Not by the Playbook

LA is the spiritual home of skateboarding. But it has come a long way from its past as “counterculture” and is now part of the Olympic games which return to Los Angeles in 2028. When Skateboard Hall of Fame inductee, Jaime Reyes started out in the 1990’s she was all alone in a man’s world. Her rise to the top of the sport was as much about her own personal success as it was about getting other gir...

Roger Taylor was the British tennis number one who fell out with his contemporaries while coming tantalisingly close to winning Wimbledon. He found himself engulfed in controversy through his defiance of the 1973 Wimbledon boycott, which almost tore his world apart. He tells us about his near Wimbledon misses and how he was a leading contender to replace Sean Connery as James Bond. Fifty years ago...

Our guest this week prove 'W' stands for winners. We hear from Sir Bradley Wiggins, Lori Walton, Jim and Jeff Whitley and Sir Clyde Walcott. As the Tour de France begins we hear from Sir Bradley Wiggins, one of THE stars of the 2012 Olympics. Just a couple of weeks after becoming the first British rider to win the Tour de France, the home favourite won gold on the streets of London to claim his 5t...

Climber Janja Garnbret is one of the best examples of how easy becoming an Olympic champion can look. In both Tokyo and Paris she seemingly effortlessly ascended her way to gold. They sit alongside her eight World Championships. At 26 she is still young enough to continue to dominate for some time. From her home Slovenia, where she is a mega star, she joined Katie Smith to talk about just how much...

Not by the Playbook comes from The Queen’s Club in London where Katie Smith is unboxing her pack of cards. British para standing tennis player Nicky Maxwell has always had a sporting ace up his sleeve, including now as President of the International Para Standing Tennis Association, but his life in sport hasn’t been without its challenges. The former Harvard University sprinter shares what life wa...

Sir Roger Bannister is most famous for being the first man to ever run a sub 4 minute mile. He once said "The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win". This week, guests who have displayed the drive needed to overcome the most serious challenges life can throw at you. The word "drive" can have many different meanings. From maneuvering a car, to pushin...

Basketball pioneer Paoline Ekambi's changed the perceptions of women's basketball in the 1980's when she played in the USA. She introduced a style of play off and on the court that broke new ground. In turn she also aided the path for French stars likes Tony Parker and Victor Wembanyama to make it in the NBA. In fact Paoline knows Victor very well indeed! But sporting success and the glory it brin...

Not by the Playbook’s Mani Djazmi speaks to the World’s Strongest Man after South Africa’s Rayno Nel became the first champion from outside of Europe or North America. Nel is a former rugby player who has a day job as an engineer, so what does it take to become the world’s strongest man and how has his life changed? Mauritius isn’t known for producing world class cyclists, but Kimberley (Le Court)...

Not by the Playbook’s Katie Smith is scouring the world’s surface for extraordinary stories – from the depths of the ocean to an extreme triathlon to the top of the world. Italian freediver Alessia Zecchini speaks from the Philippines where she has set her 40th world record, so what is it like descending down to depths of over 100 metres below the surface without oxygen? Alessia continues to dive...

Basketball, the Cold War, and rock band The Grateful Dead collide in this incredible true story. Presented by the late NBA star Bill Walton. Episodes weekly from 19 May. What do basketball, rock music, and tie-dye t-shirts have in common? And what about Mickey Hart, Sarunas Marciulionis, Arvydas Sabonis, and the US Dream Team? Well, they are all subject of the brand new season of Amazing Sport Sto...

On FA Cup finals weekend, Not by the Playbook’s Katie Smith looks at the “magic of the cup”. Joe Parkinson goes back 30 years to when he won the 1995 FA Cup with Everton. He reveals why he faced a challenge to get a Manchester United player’s shirt, and he shares his memories of Goodison Park ahead of the final men’s game to be played there. Cup engraver Colin Mabey takes us behind-the-scenes of t...

The ancient game of chess is one steeped in tradition, with a history dating back centuries. The classical form of chess is still prominent on the global stage, but streaming and online platforms have seen the game now increasingly being played online – so much so that it’s set to make its debut at the Esports World Cup later this year. Not by the Playbook’s Katie Smith finds out more about the st...

