In this episode of Behind The Mic we checked back in with Norwegian artist, Severin. We first checked in with Severin in August 2023. In Part 1 we discussed his musical identity, moving from singing and producing music in English to Norwegian, overcoming shyness he had as a child and how his artist persona was a vehicle for him to gain confidence and improve his self-esteem. Since we checked in, Sev has tried release as much music as possible. He has released a series of singles, as well as two ...
Mar 07, 2025•32 min
In episode 277 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Earl John Charlton. Earl is currently employed by Northumbria University as a professional with lived experience. However, prior to that he has worked as an outreach worker and a seller for The Big Issue, one of the most important charities in the UK for giving homeless people an income, dignity and pride. Earl spent 18 years of his life being homeless. His start in life began with trauma and violence as he witnessed his dad domes...
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr 24 min
In Part 4 of James Roffey’s journey, we discuss the grief he and his family went through from his uncle’s suicide and the decisions he had to take to make ends meet after losing his entire client base in Huddersfield after the marriage breakdown. As always, #itsokaytovent You can find out more about Ultimate Body & Mind here: www.ultimatebodyandmind.com You can follow James on social media below: Instagram: www.instagram.com/theultimatebodyandmind/ You can listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of James' j...
Feb 21, 2025•44 min
In episode 276 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with James Roffey. James is a personal trainer and semi-professional footballer. He was previously the business owner of his personal training brand ‘The Mental Health PT’ but due to personal and business reasons, has rebranded and relaunched it as ‘Ultimate Body and Mind’. James first came on the pod in JCIP #183 where he discussed his journey into personal training and his struggle and recovery from a long-term eating disorder, ...
Feb 21, 2025•2 hr 36 min
In episode 275 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Anthony Bedward. Anthony is a qualified person-centred psychotherapist and the Founder of a2btherapy. In this episode we chart his vast professional journey, from working as a mentor in a learning provision for young people expelled from school, to applying for a 10-week course at the Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute based at the University of Staffordshire and then completing a three year degree there afterwards. He then...
Feb 14, 2025•2 hr 3 min
In episode 274 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Thomas Mackintosh. Thomas is a Scottish journalist currently working for the BBC. The reason we checked back in with him is that he fronted a fantastic documentary called ‘My Alopecia And Me’, which documents his own, personal journey with alopecia, and interviews men and women from a range of backgrounds about their journeys with alopecia of varying degrees. The documentary is framed around a new drug which is claimed to hel...
Feb 07, 2025•36 min
In this episode of Reel Stories we checked in with Jeremy Ojo. Jeremy is a screenwriter, actor and producer. Jeremy fell into the industry when a friend contacted him about getting involved in making a web-series, which he subsequently wrote, produced and starred in. We met Jeremy through a mutual close friend who studied at Oxford University with him. In this episode we discuss how Jeremy broke into the industry and navigated the system when he had no previous experience within it or connection...
Jan 31, 2025•2 hr 8 min
In this episode of Behind The Decks we checked in with Tom Forte. Tom is a DJ and producer and started his music journey as a producer before he got into DJing. The first instrument he ever took up was the guitar, before trying a few other instruments and then took up the saxophone from the age of 11 years old. His entry into dance music was listening to dubstep and drum & bass records, before playing in various rock, folk and jazz bands where he grew up in his hometown in Devon. He moved away f...
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr 3 min
In episode 273 of The Just Checking In Podcast we turned the tables as our Founder Freddie Cocker was interviewed by his best friend of 28 years and previous guest, James Lamb who came on in JCIP #50. Over the years, Freddie has been interviewed by another close friend Lloyd Taylor twice, in JCIP #10 and JCIP #135 respectively. His old friend and work colleague Connor Smart then wanted to try his hand at it in JCIP #144. Now we arrive at the moment where James is conducting his first solo interv...
Jan 17, 2025•2 hr 31 min
In episode 272 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Rose Rowkins. Rose is the Founder of Start The Conversation.uk, a suicide prevention training organisation. Rose has had a hugely varied career and has worked in the mental health space for over two decades. She started by working at Samaritans in her early 20s and progressed rapidly to become a trainer of other people to become Samaritans. As a long-time Brighton resident, she then managed two mental health youth projects in the ...
