Podcasts · The Dom Harvey Podcast

David Downs: Comedian, Cancer Survivor & The Man Selling NZ to the World

15 Apr 2026 · 1 h 57 min

David Downs is a man with a wild CV: he quit university to become a comedian, helped build the New Zealand comedy scene, co-founded The Classic and even wrote a few books.

Then somehow pivoted into tech, ended up working for Microsoft, running the show across Southeast Asia. And now he is the chairman of The Icehouse and works in government helping shape how the world sees New Zealand.

But there is so much for to his story than the wild career:

A few years ago, David was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. What started as feeling a bit run down turned into being told he had less than a year to live… and that there was no treatment options left in New Zealand.

And that’s where things take a pretty wild turn.

Through a random LinkedIn message, he ends up getting access to a cutting-edge treatment in Boston. Problem is… it costs about a million US dollars.

So in this episode, we get into all of it.

We also talk about what he’s doing now to help bring that same life-saving treatment to New Zealand, so other Kiwis don’t have to go through what he did.

There’s a lot in this one, laughter and tears. It’s heavy in parts, but also funny, honest, and genuinely inspiring. All told by a man with an incredible ability of telling a great story.

David’s one of those people who’s been through something huge… and instead of just moving on, he’s decided to use it to help others.

It was the first time we met. I thoroughly enjoyed his company and I think you will too.

Check out the work being done at the Malaghan Institute: https://www.malaghan.org.nz/

Donate here: https://donate.malaghan.org.nz/event/go-the-distance/home

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