What happens when you take Hollywood-level talent management — the contracts, the standards, the deal-making — and drop it into the fastest-growing, most chaotic corner of the entertainment industry?

Thomas Drachkovich has lived both worlds. After seven years at Amazon Studios across LA, Mumbai, and London — helping launch The Family Man, Four More Shots Please, and developing UK series including Ten Percent and Wilderness — and training as an agent at United Talent Agency, he walked away from one of the most prestigious seats in global entertainment to build something entirely new.

Dream Bay Group, which he founded in 2023, represents creators including Sabrina Bassoon (#TubeGirl), operates as an official TikTok Shop agency partner, and delivered over 300 brand deals across 200 brand partners in a single year — crossing seven figures in revenue. Thomas also runs a media advisory and IP deal-making practice, with recent work including a five-book studio deal for Jeffrey Archer's estate and a partnership with SuperBooks, backed by all five Dragons from BBC Dragon's Den. He sits on the committee for the ITVX Creator Awards and the Digital Broadcast Awards. And he is, by his own admission, living his dream job.

We cover:

🎬 Why the creator economy is the Wild West — and the film & TV standards Thomas is bringing in to fix it📱 What the creator economy actually is — and how Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon are now chasing creators to build their audiences💰 The creator business model explained — brand deals, direct monetisation, licensing, and what brands are really paying for🌍 From Amazon Studios in Mumbai to TikTok Shop in London — how Thomas's global career shaped the way Dream Bay operates🤝 Why anyone can start a talent agency tomorrow — and why that's both the beauty and the danger of the industry⭐ What it takes to hit seven figures in brand deals in a single year — and what separates the best creator managers from the rest🎯 Bringing Hollywood-level deal-making, contracting, and professional standards to a world that has almost none📺 The collision of traditional entertainment and the creator economy — and why it's only just beginning

Those little moments that lift your day — a smile, the sun coming out, or a piece of chocolate? Audrey's Chocolates have been handcrafting chocolate for over 70 years. Chocolate to die for, in beautiful boxes that make the perfect gift. Discover your moment of joy at audreysChocolates.co.uk and treat yourself to 10% off using the code thekollective10

If this episode moved you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. Leave us a review — it genuinely helps more people find the show. And subscribe so you never miss a conversation.

Support the ShowJoin our community on Patreon for exclusive content, early access and behind-the-scenes access 🙏 patreon.com/TheKollective828

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Thomas Drachkovich, Sabrina Bassoon (#TubeGirl), Jeffrey Archer, The Sidemen, Molly-Mae Hague, Dan Shrigley, Tom (co-founder, Shoulder to Shoulder), Mia McGrath, Idris Elba, Ollie Marlowe-Thomas, Sienna Santer, MrBeast, Karishma Vijay, Lord Sugar, IShowSpeed, Kaner (Urban Decay), Reverend T.D. Jakes, Dream Bay Group (dreambaygroup.com), Amazon Studios, United Talent Agency, TikTok Shop, Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, Applause Entertainment, SuperBooks, BBC Dragon's Den, ITVX Creator Awards, Digital Broadcast Awards, L'Oréal, Nivea, MAC, The Ordinary, Shoulder to Shoulder, Creator Fest, Audi, Revolut, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Kick, Urban Decay, Duolingo, LinkedIn, Instagram, The Family Man, Four More Shots Please, Ten Percent, Wilderness, The Wire, The Mailroom,

What does it actually take to throw a legendary party? 🎉✨

We sit down with William Bartholomew — one of Britain's most celebrated party organisers, with nearly five decades of experience and a client list that reads like a who's who of royalty, rock stars, and the world's most powerful institutions. He's the man you call when a marquee, a Michelin-starred caterer, and Elton John. And he's the man who will very calmly tell you that none of it matters if the people in the room aren't right. 🎶👑

This isn't a conversation about canapés. It's a conversation about what makes people truly connect — and why the best parties in the world are never really about the budget.

