Human Alchemy

On this episode of Human Alchemy, I sat down with Simon Brodkin. Simon has a great CV of performance under pressure having worked initially as a junior doctor before entering the world of TV where he sprung to prominence with characters like Lee Nelson and Jason Bent. Simon became world famous with high profile stunts where he took on people like Donald Trump, Theresa May, Kanye West and ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter. He has also excelled in the stand-up comedy world where he has performed on Live at the Apollo, The Royal Variety and Edinburgh Fringe.Simon and I mainly focused on one topic; Performance Under Pressure, and Simon has had to deal with a lot of pressure. Enjoy the episode!

Ash Dykes is a Welsh explorer and world record holder, and we have the pleasure of hearing about his remarkable journey from chip shop worker to world-leading adventurer.Ash is known for taking on solo expeditions in remote and dangerous locations, including crossing the ridiculously treacherous Madagascar, being the first to follow the full length of the Yangtze River and undertaking the first solo and unsupported journey across the Gobi Desert. Over these journeys, he has had to make life or death decisions and maintain physical and mental focus that some of us could only dream of.The episode breaks down what his experiences can tell us about staying effective under pressure, what makes him different and how the hell he got to the desert in the first place. Pushing himself to the absolute limit.Enjoy.

Jamie Monk becomes the first repeat guest as we break down the top 5 greatest sporting performances under pressure of all time. As always, if you have any feedback or want more of anything in particular, please drop me a note!This episode was a lot of fun to make and hopefully it's also an enjoyable listen. 

It's been a while since our last episode but we're excited to be back!The Traitors is a fascinating show that highlights some very interesting topics that I personally love to talk about. Group dynamics, performance under pressure, cognitive biases and group decision making are all key components of the show and that's why I've decided to breakdown a few of the areas I think have the most transfer to everyday life. Are people with higher IQ's worse at the game?Why Traitors should never be voted out in the first few rounds.What's the key error the faithful make that also happens in teams all over the world?Enjoy the episode!

If there's one topic that I rely on more than any other it's this one. How on earth to you consistently come up with new ideas? Almost everything I do depends on the quality of the ideas I produce;Sales closes, podcast questions, session ideas, thumbnails, titles, public speaking and loads more. The topic I go into in this episode is one I've been studying desperately for the last 4 years, as I view it as so crucial to any sort of progress. And luckily for you and me, it can be learned and developed. Over the next 25 minutes I'll dive into how to generate consistently good ideas and how history's greats have done the same.Enjoy the episode!

Will McLaren spent 5 years in the Royal Marines where he battled through selection and learned some core life skills before making the move to London. After having a go at a few different things including personal training and a few different ventures, Will has embarked on his most ambitious journey yet; starting a fitness competition to challenge Hyrox.Will and his co founder Toby have created a fitness competition called Metrix which is an all in one event that combines fitness, live music and competition. Will has an awesome story and one not without its difficulties. Enjoy.

Dave Pounds is a resilience and leadership coach who has helped countless teams and individuals. When Dave was just 12 years old he experienced something truly horrific, the murder of his Mother in his home. Dave has battled with anxiety, PTSD, alcohol abuse and more and now, having tried hundreds of different therapies, Dave has come out the other side. In this episode, Dave shares his story and how he brought himself back from the brink. When it comes to performance and resilience, Dave is someone who has been through more than most and he shares these lessons here. Please be aware that this episode contains some traumatic content. 

The 'Pygmalion Effect' is one of the most powerful tools out there for anyone looking to positively impact those around them and the first topic for a 'Ross Examination'.A little while ago we decided to pivot the podcast to 'Human Alchemy' to align more closely with who we wanted to speak with on the show but I had a soft spot for the name Ross Examination and decided to keep it for solo episodes focused on one topic. Every now and then we will chuck in a RossEx when we don't have a guest lined up or there's a burning topic on my mind. Enjoy!

