Dare to be Different with Craig White

This episode Craig explores the inner landscape of men’s mental health with a psychotherapist who has spent decades helping her clients heal shame, regulate their nervous systems, and reconnect with their inner strength. 

With a deeply personal share, grounded insights and practical tools, this conversation invites men and women to feel again — and heal from the inside out.

In this episode, Ella reveals:

• A personal story of trauma and how it shaped perception of men
• Why shame and self-criticism often block emotional healing
• How trauma can be stored physically and subconsciously
• Why many men feel unsafe sharing emotional pain
• Understanding the cycles of abuse and emotional complexity
• Why nervous system regulation is key to transformation
• Agreements for emotional safety in relationships

Season 3 is proudly sponsored by Lightside Financial Planning - a fiercely independent, Liverpool-based firm focused on clear, human conversations about money. 

Find out more at https://lightsidefp.co.uk/

Known for his fierce competitiveness and unrelenting drive, Mike Brown opens up in this episode about the emotional fuel behind his rugby career. From growing up with a chip on his shoulder to becoming one of England’s most respected full-backs, Mike shares the untold side of performance — anger, isolation, identity, and transformation. 

He now uses everything he learned to help build healthier high-performance cultures.

SHOW NOTES

• Why anger and rejection shaped his rugby identity
• How his childhood created a need to constantly prove himself
• The emotional cost of elite performance
• How becoming a father changed his purpose
• What true leadership looks like beyond the pitch

Season 3 is proudly sponsored by Lightside Financial Planning - a fiercely independent, Liverpool-based firm focused on clear, human conversations about money. 

Find out more at https://lightsidefp.co.uk/

Former England Rugby captain and World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio shares the story behind the success — a life marked by personal tragedy, grief, leadership under pressure, and the cost of never pausing to feel. In this grounded and emotionally open conversation, Lawrence reveals how rugby became his escape, how family loss shaped his identity, and why vulnerability has taken him a lifetime to access.

SHOW NOTES

• How grief shaped his purpose and drive in rugby
• The emotional cost of never stopping to feel
• Why sport gave him identity, validation, and structure
• How being a leader meant carrying pain with silence
• His mission today to help excluded young people find hope

Season 3 is proudly sponsored by Lightside Financial Planning - a fiercely independent, Liverpool-based firm focused on clear, human conversations about money. 

Find out more at https://lightsidefp.co.uk/

Human potential coach and breathwork guide Ben Bidwell joins the show to share his journey from emotional numbness to embodied presence. 

In this deep and vulnerable conversation, Ben explores the nervous system, the healing power of breathwork, and what it truly means to feel. 

He also reflects on his past patterns of disconnection, his breakthrough moments, and why men need a different kind of support when it comes to emotional growth.

SHOW NOTES

• How breathwork helped him reconnect with emotional safety
• Why the body holds the truth we often avoid
• The patterns that kept him numb and performing
• How presence became more powerful than performance
• The emotional cost of not being taught how to feel

Season 3 is proudly sponsored by Lightside Financial Planning - a fiercely independent, Liverpool-based firm focused on clear, human conversations about money. 

Find out more at https://lightsidefp.co.uk/

Clinical psychologist and trauma specialist Dr. Warren Larkin shares decades of insight into how unresolved childhood trauma and repressed emotional pain continue to shape our adult lives, from nervous system dysregulation to chronic stress and emotional disconnection. He explains the hidden cost of survival, why we break down when we stop staying busy, and how true healing begins with nervous system awareness.

SHOW NOTES:

• Why trauma is far more common than most people think
• How childhood attachment shapes your ability to regulate emotions
• What happens when high performers stop and finally feel
• How grief, stress, and trauma show up in the body
• Simple, powerful tools to start healing your nervous system

You can find more information about Warren and his work here: https://warrenlarkinassociates.co.uk/

Season 3 is proudly sponsored by Lightside Financial Planning - a fiercely independent, Liverpool-based firm focused on clear, human conversations about money. 

Find out more at https://lightsidefp.co.uk/

What separates elite coaches from good ones? It’s not just technique. It’s not just presence. It’s the ability to think at a much higher level.

In this episode, Craig sits down with developmental psychologist Dr. Darren Stevens for a deep dive on why most coaches unknowingly operate below the level of their clients and what it really takes operate at the next level of human development and performance.

Dr Darren Stevens is a University lecturer, researcher, and author, he is the founder of 'Constructed Development Theory'. A breakthrough psychological approach to adult development that focuses on self-awareness through understanding the unconscious use of mental shortcuts. His theory offers a practical process to elevate levels of thinking to promote personal growth.

This is a conversation for the coaches, leaders, and self development seekers who are ready to evolve beyond their limitations and step towards the next level of human development and mastery.


SHOW NOTES

- Why coaches must think above the level of their clients
- The critical role of pattern recognition in transformation
- How traditional coaching qualifications fall short
- What happens when a client outpaces the coach
- How to step into “next-level” coaching that truly changes lives

Season 3 is proudly sponsored by Lightside Financial Planning - a fiercely independent, Liverpool-based firm focused on clear, human conversations about money. 

