The Just Checking In Podcast

In episode 308 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Lizzie Bielicki. Lizzie works as a social media and content strategist. In this episode we discuss her professional journey in content and social media. We also discuss the marketing business she ran for several years, and the sad decision she had to make to close the business.We talk about some of her career highlights, which has included producing interviews with the likes of former professional rugby player and World Cup 2003 winner Johnny Wilkinson, Jay Shetty, Elizabeth Day and photographing Meghan Markle.For Lizzie’s mental health, we discuss her experience of therapy, which she has accessed at various points of her life, a deep dive into her Christian faith and how its shaped her life, and how she used it to get through a difficult period of unemployment and uncertainty.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can follow Lizzie on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizziebcreative/Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 307 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Alicia Duncan.Alicia is a writer, soon-to-be-published author and, in her words, advocates for transparency, ethical oversight, and accountability in Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) system.Alicia’s advocacy comes from her own experience of the MAiD system. In 2021, Alicia’s mother died through accessing MAiD, despite not being terminally ill. Alicia's mother's case became the first MAiD-related death in Canada to be investigated by police. However, the investigation was forced to close when health authorities refused to release Alicia's mother's assessment records.In this episode we discuss Alicia’s mental health journey, which centres around her mother’s life, illness and subsequent death via the MAiD system. We discuss the injustice Alicia felt at the events which transpired, how that impacted her grief, and how she's channelled the grief into the work she does now. We also have a healthy debate about the pros and cons of assisted dying itself and some of the media work Alicia has done to highlight this issue. This includes featuring in a BBC documentary on the subject called ‘Better Off Dead?’, which was fronted by actor, commentator and disability activist Liz Carr.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can find out more about Alicia's work here: https://www.aliciaduncan.com/Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvkTRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion about grief and loss, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution.

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In this episode of Behind The Mic we checked in with Neil Dowd from pop-punk band, Autumn Fires. Autumn Fires was started by lead singer Charlotte and her current partner, who also plays in the band, and are part of the new wave of pop-punk bands keeping the genre alive and kicking in the UK.In this episode we discuss Neil’s music journey, how he joined the band, the band’s latest EP and the massive breakthrough they had when they won iconic music outlet Kerrang’s The Deal’ competition.For industry issues, we discuss dealing with rejection and imposter syndrome. For Neil’s mental health journey, we discuss his experience of school where he felt he had to fit into be a certain type of boy in order to survive and how the pop-punk environment was a place where he could fully be himself and not be judged. We also discuss the importance of self-advocacy, people-pleasing and how CBT therapy has helped him tackle his anxiety.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can stream Autumn Fires on streaming platforms below: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6pUrc8sCjFQ0JZVe9IQWfO?si=7Wj-AcILSoSOlRFC-w8kvQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@autumnfiresukYou can follow the band on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumnfiresuk/Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 306 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in for a third time with journalist James Bloodworth.James Bloodworth is a New Statesman columnist and the author of three books: his seminal book ‘Hired’, the first book he wrote was called ‘The Myth of Meritocracy’, which we discussed in-depth in his first JCIP and his third book, the critically acclaimed ‘Lost Boys: A Personal Journey Through The Manosphere’, was published in June 2025.James first came on the pod in February 2021 in JCIP #69, over four years ago now, when we were all in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic.He then came back on in January 2023 in JCIP #165, where we discussed the grief of losing his Grandmother in 2022 and the huge impact it had on him, the anxiety he had during the pandemic and his decision to come off ADHD medication, which he discovered was having a negative impact on his mental health. In this episode, we do a deep dive into Lost Boys through a mental health lens, what he wanted to achieve with the book, going undercover in male pick-up artist groups, what he learned about these men through being in these groups, and a healthy debate on Jordan Peterson.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can purchase a copy of Lost Boys here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Boys-Undercover-Adventures-Masculinity-ebook/dp/B0DCDSLY5K?ref_=ast_author_mpbYou can listen to Part 1 and 2 of James's journey below: Part 1: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/jcip-69-james-bloodworthPart 2: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/jcip-165-james-bloodworth-part-2You can follow James on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/james.bloodworth/Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 305 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Melanie Williams. Mel is the Founder of 'Mel Williams Coaching'. She also works as an Mental Health First Aid Instructor for MHFA England, and as an Associate Tutor for Suicide First Aid.In this episode we discuss her varied career, from working at Nationwide Building Society, setting up her first business 'Reinspire by Mel' during the Covid-19 pandemic, taking up voluntary redundancy from Nationwide and setting up Mel Williams Coaching and becoming self-employed.From there, she has developed her own eight-step process for coaching people and attached herself to a new mental health charity based in Swindon called The Kelly Foundation as a ‘Coach Support Worker’. Through that role, she helped clients with everything from addiction issues to PIP assessments and even helping a woman overcome agoraphobia.Because of that work, the charity offered to help her train to become a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, which she has done for a year and a half at time of recording.She took that training one step further and became trained as a Suicide First Aid tutor in March 2025, which she can now deliver in the UK and internationally.For Mel’s mental health journey, we centre the discussion around her experience of motherhood, specifically the birth of two of her children. The first, Ryan was tragically stillborn and almost cost Mel her life. We discuss this experience and the trauma of it, the important role Mel’s husband played in it throughout, the decision process behind them trying again for a child and the birth of her daughter in 2013 despite the high-risk history would repeat itself. We then talk about her mental recovery from Ryan’s birth and death and Mel's experience of bereavement counselling to process it. She was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or a Post-Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI) which we prefer to describe it as, which came from the trauma of her fear of dying.We finish by discussing the way Mel and her husband processed Ryan’s death, as they dealt with it very differently and how they moved forward together as a couple.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can follow Mel on social media below: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mel-williams-coaching-and-training-81258612b/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melwilliamscoaching/Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvkTRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion about grief and loss, which some listeners may find extremely upsetting or distressing, so please listen with caution.

