Knowing You with Sarah Cripps

What does it mean to live a good life? For Chris Baker, the answer comes down to three words: happy, gourmand and inquisitive.

In this episode of Knowing You, Chris reflects on the experiences, relationships and choices that have shaped his life and his approach to work. Having founded Corona Marketing 20 years ago, he still enjoys what he does and believes that being genuinely interested in people is fundamental to doing his job well.

We talk about the unexpected directions life can take, from the impact of Covid on his stepdaughter's future to the way his personal and professional relationships have evolved. Chris shares his thoughts on becoming more comfortable in your own skin, creating an open working environment and building relationships that work beyond conventional expectations.

There's also plenty about two of Chris's great pleasures: wine and food. He explains how his interest in wine grew into a love of travel, culture and the stories behind what we eat and drink.

We finish by exploring what living your best life looks like to him. For Chris, it's about finding the right balance between work, friendships, relationships, travel and looking after yourself while recognising that none of us knows what lies around the corner.

A thoughtful, warm and often entertaining conversation about staying curious, making your own choices and enjoying the life you're building.

3. Key themes from the conversation

· Finding happiness in your work: Why enjoying what you do can make even a difficult day feel worthwhile.

· Life doesn't always follow the plan: How unexpected changes can open up different, sometimes better, opportunities.

· Openness and self-awareness: Becoming more comfortable with yourself and creating an environment where people feel able to approach you.

· Relationships that evolve: Chris's unusual but successful working relationship with his ex-wife and his current partner.

· Curiosity about people: Understanding what makes people tick, their stories and the connections we share.

· Wine, food and travel: How a growing interest in wine became an appreciation of culture, agriculture and the places behind the bottle.

· Living well on your own terms: Making choices around time, money and experiences based on what matters to you.

· Looking after yourself: Why health, friendship and balance matter, particularly when life can change unexpectedly.

Our guest

https://www.linkedin.com/in/corona5/

Instagram: @chriscorona1

Your host

Your host:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcripps/

https://www.instagram.com/knowingyouwithsarah/

https://www.instagram.com/bigbalancetheory/

Kate Harcourt - One of the top 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining nominees, farmer at heart, wife, mum - and as good an egg as her best chickens can give.

This conversation flowed as smoothly as the apples Kate presses. I don't believe I've ever met such a person who packs so much into her life and still has time for others, her community, friends and family and utterly humble with it too. I left with some hand-grown flowers having eaten home-made cheese straws and chocolate and courgette cake.

We cover so many topics from her important environmental work in the African and European mining industries to a desire to dance more in (sustainable) sequins, and how she fits in time for her creative hobbies past, present and future.

Our conversations covered the covid era innovations and how AI and technology are a concern (in part) using an analogy of how she and her children would make up stories based on their natural environment when they were toddlers out on walks - making them curious, creative and imaginative - will AI and technology wipe these skills away for future generations?

She shares her thoughts on what a life lived brilliantly means to her and what would be included in her next chapter of life. And a very moving family possession, something she would never give away, is a remarkable historical and personal find

Everyone has a story worth knowing. I'm proud to record and share these with you

Your host:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcripps/

https://www.instagram.com/knowingyouwithsarah/

https://www.instagram.com/bigbalancetheory/

At 26, Aisling Edwards appears to be living life brilliantly - following her dreams, one happy or planned accident at a time.

She works 30 hours a week in a gym while building her career as a sculptor and painter, creating work that captures aspects of the unknown and undiscovered and brings them into view.

Aisling has always been someone who says yes to opportunities and, when the opportunity doesn't exist, she's quite happy to create one herself through a conversation.

There's been no grand roadmap or five-year plan. Instead, she's followed her curiosity, had conversations, taken opportunities and trusted that something would come from them. And it seems to be paying off.

She talks about growing up in a family that encouraged her to chase her dreams, be herself and do what she loves, without the pressure to leave home to make that happen.