🎪 William Bartholomew started as a DJ at the legendary Annabel's nightclub in 1977, went on to spend 15 years with Juliana's Sound Services, and founded William Bartholomew Party Organising (WBPO) in the 1980s. In the decades since, he has orchestrated extraordinary events for the Royal Family, embassies, private clients, hotel groups, and global corporations across the world — from Scottish lochs to the south of France to Venice. His parties are, as they say, legendary.

We cover:

🎶 Why a party is made by its people — not its budget, its flowers, or its celebrity band🎤 The rider contract nightmare: what happens when you book a rock star (and why William quietly passes the buck)💸 The real cost of a great party — from £5 chairs to £1,000,000 bands and £10,000 fireworks per minute🪄 The secret icebreakers that actually work: roving bands, table mixing, and the art of the welcome drink👑 Organising for the Royal Family, Forbes, Microsoft, Sotheby's, and JP Morgan — what changes and what doesn't🎆 A firework display on a Scottish loch, a custard pie fight in a warehouse, and the parties you couldn't make up🚽 The surprisingly serious world of luxury portaloos — and why William is always first in when something goes wrong💐 How weddings went from coronation chicken and frilly marquees to full productions with mood boards and cocktail bars⚠️ Why dietary requirements have quietly become one of the most complex parts of catering for 200 people

🎧🔥❤️‍🔥 FULL EPISODE LISTEN HERE ❤️‍🔥🔥🎧 https://linktr.ee/pitchingpassion

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🔥 Fireside Chat 🔥

🌟 A few quirky things that give you joy: [FILL IN]

🧠 A mantra you want to embrace now: [FILL IN]

🎬 A favourite artist that isn't obvious: [FILL IN]

💡 Something you wish you knew when you were younger: [FILL IN]

✅ Two things IN for you right now: [FILL IN]

❌ Two things OUT: [FILL IN]

❤️‍🔥 Loved this episode? ✨ Like, Share, and Subscribe to support bold, heart-led conversations.

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: William Bartholomew, Madonna, Guy Ritchie, Princess Margaret, King Charles, Phil Collins, Shirley Bassey, Lionel Richie, Elton John, Belinda Carlisle, Boy George, Bonnie Tyler, Gloria Gaynor, Robbie Williams, Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, Avicii, Taylor Swift, Neil Diamond, Queen, ABBA, Annabel's, Skibo Castle, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Hertford Street, Venice, St. Moritz, Scotland, South of France, Beirut, Washington, Regent's Park, Rutland, Jersey, Dubai, WBPO, Juliana's Sound Services, Royal Family, Dubai Royal Family, Saudi Royal Family, Microsoft, Sotheby's, Forbes, JP Morgan, Tesco, Modifax, James Bond, Jaws, Oddjob, New Orleans Band, Bedouin Tent, Coronation Chicken, Béarnaise Sauce, Belvedere Vodka, Mojito, Paloma, Babycham, COVID

What does it really take to build a restaurant people choose as their favourite — not just the best they've ever been to? And what happens to a chef's world when the place he's poured 11 years into catches fire at 2am?

Jun Tanaka is the Michelin-starred chef and owner of The Ninth on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, London — one of the city's most beloved neighbourhood restaurants and a 2026 Sunday Times Best Places to Work recipient. His story begins at 19 years old, when — with no kitchen experience and freshly asked to leave his hotel management course — he wrote to the three best restaurants in London on a whim. Le Gavroche wrote back.

What followed was a career forged in some of the most demanding kitchens in the country: an apprenticeship under the Roux brothers at Le Gavroche, stints with Nico Ladenis at Chez Nico and Phil Howard at The Square, and time working under Marco Pierre White — a man Jun describes as running the SAS of the culinary world. In 2015, Jun opened The Ninth, earning a Michelin star in its opening year and keeping it ever since. Then, at 2am one morning, the fire brigade called.

