The Winning Mentality

Bill Beswick is a sports psychologist who is famous for his work with the England football team, the England men's and women's rugby teams, Manchester United and countless other sporting organisations on both sides of the Atlantic. He's also, as he describes it, a man in shadows, quietly helping individual athletes and coaches with their psychology and mindset, and his list of private clients reads like a who's who of British sport.

After 2 failed attempts at Olympic success, Ben Hunt-Davis and his teammates in the British 8-man rowing crew decided that, ahead of the Sydney Olympics, everything they did would be based on one question - Will it make the boat go faster? Come Sydney the boat did indeed go faster, and how. This is an amazing story of determination and a sheer refusal not to be beaten again.

As supremo of the SWARCO Raiders, Shuan Fatah is one of Europe's most successful American Football coaches. He started out in a (then) divided Berlin, and has since gone on to have huge success as a player and a coach of the game he loves. The lessons he's learned along the way have been many, and he's brilliant at talking about them. Prepare to be challenged, amused and engaged.

Aged just 19, Janja Garnbret is already one of the most dominant athletes in the World. She's got a far better winning percentage than Serena Williams, Tiger Woods or Michael Schumacher, and she's only just getting started. Perhaps even more impressive than her results is her attitude - she's humble, motivated and keen to improve; traits she's going to need if she wants to become the first climber to win an Olympic gold medal.

Regardless of where and how you live, you need to breathe, so why not investigate how to do it better? That's exactly what Patrick McKeown has done, and the result is the Oxygen Advantage method. This is mind blowing stuff, so sit back, take a shallow breath (not a deep one, as you'll learn today) and get ready to change all of your preconceptions about the seemingly simple process of breathing.

Klaus Isele is a busy man - he runs his own physio practice, is the team physio for the Austrian Climbing team, is creating a whole new method of treating finger injuries, looks after the World's best climber, and has a family. He's pretty funny too. Sit back and enjoy some great stories, insight and inspiration.

Gym owner, athlete and family man Jay Collins quit his safe and secure job in his early 40's in order to open up his own gym. It was a big risk but it has paid off handsomely; he's got 300 loyal customers and a community constructed off the back of his total commitment. If you want a lesson in how sheer hard work and determination can pay off, here it is.

Back in Episode 2 of the podcast we chatted to skier, mountain guide and climber Tom Grant. At that time he was on a high having just made the first ski descent of the Caroline Face on Mount Cook in New Zealand. However, a few weeks after we spoke to him he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, putting him on the sidelines long term. We wanted to know what coming back from a big injury is like, and what advice he'd have for someone who found themselves in a similar predicament.

Erik Weihenmayer lost his sight aged 14 but has since climbed Mount Everest (and the highest peak on every other continent as well), kayaked the Grand Canyon, and helped thousands and thousands of people overcome their own barriers. Prepare to be inspired...

Sports psychologist, author and speaker Damian Hughes has just finished his latest book - The Barcelona Way; Unlocking the DNA of a Winning Culture - and we were keen to get him back for his second appearance on the podcast to discuss it. We cover building culture, getting buy-in, the effects of social media, coping with people who don't fit into a culture, and much more.