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

Anna and Carl Isaksson are the founders of Hotbox: Northern Ireland’s first ever beach sauna experience.   The idea is simple yet utterly genius: what if after a cold plunge in the sea you could cosy into a sauna to sweat it out with your nearest and dearest?   In today's episode we talk about:

• Working for and kissing kings
• How a gal from NI ended up marrying a Swedish guy
• Why they set-up a mobile sauna business
• And the biggest successes/challenges they've faced along the way.

 

Check it out!

 

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  HotBox is an authentic Finnish wood-burning sauna located primarily at Benone Beach on the Causeway Coast and you can book your own hot slot over at their website hotboxseasauna.com   //   Webpage for this episode: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/hotbox-sea-sauna-northern-ireland

Hello and welcome to the Sport Inspires Podcast — a new series in collaboration with The Mary Peters Trust and the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund.     Each episode will give you the chance to listen in on conversations with Northern Ireland’s incredible sports men and women on the topics of performance, mental health and life after sport.     Our first episode is a double-whammy, featuring a conversation with Gold-Medalist Lady Mary Peters and an interview with 21-year-old Gymnast Rhys McClenaghan who is competing in his first Olympic Games this summer.      Really hope you enjoy!   //   New episodes in this series will go out every 2nd Monday on the Best Of Belfast platform and will feature the wide range of talent and personalities competing at the highest level of their given sport.   Special thanks to Stephen Watson who kindly hosted the Rhys interview featured in this episode.   //   Webpage for this episode: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/mary-peter-rhys-mcclenaghan    

Ian Browne is an entrepreneur, fellow-Ormeau Baths resident and COO of the Ignite Accelerator Program.   He’s spent time in San Francisco, helped launch hundreds of start-ups and has experience building and selling his own.    In this week’s episode we talk about:

• Riding a horse across Cuba
• Quitting a job to start his own business
• The start-up ecosystem in Northern Ireland
• And the greatest challenges/successes along the way

  Check it out.   //   https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/ian-browne-ignite-accelerator  

Jaz Mooney is a publican from Northern Ireland who built-up an insane portfolio of pubs during the Troubles like The Fly bar, Madison’s Hotel, McHugh’s, The Nothern Whig, Ryan’s Bar and Grill, The Kings Head, The Globe Bar, Apartment Bar, The Rotterdam Bar and of course The Botanic Inn (aka The Bot!)     After being trained at what became the University of Ulster, Jaz went travelling to Australia where he met his future wife and discovered many fresh ideas/concepts which he then brought back home with him to the local hospitality scene.     Fast forward a few decades and Jaz has sold-up his businesses at home and moved out to Australia where he's lived since 2006 with his wife and five kids. These days he runs Pelathon an organisation that manages and serves hospitality businesses all over Australia     In today's episode we talk about:

• His early memories of working in hospitality
• Operating some of the only pubs open during The Troubles
• Crazy stories from back in the day
• How COVID has affected the hospitality industry
• And the greatest challenges/successes he's faced along the way.

  Check it out.  

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Webpage: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/jaz-mooney-publican

 

Best Of Belfast is Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast. We've shared 100+ hour-long conversations with incredible people from Northern Ireland.

 

To find out more, or join 'The Producers Club' please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/

 

Cheers!

 

— Matt 

Hello! Today is a bit of an experimental episode where I catch up with Rob Cantle from the Producer's Club to talk through his favourite Best Of Belfast podcast episodes!

 

The idea is simple: what if every quarter or so, we hop on a pod with a listener to swap notes and stories about some episodes from deep within the archive or the show’s recent past.

 

In theory, it could be a chance to reflect on some of the things discussed in previous episodes, connect with other listeners and maybe act as a bit of a teaser for some of the episodes you've missed or haven't got round to yet…

 

Check it out and let me know what you think as always.

 

Hope all is well.

 

— Matt

 

P.S. After 4 months stuck in Germany we’re finally back home!

 

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Episodes mentioned in this conversation

• Tim Brundle & Philip Hamil

• Dr Mano

• Jonny Quinn & Gary Lightbody

• Claire McClaughlin

• Anna McKeever

• John Elliott

• Bernadette Collins

• The Priests

Hey friends — bringing something a little different to you today — a slow-cooked conversation with good friend and fellow creative Simon Worthington.

