The Sam Oldham Podcast

In 2018 Hamish Carter represented team Scotland at the Commonwealth games in the Gold Coast Australia. After winning a bronze medal with his team mates and some brilliant individual results on his senior debut. He chose to take up an incredible opportunity and accepted a full sports scholarship from the University of Illinois in America. As a junior athlete he won multiple international medals representing Great Britain at time when British male junior athletes were dominating the sport in Europe. By the time he was a teenager, Hamish had already worked with multiple gymnastics coaches and his family made a big decision. They moved their whole life to Birmingham to support his gymnastics aspirations and to give him the best possible chance of fulfilling his potential in the sport. The week before he left America after completing his university degree Hamish was told that he was being deselected from the Great Britain training squad. The past year has been incredibly challenging for him and he's faced battles with his mental health alongside being diagnosed with ADHD. Now settled at the Notts Gymnastics Academy with his new coach Josh Champion Hamish is looking towards the future. And this is his story. 

In June 2023 I found out that I was going to be a Dad. This journey began before I had met my best friend and fiancé Connie. At the age of twenty six I was lost. I was wresting with depression and anxiety and desperately searching for meaning in my life. Selfishly I asked some the key people around me the biggest question of all. Why am I here and what is this all about? I understand now that ultimately everyone has to answer that question for themselves. I'm excited to be a Dad. I know that I'm going to face challenges along the way but I can't wait for that journey and the next adventure. And this is my story. 

In 2022 Giarnni Regini-Moran became the first men's artistic gymnastics floor exercise World championing history. What's even more remarkable about this incredible achievement, is that six years prior he had suffered an extremely serious knee injury which required significant surgery. Twelve months into his recovery another serious injury this time to his inside ankle ligament ultimately sidelined him for over two years. He is one of the most successful British gymnasts of his generation and was the last of the golden generation that dominated European competition between 2008 - 2016. Recently Giarnni has focussed on life away from gymnastics whilst recovering from surgery once more but has hopes of competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic games and becoming a two time Olympian following a 5th place finish in Tokyo 2021. Giarnni has a new focus in his life after finding out he's going to be a dad. And this is his story.

In January 2023 Ellie Downie announced her retirement from the sport of gymnastics.  At just fifteen she made her senior debut, winning bronze all around at the European championships in France. Ellie became an Olympian in 2016 competing alongside her sister Becky and team mates at the Rio Olympic Games where she finished 11th all round at just sixteen years of age. The following year in 2017 she made history, becoming the first British gymnast ever to win an all around gold medal at a major championships. An injury she picked up that year led to ankle surgery in the summer of 2017 and unfortunately led to a second surgery one year later. Over the next eighteen months she earned her place back in the British team and took a bronze medal on vault at the 2019 World gymnastics championships. Ellie missed out on the Tokyo Olympics and following the tragic death of her brother in 2021, faced challenges inside and outside of the sport.  She is now a qualified personal trainer and is an ambassador for the British heart foundation. And this is her story. 

In July 2023 I was given the results of a private ADHD assessment. This process first began at the age of 26, when I was referred to a mental health clinic and first began to struggle with depression and anxiety. As a kid, I struggled with inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that affected my ability to manage life. Gymnastics, almost instantly changed my trajectory and had a massively positive impact on how I interacted with the world around me. After retirement, the amount of physical exercise I was engaging in each week was reduced by 90%. This drastic change really affected me. And this is my story. 

In may 2013 British triathlete Sophie Coldwell claimed her first World triathlon championships series gold medal in Yokohama Japan. A year earlier she was part of the English team that took the gold medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Sophie was named as the travelling reserve for TeamGB at what became the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games and now has her sights set on Paris 2024. She talks openly about working with sports psychologists following an abusive past relationship and difficulties dealing with missing out on competing at an Olympic Games. After making some adjustments to her training load alongside her coach she's now in a great headspace, which in part has resulted in her recent success. And this is her story. 

In just seven years, Max Hayes has gone from starting a YouTube channel at the age of twelve years old. To now hosting a radio show and being the go to journalist on Sky sports, for news and insights surrounding Nottingham Forest.  He's now taking a traditional route studying journalism at university in Manchester, right in the heart of media city. Max is turning his love for storytelling into a career and has already worked with some of the biggest broadcasters in the business at just nineteen. What started out with a passion for football and unique fearlessness has become a real body of work that's difficult to come by in the media industry. And this is his story. 

In the first eight months of 2023 an awful lot of life has happened. Many of my friends have turned 30, have gotten married and started a family of their own. After returning home from South America I decided to go at it alone and start building my own career. There was lots of change. My grandad passed away, we started a podcast and I'm now engaged. It's been a busy summer of birthdays, weddings and lots of gymnastics coaching. I'm not sure that I've ever felt more content than do right now. Good things take time. And this is my story. 

In 2021 Richard Whitehead won his fourth Paralympic medal for Great Britain, taking the silver in the men's 200m T61 Tokyo Paralympic final. Following the Games the decision was made to remove his event from the Paralympic program for the Paris 2024 Paralympic games. Richard has turned his focus back to marathon running, he's in training and has hopes of breaking the world record once again. He's built rock solid relationships with the brands and sponsors that support him which is a real testament to his character. The Richard Whitehead foundation that carries his name provides support, mentoring, advice, equipment and opportunities for the both disability and wider community. In total Richard has won two gold and two silver Paralympic medals and became a household name after the London 2012 Olympic Games. Where he took the Gold medal in front of 80,000 people in the mens 200m T42 event. And this is his story. 

In 2015, Wade Smith and Megan Scadden started the company Doughnotts with just £10.00 in her mum's kitchen. They now have stores all over the midlands and the brand has become synonymous with the city of Nottingham. Wade was raised by his Mum and grandparents in Clifton and speaks openly of being bullied throughout his time at secondary school due to being overweight. His time working in a care home massively influenced his ability to communicate and empathise with lots of different people. Together with Megan he was able to successfully navigate the business through the pandemic and now employs over one hundred people working in their stores, bakery and delivering doughnuts. The past year has been a real challenge mentally for him at times. He talks very honestly about the reality of being young business owner and this is his story.