Adversity to Advantage

Totally relating to Sam’s story of his descent into alcoholism and the shame associated with it, I just  HAD to get Sam Church on the A2A podcast to share his journey with me.

Sam is a Mental Health Advocate, Sales Professional and Co-Founder of MENtality.

Having lived the majority of his life with poor mental health and still having to work on this on a daily basis Sam knows first-hand what it’s like to feel the pain of poor Mental Health.

Battling addiction, not sleeping, poor nutrition and closing off from the world was a daily routine for over a decade. Essentially Sam could not see a way out and fundamentality didn’t know how.

Today Sam leads a different life. Overcoming this adversity and changing his life completely Sam now wants to give others the education that he didn’t have.

We go deep on topics such as:

Connect with Sam and learn more about MENtality  Instagram , Linkedin

“When you fail, its just a moment, it’s not permanent, it doesn’t define you as a person”

Gavin Johnson has always been a keen sportsman, he started as a decathlete and moved into the javelin winning various national medals.

When Covid-19 hit, Gavin decided to change a few things in his life, focusing on writing, art and other business ventures with the hope of coming out of the pandemic better than he went in. He set about developing skills and began training to be a Life Coach which inspired him to write no less than 3 books!

We discuss the driving force behind his achievements as well as going deep on the importance of cognitive distortions and the impact it’s having on society and people.

Such a great conversation in which we touch on topics such as:

Connect with Gavin and learn more about his book  The Little Book of Empowerment  at: gavinlisene.com and on  Instagram 

“If I drink now, there’s no point carrying on. I’ll just go and kill myself”

A passionate and avid sportsman, Enton played semi-professional football and was on track to follow his dream of playing as a career when a sliding doors moment changed everything. He fell gradually into a whirlwind life of addiction and homelessness.

Enton is now twelve years sober, he is a qualified Drugs and Alcohol counsellor and has worked as a support worker for local charities. His passion is now to support people and offer them opportunity and hope through sharing his journey.

Enton shares with me the experiences and influences that shaped the choices which would threaten to ruin his personal relationships and the life he once knew.

An honest and open conversation about addiction, homelessness and life in recovery.

We go deep on topics such as:

Connect with Enton and learn more about his book  Laid Bare  at: therealbarefoot.co.uk  Instagram , Twitter

“A lot of people that knew me could sense that something strange was going on”

I feel so privileged to speak with Wesley Alston as he opens up to me about his experience of living with Schizophrenia.

Wesley is 29 years old, from Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.A. and started to experience symptoms of schizophrenia in 2011 at the age of 20. It was later that same year he was diagnosed. Through mentorship and support from a number of people including his family, psychiatrist and day program "Sanctuary House" Wesley has been able to regain stability over the last ten years.  He now finds himself waking up every day feeling joyous and confident about his life.

We go deep on topics such as:

Connect with Wesley more at:  Instagram 

Dr Phil Hopley helps me re-think entrepreneurship and the cult of busy!

This felt like a private advice session and so timely while scaling my business during one of the most challenging times globally.

As entrepreneurs we are excited about our work and presume that working flat out is the only way through!  Dr Phil works with elite performers and challenges this idea explaining  the 1 non-negotiable when it comes to sustaining high performance: RECOVERY!

Dr Phil’s training in forensic, general and sport psychiatry combined with a career playing premiership rugby has enabled him to develop his passion for the mental health of elite performance in sport and business.

We discuss:

Connect with Dr Phil and learn more about his work at: cognacity.co.uk, linkedIn , Twitter and Instagram 

I’m very excited about this episode from a man who has been through an enormous amount but has channelled everything into passion and progress!

Matt Zinman is a personal success trainer whose varied experiences as an entrepreneur, athlete, single parent, caretaker, consultant and nonprofit founder drive him to be a difference-maker.

Matt suffered from depression since his early teens. Losing his Mother to HIV contracted from tainted blood during surgery and the loss of a brother to suicide, has forced Matt to develop coping skills and resilience throughout his life. Matt now lives each day to fulfil his goal to positively impact as many people as possible.

Matt opens up about his past catalyst moments and how he strengthened his mindset.

We discuss:

Connect with Matthew and learn more about his work at: Z-isms.com , linkedIn , Twitter and Instagram Amazon author Page

“Your power your strength your confidence , comes from your physical state

Finding a cure for her sick son led ex lawyer Geeta Sidhu-Robb to be a successful Health Entrepreneur. She is a  health & stress specialist who provides specialist health programmes for the over 40.

As well as explaining how stress impacts us, Geeta shares her inspiring story with me and details how she went from being homeless to creating her multi award winning empire.

We go deep on topics such as.

Connect with Geeta and learn more about her work at:  NoshDetox.com , linkedIn , Twitter and Instagram

“There’s lots of ways we can show kindness, I think that goes a long way to supporting our mental health and wellbeing during these times”

Jonny Jacobs is the Financial Director of Starbucks, a Trustee for the Mental Health Foundation and an Advisory Board Member for Mental Health summit Mad World.

Jonny is passionate about engaging with businesses on the topic of mental health, challenging stigma and ensuring leadership is inclusive and purposeful, creating psychological safety in times of upheaval.

We discuss his childhood and how he became an advocate for Mental Health and his history raising awareness on the subject.

We touch on topics such as:

Connect with Jonny and learn more about his work at:  Mental Health Foundation , linkedIn , Twitter

“A Regret free life rather than a regretful life”

Travis Bell has had a Bucket List since the age of 18, but it wasn’t until he did his first seminar that he realised that this was not something that was common  practice. From this realisation the ‘Bucket List Guy’ was born.

Spreading his message through keynote speaking, blogging, his podcast and a Tedx talk, Travis Bell revels in helping people to live a life of more meaning , more purpose and more fulfilment.

Travis takes me through how he became known as ‘The Bucket List Guy’ and the motivation behind inspiring others to realise their potential.

We discuss topics such as:

Connect with Travis and learn more about his work at thebucketlistguy.com , linkedIn , Instagram & Twitter

“What really saved my life during that time was my ability to talk”

I am SUPER excited to have gotten the chance to interview the Legendary, Mental Health Power House that is Geoff McDonald!

Best known as a global advocate, campaigner and consultant who is passionate about addressing the stigma of mental ill health in workplaces, and about helping organisations embed purpose as a key driver of business performance. His sense of purpose to his work was catalysed by his diagnosis in 2008 of Anxiety fuelled depression.

Geoff shares with me his experience with mental health and his journey to recovery as well as the importance behind correct health and wellbeing initiatives within the workplace.

We go deep on topics such as;

Connect with Geoff and learn more about his work at geoffmcdonald.co.uk , linkedIn & Twitter