In episode 186 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with writer Will Hayes. We came across Will through a response piece he wrote on the Centre for Male Psychology website entitled 'Why Men don’t write about Sex and Dating'. The original piece was published in The Guardian by journalist Imogen West-Knights entitled 'Why do hardly any straight men write about sex and dating?' Will started his writing journey by writing screenplays with his brother before he realised he needed to improve ...
Jun 23, 2023•51 min
In episode 185 of The Just Checking In Podcast, we checked in with food entrepreneur Josh Storkey. Josh is the Founder and inventor of Stork Sauce, a range of hot sauces that can be used on a range of foods to inject flavour and excitement. Josh has always been intrigued by how fermentation can change and develop new flavours in food. During the Covid-19 period in the summer of 2020 and with a lot of time on his hands, he began experimenting. After he landed on the ideal recipe and formula, Stor...
Jun 21, 2023•1 hr 1 min
In episode 184 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dr Joe Whittaker. Joe is a Lecturer in Cyber Threats at Swansea University’s Cyber Threats Research Centre, housed in their Law department. His PhD analysed the online behaviours of Islamic State terrorists in the USA from the years 2012-2018, conducted as a joint degree with Swansea University and Leiden University. He has also researched how social media platforms’ recommendation systems promote and amplify extreme far-right con...
Jun 16, 2023•48 min
This is Part 2 of personal trainer and mental health advocate James Roffey's story. In Part 2 we explore the origins of his eating disorder, the destructive behaviours and habits it made him adopt and the eight years he was trapped in its grip. We discuss why his sports psychologist was a massive influence on his recovery, why traditional therapy didn’t help him and how he successfully moved away from his identity being attached to his ED. As always, #itsokaytovent You can follow James on social...
Jun 11, 2023•1 hr 5 min
In episode 183 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with personal trainer and mental health advocate, James Roffey. James brands himself as ‘The Mental Health Personal Trainer’. When James was in his 20s, he developed an eating disorder which was triggered by three key life events: being released by Charlton Athletic FC’s academy, failing a business studies exam when he was doing his AS levels and subsequently being kicked out of his then school and the sudden death of his grandmother w...
Jun 11, 2023•1 hr 20 min
In this episode of Behind The Mic we checked in with Berlin-based House and R&B artist Fletchy Boy. Fletcher was born in New Zealand and moved to Berlin for a fresh start in music after he appeared on The X-Factor New Zealand when he was 17 years old. Since then, he has carved a new path in Berlin's electronic and live music scenes. In this episode we discuss how he’s tried to find balance as an artist, validation and the gap between signed and unsigned artists when it comes to the opportunities...
Jun 07, 2023•1 hr 15 min
In episode 182 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Founder of AC Milan platform SempreMilan Oli Fisher for a special reason. In April 2022 a Huddersfield Town fan called Daryl Hopson tragically died from liver cancer. Before he died, then-Huddersfield manager Carlos Corberan held up a shirt with his name on the back at the last home game of the season and offered his support to Daz in what many in his close circle knew was his final days of life. We at Vent wanted to celebrat...
Jun 02, 2023•1 hr 29 min
In this episode of Behind The Decks we checked back in with Jafunk. Lachy was the first DJ/producer that we interviewed on the series so we thought it fitting to get him back on to talk about his journey in the last three years since we checked in. In those three years he's moved away from Berlin back to Australia and now resides in Lisbon in Portugal. In this episode we discuss his continued music journey, why he felt Berlin wasn’t the right place for him to succeed musically, the reasons behin...
May 28, 2023•1 hr 1 min
In episode 181 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Claudia Van-Nimwegen. Claudia is a mental health advocate, teacher and theatre artist. In Part 3 of her mental health journey we discuss an Eating Disorder (ED) which Claudia had previously been bottling up and suppressing for a long period of her life. In December 2022, the ED, the fibromyalgia (which Claudia had been diagnosed with and discussed in Part 2) and general stress combined into a dangerous cocktail and exploded, ...
May 23, 2023•1 hr 9 min
In episode 180 of The Just Checking In Podcast, we checked in with Tunde Ogunsina. Tunde is the Founder and CEO of Forest Colard, a brand and influencer marketing agency that strives to help their clients connect with their target audience using real, authentic content, tailored to their unique needs whilst staying ahead of the curve. In this episode we discuss Tunde’s business journey, how he came up with the idea of Forest Colard and turning his dream into a reality. We also discuss the transa...
