Podium Podcast: Recent Episodes
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WHEN THE LOCKER CLOSES, WHAT NEXT?
From locker room gossip to fascinating high performance insights, PODIUM PODCAST is the show that invites some of the biggest names in world sport to discuss life on and off the field of play.
With co-hosts, Tom May, former England rugby, and leading performance coach, Simon Hartley, each week we invite a guest to engage in honest and open conversation, where we discuss their white collar world beyond the field of sport and explore how the characteristics and methods that shaped them as a successful sports person helps, or hinders, life after pro sport.
Podium Podcast is brought to you by True Potential. To find out more, visit www.TPLLP.com
Welcome to the season 3 review of Podium Podcast!
An opportunity to look back over season highlights; for regular host Simon Hartley to ably pick out the most valuable performance lessons and insights, and for stand-in host, BWC Media Director, Justin Perkins, not to venture off on some unrelated tangent!
From David Campese’s quest for creativity to Paula Dunn seizing the moment, it’s a bumper 20 minutes showcasing some of season 3’s best bits.
Enjoy!
If you could bottle determination you’d want whatever Chemmy Crawford-Alcott (née Alcott) takes, such is her drive and ambition to achieve her objectives.
The mum of 2 retired from Alpine ski racing almost a decade ago, but not before competing in 3 Olympics and 6 World Championships, bagging herself a bunch of broken bones along the way.
Chemmy opens up to Tom and Simon about how she fought her way to the slopes to become Great Britain’s most successful female ski racer.
Paula Dunn is from arguably the last golden era of world athletics; when digital media wasn’t really a thing and football not so dominant. In the 1980s and early 90s, athletics was the sport that offered us the heroes and household names. The Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World Champs dominated TV screens, providing incredible moments from perhaps the purest form of physical competition.
Paula was in that mix, competing at the big championships from where she would collect a medal haul that included five medals at the Commonwealth Games.
Sport psychologist, Simon Hartley, picks up the conversation with the former GB 100m, 200m and sprint relay Olympian.
You sometimes forget what a damn fine footballer this week’s Podium Podcast guest was, such is the skill with which Dion Dublin handles his current TV presenting and media pundit duties.
But before Match of the Day & Homes Under the Hammer there was Aston Villa, Man Utd, Celtic and several other top-flight clubs.
Tom May meets the former centre-forward that has made the transition to TV work look like a walk in the park.
You’d be forgiven for thinking this week’s Podium Podcast guest might have a somewhat inflated ego about them. A former commercial jet pilot – a Captain, no less - with some of the world’s biggest airlines and the recipient of more than a few international rugby union caps, a certain self-assuredness might even be understandable.
But as Tony Underwood sits down with Tom and Simon, he shows nothing but modesty and humility. A warm and inviting character, he speaks openly and honestly, offering a fascinating insight into the experience that perhaps defines his (rugby) career more than any other: that 1995 Rugby World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, where a rampant Jonah Lomu got busy etching his name into rugby folklore.
The Leeds Rhino rugby league team of which Jamie was a key part was not short of talent. Rob Burrow, Jamie Peacock, to name but a few. But at the heart of the team; the architect of its fortunes was Jamie's old friend and best man, Kevin Sinfield.
In part 2 of this Podium Podcast, Jamie sheds some light on the inner mechanics of one of sport's most inspiring individuals.
There’s not much this week’s guest has not achieved on the rugby league field.
With more than 400 appearances for his hometown club, Leeds Rhinos, he was an integral part of an iconic team that won multiple Super League Grand Finals, World Club Challenges and plenty of other silverware along the way.
Meet Jamie Jones-Buchanan.
From Norwich to Charlton, Leeds to Manchester City, Danny Mills has plied his trade across the English football map, clocking up close to 350 professional appearances for club and country in the process.
Danny finally hung up his boots in 2009 at the age of 32, due to an ongoing knee injury. But that hasn’t stopped him from indulging his love for long-distance running.
Tom and Simon sat down with Danny just before the 2023 London Marathon to discuss life after football.
Imagine being the best in the world at what you do.
You hear ‘world no. 1’ references in commentary and I often wonder if the scale of that achievement sometimes gets lost in the moment.
But just pause for a second and consider it. THE WORLD NUMBER ONE.
Our guest this week was just that – the best in the world at a sport beloved by millions across the world, but one that often doesn’t get the recognition it deserves: squash.
