Health Versus Wealth With Dr Ben

Audiology clinic owner and clinical audiologist Charmain Leek was diagnosed with MS 17 years ago. But that doesn’t stop her working a 55-60-hour week. Charmain is an example of a hard-working business owner who is spinning many different plates in her personal and professional lives, battling many different challenges and coping with stresses from the various demands on her time – by working long...

Steve Spriggs and his son, Ben, 21, bring a fresh perspective to the ‘Health Versus Wealth’ discussion as they recount their remarkable family story of how Ben, a couple of weeks before his 16th birthday, fell ill and was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma (BL), a rare and fast-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), namely blood cancer. At first their GP thought Ben just had “a bacterial infecti...

Daksha Parekh , also known as ‘ Chef D ’ and ‘The Veggie Virtuoso’, has been a chef for 25+ years, and describes herself as “a visionary, serial entrepreneur”. She is Birmingham born & bred, and after suffering a family bereavement, and then also a ‘pivot’ in Covid lockdown, she changed from ‘cheffing’ to teaching others, including children, about how to achieve better health through the power...

Chris Williams , aged 65, has lived an extraordinary life – in two halves. Ten years ago, he had it all. Owning a successful business with a £4m turnover, he employed 25 staff. But working up to 100 hours a week and a “crazy” globetrotting lifestyle led to his marriage & relationships with his 3 children being casualties. His business was selling machinery to the UK clothing industry, and a ma...

Rachel Jessey (MSc, DipNT, mANP, mNNA, mGNC) is a Registered Naturopathic Nutritionist and a Long Covid and Chronic Illness Nutrition Specialist. Rachel has recently joined the award-winning team at Dr Finlay’s Private Practice. Born in Nottingham, she grew up in Southampton, by the New Forest, a well-known hotspot for Lyme Disease. “I used to roll round on the forest floor. My Dad was always pull...

Rob Butler , 31, born and bred Solihull, is the Founder & Director of Tri Wellness in Solihull, a personal trainer and successful business owner. His flourishing 4-year-old business is the first multidisciplinary wellness centre in Solihull. He says: “My purpose is to use my experiences and education to help as many individuals as possible live happier and healthier lives.” In 2017, Rob gradua...

Dr Lalitaa Suglani is an award-winning psychologist, leadership empowerment expert, international speaker and author. She’s just published her first book, ‘High-Functioning Anxiety’, about high-performing businesspeople who suffer from anxiety in a stage she describes as “just before burnout”. She supports clients in the areas of health and wealth, so feels great synergy with podcast 'Health Versu...

Mitesh and Minal Parmar have been called “a Power Couple”. They set up their business, Wellspace Architects, in 2020 and won Architects Firm of the Year at the 2023 Midlands Property Investment Awards. Their mantra and guiding principle for their business is “Design Well, Live Better” and their focus when creating buildings is very people-focused. Their clients include not only homeowners, but man...

Narinder Sheena, a solicitor and mother-of-two from Bromsgrove, has been on a deeply transformative personal and professional journey in the past few years. Having worked in the legal sector for 15 years, she suffered a severe right disc prolapse and was advised by a neurosurgeon that she needed surgery. However, despite encountering chronic pain – she couldn’t even stand up to brush her teeth and...

Jim Thorp, 49, who was born in Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital, recalls: “As a child, all I ever wanted to do was fly planes and play rugby for England. I did neither, though I came relatively close to doing both!” Rory Underwood, England's record international try scorer, who was also an RAF pilot for 18 years, was Jim's childhood hero. Jim spent 9 years in the Air Force but never flew. He made...

GP Dr Neera Jaitly and her son Jay, 13, who’s had Long Covid for past two years and is in a wheelchair, are Dr Ben's guest as we highlight the struggles of Britain's 70,000 children who have Long Covid. Despite her medical experience (Dr Neera has been a GP for nearly 25 years), her son’s illness raised issues she couldn’t understand. Some specialists “gas-lit him”, she says, didn’t believe his sy...

Mac Alonge, aged 38, is the Founder & CEO of The Equal Group, a data-driven diversity and inclusion consultancy, which helps companies and organisations identify bias within the workplace and advises them on the actions they can take to eliminate it. Mac’s world focuses on E.D.I. (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion). He and his team are hired by organisations, including many large ones with tho...

