The Convex Conversation

Damian ‘Demon’ Rowley’s midlife awakening, as he calls it, came as he approached 50, felt burnt out and realised he had more life behind him than lay ahead. In a radical move, he quit his job as a professional motorcyclist/limo rider, overpacked a bag and ran away from the noise of everyday life to explore the world on a KTM690 motorbike, in search of inner peace and contentment. Damian shares sto...

In part 2 of our special with Major Scotty Mills – a Green Beret for 32 years - we explore how we can all embrace the Royal Marines’ core values including humility, courage, respect and kindness. Scotty was known as former England Manager Gareth Southgate’s ‘secret weapon’ when he put Harry Kane and the squad through Commando training before the 2018 World Cup and recalls the deep bond he forged w...

From the streets of south London to leading the physical training of all 6,500 Royal Marines, Major Scotty Mills' 32-year career as a Green Beret is a powerful story of leadership, resilience and courage. In part one, Scotty recalls how sheltering from the rain in a recruitment office to keep his skates dry saved him from heading down the wrong tracks. Inspired by his hero – Grandad Harry - he sig...

A made-up job title, his philosophy scribbled down on a legal pad, Chris Bennett was surprised to become Nike Running Global Head Coach in 2015. Over a decade on, the former American athlete and history teacher has inspired and motivated millions of runners of all levels as the calm, encouraging voice of the Nike Run Club app. Coach Chris, who lives near Nike’s HQ in Oregon, has finally been persu...

Inspired by their childhood adventures on the North-West coast of Scotland, the Maclean brothers set out on a rarely attempted epic voyage to row 9,753 miles non-stop and unsupported across the Pacific - from Peru to Australia. Having witnessed the daily struggles communities in Madagascar face without clean water, their mission was to raise more than a million pounds for clean water projects thro...

In his early 20s, registered nurse Teun Toebes spent more than three years living on closed dementia wards to listen and understand what life’s like for residents. In Human Forever, a new book and award-winning documentary made by Teun & filmmaker Jonathan de Jong, they share their findings and vision of what can be done, at little or no cost, to provide a meaningful life for those living with...

Record-breaking mountaineer and former Gurkha Hari Budha Magar MBE has dedicated the rest of his life to raising awareness of disability after losing both legs above the knee in an IED explosion in Afghanistan. Hari went from the depths of despair to inspiring others by conquering the Seven Summits with prosthetic legs he helped design specifically for his challenge - and documents his story in hi...

As Goodwood Revival - an immersive celebration of vintage cars and fashion – approaches, the 11th Duke of Richmond, Charles Gordon-Lennox, reflects on what inspired him to create the world's most spectacular historic motor racing event. Chatting in his private office, surrounded by extraordinary racing memorabilia, Charles talks about great old racing cars, driven by motor sport legends past and p...

French brothers Matthias and Bastien Cadéac d’Arbaud believe you have two lives – the one you have, and the one you live when you realise you only have one! For their new programme on Amazon Prime Video - 100 Things to Do Before You Die - they head to the Philippines on a mission to seek out adrenalin-fuelled experiences, from swimming with whale sharks to surviving on a deserted island. Matthias...

Human rights journalist Zahra Joya shares her powerful story of survival growing up in Afghanistan under Taliban rule in the nineties, disguising herself as a boy to go to school.   After the US-led invasion, her world flourished. But when the Taliban regained power in 2021, women were once again erased from public life. Zahra was airlifted from Kabul to London where she lives in exile running Ruk...

Almost downing aged six was a catalyst for a life of conformity, shaped by inner fear. Vicki Anstey bravely went in search of who she really was aged 40, leaving a controlling marriage and successful business behind, and unexpectedly became a world record-breaking adventurer.  Vicki pushed herself to the limit in SAS Who Dares Wins, rowed the Pacific unsupported, tackled marathons in the frozen Ar...

Steve Perry – Head of Delivery at Convex Insurance – was shocked when he won the company’s Dream Pitch. His idea - to join forces with friends and colleagues to cycle the entire coastline of Great Britain in a single day.  Starting simultaneously from locations across England, Scotland and Wales, the 120-strong team completed the challenge – thought to be a first - using GPS trackers and covering...