Laura Massaro MBE is the first Englishwoman to hold both the British Open Championship and the World Championship at the same time, representing a pinnacle in a career that raked in a solid haul of medals across World Champs, Commonwealth Games & various other global tournaments.
Tom May and Simon Hartley join Laura to discuss her time at the T and what life looks like now following her retirement in 2019.
Capped 101 times by the Wallabies, David Campese – Campo - is one of the world’s greatest ever attacking rugby players. With a lethal step and dogged self-belief, the 1991 World Cup winner left defences in tatters the world over, before retiring in 1996.
Tom and Simon find out what he’s been up to since hanging up the boots, and find an opinion - or two - about the state of the modern game.
Ed says: "Field hockey is one of those sports I’ve always greatly admired from afar. As both spectator and participant my attention has largely been taken by other disciplines: rugby, athletics and, somewhat left of field, gymnastics. Had they not been in the way, I always thought hockey would’ve been my game of choice.
The Olympics have always provided a hockey fix. Every four years, the event would find a firm place in my viewing schedule. Sean Kerly and his gold medal run at the 1998 Seoul Olympics opened the door, but it was the women’s team and their exploits at the 2016 Rio games that smashed the doors down. I cry very rarely, especially at sport. But I’ll admit to a tear escaping when the team took that epic gold.
At the very heart of that team was their captain, Kate Richardson-Walsh, who we’re delighted to welcome to this week’s Podium Podcast. It’s a story worthy of Hollywood, culminating in one final golden moment. Enjoy!"
Pick up the chat, with Tom May & Simon Hartley. SUBSCRIBE for FREE from wherever you get your podcasts: https://linktr.ee/bwcmedia
Thanks to our partners - True Potential LLP - for helping make Podium Podcast happen. Visit www.tpllp.com to find out more.
"With the scale of the (golf) ecosystem we came up against, you can’t just dip your toe in the water.”
Mark Foster discusses all things LIV Golf and explains how the organisation is aiming to disrupt the game of golf.
The former Gloucester, Exeter Chiefs, Jersey Reds & England rugby 7s player made what seemed like a seamless transition to the finance big leagues on his retirement from pro sport in 2015, taking in the likes of Deloitte before landing his current role as Senior Vice President of Finance with one of sport’s most talked about organisations: LIV Golf.
In part one of this two-part episode, we discuss Mark’s professional rugby career and learn how the transition to life after pro sport was built on real purpose and preparation.
Simon and bwc media Director, Justin (stepping in temporarily for Tom), review season 2 highlights and look ahead to what's to come in season 3, including a guest with, according to Justin, world rugby's most iconic goose step. Any guesses?
When Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, in the 4 x 100 medley final, today’s guest on Podium Podcast was there.
Not there as in watching from the stands. There as in, in the pool. Racing for the GB Olympic team!
It’s an almost overwhelming moment to have in the life locker; to be actively involved in one of the most iconic events in the history of sport.
But Chris Cook earned the right to be in an adjacent lane. Sheer hard work and determination resulted in several other accolades, including double Olympian status and multiple Commonwealth Gold medals. He clearly knows how to swim a length or two of a pool at speed.
But perhaps what’s more intriguing is how he’s transitioned to life after sport. It’s a properly considered, soul-searching approach, with all the highs and lows – and essential life lessons - that invariably come with a significant step change.
Simon, Tom & Chris discuss…
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Finding the courage to start afresh.
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The power of silencing your ego.
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Chasing real purpose, not money or medals.
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The importance of doing the hard yards.
Podium Podcast is brought to you by True Potential Wealth Management. To find out more, visit: www.domorewithyourmoney.co.uk
FROM PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL TO FINE ART! It’s not a phrase you hear every day, unless of course we’re talking of players buying eye-wateringly priced pieces to hang on the walls of their cavernous homes.
But today’s guest is more likely to be the artist than the buyer.
After playing spells with various top-flight clubs, including Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Jody Cradock embraced a passion he’d held for many years and turned art into his profession, selling original work and taking on commissions from clients across the world.
Tom and Simon chat to the former Premier League defender about life at the easel.
Podium Podcast is brought to you by True Potential Wealth Management. To find out more, visit: www.domorewithyourmoney.co.uk
Back in 1996, Matt Bullock was embarking on a dream career as a professional footballer with one of the world’s oldest football clubs: Stoke City FC.