We cover:

🔥 Why Jun would choose to have had the fire in hindsight — and what 8 months of closure did for his team ⭐ Earning a Michelin star in the year of opening,🍽️ The difference between the best restaurant you've ever been to and your favourite — 👨‍🍳 Training under Marco Pierre White and why the hardest kitchen of his life was also the most important 🧠 Why culture doesn't just happen — and the intentional work behind The Ninth's 🤝 Hiring for personality over CV🌿 Seasonal cooking, classic flavour combinations, and what it means to create food people crave on a regular basis

🎧🔥❤️‍🔥LISTEN VIA LINK IN BIO & -❤️‍🔥🔥🎧 https://linktr.ee/pitchingpassion

This episode is proudly sponsored by Audrey's Chocolates — use code thekollective10 for a discount on your order.

🔥 Fireside Chat with Jun Tanaka

Five cheeses to eat before you die? Brie de Meaux, Coulommiers, Époisses, Saint-Marcellin, and Comté. 

Three London restaurants people should hit up right now? Camille in Borough Market — Parilla — Plonk —

Three ingredients to bring to a desert island? Soy sauce. Lemon and anchovies.

How do you cook at home when friends are coming over? I keep it extremely simple. I always do a barbecue —whole fish mostly One tip: leave the whole fish uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours before grilling to dry out the skin completely. It won't stick and you'll get properly crispy skin.

Do you find cooking therapeutic? Honestly, no. I've been doing it for 35 years — it doesn't stress me, but it doesn't quite switch me off either.

What do you notice walking into a restaurant that others might miss? The greeting - Seasoning and the bathroom. Always the bathroom.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review — it means everything to independent podcasts like ours. 🙏

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Mentions: @juntanaka, The Ninth (Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London), Le Gavroche, The Roux Brothers, Chez Nico, Nico Ladenis, Phil Howard, The Square, Marco Pierre White, Cooking It (Channel 4, 2006), Saturday Kitchen, MasterChef: The Professionals, Simple to Sensational (cookbook), Filippo (Business Partner & Executive Chef, The Ninth), Erica (Head Chef, The Ninth), Jada (GM, The Ninth), Dale / Rosendale Design (interior designer), Andy (first head chef, The Ninth), Kevin Burke The Ninth), Ewan Golcher (former sous chef, The Ninth), Library Street (Dublin), Camille (Borough Market), Elliot (chef-owner, Camille), Parilla, Ben (chef, Parilla), Plonk, Seb (chef-owner, Plonk), Noma, Gambara (San Sebastian), Flying Fish (Cornwall), Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026, Irish Sunday Times

What does it really take to build a business from scratch, sell it for over $100 million, and then look the future of your entire industry in the eye? 

Oli Marlow-Thomas founded Ad-Lib.io in 2017 as a sole founder, grew it into a leading Google-certified creative optimisation platform, and exited to Smartly in January 2022 — in just over five years. He's now Chief Innovation Officer at Smartly, one of the world's most advanced AI-powered advertising platforms, working with brands like Spotify, Samsung, Uber, and Warner Brothers.

In this episode, Oli opens up about the unglamorous reality of founding a business — the unattractive character traits you have to dial up, the team decisions that keep you up at night, and why getting shit done is the most underrated skill in business. He also shares one of the most compelling visions of where advertising and AI are heading that we've had on the show — and it will change how you think about the internet entirely.

We cover:🔥 Why great founders have to become slightly difficult people🔥 The time management rule that kept Adlib growing (9-5 = revenue only, everything else is out of hours)🔥 How to hire people better than you — and actually let them take over🔥 What makes an ad memorable, attention-grabbing, and worth clicking🔥 Why advertising is shifting from targeting humans to targeting AI agents🔥 Why Oli believes the website will be dead sooner than you think🔥 What a $100M exit actually gives you — and the hunger that never goes away🔥 The AI governance crisis and why governments aren't ready

🎧🔥❤️‍🔥LISTEN VIA LINK IN BIO - ❤️‍🔥🔥🎧 https://linktr.ee/pitchingpassion

This episode is proudly supported by Audrey's Chocolates — use code thekollective10 for a discount on your order.

