Thriving Minds with Alberto Zandi

Most people wait until they feel ready. Andrea Thompson built her career by doing the opposite. In this episode, Alberto sits down with Andrea Thompson, former Editor in Chief of Marie Claire UK, award-winning journalist, investigative reporter, and one of the most influential women in British media. Andrea grew up in a home where politics, current affairs, race, representation, and social justice...

You are not lazy. You are not broken. And you are not just tired. This week Alberto sat down with Dr Florence Comite, Yale and NIH-trained endocrinologist, precision medicine expert, best selling author of Invincible, and one of the global leading voices in personalised health, hormones, metabolism, and longevity. Dr Florence explains why the body can begin changing under the surface much earlier...

Most people saw the campaign. Very few saw the years he almost gave up. This week Alberto sat down with David Gandy, the world’s most recognisable male model, entrepreneur, founder of David Gandy Wellwear, and one of the defining figures in modern masculine style. David became globally recognised through the iconic Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue campaign, a moment that helped redefine male beauty...

What if everything you believe about yourself is just a story your brain made up? In this powerful episode, world-renowned therapist Marisa Peer reveals the shocking truth about how your mind works against you and exactly how to take back control. Having spoken at Google, trained thousands of therapists worldwide, and helped countless clients transform their lives, Marisa shares the mindset secret...

She cried every single day in the school playground. Now her jeans are worn by celebrities and royalty, including Kate Middleton. This week Alberto sat down with Donna Ida Thornton, founder of Donna Ida, known in the fashion industry as the Jean Queen, and one of the most distinctive voices in British fashion, to unpack what it really takes to build a brand that lasts for 20 years. Donna shares ho...

This week Alberto sat down with Sarah Ann Macklin, nutritionist, best selling author of Health Shouldn’t Be This Hard, founder of the not for profit organisation Be Well Collective, host of Live Well Be Well, and one of the leading voices connecting nutrition, mental health, self compassion, and the mind body relationship. Sarah shares how she started modelling at 16, built a successful internatio...

This week Alberto sat down with Adam Byatt, the Celebrity and Michelin starred chef, restaurateur, founder of Trinity, and one of the most respected figures in British hospitality, to unpack what it really takes to build a restaurant that lasts and succeeds for 20 years. Adam shares how he grew up in a working class family in Essex, found food as a way into a bigger world, trained at Claridge’s (L...

This week Alberto sat down with Professor Jane Ogden, Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Surrey and one of the leading voices on eating behaviour, food psychology, body image, dieting, and the relationship between the mind and body. In this conversation, Professor Ogden explains why our relationship with food is never just about food. She explores how childhood, family scripts, em...

This week Alberto sat down with Richard Harpin, the founder of HomeServe, investor, and author of How To Make A Billion In Nine Steps, to unpack the practical framework behind building a business that sold for $5.6 billion. Richard’s story challenges one of the biggest myths about entrepreneurship: that you need a completely unique idea to build something great. He explains why copying and improvi...

This week Alberto sat down with Dr Chloe Paidoussis Mitchell, the world renowned Chartered Counselling Psychologist, grief and trauma specialist, and best selling author of The Loss Prescription, to unpack what grief really is, what it does to the brain and body, and why so many people feel like they are grieving in the wrong way when they are not. In this conversation, Dr Chloe explains why grief...

This week Alberto sat down with Viviane Paxinos, former Warner Bros Vice President, former AllBright CEO, and one of the most accomplished growth and transformation executives in media and digital, to unpack a career built on ambition, reinvention, resilience, and the courage to keep moving when things do not go to plan. Viviane shares how she grew up in a Greek immigrant family in Canada, moved t...

This week Alberto sat down with Richard Mullender, the renowned former hostage negotiator and communication expert, to unpack what communication really is, why most people do it badly, and how better listening can transform negotiation, trust, persuasion, leadership, and relationships. Richard spent decades in policing, with the final part of his career leading Scotland Yard's hostage and crisis n...

