The Just Checking In Podcast

In episode 345 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Richard Pomfrett.  Richard is the Founder and CEO of Boyz-2-Men, an organisation which is dedicated to supporting boys and young men through their journey into adulthood. They offer a supportive environment where they can learn, grow, and navigate the complexities of masculinity with confidence. B2M believe every young person has th...

In episode 344 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Chris Hemmings.  Chris is a published author and mental health advocate. Chris is the Founder of two organisations in the men’s mental health space: M-Path and Men’s Therapy Hub.  Chris set up M-Path first in 2019, which is an organisation designed to actively and compassionately engage men and boys in their own experience of existe...

In episode 343 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Niamh Hughes.  Niamh is a freelance journalist, producer, presenter and voiceover artist.  Niamh also happens to have a disability called Congenital Hemiplegia, which is a form of unilateral cerebral palsy. The disability only affects the right side of her body, so she can’t use her right hand and has to type with one hand. Prior to...

In Part 2 of journalist Niamh Hughes' journey, we discuss her diagnosis of Congenital Hemiplegia and how she managed it from being a young child, through to adolescence and adulthood. We explore how her acceptance of it came alongside her acceptance of herself as a person, and so many other challenges. We also talk about the normalisation of disabilities more widely and what still needs to ch...

In episode 342 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Olena Lukyanova.  Olena is a qualified therapist and the Director of her therapy practice, OL Psychotherapy and Consulting.  Olena had a desire to become a therapist from a very young age but growing up in the post-Soviet Union era in Ukraine, this wasn’t an option for her, so she studied economics at university and became an econom...

In episode 341 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Lucy MacLeod.  Lucy is a firefighter and has worked in the London Fire Brigade for over 16 years across a range of different roles since she joined the LFB in May 2009.  Her current role involves her being a trauma and wellbeing dog handler, which she does with her dog Blue. Together, they have a social media account which brings aw...

In episode 340 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jay Darkmoore. Jay is a published author, commentator and hosts his own YouTube channel and podcast, discussing issues around policing in the UK.  He has written several books, including crime novels and his own memoir, ‘The Job's F*cked - The Secret Diary of a Police Officer’, which was published in 2025 and details his 10-yea...

In episode 339 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Luke Loughlin.  Luke is a men’s mental health advocate based in Canada, the former Co-Founder of Men United and the Founder of Recovery Painting, a painting and decorating business which gives opportunities to men in recovery from addiction issues or have been in prison.  He is also the Founder of The Inside Job Project, a soon...

In episode 338 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with George Gabriel. George is the Director and Co-Founder of an organisation called ‘The Dad Shift’, which is made up of a group of men, dads and other parents campaigning for better paternity leave in the UK.  Currently, in the UK, dads only receive a statutory two weeks off work when they become a father or for any future children the...

In episode 337 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Mark Taylor.  Mark is a Director at Men Walking and Talking (MWAT), a men’s walk and talk organisation founded in 2021 by Dan Reid.  Mark is also the Kenilworth branch Walk Leader, which is how he became involved in MWAT and remains the leader to this day.  In this episode we discuss his involvement with MWAT, its growth, the servic...

In episode 336 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Sam Lehane.  Sam is an entrepreneur, former business owner and former employee of Virgin StartUp, where he worked during two separate periods. In-between all of that, he co-founded a creative events & wellbeing business called Make Your Own (M.Y.O) alongside his wife Diana, which they ran together from 2017-2025, until they exit...

In episode 335 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Darren Placid.  Darren has worked as a firefighter in the London Fire Brigade for 20 years. He applied in 2004 and successfully became a firefighter in 2005.  He is currently stationed at Romford Fire Station and completed a sponsored Hyrox on 5th December 2025 in full fire gear alongside his friend and colleague Carl to raise money...