From a young age, Aisling's ambition was to "chase a volcano" something she's yet to achieve, but which says rather a lot about the innate explorer within her.

We talk about her increasingly busy life, learning when to say no and recognising that even someone who loves being busy needs to build in some downtime. Particularly when her dad thought ahead enough to buy her website domain when she was just two years old!

And then there's the pair of silver rings her brother bought her when she was 11 - a possession she would never lend.

A conversation about creativity, curiosity, family, opportunity and having the courage to follow your own path even when you haven't quite worked out where it leads.

Find Aisling: AislingEdwards.com

instagram: @Aisling.edwards LinkedIn: Aisling Edwards

Your host:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcripps/

https://www.instagram.com/knowingyouwithsarah/

https://www.instagram.com/bigbalancetheory/

Knowing You — because every person has a story worth knowing.

Knowing You… because every person has a story worth knowing.

What happens when life changes beyond anything you could ever have imagined?

In this deeply moving episode, I sit down with Em Melrose, whose life was turned upside down during 2019 and 2020 when she experienced three significant losses, including the death of her husband and business partner.

Many people would understand if grief became the defining chapter of their lives.

Not Em.

Five years on, she describes that heartbreaking period as "the gift of grief"—not because she would ever choose it, but because of what it taught her about love, purpose, resilience and truly living.

Today, Em helps individuals and organisations understand grief, support others through loss and create healthier conversations around one of life's most universal experiences.

Our conversation explores:

• Living through unimaginable loss.
• Why grief isn't something to "get over".
• The lessons that transformed pain into purpose.
• Supporting people and workplaces to manage grief with compassion.
• Why Em genuinely considers her life to be blessed.

As always on Knowing You, we finish with four questions that reveal even more about the person behind the story.

Em shares:

• What a life lived well looks like: being kind, living with no regrets, looking after your body and finding ways to truly experience life.
• What she'd write for the next chapter of her life script.
• Who she'd choose to play her in a film.
• The one book she would never, ever lend out.

This is a conversation about loss, hope, courage and perspective.

Whether you've experienced grief yourself or want to better understand someone who has, Em's story is one that will stay with you long after the episode ends.

Because every person has a story worth knowing... ...and this one may just change how you think about living.

Your host Sarah Crippps

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcripps/

https://www.instagram.com/knowingyouwithsarah/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-melrose/

Our guest

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-melrose/

What does it take to build a successful business, become a present father, a sought-after speaker, and a mentor to the next generation all while defying every expectation set by your earliest results? Gafyn Stiff is living proof that your starting point is never your finishing line.

In our conversation Gafyn brings the kind of warmth, wit and wisdom that only comes from someone who has genuinely lived their values. He shares:

The A-Level Plot Twist

Glan Cleaning - 16 Years of Honest Graft

The Day That Changed Everything

Mentoring Young Entrepreneurs

The Bravest Thing He's Ever Done

His Actor Alter-Ego: Clive Owen

Episode Highlights

• Why failed exams can be the best thing that ever happens to you

• The link between losing someone you love and learning to truly live

• What authentic leadership in business actually looks like day to day

• 16 years running Glan Cleaning the real philosophy behind it

• The responsibility we have to the next generation of young entrepreneurs

• Three words that sum up a life at 55: Not Done Yet

Guest details:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gafynstiff/

Your host:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcripps/

https://www.instagram.com/knowingyouwithsarah/

https://www.instagram.com/bigbalancetheory/

This episode might just be the one that resets your entire perspective on life. Sharon Neville - known to many as Mad Frog – is one of those rare humans who radiates such genuine warmth, positivity, and energy that you come away wondering if you've been doing life slightly wrong.

I went into this conversation thinking of myself as a positive person. I came out the other side knowing I've got work to do.

The year that changed everything Sharon turns 50 this year, and it's no coincidence that age 21 feels like the hinge point of her life. She was 3.5 stone heavier, and something shifted. A love and passion for fitness was born and it never, ever waned.