This week Alberto sat down with Oliver Cookson, the renowned founder of Myprotein, the world’s #1 supplement brand, serial entrepreneur, author, and one of the UK’s most compelling self-made business builders, to unpack how he went from humble beginnings in Manchester to building one of the most recognised names in sports nutrition. Oliver’s story breaks almost every rule people think success requ...

This week Alberto sat down with Georgie Coleridge Cole, the renowned founder and CEO of SheerLuxe, one of the UK’s most influential digital media brands, to unpack the real story behind building a business that shaped modern online publishing and recently reached a major acquisition milestone. Georgie started SheerLuxe in 2007, after spotting a clear gap in the market, a trusted destination that c...

This week Alberto sat down with Dr Tim Spector, a world leading gut health expert, medical doctor, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, bestselling author, and co founder of #ZOE. In this conversation, Dr Spector explains why the gut microbiome is one of the most important control systems in the human body, shaping metabolism, immunity, mood, cravings, inflammation, and even...

This week Alberto sat down with Thom Elliot, co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, one of the UK’s most recognisable and successful pizza brands. Thom shares the real story behind building Pizza Pilgrims from a single van into a national business with over 800 employees, and what it actually costs to scale in hospitality. From long hours and financial pressure to the emotional toll of leadership, this con...

This week Alberto sat down with Martin Brooks, a world leading body language and communication expert who helps people use non-verbal communication to transform their professional and personal lives. Martin’s work sits at the intersection of psychology, communication, and human behaviour. He explains how body language shapes first impressions, why the body often reveals what the mouth is trying to...

This week Alberto sat down with Dr Andy Cope, also known as The Happiness Doctor, a world leading positive psychology researcher, speaker, and best selling author, best known for his work on human flourishing, and for the idea that happiness is the goal behind all your other goals. In this conversation, Andy breaks down what happiness actually is, why we confuse short term pleasure with long term...

This week Alberto sat down with Maria Hatzistefanis, founder and CEO of the Rodial Group, bestselling author, and a Dragon on Dragons Den Greece. Maria grew up on a small island in Greece, dreaming of a bigger world. She moved into magazines, studied business at Columbia, entered investment banking, then got fired at 25, a moment that forced her to choose what she actually wanted. With 20,000 in s...

This week Alberto sat down with Dr Erin Hope, a leading clinical psychologist, bereavement specialist, and founder of The Loss Foundation, a national charity supporting people after cancer loss. Grief is something every human will experience, yet almost none of us are taught how to understand it, process it, or support others through it. In this conversation, Dr Erin explains why grief is not a di...

This week Alberto sat down with Lee Warren, a world leading persuasion and communication expert, keynote speaker, and advisor to senior leaders and global organisations. Lee’s work challenges one of the most common myths in business and leadership, that people are persuaded by logic, data, and facts. In reality, most decisions are made emotionally first, and only justified rationally afterwards. Y...

This week Alberto sat down with Colin Corby, a leading digital detox expert with over three decades of experience in technology, health, and behavioural change. In this conversation, they explore how constant stimulation, multitasking, and screen exposure quietly erode focus, sleep, energy, and emotional resilience. Colin explains why technology itself is not the enemy, but how it replaces movemen...

This week Alberto sat down with Gavin Stone, a former British intelligence officer with over two decades of experience working across government agencies and international intelligence operations. Gavin shares what life inside the intelligence world actually looks like, how spies are recruited, trained, and deployed, and why the real work is nothing like the movies. This episode you will learn: •...

This week Alberto sat down with Dr Tali Sharot, one of the world’s leading cognitive neuroscientists, Professor at MIT and UCL, and a global authority on optimism, decision making, memory, and influence. Dr Sharot’s research challenges the idea that humans are rational decision makers. Instead, she explains how optimism bias, emotion, and anticipation shape the choices we make, the memories we for...

This week Alberto sat down with Graham Davies, one of the UK’s leading communication experts, who has advised prime ministers, presidents, CEOs, senior executives, and public figures on how to speak in public and under extreme pressure. Graham’s work is focused on one core idea, communication is not about talking, it is about taking responsibility for what the audience hears, feels, and remembers....