Inspired Men Talk - Real conversations for men who feel stuck and want a way forward

When business is tight and you owe six people money you can't pay, it stops being a merry-go-round and becomes a spiral. Andrew Lindsay knows and in part two he tells us how he got off it.

Andrew founded Mod Shoes and the 66 Clothing label, has served over 100,000 customers, DJs, plays in bands, and has been through the kind of business pressure most men never talk about. This is the part where it gets real.

In this episode of Inspired Men Talk, hosts Gary Johannes and Peter Ely talk with Andrew about:

• Why moving house, changing your workspace, or simply getting dressed for work can shift your mental state
• The "race to the bottom" how to recognise a financial spiral before it takes you down with it
• Pride, and why it stops men asking for help until it's too late
• Using AI as a sounding board when there's no one else to talk to at 2am
• The family story of a grandad, a transistor, and why dismissing new technology is a mistake
• Music as mental health, why The Beatles, punk and a dancefloor full of strangers still matter
• Andrew's advice for anyone looking out the window and seeing clouds on a sunny day

If you're a man running a business, carrying debt, or just carrying too much on your own, this one's for you. You're not broken. There is a way forward.

Haven't heard part one? Start here: 

Find Andrew: 66clothing.com | modshoes.co.uk

Inspired Men Talk is brought to you by Inspired to Change. Gary Johannes is a solution-focused hypnotherapist, senior lecturer and founder of Inspired to Change. Peter Ely is an ITC associate practitioner specialising in men's mental health.

Struggling and want to talk to someone?

Timestamps
 00:00 Welcome back
 01:00 Moving house, changing scenery, and why physical movement matters
 04:00 Live to work or work to live?
 09:00 The grandad, the transistor, and AI
 13:00 Every generation thinks the old days were better
 18:30 Music, The Beatles and why it brings people together
 22:45 Advice for men when business is hard: "get off the spiral"
 26:30 Pride, friends, and talking it through
 28:15 About 66 Clothing and Mod Shoes

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Andy Lindsay built Mod Shoes from a search term into a business turning over millions during lockdown. Then the sales fell off a cliff, the rent and rates didn't, and for six months he thought he was going to lose everything.

In Part 1 of this episode of Inspired Men Talk, Gary Johannes and Peter Ely sit down with Andy, founder of Mod Shoes and 66 Clothing, to talk about what that time was really like behind the brave face. 

The duck paddling like mad under the water. The six weeks where, in his own words, he "wasn't in a good place." And the moment things started to shift.

We get into:

• Why you can't see the wood for the trees when you're panicking, and what happens when you step back
• "Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity" and what running a smaller business actually feels like
• Adapting to change instead of fighting it, from the internet to AI
• Using AI as an 11pm thinking partner when you can't ring a mate
• How physically moving cleared out the mental baggage too
• Why dogs, routine and getting out of the house matter more than you think
• The one question Andy asks himself when everything feels like it's going south

This is a conversation about business, but really it's a conversation about men's mental health. Because whoever is holding it all together needs a clear head to do it, and nobody gets one of those by pretending everything's fine.

Part 2 is out next week.

Inspired Men Talk is a podcast about men's mental health that sounds like real life. Real people, real stories, and the one thing we've seen time and time again: there's always a way back.

Gary Johannes is a solution-focused hypnotherapist and founder of Inspired to Change. Peter Ely is a clinical hypnotherapist based in London.

Find Andy at 66 Clothing and Mod Shoes.

#MensMentalHealth #InspiredMenTalk #Hypnotherapy #SmallBusiness #MentalHealth

Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:00 Meet Andy Lindsay
04:30 From web design to Mod Shoes
05:45 "There were some awful times"
08:00 The brave face and the paddling duck
09:30 Adapt or get left behind
13:30 Finding your magic
17:00 How Andy got through the six months
18:30 AI at 11 o'clock at night
19:30 Six weeks in a bad place
20:00 Moving house, clearing out
22:00 A little bit of shine

YouTube show notes

Part two of our conversation with Nathan Hinckley.

