Dean Russell, aged 40, joined the West Midlands Police Force, where he spent 12 years as a PC. But after a road accident where his police van flipped on its side and hit a tree, he decided to begin a new, less mentally stressful chapter – he founded ‘Pier 52’, a water-sports business based on a reservoir in Chasewater Country Park, near Walsall, Staffordshire.

Customers at his water-sports business are 50%-50% adults / children. As a parent-of-two kids himself, he is a great advocate for healthy fresh air and outdoor exercise, especially for kids, although he is keen to talk about the physical and mental benefits from exercise for all generations. “My police accident in 2008 affected my mental health,” admits Dean, who returned to work after his crash, but found himself in tears in his office. The water-sports business “was a release, a get-away,” he says. “It was a massive factor in me getting better in my mental health.”

Pier 52 offers his clients, aged 7 to 80, a chance to enjoy Cable Wakeboarding (Dean’s favourite & hobby), Stand-Up Paddleboarding (SUP), Kayaking, ‘Ringo Rides’ and SUP Yoga. He welcomes lots of schools, youth groups, clubs, Scouts, and youngsters from ‘alternative schooling’, who aren’t comfortable in the mainstream education system. Dean likes to keep his police background separate from his role as a water-sports instructor, but adds: “There have been some moments involving anti-social behaviour when I’ve had to go into ‘police officer mode’. Mostly though, when the children come here, they really appreciate and respect the water. We give them water confidence. Some can’t swim but that’s not a barrier to enjoying water-sports. We give them a life vest.”

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Dr Elisa Astorri, MD, PhD, is a Rheumatology specialist concentrating in all aspects of rheumatology ranging from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, back pain, gout, Lupus, Sjogren’s Syndrome, Ankylosing spondylitis, fibromyalgia and osteoporosis. 

She’s the Founder of her own clinic, Rheumatology Harley Street, which she launched seven years ago. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, she grew up in Rome, studied there and in France before moving to London in her early 20s. She’s always wanted to be a doctor, since aged 13-14, and now treat patients with chronic conditions from all around the world, which she says is “very rewarding”. 

Scoring her own health 8 or 9 out of 10, a mother of 3 kids, aged 13, 9 and 3, Dr Astorri was amused when asked by podcast host Dr Ben about her diet. “That’s a naughty question!”, she said. “I tell my patients to eat healthily but my own dinners are often my kids’ leftovers. I love chicken nuggets!”

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Jo Smedley, 51, based in Leeds, describes herself as a “speaker, coach, entrepreneur” and “a ‘Rebel with a cause”. She’s also a children’s author, business mentor and mother of 3. Strong-willed, self-aware and experienced as a business executive, she now runs a successful consultancy ‘Zest’, which helps entrepreneurs and business leaders. 

Her “cause” is “to enable others by helping them feel safe enough to say what they think and be who they are” .. to “unlock people’s potential or enable them to unlock their own.” 

Delighted to be Dr Ben Sinclair's guest, she believes: “I believe that your health IS your wealth.”

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James Crystal, 31, today a social entrepreneur, public speaker, mentor and mental wellbeing advocate, was first sent to prison aged 19. Later, in 2017, he was released at the age of 23 and now looks back on his turbulent younger years and reflects: “I'm really glad I went to prison because it saved my life.” 

Now he dedicates himself to helping others avoid going to prison and become addicted to drugs, as he was. He says he had “an expensive cocaine and opiate addiction”, as a result of which he lived through (in his own words) the death of friends, the loss of friends and family, a complete loss of self-worth, numerous court appearances, two custodial prison sentences, mental ill health and complete, visceral, soul-destroying darkness. 

His main area of focus during the current 2024/25 academic year is touring the UK to deliver drug prevention talks to young people in schools and colleges. He says he has “had the privilege of” talking at organisations like the Home Office, Bank of England, Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, also universities, colleges, schools, conferences and other events. He mentors young people in prison helping prepare them to get released. He's a regular panellist at inspirational talks. “I don't beat around the bush,” he says. “It's real comment, raw and unfiltered”. 

The glowing testimonials he receives far and wide are a clue to the impact he has on his audiences. He is setting up a charity named ‘Released To Change’ with the aim of helping youngsters coming out of prison trying to find their way in society. The charity is launching soon and James is currently looking for investors.

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Michael Andrews is a Managing Consultant for an American company in the business and finance sector. But his Long Covid diagnosis in 2021 has significantly and adversely affected both his health and career. Still recovering, he’s had to set a new work-life balance to manage his symptoms. 

Since his Long Covid diagnosis, Michael has been striving to adjust his work-life balance and to adapt to living with a chronic illness. Before Covid, he felt comfortable ‘pushing himself’, but now he feels the need to rest more. His job post-Covid became very demanding and was starting to affect his health. Now, he says, he is having to “build a new career”. 

His LC symptoms include two years of feeling feverish, brain fog, swollen glands and impaired sleep. “I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since October 2021,” he says. Pre-Covid, he could get by on 6 hours’ sleep and feel ok. Post-Covid he now spends 10-12 hours in his bedroom resting, “although quality sleep is hard to come by. Nowadays, I find I have a tiny tank and it’s hard to refill,” he says. 

He’s started taking lighter duties at work, although his employers have been extremely supportive in recognising his LC status and encouraging him to adapt the way in which he contributes to the firm, now engaging on more strategic matters. Not all employers are so supportive, he says, and they should be. 

