Overcoming anxiety: regardless of what's happening around her, she now knows how to be quiet and content in her own skin. Carly Church is a youth advocate and outreach lead at Stride Foundation UK. Born in East London and raised in Newham by her mum and her mum’s partner, alongside her brother, she spent over 15 years in the financial industry before moving into community work. She has since supported teachers in primary and secondary schools, particularly in pastoral care, helping to create saf...
Jul 03, 2025•53 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Paul’s wife delivers some hard truths today, that might just save your life. Dr. Federica Amati is Head Nutritionist at ZOE, the science and nutrition company, Nutrition Topic Lead at Imperial College School of Medicine, and head of nutrition science at medical concierge company Wellfounded Health. Federica is the author of Recipes for a Better Menopause and Sunday Times Bestseller Every Body Should Know This. Her approach focuses on improving overall dietary quality throughout the life course, ...
Jun 26, 2025•58 min•Season 3Ep. 3
How does a bench-pressing VIP bouncer end up in a kibbutz in Israel? Our guest today is Jamie Skipper, an ex-doorman who left his colorful life in the past after realising he wasn’t looking to the future or living in the present. Jamie now helps kids of all ages to embrace resilience through his holistic approach. By utilizing his master NLP training and his physical skills as a personal trainer, he speaks honestly and openly about his past experiences, training hard as a bodybuilder and using a...
Jun 19, 2025•52 min•Season 3Ep. 2
You may not know about her struggles with alcohol but she is finally breaking the silence and embracing her vulnerability. Suzanne Shaw is a singer, actress, and performance coach who first gained fame with the pop band Hear’Say on Popstars . She later starred in musical theatre and TV, winning Dancing on Ice in 2008. In 2020, Suzanne shifted her focus to health and well-being, becoming a life coach and advocate for mental wellness. Known for completing ultramarathons supporting mental health ch...
Jun 12, 2025•46 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Welcome back to This is Powerful! We will be back next week with our regularly scheduled interviews but in the meantime, here are some highlights of what is to come. If you haven’t caught the roundup of Paul’s favorite bits so far, take a look. In the meantime, we look forward to sharing another season of This Is Powerful with you…take care. Please let us know your thoughts on our listener feedback form: https://forms.gle/AFptgi3mMJKTZdYg8 If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction,...
Jun 05, 2025•1 min
What do you get when you combine the vulnerability of male bravado, the genetics of addiction and cloud visualisation techniques? This is a special episode of This is Powerful. We thought it'd be good fun to put together a bunch of our favorite nuggets of information and gems of experience that our guests have shared along the way. Here's some great advice and there will be highlights of some of Paul’s favorite moments from the podcast so far. Please let us know your thoughts on our listener fee...
Jun 05, 2025•24 min
We have completed season two, which is pretty incredible. Thank you, to everyone who tuned in for an episode or a few. We have now put out 37 episodes in total and we've had some incredible guests over the last nine months. If you haven't heard all 37 of our episodes, now is a great time to catch up either here or on YouTube. Whilst we are taking a break, Paul will still be active on Instagram, so if you have any questions or feedback, please get in touch! We are back with you with more amazing ...
May 01, 2025•1 min•Season 2Ep. 12
She’s lived through trauma, illness, and violence that might make anyone justify their addiction. Today we welcome Vicky Nicholson, an incredibly brave woman who walks us through how far addiction can take you down a dangerous path. From an exciting DJ career in her teens through a crumbling relationship with her family, and nearly taking her own life, Vicky’s life unravelled through secrecy, shame, and a daily fight to survive. The woman who emerged now cherishes her close relationship with her...
Apr 24, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Sonia Gibney shares her journey of growing up in East London with a non-English-speaking mother, an absent father, and struggling through school with severe dyslexia. Now 21 years into recovery, Sonia is a yoga instructor and coach with a thriving practice, whose calm presence contrasts sharply with her past. She’s dedicated to helping women and speaks powerfully about the freedom found in self-reliance, believing that when you go within, you will never have to go without. For Sonia, that means ...
Apr 17, 2025•43 min•Season 2Ep. 11
He had a taste of life in the fast lane but found himself desperate to escape his life-threatening habits when paranoia and self loathing took him to some dangerous places. Now clean for 18 years, Psychotherapist and Addiction Specialist Taner Hassan explains how self-obsessive thinking led to his massive social anxiety and how using alcohol to silence that constant internal dialogue led to his early struggles with addiction. Paul and Taner talk about his drug of choice (MORE) and Paul’s drug of...