In part one we heard how Nathan got here. In part two we get to the harder question: why is he still doing it?

At 21, Nathan ran 12 marathons in 12 days. It started as proving something to people who'd made him feel rejected. Then somewhere around day ten, running on empty, he worked out something most people take another thirty years to learn, they congratulate you for a week, then it goes quiet, and you're back where you started.

So he stopped running for them.

This episode is about what replaces external validation when it finally stops working. Nathan talks about day five: 106 laps of a 400-metre track, five hours' sleep, throwing up all morning, alone at a track with nobody watching. And what broke him open, a short video from the charity telling him to keep going.

He also says the thing we didn't expect a fitness guy to say: he learned more from talking than from any of the runs. His advice to anyone still trying to prove themselves is to have the conversation first, not the extreme challenge.

Gary and Peter add their own versions of doing it backwards, a £250 bet and a bike ride across Vietnam with no training, and an Ironman signed up for on Facebook before Peter had even looked up what one was.

Bloody-mindedness gets you to the start line. It doesn't get you well.

In this episode:

• 00:00 — What's actually driving you now?
• 00:52 — "They congratulate you, and then it all goes quiet"
• 02:26 — How to find out what you actually enjoy
• 04:30 — Talk first. Run later.
• 05:06 — Gary's Vietnam bike ride and a £250 bet
• 06:00 — Peter's Ironman: post first, Google second
• 08:17 — Young people, peer leaders and a dedicated mindset
• 10:24 — When the plan you built your life on disappears
• 12:10 — Day five: 106 laps and nobody watching
• 13:28 — Why being cheered on changes what your body can do
• 14:15 — The lonely chapter
• 16:02 — Run club: two people, every Saturday
• 16:42 — Where to find Nathan
• 17:55 — Paris to London — 100km a day, three days, for Movember

Find Nathan:
Instagram: @nathanhinckley_ | @hinckleyfitness
Hinckley Harriers run club  - Wednesdays 7pm, Saturdays 9am
Personal training at [gym name / location]
 
Next challenge: Paris to London with Louis O'Farrell, 100km a day for three days, raising awareness for Movember and men's mental health.

Inspired Men Talk is hosted by Gary Johannes and Peter Ely — two hypnotherapists having the conversations men usually avoid.

If this one landed, subscribe and share it with someone who's still trying to prove something to people who aren't watching.

#InspiredMenTalk #MensMentalHealth #Running #Movember #Hypnotherapy #MentalHealthAwareness

At just 21, Nathan Hinckley has already pushed himself further than most of us would ever contemplate, including running around 90 miles in 24 hours and completing 12 marathons in 12 days.

But this episode of Inspired Men Talk is about much more than running.

Nathan joins Gary Johannes and Peter to talk openly about being bullied over his weight, rejection from football, drinking and partying, and the moment that ultimately led him to discover running and change the direction of his life.

Nathan explains how his motivation has changed from wanting to prove himself to other people to wanting to discover just how far he can go and how taking on extraordinary physical challenges has helped him build confidence, find purpose and raise awareness around men’s mental health.

He also shares the story behind his 12 Marathons of Christmas, which raised almost £8,000 for the Young Lives Foundation, helping support young people in his local community.

It’s a fascinating conversation about rejection, resilience, motivation, mental health, fitness and purpose  and a reminder that you don't need to run an ultramarathon to start making a positive change.

How far could you go if you stopped trying to prove yourself to other people and started doing it for yourself?

In Part 2, we pick up Daryl Hine's story at the moment he sits his three children down  and discover that the hardest conversation of his life was met with something he didn't expect: acceptance.

But knowing the truth and acting on it are two different things. What followed was years of going round in circles, wanting to be honest, terrified of the hurt it would cause, retreating, then starting again. A deep marriage to Paula, a new relationship with Ed, and no version of the future where nobody got hurt.

This is the half of the story about how you actually move, when there's no clean answer and no one to blame.

