How I Crushed It

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE was a child prodigy and aged 11 she was the youngest girl ever to pass A-level Computing in the UK. She has carried this gift through to adult life and in 2013 she co-founded Stemettes, an award-winning social initiative dedicated to inspiring and promoting the next generation of young women in the STEM & STEAM sectors. Anne-Marie was the temporary Arithmetician for...

Naomi Sesay is the Head of Creative Diversity at Channel 4. She started her career at MTV and has over 20 years’ experience in television and media. She is also a powerful keynote speaker, property investor and is building a Smart City in Sierra Leone!   Website LinkedIn   ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Stay in touch: Twitter: @howicr...

Sarah Akinterinwa is a cartoonist, illustrator, and writer. She started her current career during the pandemic by creating the comic Oyin and Kojo, which now features in the iconic American magazine, the New Yorker. Her work explores dating, relationships, identity, politics, and navigating adult life as a young woman of colour and has featured in the likes of the Guardian, the LA Times and for Ro...

Jumoke Abdullahi is a speaker, writer and one half of the duo behind The Triple Cripples, a platform created to increase visibility & highlight the lack of representation and discrimination faced by Black and non-Black women, femmes and non-binary people of colour, living with disabilities.   The Triple Cripples Instagram Ted X talk   ___________________________________________________________...

Danny Sapani is one of the most accomplished actors in the UK. His work spans film, TV and theatre and over the course of his career he has appeared in Hollywood blockbusters such Black Panther and Star Wars, TV such as Killing Eve, and Netflix's The Crown, and he can currently be seen on stage playing the lead role of King Lear at the Almeida Theatre in London.   Danny Sapani King Lear  _________...

Kojo Samuel is one of the most sought after music directors in the UK which has led him to working with the likes of Jessie Ware, Rita Ora, Dave and Stormzy. He's also been a prolific music producer and has played keyboards for the Sugababes.   Kojo's website  ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Stay in touch: Twitter: @howicrushedit Insta...

Elesha Paul Moses is an actress, singer songwriter and, at the time of recording, is playing Tina Turner in the West End hit musical, The Tina Turner Musical. She has been mentored by Matthew Knowles, appeared on the X Factor and has also been mentored by Will. I.Am and Tom Jones while appearing on The Voice.   Elesha Paul Moses  ____________________________________________________________________...

Elizabeth Solaru is probably best known for setting up and running the multi-award-winning luxury cake business, Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium where she has made some of the most amazing cakes for some of the most exclusive clients across the globe. In January 2024 she launched the Diversity in Luxury Awards. She is also an internationally renowned speaker, author and considered to be a leading expert...

Jendella Benson is a British-Nigerian writer and editor. She is Head of Editorial at Black Ballad – the award-winning digital media platform and online community for black women. Her debut novel Hope and Glory was first published in April 2022 and she has written for The Sunday Times, The Independent and The Telegraph and most recently The Guardian.   Jendella's novel: Hope and Glory Jendella's Te...

Sanmi Adegoke is one of the leading specialist property developers in the UK and is CEO of Rehoboth Property Group. Some of his recent awards are:   Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 – Property Awards Real Estate Developer of the Year 2020 – Trusted Land,  Property Developer of the Year 2022 – Property Investors Awards   Website: Rehoboth Property Group   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanmi.ade...

We look back on the favourite bits of the podcast from across the year including interviews with (listen to the podcasts below):    Michael Akadiri: Here Emmanuel Asuquo: Here Dr Tijion Esho: Here Kike Oniwinde Ogoro: Here Keisha Thompson: Here Kyle Walker: Here Tayo Oguntonade: Here Matilda Egere Cooper: Here Stephanie Boyce: Here Maggie Alphonsi: Here Tunji Akintokun: Here Claudine Adeyemi: Here...

Jordan Jarrett-Bryan is a former Wheelchair Basketball athlete turned broadcaster and is now working as the Sports Correspondent for Channel 4 News, a presenter on talkSPORT, The Guardian Football Weekly and has his own Youtube channel, Blakademik. Website: https://blakademik.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanjarrettbryan/ South London Talent Factory documentary _____________________...

Edwin Appiah is an investor and Venture Capitalist and General Partner of Cornerstone VC, the largest black led, diverse-focused investment fund. He is also a former International Banker to the rich and famous at Coutts Bank    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinappiah   Website: https://www.cornerstonevc.co/    ______________________________________________________________________________...

