In this episode of "What’s The Trick?", Ben Hanlin sits down with Matt Richardson to explore how to become a stand up comic.

If you want to improve your knowledge on ways to truly make it as a comedian, this episode breaks down what actually works.

This episode is for:

- Creatives (writers, performers, content creators)

- Business owners and entrepreneurs

- Speakers and presenters

- Anyone looking to improve communication and idea generation

In this episode, you’ll learn:

- Great comedy starts as a messy idea, not a finished joke

- Audience trust changes what you’re allowed to do

- The best performers still treat it like a craft, not a status symbol

- Creative careers aren’t linear, visibility and value constantly fluctuate

- The people who last are usually the people willing to keep grafting

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About Ben Hanlin:

Ben is a magician, presenter, and keynote speaker who helps companies create engagement, connection, and memorable experiences. He hosts corporate events and interviews world-class creatives on this podcast.

About the podcast:

"What’s The Trick?" explores how creative people think, create, and turn ideas into reality.

Topics covered include creativity, communication, storytelling, content creation, performance, and building creative careers.

🎧 Listen / Watch:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BenHanlin

Apple Podcasts: https://linktr.ee/benhanlin

Spotify: https://linktr.ee/benhanlin

📩 Work with Ben:

https://www.benhanlin.com/

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FOLLOW BEN:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0oXTRP-zWlJ_IiNykTLag

Instagram: http://instagram.com/benhanlin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benhanlin

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@benhanlin

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🎤 FOLLOW MATT:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mattrichardsoncomedy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattrichardson3/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mattrichardson3

Website: https://www.mattrichardsoncomedy.co.uk/

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What is this episode about?

This episode explains how to become a full time comedian.

How do creative people turn ideas into reality?

Ben Hanlin breaks down the mindset, process, and decisions behind it.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a little different, and that is exactly why it matters.

Instead of focusing on one guest, one project, or one creative journey, Ben steps back and looks at what the first 10 episodes of What’s The Trick? have actually revealed. The result is a smart, generous roundup of the ideas, habits, decisions, and mindset shifts that keep showing up across very different creative worlds.

Across these first conversations, the people featured have built companies, books, films, comedy careers, social media brands, stage shows, and creative bodies of work that took years to sharpen. This episode exists to pull the best lessons back into focus: not as a greatest-hits package, but as a practical guide to how creative work really gets made.

If you are new to the podcast, this is a useful entry point. If you have been listening from the start, it is a strong reminder that the real value is not just in hearing a great story once, but in noticing the patterns underneath it.

FOLLOW BEN:

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0oXTRP-zWlJ_IiNykTLag

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/benhanlin

INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/benhanlin

TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@benhanlin

WEBSITE: Benhanlin.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it take to make a character feel alive when that character is made of mechanics, code, cables, and performance?

In this episode, Ben Hanlin sits down with animatronics expert and robot inventor Matt Denton to unpack the craft behind some of modern cinema’s most memorable practical creations, most notably BB-8 from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but also work connected to Harry Potter, Project Hail Mary, and the wider world of robotics and film effects.

This conversation exists because great screen characters are rarely “just designed.” They’re engineered, tested, puppeteered, compromised, rebuilt, and refined under pressure. What emerges here is not just a story about robots or puppets, but a deeper look at how technical problem-solving becomes emotional storytelling.

If you’ve ever wondered how a sketch on a Post-it note becomes an iconic film character, or how practical effects still survive in an increasingly digital world - this episode is a fascinating look behind the curtain.

FOLLOW BEN:

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0oXTRP-zWlJ_IiNykTLag

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/benhanlin

INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/benhanlin

TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@benhanlin

FOLLOW MATT:

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/@UCbOrJwJsd4vFS4aLIILa_7Q

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/mantisrobot

INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/mantisrobot

TIKTOK: tiktok.com/@mantisrobot

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is about building a long-term music career, and more specifically, how The Hoosiers made the songs and records that defined them, from early breakthrough tracks like “Goodbye Mr A” and “Worried About Ray” to the harder, less visible work of staying creative after success.

Ben sits down with Irwin Sparkes and Al Sharland to explore what was actually made: a band, a body of songs, a number one album, and eventually a career that had to survive both momentum and disappointment. The conversation is not really about fame. It is about craft, resilience, taste, identity, and the pressure that arrives once something works.

What makes this episode worth your time is how honest it is about the gap between potential and execution. They talk about the decade of floundering before things clicked, the producer who forced them to get better, the brutal feedback that changed the band, and the real difference between making something good and making something that connects.

