Dynamic Duos: From the babysitters club to the PR agency

In Dynamic Duos, Mumbrella each week asks two colleagues with a professional and personal affiliation to share with readers the importance of workplace relationships in an increasingly hybridised world of work.

Teagan West:

Unlike most colleagues, Madi and I have worked together our entire lives – from launching the babysitters club at 5 and 7 with the other young girls in our cul-de-sac and performing as a duo in a dance competition, to working our retail jobs at the same company in high school and wrangling our brother through adulthood – he is wedged in between us as the middle child in a 3 under 3 family. We’ve been living side by side for 30 years, cheering each other on at every milestone and coincidentally following a similar career path – Madi embracing big agency life in Melbourne, carving out a niche in First Nations communications and working on for-purpose projects, while I landed in the start-up arena and specialised in influencer marketing, and then integrated social, talent and PR campaigns for consumer brands.

In 2019, I co-founded Free Folk Agency (and talent management agency Ivy Talent Co) alongside Grace Newman, and over the years, Madi always joked that she would come and work for us when she was “done climbing the corporate ladder” and “ready to slow down.” We always laughed – Madi thinking we wouldn’t ever be able to afford her (true, for a few years) and me thinking she would never want to work for “her big sister’s independent agency” (also true, for a few years).

Fast forward to 2025 and we officially welcomed Madi into the role of Agency Director at Free Folk Agency and worked with her to launch Steady Ground to market – our solution to purpose-driven corporate communications. She saw the potential of our agency portfolio and the opportunity to make a huge impact in a business ready to scale sustainably, and we saw a comms gun who we trusted, who had experience outside of our skillset and who we knew the team would love. As a business owner, cloning yourself feels like the most efficient way to get it all done, but hiring your sister has got to be the next best thing. We’ve been working together for a few months now, and so far, so, so good. Our desks are still next to each other, we still drive into the office together and we still hang out as siblings on the weekend.

Being so close in age and growing up together, we share a lot of the same values. We both inherited one heck of a work ethic thanks to our hard-working parents, and life’s curveballs made us both resilient – two values that are critical in comms and agency life, and that see us working together so well in a professional context.

Madison West:

Teags and I have always been close, and as she said, unlike most working relationships, we know a lot about each other!! I have always looked up to Teag and followed in her footsteps – that big sister energy!!! Whether that was decisions I made, clothes I wore or my professional career. She has always pointed me in the right direction and helped me get to where I am today.

From a young age, there was always some competitiveness, which I think definitely started from sibling rivalry – dancing, netball, who could score the most tries in touch footy. What quickly transpired was a competitiveness in the professional world – both working in the same industry, yet in vastly different landscapes, we always wanted to outdo each other. Who could get the best media opportunity, book the best talent, and secure the biggest client? I would call her for influencer tips; she would call me for journalist contacts.

I always joked that I had outrun her. Joining the big agency world, there are skills, experiences and clients you have that can’t compare to the indie agency environment. That is when competitiveness turned into the long, hard debate about how they could get me to join their team.

Joining Free Folk and working with my sister every day has been a dream. It is something we always joked about doing and something that I knew deep down would happen eventually, but to see it happen and take off in the way it has is incredible. We are sort of like yin and yang, really – complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

West girls work hard, and that is what we will be doing now every day. Building the empire and taking over the industry. I am so incredibly happy and lucky to be able to do this beside my ultimate ride or die.

Teagan on Madison:

Most memorable moment with Madison: There are so many big life moments and special occasions, but one that comes to mind immediately is the 4 months that she lived with my now-husband and I in the lead up to our wedding, to avoid interstate lockdowns.

Leaving her life in Melbourne in limbo, it was a sacrifice on her part and could have been unnecessary, but lo and behold the Queensland border shut 1 week before the wedding and while some friends and family couldn’t make it, Madi was there. It was like a childhood sleepover every night for 4 months, and it was nice to live under the same roof again, if only temporarily.

Best word to describe her: Energy. The girl is FULL of energy and it is absolutely her superpower in a work environment. Her energy shows up every day for our team, our clients and the work, and at home for her friends and family too. I don’t know where she gets it from, but I would bottle that up and take some for myself if I could.

Most annoying habit or endearing behaviour she has: She loves a catch phrase and slang and goes through stages – at the moment it’s the word “copy” (as in yes, okay sure, no problem, gotcha etc) to everything, which is driving me wild. Am I getting old and giving big sister energy on this one? Probably!

Madison on Teagan: 

Most memorable moment with Teagan: I would have to agree! Living with Teags and her husband over those four months, I wouldn’t change for the world, but it was definitely a solidifying four months for us.

Definitely childhood sleepover energy, except I regressed to the old days – they cooked me dinner every night, and I just took notes for the best maid of honour speech one could deliver. Sort of wish we did childhood sleepovers now more often!

Best word to describe her: Generous – Teags is so incredibly generous with her time (even though she doesn’t have much of it!). She gives and gives and always shows up for her clients, her friends and her family – and now with a toddler, the time is even more sparse.

I always look on with such envy that she never says no and is always there for everyone, even sometimes sacrificing things she wants to do in the process! She goes above and beyond in every way, and it is inspiring to watch!

Most annoying habit or endearing behaviour she has: Teags is a BIG boomer at heart and hates change, especially when it comes to new ways of working, new processes and new tech! I am only two years younger than her, but sometimes I feel like we are years apart, so getting her to adapt can be an uphill battle… Luckily, she knows I am probably right, so she trusts the process.

Related Content

Opinion Dynamic Duos: Magic's CEO and his 'Anchor'

Opinion Dynamic Duos: Getting the band back together