Monday Mile with Aimee Fuller

 I’m back for series 9 of Monday Mile! This week, I link up with Fred Sirieix, best known for being the marvellous maître d' on Channel 4’s First Dates.
 
Fred has had a storied career; he’s also hosted shows like Million Pound Menu and Remarkable Places to Eat, and before that had long stints working at and managing some of the best restaurants in the world, including the Michelin-starred Galvin at Windows. During a sunny walk in Peckham, we chat about his whole career path - from washing plates to hosting First Dates.
 
We also discuss the importance of starting your day off in the right way, how meditative exercise can be, and our mutual love of boxing. He speaks openly about the pride he feels for his daughter, Olympic Diver Andrea Sirieix, and her inspirational mindset.
 
And lucky for me, Fred shares some insights on dating, giving me some much-needed advice - and divulging some First Dates horror stories.
 
I had a great time chatting with Fred! His passion for life is truly inspiring, as is his dating advice…
 
Listen to the full audio on all your favourite podcast platforms!
 
#mondaymile #mondaymilepodcast #fredsirieix #firstdates

Aimee will be probing for answers from the full spectrum of routines; the early birds who have finely tuned Monday mornings, to the late risers who struggle to get up before 11am. How do elite athletes find the motivation to kick start their week come rain or shine? How do celebrities deliver no matter what the time of day? What knowledge can they pass on?

Each episode drops on a Monday morning as a bitesize piece of content and weekly dose of motivation - right when you need it. Aimee will meet each of her guests for a walk and a chat and over the course of the mile she will find out how they cope on a Monday morning - their idiosyncrasies, breakfast routines, alarm noises - and how, when they need to, find the motivation to kick-on through the week. Sharing some of Britain's greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, doctors, authors and broadcasters ’ secrets on self-motivation, candid thoughts on what they struggle with and a sideways look at some of their more unusual morning habits.

Head over to IG to watch the visuals of our episode and what we get up to on our Monday Mile. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_fuller/

This week on the Monday Mile Podcast, we are in East London and we are at a racing track, in fact we are inside at the Excel and we are about to link up with Jake Dennis, a guy who is leading the charge for Avalanche Andretti on the Formula E Circuit.  He's also a Red Bull Racing Simulator driver and we caught up with Jake on an insightful grid walk ahead of his home race double header. 

We chat about the different formula in motorsport, and how his journey through the ranks, swapping from F3 cars to sports cars, has given him the skill set to drive a formula E car so well. He lends his success to having an adaptive personality and the importance of putting yourself in different situations so you know how to adapt when put under pressure. He shares an insight into how different it is racing an Electric car and the importance of visual reference points throughout a race, "You jump in this and it's like no vibrations, super smooth and just wind".

We discuss how the sport of Formula E is setting an example and part of the bigger picture globally in pioneering environmental technologies.  Jake shares his personal insight and belief on the future of motorsport becoming Electric "You see Formula 1 trying to claim they will be Net Zero by 2030". As we opened the conversation of longevity throughout the podcast, we also spoke about the associated dangers, and the often unspoken conversation on the reality of a bad crash in motorsport and how ultimately your career can end in one serious accident.

Aimee will be probing for answers from the full spectrum of routines; the early birds who have finely tuned Monday mornings, to the late risers who struggle to get up before 11am. How do elite athletes find the motivation to kick start their week come rain or shine? How do celebrities deliver no matter what the time of day? What knowledge can they pass on?

Each episode drops on a Monday morning as a bitesize piece of content and weekly dose of motivation - right when you need it. Aimee will meet each of her guests for a walk and a chat and over the course of the mile she will find out how they cope on a Monday morning - their idiosyncrasies, breakfast routines, alarm noises - and how, when they need to, find the motivation to kick-on through the week. Sharing some of Britain's greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, doctors, authors and broadcasters ’ secrets on self-motivation, candid thoughts on what they struggle with and a sideways look at some of their more unusual morning habits.

Head over to IG to watch the visuals of our episode and what we get up to on our Monday Mile. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_fuller/

This week on the Monday Mile Podcast, we are in Woking….This Mile is a little different, it’s brought us inside…to a motorsport factory. I’ll give you some clues, well I’ve already said we’re in Woking, but there’s a lot of papaya coloured logos around. The team is steeped in racing history, and today we are Lucky enough to be speaking to their first ever female driver…we are of course at Mclaren HQ, and we’re here to meet Emma Gilmour.

