Ladies and gents! Apologies for a long time of radio silence. This podcast will explain why that has been and I just wanted to let you know that I am now back on here for good!!

This is a tricky time for us all. However we will get through this together and come out stronger.

Huge Love and stay safe!

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I had the pleasure of sitting with actor, comedian and performer Charles Esten recently.  Most notorious for his role in Nashville as Deacon Claybourne. This was extra special for me as Charles, or Chip as I better know him, is my godfather and somebody I look up to in many ways. He Is one of the most charismatic yet humble people I've had the pleasure of meeting. I always jump at the opportunity to spend time with him when I can and this was a wonderful experience for me to record this episode.

Chip started his amazing career in LA before moving to London to work for my dad in his Westend show 'The Buddy Holly Story'. From there Chip has had an immense journey of ups and downs. His journey lead him to land a main role in hit series Nashville and he has just finished his first solo UK tour, finishing at none other than the Royal Albert Hall.

This man is my godfather, an abnormally talented individual but more than anything he is one of the most incredible and intelligent men I've ever spoken to. I loved this episode more than you can imagine and it will be an hour I will never forget.

Here are a few things we spoke about:

- Chip's early career. From working in LA to moving to London.

- How he had to jump at his opportunities and making a last impact in those moments.

- Hearing the story of how Chip's relationship with his magnificent wife Patty came a reality. A lovely story.

- How being present is just so important to him.

- Prioritisation is key to living a fulfilled life.

- How to steer towards the fear and how that can make you powerful.

- 'We are stronger than we think'. Hearing about the adversity that Chip's family has been through with their youngest Addie. How the family came together and came out on top... TOGETHER.

- Chip's toolbox analogy. Beautiful.

- Knowing where you want to go in life is great but building and nurturing your foundations is what really matters.  You think some things matter in life but it's in moments of adversity that you realise they don't. It's the foundations that really matter when it comes down to it.

- The charity work that Chip does for Leukaemia.  The Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's evening walk and fundraising event to pay tribute and bring hope to people battling cancer. Thousands of participants raise funds for vital research and patient services and on these special nights they carry illuminated lanterns in support of those who have survived, those battling and those who have lost their fight with cancer. The link is below to see the work Chip is helping with for that cause.

https://www.charlesesten.com/lls

AN incredible episode. Lap it up people. It is a beautiful listen.

Burst Oral Care, co-founded in August 2017 by Hamish Khayat and Brittany Stewart, has revolutionized the $40 billion oral care industry by providing consumers with high-quality dental products at an accessible price through its direct ship subscription business model.

Together both Hamish, who has recently been voted a Forbes 30 under 30, and Brittany, who I was told by Hamish has won more awards than she knows what to do with, have taken BURST to incredible height in the space of only two years.  As the company continues to grow it was a real honour for me to sit down and talk to them both to hear the company's story.

Their amazing relationship as co-founders is obvious and I was very grateful for their time. Below is a few of the topics we covered.  It was a seriously enjoyable episode so get stuck in!!

- Some of the early challenges, few early successes, and a few aha moments that happened with the business in the early days.

- Why the US was the best place to start the oral care subscription model.

- Brittany’s ‘success soup’ - an expression I will forever use. Brittany explains how things started to really take shape for Burst and the ingredients that go into that success soup....

- 99% of the time Hamish and Brittany have the same thoughts on a matter but the 1% of time they don’t and they have it out!

- The are both openly confrontational which I find interesting. They always come 'to win the argument.'

- They have worked hard to create a culture where opinion is important but the justification of that opinion is even more important.

- Brittany’s thoughts on servant leadership.

- Having an open and honest dialogue is key to a successful cofounder relationship.

- What their number 1 piece of advice would be to going out and finding a co-founbder for your business.

- How Burst have scaled up and how they plan to scale up further if the the opportunity comes about.

- They each tell me their favourite book / resource that has helped shape their approach to life and business.

Enjoy this episode with Hamish and Brittany... it's a screamer!

Your Town was planted when the Founder, Mark White, sent himself an email in 2011 with an idea for a running event that started and finished in Hoddesdon town centre. Three years on, a chance meeting in April 2014 brought ‘Give Your Town The Run Around’ to life, and following a steep learning curve, our first event happened just 5 months later in September 2014.

A year later in October 2015, after putting on two more successful events, the company decided to have a permanent presence in town and invested in our first Street Office. And so… Your Town was born!

