First Impressions

A special bonus episode for Mental Health Awareness Week 2024, I'm chatting to Simon Blake, Chief Executive, MHFA England. In a world where we’re told to think one thing or the other - we discuss what leadership with compassion and understanding looks like. Simon also delves into his childhood, navigating coming out to his parents, as well as giving honest advice to others in similar positions. Thank you Simon!Links:Mental Health First Aid England WebsiteOff the Top of Your Head Podcast@MHFAEngland LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the final episode of the season, I'm so honoured to introduce Corrie legend Cherylee Houston who plays Izzy Armstrong! We talk all things bumpy cobbles, disability advocacy and Cherylee's journey to acting. It's an absolute corker of an episode, thanks so much to Cherylee for joining me! Find Cherylee on: InstagramTripleCFind more about First Impressions and the host Gem Turner on gemturner.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you don't know her already, meet Ash. With over 100,000 followers Ash has curated the most raw and hilarious TikTok page. With the perfect balance of humour mixed with honest ADHD chats you're bound to love Ash by the end of this chat if you don't already know herFind Ash on: TikTokYouTubeInstagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I loved chatting with Nick this week on First Impressions. He has a lot of impressive achievements to his name but here's a lil summary: an Amputee & Disability advocate, Physical Disability Rugby League player World Cup winners, and Castleford Tigers RLFC Captain! Wowzer! We had a really raw open chat about identifying as disabled, community and resilience. Thanks so much Nick! Find Nick on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/who_needs_two_arms/Thank you so much for listening/watching - find me on Instagram @gem_turner or my website gemturner.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I introduce one of my good friends, Holly Girven. Holly is a wheelchair-using barrister who shares all about life with OI (Brittle Bones) in like me, living in London. We discuss growing up around a shared community and gaining independence with some top tips for others along the way. Huge thank you to Holly for sharing her experience with me, I hope you find it as insightful as I did. Watch on YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nina Tame is a disability mentor, writer, content creator (and occasional reluctant public speaker) from the UK. Sometimes gobby, always sweary and she loves a good wheelchair selfie. It was SUCH a pleasure to have her on First Impressions after being pals for so long. Find Nina on Insta You can also watch this episode on YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join me for the launch of Season 2 of First Impressions with my good pal, Brooke Millhouse. Brooke is an adaptive athlete and host of 'Disabled and Proud' Podcast. A show that brings listeners a different perspective on disability, each week highlighting awesome disabled guests speaking about their own disability; why they are proud to be disabled, and why they are proud to be themselves.Find the podcast on Apple PodcastsFollow Disabled and Proud on InstagramWatch the visual of this podcast on YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This short teaser is a recent collaboration with my pal Conor's podcast BrainDump, if you enjoyed this - check the full episode out http://braindumpthepodcast.podbean.com/ or search "BrainDump" on Spotify.Massive thanks to Conor for having me and hope you enjoy this little snippet! As I mentioned, find me on @gem_turner on socials or gemturner.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I chat to Jennie Berry aka @wheelie_good_life all about her experience of being a wheelchair user and the everyday reactions that come along with it. We talk about ableism, accessibility and how to really be mindful when speaking to disabled people. I really enjoyed this one! The accessible app mentioned is: Sociability and @sociabilityapp on instagram. Follow Jennie on insta for her fab posts and stories on @wheelie_good_life! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm so happy for you to meet my good pal Helena Webb who is a ball of energy that you just can't help but smile when you're with her. Helena is just one of a kind, I honestly don’t know anyone as positive, fun yet empathetic and in this ep, it shows! We met at University and have kept in touch ever since. In the ep we talk about what it’s like being a freelance producer for the likes of BBC Radio 1 and Spotify with @maxandharvey, why Helena just LOVES radio and what it’s like being a woman in the industry. We also talk about some of the challenges of being a full-on people loving extrovert!Find Helena on socials via @helenaalicewebb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the week I'm posting this it's #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek and I'm so pleased to introduce you to my good pal Conor. Content Warning - topics we discuss include self harm, suicidal thoughts and attempts - for anyone who would like a heads up. I'm so grateful to have spoken to Conor who shared his journey so open and honestly, we even managed to chat about how you can possibly talk to anyone you know who you think may be struggling too. Check out Conor's podcast "Brain Dump" to hear more from him! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thank you so much to this week's guest Dr Anamik Saha for joining me on First Impressions. Anamik was my old lecturer at the University of Leeds and opened my eyes to the world of representation in media. We catch up from 10 years ago, talk about diversity in films and the power of them, as well as the word diversity itself - is it just a buzzword these days?Find his new book by searching "Race, Culture and Media by Dr Anamik Saha" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[cw - mention of OCD & intrusive thoughts]For this week's episode I chat to Jessie (@_biggerthanmy on insta) who talks all about her experience of having intrusive thoughts, OCD and how she’s now created a community making these topics something to not shy away from talking about (if you want to!) I found it fascinating talking to Jessie, sharing her experience of working in events - we talk about that old convo of being in “work mode” and “real mode” and how hard it is to naturally blend the two. I’ve not known Jessie for long but she’s such a warm, kind and genuine person and I’m so grateful that she’s another lockdown friend I’ve made this year! 🥰Transcript can be found on gemturner.com and click "First Impressions" on the main menu ⌨️ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Massive thank you to Thierry for joining me on my first ever episode. Thierry has been one of those friends I've admired for years. His energy and passion for life is contageous - although throughout the episode we both realised we have a lot in common in terms of using energy to make the people around us happy. Thierry also speaks around what it's like as a young black man in the digital space and why we all need to do more on ensuring proper diversity in the field. For more content like this, be sure to follow Thierry on social media: Insta: @thierryngutegureTwitter: @ThierryAlainLinkedIn: Search Thierry Ngutegure Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.