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” I mean if it's good enough for Romeo and Juliet, it's got to be ok for Not by the Playbook, right!?This week we are meeting three extraordinary women for whom their names mean something much more than just something they call themselves. In 1991 the Chancellor family welcomed their new daughter into the world. t...

Aneta Grabmuller is both a winter and summer triathlete. She first started competing at the age of 15, but within a few years she retired having fallen out of love with the sport. She had been subjected to behaviour from her coach that had crossed the line. She was convinced that her weight was a problem and started to train harder and eat less. The strain on her body had caused bones to break whi...

This week we are focusing on football fashion and those using jerseys and kits to create clothing that looks fabulous on the field and fantastic on the fashion runways. Everything you want to know about how you elevate your team’s outfit. Christian Jeffery used to design football shirts for Adidas football but has since turned his very talented hand to a more artistic take on team jerseys. He talk...

We’re heading to the river as the University Boat Race makes its way down the Thames. Not by the Playbook’s Katie Smith chats to people who had the courage, bravery and fortitude to stay afloat when others would have floundered. Lauren Rowles is just 26 years old but is already a three-time Paralympic champion, starting in Rio through Tokyo and to Paris. A history maker who has had to overcome cou...

A new era for sports broadcasting starts with a grand opening. What better way to announce our transformation from Sportshour to Not by the Playbook than with some of the grandest people you'll ever meet! We have an exclusive interview with Grand Slam tennis legend Bjorn Borg. He's been revealing how happy he is that for some people in Scandinavia they don't know him for winning Wimbledon five yea...

Inspirational stories from around the world. Interviews with people defying the odds. Katie Smith introduces Not by the Playbook - the podcast which seeks out the most incredible stories from sportspeople and athletes. We bring you interviews with the sporting heroes who have achieved success in the face of seemingly impossible challenges. The first episode arrives Saturday 5 April.

This week it’s all about those who turned their hand to something else! We hear from one time motor racing star Billy Monger on his latest success. Last year he became the fastest double amputee to win the infamous Hawaii Ironman, knocking a whole two hours off the old record! Montell Douglas is the only British woman to have competed at both the Summer and Winter Olympics. On both occasions in Be...

When Alistair Brownlee turned the corner and saw the finishing line, he was shocked to see the figure of a fellow competitor staggering in pain. Then he realised it was his brother Jonny. So what would you do? Keep going, grab the glory and the $30,000 prize money or stop and help and ruin both your chances of winning?! We relive an iconic moment of sportsmanship and find out why some competitors...

Pawel Durakiewicz was on the verge of death through a deep addiction to alcohol, but now he's overcoming challenges of a different kind whilst helping others along the way. He tells Sportshour’s Shabnam Younus-Jewell about his story of addiction, recovery and transformation though sport and how his latest challenge saw him set another world record – this time running barefoot on snow and ice. Bask...

Bryony Page has had her ups and downs, but she always bounces back. She's got no choice she’s the reigning Olympics trampoline champion! And whilst she already has her sights set on retaining her title in LA in 2028, for the time being turning her attentions to the circus! The Cirque du Soleil to be precise. Oh and then there's the dinosaur sounds. All will be explained Photo: Bryony Page soars ab...

Step aside the Springboks, because South Africa's new sporting hero is... the Snowbok! On Wednesday Matt Smith became only the 16th South African in Winter Olympic history to qualify for the Games. He was competing at the World Nordic Championships, finishing high enough in the cross country skiing discipline to seal his place in Milan for next year's Olympics... Shortly after he got off the slope...

Craig Wood was just 18 when he lost both legs and his left arm in a roadside bomb whilst serving in the British Army in Afghanistan. 16 years on and he’s attempting to become the first triple amputee to sail solo non-stop across the Pacific. He tells Sportshour’s Shabnam Younus-Jewell the reasons for doing it and the challenges he’s expecting on the journey from Mexico to Japan. From an ocean chal...

Paris 2024 was Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez's third Olympic Games, but Paris was made extra special by the fact she was not competing alone – she was seven months pregnant. Six months on from the Olympics, and with her daughter now four months old, Nada tells Sportshour’s Nishat Ladha about her Olympic experience and what life has been like post Paris and becoming a mum. From the last Olympic Games...