Dr Qian Xu, a specialist in rejuvenation and health optimisation, is Medical Director at Clinicity in central London, where our podcast host Dr Ben Sinclair's award-winning medical business, Dr Finlay’s Private Practice, is based.  Dr Qian was born in China and came to UK when she was aged 10. Her mother was a doctor specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology, her father a medical research sc...

Jas Rohel is the Founder of the annual Education Awards, which she launched 8 years ago after she noticed many people leaving the sector without the recognition they deserved. They began small, only in the Midlands, with 200-250 people attending each year. Now the awards are staged nationally, held at 5 venues, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Midlands, each attracting 500-600 people and...

Dr Jared Watson, an experienced clinical psychologist, was born, raised & educated in New Zealand, including at the University of Wellington, before he came to the UK in 2016. Part of the award-winning team at Dr Finlay's Private Practice, Dr Jared divides his time between supporting people with severe and enduring mental-health issues, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and work...

John Street is the Founder & Director of one of Birmingham’s most famous and longest-established charities, Free At Last, which is dedicated to improving the lives of the children and young people of Nechells, an area of the city. Now in his 50s, John started as a community youth worker aged 17 and has worked in the sector for over 30 years. He works punishing hours and is devoted to supportin...

Elizabeth Muir, a Musculoskeletal & Pelvic Health Physiotherapist and Clinical Pilates Practitioner, is part of the Dr Finlay's Private Practice team in Birmingham. Her “hybrid” credentials, combining and merging Physio and Pilates, also inspire her own business, Elizabeth Alexander Physiotherapy and Pilates. Beth offers listeners valuable tips and advice based on her 14 years’ experience trea...

Alan Kinnaird, a business development manager originally from Glasgow, started in Finance in 1987 and his accreditation is “FCSI” (a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments). Alan now lives in York and is marking his 30th anniversary in the sector where he is now a Portfolio Manager & Relationship Manager. Alan's main expertise is advising clients on the running costs i...

Rachel Ingram has run her own business since 2020, Cadmium Partners, and brings 17 years of global board-level search expertise. The firm finds and places senior executives, also helps individuals with career planning. Her clients are listed, FTSE and scale-up companies. She advises on managing succession, building pre-IPO board slates and making boards and leadership teams more diverse and effect...

Dr James Gill is an Associate Professor of Clinical Skills at Warwick Medical School. As Head of Dr Finlay’s SPEEDS Clinic, James is a runner and cyclist who’s completed 10ks, half marathons, Tough Mudders and has twice climbed Kilimanjaro (5,895m; 19,340ft), reached Everest Basecamp (5,364m; 17,598ft), and Ben Nevis many times. At 6ft 2ins tall, James has also been an onscreen medical doctor on B...

Dr Heather Currie MBE is an NHS doctor & gynaecologist and has been practising for 38 years. She is the publisher of sector-leading magazine Menopause Matters. Awarded the MBE in 2021 for ‘services to healthcare’, she’s written a book, “Menopause Essentials”, which won an award. The Menopause Matters website and magazine (launched in 2005) are dedicated to providing accurate information on Men...

Part 2 of Dr Ben’s interview with Birmingham-born businessman Ninder Johal, who describes his role as: “Connecting and celebrating wealth creators internationally through publishing and events.” However, his punishing schedule took its toll on his health and Ninder came close to potentially life-threatening illness before he had a change of heart and dramatically improved his lifestyle.  Host...

Birmingham-born businessman Ninder Johal , 60, has no previous entrepreneurial family background but built his career to become head of a major media, events and publishing company. As part of the small VIP team supporting Sir John Crabtree OBE, Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands, representing King Charles, Ninder has also spent 5 years as a Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands. In his early 2...

Libby Lawlor, aged 18, has just finished her first (of 3) years at Birmingham City University studying ‘Media Production’. She’s living away from home for the first time and has responsibility for making her own diet & health decisions for the first time. Living on a tight student loan budget, Libby faces a range of challenges surrounding her diet and health, which have been suffering – as she...

Simon Phipps, 57, lives near Long Eaton, between Nottingham & Derby, is married (Jayne) with 2 children (aged 26 & 22), and has for the past nearly 40 years been a top, self-taught programmer and video game designer in an industry that’s bigger than the film business – the electronics manufacturing sector has an estimated worth of £90 billion. The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), he...