Five years later, in his early twenties, he suffered an ACL injury and the football dream was over. But it was just the start of a flourishing career in an alternative discipline.
In a classic tale of triumph over adversity, Matt has gone on to represent some of the world’s leading sports brands, with Nike in category management, New Balance as Global Head of Product and JD Group as Head of Commercial, to name but a few.
Continuing the trend, Matt is currently Chief Commercial Officer of one of the UK’s most hip apparel brands: NICCE.
Tom May is back in the co-host seat this week, alongside regular sidekick: Simon Hartley.
There are perhaps few better testaments to talent than having a nickname inspired by one of the greatest British movies of all time: 1981 Oscar winner, Chariots of Fire.
It’s a well-deserved title for this week’s Podium Podcast guest: Martin Chariots Offiah; scorer of arguably the greatest rugby league try ever at Wembley and holder of multiple records, from a glittering playing career spanning three decades.
It’s a great insight into Martin’s time on the pitch but also an important reminder for having a purpose and focus in life after the highs of pro sport.
Podium Podcast is about all manner of professional sports folk, but we hold a special place in our hearts for those who have taken the journeyman approach, working across their sport's leagues, wherever their expertise is valued.
Ryan Vesce, this week's guest on Podium Podcast, is in no way short of talent. He attended the prestigious Cornell University, before representing the San Jose Sharks in the NHL.
But he was also a sporting nomad, playing in Russia, Finland, Switzerland and Croatia, before returning to his native North America to set up in business, including his current focus: Matterhorn Fit.
It's a fascinating journey and a cracking listen!
Pro sport is a brutal recruitment environment. A tiny percentage of athletes ever get there. When the sport of choice is American Football and the budding pro athlete is an Englishman, the prospects are especially bleak!
So to find a spot with one of the sport’s leading teams, NFL’s San Diego Chargers (now called Los Angeles Chargers), before carving out a playing and coaching career with professional clubs across Europe, is no small feat.
That’s a small insight into the CV of this week’s Podium Podcast guest, Jason Brisbane!
Jason’s transition to the white collar world is no less impressive, with roles as Head of Community and Grassroots Development for NFL International in London, before his current tenure as CEO of Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR).
It’s a fascinating career journey for a man who is now heading up GB’s charge in one of the most exhilarating and under-appreciated sports on the planet. If you haven’t tried wheelchair rugby, change that in 2023!
Prefer to watch? Follow Podium Podcast on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3oL3GgzhCCqWnXJQ6En40g
Podium Podcast is brought to you by True Potential LLP
To find out more, please visit: www.domorewithyourmoney.co.uk
If this was an episode of Friends, it would be called:
THE ONE WHERE TOM’S INTERNET COLLAPSES!
Thankfully, Mike Brown enjoys a more robust connection, enabling us to serve up a cracking chat with one of England rugby’s finest ever full-backs.
It’s a really honest chat with a genuinely humble person, who is navigating his way to the next stage of his career with real purpose and enthusiasm.
Plenty of lessons to be learned for anyone going through their own transitional journey!
Podium Podcast is brought to you by True Potential LLP
To find out more, visit: www.domorewithyourmoney.co.uk
To watch on You Tube, click here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3oL3GgzhCCqWnXJQ6En40g
This is a really important conversation!
It’s one I’m surprised we haven’t had more of on Podium Podcast. That’s partly because it’s a very difficult subject to talk about in transparent terms, and even more difficult to admit to. Yet in reality the majority of us will, at some point in our lives, have to deal with mental health challenges.
Today’s guest, GB 400m hurdler and double Olympian, Jack Green, tackles the subject of mental health head-on, both through the lens of his experience as an elite athlete who reached the world’s top 10, and in his current role as Head of Performance at Champion Health UK.
It’s a hugely insightful discussion covering a broad range of related subjects, including:
🎤 The pointless pursuit of perfection.
🎤 Managing fear of failure.
🎤 Dealing with difficult situations as a POSITIVE CHALLENGE, not a THREAT.
🎤 The importance of NOT trying to deal with everything.
And lots more!
To pick up the video version, head here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3oL3GgzhCCqWnXJQ6En40g
Towards the end of Podium Podcast, we ask the same set of quick-fire questions, including:
Q: “Aside from sports, was there another vocation that took your interest?”