Fast forward a few years and Your Town pursued their passion for building and celebrating community in a diverse range of ways. In December 2015, they launched Your Town Clubs, with free weekly clubs for local runners and walkers. In October 2016 they piloted our first “Get-Togethers” simultaneously across three Hertfordshire towns with a run, walk and bike ride for up to 100 participants in each. During the summer 2017, they kicked off “Give Your School the Run Around” programme, which included 10 local primary schools in activities to raise awareness of health, wellbeing and community, culminating in a grand finale event hosted by a local secondary school.

More than most people I get to see the power of what exercise can do to a community. Mark has a passion for it too and it was amazing to see. It was great to meet him and I am so glad he got the chance to be a part of the Redbull Ampahiko Academy. On that note going up and seeing what the Redbull Amaphiko Academy was all about was pretty sensational!! For those that don't know what it is the Red Bull Amaphiko is a programme to help Social Entrepreneurs create innovative and sustainable change in their communities.  This episode is the last part of a 3 part series I recorded. I also interviewed two other great guys with two other great business.   The link for Your Town is below here.https://www.yourtown.community

Also follow their instagram page - @yourtownactive

Sir Bob Scott is a man deeply respected within the fabric of the United Kingdom.  His involvement in moving the Theatre Industry forward in this country is unarguable. Not only that but his involvement in obtaining the Common Wealth Games to the City of Manchester in 2002 was crucial, as well as this he led Liverpool’s successful Bid to become the European Capital of Culture in 2008.  

The one thing that sprung out to me when interviewing Bob was that he quite simply never settled for one career path. He moved onto whatevwe excited him most at the time. His undeniable characteristic of being curious led him into a tonne of different areas that have had an extremely positive impact.  His persuasive tendencies provided him with sensational results in the areas he went into and for that this country should be ever so thankful. All of which resulted in his knighthood awarded in 1994.

This is slightly different to many episodes I have done due to the age and experience of Sir Bob.  However that should be viewed as a positive as we are extremely lucky to have been gifted with an hour of this man's life.  He is a truly fantastic man and I will always cherish the hour I got to spend with him.

Do you beat yourself up?  If you do... it's normal... you are not alone! Our society and environments sometimes place huge expectations on us.  If we sometimes come up short it's so crucial to not rip yourself apart!!! Listen in to what I fucked up on recently and how I had to shake myself out to get back into a decent head space to move forward.

Major Russell Lewis MC is one of the most incredible men I've ever had the pleasure to speak to.  Throughout his Army career he spent 20 years as an Officer in the Parachute Regiment and served in a variety of challenging theatres including Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Iraq. In 2009 he was awarded a Military Cross for leadership and gallantry in Afghanistan.  His accounts of this 6 month tour in Afghanistan, where he was the Company Commander, were published in his book 'Company Commander'. A phenomenal read.

Russell currently delivers leadership and coaching training to multi national corporations and charitable organisations. He is also a motivational speaker who has addressed the US Naval Academy, Boston College, Greater Manchester Police and the European Nuclear Safety Agency. As well as being a defence commentator for Sky News.

What I love about Russell is his passion for the fact that the leadership qualities he has developed in the army are transferable into any environment.  And most importantly... these skills can be learnt.

Here are some of the topics we covered in our chat:

- Why the Army was the only route Russell every wanted to take.

⁃ Russell makes clear that leadership qualities can be learnt and how.

⁃ How the army accelerated his leadership skills.

⁃ Responding and reacting to pressure and set backs is one of the biggest areas of leadership. He explains how this happens in any environment and talks about the mindset to get into when that happens.

⁃ ‘Leadership is never tested on a good day.’ Russell talks us through a bad day in Afghanistan and how he reacted during the most difficult day off his leadership career.

⁃ Neurolinguistic VIsualization Techniques.

- Emotional energy as a leader. Russell talks about the importance of using passion to get the most out of the people you are leading.  However this does have an adverse affect on you as a leader if you do not take time to recoup your energy levels.

⁃ Russell talks us through some of the techniques he uses when working with organisations or individual’s to improve their approach to leadership.  

- Russell talks us through the incredible appreciation and respect he had for all of his soldiers. 

- How being kind to himself was the key to getting his enthusiasm and passion for life back.  There Is nothing wrong doing whatever you need/want to do to get back to where you are mentally happy. 

- I ask Russell a key life lesson he has learnt over the years.

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