The High Performance Podcast

Dr. Waheed Arian, a doctor and radiologist, endured a challenging upbringing in war-torn Afghanistan, and at 15, he was smuggled to the UK. He had a singular ambition: to become a doctor. In a heartfelt conversation with Jake and Damian, he candidly reveals the harsh realities of living amongst bombings and military presence. He recounts visiting his father in hiding, who sought to evade front-lin...

Jake and Damian reflect on the insightful and inspiring conversations they’ve had in July, delving a little deeper into some of the key lessons from each episode. They rediscover the teachings shared by Dan Carter on how to navigate change whilst entering retirement. In one of the most emotional episodes ever recorded, Ashley Cain reveals how his late daughter Azaylia transformed his life and how...

Steve Parish is a businessman and the co-owner and chairman of Crystal Palace F.C. After beginning his career in computer graphics, Steve went on to acquire multiple companies. He transformed TagWorldwide into a global production powerhouse with over 2,800 employees in 13 countries. In 2010, Steve acquired Crystal Palace, saving the club from administration, and building the foundations for the gr...

This is the final episode of our new Leadership Series, sponsored by PwC, in which we will be diving deep into what it really takes to be a great leader. Emily Maitlis is a journalist, presenter of the ground-breaking daily podcast The News Agents, documentary filmmaker and former BBC Newsnight anchor. She is known for her skilled and informative interviews including THAT interview for Newsnight....

To celebrate the Women’s World Cup, Jake and Damian take a look back at the conversations they had with former England players Alex Scott, Steph Houghton, and Jill Scott, as well as former manager Phil Neville. Jake and Damian listen back to their chat with Jill about how the experience for female footballers has completely transformed. Steph shares what it was like to put women’s football on the...

Simon Sinek is an author and inspirational speaker. Simon is known for his books ‘Start with Why’ and ‘Find Your Why’, both of which focus on how to find your purpose and help those in your life find it too. Finding your Why, is the idea that “everyone knows what we do, some of us know how we do it, but very few of us can articulate why we do what we do.” Great leaders think, act and communicate i...

This is the third episode of our new Leadership Series, sponsored by PwC, in which we will be diving deep into what it really takes to be a CEO. Timo Armoo is an entrepreneur, speaker and co-founder of Fanbytes, a social media and marketing agency. Timo founded Fanbytes at age 21 whilst in university, eventually selling at aged 27 for an eight figure exit. In this conversation, we delve deep into...

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton is a firefighter, psychologist and writer. In this episode Sabrina proves that nothing is fixed, where you start isn’t important, it’s where you end up. From experiencing homelessness as a teenager, after the death of her father, to working her way up in the fire service, joining at age 18. She shares with Jake and Damian her experience making life changing decisions whilst...

This is the second episode of our new Leadership Series, sponsored by PwC, in which we will be diving deep into what it really takes to be a CEO. Tessa Clarke is the co-founder and CEO of Olio, the free app that connects users with unwanted food (from households or local businesses) with neighbours living nearby who would like it. Tessa is driven by purpose, aiming to reduce food waste and tackle...

Ashley Cain is a former professional footballer and TV personality. In 2020, his 8 week old daughter Azaylia Cain was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. During Azaylia’s battle with cancer, Ashley and Azaylia’s mum, Safiyya, raised over £1 million in 24 hours for her health care. After her death in April 2021, at just 8 months old, Ashley and Safiyya set up ‘The Azaylia Foundation’, wh...

This is the first episode of our Leadership Series, sponsored by PwC, in which we will be diving deep into what it really takes to be a CEO. Steve Hare is a businessman and CEO of Sage Group PLC, the leader in accounting, financial, HR and payroll tech for small and mid-sized businesses. With over three decades of experience in the industry, Steve shares with Jake and Damian his insights into the...

This episode is a look ahead to our forthcoming PWC leadership series which begins this Friday. Listen in to hear a preview of interviews with Steve Hare (Sage CEO), Tessa Clarke (Olio CEO) and Timothy Armoo (founder of Fanbytes). Episodes will be released weekly on Fridays for the month of July Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our 200th Episode Special with Dan Carter, recorded live at Hackney Empire! We first spoke to Dan, All-Blacks legend and one of the greatest rugby players of all time, almost 2 years ago. He returns to the podcast to discuss how his view of high performance, and his overall mindset, has evolved since the first conversation we had with him. He shares the struggles he faced after leaving...

