The High Performance Podcast

Michael Ball & Alfie Boe are a musical duo that have been recording music together since 2016, their most recent record ‘Together in Vegas’ is their sixth studio album. They are known for their complimentary voices and opposing personalities. This conversation comes to you in two parts: Part One is with Michael and Alfie together, delving into how to handle rejection, the benefits and ch...

This is Part Two of our podcast with Alfie Boe and Michael Ball where Jake and Damian talk to Alfie alone. This conversation is a deep exploration into Alfie’s mental health struggles, his time in rehab and the loss of his father.  In Part One (go listen now on link below) Michael and Alfie delve into how to handle rejection, the benefits and challenges of working in a team and how to master...

This is a first in a special series we have created with WHOOP speaking to world leading experts who can positively impact you and the life you live.  Our first guest is Dr Hazel Wallace, medical doctor, registered nutritionist, best-selling author and founder of The Food Medic. Food is more than just our fuel, but our energy source and something we have control over. Dr Hazel will help...

Adam Grant is an organisational psychologist, author, professor and host of podcast ‘Work Life’. His work focuses on how people can find motivation and meaning, rethink assumptions and live more creative and generous lives.  In this episode they focus on the best way to deal with criticism and feedback, why we should be fuelling our growth instead of our ego and why Adam’s close circle is mad...

As we approach the last 16 of the World Cup, Jake and Damian jump into the rich archive of guests and bring out the key lessons learnt from the people who have featured in World Cup football including Gareth Southgate, Glenn Hoddle, Pippa Grange, Gary Lineker and Eric Dier. Whatever happens over the next 2 weeks, we know that there will be judgements and opinions offered on why teams succeed or fa...

George Russell is a British racing driver, currently competing in Formula 1 for Mercedes. In this conversation, George reveals why he gave up formal education at 14 to pursue racing; he shares how he first made contact with Toto Wolff and he speaks about the dangerous crash he was in and the impact it has had on him. An advocate of surrounding yourself with positivity, making hard choices and crea...

These bitesize episodes focus on the greatest lessons we’ve learnt from the guests we've had on the podcast.  This week we jump back to episode 107 with bestselling author, motivational speaker, podcast host and self-proclaimed “spirit junkie” Gabby Bernstein. Gabby shared with us her process of overcoming trauma. One effective exercise she described was ‘Rage on a Page’, based in the teachin...

This week Jake and Damian are hosting a World Cup Special Roundtable with football legends, Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch and Joe Cole discussing what it's really like pulling on an England shirt. In this episode they discuss the differences between their generation and the current England team and how the lack of structure and leadership in their tactics and team affected their results.  Rio,...

These bitesize episodes focus on the greatest lessons we’ve learnt from the guests we've had on the podcast.  This week we go back to episode 103 with sports psychologist and culture coach Dr Pippa Grange. Pippa was appointment by the FA as its Head of People and Team Development with the England football team and worked with the players during the buildup to the successful World Cup in 2018...

Tyson Fury, also known as The Gyspy King, is a professional boxer and the two-time World Heavyweight Champion. In this episode they dive into Tyson’s mental health struggles, his challenging childhood and the dangerous nature of obsession. They explore the difference between Tyson Fury and the Gypsy King, Tyson is a father, son, mental health patient and how the Gypsy King is mental concrete, unbe...

These bitesize episodes focus on the greatest lessons we’ve learnt from the guests we've had on the podcast.  This week we go back to episode 86 with WHOOP founder Will Ahmed (https://pod.fo/e/f256a) and hear the biggest lesson he’s learnt from working with some of the world’s greatest athletes including LeBron James and Michael Phelps, and why passion can help build a multi-billion dollar bu...

Eddie Howe is a professional football manager and former player, he is currently the head coach of Newcastle United. In this episode they discuss the difficult period Eddie experienced after leaving Bournemouth, likening it to a grieving period. During his year out, he was unsure if he would ever return to managing players, but he quickly found himself noting down training lessons until it consume...

