later was named world surfing champion. He won the title again in 1970. Young won three Australian titles in 1966, 1967 and 1969, and won the Bells Beach Surf Classic three times.

Young is also famous for his Magic Sam board, which he used to show the world in the late 1960s that nose riding wasn’t the only way to ride a wave well.

The original Aussie Barbie

Barbiemania hit Pitt Street Mall yesterday, and it was just as manufactured as the famous doll behind the $150 million film about to be unleashed on the world.

Real life Barbie: Margot Robbie on Pitt Street Mall yesterday.Credit: Wolter Peeters

And that’s just how the fans wanted it.

Despite all the mayhem she was creating, PS hates to break it the film’s titular star and producer, Margot Robbie, but she is not the first Aussie Barbie.

The first Australian Barbie.Credit: Mattel

Released in 1993 as part of Barbie’s Dolls Of The World collector’s series is Australian Barbie, replete in slouch hat and “authentic”, lace trimmed jillaroo Calamity Jane style ensemble.

And, according to the back of the box, those little plastic boots are much sturdier than they look and “make for easy walking through the brush as she moves from one adventure to the next!”

Eat your heart out Margot!

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