In episode 334 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Mike Thompson. Mike is the Founder of two organisations, Paternity Fraud UK and the Falsely Accused Network.  Mike founded PFUK in July 2020 and then later set up FAN in May 2023.  FAN supports men who have been falsely accused of domestic abuse in the family court system and outside of it, and PFUK supports men and families who hav...

In episode 333 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Scott Johnson.  Scott is the Founder and CEO of the Proper Blokes Club (PBC) C.I.C, a community organisation which provides walk and talk groups for men across London and, since we last checked in, outside of London too! We first checked in with Scott in JCIP #256 in August 2024, where we discussed the origins of PBC, divorce a...

In episode 332 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with George from TheTinMen. We first checked in with George in January 2024 in JCIP #223, where we covered a whole range of issues he covers on the platform, including: male domestic abuse victims, male suicide, working-class boys and boys more generally struggling in education, fatherlessness and sexual abuse in men’s prisons. In t...

In episode 331 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Colm Brett.  Colm is now the Founder and CEO of Arctic Event Solutions, which provides towable refrigerated trailers for hire to the live events space, including concerts and festivals.  In this episode we discuss why he stepped away from the live events space full-time, building the business, and the freedom its given him in s...

In episode 330 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with journalist Ben Sixsmith. Ben currently works as Online Editor and podcast critic for The Critic magazine, and also has a Substack called The Zone. We first checked in with Ben in November 2022 in JCIP #159, where we discussed his journey into journalism, male stoicism and the pros and cons of meaning and its absence. We also di...

In episode 329 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Richard Campion. Richard is a Devon-based professional photographer, who specialises in wildlife photography. We came across his work through great friend of the pod and all-round legend William Jones-Warner who recently did a collaborative project with Richard capturing wild otters in the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Richard grew up i...

In episode 328 of The Just Checking In Podcast, we checked in with Declan Burley. Declan is a filmmaker, conservationist and wildlife camera operator. We came across Declan through his role in the incredible series on Apple TV, ‘The Wild Ones’, where he stars alongside former Royal Marines Commando Aldo Kane and Congolese cinematographer and cameraman Vianet Djenguet. Declan’s role in the show was...

In episode 327 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Tanyka Davson. Tanyka Davson is a Public Affairs professional and the Co-Founder of Cubbi, a platform built to support new and expecting parents with exclusive discounts from brands that truly understand the realities of family life. Tanyka founded the business alongside her sister Olivia in 2023, who became a mother herself that ye...

In episode 326 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Nick Davis. Nick is a musician, actor and mental health advocate for addiction recovery. We first checked in with Nick all the way back in JCIP #51!In Nick’s Part 1, we discussed the work he did for Forward Leeds (FL), an addiction and recovery centre which provides support for adults, young people and families needing help wit...

In episode 325 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with academic Immy Harrison. Immy is currently a PHD student and researcher into singlehood at the University of Swansea’s Evolutionary Psychology department, where she studies under the tutelage of friend of the podcast Dr Andrew George Thomas! Immy did her undergraduate degree completing a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology & Archaeo...

In episode 324 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dan Ascough. Dan works a firefighter for the London Fire Brigade. As part of his role, he is also chair of the employee support group on Neurodiversity, and runs the London section of the fire brigades union forum for disabled and neurodivergent members. Dan originally wanted to go into music as a kid, playing in bands and having a...

In episode 323 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Darren Lawrence. Darren is a qualified life coach and the Founder of Front Foot Coaching. In Darren’s words, 'Front Foot Coaching is about helping you to get onto the front foot’.Darren predominantly works with middle-aged men, a demographic which is often forgotten about in the mental health space. Darren’s journey didn’t star...

In episode 322 of The Just Checking In Podcast our Founder Freddie Cocker speaks about his diagnosis of ADHD in August 2025. Following on from his autism diagnosis in 2024, he now holds a dual diagnosis of AuDHD.In this episode he reflects on having this clarity at 31 years old, how he's used it to gain greater understanding and self-awareness about his mind, and moving forward alongside it i...