Best Of Belfast: Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast

Roger Woodend is the Director of Strategic Sales at Amazon Web Services (AWS).   He was born in Belfast in 1975 and was raised in a council-estate in Coleraine before eventually leaving NI to study Politics in Glasgow.    Since then he’s lived and worked all over the world for telecom titans, tech-startups and even found the time to do an MBA before taking up his current role with Amazon today.   In today’s episode we talk about:

• Losing his dad at a young age
• How visiting Hong Kong changed his life
• Why he set up the New York City Northern Ireland Football Supporters Club
• Having dinner with the Australian Prime Minister
• And why the Harbour Bar in Portrush is his favourite place in the world.

  Check it out.   https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/roger-woodend-amazon-aws

***Experimental Episode***

So as you know we've been playing around with some different formats over the last year that differ from our typical 'life story' styled interviews — and today's episode is probably our weirdest and wonderful-est one yet.

The idea was to catch up with Wim Hof Instructor, Health & Wellness expert, recent podcaster and now three-time Best Of Belfaster Scott Riley to talk about the things we do to keep ourselves physically and mentally well during winter.

What ended up happening was a two-hour conversation about the self, Moses and the burning bush, wisdom teeth, hygge, inner soul jars and healthy forms of suffering.

Without a doubt, this episode isn't for everything, but if you enjoy listening to two mates grapple with the impossible parts of life together then this one might be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Thanks so much as always and I look forward to catching you again on Monday for our regularly scheduled program.

— Matt

Kerri McCrea studied zoology at Queen's before moving to Thailand in 2013.    Since then, she and her Thai-Karen husband Sombat have set up their own elephant project called Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary which works with local communities to bring elephants home to the forest and away from a life of work in the tourism industry.   In today’s episode we talk about:

• Kerri’s love for animals from a young age
• The career path of a Zoologist
• Why she moved to Thailand to set up an elephant sanctuary
• What it like living in a hill-tribe village
• The impact COVID has had on the ‘elephant industry’
• And the greatest challenges/successes she’s faced along the way

  Check it out!   https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/kerri-mccrea-kindred-spirit-elephant-sanctuary

Chris Suitor is a tailor, entrepreneur, DJ, Speaker, Father, Husband and — most recently, barista — from Belfast, Northern Ireland.   In today’s show we talk about:

• Buying a cottage in Donegal
• How he took a family business to new heights
• Starting a coffee truck 
• How he plans on opening 10 cafes in 2 years
• Managing screen time
• And being an egotistical utilitarian (???)

  Check it out.   https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/chris-suitor-bros

Welcome to Sport Inspires, a podcast recorded with the Mary Peters Trust and made possible by the Coca-cola Thank you Fund.   Today’s episode is with Olympic hockey stars Stephen Martin and Jimmy Kirkwood who both won gold medals with Team GB in the 1988 Summer Games.   In this conversation myself and Lady Mary Peters talk with them about:

• Their once in a lifetime experiences in Korea
• The strangest doors their medals have opened for them
• And why they think no one from Northern Ireland has won gold in the summer games ever since. 

  Thanks so much for being here and we really hope you enjoy.    https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/olympic-gold-medals-northern-ireland

Bill Neely is a three-time BAFTA and Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist with over 40 years of experience, most recently as NBC’s Chief Global Correspondent.    He’s also a triathlon runner and the recent recipient of the highly esteemed Queens University Graduate Of The Year Award.    In today’s conversation we chat about:

• How he got into journalism
• The craziest moments he’s experienced while reporting around the world
• (Including getting arrested in a US Presidential Campaign, carrying a national beauty queen to safety in Eastern Europe and narrowly escaping death in Afghanistan). 
• And why telling the truth is so important when dealing with real-life stories 

  Check it out.     https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/bill-neely-broadcast-journalist  

Emma Mcilroy is the Co-founder and CEO of Wildfang: a clothing brand based in Portland Oregon whose mission is to rethink gender norms and how they show up in fashion.    (She’s also proudly Norn Irish).   In today’s episode we talk about:

• Finding a pre-historic fossil as a kid
• Landing dream jobs with the Premier League and Nike
• The big problems she noticed in the fashion industry (why she started Wildfang)
• And the ridiculous entrepreneurial rollercoaster she’s been on over the last few years

  Check it out.   https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/emma-mcilroy-wildfang

Welcome to Sport Inspires, a podcast recorded with the Mary Peters Trust and made possible by the Coca-cola Thank You Fund.

Today’s episode is with Northern Ireland Women’s Football Captain Marissa Callaghan, who led the team to their first-ever major tournament qualifier last year in a historic match against Ukraine.   The conversation you’re about to hear was very kindly hosted by Nicola McCarthy and touches on

• Where Marissa’s love for the game came from
• The journey that's led to women’s football being put on the map in such a historic way
• And how Marissa and the team are preparing for the biggest tournament of their lives in 2022. 

  Thanks so much for being here and we really hope you enjoy.   https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/marissa-callaghan-northern-ireland-football  

Joe Magowan is an Irish Whiskey Expert from Belfast who spends his days educating people all over the world about "the water of life."

In this episode we talk about:

• Growing up working in The Vineyard
• How he became Brand Ambassador for Powers
• The history of Irish Whiskey
• What "the angel share" is
• And his most significant memories throughout his life

We also sample some Powers during the show (including one of the best Irish coffees I've ever had) to draw out some of the key tasting notes and stories connected to the brand. 

Check it out. 

[P.S. For the full information about the Irish Coffee Competition, please click here].

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https://bestofbelfast.org/joe-magowan-powers-whiskey

 

[Please note that some of the financial figures have been censored from this episode]

This time last year, Ciaran Gillen was working on a laptop in Ormeau Baths trying to get his new start-up "tinder-for-tractors" off the ground.

Today, Machinery Partner is an industry-changing business that's raised a record-breaking $4.5 million of investment.

It works by connecting small business owners with the exact machines they need to increase profits and get the job done. 

In today's episode, we talk to Ciaran about:

• Having beers with Johnny Depp
• Opening for motorhead
• Working as a bouncer in London
• Starting Machinery Partner
• The decision to take investment
• How he plans on creating Northern Ireland's first unicorn

Check it out.

https://bestofbelfast.org/ciaran-gillen-machinery-partner