The Off Script Podcast

Strap yourselves in, this is one heck of a ride.  Chris talks to semi-pro cyclist Damian Groves who hit international headlines after his fleet of bicycles worth over 160,000 aed were all stolen and he was forced to take matters into his own hands to get them back. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A trailblazer joins Off Script in the studio. Emirati entrepreneur Budreya Faisal founded the region's first athlete brand development agency right here in Dubai back in 2009 - Ghost Concept. Her latest venture is Banaat F.C. A football club seeking to serve as the benchmark of Arab football representation, championing Emirati talent and placing Arab women at the forefront of football. Their mantr...

One man, a myriad of dream jobs! Jonathan Taplin, currently works in academia -- but his CV includes being Bob Dylan and the Band's tour manager, and producing Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, he talks to Sonal about all that, and so much more.  Read Jonathan's work "The Magic Years: Scenes from a Rock and Roll Life" and "The End of Reality: How 4 Billionaires Are Selling a Fantasy Future of the Me...

Stand-up legend Bill Burr is bringing his definitive brand of comedy to the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and in this unsurprisingly rambling chat, we cover everything from cancel culture to championship 'pile-ons' ruining American sport.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part 2 of Robbie's interview with retired Navy Seal, BASE Jumper, speaker and podcast host Andy Stumpf. Following on from the brilliant first part, we now focus on Andy's experience of war, of getting shot, and his "retirement" - which included becoming a BASE jumper and Wing Suit jumper. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine seeing the MMA fights you want to see as part of a structured season with a global strategy to get the best MMA proponents in the world and give them the exposure they deserve. That's what PFL CEO Peter Murray described to Robbie and Matt Fortune - and you can understand their enthusiasm for the plan. PFL is the second largest MMA organization in the world and with plans to expand into the...

A studio full of MLB legends...and Kash Shaikh, CEO/Chairman and major investor of Baseball United. Robbie is joined live in studio by Félix Hernández, Nick Swisher, and Adrián Beltré Pérez, the newly announced owners of franchises bringing baseball to the region - and it sounds like the most exciting sporting development in the UAE for a long time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

Friend of the show and one of 'Brothers N Oars', a team of four best friends that have completed a 4,500km rowing challenge across the pacific in just over 39 days. Paris Norriss joined Sonal and Robbie live from his resting place in Hawaii to talk about the trials and tribulations on the road to becoming one of only 82 people to have completed this incredible feat. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Retired Navy Seal Officer Andy Stumpf has been both a recruit and instructor for one of the hardest aptitude tests on the planet: the infamous BUD/s training program, known in the US Military as 'Hell Week'.  In part one of his conversation with Robbie he talks about coming through that process and how it prepared him for combat. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Making A Murderer was a Netflix smash hit back in 2015.  Eight years on, where does Manitowoc County, Wisconsin’s Steven Avery find himself?   Kathleen Zellner - one of America's most prominent wrongful conviction attorneys took on Steven's case back in 2016. She is steadfast in her belief of Steven’s innocence and is working tirelessly to have his murder conviction overturned.  Chris McHardy spen...

You may not remember the name but you might recognize the voice. Ted Williams was thrust into the limelight when a video of him pan-handling at a Ohio stop-sign and sharing his gift of a "Golden Voice" went viral.  Well that was back in 2011 and his story didn't end there.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scientist, physician and serial entrepreneur David Bach joins Robbie to explain how the $15 billion Neuroperformance industry is on the cusp of an extraordinary breakthrough when it comes to harnessing the true power of our mental capacity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sonal talks to the former legal director of intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6, who is now turning his experience to write thrilling spy novels. This fascinating conversation covers his journey into the world of intelligence, some of his most memorable moments with the agencies, and the question we all want to ask: how close to the real world of sleuthing does Hollywood get it.  See omnystudio.com/...

Alex Messenger continues our proud tradition of featuring guests who have improbably survived attacks by wild animals! he's a a Minnesota-based, author, marketer and photographer who, at seventeen, was mauled by a grizzly bear - and lived to tell the tale. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The most popular google search question for the groundbreaking 4 part Netflix film Chimp Empire is "Is Chimp Empire real or CGI?".  Robbie didn't ask the man behind the show that, but he did have a fascinating conversation with  Director James Reed that who is building a reputation for taking natural history film making to never-before reached heights.   James, whose previous film, My Octopus Teac...

Lynne Cox is a legendary long-distance open-water swimmer.  She's held multiple world records and was the first person to swim the freezing waters of the Bering Strait in 1987 - which got the attention of both the Kremlin and the White House.  Her accolades are actually too many to mention, so Sonal focused on just a few incredible highlights in this fascinating chat.  Including a wildlife encount...

Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke joins Chris and Robbie in studio to discuss life in the dugout, his "success" down under with Macarthur FC, his big Middle East aspirations and why old team-mate Gary Neville is "ridiculous" to make Arsenal title claim.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris and Robbie were out on the road when they spoke to a man with an incredible story that is far from finished.  He went from humble beginnings in the Indian village of Gopiganj in Uttar Pradesh, to a professional MLB contract and international fame via reality TV - as if that wasn't enough he is now on the NXT roster with the WWE. His ambition is even bigger than his sizeable frame and his con...

After becoming the youngest man to captain Yorkshire County Cricket Club - and the first of Asian origin to do so, Azeem Rafiq lifted the lid on institutionalized racism within the English game following his revelation of racism, harassment and bullying at Yorkshire.  The reaction to the case in the UK has made Azeem move his family to Dubai and he joined Off Script to reflect on the whirlwind of...

The former Chelsea midfielder gives his thoughts on the Graham Potter sacking, the re-hiring of Frank Lampard and what he thinks is wrong with THIS Chelsea. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

International best-selling author, entrepreneur, podcaster, and public speaker Neil Pasricha is an advocate of all things awesome be they big or small. Back in 2008, Neil had a corporate job at Walmart, but events in his life would conspire to send him down a very different path, one that would see him become one of the biggest self-help gurus in the world.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

Ever wondered what it would be like to be lodged in the mouth of an enormous whale? Marine conservationist and adventure tour operator Rainer Schimpf may well be the only person on the planet capable of enlightening you - because this is precisely what happened to him during a routine dive to film the famous Sardine Run in 2019.  This accidental encounter thankfully didn't result in any injury to...

Benedict Allen is an explorer, adventurer, author and television presenter who finds himself in Dubai for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature with sessions on both Feb 4th and 5th.   He tells Sonal about his expedition style that centers around immersing himself first with the local, indigenous people where he learns certain tools to survive, before setting off on a solo journey, without b...

Chris has an audience with Linford Christie: The most decorated British Male Athlete of all time, he won Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European 100 metres gold, a feat no other British male has ever matched. He was the first European to go sub 10-seconds  for the 100metres and, at the time of recording, he still holds the British 100m record. Christie won 24 medals in his career more than any o...

A colourful and at times controversial public figure, Jeffrey Archer wrote his first novel in 1976, and now aged 82, has sold a mammoth 320 million books worldwide. How did he become one of the world’s bestselling authors? And what does the future hold for books and reading? Jeffrey reveals all in this spirited interview!   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.