As the Festival of Speed kicks off at Goodwood in Sussex, the 11th Duke of Richmond reveals how and why he created it in 1993, and how it’s grown into the world’s greatest celebration of motor sport.  F1 champions like Lando Norris, Valentino Rossi and Damon Hill will be joined by the Andretti family and astronaut Tim Peake – just some of the names to look out for this year.  Charles recounts stor...

Over 24 years, British diplomat Ian Proud became one of the most accomplished crisis experts in the Foreign Office, dealing with global emergencies like the Bali Bombing, Salisbury poisonings and 911. He talks openly about the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder he suffered as Head of the Political Section in Thailand after being one of the first on the scene of the Boxing Day Tsunami and how he believ...

Friqtao, the Paris-born pianist known for spontaneous performances in train stations, went viral when he started sharing his music on socials, striking a chord with more than 3.5 million TikTok followers. Wearing his signature beanie and headphones and inspired by all kinds of culture including Japanese Ghibli films, the 24-year-old morphs pop and hip-hop, posting his own compositions and covers b...

Cally Beaton reveals how a chance conversation with the late, great Joan Rivers led to her leaving her high-flying career in TV & film and multi-million-pound contracts behind for the unpredictable life of a comedian.  Cally was 50 when she quit the boardroom at ViacomCBS. As a single mum of two, it was a huge risk but she quickly became one of the most exciting stand ups on the comedy circuit...

Reigning Strictly champion Carlos Gu shares his incredible story, from growing up in a remote village in China with dance coursing through his veins, to winning the coveted glitter ball with Lioness Karen Carney.  Carlos is currently on tour with fellow pro Amy Dowden in their breathtaking show, Amy and Carlos Reborn, and they star in Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted which goes out on our screens next...

Helen braves a chilly 11-degree dip in Windermere in the Lake District with renowned Cold Water Swim Coach Gilly McArthur to experience the benefits of cold exposure and blue spaces.   Gilly is part of a world-class team working on an NHS research project with Oxford and Portsmouth Universities, investigating whether cold water & outdoor swimming can help alleviate anxiety and depression.   Gi...

In one of her first interviews, Wing Commander Sasha Nash reveals she’s embracing the challenges in her new role as Officer Commanding of the RAF’s world-famous aerobatic team, The Red Arrows.  A former front-line Tornado pilot, Sasha is excited about the 2026 display season which will feature seven jets as opposed to the team’s trademark nine, primarily due to the iconic Hawk T1 fast approaching...

Prison Group Director for the West Midlands Mark Greenhaf takes us behind bars at HMP Swinfen Hall in Staffordshire – a Category C prison for men aged 18-28 – to explore his forty-year career championing reform and rehabilitation.   We’re joined by attempted murder victim Natalie Queiroz MBE who talks to some of the young lads serving life about the impact of knife crime and how they can use their...

As Earth faces its sixth mass extinction, with a million plant and animal species at risk, Australian environmentalist & climate expert Natalie Kyriacou OAM explains how, for the first time in history, it’s being driven by human activity. Her new book, Nature's Last Dance, is a razor-sharp, honest, witty and deeply moving look into the heart of our extinction crisis. Natalie shares unusual tal...

Blood tests that can detect tiny traces of abnormal proteins which have leached from the brain into the blood are proving a real breakthrough in efforts to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease early - a thing of science fiction five years ago, according to eminent neurologist Professor Jonathan Schott. Based at the Dementia Research Centre at UCL’s Institute of Neurology, Jon is also Chief Medical Officer...

Popular science presenter and space expert Dallas Campbell was one of millions following NASA’s recent Artemis II mission around the Moon, with live updates by the four astronauts from space. Dallas talks us through the significance of the mission, how it compares with Apollo, and his delight at how it’s captured public imagination at a politically divisive time on Earth.  His brilliant new book –...

In part two of our special with multi-BAFTA and Emmy-winning wildlife and documentary film-maker Doug Allan, he discusses climate change and, in particular, the impact it’s having on the polar regions.   Doug says if the world had paid more attention to indigenous people in the Arctic and elsewhere, and listened seriously, we might have been more aware of the dangers ahead.   Doug shares more incr...

Sir David Attenborough says cameramen don’t come much more special than Doug Allan.   The multi-BAFTA and Emmy-winning wildlife cameraman has filmed some of the most spectacular sequences for landmark programmes like Blue Planet. Orcas attacking gray whales off California; polar bears trying to catch belugas in a frozen hole in Arctic Canada and killer whales washing seals off ice floes in Antarct...