Ep1: Mind Over Muscle

Today we talk gaming and Esports with Elliot Bond from the British Esports Association and Steph Ijoma, founder of NNESAGA (a diverse UK platform for gaming, comics & anime) about the growing popularity of Esports and whether it could eventually feature in the Olympics.

This episode is dedicated to LGBTQ+ athletes. We're joined by wheelchair racer Lizzie Williams and director of the film Wonderkid, Rhys Chapman to talk about the emerging collectives and initiatives that are making movements in the queer community for sport. We also spoke to former Everton and Wales goalkeeper, Neville Southall about his allyship to people in the LGBTQ+ community and his work with young people.

This episode looks at inequalities within sports, we talk about gender equality in sport, the gender pay gap, as well as women in sport, with a particular focus on periods! Ex-pro footballer, Rosie Kmita, joined Martha and Zuu to talk about her journey in football from a young age and shone a huge light on engagement and investment in women's football. We were also joined by Safiyyah, The Hijabi Boxer, who shares her story about overcoming a long term illness and eating disorder as she climbs the ranks of amateur boxing.

In this episode Martha and Big Zuu explore whether athletes have always been fashion icons and how courtside at basketball games is akin to being front row at a fashion shows, as this is where the drama plays out. Joining them this week are London Lions basketball player, Sky Sports NBA Heatcheck regular and former Love Islander Ovie Soko as well as Bwalya Newton, journalist, producer, DJ and founder of women’s basketball collective, Hackney Gazelles.

The first episode of Sidelines, from Sky Sports, looks at the relationship between sport and mental health. Whether that’s bringing exercise into a self-care routine, tackling performance anxiety at the highest level of pro competitions or facing the reality of an injury, founder of Run Dem Crew, Charlie Dark and heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua both joined Martha and Big Zuu to explore the topic.

Stay tuned for our brand new podcast Sidelines, making space for the stories surrounding sport and the people pushing the culture forward