Tobi is a Cultural Strategist and Creative Director who interrogates issues of race and identity to collaborate with brands such as Uber, Bumble, Foot Locker, and ART X Lagos, supporting the empowerment of Black communities globally. Tobi is also an old friend of mine from university.

Round 1: (02:09) Tobi’s take on the Harry & Meghan interview. What it says about the state of the current system and society we live in here in ‘The West’. 

Round 2: (21:01) Tobi and I discuss our time at Durham University and closely inspect some of the culture we participated in at the time. Tobi’s journey post-uni and his take on authenticity and alignment.

Round 3: (39:22) Tobi’s work as a cultural strategist and creative director and how he intends to make a positive change.

Final Round: (47:25) What Tobi believes that most people don’t. What Tobi would like to see happen to the Monarchy in 5 years’ time. Tobi’s Unboxing Ring walk song.

Harriet is the founder of Hazaar, a zero-waste, sustainable student marketplace in which students buy and sell second hand items such as clothing and fancy dress. Harriet has started and grown the business to 37 different universities in the UK with 13,000 users, all whilst being a student herself and is now in the process of launching the Hazaar app.

Round 1: (01:47) Life as a student during the pandemic. Why Harriet used to want to be an investment banker. Whether her uni degree helps or hinders her ambitions as an entrepreneur.

Round 2: (15:50) The story of Hazaar and how it started. Why sustainability is cool for the younger generation. How she raised £20,000 whilst at uni. The vision for Hazaar.

Round 3: (25:45) Why the younger generation are conscious of sustainability but still buy fast fashion from the likes of Amazon, Primark and Boohoo.

Round 4: (31:30) Harriet’s role models and why being a young woman in tech and business doesn’t phase her.

Final round: (34:26) Something Harriet believes that most people don’t. How Harriet would like the world to be different in 5 years’ time. Harriet’s Unboxing ringwalk track.

Follow Hazaar on Instagram: www.instagram.com/justhazaar

Follow Harry on Instagram: www.instagram.com/unboxingwithharry

Manoj is the lead owner of the Rajasthan Royals IPL cricket team and co-founder of Blenheim Chalcot, a venture builder which grows and invests in disruptive digital businesses across a variety of sectors – especially financial services and education. Manoj’s IPL and business experience, which he has documented in his recent book ‘A New Innings’, which provides an interesting perspective on the field of business and sport innovation.

Round 1: (02:02) Entrepreneurship myths. Why he doesn’t buy the myths surrounding many famous young tech entrepreneurs. What Manoj believes to be the biggest driving force behind innovation. Why we are heading towards a revolution in society’s expectation of business. Capitalism 2.0. The importance of Business leaders with purpose. Fostering cognitive diversity in the workplace. 

Round 2: (30:32) Manoj’s experience innovating in cricket with the Rajasthan Royals. Why governing bodies are challenged with innovation. Speculation on the future of cricket. Speculation on the future of rugby. Why crisis can be a catalyst for change.

Final Round: (50:43) What Manoj believes about business that most people don’t. How Manoj would like the world to have changed in 5 years’ time. Manoj’s Unboxing Ringwalk.

Jon is a brand marketing strategist who has worked at Nike for the past 10 years. Jon is also the author of a book he launched on Kickstarter called ‘The Anti-Blueprint Project’ which explores 50 inspiring people’s unconventional routes to happiness and success and questions the conventional dogma that simply doing well at school, university and landing a grad job is the quickest path to success and fulfilment.

Round 1: (01:20) Jon’s unconventional journey that led him to snowboarding in the mountains of Austria and how he forged a career that was always led by passion and ultimately resulted in landing a marketing role with Burton Snowboarding.

Round 2: (14:58) Shortfalls of the current education system, balancing passion with practicality and why Jon wrote his book.

Round 3: (31:00) Jon’s experience at Nike and how innovation is embedded in the company’s DNA.

Final Round Questions: (40:52) 1) What doesn’t make sense about Covid. 2) How Jon wants the world to become less polarised. 3) Jon’s Unboxing Ringwalk Track.

At just 24, Ben is the Founder of Influencer, a leading influencer marketing agency which connects social media content creators around the world with global brands such as Barclays, Pantene, Odeon and the BBC. They have recently been announced as official partners of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Round 1: (01:20) How Ben stumbled on the power of ‘mirco influencers’ through launching a business out of his bedroom at school. How he then raised £150K for Influencer which gave him the confidence to quit university halfway through a placement to pursue the business.

Round 2: (21:12) The unusual circumstances in which Ben met his now Co-founder & YouTube Star, Caspar Lee.

Round 3: (27:10) We discuss the argument popularised by the Netflix documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’ that aggressive advertising-centric business models of platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube have hi-jacked our attention spans and are leading to widespread exacerbated mental health issues.

Final Round questions: (44:15) 1) What’s something you believe that most people don’t? 2) How will you like the world to have changed in 5 years’ time? 3) Ben’s Unboxing ring walk tune.

Join Harry’s Unboxing Gym Community for Innovators: www.unboxing-gym.com

James is the Founder and Director of Albatross Digital, a leading digital marketing agency focusing specifically on the golf industry which has worked with some of the most forward-thinking golf clubs in the country. James’ vision and mission is to use the power of marketing to help golf clubs and golf companies grow the game for the next generation of golfers.