Jan 10, 2025•59 min
In this episode of Behind The Mic we checked back in for the third time with UK artist AMiR. AMiR first came on the podcast before the Behind The Mic series started, in JCIP #19. We discussed his debut album, 'All or Nothing' he released in 2019, his refusal to be pigeon-holed or stereotyped and fatherhood. In Part 2, we discussed the impact that Covid-19 had on his career both financially and mentally as he was unable to do any live shows and had to build the momentum he had generated back up, ...
Jan 02, 2025•41 min
In episode 271 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Aaron Pearson. Aaron is the husband of previous guest and Co-Founder of Menstrual Health Project, Gabriella Pearson. Aaron works as an estate planner and as a car salesman and has been with Gabriella for 10 years. Aaron’s mental health journey started when he was between seven to 11 or 12-years-old when he was sexually abused and the majority of his mental health difficulties he’s experienced in life stem from this moment. Aaron t...
Dec 29, 2024•2 hr 31 min
In episode 270 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Robert Grattan. Robert works as a Clinical Physiologist and our Founder Freddie met Rob through playing football locally in north-east London as teenagers. In this episode we discuss his exposure to suicide as a teenager when family friends of Rob took their own lives. We then talk about a relationship break-up Rob went through recently from a five-year relationship and the impact that had on his mental health, his identity and ho...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 10 min
In episode 269 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Antoine Brimbal. Antoine Brimbal is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Modern Insurgent, a grass-roots independent media organisation which specialises solely on insurgencies, rebellions and political movements from around the globe. We first checked in with Antoine in JCIP #164 when he was still a puppy at 18 years old but still the owner of his own journalism organisation. We discussed the origins of the platform, a ter...
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 16 min
In episode 278 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jamie Dennis. Jamie is the CEO and Founder of Mandem Meetup (MM), a grassroots charity which promotes, corrects and improves the conversation around men’s mental health and wellbeing. They provide an open, inclusive community for all men, integrating a range of social, holistic and more ‘traditional’ forms of clinical support. This includes psycho-social interventions and recreational activities, practical advice and guidance, as ...
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr 13 min
In episode 267 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Robert Parks. Robert is a Head Chef and someone our Founder Freddie has known since they were school-mates one year apart at Ilford County High School, where Freddie attended for sixth-form college. They then went to the same university at Sussex and have remained friends ever since. Rob broke into the culinary industry in the most unconventional way possible, by appearing on the 2015 edition of BBC’s Masterchef and making it...
Nov 29, 2024•2 hr 31 min
In this episode of Behind The Mic, we checked back in with Pete Anderson, frontman of Beach For Tiger. Pete also plays guitar and bass for several other artists, including friends of Vent Rayowa, Isla Rico and DROZ! We first checked in with Pete in 2022 and since then we have also checked in with his brother Mick, who plays in the band. Since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pete has worked hard to get BFT out gigging again and gain momentum in a completely new music landscape. He also successf...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 8 min
In episode 266 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with two of our favourite guests, Danny Bowman and George Mycock. Danny and George both work in the mental health space around eating disorders, specifically Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). Danny has come on twice, in JCIP #70 and JCIP #209 respectively. He is currently in the final stages of completing a PHD at the University of Liverpool. He also previously stood as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Liverpool Garston ...
Nov 15, 2024•2 hr 49 min
In episode 265 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Billy McGranaghan. Billy is the Founder and CEO of Dad’s House. Dad’s House is a charity which aims to make sure children remain the priority after divorce, separation or bereavement. There are currently over two million non-residential dads in the UK and over 450,000 raising their children alone. Just in London there are 25,000 dads who are the main carers for their children. Dad’s House support includes supporting all single dad...
Nov 07, 2024•1 hr 15 min
In episode 264 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with David Leck. David Leck is a communications professional, writer, editor, copywriter and the business owner and Managing Director of David Leck Associates. Our Founder Freddie met David whilst he was working in the BBC Press Office from 2019-2020. David’s career in the BBC started when he was a young man and he worked in various departments before ending up in the HR department. As has been the case throughout BBC history, a restru...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 23 min
In episode 263 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in for a third time with Irish farmer Gar Lock. Gar first came on the pod in JCIP #196 where we discussed his redemption story from prisoner to farmer and family man, his relationship with his father and family and the work he does to help other men, who are also former prisoners, turn their life around. We checked in again in JCIP #225 to discuss the influence that fitness guru David Goggins has had on Gar's life, how we tackle the ...