Emma takes us through the famous Boulevard, and gives us an insight as to what it is like to  be a part of McLaren as they celebrate their 60th year. We discuss her transition from horse riding to motor racing, and how from the outside, the sport of motor racing can be perceived as dangerous.  Emma also shares how having control of a car is of course, very different to that of a horse!  “A horse has a mind of its own:” . We discuss the physicality of the sport, and the mindset required to excel, that being extreme focus. 

We chat about the opportunity Extreme E has given female drivers as a platform to get more females in seats on the grid moving forward, "on any Extreme E grid, you’ve got 50% male and 50% female, so all these young girls at home can see that women can compete at the top level”. 

Emma takes us step by step through the mental thought process, when she is at the start line, and how when it goes wrong, it can really go wrong, “I try to straighten the wheels for the impact with the hay bales, instantly you’re like 90 degrees to the track”.

 For me this was a really insightful listen, and interesting to learn more about the process when it comes to taking that first step into a car, and the associated pressures which Emma has embraced and charged forward with when it comes to racing under the flag of McLaren - their heritage being fast cars, petrol and winning.

Aimee will be probing for answers from the full spectrum of routines; the early birds who have finely tuned Monday mornings, to the late risers who struggle to get up before 11am. How do elite athletes find the motivation to kick start their week come rain or shine? How do celebrities deliver no matter what the time of day? What knowledge can they pass on?

Each episode drops on a Monday morning as a bitesize piece of content and weekly dose of motivation - right when you need it. Aimee will meet each of her guests for a walk and a chat and over the course of the mile she will find out how they cope on a Monday morning - their idiosyncrasies, breakfast routines, alarm noises - and how, when they need to, find the motivation to kick-on through the week. Sharing some of Britain's greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, doctors, authors and broadcasters ’ secrets on self-motivation, candid thoughts on what they struggle with and a sideways look at some of their more unusual morning habits.

Head over to IG to watch the visuals of our episode and what we get up to on our Monday Mile. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_fuller/

This week on the Monday Mile podcast we are in Surrey, and we are linking up with a good friend of mine.  Have you ever wondered who the face is behind the stunts in the likes of Mission Impossible? Today’s guest is for starters one of the most low key and talented individuals I know. 

Known best for being a stunt performer, and one of the top performers in the world today, Lucy has performed in just a few movies you might know - Jumanji, Fast and Furious, and Mission Impossible. We discuss the importance of leaving the "ego" behind when it comes to performing on set, and what it’s like working and choreographing scenes with Tom Cruise. We discuss the famous Pole Hopping scene, which Tom leaned on Lucy for her experience in Pole dancing.

We also open up the conversation and struggles with body image when it comes to performing and moulding to fit the actors, we talk body language, movement and size.  We discuss Lucy’s ability to adapt like a Chameleon, and her ability to mimic movement.  Trust me I can vouch for that - her innate ability to pick up anything she is shown is incredible and that skill set spans from driving, riding motorbikes, diving, gymnastics and  lots more. “If people want to hire me, they hire me for my skills” .

She’s doubled for the likes of Cameron Diaz, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby (Hobbs and Shaw),  Rachel Weiz, Cobie Smoulders, Karen Gillan and she has filmed iconic scenes in Mission Impossible Rogue Nation. We also discuss the subject of dating and the challenges that can bring due to the nature of Lucy's physically strong and capable ability. 

Aimee will be probing for answers from the full spectrum of routines; the early birds who have finely tuned Monday mornings, to the late risers who struggle to get up before 11am. How do elite athletes find the motivation to kick start their week come rain or shine? How do celebrities deliver no matter what the time of day? What knowledge can they pass on?

Each episode drops on a Monday morning as a bitesize piece of content and weekly dose of motivation - right when you need it. Aimee will meet each of her guests for a walk and a chat and over the course of the mile she will find out how they cope on a Monday morning - their idiosyncrasies, breakfast routines, alarm noises - and how, when they need to, find the motivation to kick-on through the week. Sharing some of Britain's greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, doctors, authors and broadcasters ’ secrets on self-motivation, candid thoughts on what they struggle with and a sideways look at some of their more unusual morning habits.