Emmanuel Asuquo is a Financial Adviser, author, and motivational speaker. He is also a popular TV personality who you may recognise from BBC 1 show We Are England, Channel 4 show Secret Spenders and Save Well Spend Better.   Emmanuel's book: Get Your Money Right   Twitter: @TheEmaneffectUK   Instagram: @theemaneffectuk   Website: www.emmanuelasuquo.com    __________________________________________...

Maggie Alphonsi is a rugby World Cup winner. She won 74 caps and scored 28 tries playing for the England national team and in 2012 was awarded an MBE for services to rugby. A columnist for the Daily Telegraph, she has been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2016 and since then has become the first former female player to be part of a TV broadcast team for a men’s Rugby World Cup and is...

Tayo Oguntonade is a successful property investor, mortgage advisor and also a popular TV presenter. He can currently be seen on the BAFTA award-winning Great House Giveaway on Channel 4. He's also been featured on Channel 4 show Steph’s Packed Lunch, Rip Off Britain and Morning Live and is fast making a name for himself as a trusted property and consumer advice expert. He and his wife have also c...

Stephanie Boyce is a solicitor and from March 2021 to October 2022, she was President of the Law Society where she made history by becoming the sixth female, and the first person of colour to become president of the professional body. A passionate diversity champion, she has also been involved with the HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy taskforce to boost s...

Jessica Hope is an award winning PR expert and the founder and managing director of Wimbart, a London based boutique PR agency. Wimbart specializes in the African tech startup sector, with a focus on Sub Saharan Africa and the MENA region. She is a regular speaker, panelist, and mentor on Tech in Africa and has been recognised both in the UK PRWeek Powerbook 2019-23 and in the Provoke EMEA “Innova...

Shannon Bono is an artist and also an Associate Lecturer currently living and working in London. As well as her works being exhibited across the world, Shannon is also currently one of ten leading artists from the UK commissioned by King Charles to create portraits of ten pioneering members of the Windrush Generation.   Instagram: @bonosart_ Website: www.bono-art.com BBC Documentary - Windrush: Po...

Kyle Walker is a SJA British Sports Journalism nominated Sky Sports presenter and reporter who also regularly works for Manchester City TV, EA Sports and FIFA. On this episode he talks about growing up in Moss Side, how he got his big break in TV and what interviewing Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp is like.   Instagram: @kylewalker115 Twitter: @kylewalker115 _______________________________________...

On the podcast this week we speak to Dr. Dion Terrelonge who is a chartered Psychologist, a researcher and fashion stylist. She is also considered one of the pioneers of fashion psychology in the UK. In this episode we talk about Vogue departing editor Edward Enninful, how fashion tastes change as you get older and why many black women are getting into fashion psychology.   Instagram: @thefashionp...

On this podcast this week we speak to Tech leader and philanthropist Tunji Akintokun. He is currently a senior director and leading the UK and Ireland Marketing Solutions team at LinkedIn. A keen African contemporary art collector, and former top junior athlete he was awarded an MBE in 2018 for services to young people from ethnic minorities in Science and Technology. He explains why having good m...

On this podcast this week we speak to Keisha Thompson who is a Manchester based writer, performance artist, mathematician and producer. Keisha is the Artistic Director and CEO of Contact theatre based in Manchester, Chair of radical arts funding body, Future’s Venture Foundation, an ITC board member and recipient of The Arts Foundation Theatre Makers Award 2021 . In this interview Keisha talks abo...

On this podcast this week we speak to award winning entrepreneur and founder & CEO of BYP Network, the networking platform for black professionals. In this interview Kike talks about her day to day life as an athlete, using the sports mentality in the business world, and the problems we are facing in the black community.   Instagram: @kikeoniwinde Twitter: @KikeOniwinde   BYP Network: https://byp....

On the podcast this week we speak to cosmetic doctor to the stars, Dr Tijion Esho, aka the lip doctor, and founder of ESHO clinics. In this interview Dr Esho talks about how he got into the Cosmetic industry, dealing with illness and death in his family and, despite his success, making sure his kids do not lack hunger as they grow up.   Instagram: @drtijionesho Twitter: @drtijionesho _____________...