Jake and Damian take some time to reflect on the conversations they’ve had in June, delving a little deeper into some of the key lessons from each episode. They explore the idea of finding your purpose with Kevin Sinfield, how they would have done the interview with Edwin van der Sar differently with the knowledge he left Ajax a few days later. They also examine how to challenge negative thoughts...

Matt Willis, the musician and singer known for co-founding Busted, joins the podcast to speak about the true impact of addiction. We discuss why addiction is such a taboo subject, how to approach difficult conversations with your loved ones and the journey to recovery. Matt shares the struggles he faced in his youth and how they spiraled into addiction. After Busted split up when he was only 21, h...

George Groves is a former professional boxer, he competed for 10 years and held a WBA Super-Middleweight title. In March 2018, he was ranked as the Worlds Best Active Super-Middleweight Boxer. George shares his desire to lead to the front, going at things alone, and the negative impact that can have. He won the world title on his fourth attempt, he offers advice on never giving up and why he would...

Today we welcome musician Tom Grennan to The High Performance Podcast. I’m sure you immediately start to think of some of the awesome songs that Tom’s released, but there is so much about his story, his mindset and resilience that you don’t know. You’re about to hear a conversation with Tom, like you’ve never heard him before. He’s going to share with you the hours of therapy he’s had, which has h...

To celebrate Fathers Day 2023 in the UK, Jake and Damian discuss the importance of father figures. They look back on how previous guests lives have been shaped by their dads. The two also share what Father's Day means to them now they're both dads and how their fathers have shaped and influenced their paths in life. They discuss sacrifice, tough love and psychological safety whilst hearing from gu...

In this interview, we welcome Edwin Van De Sar. The man who went from player to CEO, who won four Eredivisie titles, four Premier League Crowns and the Champions League, among many other accolades in his career. We recorded this in a hotel room overlooking the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, the home of Ajax Football Club. Edwin, at the time of recording, was the Chief Executive of the footb...

To mark the Champions League final, Jake reflects on the conversations they have had with a range of guests about the Champions League. In this episode, you will hear from Jordan Henderson, Kieran Trippier, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Mauricio Pochettino among others about their relationship to the competition. This final of the Champions League also a very significant game for Jake as it wi...

Kevin Sinfield returns to the podcast, after two years, to discuss how his career, mindset and approach to life has changed since Jake and Damian last sat down with him. Kevin is a rugby coach, currently the defense coach for the England Rugby Union national team. In his career as a player, spanning almost three decades with Leeds Rhinos, Kevin played 521 games for the club, finishing with 3,968 p...

Jake and Damian reflect on their key-takeaways from the guests that joined the podcast in May. They take a look at each episode from the previous month, curating the key lessons from each guest. They analyse Lord Billimoria’s 10 P’s for business, how Gary Barlow creates the best concert experience and how he deals with failure. They delve deep into building partnerships with Premier League CEO of...

Gary Barlow is one of Britain’s most successful songwriters and record producers. As part of pop group Take That, he has won eight BRIT Awards and sold over 45 million records with almost four decades in the music industry. Gary shares with Jake and Damian the exciting but tumultuous initial years with Take That, the relationships with his band members and how he dealt with world-wide success. He...

Jason Daniel is founder and CEO of clothing brand LSKD (Loose Kid). LSKD grew from his pursuit of a sporting career in Motocross, whilst he built core business and work ethic skills as a carpenter. In this episode, he shares how his wife falling pregnant empowered him to pursue LSKD 100% and encouraged him to find his ‘why’. He reflects on the power of vulnerability and naivety when starting any n...

Paul Barber is the CEO of Brighton & Hove Albion FC. In Barber's first season at the club, they recorded their highest league finish for more than 30 years. How did he achieve it and what has he done since to instill the club’s values? He reflects on how having a diligent and thorough approach has allowed the team to effectively review mistakes and revise for the future - the focus is always how t...