FROM ONE TEAMMATE TO ANOTHER | Danny Chalak

Some of the best stories about our people come from the people who work alongside them every day.

This one comes from our Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Rebeka Zubac, who has worked alongside Danny Chalak for the past three years.

"Three years of working together, and somewhere along the way Danny became less of a colleague and more like the little brother I never asked for, but somehow got at work.

Photo: Danny Chalak

He's the kind of person you could call in the middle of the night because you're stuck at the airport and he'd come get you.

Would he be happy about it? Probably not.

Would he still come? Absolutely.

And as the marketing person in the office, I probably test this quality more than anyone.

Danny is usually my first stop when I have an idea, need someone for a photo, don't understand something technical, or have simply decided he's now involved in something he definitely did not volunteer for.

There is usually a look.

Sometimes a sigh.

Occasionally a "Rebeka..."

And then he helps me anyway.

He's incredibly smart, creative and curious. Give him a 3D printer and he'll disappear into his own world. Put him on a site and he can explain exactly what's happening and why. Ask him a technical question and he'll keep explaining until I actually understand.

I've learnt a ridiculous amount from him over the past three years.

But the thing I appreciate most about Danny is simple.

He shows up.

For his team, his friends, the random ideas, the things nobody particularly wants to do, and the things that actually matter.

He doesn't make a big deal about it. He just does it.

Today he happened to walk into work wearing his Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation (SCHF) hoodie, completely by coincidence.

Naturally, I stopped him for a photo.

And with City2Surf this Sunday, the timing felt pretty perfect. We'll be running together again this year, supporting Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation (SCHF), Beyond Blue and RSPCA NSW, just as we did last year.

Danny will probably hate that I've written an entire post about him.

He'll survive.

Because every now and then, the people who are always there for everyone else deserve to know that somebody notices.

Thanks for every explanation, every favour, every photo you didn't want to take, every idea I've dragged you into, and most importantly, for being someone I know I can count on.

I'm very lucky my job came with a little brother.

Work genuinely wouldn't be the same without you, Danny.

And don't get too comfortable.

I'll probably need something from you again on Monday."

Written by Rebeka Zubac

Brand & Communications Lead