Alchemy Podcast

In this episode of the Alchemy Podcast, Jonathan sits down with Louis Harrington, a former professional golfer turned human performance coach who now works with athletes, coaches and business leaders operating at the highest levels. 

From the outside, Louis had achieved the dream early. He turned professional at 18, won quickly and was being paid to play the sport he loved. Behind it, however, he was struggling to manage what was happening internally. 

Alcohol, gambling and self destructive behaviour became ways of avoiding what he was feeling. Before the age of 20, Louis had already received two drink driving convictions and was facing the possibility of prison. He admits that part of him even felt relief at the thought of being taken out of the life he was struggling to control. 

Years later, removing alcohol forced Louis to confront what he had spent years avoiding. That experience now shapes the work he does with elite performers, helping people look beyond results, status and achievement to understand what is really driving them. 

Louis challenges some of the ideas we usually associate with high performance. Why can someone have success and still feel unfulfilled? What happens when your identity becomes attached to your sport, business or achievements? And who are you when those things are taken away? 

It’s a thoughtful and challenging conversation about fear, identity, responsibility, authenticity and why trusting yourself may matter more than trying to control every outcome. 

Key moments: 

• Turning professional as a golfer at 18 
• Winning early and discovering success did not solve everything 
• Two drink driving convictions before the age of 20
• Facing the possibility of prison and feeling an unexpected sense of relief 
• Why alcohol and gambling became ways of avoiding what he was feeling 
• How his first coaching client became a Vice President at The Walt Disney Company 
• Asking elite performers: who are you without the sport, business or success Why trust can become the counterweight to fear 
• The difference between carrying responsibility and being able to respond 
• Why leaders must stay consistent when performance falls apart 
• Louis’s advice to anyone wanting to improve: face the question that scares you most 

Subscribe to the Alchemy Podcast for more honest, thought provoking conversations, powerful personal stories and fresh perspectives that challenge the way we think about life, success and what really matters. 

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Alchemy Podcast:
📸 Instagram: @alchemypodcastofficial
▶️ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jonathanmills_alchemyhub?si=PERNkuThtSRg5j4T

Jonathan Mills:
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanmillsalchemyhub
📸 Instagram: @alchemyhubofficial
🌐 Website: https://www.alchemyhub.co.uk/

Louis Harrington:

📸 Instagram: @louis_harrington_official 

🌐 Website: https://thesharingexperience.com/ 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-harrington-325875b9/

In this episode of the Alchemy Podcast, Jonathan sits down with Ryan Jenner, a successful entrepreneur who made serious money in the nightlife and events industry, navigating a world of celebrities, gangsters, drugs, excess and death threats. 

From the outside, Ryan appeared to have it all. Successful businesses, money, a family and a lifestyle many would envy. Behind the success, however, was a very different reality. 

Years of unresolved grief and personal tragedy eventually fuelled a devastating cocaine addiction that saw Ryan spending hundreds of pounds a day on drugs, accumulating almost £90,000 in debt and reaching a point where he questioned whether he wanted to carry on living. 

Despite seemingly having everything, Ryan found himself losing almost everything, without even those closest to him realising the extent of his struggles.

 Ryan opens up about the extraordinary highs, the darker realities of the nightlife industry, the destructive nature of addiction and the turning point that ultimately saved his life. 

It’s real, it’s raw and it’s relatable. A powerful conversation about the hidden struggles behind success, the impact of unresolved trauma and finding the strength to rebuild when everything falls apart. 

Key moments: 

• Losing his mum at seven and his dad at 14 
• How football became an escape from grief 
• Breaking into the nightclub and events world 
• Walking away from his first major event with £9,000 in cash 
• The £18,000 Cartier that was taken off a wrist and handed to him 
• Being threatened with having his kneecaps shot 
• How his brother’s sudden death accelerated his cocaine use 
• Spending up to £400 a day on cocaine and falling towards £90,000 of debt 
• The point where Ryan believed he might not survive his addiction 
• Admitting he could no longer stop 
• Walking into his first Cocaine Anonymous meeting 
• Rebuilding trust, family life and a future in recovery 

Subscribe to the Alchemy Podcast for more honest, thought provoking conversations, powerful personal stories and fresh perspectives that challenge the way we think about life, success and what really matters. 