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In episode 304 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Nikhil Patel, alongside his mother, Gita Patel.Nikhil Patel currently works as English Teacher and Student Support Lead at the Cambridge International School, based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where he has worked since August 2021.We first checked in with Nik way back when in JCIP #40, in May 2020!We discussed his time working with our Founder Freddie at Barracuda's Summer Camps, where they first met, and his teaching journey. At that point in time Nik was working at a school in Doha in Qatar.In this episode we are checking back in with Nik, but also his mum Gita.Gita works in teaching herself and has worked in a number of roles across her teaching career.She currently works as an SEND 1:1 Learning Coach & Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA), and Gita was a big influence on Nik in his desire to be a teacher and has supported him on that journey.Gita also worked at Barracudas at the time as Nikhil and Freddie did, as one of the senior leaders at the camp, and still works there every summer to this day in 2025.The structure for this podcast will follow a similar to the amazing conversation we had with previous guests Jay Williams and his mum Niru, and will contain some similar themes too, with Niru and Gita both coming from an Indian background.Unlike Niru, Gita was actually born in Mombasa in Kenya and was part of the Indian community there, before she moved to the UK when she was seven years old.In this episode we discuss Gita’s mental health journey, the challenges of assimilating to the UK as a young girl, navigating adolescence and starting a family.We then discuss motherhood, raising two sons in Nik and his younger brother Krishan, the anxieties she had about raising them with their dual English-Indian background, even when it came to choosing their names, and how she and her husband tried to give them the best of both these worlds.After that, we have a nostalgic chat about Barracuda’s, before discussing Nik and Krish’s decisions to go to university and move away from home, flying the proverbial nest and the impact that had on Gita’s mental health as a parent.We finish by discussing the relationship they have now as adults, how they lean on each other for advice and support as fellow teaching professionals, and how Gita deals with Nik living halfway across the world in the UAE on a weekly basis.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can listen to Part 1 of Nikhil's journey here: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/jcip-40-nikhil-patelSupport Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 303 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with returning guest Evan Grant, alongside his wife, Carol Grant. We first checked in with Evan in JCIP #278, where we discussed his career in IBM, fatherhood and most poignantly, the life and death of his son Cameron, who took his own life in 2014, when he was just 21 years old.We also discussed Cameron’s legacy and the work he and his wife Carol have done in the last 11 years through the Cameron Grant Memorial Trust. We have heard so many stories of suicide grief on this podcast and one common trend we sadly find is that when parents lose a child to suicide or other causes, it can often spell the end of their marriage or relationship.Evan and Carol’s marriage survived Cameron’s death and we wanted to check in with them about how they got through it as a couple, supported each other through their respective grief journeys and came out the other side. In this episode we discuss how Cameron’s death affected Carol, the different ways Carol and Evan grieved for Cameron, how the Trust became a beacon for both of them, but also became something they needed to take a break from, from time to time. We finish by discussing how important trust and communication were for their relationship in navigating their grief, how conscious they were that things could unravel easily if they were complacent, and where they are now with their grief and their marriage vs when Cameron died.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can find out more about the Cameron Grant Memorial Trust here: www.camgrant.org.uk/You can follow the Trust on social media below:Instagram: www.instagram.com/cammemorial/You can sign up to The Trust's annual sponsored night walk here: https://www.camgrant.org.uk/night-walk/You can listen to Evan's episode here: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/jcip-278-evan-grantSupport Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvkTRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion about grief and loss, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution.