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Mentions:

Ad-Lib.io, Smartly, Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, Claude, Gemini, Facebook, Meta, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, Amazon Prime, App Store, Adobe, Foot Locker, Spotify, Samsung, Warner Brothers, Disney, Uber, Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Rightmove, Coca-Cola, Guinness, Tango, Café Nero, Big Boat Week, iTaxishare, Barack Obama, The Second Mountain, Silicon Valley

What if everything you believed about death, consciousness, and the meaning of life was wrong — and a brain surgeon could prove it?

Dr Eben Alexander is one of the world's most credentialled neurosurgeons who spent over two decades training and practising at some of the world's top academic medical centres, including Harvard Medical School. In 2008, he fell into a seven-day coma caused by bacterial meningitis — a condition so severe his doctors gave him little chance of survival. What happened during those seven days didn't just change his life. It dismantled everything he thought he knew about the brain, the mind, and what comes after death.

His book Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife has sold over 2 million copies. After his recovery, Dr Alexander dedicated himself to bridging science and spirituality — exploring near-death experiences, consciousness, meditation, quantum physics, and the nature of the soul. He has since co-authored Map of Heaven and Living in a Mindful Universe with his wife Karen Newell, and runs workshops through Sacred Acoustics helping thousands access deeper states of awareness through binaural beats.

In this episode we cover:

🧠 What Dr Alexander experienced during his seven-day coma — the three phases of his near-death experience and what he encountered beyond the brain ☀️ Why materialism is dead — and how the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics (quantum entanglement) proves consciousness cannot be reduced to brain activity 🌌 Millions of people have had near-death experiences — what the science really says about the afterlife and reincarnation 🧘 How meditation and binaural beats can connect you to the universe — and why your ego is the biggest obstacle to your own soul 💡 The hypnagogic state used by Einstein, Edison, Salvador Dali and Robert Louis Stevenson to access their greatest breakthroughs 🍄 Psychedelics, psilocybin and what happens to the brain under magic mushrooms — and why meditation is still the better path 🤖 AI, consciousness and why no digital computer can ever be truly self-aware ❤️ The purpose of life, the life review, and why love is written into the very fabric of the universe

🎧🔥❤️‍🔥LISTEN VIA LINK IN BIO & -❤️‍🔥🔥🎧 https://linktr.ee/pitchingpassion

Those little moments that lift your day — a smile, the sun coming out, or a piece of chocolate? Audrey's Chocolates have been handcrafting chocolate for over 70 years. Chocolate to die for, in beautiful boxes that make the perfect gift. Discover your moment of joy at audreysChocolates.co.uk and treat yourself to 10% off using the code thekollective10

If this episode moved you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. Leave us a review — it genuinely helps more people find the show. And subscribe so you never miss a conversation.

Join our community on Patreon for exclusive content, early access and behind-the-scenes access 🙏 patreon.com/TheKollective828

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Support the Show
Mentions: Dr Eben Alexander, Karen Newell, Oprah Winfrey, Guy Lyon Playfair, Robin Carhart-Harris, Dr Roland Griffiths, Dr Anna Yusim, Dr Wilder Penfield, William James, Gerald Oster, Thomas Keating, Thomas Merton, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Robert Louis Stevenson, Salvador Dali, John Clauser, Alain Aspect, Anton Zeilinger, University of Virginia Division of Perceptual Studies, Bigelow Institute, Sacred Acoustics, Imperial College London, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, General Electric, Scientific American, Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, Proof of Heaven, Map of Heaven, Living in a Mindful Universe, Twin Telepathy, The Mystery of the Mind

We sit down with Pandora Morris — former lawyer turned mental health expert, and founder of the Hurt to Healing podcast, which she launched in 2022 after realising there was nowhere she could turn to hear people talk honestly about what was going on in their heads. Since then she's built a community around exactly that, interviewing everyone from Ruby Wax and Joanna Lumley to neuroscientists and mental health advocates — and turning her own struggle with OCD into one of the most direct, unguarded conversations you'll hear on the subject. Reaching Millions! 

