The Pin Drop Podcast

Marianne Jones has had an incredible 30-year career in journalism.

She has worked everywhere from the Daily Mirror to Marie Claire, was on the launch team of UK Grazia and stayed there as deputy Editor for 12 years. She was Editor in chief of Stella Magazine at Sunday Telegraph and then editor of The Telegraph Saturday Magazine and has won ‘Editor of the Year’ a record three times.

She left journalism with severe burnout at the start of 2022. 

She launched ‘Been There Done That Got the Podcast’ with Kat Farmer two years ago (which has reached no1 in news entertainment charts and has had a whopping 1.25m downloads).

Marianne now steers her own ship and writes in a freelance capacity for a variety of national newspapers and magazines & has written extensively about burnout and her mum’s experience with dementia (who sadly died just four months ago).

Her area of specialism is women’s lifestyle & championing the voice of the midlife woman. 

We talk about:

• How journalism has changed over the years
• Trying to do it all.  Kids, career, and not complaining!
• Marianne's career highlights. Trailblazing in a man's world.
• Experiencing burnout. Aged 56.
• Stress management and taking back control
• The impact and lack of funding for Dementia 

Don't forget to share, rate/review, download and subscribe to the Podcast, this helps us to continue growing the audience and continue to secure incredible guests to inspire you to be a little more...intrepid.

Thanks for listening!
Vicki 

 Laura Hoggins, aka ‘Biceps’ is one of London’s Top PTs. She is the Founder of Team ‘LIFTED’ an online coaching & community, she is a Fitness Consultant, a Presenter, the Author of ‘LIFT YOURSELF’ and a Podcast Host. 

I guess she is what you might call a 'Fitfluencer'. 

But unlike many social media 'fitness types', Laura unapologetically does NOT fit the 'mould'. 

She is relentlessly passionate about helping people start their strength & fitness journey and navigate through 'gymtimidation'. She pioneered the art of 'being real' in (what is often) the artificial world of fitness; where most people are busy chasing unrealistic images relating to body image. 

Laura is all about how good it feels, what it does for you mentally, emotionally and often what it looks like to have a shit day. 

She embraces the fact that (in her words) she doesn't look like a typical fitness 'model'. And that is what makes her so relatable, vulnerable and inspiring. 

But don’t misunderstand, this woman is super strong. She trains like a machine, competes in weightlifting comps, runs marathons, she EVEN does pilates.

We first met in the back of a truck on a press day for 'SAS; Who Dares Wins' and the rest, as they say, is history.

Don't forget to share, rate/review, download and subscribe to the Podcast, this helps us to continue growing the audience and continue to secure incredible guests to inspire you to be a little more...intrepid.

Thanks for listening!
Vicki 

Robin Brew is a former Olympian, a GBR Swimming Team Captain who has represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games and Scotland in the Commonwealth Games. 

His greatest reported sporting moment came at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics when he broke the Olympic record in the 200-metre individual medley in the semi-finals. 

He also competed at the Commonwealth Games in 1982 & 1986 winning a silver medal in the 200m Individual Medley event and a bronze medal in the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay.

He later became a professional triathlete and with a Masters degree in coaching from Loughborough, became a World-class, award winning International coach. 

Quite how I managed to persuade him to coach me for my recent Race Across America World Record, I have no idea.

Listen in to hear some truly emotive stories about what it takes to be the best in the World at what you do, how the Olympic Games has changed over the years and Robin's secret for coaching a girl with no cycling experience whatsoever to become part of a record breaking team cycling 3,000miles non-stop across the US.

Don't forget to share, rate/review, download and subscribe to the Podcast, this helps us to continue growing the audience and continue to secure incredible guests to inspire you to be a little more...intrepid.

Thanks for listening!
Vicki 

 Vickie Pullin is a semi-professonal dog-sledding Athlete, and a former member of the British Snowboard Cross Team. 
She is the leading female sled dog racer in the UK with 4 gold and 5 silver medals and is the reigning World Champion on dry land and snow.

Vickie has 46 dogs in total! A combination of Siberian huskies, Alaskan huskies, Collies. She has worked extensively in Canada & Alaska and her journey began when at the age of 20, she got a husky and took the leap into setting up her own husky business.

With no government grants or lottery funding available, Vickie is entirely self-funded, or secures corporate sponsorship to fund her sport. 

We talk about:

* The personal sacrifices Vickie has made to make her dreams a reality
* The future of husky sledding and whether it could ever be an Olympic Sport
* What her 'average' day looks like (spoiler alert, there is nothing average about it!)
* Dog training, dog welfare and the physical training Vickie has to undertake 
* Vickie's personal motto for success: nothing less than HARD WORK
* Her Everest

Don't forget to share, rate/review, download and subscribe to the Podcast, this helps us to continue growing the audience and continue to secure incredible guests to inspire you to be a little more...intrepid.