Head over to IG to watch the visuals of our episode and what we get up to on our Monday Mile. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_fuller/

This week on the Monday Mile Podcast, we are in central London with a lady who’s about to hit the Radio airwaves…..she’s one of those that has the voice for radio and the face for TV she’s a double threat, starting out in Children’s TV and being a staple of the CBBC family, she’s a qualified journalist and author. She’s the presenter of Radio 1 Life Hacks, and now a face of the BBC Morning Live Family.

Katie also has her own show on Friday and Saturday mornings and co-hosts going home with Vick and Jordan when one of them is off’ on BBC Radio 1 and we link up with her just as she heads into the studio to discuss life, and we cover the topic of eating disorders. We talk about the importance of therapy, and Katie’s personal development in that space as a person-centred Counsellor.

Katie speaks openly about the challenge she has had with binge eating, and how it is often seen as the forgotten eating disorder.  Binge behaviour is often glamourised  “We encourage people to eat and to binge drink, yet you are punished when you can’t stop. People always think of Anorexia, which has the highest fatality rate of any mental illness”.  She shares her triggers, loneliness, stress, and anxiety, and the moment she caught herself ordering food in a hotel room and then purging and making herself sick. She also shares her tips and tricks and how she is currently working through this mental illness. 

We also chat about the pressures around being busy, “everybody is always doing something” , and how social media can be a spiral for feeling like this, and the feeling that it's not OK to be bored. 

Katie talks about the way she is treated differently when she is bigger, and her body shape changes, "we are quite a fat phobic society". We discuss role models and the importance of seeing more fuller bodied women on TV, and how it is changing positively.

Aimee will be probing for answers from the full spectrum of routines; the early birds who have finely tuned Monday mornings, to the late risers who struggle to get up before 11am. How do elite athletes find the motivation to kick start their week come rain or shine? How do celebrities deliver no matter what the time of day? What knowledge can they pass on?

Each episode drops on a Monday morning as a bitesize piece of content and weekly dose of motivation - right when you need it. Aimee will meet each of her guests for a walk and a chat and over the course of the mile she will find out how they cope on a Monday morning - their idiosyncrasies, breakfast routines, alarm noises - and how, when they need to, find the motivation to kick-on through the week. Sharing some of Britain's greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, doctors, authors and broadcasters ’ secrets on self-motivation, candid thoughts on what they struggle with and a sideways look at some of their more unusual morning habits.

Head over to IG to watch the visuals of our episode and what we get up to on our Monday Mile. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_fuller/

This week on Monday Mile I head into Central London, to link up with a man who is known as the cat, one of Cricket's greatest all time Bowlers.  He’s been King of the Jungle and has danced on BBC’s Strictly, and more recently is just out of the Legends Jungle in South Africa. He’s got an infectious energy and is known for making people smile on our screens, from Question of Sport to fronting the BBC cricket coverage, and I managed to catch up with Phil during a busy time ahead of the Ashes. 

We caught up on all things Cricket, the changes he has seen within the game now as a Commentator on the other side of the sport, from the turn of professionalism, and the awareness and support with Mental health. Phil shares his episode with depression, and lack of support back in the day - “In those days you were just told to roll your sleeves up and get on with it, it was a sign of weakness”. 

He shares his experience on “I'm a Celebrity, and his ability to step back and juggle personalities in that environment whilst being stuck in a box, below ground surrounded by snakes. He leans on his experience and time as an athlete “if someone’s down, you pick them up”. 

Aimee will be probing for answers from the full spectrum of routines; the early birds who have finely tuned Monday mornings, to the late risers who struggle to get up before 11am. How do elite athletes find the motivation to kick start their week come rain or shine? How do celebrities deliver no matter what the time of day? What knowledge can they pass on?

Each episode drops on a Monday morning as a bitesize piece of content and weekly dose of motivation - right when you need it. Aimee will meet each of her guests for a walk and a chat and over the course of the mile she will find out how they cope on a Monday morning - their idiosyncrasies, breakfast routines, alarm noises - and how, when they need to, find the motivation to kick-on through the week. Sharing some of Britain's greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, doctors, authors and broadcasters ’ secrets on self-motivation, candid thoughts on what they struggle with and a sideways look at some of their more unusual morning habits.

