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

Today we’re joined by two incredibly talented young musicians - Johnny James and Rebekah Fitch.

After meeting on Instagram the two have gone on to perform and record together, with their latest single dropping last week.

In this unfiltered conversation, we chat about how they got into music, the challenges of the creative process and their new song Hiding.

Check it out.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Johnny and Rebekah (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/johnny-james-rebekah-fitch

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 

Brendan is a photographer, Shane works for Belfast Buildings Trust - both are passionate about people, history and telling stories that matter.

Successful Belfast is their challenge to our city to encourage us to think about it in a different way and become more proud of where we live.

On today’s show, we chat about identity, heritage, civic pride, mental health and what a Successful Belfast looks like.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Brendan and Shane (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/successful-belfast-shane-quinn-brendan-gallagher

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 

Willie Jack describes himself as a barman, street cleaner and bouncer - but he’s also the owner of The Harp Bar, The Dark Horse, The Duke Of York, The New Orpheus and whiskey museum The Friend At Hand.

His passion for artwork and live music has transformed his slice of the Cathedral Quarter into the most Instagrammed part of Belfast and the heart of nightlife in our city.

In today’s show, Willie shares a few stories with us.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Willie (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/willie-jack-duke-of-york

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 

Karishma Kusurkar left India when she was 6 years old to live in Belfast. It was 1996, she had the army as neighbours and the building wobbled on a windy day… The rest is her story to tell.

In today’s episode, we chat about what it looks like for a creative to ‘do’ business in 2019, the importance of following your curiosity and how we can design better, more richer lives for us and the people around us.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Karishma (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/karishma-kusurkar-karishmas-world

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 

Gareth Quinn may be the co-founder of Digital DNA and Kairos - two very successful tech businesses from Northern Ireland - but he claims his road to success was unplanned and somewhat unexpected.

In this episode, we track his incredible story from childhood to the present day and hear how developing genuine relationships were the keys to unlocking the doors to success.

Check it out.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Gareth (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/gareth-quinn-kairos-digital-dna

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 

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

The answer is Barbara and JP Whearty, the couple behind Cafe Cuan, a new experimental space on Cromac street that’s redefining local cafe culture.

In this episode, we chat about their story, what it’s like to juggle such a massive project while being 8 months pregnant and why creating spaces that matter is so important for the future of our city.

Check it out.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Barbara and JP (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/barbara-jp-whearty-cafe-cuan

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 

In the start-up world, there’s a lot of pressure to act like you’ve got it all together, but in today’s episode, Andrew and Jason from GoFyt peel back the layers and reveal how authenticity and being yourself in business can actually be a secret weapon.

They got very real and honest in our chat, sharing some absolute gold along the way and I know you’re going to really get a lot from today’s conversation.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Andrew and Jason (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/gofyt-andrew-mccracken-jason-harvey

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 

After quitting her marketing job in Australia, Danni Simpson bought a one-way ticket to Europe to pursue a career as an artist.

Working on a number of murals in the city while living above the Harp Bar led Danni to move to Northern Ireland full-time.

In this episode we chat all about the importance of backing yourself, diving into the deep end of what you’re passionate about and the importance of making art that makes money.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Danni (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/danni-simpson-art

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 

John McGregor grew up in Short Strand in Belfast during the 1950s and was kicked out of school at age 14. Through a series of twist and turns, this event led John to a widely successful career in almost every industry imaginable.

In this episode, we handed the mic over to John and just let him talk about his life, how Belfast has changed across a lifetime and what advice he would give to anyone just starting out.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to John (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/john-mcgregor-polymath-storyteller

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 

Jack Hamilton is a 6th generational farmer with a twist. After the family farm faced financial difficulties, the Hamilton Family took the potato industry by surprise and founded Mash Direct.

What started as a mash-potato delivery service via van has grown into one of Northern Ireland’s most well-loved companies and one that sells a pack of vegetables every second.

Mash Direct may be a family run business from Comber, but they move and act like a disruptive tech startup, utilise the digital age to talk about and celebrate their favourite thing: good local food.

We caught up with Jack to talk all things potatoes, what the future of food will look like and even danced around the topic of food porn…

All this and more in today’s episode. Check it out!

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Jack (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/jack-hamilton-mash-direct

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