If you care about how creative work gets shaped over time, how hits are written, how standards get raised, and how people keep going after the first wave passes, this is a deeply useful conversation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Ben Hanlin sits down with singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti to unpack the long road behind his music career, and how he eventually built it on his own terms.

Jack, the artist behind albums like Singing to Strangers, Europeana and his latest release We Will Always Be the Way We Were, didn’t follow the typical “signed → success” path. Instead he spent years relentlessly touring building audiences room by room and deliberately chose independence over industry control. This approach ultimately led to two UK number-one records.

This conversation delves into the true requirements of a music career, encompassing songwriting, navigating the industry, discovering your unique voice and ultimately building a lasting career spanning decades rather than fleeting months.

For those curious about the real-world construction of creative careers beyond the glitz and glamour, this episode offers a rare glimpse into the craft, perseverance and mindset necessary to create enduring art.

FOLLOW BEN:

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0oXTRP-zWlJ_IiNykTLag

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/benhanlin

INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/benhanlin

TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@benhanlin

WEBSITE: benhanlin.com

We Will Always Be The Way We Were’ - The new album from Jack Savoretti coming 10th April 2026 | Pre order here - https://jacksavoretti.orcd.co/wwabtwww

Follow Jack Savoretti:

Sign Up: https://JackSavoretti.lnk.to/SignUpID

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/jacksavoretti

INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/jacksavoretti

http://jacksavoretti.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is about the making of one of the most iconic hidden-camera comedy shows ever produced: Trigger Happy TV, created by Dom Jolly.

Dom didn’t just star in the show. He built it from scratch. No writing room. No committee. No grand career plan. Just a £1,000 camera, a friend behind the bar who became his cameraman, and an instinct for what made him laugh.

I wanted to have this conversation because Trigger Happy TV felt raw, anarchic, and completely of its time and yet 25 years later, it still works. This episode explores how it was actually made, where the ideas came from, how it was sold to 80+ countries, and what it cost Dom creatively and personally.

If you’re interested in how comedy is built, not in theory, but in practice, this conversation pulls the curtain back.

This is about making comedy without a script.

About trusting instinct over consensus.

About luck, timing, hunger, burnout and the price of creativity.

Trigger Happy TV 25th Anniversary Tour tickets

https://www.domjoly.tv/live/ 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is about building a podcast - specifically, how two friends built the Pulp Kitchen Podcast, into a sustainable creative business.

Pulp Kitchen began as a simple idea: talk about films every week. No built-in audience. No fame. No production team. Just consistency, shared enthusiasm, and a decision to commit long-term. Over time, that weekly habit turned into a full-time creative career with live shows, brand partnerships, junket interviews, and a growing audience.

This conversation exists for anyone wondering: How does something like that actually happen? Not the highlight reel. Not the viral moment. But the mechanics. The risk. The mindset. The turning points.

If you’ve ever thought about starting something creative, a podcast, a channel, a product, this episode is about what it really takes to make it work.

FOLLOW BEN:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/benhanlin

INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/benhanlin

TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@benhanlin

FOLLOW PULP KITCHEN:

YOUTUBE:  @pulpkitchenpodcast 

TIKTOK: www.tiktok.com/@pulpkitchenpodcast

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/pulpkitchenpodcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of What’s The Trick?, Ben Hanlin sits down with Amelia Sordell - founder of multi-million-pound personal brand agency 'Klowt' and now a creator, advisor, and podcast host in her own right - to unpack what it really takes to build a personal brand that works.

Not the vanity version. Not the “10k followers in 30 days” version. The real version.

Together, they explore how Amelia built her company from zero to £4 million in three and a half years, why it nearly broke her, and what she believes now about creativity, positioning, storytelling, and reputation in the modern world.

This conversation exists because “personal brand” has become a buzzword - and Amelia has actually done it. Built it. Scaled it. Burned out from it. Rebuilt it. If you care about ideas, visibility, creative work, or building something under your own name - this episode is for you.

What You’ll Learn:

-Why a personal brand is simply “a reputation at scale” - and why that changes everything

-How to test and refine an idea while still employed (and effectively “get paid to learn”)

-What fast growth really costs - beyond the headline revenue numbers

-Why most content doesn’t convert (and what separates visibility from revenue)

-A simple three-bucket framework for content that actually builds authority

-Why storytelling only works when someone can say “me too”

-How to overcome fear of posting, speaking, or putting yourself forward

-The difference between execution problems and positioning problems

-Why followers don’t matter nearly as much as you think

-How to choose which ideas to pursue - and which to let go

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Music Producer, Songwriter - This episode is about how music is actually made - not the romantic version, but the real one. The rooms. The pressure. The trust. The decisions that quietly determine whether an idea lives or dies.

