The Influencers with Chris Jones

Happy New Year! My first guest for 2023 on my monthly podcast is someone who's suffered at the hands of a controlling and abusive man from North Wales, who subjected her to an terrible ordeal, when he kept her hostage for many hours. Rhianon Bragg has talked about the abuse and coercive control she suffered at the hands of Gareth wyn Jones, who was imprisoned but is eligible for parole any day. Rhianon, by talking publicly and bringing this kind of abusive behaviour into the news, is stepping up and making the general public aware that abuse and violence against women, coercive control and murder are endemic and are happening all over the country to women from all backgrounds, education and ethnicities. In my eyes, Rhianon is a true influencer.  If you are someone who has suffered, is living through it now, or living in fear at what could happen, please listen to January's episode of The Influencers and get in touch with the various organisations and charities that can help. Stay safe!

Have you ever thought that you'd like to drink less alcohol or cut it out altogether? Would you like to live healthier and be happier? Do you think that you drink too much and that alcohol has become a big part of your life? This month's episode of The Influencers is perfect for you if your answers to those questions was ''yes''. Nigel Jones, a successful businessman and entrepreneur realised that alcohol has taken hold of his life and was affecting it in a bad way. So he decided to give it up and life an alcohol free life, and it's the best thing he ever did. This month's episode is a really interesting and inspiring tale of one man's journey to change his lifestyle, his mindset and ultimately, his life. Nigel is a coach, mentor and author and it was my privilege to chat to him on The Influencers.

Donna Ali is a visionary and a woman ahead of her time. She exemplifies excellence with a heart. As the Founder of Bxcellence and the host of the BOMB (Black Owned Minority Businesses) Donna leads the charge to support and empower the marginalised . She's also an award winning Welsh, mixed-race entrepreneur, an advocate for inequality and fairness and a lovely person and it was so easy to interview Donna a while ago and broadcast to coincide with Black History Month.

After a break over Summer, my English language monthly podcast is now back with a fabulous guest. Sarah Murphy is a member of the Welsh Senedd and represents the areas of Bridgend and Porthcawl. She talks openly about all manner of things, including her battle with an eating disorder, her time in South Korea, her struggles with her mental health and even about how difficult it is for her to date. My thanks to this remarkable and hard working politician. I so wish that ALL politicians were like Sarah!

Hello and welcome to the latest episode of The Influencers with Chris Jones...that's me. My guest is Terra Newell. Anybody seen the Netflix series Dirty John? Terra Newell is the daughter of Deborah Newell who was conned by John Meehan, who proceeded to attack Terra with a knife in a parking lot in the US. Terra fought back, defended herself, got hold of the knife and thereby killed John Meehan. Terra since then, has suffered with trauma and PTSD but she is now a coach and speaker and advocate for domestic abuse and coercive control victims and survivors. She very kindly gave me her time recently, from sunny California and we talked openly and honestly of her experience, domestic violence, control, red flags, consequences, the Dirty John series itself and how she has coped and dealt with the whole thing. She is amazing and I was very proud to interview, yet again, a true influencer.

Happy New year to you all! Here's hoping that 2022 will be a better year than 2020 and 2021🙈🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

So my first guest of the year on this monthly podcast with influential and inspirational people, who shape and change and influence our lives, is  one of the most respected and sought after forensic and criminal psychologists in the UK, who has written 2 fabulous books about her work and career. I am so lucky and absolutely honoured to have Kerry Daynes as my guest on The Influencers! We talk about her upbringing, her career, her work, the justice system, prisons, psychopaths, how she was stabbed by a kebab skewer 😱😱, domestic violence, her foray into writing and much more. If you haven't read her books yet (What lies buried & The Dark side of the mind) I THOROUGHLY recommend that you do!!!

Claire Sanderson is the editor-in-chief of Women’s Health magazine and brand. She's responsible for the strategy and direction of the whole brand. She's an outspoken advocate for more open conversation around mental health and passionately believes a holistic approach to health, including exercise, is crucial for mental wellness. She's also Welsh, from Abercynon in South Wales and is my amazing guest for this month's podcast. I am sooooooooooo lucky to have Claire on the podcast and we talked about her career, newspapers and magazines, women(obvs), health (obvs), being Welsh, mental health, fitness and so much more! Yet again, a very influential guest!!!

My guest on The Influencers for November & December is TV presenter and news reader Andrea Byrne. She is of course well known as a face on television and on award stages but it is as someone who went through repeated IVF treatments, without any success, with her rugby player husband Lee Byrne, that she is influencing and supporting people who are going through the same challenges and emotions. Andrea has been very open and honest about her losses, the stress and worry and dashed hopes of IVF treatment, and her popular podcast Making Babies, is an important and influential one, where she talks to various people about their experiences.

There is a happy ending to Andrea and Lee's story, because she did finally fall pregnant, not through IVF, and their wonderful and wonderous little girl Jemima was born in 2019. Thank you so much to Andrea for speaking to me on the podcast not only about her experiences, her thoughts and her emotions, but about her career and work, schooldays and the 'Gavin & Stacey' comparisons!😉

All of my guests on The Influencers are fabulous, inspirational, interesting and influential; and my guest this month is all of those and so much more! Bernie Davies now lives in Wales, after making the journey to the UK from Jamaica and as well as a publisher, mentor, entrepreneur and speaker, she is an influential networker and an all round fabulous lady! Bernie's journey is an inspirational one, her positivity is infectious and this episode will DEFINITELY make you smile and laugh. Listen or download from Spotify, google pods, apple pods, Breaker, Radiocast or Anchor and enjoy the Influencers with Chris Jones and the wonderful September episode.

A huge thanks too to my guest in August (still available to listen to on these platforms), Frankie Hobro from Anglesey Sea Zoo.

Anglesey Sea Zoo Frankie Hobro, the Director and Owner of Anglesey Sea Zoo, has a long history working on hands-on conservation projects with critically endangered species in difficult conditions abroad. She has always been a passionate advocate for conservation, particularly endangered species and marine conservation. I'm so pleased to have Frankie as my special guest on The Influencers podcast for August. We talk about all manner of things, such as the sea zoo, her career and goals, the business which she has transformed, entrepreneurship, her travels, litter and beach cleaning and her 10 quick fire questions. Thank you so much to Sophie How for being on the podcast for July and don't forget to listen to all the monthly episodes of the podcast on Spotify. Enjoy the conversation with Frankie and go to www.angleseyseazoo.co.uk