MindStrong

Dr. Michael Grugan is an assistant professor of psychology at Northumbria University. Do perfectionist parents actually help or hurt their child’s development? What happens when high expectations cross the line into toxic pressure? Michael’s work looks at perfectionistic environments, parents, and their affects. You’ll learn; what a perfectionistic parent looks like, what personality traits could...

Dr. Amy Whitehead is a sports psychologist, researcher, and author. Sport is always at the cutting edge of science, but also holds many opinions and subjective beliefs. But what are some of the myths that exist? And are some of those myths possibly holding athletes back? Amy has dedicated her work alongside her colleagues to finding out just that. Amy and Amy and her colleagues have been dedicatin...

George from TheTinMen is a content creator, pro-men’s advocate and a researcher. Why is men’s health often left out of mainstream discussions? What impact does loneliness have on male mental well-being? And are we really listening when men open up?  Expect to learn the urgent need for role models in young men’s lives, the societal barriers to men’s mental health support, the surprising power of co...

Dr. Jean Côté is a professor at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. His research primarily focuses on athlete development, coaching, and the role of parents in sport. How does early specialisation impact long-term success? What role do parents play in shaping an athlete’s journey? And are we focusing too much on winning at the expense of personal development? Jean has dedicated his career to an...

Dr Véronique Richard she is a research fellow at the University of Queensland, and a mental performance consultant for Cirque du Soleil. What is creativity? Is it something that we inherently have? Can we use it to improve our performance and leadership? Véronique is someone who has spent over a decade in the creative space and her research is in where creativity can intersect with sports and perf...

Dave Wood is a coach specialising in stress mitigation, recovery and mental preparedness. How do we better manage stress? Does stress have a branding problem? Are we becoming numb or addicted to stress? How do we build back a better mind-body connection? Dave is someone who spends his time helping elite performers manage their stress to perform So what you’ll learn will be; the impact of technolog...

Dr Peter Olusoga is a sports psychologist, lecturer, and podcaster. Pete has dedicated his career to understanding the mental challenges faced by athletes, coaches, and even the conversation of young men navigating today’s confusing social landscape. Why is masculinity so difficult to define in modern times? How does toxic masculinity affect men’s mental health and their relationships? And what ro...

Jemima Montag is an Olympic Race-walker, having won 2 bronze medals at the Paris 2024 games, two-time Commonwealth Games champion, and founder of the Play On initiative. Is there a crisis in confidence with young girls? What is it that stops young women from staying in sport and dropping out early? How do men play a role in supporting women in sports? With Jemima's character and "Play On" message,...

Lola Anderson is a rower for Great Britain and Olympic Gold Medalist. Expect to learn why you should be confident in speaking your dreams aloud, how athletes find time to socialise, the sacrifices made by young elite athletes growing up, Lola’s evolving journey toward body confidence as a professional athlete, how metrics and teamwork shape elite rowing, the resilience required to overcome tough d...

Today I’m joined by Andrew Steele is a former Olympic medalist, turned health tech founder. Andrew holds a much more contrarian view and is not afraid to speak his mind, which is refreshing because it’s so often that athletes are guarded and you miss the good stuff. Expect to learn what sports should be considered olympic, the paradox of athlete health, balancing authenticity and performance, why...

York-Peter Kloppel the head of mental performance at Redbull. What are some of the challenges with a vast range of different athletes? What sorts of technology can help us develop our mental performance and mindset? Or does technology hinder our development in some areas? Expect to learn, the misconceptions surrounding Red Bull's role in sports, strategies for managing burnout and maintaining high...

Professor Joe Baker from the University of Toronto. He’s author/editor of 13 books including the Tyranny of Talent, he has authored more than 300 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. What is talent? Why are we using this word so easily? What is the impact of calling someone talented? Should we be using this word? Joe is one of the leading researchers in this space on talent as well as getting...

Dr. Laura Healy is an associate professor at Nottingham Trent University who’s research focuses in motivation, goal pursuit, and mental health/well-being across the sport and physical activity spectrum Expect to learn; the importance of having a why within your goals, how to track your progress, why proving other people wrong shouldn’t be a goal, the role of passion and autonomy in goal pursuit, t...