Head over to IG to watch the visuals of our episode and what we get up to on our Monday Mile. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_fuller/

Filmed by Jon Moy.

This week on Monday Mile, we head to West London to link up with Isa Guha. Today's guest is really making her mark as one of the newer faces in the next generation of broadcast. From the Ashes, to her latest role at Wimbledon anchoring the coverage for BBC each morning.

We chat through the mindset and approach in taking new reins at Wimbledon, the associated pressures and dealing with any controversial comments in the media. In the words of Isa, ”I felt the need to say, I'm not here to be the next Sue Barker". We discuss Isa's journey through sport as a Former England Cricketer who played in two World Cup's  and the importance of working together as a team to bring the best to any broadcast.

This podcast isn't all glossy though, Isa has experienced significant loss and trauma, so we discuss the topic of grief, and dealing with and how she has channelled her Mum's energy in her charity  "Take her Lead", through living out her values using her Mum's philosophy to encourage young girls to get our there and  get out of their comfort zone.

Through the journey of grief, we chat about self-discovery, the ability of being able to carry on through the pain, guilt, frustration and anger, and finally finding peace with it eventually.

Aimee will be probing for answers from the full spectrum of routines; the early birds who have finely tuned Monday mornings, to the late risers who struggle to get up before 11am. How do elite athletes find the motivation to kick start their week come rain or shine? How do celebrities deliver no matter what the time of day? What knowledge can they pass on?

Each episode drops on a Monday morning as a bitesize piece of content and weekly dose of motivation - right when you need it. Aimee will meet each of her guests for a walk and a chat and over the course of the mile she will find out how they cope on a Monday morning - their idiosyncrasies, breakfast routines, alarm noises - and how, when they need to, find the motivation to kick-on through the week. Sharing some of Britain's greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, doctors, authors and broadcasters ’ secrets on self-motivation, candid thoughts on what they struggle with and a sideways look at some of their more unusual morning habits.

Head over to IG to watch the visuals of our episode and what we get up to on our Monday Mile. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_fuller/

Filmed by Jon Moy.

This week on Monday Mile, I head into Central London. Today's guest is the CEO of EE and heads up the UK's biggest consumer business in the country and best fixed AND mobile networks. It's Marc Allera. As a man in demand and a hefty schedule, Marc doesn’t often get the opportunity to have a lunch time stroll, for him it's normally a 6am gym session and then bouncing from meeting to meeting. However today, he has somehow managed to find a break in his schedule to join us for a mile, and let us into some of his secrets when it comes to decision making and the number one thing that contributes to his success in running the ship in a business at the heart of technology that never sleeps.

We tap into his mindset and how he balances the demands of such a high powered job in providing a service that is so systemically important (THE INTERNET). We discuss the immense pressure and responsibilities that come with looking after the welfare of thousands of employees inn the UK, and the  introduction of working from home and the positive and negative mental health impact of this forward thinking change. Marc shares his thoughts on the workplace, and the office not just as a base, but a place for people to learn and grow off each other and to communicate, highlighting the importance of real human interaction. Marc shares some of the steps he took and the process he followed for those that are interested in emulating a similar career path. 

Aimee will be probing for answers from the full spectrum of routines; the early birds who have finely tuned Monday mornings, to the late risers who struggle to get up before 11am. How do elite athletes find the motivation to kick start their week come rain or shine? How do celebrities deliver no matter what the time of day? What knowledge can they pass on?

Each episode drops on a Monday morning as a bitesize piece of content and weekly dose of motivation - right when you need it. Aimee will meet each of her guests for a walk and a chat and over the course of the mile she will find out how they cope on a Monday morning - their idiosyncrasies, breakfast routines, alarm noises - and how, when they need to, find the motivation to kick-on through the week. Sharing some of Britain's greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, doctors, authors and broadcasters ’ secrets on self-motivation, candid thoughts on what they struggle with and a sideways look at some of their more unusual morning habits.

Head over to IG to watch the visuals of our episode and what we get up to on our Monday Mile. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_fuller/

Filmed by Jon Moy.