The One Percent

In this episode, I welcome Matt Emblem onto the podcast. Forty-three, CFO at an independent PR and social agency, married to the woman he met at school, dad to three, and still playing and coaching rugby - "your average bloke", in his words. Matt first got in touch back in May 2021, after seeing my content on LinkedIn. From the outside it looked great. Inside, he didn't feel good about himself, fe...

In this episode, I welcome Graham Manley onto the podcast. Sixty-seven, a former solicitor turned legal headhunter working with commercial law firms in the north of England, married with three grown-up children, and, as he puts it, probably the oldest person in the group. A few months ago Graham reached out after following my content on LinkedIn. By then he'd spent about ten years putting himself...

In this episode, I welcome Alex Calthrop onto the podcast. Thirty-eight, a disputes lawyer based in Paris, half British and half Australian, and dad to a nineteen-month-old daughter. A few months ago Alex reached out for a chat. Nothing dramatic was wrong. He was in a relentless stretch at work, adjusting to life as a new father, and diet, sleep and being present at home were all slipping. He'd al...

In this episode, I welcome Steve Faber onto the podcast. Fifty-two, chartered surveyor, husband and dad. Two years ago he reached out after following some of my content - though, as he puts it, it took a fair bit of nagging to get him on here to talk about it. Nothing was in crisis. A building project next to his house he had no control over, changes at work, an old injury he couldn't shake. Indiv...

In this episode, I welcome back Dom Hones - three years after we first worked together. Community engagement manager, married ten years this December, two kids (eight and five), life full and busy. Dom wasn’t having a meltdown when he first reached out but wasn't operating anywhere near 100%. He’d just turned 40, not 100% - tired all the time, chalked up to parenting young kids. Then a work health...

In this episode, I welcome back Tom Yoxall for his third conversation with me. Two years ago Tom got in touch close to what he now calls, honestly, the edge of being an alcoholic. Drinking daily, carrying 22 stone, blood pressure through the roof and medicated, not showing up as the man he wanted to be for his partner Kerry or his kids. Since then: sober. Down to 15 stone 7. A business owner now,...

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Handley. IT director, 44, wife and three daughters in Manchester - and in the middle of a role change, with travel all over the place and plenty going on at home. Here's what makes Chris different: he'd done coaching before. Got great results. But it was all or nothing - 5am gym, rigid routine - and the moment life stopped cooperating, it collapsed. Then he'd...

In this episode, I sit down with Brandon O'Neil. American in London, late forties, partner at a City law firm, married with two teenage kids. Eighteen years at one firm, then a big move to another - a lot of change on top of an already full life. Nothing dramatic went wrong. That's the point. Just a slow, almost unnoticeable decline - work and family taking up every hour, nothing left for himself....

In this episode, I sit down with Dan Garrity. Self-employed engineering consultant, dad of two - a three-year-old and a five-month-old - a master's on the side, a house extension on the go. "Basically everything," as he says. Dan wasn't at his lowest. He'd been there years ago, done the therapy, come through it. But he could feel himself slipping into a permanent state of flux - no grip on work, n...

n this episode, I sit down with Adam Wilcox. Twenty years in tech, a young family at home - a wife, a four-year-old and a 20-month-old. "Pretty hectic," as he puts it. Adam breaks his life into four areas: work, family, friends, himself. A couple of months back he asked himself if he was showing up as his best self in any of them - and, more importantly, whether he was present at home. The honest...

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Townsend. City lawyer, partner at his firm, three little girls at home - "beautiful chaos" as he calls it. Nothing was on fire. No breakdown, no rock bottom. Work was actually going well. But juggling the job, the family, his health and everything else, he felt like he wasn't winning at anything. Trying in every area, never quite there in any of them. Sound f...

In this episode, I sit down with Simon Fox. 47, married, father to a seven-year-old, senior role in education, and slowly becoming someone he didn’t want to be. Flat. Lethargic. Falling asleep on the sofa after grinding through the days and being called out by his mrs for turning into a “grumpy old man”. Malaise & mediocrity had become Simon’s normal. Simon had good intentions. He wanted to tr...