A: “Viking”, replied this week’s guest, Springbok and Toulon rugby legend: Joe van Niekerk.
There’s no doubting Joe’s physical attributes would stand him in good stead for the role, but the once-rampaging number 8, who established an organic farm and wellness retreat in Costa Rica on his retirement in 2014, may find the bloodshed and violence a little more challenging these days.
It’s a mad chat with a genuinely lovely bloke, where we hear:
🎙 A wonderful tribute to the iconic Nelson Mandela.
🎙 Living the Pura Vida lifestyle on an organic farm and wellness retreat in the jungles of Costa Rica.
🎙 Embracing a spiritual healing process, after the carnage of rugby.
🎙 Finding a passion that really drives you and your motivation.
🎙 The love of being in a team and the core principles of leadership.
🎙 And, of course, stories from the star-packed Toulon rugby dressing room.
Download to your preferred podcast platform or watch on You Tube: https://linktr.ee/bwcmedia
Podium Podcast is brought to you by True Potential LLP
To find out more, please visit: www.domorewithyourmoney.co.uk
FROM THE INFAMOUS 2005 ASHES-WINNING ENGLAND TEAM, we welcome this week’s Podium Podcast special guest: England cricketer, Simon Jones.
The reverse swing specialist joins Simon and Tom to discuss:
🎙 Coping with the crazy England cricket tour schedule & the impact on mental wellbeing.
🎙 What goes on tour (doesn’t always) stay on tour
🎙 THAT trip to Downing Street after THAT night out, post Ashes glory.
🎙 Fred the lunatic and Hoggard the social hand grenade.
🎙 Taking positive lessons from long-term injuries.
🎙The difficulty of finding focus after the high of pro sport.
🎙 The importance of being in charge of your own development.
🎙 When you’re put on your arse, find a way to get back up stronger.
Prefer to WATCH? https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3oL3GgzhCCqWnXJQ6En40g
Thanks to our podcast partners, True Potential, for their support.
To find out more, please visit: www.domorewithyourmoney.co.uk
From World Champion rower to Foreign & Commonwealth Office Diplomat, this week’s Podium Podcast guest brings quite the CV to the mic, and with it some fascinating insights and observations from the world of elite sport and international politics.
Three-time Olympian Cath Bishop joins Tom and Simon to discuss…
- Dealing with Olympic blues - finding motivation after the high.
- Making pressured decisions where lives are at stake.
- The importance of having an intrinsic love of what you do.
- The dark world of the indoor rowing machine.
- Learning and improving every day.
- The Lottery-Olympic funding transition.
- The value of losing and what it teaches you.
To watch the show, visit our You Tube channel
Kenny Logan is a retired Scottish rugby union player who played wing for Wasps RFC, London Scottish and Scotland. He won three English Premiership titles with Wasps and one Scottish Premiership title with Stirling County RFC in 1995.
Kenny is married to sports presenter, Gabby Logan.
In this episode of Podium Podcast we discuss:
- The value, or not, of consuming alcohol as part of a pro sport training regime.
- Rugby’s slowest runners!
- Ensuring you don’t become too focused on indulgent marginal gains at the expense of the important stuff, namely having fun.
- Kenny’s current work projects, including the incredible Doddie Weir foundation, My Name’5 Doddie
- Entrepreneurship
- Dyslexia
- The Bullshit of Business! Learning to trust people in a work environment.
- Strictly Come Dancing – Gabby Vs Kenny
In what seems like the proverbial flash, we bring season 1 to a close. But not before our esteemed hosts, Simon & Tom, expertly cast their eyes over the insights and observations offered up by our wonderful guests in this inaugural season.
From the importance of relationship building to finding work-life balance, there are some great lessons to remember, but the most profound comes from Mr Tom May: "If you're a dkhd, nobody will deal with you". Very true!
After a glittering career in rugby league that included captaining Great Britain and picking up two consecutive Man of Steel awards, you’d think this week’s Podium Podcast guest might slow the pace a little in his second career.
But if anything he’s picked it up, with an impressive portfolio of commercial interests and coaching duties with England Rugby League, Paul Sculthorpe MBE, is a man who, by his own admission, just can’t stop!
THE TOUGH REALITY OF PRO SPORT
We’re back across the pond for this week’s PODIUM PODCAST (US Series), for a warts and all chat with former Major League Baseball pitcher, Mike O’Connor.