Now Michael is travelling less and being more ‘regimented with his time’, incorporating rest. Michael typically wakes around 6am and goes to the gym for 1 hour to exercise; does yoga, rowing, running and cardio/flexibility-related exercises. His working day starts around 8:30am & he makes sure he has time to eat meals with his colleagues should he be away on business. He states: “My journey has been about realising that [with Long Covid] the world looks very different for me. My world has been turned upside down.”  

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Audiology clinic owner and clinical audiologist Charmain Leek was diagnosed with MS 17 years ago. But that doesn’t stop her working a 55-60-hour week. Charmain is an example of a hard-working business owner who is spinning many different plates in her personal and professional lives, battling many different challenges and coping with stresses from the various demands on her time – by working long hours and neglecting some aspects of a healthier lifestyle. Two nearly grown-up daughters, a husband not in the best of health, her own diagnosis of MS, plus the demands of 2 pets, dog walking at 6.30am before she chases to the office – all add up to a super-busy life as she runs her own audiology business in Worcester.

Charmain believes the Covid pandemic created extra hearing issues for patients. Post-Covid, many patients think they have wax problems, but on inspection, there’s none. She believes fluid in the middle ear is often Covid-induced. There’s been a Tinnitus rise since the pandemic, she says. She caught Covid herself and now maintains a busy workload with the influx of patients. What about taking breaks for lunch? “I never take a lunch break,” she replies, “but there are a lot of eaten apple cores in my car.”   

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Steve Spriggs and his son, Ben, 21, bring a fresh perspective to the ‘Health Versus Wealth’ discussion as they recount their remarkable family story of how Ben, a couple of weeks before his 16th birthday, fell ill and was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma (BL), a rare and fast-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), namely blood cancer.

At first their GP thought Ben just had “a bacterial infection”, but after a trip to A&E, and after Ben’s blood sample was sent to Germany for checking, his diagnosis was confirmed. Dad Steve, from Coventry, a teacher for 13 years, wife Jenny, a teaching assistant, and their 2 other kids suffered a huge strain. Recently, Ben celebrated 5 years in remission. What’s Steve’s message to listeners who pursue wealth and neglect their health? He replies: “I’d say to them there are more important things in life than work, like family and your own health. Business and work can be enjoyable and it’s nice to have more money. Everybody would like more money to have the freedom to go and do more, and better things. But at end of the day the value of that is miniscule compared to the health of the people you love and sharing time in their company.” 

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Daksha Parekh, also known as ‘Chef D’ and ‘The Veggie Virtuoso’, has been a chef for 25+ years, and describes herself as “a visionary, serial entrepreneur”. She is Birmingham born & bred, and after suffering a family bereavement, and then also a ‘pivot’ in Covid lockdown, she changed from ‘cheffing’ to teaching others, including children, about how to achieve better health through the power of nutrition.

Daksha champions the power of Millets, super ancient grains grown in China, Russia, Ukraine, Africa and India, originally for fodder, not for humans. Wheat and rice took over precedence, but millets hold important healing properties and can reverse lifestyle conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, gut issues and more, she says.

Daksha is also an expert in “non-toxic cooking equipment”. People buy non-stick pans which are coated in chemicals, she says. “The minute you clean or scrub them, you are taking off protective layers and the toxins go into your food. You also inhale the fumes. People can be caused all sorts of problems with autoimmune illnesses, mental and physical problems, too,” she says. Having researched this in depth, she advises that it is best to buy good-quality stainless steel cooking equipment.

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Chris Williams, aged 65, has lived an extraordinary life – in two halves. Ten years ago, he had it all. Owning a successful business with a £4m turnover, he employed 25 staff. But working up to 100 hours a week and a “crazy” globetrotting lifestyle led to his marriage & relationships with his 3 children being casualties.

His business was selling machinery to the UK clothing industry, and a massive turning point came in 1998 when Marks & Spencer announced they were no longer going to source everything just made in Britain but were going offshore. He’d just bought a building in Tamworth, but the market changed overnight. Previously, his business was 90% home-based in UK & 10% exports. Travel meant to the North / North-East of England, South Wales, Leicester, Manchester, centres of UK textile industry. Suddenly he had to fly via Dubai to China, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, North Africa. Chris spent so much time abroad, he was 2 days short of being classed as non-resident in the UK. He lost his marriage and relationships with children, whom he adored. So he made a drastic lifestyle change.

After “a lightbulb moment”, he turned his life around. Now he proudly pioneers ‘The 10-Hour Working Week’. His 3Fs priorities, in order: Family, Fitness and Finances. He re-married, has a daughter (11yrs), and has radically changed his priorities. His favourite expressions is: “I'm going to live to 100 – or die trying”.

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Rachel Jessey (MSc, DipNT, mANP, mNNA, mGNC) is a Registered Naturopathic Nutritionist and a Long Covid and Chronic Illness Nutrition Specialist. Rachel has recently joined the award-winning team at Dr Finlay’s Private Practice.

Born in Nottingham, she grew up in Southampton, by the New Forest, a well-known hotspot for Lyme Disease. “I used to roll round on the forest floor. My Dad was always pulling ticks out of me, I had more ticks than the dog.” Rachel has encountered many health challenges in her life and believes that when the body is provided with the right environment, nutrients and conditions, many issues resolve on their own. Her approach is to blend naturopathic principles, nutritional science, circadian and quantum biology into a practical, holistic approach tailored to each person's life.

Rachel provides specialised care to clients seeking nutrition and lifestyle support. With her wealth of experience in the nutrition and integrative healthcare space, she has developed a particular interest in circadian biology, the microbiomes and lifestyle medicine.

At home, she’s up at 5.30am, takes a daily walk at sunrise, eats breakfast, and doesn’t switch on any electronic screens until work starts at 9am. 

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