What happens when the life you’ve built no longer feels like the life you’re meant to live? 

At 54, Erik walked away from a long marriage, left the country he’d called home for 25 years, rebuilt in Spain, survived a stroke, and is now creating a new business in AI. His story isn’t one of reckless reinvention, but of deliberate choices, awareness, and courage to face change head-on. 

In this conversation, Erik and I talk about: 

• Letting go with respect - how to end a marriage without bitterness, and why separation can sometimes be the most loving decision.
• Redesigning life from the ground up - why moving country, shedding possessions, and starting fresh can be liberating rather than terrifying.
• Stress-testing excuses - how to see through the reasons you tell yourself you “can’t” change.
• Inner calm and outer change  - the principle that your external world follows your inner state, and why silence, clarity, and self-reflection matter more than outside noise.
• Health as a wake-up call  - what Erik learned from a stroke about stress, resilience, and treating recovery as training, not decline.
• Work and purpose in midlife - why building businesses (not just wealth) can be a creative outlet, and how AI may offer new doors for reinvention.
• Freedom over possessions - the surprising relief of divesting assets and living light.
• First steps for anyone stuck - the role of awareness, perspective, and honest conversation in beginning the shift towards a more fulfilling life.

This is not a story about easy fixes. It’s about recognising signals, taking responsibility for your choices, and discovering that on the other side of fear, there’s freedom.
 
If you’re in midlife and feeling trapped, Erik’s journey shows that change is possible, step by step, with awareness, patience, and the courage to listen to yourself.

What if the root of many problems faced by middle-aged men - burnout, broken relationships, anxiety, aggression - stemmed from something hiding in plain sight: entitlement and narcissism? 

In this fascinating conversation, psychologist and Dean of the University of Wollengong in Australia, Simon Moss explains why our culture's emphasis on status, dominance, and self-importance might be making us miserable, and what we can do about it. 

Drawing on decades of research, Simon introduces his new project, RadicalHumility.com, and shares practical strategies to reduce narcissism, build resilience, and embrace humility, not as weakness, but as a superpowerfor better relationships, leadership, and mental health. 

What you'll learn: 

• What humility really is (and why it’s often mistaken for weakness)
• The surprising link between narcissism and burnout, anxiety, and domestic abuse
• How humble men are actually more confident, credible, and respected
• Why humility improves emotional resilience and relationships
• How societal uncertainty drives narcissistic behaviour and how to resist it
• Everyday signs of narcissism in yourself or others and how to spot them
• Why humility is essential in the AI-driven, uncertain world we now live in
• How partners, friends, and colleagues can support men stuck in patterns of entitlement
• A simple 3-step method to practice and cultivate lasting humility

This episode isn’t about blame. It’s about awareness, growth, and changing the narrative. Whether you’re struggling with control, frustration, or just feel something’s off, this episode offers a way forward.

If you want to find out more about Simon’s movement to nullify narcissism and end entitlement, visit his website: https://radical-humility.com/ where you’ll find lots of information, including freely available videos and other useful content. 

Tik Maynard is an internationally respected horseman, author, and dad who hit midlife before realising that life is less about striving and external validation and more about understanding who you truly are and how to live from that place with honesty and purpose. 

Through his journey training wild horses for a high-stakes competition, Tik uncovered something deeper: how presence, vulnerability, and authenticity are not just essential in horsemanship - they’re essential in life. This is a conversation about midlife reckoning, being authentic, and learning to listen - both to others and to yourself. 

You'll hear about: 

• The concept of “high involvement, low attachment” and why it might be the most powerful mindset for any man facing change.
• Why midlife can feel like a split and how to reconcile it.
• How animals, especially horses, can ground and heal us.
• What Tik learned about masculinity in the most vulnerable competition of his life.

This episode isn’t just about horses. It’s about the deeper journey of midlife - one that calls you to live more authentically and reminds you that it’s the path you walk, not the destination, that truly shapes you.

Tik’s book, Starting in the Middle, is available in the UK from Quiller Publishing and in the USA from Trafalgar Books. You can also buy it from Amazon. 

What happens when the big job ends and no one’s lining up to offer another? For Andrew Middleton, that moment sparked an identity crisis, financial panic, and ultimately, a radical reinvention. 