This weeks episode looks at performance from a slightly different angle. Jonnie Fielding has been walking the streets of London for over 10 years as a tour guide. His tours are exceptional and from a performance point of view, very impressive.No matter the weather, company or his own feelings, Jonnie has to turn up with energy and enthusiasm to make it special. One of the biggest things I took from the episode was how Jonnie finally committed to what made him happy and then everything started to fall into place. It sounds simple but it's very hard to take that chance on yourself. For the first 8 years it would cost Jonnie more to get to a walk than what he made doing it sometimes.Fast forward to today and Jonnie is fully booked majority of the time and still doing what he loves and with a following of 250,000 people in toe on social media. Jonnie took a chance on himself and it paid off and luckily for me, it makes a great story. Enjoy!

I travelled down to Perpignan in the south of France to meet one of, if not the greatest defence coach of all time, Shaun Edwards.What I enjoyed about Shaun's view of coaching is how simplicity is at the heart of everything. Shaun also cares deeply about his players, something most coaches will claim to do but fail to execute, Shaun didn't say it but his actions spell out the picture clearly, people play for Shaun. Enjoy!

Charlie Copsey has 20 years experience in production working on BBC Radio 5 Live's 'Fighting Talk', since then, Charlie has started her own business - 'The Underground Fan Club' where she creates fan experiences like not other. She noticed that most talent would be awesome and charming off screen but when they were on screen they would almost go into autopilot which prompted Charlie to come up with a way to allow people to feel more comfortable and let fans see their true personalities.Charlie has gone through the mental turmoil of going out on her own and starting a business and is now smashing it and her lessons for anyone looking to take a leap of faith and just get going are essential ones.Enjoy!

Josh Brandon has over 20 years experience in talent management, working with musicians, actors, athletes and influencers. Josh has seen people go through every stage of stardom and understands better than most the difference between making it and missing out. Josh is also highly educated after studying at Oxford, MIT and Henley Business School. Josh has founded multiple start-ups and ventures along side his talent management career. He's had a birds eye view of multiple formats of high-performance and may just be the perfect person to bring life to the show title of human alchemy as he's seen people make that change more than most. Enjoy!

Stuart Lancaster is a highly experienced professional rugby coach who has worked at all levels of the game. He has played professionally, coached at academy level, first team level and international level as well as coaching overseas in France and Ireland. I sat down with Stuart after he had just been released from Racing 92 and before he took his role at Connacht. Stuart spoke about the challenges of leading in a different language, dealing with players who have lost the desire to improve, the difference between international and club teams, delivering tough feedback and how to create a culture. Stuart is someone that is constantly trying to improve and while Stuarts field is rugby, he is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to leadership and coaching. So, if you're looking to build a team, sharpen your leadership skills or learn what it's like running a professional sports team, this episode is for you. Enjoy!

I had no idea at all what to expect when starting a podcast, what would be easy, what would be hard or what to expect. Before the podcast moves in a different direction, I thought it would be interesting to take you through the process of starting a podcast and what I learned throughout as well as some of the big mistakes I made and a couple of wins. It's a also a great time to introduce the plans moving forward and who I've brought on to help make the podcast better, so if you're interested, join me for a 20-minutes and find out all about it.

In this episode I speak with an old teammate of mine, Marcus Watson. Marcus had a really diverse career that saw him compete at the Olympics, tour the world with England 7's and compete at the highest level of club rugby in both the U.K and Italy. What I think you'll learn most from Marcus is how to reflect on your experiences in a healthy way. One of the benefits of a conversation like this is that you get to see how people were really experiencing events in a way that would have been hard to observe at the time. For example, Marcus talks about how winning an Olympic medal left him feeling fairly apathetic despite his expectations. Enjoy!

In this episode, I sit down with Jamie Monk. Jamie used to be a top level runner who trained with Mo Farah and posted some unbelievably fast times. Jamie gives insight into just how must of a gulf there is between good runners and the best of the best as well as how you could very quickly improve your running times and technique. While running was Jamie's sport, his thoughts on performance and achieving your potential are extremely valuable and his experience interviewing British sporting heritage like Jonny Wilkinson, Joe Root and Jessica Ennis have given him a fascinating view on what it means to be high-performing. Jamie is a great guy to be around and makes the area of high-performance very simple, when it can often be over complicated and drowned in buzzwords and vagaries. Enjoy the episode!

