Neil Butler is a small business owner based in Geelong in regional Victoria. Having grown up in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, he started his teaching career in the Wimmera region of Victoria and then in Gippsland, in the east of the state.

After moving into the corporate sector, he spent 11 years working with fuel and lubricant distributors in every corner of regional Australia. At some point along the way, he discovered a passion for life in rural towns and regional cities - a passion that continues to develop to this day.

In 2007, a chance opportunity to present a one-off program on community radio in Melbourne sparked another passion - broadcasting, and more recently, podcasting. This has led to a weekly program on Geelong radio (The 2 Blokes Chatting Radio Show - which includes the Regional Roundup segment) and several podcasts, many of which focus on regional Australia.

Neil's "podversational" style (his business is even called Podversations!) lends itself to the kind of podcast that sounds like two mates chatting in the front bar of a local pub. Always keen to chat to regional folk, it was this combination that led to The Regional 250.

Away from the microphone, Neil is the proud father of Lucy and Sam, and most recently, "Pop" to Maverick. He loves consuming excellent Shiraz and double espressos, mostly while listening to the very excellent music produced during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

He has been a member of the Brisbane Lions / Fitzroy in the VFL / AFL every year since 1983 and supports two local footy teams in Victorian country leagues - Stony Creek (in the Mid Gippsland FL) and the Geelong West Giants (in the Geelong FL and Geelong & District FL).

Oh, and if you are thinking about an event that requires an MC -  particularly one that requires someone with a regional Australian outlook - he does that as well! You can get in touch with him via our contact page.