Find out more at https://lightsidefp.co.uk/

In this episode, Craig White sits down with Leadership coach Benjamin Owen. 

Ben opens up about his personal journey and the patterns that have shaped him: father dynamics, self-story and self-sabotage, the role of coaches and teams, and the small practices he uses to steady himself. 

In this conversation we discuss:
- Why hiding parts of yourself limits your power as a coach
- The ripple effect of radical transparency in group settings
- How to embody love and openness in professional life
- Men's retreats and the tools that create transformation
- Integrating leadership with emotional awareness
- Creating space for others by going first
- Fatherhood dynamics and the effect on leadership

SHOW NOTES

– Intro & Ben’s background

– Growing up & father dynamics

 – Self-sabotage & early struggles

 – Recovery, coaches & support network

– Performance, teams & business

 – Relationships & family

Season 3 is proudly sponsored by Lightside Financial Planning - a fiercely independent, Liverpool-based firm focused on clear, human conversations about money. 

Find out more at https://lightsidefp.co.uk/

Clarke Carlisle was once known as the “brainiest footballer” — a Premier League defender, PFA chairman, and TV pundit.

But behind the public persona was a man crumbling under the weight of expectation, alcohol dependency, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Clarke sits down with Craig White to talk about the cost of tying your identity to performance, the masks men wear to survive, and the brutal reality of hitting rock bottom.

He also shares the turning point that changed his life in 2017 - discovering cognitive analytical therapy (CAT), finding hope, and learning how to rebuild as a father, husband, and leader.

If you’ve ever felt trapped by your own success, or wondered what it takes to come back from the darkest places, this conversation will hit home.

Show Notes

Identity & Collapse

• How injury and loss of football destroyed Clark’s sense of worth
• The dangers of tying identity to performance

Alcohol, Avoidance & The Mask

• Drinking, gambling, gaming — and the exhausting cost of hiding struggles
• The mask men wear to survive

Rock Bottom

• Depression, hypersomnia, bottles by the bed
• Suicide attempts and the moment he almost didn’t survive

The Turning Point

• 2017: NHS psychiatric hospital and cognitive analytical therapy (CAT)
• How CAT therapy gave him hope and a way out

Purpose & Transformation

• Rebuilding as a husband, father, and leader
• Turning his mess into his message with his wife
• Why speaking out, and knowing who to talk to, saves lives

Season 3 is proudly sponsored by Lightside Financial Planning - a fiercely independent, Liverpool-based firm focused on clear, human conversations about money. 

Find out more at https://lightsidefp.co.uk/

Denis Betts is a rugby league legend.

But behind the trophies and the Great Britain caps lies a story about ego, endings, and learning what really matters.

In this raw and revealing conversation, Denis and I dive into:

• Why he chose to let go of anger in his mid-twenties
• The clash of egos and the regret of stepping away too soon
• The role of family and the influence of strong women in his life
• What coaching Wigan Women has taught him about leadership
• Why joy and purpose matter more than medals

This is Denis Betts like you’ve never heard him before.

SHOW NOTES

The Making of a Legend

• Dennis’s rise at Wigan and Great Britain
• What success looked like in a golden era of rugby league

Family, Joy & Simplicity

• Why his happiest moments weren’t always on the pitch
• Grass, sun, family dinners — finding joy in the small things

Letting Go of Anger

• The moment he decided anger wasn’t serving him anymore
• Playing a violent sport without carrying violence inside

Ego, Endings & Regret

• The clashing egos that led to his retirement
• The regret of stepping away too soon
• Lessons from endings and identity beyond sport

Strong Women & Leadership

• Raising three daughters and how it shaped him
• Coaching Wigan Warriors Women
• What leadership really means when you adapt to the people in front of you

Season 3 is proudly sponsored by Lightside Financial Planning - a fiercely independent, Liverpool-based firm focused on clear, human conversations about money. 

Find out more at https://lightsidefp.co.uk/

I first coached James Haskell when he was a teenager - he had big energy, big personality, and was full of potential. But beneath the surface, he was carrying self-doubt, pressure, and a deep need to prove himself.

In this episode, we sit down for a raw and honest conversation about what was really going on behind the image.

We talk about:

• The impact of being medicated from age 10 and surviving boarding school
• Why he spent years performing, without knowing who he really was
• What therapy helped him uncover about self-worth, confidence, and anger
• The moment he saw his dad's "shadows" for the first time
• Why strength without emotional range isn't leadership
• How marriage, grief, and failure shaped the man he’s becoming

It’s not about rugby. It’s about the work men have to do when the noise stops, and the feelings finally catch up.

Season 3 is proudly sponsored by Lightside Financial Planning - a fiercely independent, Liverpool-based firm focused on clear, human conversations about money. 

Find out more at https://lightsidefp.co.uk/