May 19, 2023•1 hr 8 min
In episode 179 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Aaron Terrell. Aaron is a transman, co-host of the 'Transparency' podcast and Director of the Gender Dysphoria Alliance (GDA). In this episode we discuss Aaron’s transition from female-to-male presenting, how and why his experience of transitioning through testosterone changed his sexuality and his social transition. We discuss how transition was the right choice for him and how he came to that conclusion and the impact that Covid...
May 17, 2023•1 hr 2 min
In episode 178 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Torren Danowski. Torren is the Founder of 'Don’t Tread On Philly', a U.S. libertarian political organisation and the former Libertarian candidate for Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has also transitioned and then detransitioned at two different stages of his life. In this episode we discuss his experience of anxiety and depression, workplace bullying, perfectionism and how all of these factors led to the sex dysphoria he w...
May 12, 2023•2 hr 42 min
In this episode of Behind The Mic, we checked in with Herman from UK Garage group, the Sakawah Boys. The group originally started making hip-hop beats but changed musical direction and have been making Garage music ever since. In this episode we discuss how the four boys met at university, starting out MC’ing and gained the confidence to start the group it's become today. We also discuss the challenges of working a 9-5 whilst being a working musician. For Herman’s mental health, we discuss a lac...
May 05, 2023•1 hr 8 min
In this episode of Behind The Mic we checked back in with east London band, See You At Home. In Part 1 Josh and Charlie talked about their experiences of anxiety, Josh’s tendency to ‘overcheck’ thing and the impact of Covid-19 as we recorded it in November 2020, just before we went into a second lockdown. In Part 2, for Josh we get an update from the band, why they had to shelve an entire album because of its pandemic-related song writing themes and their new plans for a debut album. We also dis...
May 03, 2023•1 hr 9 min
In this episode of Reel Stories, we checked in with Heydon Prowse. Heydon is a is a writer, actor, producer and was one half of BBC Three show ‘The Revolution Will Be Televised’ (RWBT). He is now the Founder of production company Flying Shoe Films, where he has done advertising work for clients including Greenpeace, Heineken, Netflix, Oxfam, Jonathan Pie, Amnesty International, Sony, War Child and more. In this episode we chart his journey into the arts and political satire, moving away from soc...
Apr 21, 2023•1 hr 6 min
In this episode of Behind The Mic, we checked in with UK R&B artist JVSMINE. JVSMINE is a solo artist and also sings vocals in friends of the pod Rayowa. In this episode we discuss how Jasmine got into music and singing when she lived in Fiji before she moved to the UK as a young adult and the story of how she joined Rayowa. We discuss the very high highs and very big lows that comes with being in the music industry and the grind it can sometimes be to gain traction and momentum. We also female ...
Apr 16, 2023•1 hr 1 min
In this episode of our Behind The Mic series, we checked in with Matheus Piovesan. Matheus is a music promoter and the Founder of Effervescent Sounds, a music platform which shines a spotlight on new and emerging artists in the UK music scene. Matheus is originally from Brazil and moved to the UK when he was 30 years old. In this episode we discuss how and why he started Effervescent Sounds, some of his favourite artists he’s worked with and his proudest achievements running the platform. We als...
Apr 10, 2023•58 min
In episode 177 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with journalist Amber Haque. Amber is a freelance journalist and the presenter of 'Hometown: A Killing' series two. The show followed Amber as she went back to her hometown of Manchester to investigate the death of teenager Yousef Makki, who was privately educated. In this episode we discuss the themes the series explores through a mental health lens including: why so many private school boys are gravitating towards carrying knives and...
Apr 06, 2023•2 hr 44 min
In episode 176 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Joe Isaacs. Joe works in healthcare and is a long-time university friend of friend of the pod Alex Hensman. In this episode Alex comes back on the podcast as a moral support for Joe who is speaking about his mental health for the first time. Joe has struggled with anxiety and depression for a long time but went through periods where he didn’t recognise it or was unsure if it was something everyone goes through or something which h...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 7 min
In episode 175 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Lucy Connolly. Lucy is a mental health advocate for Inflammatory Bowel Conditions (IBDs) awareness. Lucy was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in July 2020 at the height of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this episode we discuss when she first started experiencing symptoms, the shame and stigma she felt in hiding them from her family, before she finally addressed it and began treatment for it. Lucy is also at time of reco...
