Conservationists, business stars: 30 under 30 coastal identities
From bright tech stars and celebrities to small business owners and musicians, meet the young Sunshine Coast go-getters who have made a name for themselves all before the age of 30.
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From bright tech stars and celebrities to small business owners and musicians, many talented young individuals call the Sunshine Coast home.
These residents have been making a name and brand for themselves through conservation efforts, local and national postings or inspiring business ideas.
Meet the inspiring 30 under 30, in no particular order:
Kurt Jones, 21
Kurt Jones was the proud recipient of the Queensland Young Achiever award in the connecting communities category and Sunshine Coast Young Citizen of the Year on the back of his charity Co-Exist which first launched in 2022.
The ultimate vision for the organisation is to inspire generations to Co-Exist with wildlife.
Co-Exist has nine branches across Australia led by young volunteers which organise monthly and fortnightly events such as beach clean-ups and tree planting as well as social events in the outdoors including hiking and snorkelling to help young people fall in love with nature.
Mr Jones previously said most of the volunteers had no experience in conservation work and one of his aims was to connect them to “feel good and do good”.
His organisation has grown from hosting 24 events in 2023 to already completing more than 40 as of July last year.
Mr Jones had calculated Co-Exist had planted about 5000 trees and hosted 35 clean-ups across Australia in the last two years, equating to “hundreds and hundreds of kilos of rubbish”.
Bailey Page, 24
Bailey Page runs his own full-time business, Zip Zap Chargers, after finding himself in a sticky situation during a night out.
He began developing cableless products to create his portable charger company with no prior tech experience, teaching himself through YouTube tutorials and Google searches.
After finding himself with a flat battery and no way to pay for a ride home one night out, he took it upon himself to buy a power bank online but could not find a product which was not “bulky” or didn’t require a cable, and which you could attach to the bottom of your phone.
After looking through Australia’s biggest brands and even searching overseas without success, Mr Page spent the following 13 months developing his own product.
Six weeks after launching, Mr Page was featured on Sunrise which followed in his first order of 2000 products selling out within three weeks, resulting in six-figure sales.
“The goal was to sell that for the year and we did it in the first nine weeks,” he said.
He was named Queensland’s 7News Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023 and has been the subject in many news media programs and articles in 13 different countries.
Preslee Riccioni, 15
Preslee and her mother Nicole Riccioni run their business Twista Sista producing hair accessories by hand which prioritise comfort and style, all designed by the 15 year old.
Preslee first started designing her product at the age of 10 after a primary school business project and now has since developed into a fully-fledged business between school, sport and meeting her friends.
As she turns towards Year 10 in 2025, Preslee is now focusing on pursuing her sporting passions but continues her work with the business.
They recently expanded into headscarves, inspired by close friends who needed extra coverage during medical treatments as well as customer demand.
“We have initiated monthly meetings with a few other small businesses we’ve connected with, creating a supportive network that’s invaluable during challenging times,” Ms Riccioni previously said.
Dallas Texas Pay
Dallas Pay runs a festival clothing brand named True Colours creating unique designs with limited drops to ensure standout, trend setting purchases.
Ms Pay said a key to success has been her organic social media growth by posting daily on Instagram and TikTok, amassing 220,000 across Instagram and Tik Tok without the help of paid advertisement, which she contributes much of her success to.
She took her business full-time in 2021 but “really blew up” in 2023 and recorded $550,000 in revenue in the last financial year.
She plans to branch into casual wear with her “signature TC flare” in the future while continuing her festival wear.
Ebony Torrisi, 23
Ebony Torrisi started her bikini fashion brand “Lovefromjanet” in 2020 and has since been able to launch full-time into her business
She now has a huge audience in Australia and ships her product internationally, with girls often coming up to Ms Torrisi to tell her they love her brand and feel confident wearing her bikinis.
Ms Torrisi’s designs, which are handmade on the Gold Coast, are 80s and 90s inspired and she aimed to create unique bikinis which help girls feel confident.
Wave Raiders, 12-14
Brothers Pete and Tom and their best mate Jayden formed their punk rock band Wave Raiders in 2022, having gone from bedroom jam sessions to performing at renowned venues and festivals.
Pete said he and his brother were inspired in the midst of lockdown in 2020, when the pair rugged up atop their parents’ ute and listened to The Chats perform live at Airwaves Drive-In Music Festival.
Their father managed to snag their first gig at a local RSL, quickly coming to the realisation they needed a bass player, hence Jayden, one of Tom’s best mates, joining the band just four weeks before the performance.
Wave Raiders have been playing at festivals and venues across Queensland and New South Wales, but can’t wait to start conquering stages nationally.