Pandora has spent years living with and studying OCD, and in this conversation she pulls apart what it actually is versus the checking-the-lock-five-times caricature most people carry around. But the real argument she's building is bigger than one diagnosis: she thinks the exploding number of labels we now put on ourselves — ADHD, neurodivergence, an ever-expanding DSM — might be diluting support for the people who need it most. We also get into her theory of control (holding the handlebars too tight vs. letting go), why the people you admire most are probably hiding their own version of your worst thoughts, and what it's taught her to interview guests going through the exact struggles she's lived.

We cover:

🧠 What OCD actually is — and why it "metastasises" around whatever you care about most🏷️ Her real argument: why more diagnostic labels might mean less help for the people who need it🚲 The handlebars theory — why holding on too tight drains the colour out of life🔥 Turning private pain into purpose, and why the most admired people are often the most self-critical🎭 The masks we all wear, and why real connection means dropping them🎙️ Lessons from her own guests — James Haskell, Alex George, Gabor Maté and more💔 Dating, self-comparison, and learning to stop measuring your life against everyone else's🔦 Reframing the brain's negativity bias to actually notice what's going right

🎧🔥❤️‍🔥LISTEN VIA LINK IN BIO & -❤️‍🔥🔥🎧 https://linktr.ee/pitchingpassion

📢 Listeners get 10% off using the code thekollective10 at audreyschocolates.co.uk 🍫❤️‍🔥 Loved this episode? ✨ Like, Share, and Subscribe to support bold, heart-led conversations.

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Mentions: Pandora Morris · Hurt to Healing · Ruby Wax · Professor Ian Hickie · Spencer Matthews · Joanna Lumley · James Haskell · Jessamy Hibbard · Ellie Middleton · Dr. Alex George · Kimberly Nixon · Bryony Gordon · Gabor Maté · Emma Louise Boynton · Oscar Wilde · Chris Williamson · Steven Bartlett · Mel Robbins · Brené Brown · Professor David Nutt · Dr. Mark Horowitz · DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual)

What does it actually cost to plan a wedding for people who already own five homes — and why is the best wedding she's ever been to a paper-tablecloth ceilidh at a cricket club? 💍✨

We sit down with Sarah Haywood — Britain's premier wedding planner, author of The Wedding Bible, and the woman CNN turned to as their bridal expert for the royal wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales. This year marks 20 years since she incorporated her business, Sarah Haywood Exceptional Celebrations — and its transition into the UK's first employee-owned wedding and events company. In this episode she pulls back the curtain on planning multi-million-pound productions for ultra-high-net-worth families including stories of consulting on HBO's Succession, £40k cakes, thoughtful gifts and the things that truly make a wedding great. 

🥂 Sarah started her business alone on a landing in Oxfordshire — pre-social media, pre-broadband — after a first career as an ITN journalist. Six or seven years in, she planned her first millionaire wedding; a decade later, her business went exclusive to ultra-high-net-worth families. Vogue named her business the UK's top luxury wedding planner, she's been featured in Elle, Harper's Bazaar and Tatler, and she was a wedding consultant for HBO's Succession. Twenty years and one pandemic later, she's handed the business to her team as its first employee-owned wedding company.

