The 'Hardest Geezer' On Finding Direction When You're Lost

Russ Cook, better known as the Hardest Geezer, became famous for running the length of Africa. 352 days. 10,000 miles. The first person ever to do it. But before all of that, he was a teenager scrubbing a Waitrose toilet at 4am, opening a cupboard to find a single tin of new potatoes, and hiding a gambling debt from his girlfriend.In this conversation, Jake goes back to before Africa - to the years of directionlessness, the arrogance that masked insecurity, the run home from a nightclub in Brighton, and the chance encounter with a cyclist in Kenya that changed everything.They also get into the question that sits beneath all of it: is Russ running towards something great, or away from something painful? And now he's a new father - how does that shift what he's willing to risk?Plus: why he won't take the Leeds Ironman lightly despite barely managing three lengths of a pool.This episode is brought to you by Bulldog Skincare. Shop their grooming range, from face wash to bamboo razors, at Boots 👉 https://highpfrmc.com/HPP_Bulldog_brandedep Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Boris Becker burned out at 25. Former British No1 Jo Konta carried her family's sacrifice onto court every match and Irish tennise pr Conor Niland described a tennis player's self-worth as entirely tied to winning and losing — nothing else. Three players, the same problem: identity wrapped around results, the sport becoming something to survive.This week, in the run-up to Wimbledon, Jake and Damian go back into the archive to hear from all three — then hand over to leading performance coach, Ben Crowe, who has spent 30 years helping the world's best athletes solve exactly that problem.Ben has worked with athletes Ash Barty and Steph Gilmore coached NBA teams and the Australian Cricket Team, and comes personally recommended by Andre Agassi. You'll hear the full story of Ash Barty's French Open semifinal — 5-0 up and tightening, 3-0 down and laughing — and what shifted in her mind to turn it around. Plus Ben's central idea: the opposite of play is not work. It's fear. And most people, most of the time, are in the fear state without knowing it.Where the Light Gets In by Ben Crowe is available now.Revolut Business 👉 High-performing businesses need powerful financial tools. Get a £200 welcome bonus with Revolut Business when you sign up at https://revolutbusiness.onelink.me/jLOt/hp-ep4-aud and add money to your account by 30/09/2026. Fees, promotion terms and T&Cs apply.AG1 👉Head to http://drinkag1.com/highperformance to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit, Vitamin D3 + K2 and five travel packsBetter Help 👉 Join Jake in Saying It Louder with 10% off Betterhelp Therapy. Click here: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-betterhelp-auPostcode Lottery 👉 Discover how Postcode Lottery players are Powering Hope Together. Click here to find out more: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-postcode-au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Racing Bulls Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson has lived through the highest stakes and the ruthless politics of motorsport.In this episode, Liam opens up about the reality of his Red Bull exit, revealing how he was blindsided, unfairly judged and left carrying the blame for a radical car setup experiment. He also shares where his self belief comes from, from finishing last in go karting to ignoring the people who said Formula 1 was impossible.Liam also reveals the unexpected habit that helps him handle the noise of race weekend, taking a guitar to every Grand Prix to switch off and reset. This is a raw and honest conversation about pressure, resilience and protecting who you are in one of the most unforgiving sports in the world.Official website of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team involved in the most exciting car championship in the world. Discover what's new: https://www.visacashapprb.com/int-en/teamRevolut Business 👉 High-performing businesses need powerful financial tools. Get a £200 welcome bonus with Revolut Business when you sign up at https://revolutbusiness.onelink.me/jLOt/hp-ep4-aud and add money to your account by 30/09/2026. Fees, promotion terms and T&Cs apply.AG1 👉Head to http://drinkag1.com/highperformance to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit, Vitamin D3 + K2 and five travel packsBetter Help 👉 Join Jake in Saying It Louder with 10% off Betterhelp Therapy. Click here: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-betterhelp-auPostcode Lottery 👉 Discover how Postcode Lottery players are Powering Hope Together. Click here to find out more: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-postcode-au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir Gareth Southgate is England's most successful manager since 1966. Two finals, four tournaments and by the end, fans were throwing beer at him in the stadium.Today, as England embark on another World Cup journey, we revisit one of the most candid leadership conversations we've ever recorded. Gareth explains why he knew it was time to leave before the final was even played, what he said to his players before England's penalty shootouts, and how it took him 52 years to silence the voice in his head — the same voice that froze him in 1996.He also gets into the unglamorous reality of leading a high-profile team: how to protect players from outside noise when you can't protect yourself from it, why he banned himself from speaking first in staff meetings, and what it actually felt like to walk through the door as England manager and realise culture, not tactics, was the problem.Thanks to our partners: Revolut Business 👉 High-performing businesses need powerful financial tools. Get a £200 welcome bonus with Revolut Business when you sign up at https://revolutbusiness.onelink.me/jLOt/hp-ep3-aud and add money to your account by 30/09/2026. Fees, promotion terms and T&Cs apply.Do Health 👉 Get ahead of your health, don't react to it. Head to https://highpfrmc.com/dohealth-hpp-au to sign up now Better Help 👉 Join Jake in Saying It Louder with 10% off Betterhelp Therapy. Click here: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-betterhelp-au Postcode Lottery 👉 Discover how Postcode Lottery players are Powering Hope Together. Click here to find out more: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-postcode-au AG1 👉Head to http://drinkag1.com/highperformance to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit, Vitamin D3 + K2 and five travel packs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UK has announced a ban on under-16s using social media. Jake and Damian's reaction is immediate: the ban is right, but it cannot do the job alone. In this episode they go back into