Thanks for listening!
Vicki 

Adriana Brownlee is a 23 year old mountaineer and adventure athlete. She has summited 13 of the 14 x 8000m peaks and has achieved 2 x Guinness World Records including being the youngest woman ever to summit K2. 

In the next few days, she hopes to complete her 14 Peaks Project and become the youngest woman ever to climb the world’s 14 x 8000m peaks and the first British woman to do so.

Alongside climbing these epic peaks, she has also started her own Trekking and Expedition company – A.G.A Adventures – alongside her legendary climbing partner Gelje Sherpa.

High altitude mountaineering is one of the deadliest sports in the World. Adri says this doesn't scare her, it lights a fire within her. From an 8 year old with a dream, inspired by her father, she tells the incredible story of becoming a 23 year old who has summited the tallest peaks on earth. 

We discuss her training, mental and physical, how she secures funding to make her dream a reality, sketchy moments on the mountains and how she deals with pressure, plus the environmental impact of the rise in popularity of mountaineering. And of course, her imminent THIRD World Record. 

Listen now and make sure you follow @adri.brownlee to watch history in the making..!

Don't forget to share, rate/review, download and subscribe to the Podcast, this helps us to continue growing the audience and continue to secure incredible guests to inspire you to be a little more...intrepid.

Thanks for listening!
Vicki 

George Gilbert & Bex Openshaw-Rowe have a total service for South Wales Fire & Rescue / Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue amounting to over 30 years between them. 

Prior to their Fire & Rescue careers, George had a background in triathlon for Great Britain and Bex was a competitive swimmer, surfer, and played rugby for Wales.

They were inspired by a talk from a team of women from the British Army who had crossed Antarctica, to set up their own expedition - with no absolutely no prior experience of polar conditions.  

They completed their unguided, unsupported 1230km South Pole expedition in January 2024 in 52 days, 10 hours and 30 minutes, setting a new World Record as the first Emergency Services team to do so, but also pioneering a new route from Union Glacier to the South Pole. 

Their next challenge is to undertake The Great World Race this November. 7 marathons in 7 days, in 7 continents - wearing fire kit and breathing apparatus.

They are a highly respected professional partnership that lead by example and aspire to be positive female role models to future generations, young girls and women across the globe.

The Fire Angel Foundation will see female Fire Cadets and Girl Guides embark on a three month program, culminating in a mini expedition in Sweden where they will build self esteem, confidence and learn to support each other during times of adversity.

As accomplished public speakers, George and Bex have a huge story to tell of their lives, the epic expedition they planned and embarked on in 2023 and life as a female fire fighter, working in male dominated environments.

We discuss so many fascinating aspects of their story and endeavours - how they have broken barriers, including setting a new precedent for women over 45 to get expedition insurance. Something (shockingly) previously only available to men.

We discuss how they secure funding for their expeditions, the training process, how they learned to ski on the beaches of north Wales. And why they aspire to be positive female roles models to future generations of young girls, women and the LGBTQ+ community. Changing the narrative for what it means to be a girl.

You are going to love listening to their stories and the highs and lows of their adventures so far. 

Follow Ben & George @antarcticfireangels for updates of what's coming next.

Don't forget to share, rate/review, download and subscribe to the Podcast, this helps us to continue growing the audience and continue to secure incredible guests to inspire you to be a little more...intrepid.

Thanks for listening!
Vicki 

Aside from being the renowned 'Sleep Scientist', Dr Sophie Bostock is also a competitive Coastal Rower, and has recently been to the Out-Rigger Canoeing World Championships in Samoa. She is an adventurer, speaker, writer, general badass and I’m proud to say, my very dear friend.

Sophie studied at medical school, has an MSc in Entrepreneurship & completed a PhD in Health Psychology investigating why happiness protects against heart disease, and how to improve wellbeing at work. She spent 5 years working at Sleepio (an award winning digital sleep improvement programme) where she was UK innovation lead.

Alongside extensive research projects, Sophie has delivered Tedx and Talks @Google, and regularly features as a sleep expert in national media.

'The Sleep Scientist' was launched by Sophie with the aim of helping more people to sleep well and thrive. Sophie is a sleep evangelist with a bias for action - no surprise that we met in the world of adventure and have become friends. 

Sophie’s extensive research points to sleep as being the unsung hero of mental and physical resilience - which is what I really wanted to get to the heart of in this conversation.

We talk about:

* How we unlock more mental and physical positivity and potential in our lives by addressing and understanding the impact of sleep 

* What is sleep? What does it do for us? Why do we need it?

* Myths around sleep

* Sleep cycles & what they mean

* The impacts of loss of sleep on performance both in extraordinary and ordinary  environments 

* The relationship between stress and sleep. 