We cover:

📱 Why phones have can quietly disrupt weddings — and the low-budget cricket-club wedding she still calls the most joyful she's ever attended🏰 What it actually takes to plan for families who already live a "stratospheric" life — private jets, five homes, and all🎂 The £40,000 cake and the cake-on-a-private-jet disaster that ended with the loo blocked off for the flight🌸 Flower budgets running past a million pounds, and why hand-painted tables are replacing tablecloths this year🎤 Negotiating riders with headline DJs and A-list acts booked for a 20-minute set💰 Her "big five" — the five things every couple needs to agree on before spending a penny on a wedding🎬 Consulting on HBO's Succession and commentating for CNN at the royal wedding🏛️ The economics of weddings — 267,000 a year in the UK, injecting £6.6 billion into the economy before the couple spends a cent💬 Her advice to her younger self: stop getting bogged down in the weeds — your own life matters more than someone else's special day

🎧🔥❤️‍🔥LISTEN VIA LINK IN BIO & -❤️‍🔥🔥🎧 https://linktr.ee/pitchingpassion

🍫 Listeners get 10% off using the code thekollective10 at audreyschocolates.co.uk 🍫️

🔥 Fireside Chat 🔥

🎯 The message I'd give my younger self: Don't get so bogged down in the weeds and worry of it all — your own life and your own family are more important.

🌙 One thing I want young listeners to take from this: Try to live in the moment a bit more. That's what I'd like to have learned earlier.

🙏 What I'm most grateful for in this career: It's given me a window into a world I'd never otherwise have known, let me be creative, build a business, and meet a whole community of people doing what I do. It's opened my eyes to how the world really works.

❤️‍🔥 Loved this episode? ✨ Like, Share, and Subscribe to support bold, heart-led conversations.

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Mentions: Sarah Haywood · The Wedding Bible · Vogue · Elle · Harper's Bazaar · Tatler · The Times · CNN · Prince and Princess of Wales · HBO · Succession · Eastnor Castle · Matthew Macfadyen · ITN · Castiglion Del Bosco · Rosewood · Peggy Porschen · Cartusia · Adele · Elton John · Jeff Bezos · Taylor Swift · Donald Trump · Office for National Statistics · Tesco · Pizza Express · Starbucks · BMW · Jaguar · Rolls-Royce · Ford · Oxfordshire · Sicily · Nice · Scotland · New York ·

What would it mean to finally understand your hair — and know exactly what it can do? 💇✨

We sit down with Greg Hill — master stylist at the renowned Josh Wood Colour salon in London, and the man trusted with the hair of some of the most photographed women in the world. Greg has spent decades helping people discover what their hair is truly capable of, and in this episode he opens up about the craft, the psychology, and the surprisingly profound relationship between how your hair looks and how you feel about yourself.

This isn't a conversation about trends. It's a conversation about understanding your hair type, working with what you have, and why a little know-how can go further than you'd ever expect.

✂️ Greg trained at the legendary Nicky Clarke salon, later styling hair for the likes of entrepreneur and icon Trinny Woodall for over a decade — helping to define one of the most admired hair looks in British media. An influencer of what Good Housekeeping has called the ghost wave, Greg built a loyal following through a social media channel that started as self-promotion and became something far more useful: a genuine education in hair. He visits clients at home, works from Josh Wood Colour, and has a reputation built entirely on results.

We cover:

💇 Why understanding your hair type is the single most important thing you can do 🌊 The ghost wave — how Greg and Trinny accidentally created one of the most imitated looks around 🧠 Why hairdressers are amateur psychologists and what the chair reveals about people 🎤 From opera singer to master stylist — and why hairdressing was always the thing 🪞 The difference between a haircut that frames you and one that drags you down 📱 Why Greg's social media became an education channel — and what he's teaching people to do themselves 💡 Practical tips on volume, blow-drying technique, product, and protecting your hair from heat ❤️ What it means to truly see someone — and why a great stylist does far more than cut hair

🎧🔥❤️‍🔥LISTEN VIA LINK IN BIO & -❤️‍🔥🔥🎧 https://linktr.ee/pitchingpassion

🎁 Listeners get 10% off using the code thekollective10 at audreyschocolates.co.uk 🛍️

🔥 Fireside Chat 🔥

[TO BE ADDED]

❤️‍🔥 Loved this episode? ✨ Like, Share, and Subscribe to support bold, heart-led conversations.