Ben sits down with a producer and songwriter Owen Cutts work spans hip-hop, soul, pop, and British music culture, someone who has built a long career behind the scenes, helping artists turn unfinished thoughts into finished records.

This conversation exists to answer a deceptively simple question:

- What does it really take to make meaningful creative work that lasts?

- Not just to start, but to sustain.

- If you’ve ever wondered how ideas move from instinct to execution, or how creative people balance art, ego, money, and longevity, this episode is for you.

What You’ll Learn

- Why the music industry isn’t actually about money - and what it is about instead

- How professional creators build trust fast enough to do vulnerable work with strangers

- What a “day-one demo” is - and why it has to be album-ready by the end of the day

- How changing the perspective of an idea can unlock originality

- Why chasing trends almost guarantees you’ll arrive too late

- How great producers think in terms of environments, not just sounds

- What old music can teach modern creators about invention and courage

Why This Conversation Matters

- Most people talk about creativity as inspiration.

- This episode treats it as craft, judgment, and responsibility.

- It pulls back the curtain on the invisible decisions that shape creative work - the moments that don’t make headlines but determine outcomes.

- The value of saying no.

- The cost of rushing.

- The discipline of putting the work before the ego.

- Whether you make music, build companies, write, design, or lead teams, this conversation reframes creativity as something done deliberately, not magically.

Who This Episode Is For

- Creatives who want to understand how ideas become finished work

- Founders balancing vision, collaboration, and real-world constraints

- Makers who care about longevity more than virality

- Anyone curious about how trust and taste operate under pressure

- People who love culture, but want to understand how it’s constructed

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scott Bennett didn’t “accidentally” become a professional comedian. He built it the same way you build anything that lasts: years of reps, ruthless attention to craft, and a willingness to bet on himself when the “safe option” stopped feeling safe.

In this episode of What’s The Trick?, Ben Hanlin sits down with Scott to talk about what Scott has actually made: a sustainable stand-up career, a writing practice that runs like a job, and a set of repeatable methods for turning everyday life into material that lands in rooms full of strangers.

It’s a conversation about creative risk when you’ve got a mortgage and kids, and about what happens when you treat creativity like a system, not a mood. You’ll hear how Scott writes (and rewrites), how he engineers punchlines without killing the life in them, and how he handles the psychological weight of being judged in real time.

If you’re trying to build any craft-based career, comedy, content, design, music, writing, performance, this is an honest look at the unglamorous part: the work that makes the work possible.

• How to know when the “what if” feeling is the real signal, and when it’s just noise
• Why doing two lives at once (job + craft) can make you average at both, and what changes when you commit
• A practical rule for timing your leap: why quitting too early creates pressure that dilutes the dream
• How to write faster by removing unnecessary “scene setting” and getting to the point sooner
• A simple method for building routines: context first, then punchline, and how to test if the setup is doing its job
• Why putting yourself at the centre of the story makes material more relatable (and usually funnier)
• How audience expectations “tether” your voice, and what happens when you shift gears too hard
• Scott’s approach to crowd work as a writing tool, not a random gamble
• What to do when a room feels quiet: the mindset shift that stops you from unraveling mid-set
• The one “trick” Scott credits for longevity: treating comedy like work, not inspiration

Most people love the idea of making something - a show, a set, a body of work, a creative life - but get stuck on the parts that don’t look romantic from the outside: repetition, uncertainty, slow progress, and the reality that the room doesn’t owe you anything.

Scott’s value here isn’t motivation. It’s clarity. He breaks down the mechanics of getting good - how ideas become routines, how the right sentence replaces ten weaker ones, how you earn confidence by building evidence. And he’s honest about the trade: you can build a life doing what you love, but you don’t get to skip the psychological load that comes with it.

This episode is a reminder that “creative success” often looks like structure, consistency, and decision-making - not lightning bolts.

• You’re building a creative career alongside a job and want a realistic framework for when (and how) to leap
• You perform, speak, teach, pitch, or present — and you want to handle rooms more confidently
• You’re writing anything (stand-up, scripts, content, talks) and want tighter setups and cleaner structure
• You’ve got momentum but struggle to balance drive with the feeling that you’re never “there yet”
• You’re allergic to hype and want the unglamorous truth about craft, pressure, and progress

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.