* Sophie's best advice for my up-coming Race Across America, where sleep will be limited and high performance needed!

Don't forget to share, rate/review, download and subscribe to the Podcast, this helps us to continue growing the audience and continue to secure incredible guests to inspire you to be a little more...intrepid.

Thanks for listening!
Vicki 

Preet Chandi MBE, known as ‘Polar Preet’ is a 2x Guinness World Record holder. 

She has set records for both the longest solo unsupported one-way polar ski journey for a woman and also the longest solo unsupported one-way polar ski journey overall - 922 miles (70 days, 16 hours) pulling a 120kg pulk. 

She was also the first woman of colour to embark on a solo expedition in Antarctica for her 700mile ski to south Pole in Jan 2022.

I met Preet after she had completed her epic WR exped, and of course asked what next. I could tell there was something on the horizon, but she kept her lips sealed!

Since the time of recording, she has confirmed her third World Record. The fastest woman to ski solo from the Hercules Inlet to the South Pole - a distance of 1,130km which she completed in 31 days, 13 hours & 19 minutes. A day, 14 hours and 34 mins faster than the previous record. 

Preet is a full time British Army Physiotherapist and she has taken unpaid leave each time to conduct her expeditions. 

We talk about some of the challenges and barriers she has faced in making her expeditions happen.
Preet is an absolute trailblazer. 

Preet is one of the most determined, authentic, down to earth people I’ve ever met. With a mental and physical resilience that is literally awe-inspiring. And her drive to inspire other people, particularly women and particularly women of colour to smash through perceived ceilings and limitations is utterly infectious. 

I hope you love her as much as I do.

Don’t forget to share, rate/review, download and subscribe to the Podcast, this helps us to continue growing the audience and continue to secure incredible guests to inspire you to be a little more...intrepid.

Don't forget to share, rate/review, download and subscribe to the Podcast, this helps us to continue growing the audience and continue to secure incredible guests to inspire you to be a little more...intrepid.

Thanks for listening!
Vicki 

Emma Harris is a Marketing industry powerhouse, BrandCulture expert and leader of a transformational movement called 'Slow the F*ck down". 

I first knew Emma when I worked in advertising for Eurostar, over 15 years ago. I was Head of Advertising, Emma was head of Sales and she was an absolute force to be reckoned with. 

Some years later, after I left Eurostar, Emma guided the brand through everything from an overnight move to St Pancras to helping them successfully navigate several crises alongside record growth. Now, she is the Founder and Chief of brand consultancy Glow London, she helps clients across the globe to build real brands that are connected into their people and culture.

But Emma has an incredible story that I discovered recently at an event when we re-connected. A life-changing event that has prompted her to set up a movement called #slowthef*ckdown - designed to help others prevent burnout. 

Emma’s was named Mentor of the Year at Campaign’s Female Frontier Awards 2022 and included in Campaign’s 40 Over 40 in 2023 as “an inspirational leader and mentor who sparked a movement.” As you'll discover in the podcast, Emma has earned every accolade and more. 

* How do we successfully navigate our way through an emerging culture of ‘busyness’?

* How do we take short cuts whilst striving for perfectionism?

* The real trick to 'letting it go'. 

* We all want growth, success, we want to be tested, but everyone has a tipping point, where we can move into dysfunction. How do we know where the line is?

Don't forget to share, rate/review, download and subscribe to the Podcast, this helps us to continue growing the audience and continue to secure incredible guests to inspire you to be a little more...intrepid.

Thanks for listening!
Vicki 

Cyril Derreumaux is French born, now American citizen, who lives in California (but considers himself a citizen of the world and is fluent in 5 different languages). He works in the wine business and in his spare time, he is better known for setting a new world record holder for Kayaking solo, unsupported across the Pacific. 

His first attempt to do this was in 2021 when I did my Pacific row. I recall being in San Francisco bay doing pre-race prep and training and seeing this ‘crazy’ French guy paddling around. 

We did some research to find out who he was and what he was doing and discovered he was attempting the exact same route as us, with the very same departure date. 

On day 3, Cyril ran into trouble, and had to be evacuated by the coastguard. 
I followed his story since and was elated when I heard that he had completed the crossing the following year in 91days and 9 hours.

The last, previous attempt to do so had taken place in in 1987 and was aborted after 64 days when they ran out of food. 

What does it take for someone to be in solitary for so long?  To go back and attempt something HUGE for the second time? To face Mother Nature in such an exposing and life-threatening way? To discover things about themselves that most of us can't even imagine. Find out in this truly gripping episode. 

Don't forget to share, rate/review, download and subscribe to the Podcast, this helps us to continue growing the audience and continue to secure incredible guests to inspire you to be a little more...intrepid.

Thanks for listening!
Vicki