In this honest and hopeful episode, Andrew shares how it felt to be “airlifted out of relevance” in his 50s, facing ageism, self-doubt, and the loss of structure that once defined his life. But he didn’t stop there. Instead, he built something new: a portfolio career based on curiosity, joy, and meaningful work including founding I’m Not Done Yet (INDY), a growing community for older people seeking purpose beyond retirement. 

You’ll learn: 

• Why traditional retirement isn’t the only option - and might not be the right one;
• How to navigate the emotional and financial shocks of leaving a long career;
• Why soft retirement, side hustles, and experimentation might be the key to fulfilment;
• How to rebuild identity, community, and self-worth outside corporate life;
• Why men in midlife need to talk and how doing so changes everything.

If you’ve ever wondered, “What now?” or feared becoming invisible as you age, this episode offers reassurance, inspiration, and a roadmap forward. 

In this powerful and quietly revealing episode, Mike Flynn talks about a mid-life experience that will sound painfully familiar to many men: ticking all the boxes, doing everything “right”, yet feeling completely disconnected inside. 

Mike describes how success masked an emotional emptiness he didn’t fully understand until it almost broke him. He speaks candidly about the subtle slide into burnout, the role of people-pleasing and control, and the cost of never stopping long enough to feel anything real. 

This is an episode for men who feel like they’re going through the motions, unsure where they went or how to come back. 

You’ll hear: 

• The danger of “just existing” in your 40s and 50s,
• Why control and productivity often mask emotional detachment,
• How childhood experiences shaped Mike’s adult identity and relationships,
• What happened when he finally stopped, reflected, and told the truth,
• How he began to live from the inside out, not just the outside in.

If you’ve ever thought “This can’t be it,” this conversation is for you.

To find out more about Mike and how he works with men to ignite their purpose visit his website: mikeflynn.coach. 

Mike also talks about Andy’s Man Club in the UK - free, peer-to-peer support groups across the nation and online running every Monday evening, providing a space for men to come together and speak openly about their issues. To find out more visit andysmanclub.co.uk.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify or your favourite podcast platform.
 

 In this extraordinary episode, Kenny Mammarella-D’Cruz - known as The Man Whisperer - opens up about a life that began in chaos and fear: fleeing Idi Amin’s Uganda, growing up in a refugee camp, and becoming the emotional crutch for his family at just seven years old. He shares how these early traumas buried his identity and left him riddled with compulsions, anxiety, and isolation. 

It’s not just survival. It’s the slow, deliberate undoing of a life built on fear. 

Kenny takes us inside his transformation: how he stopped running from fear and started breathing again. He reveals the tools he developed to shift from hypervigilance to being present, from people-pleasing to personal power. Along the way, he explores the difference between surviving and living, how men can heal their inner child without discarding him, and why presence - not perfection - is the path to wholeness. 

You’ll hear: 

• How trauma can quietly shape a man’s identity, even if his past isn’t as dramatic as Kenny’s.
• What it takes to set boundaries when you’ve spent your life putting others first.
• Why the protector in us often keeps us trapped and how to gently take the reins.
• How Kenny started men’s groups before they were fashionable, simply because he needed real conversation.
• The critical difference between boys who fear and men who feel.

This is not just one man’s survival tale - it’s a masterclass in reclaiming your life. If you’ve ever felt like you’re playing a role in your own life, this episode will speak directly to you.

Find out more about Kenny’s men’s groups and tools for presence at https://www.themanwhisperer.co.uk/
 

What happens when the body that carried you through life starts to break? For Waldemar, an architect and explorer from Mexico City, who built his identity around physical endurance, the answer wasn’t to stop moving but to start moving differently. 

In this powerful conversation, Waldemar shares how knee surgeries shattered not just his meniscus, but his sense of self. What followed was a deep personal reinvention from adrenaline-fuelled guide to founder of the Wildflow Method, a movement philosophy rooted in mobility, mindfulness, and long-term strength. 

In our conversation we explore: 

• His early life of free-diving, whitewater kayaking, and building adventure lodges across Mexico.
• The burnout cycle of high-impact fitness and the slow realisation that strength must come from within.
• His ‘active longevity’ approach to ageing, ego, and injury.
• How he transformed ‘workouts’ into ‘rituals’ and pain into purpose.
• Wildflow’s unique blend of martial arts, animal movement, and barefoot mobility.
• Why connection to nature and inner stillness matter as much as muscle and sweat.
• How any man, at any stage of life, can take back agency over their health without toxic pressure or unrealistic timelines.

