Our guest on today’s episode is Freddie Blackett, founder of Patch Plants. Freddie set up the company back in 2015, after discovering that he couldn’t find any decent plants that would survive on his small balcony in suburban London. Since then, Patch has become the purveyor of a very particular millennial status symbol, dragging the houseplant from its 1970s doldrums, and transforming it into a cultural phenomenon all of its own. This is a classic start up story — neat, disruptive idea; buckets of hard work; lovely branding; success. Although it’s never quite as simple as that, as Freddie explains. In a very fun episode of the podcast, Freddie explains how caring for houseplants spurred an existential crisis in him; why the unpleasant taste of Red Bull is oddly inspiring; and the overlooked secret to keeping your own plants alive forever. Enjoy!  

The use of Performance enhancing drugs — or PEDs — may well be the movie industry's worst kept secret, according to contributor Harry Shukman. It's the only way that many of today’s leading men could cook up those superhero abs at such short notice, as a host of industry insiders reveal. Today on Overheard at the Clubhouse, we discuss the effect these treatments can have on the stars themselves; the wider impact on the rest of us; and the mysterious, shadowy omèrta that surrounds this dark art — and why it persists today. 

Overheard at the Clubhouse tells the stories behind the stories in Gentleman's Journal magazine and beyond.

NFT: the three most befuddling and bemusing letters in the modern English language. Depending on who you ask, that pesky acronym either contains the future of all financial security, innovation and investment; or is simply a passing fad, characterised by geeky internet artwork, the worst kind of speculation, and a thousand dinner party bores. The truth, of course, is much more complex and much more fascinating than either of those definitions. And in today's episode, Harry Jarman, founder of Gentleman's Journal, sits down with three industry experts to get their insider take on the field, their thoughts on where it's about to go next, and their actual useful advice for anyone looking to jump aboard. 

"I never felt sorry for a homeless person in my life. You've got to use that energy trying to sort them out..."

Lord John Bird is the founder of The Big Issue — the revolutionary street magazine which turned 30 last year. Lord Bird’s story is fascinating. He grew up in one of the roughest slums in London, was homeless at the age five, and found himself in and out of prison several times before the age of 18. (It was here, in fact, that  he first encountered a printing press.) Today, the Big Issue is the world’s most distributed street paper — a project that has given millions of homeless people not just a solid income, but also a way back into society — and Bird himself is a hugely respected member of the House of Lords. In a brilliant episode of the podcast, he takes us on a journey from the slums of Notting Hill to the highest chambers in the land — via the tumultuous and sometimes raucous early days of the Big Issue, the new pressures of the pandemic, and an inside view on the political climate of the moment. 

Francis Bourgeois is the trainspotter turned TikTokker turned overnight national treasure, and our February 2022 cover star. Here, photographer Isaac Marley Morgan tells us what it was like to shoot him. Choo choo!

Overheard at the Clubhouse is our new series where we tell the stories behind the stories in Gentleman's Journal magazine and beyond. 

Tom Molnar is the co-founder and CEO of Gail's — and thus, indirectly, the man behind the finest cheese and ham croissant in the history of the world. In a start up culture that values innovation and disruption at almost any cost, it is heartening to learn about the incredible success of Gail's — a bakery that has always made the quality and taste of its food the number one priority, from first shop to 79th. In a brilliant episode, Tom tells us why he almost pursued a career in fish instead of bread; how the company’s 30-year-old sourdough starter is it’s most sacred and protected IP; and reveals — for the first time and in perhaps the biggest scoop in Gentleman’s Journal history — his five all time favourite items on the Gail’s menu.

Harry Shukman, our writer on the dubious 'billionaire beat' of late, takes us inside the world of luxury estate managers — the string pullers who choreography the lives of the 0.0001%. Expect Shamans on private jets, £100,000 scented candles, an FBI-grade screening process, and 27-hour work days. 

'Overheard at the Clubhouse' is our brand new podcast series at Gentleman's Journal, where we delve into the stories behind the stories from our magazine and beyond. Do let us know what you think.

John Russo, the CEO of Maddox Gallery and an expert in street art, takes us inside the sometimes discombobulating contemporary art market.

In a fascinating conversation, John tells us what we should look for in our first art acquisitions; how Instagram is dramatically changing the way art is discovered; why smart TVs could be the future of art displays; and what the atmosphere was like in the room at Sotheby’s as Banksy enacted his famous shredder stunt. 

Ruth Rogers is the founder of the River Cafe — London's last true power restaurant, and a bastion of brilliant Italian comfort cooking. But the only thing harder than getting a reservation here, perhaps, is getting a seat on her new podcast, 'Table 4.' The brilliant new interview show, helmed by Rogers herself, uses food as the jumping off point for a series of candid, strikingly honest interview with the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Bob Iger, David Beckham, Edward Enninful and Pete Davidson. We were lucky enough to sit down with Ruth for half an hour just before lunch service down at the River Cafe. Here — as the knives are sharpened, the onions cut, and the seabass  filleted — she tells us how the restaurant originally came about almost by chance; her first memories of coming to England; what her ultimate comfort food is; and why you should always have a meal with someone before you hire them.

Ben Francis is the founder and CEO of GymShark, a fitness company he started with some school friends back in 2012, drop-shipping supplements to their pals in the bodybuilding community. The first thing Ben sold was a £52 pound tub of USN Hyperbolic Mass protein powder — an order that earned ben a whopping £2 profit, but which left him, in his own words, dancing around his bedroom. A few years later, a single event caused one of Gymshark's tracksuits to go viral, and the young company went from selling £300 of clothes a day, to making £30,000 of revenue in just half a single hour. But it wasn’t until last year, perhaps, that the company became a true household name, and the 29-year-old Ben became a poster boy for modern British entrepreneurship — after General Atlantic invested more than $260 million in the business, valuing it at over a billion pounds. 

In a highly enjoyable episode of the podcast, we sat down with Ben up at company's  Solihull campus to discuss why humility is the best trait of all; the time Ben suffered a total ‘ego death,’ and how we should always feel like we’re winging it, all of the time. Enjoy.