Content note: This episode includes discussion of bereavement, drug addiction and suicidal thoughts. 

Connect & Follow 

Alchemy Podcast:
📸 Instagram: @alchemypodcastofficial
▶️ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jonathanmills_alchemyhub?si=PERNkuThtSRg5j4T

Jonathan Mills:
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanmillsalchemyhub
📸 Instagram: @alchemyhubofficial
🌐 Website: https://www.alchemyhub.co.uk/

Ryan Jenner:

📸 Instagram: @ryanjenner8 @shineassured

Jonathan Mills spent years believing he was going to become a professional footballer. At 18, that future disappeared in a single conversation.

In the first episode of Alchemy 2.0, the roles are reversed as Jonathan moves from host to guest and sits down with Ellie to tell more of his own story.

From the age of ten, football was not just something Jonathan did. It was his identity. After two years at Cambridge United, he walked into a meeting expecting to be offered professional terms and left knowing his time at the club was over.

Within an hour, he was on a train back to Birmingham.

Jonathan reflects on what that moment did to his confidence, why the label of “footballer” followed him for years afterwards and how difficult it can be to separate who you are from what you do.

The conversation moves through business, player management, Ironman triathlon and the pattern Jonathan eventually recognised in himself: taking something he loved, pushing it to the extreme and gradually removing the enjoyment from it.

That realisation changed the way he approached performance, work and life.

Jonathan also opens up about why business itself has never been the real motivation, the importance of helping people, why human connection matters more in an increasingly automated world and how his definition of success has changed.

Today, success is less about status or material things and more about choice, adventure, doing meaningful work and knowing internally that he has given his best.

It’s a conversation about identity, ambition, failure, reinvention and learning that sometimes the life you thought you wanted is not the one that ultimately gives you the most fulfilment.

Key moments:

• Being released by Cambridge United at 18
• Losing the identity he had built around football
• Why being a player manager became one of the hardest periods of his life
• Saying yes to an Ironman before knowing what it involved
• How endurance sport gave him a new sense of adventure
• Repeating the same mistake of turning enjoyment into obsession
• Why fun became essential to high performance
• Building businesses around helping people rather than chasing money
• Why human connection matters more in the age of AI
• Redefining success around freedom, adventure and choice
• Why doing the work matters more than constantly watching the score

Subscribe to the Alchemy Podcast for more honest, thought provoking conversations, powerful personal stories and fresh perspectives that challenge the way we think about life, success and what really matters.

Connect & Follow

Alchemy Podcast:
📸 Instagram: @alchemypodcastofficial
▶️ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jonathanmills_alchemyhub?si=PERNkuThtSRg5j4T

Jonathan Mills:
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanmillsalchemyhub
📸 Instagram: @alchemyhubofficial
🌐 Website: https://www.alchemyhub.co.uk/

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Ryan Jenner’s story isn’t a straight line - it’s chaos, pressure, and a fight back from rock bottom.

In this episode, Ryan opens up about growing up on a council estate in Stevenage, losing both parents young, and building a life for himself through sheer drive. That drive took him into the nightlife scene, running major events, making serious money, and living fast.

But behind it all, things were starting to spiral.

Ryan talks candidly about the reality of that world - the pressure, the cocaine, the threats that came with it, and the moment everything caught up with him. The death of his brother became a turning point, triggering a descent into addiction, debt, and the breakdown of his personal life.

What follows is the part most people don’t see - the rebuild.

From rock bottom and suicidal thoughts to recovery, structure, and starting again. Ryan shares how he rebuilt his life, repaired relationships, and shifted his mindset completely.

Today, he’s the founder of Shine Assured and is focused on building something sustainable, with a clear head and a different perspective.

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In this episode of the Alchemy  Podcast, I sit down with Louis Harrington, a former professional golfer turned elite human performance coach.

His story starts like a lot of kids chasing a dream. He turned professional at 18 and found quick success on the tour, but behind the scenes, he was completely unequipped to handle the emotional weight.

