The Human Edge

For over 14 years, Richard Wain has been supporting local businesses and organisations to impact the world positively through their digital marketing activities and to connect with their clients through authentic storytelling as the founding director of Vu Online, a digital marketing agency based in the South West of England.

Passionate about nature and regeneration, Richard co-founded the Positive Nature Network in 2022 to provide businesses with a space to pause, reflect, share knowledge and connect with nature. Richard is also the author of Beyond the Brink Is The Beginning, a collection of poems that offer a soothing balm for eco-anxiety and a vision of a thriving future.

Richard and I talk about the importance of storytelling, both the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we tell about ourselves to the people in our world. We talk about Richard's recent ADHD assessment and the impact that has had on his life. We talk about Richard's writing, what it is to be a man in today's society and how he thinks about climate change and the future of the planet. Richard also performed for me one of his powerful poems, 'Atoms' from Beyond The Brink Is The Beginning.

The conversation was filmed on Zoom, but was no less profound for it. I hope you get as much out of it as I did!

Frank Reeves is an entrepreneur and tech investor. He co-founded and was the CEO of avvio.com and allora.ai, until his exit in 2022. He is now the Founding Partner at Voyria, a fund investing in start-ups in the travel sector.

Frank and I talked about how he turned Avvio around from technical insolvency, the importance of therapy, ADHD, finding purpose, how to create the DNA of a business, the reasons behind the sale of his business, and what he hopes to achieve with Voyria.

Despite an embarrassingly stilted introduction by me 😂, this was a great conversation with a wonderfully open guest. 

I hope you enjoy it!

Richard Morris was a pioneer in Silicon Valley, building the internet infrastructure and services we use as utilities today. 

After a successful exit and moving back to the UK, Richard wanted to focus more on social impact and co-founded and managed TheGivingMachine, a not-for-profit social enterprise that enables us all to shop and give for free to the causes of our choice, enabling over 1 million free donations to date, benefiting thousands of UK charities and schools. 

Richard is also a coach to entrepreneurs.

Richard and I talked about his time in Silicon Valley, what great leadership looks like, the importance of vulnerability, the difficulty that many men have being vulnerable, and the necessity of giving and of service.

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Leo Elstob, aka Leo Zero, is a true creative - a graphic designer, a radio presenter, a DJ and a remixer for the likes of Dua Lipa, Florence and the Machine, David Bowie and Lou Reed, among other things.

Whether you're a creative person, or want to become more creative, or you're simply curious about how creative people work, this episode is for you.

The conversation covers what creativity actually is, how to create the conditions to allow your natural creativity to emerge, and the importance of spirituality to our journey as human beings. 

Leo and I also talk at length about the music industry and how at one point in his career, Leo found himself at a fork in the road, where one path led to fame and celebrity, and he chose the other.

This was a fascinating conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Mark Ridderhof is a former professional basketball player and is now Head of Sales of a UK-based scale-up.

Mark is passionate about people and companies and helping to empower them to reach their goals. He is endlessly curious about why we do certain things and likes to challenge himself and others to see how we can improve. This is something he always looks to in his life whether it's privately, coaching his own team, or dealing with customers and partnerships. 

Mark and I talk about his life as a professional basketball player in The Netherlands, and the pressure of being the son of a Dutch basketball icon. We also talked about the transition from top level sport to 'normal' life was incredibly challenging, as it came at the same time as the birth of his daughter and the break up of his then relationship. Out of dark times came the insight into who he is and Mark credits that time as giving him the mental strength to be the leader he is today.

Patrick Onyido is a super-talented, self-taught baker. He's the owner of a bakery and cafe business in North London, Paddy Cakes, which has become a hub for the local community, and has a loyal following of customers as a result of the sensational quality of his products.

Patrick and I talk about the immigrant experience (Patrick moved to London from Nigeria when he was 10), the experience of growing up as a black man in England, the importance of mentors in his life, how food influenced his career, and how his experience of being on remand in prison made him into the man he is today. Patrick and I also discussed how most men don't talk about how they're feeling, which is contributing to a crisis in men's mental health - and how we're trying to encourage men to talk to each other.

ps reference to "On The Mat" - this was my first recorded show and this was the working title of the podcast at that time

Mia is a model, with collaborations including Vichy, L’Oreal Paris, Armani, Max Factor, and M&S. She is also a panel speaker, a content creator, and a writer. She’s done commercial voiceovers, and landed a role as Disney’s first black, silver haired, middle-aged mermaid in the live action film; The Little Mermaid. Her overarching mission is age inclusivity, and authentic representation of her generation.

Imagine becoming a model at 54 and, with low body confidence, being asked to take your clothes off for an underwear shoot? We explored how Mia has managed to overcome her insecurities to thrive and what it truly means to take a stand for a cause you believe in. We talked about purpose-driven work, the importance of role models, the joy of having adult children and how "despite what we’ve been taught, midlife truly can be amongst some of the best years of your life!"

Rich Scott is CEO of Genomics England, a UK government owned organisation that partners with the NHS to provide whole genome sequencing diagnostics, helping to find the causes of disease and the development of new treatments.

This was a fascinating conversation, taking in Rich's journey from medical school through to leading an organisation employing 500+ people, at the cutting edge of genetic research. We talked about the challenges - and joys - of leadership; how to create a team that's as driven as its leader; the necessity of having a growth mindset (and what that actually means!); and how to handle the pressure and responsibility of being at the top of an organisation.

Gabriel Van Rel began studying the various martial arts of Aikido, Judo and Tae Kwondo from the age of seven. At sixteen, he was invited to represent Team USA at the North American Cup, winning silver and bronze medals. In 1993, he was the youngest member of five-man team that won the US National Championships. In 2003, he was part of the bronze medal winning team at the World Shotokan Karate Championships and in 2005 he won gold and silver medals at the North American Cup. 

In 2009, Gabriel moved from New York to London and since 2014 has been teaching karate at his own, very popular, Dojo.

Gabriel and I talk about how to perform at your best in the face of fear, how to quieten the mind and see through your own self-story, the importance of an ancient discipline like karate for modern day living, his journey from novice teacher to 'Sensei', and the life lessons he's learned along the way. 

Lea Esterhuizen is co-founder and CEO of &Wider, a business headquartered in Amsterdam which works with businesses to evaluate human rights risks throughout their supply chains and facilities, tracking progress and identifying areas for improvement.

Prior to creating &Wider, Lea has worked in incredibly challenging arenas such as genocide, forced migration and state-sponsored violence and she talks beautifully how it's possible to find joy, wit, humour and beauty in the darkest of circumstances.

Our conversation also explores how leaders can be most effective, especially in the impact-driven space and the challenges of juggling the demands of motherhood with the demands of business and broader human rights.