Prof Alun Williams of Manchester Metropolitan University who’s research focuses on the genetics of human physical performance, injury risk, health and it’s relation to sex categories in sport. The transgender athlete and DSD athlete debate hit a new height in the 2024 Olympics. But what does the science suggest about this highly debated area in sports? Are we focusing on the moral and social eleme...

Dr Alex Auerbach, performance psychologist having worked with the professional sports teams such as the Toronto raptors, NBA, NFL, MLB, and Olympians. We’re living in a world where mindset, psychology is getting more and more attention. From articles, social media content, to Netflix series, showcasing that mindset, mental skills and working on your psychological state is a highly important part o...

Dr Erin Hoare is an honorary fellow at Deakin University, a former professional netballer and Australian rules footballer. The conversation around neurodiversity and especially ADHD is growing and Erin’s work has begun to look into the research in the world of sport. Expect to learn what ADHD is, the challenges of ADHD in sport, why people with ADHD may mask as neurotypical, whether we are normali...

Ross Dewar and strength and conditioning with more than 20 years experience having trained some of the worlds leading cricketers. Cricket has a unique relationship with strength & conditioning. How does a sport go from where it wasn’t uncommon for players to be smoking and drinking, to now where the players are becoming elite athletes? How do we try to slow the injury rates within the sport? A...

Dr Jim Taylor psychologist of performance, sport and parenting, an author and an elite level triathlete. The most number one challenge I see with both athletes, coaches and teachers talk about in sport is parents. So I wanted to get Jim back on the show to talk to him about a range of different aspects to parenting not only in sport but in everyday life. Expect to learn, how parents can get caught...

Adam Kelly is a Associate Professor of Sport and Exercise at Birmingham City University and Director of the RAYSDLab . How do we identify talent, how do we then nuture it and are we letting talent slip through the cracks without us being aware? Adam is at the forefront and wealth of knowledge in the mechanisms of talent identification research and strategies to help us develop talent. Expect to le...

Chris Mesagno is a senior lecturer at Victoria University whose research focuses on anxiety and choking in sport and exercise. Why do we choke under pressure? What are the causes for choking under pressure? How do we reduce our chances of choking under pressure? Chris is one of the leading voices on anxiety and choking under pressure and if you’re an athlete that wants to perform in the clutch mom...

Geir Jordet holds a PhD. in soccer and psychology and teaches and conducts research on psychology and elite performance at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Expect to learn; the fundamentals to a good penalty taker, are different personalities are suited to penalities, why the style of the kick doesn’t matter, why teams should have enforcers around the penalty taker, mental strategies for im...

To celebrate 200 episodes of Raising Your Game I break down some of the lessons I've learnt form the past 100 episodes. Expect to learn; how the support/challenge matrix helps build resilience, the difference between failure and mistakes, why not all self talk is created equal, why to strive for excellence and not perfection, why your emotions aren't bad, how to surround yourself with grea...

Dr Julie Johnston is a Senior Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Psychology at Nottingham Trent University who also competed in international swimming for Ireland and Northern Ireland for ten years, participating in three Commonwealth Games and three World Championships. Her research focuses on behavioural, social and environmental influences on children and adolescent psychosocial development, heal...

Peter Hurley is an elite sailor for the US and portrait photographer who is regarded as the industry leader in headshot photography having shot world wide athletes and celebrities. Expect to learn; how to find your drive, how to avoid complacency, the importance of character and effort in sports, the impact of social media on self-image, embracing and accepting your appearance, the role of trust i...

Adam Meakins a Specialist Physiotherapist, Sports Scientist, and Strength & Conditioning Coach. Expect to learn why bad posture doesn’t causes back pain, deadlifting won’t get you injured, your weak core doesn’t cause your pain / injury, why muscle imbalances are normal, why how you move or do exercises doesn’t always predict your injury risk, and much more. Instagram - https://www.instagram.c...