Apr 10, 2025•55 min•Season 2Ep. 10
This week, we’ve got something really special for you. Instead of our usual episode, we’re bringing you an episode from Hurt to Healing , a brilliant podcast hosted by Pandora Morris. You might remember Pandora from Season 1 of This Is Powerful , when we shared her incredible story of learning to manage her OCD and recovering from an eating disorder that manifested for her through extreme restrictive eating and chronic over-exercising. Pandora has travelled the world, working with OCD experts an...
Apr 03, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Today we have an incredible guest. Dr. Rayann Zafar is a neuropsychopharmacologist with a core focus on addiction. After a battle with anorexia nervosa as an adolescent, Dr Zafar was compelled to learn more about how the brain works and as a result dedicated his life and career to finding science-backed solutions that help others to tackle addiction and make sense of their own mental health. Rayyan talks about the reward pathways being hijacked by addiction, whether there is a genetic predisposi...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 8
Our guest on today’s episode is one of the what we would call strongholds of the twelve-step community. Jim (or Jimmie, as Paul affectionately refers to him) gets straight into the nitty gritty: why trusting his head over his gut did not serve him well, why sweeties as a very young child then smoking at seven was just the start of his dangerous and progressive addiction, the strict incarceration he endured from age 16, getting sober in prison and the Peter Pan syndrome. Jim grew up in a poor, ru...
Mar 20, 2025•56 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Alistair Richardson is a powerhouse in the world of therapy, energy psychology, and healing, helping people break free from trauma, addiction, and codependency. With 23 years of long-term recovery from addiction and codependency himself, Alistair not only brings deep professional expertise to the table, but also invaluable personal insight and compassion. Alistair shares about the surprisingly various spectrums of love addictions, he introduces us to the mind-blowing concept of healing the matri...
Mar 13, 2025•51 min•Season 2Ep. 6
In this episode of This Is Powerful , Paul welcomes renowned therapist and author David Smallwood to explore addiction, recovery, and the deep roots of trauma. With 37 years of sobriety, David shares his personal journey—from growing up in a challenging home environment to struggling with anxiety, alcohol, and benzodiazepine dependence. He discusses how early childhood trauma shapes addiction and why addressing core emotional wounds is crucial for long-term recovery. David and Paul dive into the...
Mar 06, 2025•49 min•Season 2Ep. 5
For this episode we welcome Millie Mackintosh - Made in Chelsea alum, style icon, entrepreneur and mother of two. Millie has spent the past three years redefining her relationship with alcohol and shares how her struggles with self-worth, bullying, and binge drinking began in her teenage years and followed her into adulthood. We get some honest banter about the realities of fame, the pressure and problems with seeking perfection and the wake-up call that left her reaching out for sobriety. In Mi...
Feb 27, 2025•55 min•Season 2Ep. 4
This week, Paul sits down with Laura Hearn—renowned BBC journalist, host of the Flip It podcast, and fierce advocate for mental health. Laura shares her journey through childhood isolation, an eating disorder that took hold in her late teens, and the life-changing experience of seeking treatment in the U.S. She reflects on the challenges of returning to work after recovery, the moment she chose to leave the BBC, and how storytelling became her most powerful tool for healing. Paul illustrates how...
Feb 20, 2025•58 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Kevin Bishop is a British actor, writer and award-winning comedian known for his roles in Grange Hill , Muppet Treasure Island , The Kevin Bishop Show , and Porridge . With a career spanning three decades, he has always stood out with his sharp wit and fearless performances. This episode has its fair share of laugh aloud moments as Kevin shares his journey with sincerity and wry self-reflection. After enjoying a few years living life in the fast lane like his hard-drinking idols, Kevin was shock...
Feb 13, 2025•57 min•Ep. 27
Welcome back to the podcast! Kicking off the second season is this deeply personal episode featuring entrepreneur, model, and NACOA (National Association for Children of Alcoholics) patron Calum Best. Known to many as the son of football legend George Best, Calum opens up about his own struggles, healing and daily choice of purpose over destruction. Calum recounts the moments that shaped him, from his wild years in Hollywood to the loss of his father and the spiral that followed. But this isn’t ...
Feb 06, 2025•47 min•Ep. 26
We have come to the end of season one, after 25 powerful episodes. Here's a special announcement from Paul to you. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, there are plenty of resources on the Stride Foundation website: https://stridefoundation.com/ Watch all our episodes on YouTube @thisispowerfulwithpaulsculfor Find This Is Powerful on Instagram @this_ispowerful Find Paul on Instagram @paulsculfor...