Oct 25, 2024•1 hr 27 min
In this episode of Behind The Mic, we checked back in for (maybe) the final time with UK rock band Cavalcade. In JCIP #25 we interviewed interviewed Jack Campbell from the band for the first time. A couple of years later, Jack was joined by bandmate Connor to check in again on Behind The Mic. The band then played JCIL #4 (Take Two) and sold out The Victoria in Dalston, east London. In August 2024, they announced the sad news that the band was coming to an end. Since we last checked in, Jack and ...
Oct 18, 2024•59 min
In episode 262 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Duncan Craig OBE. Duncan is the Founder and CEO of We Are Survivors (WAS), formerly known as Survivors Manchester. We first checked in with Duncan in JCIP #147 where we charted his journey starting the charity many years ago, being recognised for his work with an Order of The British Empire (OBE), the conversation at that point for male survivors of abuse, Duncan’s own story of survivorship and all of the emotions associated ...
Oct 12, 2024•1 hr 27 min
In episode 261 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jody Goldsworthy. Jody is the Founder and CEO of Jonathan’s House Ministries, which serves as one of the only male domestic abuse shelters in Wales. Jonathan’s House Ministries firmly believes in all men, and that all men deserve to be healed, restored and eventually fulfilled. Through building safe spaces and educating people on the effects of abuse, they believe they can change things for men who have been domestically abused ac...
Oct 03, 2024•2 hr 3 min
In episode 260 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with journalist, presenter and DJ, Amber Haque. We first checked in with Amber in JCIP #177 to discuss her brilliant and powerful BBC documentary series, 'Hometown: A Killing’, series two, which focused on the murder of teenager Yousef Makki. We also discussed her workplace anxiety and ADHD symptoms she exhibited in childhood and adolescence. Since then, Amber has been a very busy bee. She has just joined as the new co-host of an ...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr
In episode 259 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Patricia Faulks. Patricia Faulks first came on the podcast in JCIP #92 to talk about her blog Just Me & Lilley, where she writes about being involuntarily childlessness, her life, her wonderful dog Lilley and issues affecting predominantly women but also men who are involuntarily childless. She came on again in JCIP #167 to discuss her growing self-awareness of her mental health and well-being and uncomfortable conversations ...
Sep 20, 2024•56 min
In episode 258 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Gabriella Pearson. Gabriella is Co-Founder of an organisation called Menstrual Health Project (MHP). Gabriella co-founded MHP with her friend Anna, whom she met through Instagram. Gabriella was based in Brighton, Anna was in North Wales and they came together with the idea to start a community project. They created a toolkit to help women who lived with endometriosis in February 2022 and launched it the following month. They then ...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 17 min
In episode 257 of The Just Checking In Podcast our Founder Freddie Cocker speaks about getting officially diagnosed with autism. Freddie was first diagnosed by his GP in December 2023 but given the role he holds through Vent in the men's mental health space, he wanted to be 100% certain before declaring it online. He was fortunate enough to be in a position where he could pay for a private assessment and in July 2024, he received confirmation that he met the diagnostic criteria for autism. He al...
Sep 06, 2024•57 min
In episode 256 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Scott Johnson. Scott Johnson 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 hopefully, the country very soon! Scott founded PBC in September 2020 when he was going through the family court system on two occasions from two ex-partners whom he had children with. The former he had one daughter with, the latter his other two daughters...
Aug 30, 2024•1 hr 24 min
In episode 255 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Gary Quinn. Gary Quinn is a professional painter and decorator by trade and the business owner of ‘Quality Brushstrokes’. Gary was sexually abused by his stepfather from the ages of 10-12 years old. Then, when he was 17, his mother entered another relationship with a man who domestically abused her and one night, he murdered her whilst Gary and his siblings were in the house. The man who murdered her then took his own life the day...
Aug 23, 2024•1 hr 26 min