In this episode we talk about:

• Telling his grown-up children, and their remarkable response
• The trip to the Philippines that forced the decision
• The advice that finally landed: you may never know for certain, but doing nothing harms everyone you love
• Why he sees his life as two chapters — and wouldn't give up either
• Finding acceptance, Pride, and what living authentically really feels like
• His advice for any man sitting where he once sat

Daryl's three takeaways for anyone stuck: doing nothing isn't an option, don't wait for a perfect roadmap before you take the first step, and find someone to talk to. Living in fear is no way to live and it's never too late to live honestly.

Daryl is a business consultant and founder of Abundant Solutions.

🎧 This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation start with Part 1 if you haven't yet.

Inspired Men Talk, honest conversations about the things men don't usually talk about. Hosted by Gary Johannes and Peter Ely.

👉 Subscribe for new episodes, and share this with someone who needs to hear it.

#InspiredMenTalk #MensMentalHealth #ComingOut #Authenticity #Resilience #MensWellbeing #LGBTQ #Pride #PersonalGrowth #DarylHine

Want me to add a YouTube tags line for each, or pull a few audiogram pull-quotes from the transcript for the social promo?

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Claude Fable 5 is currently unav

In Part 1 of our conversation with Daryl Hine, we go back to the start of a story that, from the outside, looked close to perfect.

Daryl met Paula at 16. Married at 21. Three children, a 30-year marriage, a successful corporate career and a thriving business they built together. By every visible measure, life was good, and everyone around them thought so too.

But Daryl was carrying something he'd pushed down since the 1970s, a time when it simply wasn't safe to say it out loud: he knew he was attracted to men. For years he suppressed it. Until, approaching 50, it stopped staying quiet and the panic attacks started.

In this episode we talk about:

• What it's like to live a life that looks right but doesn't feel like yours
• Why so many men of his generation learned to bury who they really were
• The slow, exhausting cost of not knowing and not being able to say it
• Trying to solve a deeply human question like a business problem
• The night-time panic attacks, and what they were really telling him

Daryl is a business consultant and founder of Abundant Solutions, but this isn't a business conversation. It's an honest, generous look at identity, suppression, and the courage it takes to face yourself.

Part 1 ends at the hardest moment: sitting his three grown children down to tell them the truth. What happened next is in Part 2.

🎧 Inspired Men Talk - honest conversations about the things men don't usually talk about. Hosted by Gary Johannes and Peter Ely.

👉 Subscribe so you don't miss Part 2, and share this with someone who needs to hear it.

#InspiredMenTalk #MensMentalHealth #ComingOut #Authenticity #Identity #MensWellbeing #LGBTQ #PersonalGrowth #DarylHine

In part one, a perfect storm pulled John Hirniak's life apart. In part two, he tells us how he found his way back and it started with admitting something was wrong.

John takes us into the darkest place he's ever been: frozen by fear, crying alone in the back office, then putting on "the Johnny show" to sell a car an hour later. He's honest about the thoughts that crept in, and about the moment that stopped him, realising that suicide doesn't end the pain, it just passes it on to the people you love.

But this episode is really about what came next. The turning point wasn't a lightning bolt. It was John deciding he'd had enough, that he didn't deserve to feel like this and neither did his family. The first counsellor didn't work for him. Neither did the next. 

So he kept asking the only question that matters: where do I go next? 

Until he found a coach who wouldn't tolerate any excuses, because it's good to talk, but talking doesn't cook the rice. Eventually, you have to take action.

He shares the simple daily habits that turned things around, journaling, movement, even just drinking enough water and the belief that's carried him since: you can't think your way out of anxiety and depression. Action is the only answer.

His message to any man who's struggling is simple. You're not weak. You're not a failure. Asking for help is the bravest thing you'll do. And you do not have to stay where you are.

Because as John says: be the inspiration, not the warning.

⚠️ This episode discusses suicide and suicidal thoughts. If any of it resonates, please don't sit with it alone, talk to someone you trust, your GP, or call the Samaritans free on 116 123, any time, day or night.