This year, the 12-14 year olds released their debut single and music video, ‘Fun’, with Steve James, an internationally renowned producer, Grammy nominee and Aria Award winner and received a Regional Arts Development Fund grant this month to help fund the recording of their EP.
They will be touring with rock and roll legends, The Screaming Jets, in January 2025.
Sarah Eisenmenger, 21
Sarah Eisenmenger’s business Zest Robotics provides STEM education to predominantly female students in remote Queensland locations who would usually not have the opportunity or confidence to seek out a career in tech.
Teaching robotics in schools was a “niche market” when she first began exploring robotics and she received help from mentors at the Peregian Digital Hub, taking on public speaking roles in Brisbane and at entrepreneurial business events.
She has since worked in advocacy and held workshops on the Sunshine Coast after many schools formed their own extra-curricular classes to help students get more out of their education system.
Jameson Harvey
Jameson Harvey founded Royal Robotics in 2019 to offer robotic workshops through different platforms to schools, universities and other organisations in order to prepare the next generation for the world of STEM in various South-East Queensland locations.
His Red Dirt Robotics program offers students in remote regions of Australia a chance to get hands-on through his workshop tours.
Kaylee McKeown, 23
Kaylee McKeown is one of the world’s greatest female backstroke swimmers. At just 15, she joined the Australian Dolphins, alongside her older sister Taylor.
In the Sydney Open in 2021, she broke national records in three events – the 50 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres.
At Tokyo, she won both the 100m and 200m backstroke and the women’s medley, along with bronze in the mixed medley. In 2023, she broke world records in the 50 and 100 backstroke.
During the Paris Olympics in 2024, she became the first swimmer to defend the 100m and 200m backstroke titles and the first Australian Olympian to snatch up four individual gold medals.
Miller Wilson, 22
The young Sunshine Coast-based filmmaker has made a career out of exploring Australia and bringing his viewership closer to its flora and fauna.
Many of his videos feature everything from crocodiles, snakes and spiders to survival and fishing blogs.
He boasts 1.55m subscribers on YouTube, is nearing 1m followers on Instagram and has 376,400 followers on TikTok.
Bridie Edwards
Bridie Edwards joined Bradley and Bray Lawyers as a law clerk in 2019, going on to be admitted as a lawyer the following year and being promoted associate director for the commercial law team in 2023.
Ms Edwards received recognition in the Australasian Lawyers Most Influential Lawyers for 2024 list, received the Australasian Lawyers Rising Stars award for 2023 and was a finalist in the 2023 Lawyers Weekly 30 under 30 awards for Commercial Law.
She also become the youngest ever elected member of the Queensland Law Society council in 2021.
Robert Irwin, 21
The international wildlife superstar Robert Irwin has made frequent headlines in 2024, snatching his first prime TV hosting gig on the reality series “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!” alongside Julia Morris in 2024.
Early into 2024, he was also named Australia’s most popular broadcast personality of the year on the Australian Talent Index’s annual Top Talent Report, marking his first ever appearance on the list.
He also surprised fans strutting the runway at the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival in March, 2024 and has racked up more than 14m followers across social media platforms.
Bindi Irwin, 26
Since sharing her journey battling endometriosis, Bindi Irwin has become a beacon for other women struggling with similar health conditions.
In 2023, she revealed her decade-long battle after receiving life-changing surgery and was met with an outpouring of women sharing their own experiences struggling for a diagnosis.
“I wasn’t sure what the response would be, but I also knew that if just one girl read my story and thought, ‘oh my goodness that sounds like me’ and it led them on the path to getting help, then it would be absolutely worth it,” Bindi previously said.
She also remains an integral part of Australia Zoo and is charity Wildlife Warriors, supporting projects like the Black Mambas all-female, anti-poaching units in South Africa.
She will also release her first children’s book You are a Wildlife Warrior, taking readers inside the world-famous zoo alongside Bindi and her young daughter Grace.
Tita Siviour
Tita Siviour has worked her way from the ground up to become the holiday manager at real estate agency The McGill Group
She began in a position within the holiday management division, now looking after the daily operations of the agency’s holiday managements.
She ensures owners receive great bookings and guests have an enjoyable stay on the Sunshine Coast.
“The job requires being available at all times around the clock in what is often an unrewarding job,” director Mark McGill said.
Tate McDermott, 26
Mr McDermott played for Matthew Flinders Anglican College before he attended Brisbane State High School and then Sunshine Coast Grammar.
He made his Super Rugby debut in 2018 and his Test debut two years later, and was named co-caption of the Queensland Reds in 2022.
Mr McDermott, as part of the Wallabies, also played in the Australia’s Rugby World Cup campaign against Georgia in 2023.