Louis opens up about hitting rock bottom, facing a potential prison sentence, and learning to deal with the things he spent decades avoiding.

Today, Louis guides international football coaches, championship players, and global executives to drop out of their heads, face the fears they are too proud to speak aloud, and build unshakeable internal trust.

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In this episode of the Alchemy  Podcast, I sit down with Conor Meyler, a 2021 All-Star Gaelic footballer who reached the absolute pinnacle of Ireland's most intense sport.

Conor’s journey is rooted in a culture where your social status is entirely decided by how good you are on the pitch - from winning historic championships with Omagh St Enda's, to sprinting out in front of 82,000 screaming fans on a Sunday.

We talk about the hidden cost of that obsession. Conor opens up about a period where his fixation on football became so all-consuming that he neglected family and friends, and tried to be someone he wasn't just to survive the pressure.

The conversation goes beyond football, though - it’s an honest look at what happens when you pour 100% of your energy into one basket. Now, six months into launching his company Veyo, Conor is channelling that elite athletic grit into the startup world, helping people master breathing and recovery.

This is a raw look at the cost of high-level performance, losing your identity in the pursuit of a dream, and figuring out who you are when the whistle blows.

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In this episode of the Alchemy Hub Podcast, I sit down with Joe Sharp, an entrepreneur and physiotherapist who has built a 7-figure clinic business and grown a massive online following.

Joe’s journey started on a council estate in Newark, selling fake cigarettes at school - he shares the reality of figuring things out the hard way and how his career in football still shapes his decisions today.

We talk about the turning point, when he took a risk on a small, rented room, backing himself to make it work. Through patience and consistent effort, he went on to grow multiple locations and a first-class team.

But this conversation goes beyond growth.

It’s an honest look at what it takes to build something from the ground up - and keep it moving.

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In this episode of the Alchemy  Podcast, I sit down with Kat Martin, owner of Theodore, a business that supports ambitious companies in developing their brand and marketing strategy.

Before launching her own business, Kat spent years working closely with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Simon Cowell, Calvin Harris, Mark Ronson, Westlife, Groove Armada and the Backstreet Boys.

She shares stories from that world - from the intensity of Simon Cowell’s attention to detail, to the unpredictable moments behind the scenes, including one meeting where Jay Kay threw a computer out of the window. It’s a side of the industry most people never see.

But this conversation goes far beyond that.

Kat breaks down the common misconceptions around marketing and explains how businesses should really be thinking about their brand - grounded in real-world experience. Her message is simple but powerful: constantly question why you’re doing what you’re doing when it comes to marketing.

She also opens up about a more personal chapter, speaking honestly about her experience with menopause and the impact it’s had on her day-to-day life, including anxiety and navigating even the simplest of tasks.

A different kind of conversation - honest, insightful, and full of perspective.

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In this episode of the Alchemy podcast , I sit down with entrepreneur and investor James Ashford, whose incredible business journey includes building and selling a SaaS company from zero investment to a life-changing 8-figure exit.

But behind the headline numbers was a complex and solitary path.

James opens up about growing up in a volatile home where he learned self-reliance early and how his career has been anything BUT conventional.

Driven by a desire to "Scale Fast, Exit Big," he bet heavily on his own development- once paying £4,000 for a 15-minute call with Gary Vee and dropping £30,000 to visit Necker Island. But he also reveals the void that came after the sale of his business and his struggle to find purpose

James now helps founders scale, systemise, and turn their businesses into valuable, acquirable assets. You don't want to miss this episode!

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Interested in working with Alchemy Hub? Get in touch - [email protected]

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England rugby legend Mike Brown’s career has been fuelled by a relentless drive to silence the doubters.

In this episode, Mike pulls back the curtain on the side of rugby that fans rarely get to see. He opens up about the "disaster" of the World Cup, the loneliness of being on tour, and his own mental well-being journey.

But the hardest battle came after the boots were hung up. Mike speaks candidly about the reality of retiring from rugby, the struggle of a high-performance corporate role that didn't work out and the anxiety of wondering what comes next when you've given everything to a game you can no longer even bring yourself to watch.

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