Mar 20, 2023•57 min
In episode 174 of The Just Checking In Podcast, we checked in with Zachary James. Zach is a mental health advocate for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) awareness. Zach was diagnosed with OCD when he was 19 years old. His OCD manifested in how it affected his romantic relationships as a gay man and a short-lived period of paedophile OCD. In this episode we discuss how and why those two forms of OCD affected his mental health, how he addressed them and got control of them. Thankfully, he now co...
Mar 12, 2023•1 hr 4 min
In this episode of Behind The Decks we checked in with Australian producer, Harry Hayes. In this episode we discuss Harry’s journey into music production and dance music, how he fell in love then out of love and back into love with music, comparison culture, imposter syndrome and being in a state of music purgatory in the industry. For Harry’s mental health, there have been an accumulation of life events which have caused him mental health difficulties. Harry sometimes felt like an outsider in h...
Mar 08, 2023•44 min
In this episode of Behind The Mic, we checked back in with Harry from UK alt-pop band, VICTORS. In Part 1, we talked about the mental health impact of the streaming wars on musicians, anxiety and FOMO. In Part 2 we discuss their latest EP, III and getting back into doing shows post-Covid, why their 2022 was a quieter one but why Harry and the band needed this period of reflection to go again in 2023 and not allow the band’s career to plateau. For Harry’s mental health, he moved to London from Le...
Mar 03, 2023•42 min
In episode 173 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Nathan Wilson. Nathan is the Founder of Dads Advocates. Dads Advocates is a social enterprise and platform that seeks to implement change in three areas of life. Firstly, they help separated dad’s create safe, consistent and meaningful relationships with their children, by reducing parental conflict, creating workable co-parenting strategies and if required, guiding Dad’s through the process of family court. Second, they protect c...
Mar 01, 2023•1 hr 23 min
In episode 172 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Matt Henry. Matt is the Founder of YouTube channels 'How To Help Incels' and 'Dad Helping Dads'. Matt is a former incel who 'ascended' in his mid-20s and is now happily married with four children. Matt helps other incels ascend by discussing the issues within incel culture, breaks down myths and challenges their mindset. Matt provides a nuance perspective on this group of men which many in mainstream culture deride, abandon and so...
Feb 24, 2023•1 hr 26 min
In episode 171 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with freelance writer Freddie deBoer. Freddie started his career from his public library when he started his own blog whilst in a period of unemployment. After fellow writer and gay rights trailblazer Andrew Sullivan shared his third blog post on his own hugely popular blog, it exploded and he has been writing ever since. In recent years, he is now on SubStack where he writes about mental health, politics, media and lots of other issue...
Feb 18, 2023•1 hr 7 min
In episode 170 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Tim Gibson. Tim is a personal friend of our Founder Freddie Cocker. Tim first came on during the Covid-19 period to talk about his regret at not having friends at school he could talk to about his mental health, overthinking, studying abroad in France and social media perfectionism culture. In part 2 of his journey we discuss a period of mental health difficulty Tim experienced in the second half of the Covid-19 lockdowns aft...
Feb 11, 2023•50 min
In episode 169 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with journalist Natalie Morris. Since we first chatted in JCIP #41, Natalie has left The Metro and now works freelance. She has also written her first book ‘Mixed/Other’ since then too. In this episode we discuss her decision to go freelance, an exploration of the key themes of the book through a mental health lens and leaving behind the 'Sunday scaries'. Unfortunately, since we last spoke, Natalie also lost her father Tony, a bel...
Jan 27, 2023•2 hr 33 min
In episode 168 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Sicarius McGrath. Sicarius McGrath is a former gang member and street-level arms dealer from Merseyside. He became involved in gangs when he was 15 years old and went to prison when he was 21 for the attempted murder of a man in Birkenhead. Whilst in prison, Sicarius watched an ITV drama series called ‘Little Boy Blue’ which was based on the real life story of the murder of Rhys Jones, an 11-year-old boy who was caught in the cros...
Jan 25, 2023•1 hr 1 min
In episode 167 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Patricia Faulks. Patricia is the Founder of blog 'Just Me & Lilley' where she writes about being involuntarily childlessness, her life, her wonderful dog Lilley and issues affecting other involuntarily childless people. In Part 2 we reflect on her first episode, how it was received online and how she has grown the platform and done more advocacy work in the last year! We also discuss Patricia’s own self-awareness of her menta...
Jan 21, 2023•1 hr 19 min