Betty Taylor, early 20s
Betty Taylor is a Sunshine Coast girl band hitting big goals.
The band is made up of Sophie Patrick, whose indie hooks and sincere and often tongue in cheek lyrics are complemented by Kayla Smart (AKA Dorah Jacson)‘s beautiful harmonies and wistful guitar riffs. Helping to strike this balance between power and charm are Claire Chittick on bass and Katie Ishaque on drums.
Calling themselves the friend who holds your hand after your heart’s been broken, the four piece indie rock band has gone from strength to strength this year.
They toured Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland supporting The Grogans in Autumn and also just wrapped up an east coast headline tour for the launch of their new EP, “Young Dumb and Immature”.
The band has featured at multiple festivals including the relaunched Big Pineapple Festival and Good Gumnuts festival and released three singles alongside their EP, which have all received Triple J airplay.
Frank and Louis, 16 and 17
Frank and Louis are a duo of musical brothers from Caloundra.
Starting their musical journey at seven and eight years old, they’re no stranger to crowds.
They’ve played at the Bluesfest Busking Competition, Caloundra Music Festival and are regulars busking and gigging up and down the coast.
In 2024, they released their first single which received significant Triple J and radio airplay and were a finalist in the 2024 Triple J Unearthed High competition.
Larissa Mahony, 29
Larissa Mahony owns and runs Locals In The Loop, a local website she developed and launched herself.
As a local, she recognised the challenge of keeping up with the local event scene and created Locals In The Loop, a dedicated platform on social media and the internet that allows people to explore and plan for events around the coast.
She keeps track of more than 300 gigs over more than 200 venues for weekly gig guides.
She works as a Marketing Executive in international business conferences, has managed events across the world and also does full time marketing for several Sunshine Coast bands.
Spencer Abbott and Jack Coombes, 18
Spencer Abbott and Jack Coombes founded Launched Sports Wear last year.
They designed their own line of performance based grip socks for athletes with a range of funky designs and colours.
The socks are aimed a neurodivergent and physically challenged individuals.
The pair noticed how potential injuries and falls could be caused by in-shoe movement and poor stability and balance and came up with the grip socks to solve these problems.
Mr Abbott and Mr Coombes won the 2024 Generation Innovation Challenge in October, which provided them with a $20,000 prize package to put towards developing the product.
The Generation Innovation Challenge was founded in response to rising youth unemployment on the Sunshine Coast and supports young people’s business innovations.
Jemma Barnard
Jemma Barnard is a partner at Travis Schulz & Partners
Vice president of the Suncoast Community Legal Service, she work alongside a committee of passionate professionals to ensure that free legal advice is available to all Sunshine Coasters.
Ms Barnard received recognition as a Rising Star in Injury & Compensation Law in Queensland Doyle’s Guide 2024 rankings.
After joining the partnership this year, she said she was excited to step into a leadership role which will allow her to further support the wider team to best serve their clients.
Libby Thomas
Libby Thomas has both a Bachelor of Nursing and Law and is an advocate for neurodiverse inclusion in the legal profession.
She switched from a nursing career to law in 2019 and currently works as a personal injury lawyer at Travis Schulz & Partners.
Ms Thomas has been a finalist for the Lawyers Weekly 30 under 30 awards, Health, medical and Personal injury category, for 2023 and 2024.
She recently co-authored an article about neurodivergence in the legal profession and assisted with developing an education session that is currently being trialled in the legal setting in an effort to better support neurodiverse employees, especially lawyers, navigate feelings of overwhelm and to better understand their needs in a work setting.
It is also to assist employers to better support their neurodiverse employees.
Hannah Brampton
Hannah Brampton is part of the Everyday Foundation in Nambour
She heads up Red Frogs on the Sunshine Coast providing support services to high school and university students.
Ms Brampton leads a team of volunteers that provides services to thousands of party goers at Schoolies and festivals throughout the year.
Alexa Leary, 23
Alexa Leary is a gold medal winning Paralympian swimmer.
Three years after she beat all the odds to survive a traumatic cycling crash in Pomona that left her with major brain damage and blood clots for 111 days, Ms Leary is now breaking records on the world stage.
At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Ms Leary won two gold medals in Women’s 100 metre freestyle, setting a world record, and mixed four times 100 metre medley, setting a Paralympic record.
She was also recognised as the Australian Paralympic Rookie of the Year and the Queensland Sport Awards Para-Athlete of the year.
Ms Leary still deals with the impacts of her brain injury, struggling with her memory, emotions and everyday activities.
Originally published as Conservationists, business stars: 30 under 30 coastal identities
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