In this episode, I sit down with Phil Rennie. Business owner, young family, driven, ambitious, and used to going all in. The problem was, that approach was burning him out every year. Push hard, grind through it, hit a wall, repeat. It got to the point where everything slowed down. No energy, no focus, and not showing up properly at home or in the business. Health & wellbeing completely on it’...

In this episode, I sit down with Stuart Rose. Approaching 40, young family, full on at work, and trying to give 100% to everything, but none of it was getting his best. He was flat, not present, and just grinding through the days. He kept telling himself he’d sort it when things got easier, but with a second child on the way and work only getting busier, it was obvious that wasn’t happening. The p...

In this episode, I sit down with 1P client Lee Wells - co-founder of a logistics business, husband, dad, and someone who, on paper, had everything in a good place.  Business was doing well, family life was solid, and nothing was obviously wrong. But something was off. He knew he wasn’t operating at his best, and that there was more in the tank if he could just get things to stick. We get into the...

In this episode, I sit down with 1P client David Houghton - freelance director, cinematographer, dad, and someone who found himself stuck in a pattern a lot of men fall into.  Work was busy, life was full, and without really noticing it, he’d stopped taking care of himself. Then things slowed down and instead of feeling better, it got worse. More stress, more overthinking, more pressure. We get i...

In this episode, Tom Kiddle is back on the podcast talking through the last 18 months - from being in the c-suite selling a business, leaving corporate, and stepping into the reality of building something from scratch.  We get into the illusion of control, the emotional swings of running your own business, and why so many high performers hide behind “working hard” while personal standards slip. A...

Good intentions pissed the bed and blamed it on the sheets. You are what you repeatedly do. Not what you intend to do. Intentions don’t fix marriages. Intentions don’t grow businesses. Intentions don’t build physiques. Intentions don’t change anything. Behaviour does. So if you’re not getting the outcome you want, it has f ** k all to do with your intentions and everything to do with your behaviou...

Matt Doyle works in investment banking. Long hours. High pressure. Constant demands. From the outside, it was all moving in the right direction. But underneath? Laptop & phone in bed at midnight Always “on” Never present All or nothing fitness cycles He thought the solution was to push harder. It wasn’t. This episode is about what happens when you stop trying to smash everything at 120% - and...

Andy Miller was doing his best to hold it all together. Self-employed vet. Two young boys. Building a second business. Supporting everyone else. From the outside, things looked good. But on the inside, there was a disconnect. Burning the candle at both ends Health slipping Snappy & irritable at home. He was running on empty. Then his fiancée said something that made him stop: “Why does everyon...

Gareth Legg was doing what most men do - holding it all together. Good job. Two kids. Full plate. Supportive wife. But inside? He was knackered. Snappy. Overwhelmed. His head was like a boiling kettle. Until one night, a simple question from his wife broke him: “Are you doing football or rugby tonight?” He couldn’t answer - and he cracked. That moment led to him asking for help - and finally takin...

Rob Cafferky had the life most guys want. Young family. Great job. Beautiful house in Ireland. Everything looked fine on paper - but underneath, he felt like a ghost in his own life. Low energy. Short-tempered. Disconnected from the man he wanted to be. In this episode, we talk about what changed - and how Rob rebuilt his identity through structure, habits, and proper ownership. We cover: Why self...

When Adam Drawwater and I first spoke, he was successful on paper - running a thriving finance business, managing a growing team, and supporting a family with three young boys, including a newborn. But under the surface? He was knackered. Overweight. Struggling for energy. And quietly frustrated that he wasn’t showing up properly - at work or at home. It wasn’t a crisis. But it wasn’t sustainable...

Episode 50. A milestone. So this week, I’m flipping the script - and bringing on someone who coached me . Tim Drummond was my coach years ago. I joined his program thinking I’d get strategy, systems, a business plan. What I got was something else entirely. He helped me see what I couldn’t. Held up the mirror. Asked the questions I didn’t want to answer. And laid the foundations for everything The...

One year. 49 episodes. Countless conversations. In this special solo episode, I look back on what I’ve learned from a year of running The One Percent podcast – and why the biggest lesson has nothing to do with mics, metrics or marketing. It’s this: Perfect is the enemy of good enough. We cover: Why taking imperfect action beats sitting on a perfect plan How the podcast started as a LinkedIn Live (...