Meet Mitch Docker

by Matilda Price

Photography by Simon Gill

Mitch Docker, the host of Life in the Peloton, on how his podcast has evolved from humble beginnings, his relaxed, conversational style, and where he wants to take it next. Just don’t call him ‘Mitch the Interviewer’.

When Mitch Docker started his podcast Life in the Peloton in 2016, it was just a conversation between him and Luke Durbridge, recorded on a phone at Mitch’s home in Melbourne. No equipment, no script, just two friends and teammates talking about life as a professional cyclist.

On his motivation to start the podcast, Mitch puts it simply: “I really got sick of explaining what my job was to people in Australia.”

“I thought maybe I can just have a couple of conversations with people in the peloton, whether it's a rider or a staff member or a soigneur, just to explain exactly what my day-to-day life was,” he says. “Once I had the idea of a podcast, then I always had the ears open for like, ‘Oh, this could be good’ or ‘this is conversation I need to be recording’.”

Five years later, Mitch has interviewed a host of characters from all corners of the cycling world and developed his signature relaxed interview style. Just as the first episode was a conversation between friends, Mitch is keen to maintain that informal atmosphere of the podcasts, wary not to become ‘Mitch the Interviewer’.

“I think the biggest thing is to gain that trust. Do they feel like you're being honest? Because I think if you're not being honest, then how do you expect them to talk honestly and openly? They've got to feel it from your side, too. So often, I'll just speak honestly and openly and just try and be myself. You know, I’ll make mistakes or not speak correctly sometimes, or use examples that they might not expect that I would open up as much about. Then once they see, okay, you're happy to go to that level, then they’re also happy to go there.

“In a recent recording I noticed I was being this interviewer and I was able to recognise it in the moment and try and get rid of it, and throw something unexpected into the conversation, whether it was interrupting him or asking a bit more about something he might have thought was trivial. Then suddenly the walls broke down really quickly and we were having this conversation which was great.”

As well as developing his own style, Mitch points to his brother Kirk as someone who has helped him understand both the art of interviewing, and the responsibilities that come with it. Kirk Docker produces ABC’s You Can’t Ask That, a programme that features frank interviews with Australians from marginalised communities.

“I probably got a lot from my brother. He’s sort of like a master interviewer, that’s what he does for a living. He’s been a very useful source for me, he’s quite happy to pull me up when I need help or when he’s listening to it just giving me some advice.”

“I think it's your responsibility as the interviewer to have the person feel good leaving the conversation and not leave them in a dark hole thinking about all this stuff that you've brought up. You want to gain their trust and you need to respect that they're putting themselves out there. They're putting their emotions, their feelings on the line. Sometimes it can be just very surface and jokey, but in most of the interviews, people say stuff that is personal. On the outside it could seem like nothing but for that person, they've gone there for you. So that's what Kirk's taught me, that there is that responsibility in interviewing.”

As Mitch points out, though many Life in the Peloton episodes can be relaxed and funny, he’s not afraid to touch on hard topics, even when it’s challenging.

“For me it felt big when I was talking to David Millar about being caught doping. I really struggled asking that question ‘tell me about when you doped’. I knew he’d written in his book about all of this stuff, he’s very comfortable talking about it, but it’s different when you’re right there talking to the person. It comes across on the podcast very easy, like ‘oh wow you’re just asking about that’ but for me in the moment, it wasn’t like that.”

This experience clearly hasn’t put him off, because who does he have on his interview to-do list? Lance Armstrong. “I think he's also quite challenging to interview. He will just say what he wants to say. So I am a bit intimidated about the idea of doing that. But that also makes me think, go for it, challenge yourself.”

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Working with The Cycling Podcast in 2020 and 2021 has been the latest step up for Mitch, who’s come a long way since recording on a phone in 2016: “Now I've got a whole other production to report to. I've got to make sure my podcasts are up to the level and find a guest and make time. It's a nice, natural next step that's made the podcast a little bit more professional.”

As for the next chapter of the podcast, Mitch doesn’t yet know what the future holds: “I think Life in the Peloton works whilst I’m a pro, and afterwards I need to think of a new idea if I want to keep the podcast going.”

You can listen to Life in the Peloton on the regular podcast feed here.