👉 John is a coach and therapist. You'll find him on Facebook, Instagram (John Hirniak Coaching) and LinkedIn' search John Hirniak. 🎧 Missed part one? Watch that first. 💬

 Inspired Men Talk,  because men do talk. 

Hosted by Gary Johannes and Peter Ely.

#InspiredMenTalk #MensMentalHealth #SuicidePrevention #ItsOkayToTalk

From the outside, John Hirniak had built a great life. But it didn't start that way.

Born half-Irish into real poverty, sleeping on a mattress on the floor, fetching water from the village pump because there was none in the house.

John always knew he wanted his own business. Market stalls, watches, antiques, beds. Then, off the back of a £10 book called Four Wheels to a Fortune, he became a used car dealer and never looked back. Twenty-seven years in the trade. A house. A marriage people envied. Two daughters. And a beloved 1953 Buick called Clara that still turns heads everywhere it goes.

Living the dream, as people say.

In part one, John, Gary and Peter swap stories about graft, business, the cars that stay with you for life, and how a working-class lad from a poor start built something to be proud of. It's warm, funny and full of heart.

But right at the end, John starts to tell us where it all began to unravel, what he now calls the perfect storm.

You'll want to hear what happens next.

🎧 Subscribe so you don't miss part two. 💬 Inspired Men Talk - because men do talk.
 Hosted by Gary Johannes and Peter Ely.

#InspiredMenTalk #MensMentalHealth #Resilience #Peterborough

Paul Stainton has done it all - club DJ, TV sports correspondent, BBC breakfast show host, business owner. But in part two, we get the bit most people never see: losing almost everything in the 2008 crash, and finding the nerve to start again.

He talks honestly about hitting rock bottom, walking away from the BBC on principle, losing his company overnight to COVID and how it all led him to Peterborough Cathedral, where he's now fighting to keep a thousand-year-old building alive and bring a city he loves back to life.

One line stuck with us: don't be afraid of people saying no. Because what if they say yes?

A funny, honest conversation about failure, resilience and backing yourself when the world gives you every reason not to.

🎧 New episodes of Inspired Men Talk drop regularly - subscribe so you don't miss one. 

💬 Want to talk to Paul? Find him on Facebook: Paul Stainton.

#InspiredMenTalk #MensMentalHealth #Resilience #Peterborough

Paul Stainton grew up in a South Yorkshire pit village with no carpets, no central heating, and a dad who didn't much like to work. Twelve schools. Ten houses. Selling lettuces door-to-door for a few extra pennies.

So how does a kid from that end up DJing to 2,000 people, reading the sport on the BBC Six O'Clock News, and running communications at Peterborough Cathedral?

In Part 1 of this conversation, Paul sits down with Gary and Peter to trace it all back — the job he hated at British Aerospace, the grandad who quietly backed him to buy a taxi plate at 18, and the punt to Newcastle where one wrong move would have left him on the streets.

It's a story about drive. About knowing exactly who you don't want to become. And about one of the most honest takes on confidence you'll hear the line between real self-belief and the arrogance people put on when they're waiting to be found out.

Paul's ethos? "You mustn't be afraid of people saying no. Because they will. But what if they say yes?"

This is men's mental health told the way it actually happens through real lives, real graft, and the moments that shape a person.

⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Welcome to Inspired Men Talk 
01:00 Meet Paul Stainton, DJ, broadcaster, Cathedral comms 
02:20 Growing up poor in a South Yorkshire pit village 
03:30 "Banging tin" at British Aerospace and quitting 
06:20 The grandad who staked him a taxi at 18 
07:00 Hospital radio, mobile discos and the first break 
08:40 Where the drive really came from 
11:00 Confidence vs arrogance, the honest version 
15:30 DJing in Leeds and Newcastle, two steps from homeless 
19:00 Breaking into Hereward Radio 
21:30 Phoning every week for a year, persistence that paid off 
23:00 Never fearing rejection: "What if they say yes?"

🎧 Listen to Inspired Men Talk wherever you get your podcasts. 👉 Subscribe for honest conversations about men's mental health, resilience and the long way round.

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