 

We cover a lot of random things in this chat from our Queen's Gambit-inspired chess obsession, skateboarding, writing and early mornings, but the real meat and potatoes of the conversation (starting at 21 mins) is about Simon's recent decision to stop Turf & Grain — an independent magazine he's poured his life into over the last few years. 

 

I wanted to do this for a few reasons:

1. I love Simon and am always interested in what he has to say
2. Nothing lasts forever and I think we need to start more about how to maturely end things/wrap up 
3. Selfishly I wanted to pick his brain and learn from the wild/crazy/incredible journey he's been on over the last few years with running one of the most impactful creative projects NI has ever seen.

 

So please enjoy this episode in all of it's raw, unedited glory and as always let me know what you think at [email protected]

 

Cheers!

 

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Webpage for this episode: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/simon-worthington-part-two

 

Link to part one: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/simon-worthington-turf-and-grain

 

Samuel Davidson (1846 – 1921) was an engineer from Belfast who invented the air conditioning fan, brought tea to Northern Ireland and founded Sirocco Works — a manufacturer of machines that employed over 1000 people.

 

He was also a self-taught musician, photographer and world-traveller in a time when ‘a business trip to India’ meant a 66-day journey!

 

Yet few people in Northern Ireland have ever heard about Samuel Davidson — or the legacy he's left for our city today.

 

In this week's episode we catch up with great-grandchildren, former employees and local historians to try to figure out how a young lad who never finished school was able to become one of the great industrial titans of his time.

 

Check it out.

 

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This episode is part of The Streets Where They Lived: a new documentary collaboration between Successful Belfast, Belfast Buildings Trust, and Best of Belfast. The Streets Where They Lived will feature the stories of six incredible but sometimes overlooked men and women from Belfast and some of the buildings and places in the City with which they’re connected.

 

The project is a collaboration with Successful Belfast, a project of Belfast Buildings Trust. It is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Belfast Buildings Trust is a charity founded in 1996 to regenerate Belfast’s landmark buildings. The Trust works to ensure that the City’s authentic heritage is made relevant for people today. One of its projects is Successful Belfast, which champions new and creative ways of involving people in Belfast’s future development.  

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Website link: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/samuel-davidson-sirocco-works

One of the most talked-about moments on the show.

 

Found it on the hard drive the other day and couldn't resist sharing it. Hope it gives you a laugh.

 

Full episode with Emer here: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/emer-maguire-comedian

 

Sheree Atcheson is a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Expert from Sri Lanka/County Tyrone currently living in London!

 

Listed as one of the UK's Most Influential Women in Tech, Sheree (@nirushika) worked for the likes of Deloitte and Monzo before becoming the Global Director Of Diversity and Inclusion at Peakon. 

 

Alongside being a regular contributor at publications like Forbes, Fast Company and Business Insider, she's also an Advisory Board Member of Women Who Code (an organisation she helped bring to the UK).

 

Her book Demanding More comes out in April and is about Why Diversity and Inclusion Don't Happen and What We Can Do About It. (Click here to pre-order).     In today's episode we talk about:

• Adoption + growing up as a person of colour in Tyrone
• How Sheree got into tech
• The obstacles that hold organisations back from diversity
• Reconnecting with her Sri Lankan birth mother
• And the greatest challenges/successes she's faced along the way

 

Check it out!

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Episode web page: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/sheree-atcheson-diversity-and-inclusion

 

Best Of Belfast is Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast. We've shared 100+ hour-long conversations with incredible people from Northern Ireland.

 

To find out more, or join 'The Producers Club' please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/

 

Cheers!

 

— Matt 

Ever since she was little, Lydia Hodgins has dreamed of working with food (even though the teachers wanted her to study Latin instead).      During the lockdown, this dream became a reality when she and her partner Justin launched Local Box — a digital ‘corner shop’ that delivers high-quality NI food to your door.     In this episode we caught up with Lydia to hear why more people are shopping local, what it was like doing thousands of deliveries during lockdown and how local food can change the world.    Check it out.    //   This interview is part of our Tough Times, Tougher City mini-series presented in partnership with Belfast City Council featuring five businesses who have started, scaled or pivoted during the pandemic.     To find out more about how the Council can help you and your business, please click here.      //   Webpage for this episode: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/local-box-ni-food