I admire him enormously. When I was first told I would be moving to afternoons and co-hosting with a young thing who had a man bun, I may have been a little thin-lipped.
I channelled the late, great Angela D'Audney, drew myself up to my full 157cm and thundered (a la Angela) "That man bun has to go! I cannot possibly work with a boy with a man bun!"
To his eternal credit, Mark saved the man bun for when he was working solo on Fridays and eventually it went, but on Mark's own terms.
I have learned so much from him. He's a hardworking, talented and extremely intelligent young man and I hope I end up working with him again someday.
And I love that even though he landed his dream job, he can walk away from it without regrets. He has no mortgage to feed, or a family to sustain. Without commitments, why wouldn't you follow your dreams, take chances and throw caution to the wind?
I feel much the same way about Michael Meredith's decision to close his award-winning restaurant after 10 years.
His reasons for leaving are different but ultimately Michael and Mark are leaving their dream jobs. In an interview with Viva magazine this week, Michael said despite his success, there had been a lot of fearful moments.
He'd had to invest himself and reinvent his food constantly.
He said owning his own business meant hardly ever seeing his family and there had been a lot of personal sacrifice - sentiments that would resonate with most Kiwi small business owners.
I know from experience hospo hours are brutal. And I know the margins are tight and profits are hard-earned. So I can understand why Michael is shutting the door.
He put it beautifully when he said it's good to do something you love but you don't have to do it forever.
With three children and another on the way, the time is right for him to make a lifestyle change. Besides, he has plenty of other irons in the fire.
It's just he no longer wants to do that thing he dreamed about before.
The old maxim if you do something you love you will never work a day in your life is quite true.
I feel so lucky to have been working since 18 in jobs I have absolutely loved.
I feel very privileged.
What's not to like? I sit on my bum and talk to people on the radio.
I get to vent my spleen in this newspaper every week, and I write for the lovely New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
And I get to wear flash frocks and have my hair and makeup done every time I do an MCing gig - it's a pretty sweet life.
But I hope that if one day I feel sick at the thought of going to work or if I am constantly thinking "What If", I have the courage to follow my convictions, like Mark and Michael, and make changes in my life.
We can get so worn down by the treadmill of life that we sometimes forget to lift our eyes and see what's important to us - be it our families or our health - or to notice we lack the energy to see what's possible, like endless summers of fun.
• Kerre McIvor is on NewstalkZB Monday-Friday, noon-4pm.