WANT MORE OR TO SUPPORT? 👉 Become a patron and get exclusive access & behind-the-scenes perks:www.patreon.com/TheKollective828 💎

WANT MORE OR TO SUPPORT? 👉 Become a patron and get exclusive access & behind-the-scenes perks:www.patreon.com/TheKollective828 💎

☕ Want to make a one off donation to support the show 🙏 : https://buymeacoffee.com/pitchingpassion

Mentions: Greg Hill · Josh Wood Colour · Trinny Woodall · Nicky Clarke · Sam McKnight · Good Housekeeping · Diana · Christy Turlington · Naomi Campbell · Claudia Schiffer · Cindy Crawford · Iris Murdoch · Judi Dench · Instagram · YouTube

What does it truly take to keep a story alive — from the first spark of an idea all the way to an audience's memory?

Sammy Pressman is a producer and the head of Pressman Film — one of independent cinema's most storied production companies. Founded in 1969 by his father, the legendary Edward R. Pressman, the company has produced over 100 films, including American Psycho, Wall Street, Badlands and The Crow, accumulating over two billion dollars in global box office revenue. Sammy now leads the company, continuing its tradition of bold, director-driven storytelling.

Pressman Film was founded in 1969 by Edward R. Pressman — widely regarded as one of the great independent producers of his generation — after he made his first short film in London to a Beatles track and walked away with a three-picture deal. Sammy grew up in and around that world, went on to shoot behind-the-scenes footage on Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant and The Man Who Knew Infinity, and now runs the company his father built. Their latest film, Dead Man's Wire, directed by Gus Van Sant, premiered at Venice and Toronto Film Festivals and is coming to Netflix. Learn more at pressman.com

We cover:

🎬 How film serves as a collective dream machine — and why it matters more than ever 🔥 Growing up with Edward Pressman and what he meant when he said "films always matter" 💸 The reality of producing — raising money, burning it, and building something out of light 🌍 Why every movie is a miracle — and why you never really know what will connect 📱 Attention spans, the iPhone, and what independent film is up against 🤝 The future of fandom — blockchain, fan credits, and building real community around film 🎥 Behind the scenes of Dead Man's Wire with Gus Van Sant ❤️ The messages Sammy wants film to carry into the world right now

🎧🔥❤️‍🔥LISTEN VIA LINK IN BIO & -❤️‍🔥🔥🎧 __ https://linktr.ee/pitchingpassion __

🎁 Listeners get 10% off using the code thekollective10 at audreyschocolates.co.uk

🔥 Fireside Chat with Sammy Pressman 🔥

🎬 Favourite scene in any film: Singin' in the Rain. Gene Kelly's dance. Just so joyful.

🎭 A character from a film you'd want to meet: Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange. To box him.

🌟 One thing you'd add to your bucket list: Having a child. Or winning something marvellous. Torn between the selfless and the purely egoic.

✅ One thing IN right now: Being a married man — and everything that holds.

🚫 One thing OUT: Unkindness. Very little patience for people who can't bring themselves to understand someone else.

🙏 Something to bring more gratitude to yourself for: How hard I work. The work that isn't complete is always louder than the work that is. I need to allow myself to not always be productive.

❤️‍🔥 Loved this episode? ✨ Like, Share, and Subscribe to support bold, heart-led conversations.

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Mentions: Sammy Pressman · Edward R. Pressman · Pressman Film · Gus Van Sant · Werner Herzog · Colman Domingo · Bill Skarsgård · Dacre Montgomery · Saar Klein · John Robinson · Oliver Stone · Terrence Malick · Wim Wenders · Dziga Vertov · Gene Kelly · Ben Affleck · River Phoenix · Matt Damon · Paul Williams · Neil Young · Roger Ebert · Edward Abbey · G.H. Hardy · Ramanujan · American Psycho · Wall Street · Badlands · The Crow · Bad Lieutenant · Dead Man's Wire · The Man Who Knew Infinity · Good Will Hunting · Elephant · Milk · True Romance · Wings of Desire · Tree of Life · The Sweet Smell of Success · A Clockwork Orange · Singin' in the Rain · The Man with a Movie Camera · The Monkey Wrench Gang · A24 · London School of Economics · Venice Film Festival · Toronto Film Festival · Netflix · Hollywood Forever