Surviving cancer and choosing to compete Last year, Sharon faced a diagnosis and a mastectomy. This year, she's entering the Tenby Ironman in September. Not despite what happened but because of it. This is what IT IS HISTORY looks like in practice.

Brian – a father, a hero, a fingerprint Sharon is the eldest of three siblings. Her dad Brian raised all three of them solo from when she was just four years old. He passed away last year from cancer and in one of the most quietly devastating moments of this conversation, Sharon tells us what it was like to share her own cancer news with him while he was dying. His response was heartfelt, warm, and completely surprising.

Keeping him close Sharon and her brother snowboarded in Japan this year in his memory. There's an unexplainable moment involving a keyring bearing the name Brian – a life moment that can't be explained.

Her three words: IT IS HISTORY When you hear the context behind these three words, you'll understand why mindset really is everything. This is the moment to listen out for.

Your host:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcripps/

https://www.instagram.com/knowingyouwithsarah/

https://www.instagram.com/bigbalancetheory/

There are people who walk into your life and quietly make everything better. For me, Mick Green, affectionately known as "Beau Pere", thanks to our shared love of all things French, is exactly that person. My stepfather. My second dad, and one of the most positive, humble and genuinely inspiring human beings I know. At 80 years old, Mick is navigating three significant health challenges that have fundamentally reshaped the way he lives. And yet, when you sit with him, what strikes you most is not what he's lost but how grateful he is for what remains. In this conversation, we go deep. Mick shares his three words - Many Missed Opportunities. It's a phrase loaded with honesty and reflection, but as the conversation unfolds, something quietly shifts. Because alongside the missed opportunities, Mick begins to recognise the unexpected ones. The doors that opened sideways. The gifts that arrived in disguise. He admits something quietly courageous: he allows himself to cry once a month. Not as a sign of defeat, but as a release, a conscious act of emotional permission in a life otherwise defined by optimism. We talk about his passion for outer space, a lifelong love that hasn't dimmed a single watt. And if one dream could be granted? Mick would strap himself into a rocket, solo, and go. We find out exactly what he'd take to read and listen to on the journey. And then there's my mum. When Mick describes life with her, his happiest chapter, you feel it. A big softie at heart. This episode is about resilience without bitterness. About ageing with grace, curiosity and love.

Your host:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcripps/

https://www.instagram.com/knowingyouwithsarah/

https://www.instagram.com/bigbalancetheory/

Our producer:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenpirie/

https://www.instagram.com/karen.pirie/

The Backdrop This one's a little different. We recorded this conversation whilst summiting Skirrid in Wales, so yes, you may hear walkers, dogs, and the odd plane in the background. That felt entirely right for a conversation about the outdoors. Rachel is on a personal mission to touch 50 trig points, and for Sarah, this was another step in becoming more of a Welsh tourist than a Welsh resident!

Rachel's Three Words

Simplify - Stripping back the busyness and finding space to breathe. Less noise, more intention.

Connections - Rachel describes herself as an introvert and not a natural conversationalist. And yet, she's discovered the genuine joy that comes from starting a conversation with a stranger outdoors. A reminder that connection doesn't require extroversion just courage.

Outdoors - No surprise there. But what is surprising is just how deep the roots go…

Rachel's love of the outdoors was planted early. Her parents ran outdoor activities, and from around age eight, her weekends were spent on Dartmoor learning bushcraft, finding letterboxes, and earning badges for each new skill. Those proud moments shaped something that never left her.

What's beautiful is that her true purpose - using the outdoors to make a real difference for women - didn't fully reveal itself until her 40s. And yet, looking back, every step was leading here: waitressing, working in telecoms, rural transport. Each role quietly building the person who would one day create RJ Fitness.

It's never too late for the dream.