Jan 09, 2025•2 min
It is the first episode of the New Year and we are featuring our youngest guest so far. Jack Curran speaks to us candidly about his ketamine addiction and by way of his account of the catastrophic mental and physical damage it caused him personally, gives a rather ominous warning to anyone even considering the drug. Jack has been featured on The Guardian and on other media outlets, speaking out about genZ’s recreational drug of choice in the UK that at times made him feel like he ‘was peeing gla...
Jan 02, 2025•55 min•Season 1Ep. 25
As we are approaching the season of parties, cheer, family, friends, temptation and a whole minefield of disturbances to our serenity, we are sharing some of the ways in which Paul has handled the festive season over the years. We cover the gifts of Christmas present, the pain of Christmas past, the tips for Christmases future and unrealistic New Year’s resolutions. Just a taste of what’s to come- you aren’t wearing concrete shoes, phone a friend and why leaving a turkey in the oven and driving ...
Dec 23, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 24
This week, we’re joined by Victoria Vanstone, self-confessed ‘drunk mother gone sober’. Victoria is the host of award-winning podcast Sober Awkward and author of the heartfelt and hilarious memoir, A Thousand Wasted Sundays . Known for her raw honesty and relatable humor, she offers a fresh take on sobriety which appeals to drinkers of all classifications! We caught up with Victoria in Thailand, where she’s traveling with her children, to cover loads of big topics, from accepting that routine bi...
Dec 19, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Our guest this week is Mark White, who at over 22 years sober, has established himself as a community builder and true visionary. Mark has successfully launched workshops that are designed for ‘the next regeneration of mindful movers’ around the world and was recently voted as one of the UK’s top social entrepreneurs because of his work in the wellness space. One of the most driven people out there, Mark comes clean about personal shame, suffocating the darkness and that can of worms that no one...
Dec 12, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 22
In this episode, we follow George’s journey through the depths of addiction and his incredible transformation. For years, George was trapped in a destructive cycle of alcohol and drug abuse, leading to repeated hospitalisations for physical emergencies and psychiatric ward admissions for mental health emergencies. His addiction was fuelled by a desperate need to escape overwhelming emotions like worry, panic, fear, anger, and paralysing frustration. Finally George entered rehab and committed to ...
Dec 05, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 21
This is one of those remarkable interviews that will surprise you, pull on your heart strings and reveal the depth of the human spirit. Growing up in a conservative, deeply religious London family, our guest Vinny reveals how he strayed into a life of crime, addiction, and self-destruction. His rock bottom moment came after months of heavy substance abuse, a heart attack, and a near-tragic incident involving his wife and children. From functioning as a plumber constantly under the influence, to ...
Nov 28, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Today we welcome Dr David McLaughlan to the show. David always had his sights set on a medical career, but did a bit of modelling in his earlier days. Working with a variety of people reinforced his values of being a kind and compassionate person, (so-called ‘soft skills’) and helps him engage with patients today. Now one of the UK's leading addiction psychiatrists, David has contributed to international treatment guidelines, academic journals as well as mainstream media outlets. Additionally, D...
Nov 21, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 19
This week we hosted the incredible host of the Hurt to Healing podcast, Pandora Morris. A former lawyer turned mental health activist, Pandora’s journey began in childhood, facing OCD and an eating disorder that manifested through restrictive eating and chronic over-exercising. Much like obsessive behaviour often linked to addiction, Pandora would regularly run at least twenty miles a day, take midnight bike rides and start her days with a swim in the sea - an activity which once saw her hospita...
Nov 14, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 18
This week, we welcome former professional footballer turned successful entrepreneur Andy Ramage. After a career-ending injury, Andy pivoted to create two financial brokerages and soon discovered that his life changed dramatically when he decided to go alcohol-free. This decision not only transformed his health and mindset but also became his unique selling point, helping him stand out in a competitive business market. The coaching initiatives that Andy has created have collectively helped hundre...
Nov 07, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 17
This week we are super excited to welcome Ollie Ollerton onto the show. You might know Ollie from the British television programme SAS: Who Dares Wins? Ollie is not only a former Marine, SAS soldier, and Special Forces Combat Frogman, he's also an author of five books and the CEO of Breakpoint and Battle Ready Academy, two powerful physical and mental training academies. Ollie’s personal breakthrough arrived once he worked up the courage to put booze and drugs behind him. Finding himself at a cr...
Oct 31, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 16