Conor Gilsenan played 9 seasons of professional rugby in Ireland and England before retiring due to concussion. He then went on BBC's 'The Apprentice' before finding a groove in the sales world. Conor was incredibly honest about how his career panned out and how he struggled after his career came to an end. If you want to understand how to thrive in a high-performing environment, I don't think you could find a better man to listen to. Not because Conor has achieved everything he wanted to but because of his ability to reflect and analyse honestly. Professional sport is hard, Sales is hard and reality TV is hard. Gilly has experienced it all and shares his learnings brilliantly in this episode.Enjoy! 

In a slightly different episode, I sat down with Alan Hertz in one of London's oldest pubs that has a fascinating story. While he hails from North America, Alan considers himself a Londoner after 40 years in the capital. Alan was a professor of the humanities at Hult International Business School for over 25 years and he's one of those people with a vast knowledge of all things but especially the history of London. In this episode, Alan talk about the Blitz, the best parts of London and much more.Enjoy!

In this episode, Ben Mercer takes us through his journey from professional rugby in England and France, retirement, becoming a bestselling author, building a brand as a literacy influencer and leveraging his passion. Ben has a great view of life and gives really useful insight into how you could develop your own passions and build a career that is fulfilling and rewarding. Enjoy!

Part 2 of my conversation with Sam Larner focuses on where game theory can be applied in professional sport, how stats can influence recruitment and more sneaky stats and tactics from the world of sport.Enjoy!

Sam Larner is at the forefront of a statistical revolution in Rugby. Sam's knowledge of stats across a wide range of sports makes for fascinating listening and he gives insight into the sneaky statistics that can make a big difference in professional rugby while also highlighting the best use of stats in other fields. Enjoy!

My guest this week is Matija Karaula. Matija went from growing up in Croatia to becoming the Global Head of Sales at a multi million pound software company as well as a managing director of another multi million pound company in Asia all before the age of 30. Matija takes us through his journey from selling cookies in Croatia, to selling vacuums in LA, to Asia and then to the U.K as well as detailing the key skills that lead to success in sales, observed through hiring hundreds of sales people. He also describes the benefit of going above and beyond what's asked of you.Enjoy!

Vince Walsh has published over 300 papers on the human brain as well as working with world renowned sports organisations from the Premier League to the Olympic Games as well as elite military units and some of the largest businesses on the planet. In this episode, Vince goes deep into how we really learn things effectively, the best way to set up a team and sheds light on the many 'neuro' myths that circulate todays society. It's a real privilege to get Vince on the show and I hope you get lots of value from the episode, enjoy!

If you've never heard of hypnogogia or the Lucia Light Machine, you're in for a treat. Ross Ducat is the Founder of a tech company that uses the flashlight on your phone to help put you to sleep or, if you're brave enough, into a psychedelic state. Ross is a true gem, enjoy!

Ross Ducat is a man of many hats; DJ, Tech Founder, Amateur Philosopher and I'll call him a socialite as well. I always think that if you can have an effortless chat with someone you've just met for over an hour, they would probably make a good podcast guest and Ross ticked that box very easily. Enjoy part 1 of the fascinating man that is Ross Ducat or as I like to call him, Ross Duchat.

My second guest is Joey Speed. Joey has worked in the corporate sales world, founded 15 companies to date, travelled the world while working on multiple new ventures, built a social media following and learned a hell of a lot along the way. Though I'm sure he would tell you that his greatest achievement is having me as a friend. Enjoy!

In this episode:Are zoo's a force for good or evil?The effort and skill required to build a strong personal brand and social media followingCam's efforts saving Lions from UkraineThe best places to see wildlifeWhat life is like growing up on a zoo