Threads Running Through This Conversation

• The power of small tweaks - never underestimate them
• Why doom scrolling is such an easy trap to fall into, and a brilliant alternative Rachel suggests
• How something unexpected or difficult can always, in time, turn out for the best
• The quiet joy of helping others - something Rachel has carried her whole life

Connect with Rachel & RJ Fitness

www.rjfitness.co.uk

email: [email protected]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelnichollsworcs/

Instagram and Facebook - @rjfitnessandcoaching

Your host:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcripps/

https://www.instagram.com/knowingyouwithsarah/

https://www.instagram.com/bigbalancetheory/

What better way to mark a milestone birthday than sitting down for a proper conversation? In this special episode, Sarah grabs the opportunity to record her mum, Dianne, on her 80th birthday and what a story she has to tell.

Dianne's three words - mother, grandmother, great grandmother - say so much about a woman who has poured her life into the people she loves. She looks wonderful for her age and brings a warmth, humour and youthful energy to everything she does.

In this conversation, Sarah and Dianne explore what life looked like growing up in a very different Britain from the expectations placed on girls who attended a Secondary Modern school (where university simply wasn't seen as the path for you), to the quiet determination Dianne had to do "home work" so she could stay at home and raise her three children.

We also hear about Dianne's early working life and it's an insightful glimpse into a bygone era. She landed her first job in a shoe shop and clearly thrived, earning a promotion after just six weeks. But her mum had other ideas. Hairdressing was the dream she had for her daughter, and so Dianne took an apprenticeship an example of how the women in our lives shape not just who we are, but the paths we take.

But it's the more tender moments that came to the surface. Dianne lost her mum when she was just 16, and then, only 12 months later, her much loved grandma aged just 65. Losing both of them in such quick succession could have been devastating, but Dianne speaks movingly about the profound influence her grandma had on her - games of ludo, cards, and an abundance of love that clearly shaped the woman she became.

This is an episode about memory, resilience, the changing face of society, and what it means to carry the people you've loved forward into the next generation.

Your host:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcripps/

https://www.instagram.com/knowingyouwithsarah/

https://www.instagram.com/bigbalancetheory/

Our producer:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenpirie/

https://www.instagram.com/karen.pirie/

From personal loss to professional purpose, a deeply human conversation about time, leadership, and the power of seeing things differently.

In this episode of Knowing You, we begin with a light-hearted moment, exploring how even AI struggles to pronounce Welsh words correctly, before moving into a deeply human and powerful conversation.

We discuss the importance of face-to-face connection, particularly for those who are neurodiverse, and how an increasingly digital world can both support and challenge meaningful interaction.

Our guest shares three words that define his journey so far:

SISTER A profoundly moving account of losing his sister in her early 20s. This life-altering moment reshaped his perspective, teaching him not to waste time, not to take life for granted, and not to take it too seriously.

PHARMACY Following this loss, he reflects on how it changed his relationship with his career, taking his work more seriously and finding deeper meaning in it.

GENERATION Q A pivotal postgraduate programme that transformed his thinking. What were once dismissed as "fluffy skills" became the foundation of his career in Quality Improvement, opening his eyes to the power of continuous improvement and the untapped knowledge of frontline teams.

We explore:

• Why those closest to the work often hold the best insights
• His perspective on the next generation on navigating the pressures of social media while holding strong values around sustainability, balance, and adaptability
• The influence of his father, who reminded him not to take life too seriously
• The evolving conversation around mental health - progress we've made, and where we still need to build resilience and personal responsibility

A recurring theme throughout is energy and how he visibly lights up when talking about being outside:

• Outside the everyday way of thinking
• Outside in nature
• Outside in open, honest conversation

A powerful reminder that sometimes the biggest shifts come when we step beyond the familiar.

We end with his choice of actor to play his life story – Sean Bean.

Our guest:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgimson/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/auralapothecary/

Your host:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcripps/

https://www.instagram.com/knowingyouwithsarah/

https://www.instagram.com/bigbalancetheory/