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In episode 302 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Mark Ferris. Mark is a proud stepfather to two boys and lives with his wife Sarah in Chelmsford in Essex. However, the reason we are checking in is because of an important campaign Sarah and Mark are running to raise money for life-saving treatment for one of his stepsons, Callum. Callum is currently 15 years old and one day, he was sent home from school with a headache.What transpired was Mark and Sarah’s worst nightmare. Callum was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a very serious brain tumour. After some heavy conversations, they decided to start a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to get him some treatment abroad to give him the best chance possible, to find a way to remove it. In this episode we discuss Mark’s mental health journey and his Irish roots, moving to England, the grief of losing his dad in 2015, meeting Sarah and being introduced to Callum and his brother William. We also discuss how he navigated becoming a stepfather and creating a blended family, the importance of having a positive relationship with Callum and William’s biological father, and why these stories are also important to highlight.We then discuss the campaign for Callum, where it is right now, how they have used it as a family to live for the here and now, and how the campaign has given him and the family hope.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can donate to Callum's campaign here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/raising-funds-for-callums-brain-tumour-treatment?attribution_id=sl%3Ac5c70953-8c7a-45a9-919f-05e814a3545d&lang=en_GBYou can follow Mark, Sarah and their family's journey on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sjandferris/Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvkTRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion about grief and loss, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution.

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In this episode of Behind The Decks we checked back in for third time with a VENT favourite, Snowdream.Elliot is someone who has gone from strength to strength in the last few years we've been checking in with him.The first time we checked in, in July 2020 we discussed his music journey, music perfectionism culture and his bisexuality.In Part 2, in June 2023, he had started a new adventure on TikTok making comedy mash-ups. We talked about his experience of doing his first ever live DJ set at Just Checking In Live #4 (Take Two), his debut album ‘Open Space’ and how he planned to balance being an artist and social media influencer.In the last two years, Elliot has grown his TikTok following to over 143k followers, and has over 114k followers on Instagram too! We discuss that explosion in popularity and the hard work and consistency which is at the heart of it, his mash-up albums he has put out on Bandcamp, and also moving into producing UK Garage music as an artist. We also discuss his decision to move into music full-time, but then having to go back into full-time work to make ends meet.For Elliot’s continued mental health journey, we discuss his experience of his first ever panic attack in July 2024, some CBT therapy he did afterwards which he accessed via the NHS and how he manages his mental health now.As always, #itsokaytoventListen to Snowdream on streaming platforms below:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/2WkJ2Z45d…wOT9qa953TJ3oxAQSoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-447435748Follow Snowdream on social media below:TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@snowdreammusic?lang=enInstagram: www.instagram.com/snowdreamdigital/You can listen to Part 1 and 2 of Snowdream's journey below: Part 1: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/behind-the-decks-snowdreamPart 2: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/behind-the-decks-snowdream-part-2Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 301 of The Just Checking In Podcast we decided to do a special 'Ask Me Anything' pod!Our Founder Freddie answers a batch of questions submitted by you the venters. He gives an insight into some of his dream guests, favourite music that boosts his mental health and which form of therapy he's accessed that's helped him the most!As always, #itsokaytoventSupport Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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