What happens when a single psychedelic experience changes the entire course of your life? 🍄✨

🎧🔥❤️‍🔥LISTEN VIA LINK IN BIO & -❤️‍🔥🔥🎧 https://linktr.ee/pitchingpassion

We sit down with Milana Abensperg und Traun — founder of Funga, a platform and product brand on a mission to reconnect people with the healing power of nature. A young Austrian woman who took a hero dose of magic mushrooms on a remote Indonesian island, moved to Mexico City to immerse herself in plant medicine culture, and came back to Europe to build something that didn't yet exist. She's the first person in the UK to bring Kanna — an ancient South African succulent — into functional chocolate form. And she did it with months of obsessive attention to detail, sourcing from some of the best medicinal mushroom growers in the world. 🌿🍫

https://fungachocos.com

This isn't a conversation about getting high. It's a conversation about consciousness, healing, the forgotten wisdom of indigenous plant traditions — and what it actually feels like to build a passion project from nothing, on purpose.

🌿 Milana studied functional mushrooms and plant medicine for two years in Mexico, building fungaonline.com — an educational platform designed to make these topics accessible and beautiful. Her debut product, Funga Chocos for Grooving, combines cordyceps mushroom and Kanna in chocolate form — the closest thing to a microdose without the psychedelic. Her next product, Funga Chocos for Dreaming, is already in development.

We cover:

🍄 A hero dose of magic mushrooms in Indonesia — and the clear before-and-after it created 🌍 Two years in Mexico City learning from healers, facilitators and a French mycologist who sings to his mushrooms 🍫 Why she built a functional chocolate instead of a supplement — and the months of obsession that went into every detail 🌱 Kanna — the ancient South African empathogen that binds to serotonin receptors, regulates your amygdala, and is nature's answer to the morning SSRI ⚡ Cordyceps — the energy and stamina mushroom used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years, and why most of what's on the market isn't the real thing 🧠 The mycelium network, human connection, and why a high dose of psychedelics is the fastest route to understanding we are all one 🌙 Why she's building a chocolate for dreaming next — and the Blue Lotus plant from the Amazon she's obsessed with

🎧🔥❤️‍🔥LISTEN VIA LINK IN BIO & -❤️‍🔥🔥🎧 https://linktr.ee/pitchingpassion

🎁 Listeners get 10% off using the code thekollective10 at audreyschocolates.co.uk 🛍️

🔥 Fireside Chat 🔥

💫 Three things that give you joy: Morning routine. Kanna — the gift that keeps on giving. And dancing.

🧘 A mantra you want to embrace now: Trust the process.

🎬 A favourite book, film or artist that isn't obvious: True Romance — and it ties back perfectly, because Kanna is a heart opener and this product was originally going to be called Fungo Chacos for Loving.

🧒 Something you wish you knew when you were younger: Not to spend too much time worrying about how things will come about. There's some sort of divine guidance, and even the bad things will lead somewhere good.

🐋 One thing on your bucket list: Swimming with whales.

🌍 One thing IN right now: Being more intentional about how she consumes alcohol.

🚫 One thing OUT: Social media.

❤️‍🔥 Loved this episode? ✨ Like, Share, and Subscribe to support bold, heart-led conversations.

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Mentions: Milana Abensperg und Traun · Funga · · Kanna · Cordyceps · Lion's Mane · Reishi · Blue Lotus · Magic Mushrooms · Psychedelics · DMT · Microdosing · Mycelium · Serotonin · Amygdala · ChatGPT · Carl Jung · Sigmund Freud · Transcendental Meditation · Mexico City · Indonesia · South Africa · Chinese Medicine · Magnesium · Melatonin