Round 1: (01:08) James’ journey which included being made redundant 4 times, how he developed a passion late in life for golf and starting a business in an industry with a totally fresh perspective.

Round 2: (10:30) How golf is struggling with a perception problem as being a boring, long and stuffy game. We discuss how some ‘out the box’ thinking is required to shift perceptions and attract new audiences, as well as the prospects of the sport over the next 10-20 years.

Round 3: (44:50) James’ vision for golf and his company Albatross. 

Final Round: (50:35) 1) How will the world have changed in 10 years’ time? 2) What’s an out the box concept or piece of advice that you live by? 3) James’ Unboxing Ringwalk.

Join the Unboxing Gym: www.unboxing-gym.com

Claudia is a personal branding expert and copywriter working for Great Influence, who have helped build the profile of some of the UK’s most well known CEOs and Founders, including Steven Bartlett. Claudia has built a strong personal brand of her own largely through the use of LinkedIn, where she has talked openly about her struggles around having high expectations as a graduate and finding a job to match. She is a shining example of how taking responsibility and developing an entrepreneurial mindset is fast becoming the only reliable way to find a meaningful job and carve out your own career in the current job landscape. 

In this bout, we cover so many of the major themes relevant to the Unboxing ethos. Including: Claudia’s journey from leaving uni to where she is now, what personal branding really means, what you are expected to do vs what you want to do after graduating, finding unconventional role models to inspire you, letting go of resentment and blaming for your situation and taking responsibility as well as the nature LinkedIn as a platform, plus much more.

www.unboxing.gym.com

Walter is the Co-founder & CEO of Oppidan Education, supporting thousands of children through one-to-one mentoring privately and in schools around the world. He also set up the Oppidan Foundation to address a shortfall in the current education system and was this year nominated as one of Forbes’ 30 social entrepreneurs under 30.

In this bout, we discuss Walter’s journey and route into challenging the way that conventional ‘tutoring’ is delivered, before discussing how and why the traditional education system is being questioned more and more in recent years. This coincides with a big theme of why I started this podcast seeing as I felt that the narrative around my school and uni education lead down a path that ultimately wasn’t fulfilling. We finish by discussing the importance of 1-1 mentorship at all ages of life, and speculate about the future of the education system.

Round 1: (01:03) Walter’s journey to setting up Oppidan & why he did so.

Round 2: (10:57) Thoughts on the Education System and the future of it.

Round 3: (30:29) The importance of 1-1 mentorship.

Final round: (36:28) Walter’s definition of Success. How Walter thinks the Education System will be different in 10 years. Walter’s Unboxing Ringwalk.

Discussed in the podcast:

Eton headmaster dismissed: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/dec/03/gavin-williamson-in-eton-mess-as-he-pitches-into-no-girls-policy

Headmistress Katharine Birbalsingh's Michaela Academy: https://mcsbrent.co.uk/

Matthew Syed on failure in schools: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/failure-is-a-lesson-our-children-must-master-zfd5875km

Sir Anthony Seldon on Character Education: https://www.worldvaluesday.com/good-character-matters-more-than-passing-exams-sir-anthony-seldon/

Chris Donnelly is the Founder and CEO of Verb Brands, a London & New York digital marketing agency that has worked with leading global luxury brands. Chris was recently named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list and is a leading voice in the digital marketing space.

 Chris’ bio epitomises what would conventionally be deemed as ‘successful’. However, in this bout, we discuss the journey and chase for ‘success’ in new depth, going into some of the behind the scenes around Chris’ entrepreneurial journey and some of the darker sides of the ‘success and self-help’ industry. We discuss the competitiveness that can crop up when having to justify taking a different path to your mates and ultimately, what success now really means to Chris and what is worth aiming for.

Round 1: (01:01) Chris’ path to success and some challenges along the way.

Round 2: (29:48) Why ‘upgrade your peer group’ is dangerous advice.

Round 3: (37:25) Overcoming the mental blocks of building a profile on LinkedIn.

Final Round: (50:41) What was your life’s biggest before / after moment? What does ‘success’ mean to you now? Chris’ Unboxing ring walk music choice.

www.unboxing-gym.com

Matt is a world-leading time lapse photographer, YouTuber, travel blogger and author. Having built a following of 200,000 across social media and having made enough money to pay for his rent and travel expenses last year through passive income streams only, Matt now helps other aspiring freelancers, creatives and content creators set up their own passive income streams online.

 In this bout, Matt tells his fascinating journey to where he is today (which included taking a one-way trip to Australia to date a girl he’d only previously met for one hour), as well as an overview of how he has built a large, engaged audience on social media and how he has monetised this audience through his five passive income streams.

 These are tips that can be applied not just to photographers but to any creative or content creator, so grab a pen and paper for this one and enjoy!

Round 1: (1:00) What Matt does & his journey to where he is today.

Round 2: (21:54) Active income vs Passive income + Matt’s 5 Passive income streams.

Round 3: (39:35) The 5 Keys to building an audience on social media + Fake instagram influencers vs authentic content creators.

Round 4: (48:07) The concept of ‘burning the bridge’ and taking away the safety net if you want to really change your life.

Final Round: (51:55) 1) What is something you used to believe that you no longer believe? 2) What is your definition of ‘success’ right now? Matt’s Unboxing Ringwalk Track.