This is a conversation for anyone who’s ever felt lost after injury, disillusioned with gym culture, or just quietly wondering: Is it too late for me?
 
Waldemar’s answer is a resounding “No,” and his path forward is anything but ordinary.

If you want to find out more about Waldemar, visit his website: https://wildflowmethod.com/. And you can also buy his book Find Your WildFlow on Amazon. 

In this episode, we're joined by Josh Fineman. Josh had the career, the young family, the success but behind it all was exhaustion, self-doubt, and a relentless voice asking, “Is this it?” 

In this honest and revealing conversation, Josh shares how growing up as the ‘good boy’ in a high-achieving North London household shaped his adult identity. He talks about the unspoken grief that filled the family home, the hidden cost of seeking approval, and the endless comparisons that wore him down. 

What followed were years of chasing status, zigzagging through jobs, and numbing out until a crisis forced a reckoning. Therapy cracked the door open, but it was men’s work - raw, in-person, shoulder-to-shoulder - that truly began to transform his life. 

Josh went on to create Mensch, a community where men come together to rediscover connection, purpose, and truth - with boots on the ground and fires lit -locally around the country.  

We talk about masculinity, parenting, legacy, and why so many men who "have it all" still feel empty. Josh speaks candidly about fear of failure, starting something meaningful, and the power of local brotherhood. 

If you’ve ever quietly wondered, “What happened to me?” or “Is this all there is?” then this episode is for you. 

Trigger warning: This episode includes honest discussions about suicide attempts, mental illness, domestic violence, and trauma. 

Adam Smith’s story is unlike anything you’ve heard - and exactly what so many men need to hear. 

Sectioned at 11. In prison by 21. Found unresponsive in a car after trying to end his life. This could’ve been the end - but it wasn’t. Instead, Adam’s journey is one of remarkable survival and a relentless mission to make his pain count for something. 

In this episode, Adam speaks with raw honesty about growing up in care, wrestling with addiction, and living with autism and mental illness. But also about rising - becoming a chef, starting The Real Junk Food Project, and then Surplus2Purpose, and feeding millions with food others deemed worthless. He doesn’t sugar-coat any of it. There are no easy answers. Just grit, compassion, and a deep belief that lives - like food - should never be wasted. 

You might not have lived Adam’s life. But if you’ve ever felt lost, numb, ashamed, or like you don’t know where you fit in the world, there’s something here for you. This episode is about survival - but also about honesty, connection, and how we begin to move forward, even if we’re still broken. 

This is not just Adam’s story. It’s a mirror for anyone who’s ever struggled and needed a way through. 

[If you can relate to Adam’s experience and need immediate help, you can call Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK, or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US or Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia. Otherwise, as always, we also recommend that you speak to a GP or mental health professional. 

Trigger warning: includes frank discussion of eating disorders, body image, and mental health. 

How do you find laughter in something that nearly kills you? 

In this episode, comedian and mental health advocate Dave Chawner takes us on a bold, brutally honest - and often hilarious - journey through his experience of living with anorexia. 

But this isn’t your typical “overcoming adversity” tale. 

Dave doesn’t sugarcoat the reality of his eating disorder. He talks openly about how it began not with food, but with control… how it was rewarded before it was recognised… and how, for a long time, he loved it. Through vivid, sometimes shocking, and darkly funny anecdotes, Dave shows how anorexia became both his obsession and his comfort - until it became unbearable. 

And yet, laughter is what pulled him through. 

From bingeing under the duvet to bingeing on comedy, Dave found healing not in silence, but in stand-up. His hit Edinburgh show Normally Abnormal turned personal pain into public catharsis, proving that humour can be both a scalpel and a salve. 

If you've ever struggled with food, control, body image, or just the pressure of being “fine,” this is an episode you need to hear. It’s about anorexia, yes - but also about masculinity, identity, recovery, and how comedy can reach where words often fail. 

If you can relate to Dave’s experience and would like more information, he references two websites: Hub of Hope [https://hubofhope.co.uk/] - the UK’s largest mental health support directory, and Beat Eating Discorder [https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/]. 

You can find equivalent resources available in other countries via simple web searches. We always recommend you speak to a GP or health professional if you are personally affected by any of the topics covered in the podcast.