In the last of our short series, inspired by the Rugby League World Cup, we're joined by the humble, hard-working and high-performing Sam Tomkins, the captain and talisman of England’s men’s team who are aiming to win the coveted trophy later this month.   In Sam Walker’s brilliant book, Captain Class, he identified that the best teams have great captains, those who play on the edge, make oth...

This month on the High Performance Circle we speak to the incredible Brian Pennie. On October 8 2013, Brian experienced his first day clean after 15 years of chronic heroin addiction. Since embracing his second chance at life, he has become a doctor of neuroscience and psychology. Whether it's our career, our relationships, our health, or more global concerns, we all face challenges in life. Howev...

Max Whitlock is a six-time Olympic winning artistic gymnast. He became Britain's first ever Olympic gold medalist in artistic gymnastics in the 2016 Olympics. In this episode they dive deep into mental health, Max’s fear of failure and the pressures he faced as an Olympic gymnast. Max speaks openly about his battle with depression, how he struggled when gymnastics was removed from his life and how...

In the third of our series to celebrate the Rugby League World Cup, we are delighted to welcome Jamie Peacock, a man who has burnished his legendary status within the sport, by consistently doing “the things that require no talent” at the very moments when the pressure is at its greatest, the margins are at their narrowest and the competition is at its fiercest. In turn, he has acquired...

This week’s bitesize comes from a live audience conversation with bestselling author, business coach and ActionCOACH owner Brad Sugars.  If you’re listening to this as an entrepreneur who’s just starting, struggling or in a difficult place - that’s exactly where Brad has been and why his valuable lessons can help.  The audio isn’t as great as normal due to being recorded at a live event,...

Ryan Holiday is an author, most well known for his philosophical insights in The Daily Stoic. For Jake, this conversation was “the single most exciting episode” they have recorded so far. They discuss everything Stoic, from ego to discipline and much more. Ryan shares how having a strong sense of who you are is crucial, having a set of key priorities will put you in the right direction, rather tha...

High performance is many things too many people. For some, it's winning the coveted prizes. For others, it's being held in the highest esteem. Sometimes, it's about showing up, day after day, being courageous in the face of adversity.  Today's High Performance Podcast guest is one half of an incredible team who have achieved all those definitions of high performance. It’s our privilege to wel...

This is the last episode in our CEO Series, in which we will be deep diving into what it takes to be a CEO. Kevin Ellis is Chair and Senior Partner of PwC UK. Starting his career as a graduate, he has now worked for PwC for 38 years. In this episode they discuss Kevin's experiences of leadership, touching on the importance of nurturing a culture that motivates talented people, accepting difficult...

Danny Cipriani is a professional rugby player, he has played for England, Bath and Gloucester among others. In this episode, Danny takes Jake and Damian through his life - the struggles he faced growing up as a “council house boy” in a private school, coming from a single parent family and the tragedy that has shaped him. He expresses how crucial empathy is and how although people shy away from di...

We at HP are hugely excited for the start of the Rugby League World Cup 2021 so sent the Professor to record a series of interviews with some of the sports greatest names, where they share the insights, lessons and techniques they have used to scale their chosen heights. In the first of this series, we welcome the magnificent Sam Burgess, the unassuming lad from Bradford who became a modern day gl...

This is the fourth episode in our CEO Series, in which we will be deep diving into what it takes to be a CEO. Emma Sinclair is the CEO of EnterpriseAlumni and was the youngest person to IPO on the London Stock Exchange aged 29. She was a regular contributor to The Telegraph, UNICEF’s first Business Mentor and has been awarded an MBE for her Services to Entrepreneurship. In this episode Emma shares...

Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay and so we are releasing a special episode where Jake, Damian and our guest, Danny Gray, get vulnerable about their mental health. It is so important to have open and honest conversations with those around us about mental health.  Danny Gray, is founder of the mental health social media platform JAAQ and the pioneering men's makeup brand War Paint For Men. JAAQ o...

This is the third episode in our CEO Series, in which we will be deep diving into what it takes to be a CEO. Deborah Cadman OBE is the current CEO of Birmingham City Council, Deborah has worked in public services for over 30 years and was appointed OBE for her services to local government. In this episode they discuss how crucial mentorship and building a supportive community is. Deborah shares th...