Mike represented several of the world’s most recognisable baseball teams, including the New York Yankees, New York Mets and Washington Nationals.
But behind the iconic brands is a story of grit and determination to make it as a pro sportsmen in one of the world’s most ruthless sports leagues.
“I DISAGREE & IT’S A STUPID IDEA”
This week’s PODIUM PODCAST guest, South African rugby international Bob Skinstad, reminisces on ‘disagreements’ with the team selection committee, before providing a fascinating insight into one of rugby’s global powerhouses at a critical point in their evolution through the noughties.
The 2007 Rugby World Cup winner also shares some of the highs & lows of transitioning to commercial life after rugby, including taking on the particularly tricky world of venture capital.
It’s a phrase we throw around very freely these days, but it’s not until you hear stories like Ed’s that you’re reminded of what real adversity looks like, and what it takes to tackle it.
From Bath and Wasps to London Welsh and Dragons, Ed represented several of the UK’s leading rugby clubs and was a highly respected pro, when in his late twenties he suffered a severe spinal injury that abruptly ended his rugby career.
Fast forward five years and Ed can be found atop some of the world’s highest mountains and broadcasting in front of the TV cameras, whilst also raising huge sums for charity.
Simon & Tom pick up the story in this week’s Podium Podcast.
Tommy Duquette was a very handy boxer in his time. Inspired by a family tree of Boston-based pro boxing champs, he was part of the USA national boxing team from 2008-2012, but narrowly missed out on a place on the team for the 2012 London Olympics.
Undeterred, he channelled his energy into his entrepreneurial activities. In 2015, he co-founded what has become one of the most exciting brands in the connected fitness industry: FightCamp, an at-home boxing gym that provides access to a huge library of boxing & kickboxing-inspired workouts.
Our connections in the US will most likely be familiar with FightCamp. Here in the UK, we’re still waiting for the brand to formally hit our shores, but with increasing commercial support for the business, it surely won’t be long.
FightCamp’s most recent fundraise - $90m in June, 2021 – included the likes of Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather and UFC superstar Georges St. Pierre. It’s an exciting support line-up for a business that has very serious global objectives.
“WHEN LIFE SLAPS YOU ABOUT A BIT, YOU JUST CRACK ON”
We love that quote from GB and St. Helens rugby league player, Jon Wilkin, this week’s guest on PODIUM PODCAST. It’s a reflection of the tenacious, bulldog attitude he showed on the rugby field and in how he leads his burgeoning hospitality business, Pot Kettle Black, alongside business partner and fellow retired rugby league pro, Mark Flanagan.
In this episode of Podium Podcast, we hear about Jon’s life on both sides of the track, as a true players’ player on the field of sport and how he’s applying the same grit and determination to succeed in the hospitality business.
Saracens and England Rugby Union giant George Kruis retired in June 2022, following a sterling swan song performance, where he slotted three place kicks ... for the Barbarians ....against England!!
Surprisingly, the kicking coach offers didn’t come flooding in, so he had to revert to his original ‘retirement’ plan of taking up the reigns full-time at fourfive (www.fourfive.com), the CBD and vitamins company he founded back in 2018 with fellow rugby pro Dom Day.
In this episode of PODIUM PODCAST, we look back on his hugely successful playing career and explore his transition to the health and wellness industry.
Rebecca Adlington OBE won a truckload of medals in a glittering swimming career, including the infamous double gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Now retired, these days Becky focuses her attention on building one of the UK's fastest growing swim school brands: Becky Adlington's SwimStars.
In this episode of Podium Podcast, we hear more about her life in the pool, and now in the boardroom. From the beauty of day drinking (seriously, how good is it?!) and dealing with social media trolls to the value of self-analysis and methods to motivate, it's a broad ranging discussion that offers a fascinating insight into the mind of a golden Olympian.
We all start somewhere and for Podium Podcast that's here! It's a little rough around the edges but an opportunity for us to test tech, fumble words and play about. But still some great insights and chat to be had in amongst the trial and error.
In this pilot, we meet the hosts of Podium Podcast: former England rugby international, Tom May and one of the UK's leading sports and performance coaches, Simon Hartley.
The interview offers some great insights into elite sport and transitioning mindset to work life after sport, but we also ask the hard questions of Tom May. Like, "If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?