the archive to hear from the people who saw this coming.Jonathan Haidt on the phone-based childhood we built without realising what we were dismantling. Johann Hari on the 10,000 engineers paid to undermine your self-control. Alex Greenwood on the body image spiral that started at 15. And the guys talk Liam Lawson, whose episode drops Monday, on what happens when your phone explodes and the world turns on you overnight.Jake shares the Ofcom data that should stop every parent in their tracks and Damian reads a message from Daisy Greenwell, co-founder of Smartphone Free Childhood, the grassroots movement that helped make today's law happen.Listen to the full episodes:Jonathan Haidt https://pod.fo/e/2a4563Johann Hari https://pod.fo/e/267393 Alex Greenwood https://pod.fo/e/30cbd0Thanks to our partners:Revolut Business 👉 High-performing businesses need powerful financial tools. Get a £200 welcome bonus with Revolut Business when you sign up at https://revolutbusiness.onelink.me/jLOt/hp-ep3-aud and add money to your account by 30/09/2026. Fees, promotion terms and T&Cs apply.Do Health 👉 Get ahead of your health, don't react to it. Head to https://highpfrmc.com/dohealth-hpp-au to sign up now Better Help 👉 Join Jake in Saying It Louder with 10% off Betterhelp Therapy. Click here: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-betterhelp-au Postcode Lottery 👉 Discover how Postcode Lottery players are Powering Hope Together. Click here to find out more: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-postcode-au AG1 👉Head to http://drinkag1.com/highperformance to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit, Vitamin D3 + K2 and five travel packs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Seaman is one of England's greatest ever goalkeepers, with 75 caps and multiple trophies with Arsenal. In this episode he shares the moments that shaped him, many of which have never been told like this before.David takes us from being released by Leeds United at 19 to walking out for England at the World Cup, opening up about the fear he felt after the Ronaldinho free kick and the untold story of packing Gazza's bags after he was left out of the 98 squad.He also shares his three non-negotiables for any winning culture and a definition of high performance that traces all the way back to a nine year old kid in Rotherham being told to go in goal and never wanting to leave.This is an honest, emotional and powerful conversation about resilience, loyalty and what it really means to love what you do.As patron of the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK, David Seaman supports bowel cancer research and awareness. The Fund has raised over £31 million for research across the UK.Support the cause by visiting the Bobby Moore Fund website and joining challenges like Run 66 Miles or 100 Keepy Uppies. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved/bobby-moore-fundRevolut Business 👉 High-performing businesses need powerful financial tools. Get a £200 welcome bonus with Revolut Business when you sign up at https://revolutbusiness.onelink.me/jLOt/hp-ep3-aud and add money to your account by 30/09/2026. Fees, promotion terms and T&Cs apply.Do Health 👉 Get ahead of your health, don't react to it. Head to https://highpfrmc.com/dohealth-hpp-au to sign up now Better Help 👉 Join Jake in Saying It Louder with 10% off Betterhelp Therapy. Click here: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-betterhelp-au Postcode Lottery 👉 Discover how Postcode Lottery players are Powering Hope Together. Click here to find out more: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-postcode-au AG1 👉Head to http://drinkag1.com/highperformance to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit, Vitamin D3 + K2 and five travel packs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Hart was England's number one for over a decade, won two Premier Leagues at Manchester City, and was one of the most recognisable goalkeepers of his generation. Then Pep Guardiola arrived - and everything changed.In this conversation with Jake and Damian, Joe speaks with remarkable honesty about the mental block that nearly ended his City career before it peaked, the moment he felt genuinely unbeatable and how quickly that unravelled, and what it was really like inside England's tournament camps when the pressure was at its highest. He also gives his most direct assessment of why England kept falling short at major tournaments - and it's not the answer most people expect.Then comes the harder chapter. The loans, the exits, the moment he genuinely thought professional football was done with him. And finally Celtic, Ange Postecoglou, and an ending so good he admits it scared him.Two sides to Joe Hart: the warrior who needed to be the last line of defence, and the kid from Shrewsbury who never stopped being amazed he got to play. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jake and Damian take stock and draw on five years of conversations with some of the world's highest performers. This episode strips everything back to four questions — the ones that, according to existential psychologist Tatiana Schnell, sit at the foundation of a meaningful life.Does your life add up? Do you feel you matter? Do you have a sense of purpose? And do you truly belong to something bigger than yourself?With clips from Dr Pippa Grange on vulnerability and team culture, rapper Aitch on the person who inspires him most, England Rugby League head coach Shaun Wane on finding purpose through adversity, and Dr Rangan Chatterjee on the hidden epidemic of loneliness, Jake and Damian don't just examine the questions — they answer them honestly.Jake opens up about growing up without a clear sense of purpose, the quiet loneliness of chasing success across jobs, and the moment he realised he had no one to call. Damian reflects on what it means for your life to genuinely cohere.Listen to the full episodes of guests featured:Dr Pippa Grange https://pod.fo/e/10bc10Aitch https://pod.fo/e/27ae56Shaun Wane https://pod.fo/e/259c4Dr Rangan Chatterjee https://pod.fo/e/115f19Revolut Business 👉 High-performing businesses need powerful financial tools. Get a £200 welcome bonus with Revolut Business when you sign up at https://revolutbusiness.onelink.me/jLOt/hp-ep2-aud and add money to your account by 30/09/2026. Fees, promotion terms and T&Cs apply.Better Help 👉 Join Jake in Saying It Louder with 10% off Betterhelp Therapy. Click here: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-betterhelp-au Postcode Lottery 👉 Discover how Postcode Lottery players are Powering Hope Together. Click here to find out more: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-postcode-auAG1 👉Head to http://drinkag1.com/highperformance to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit, Vitamin D3 + K2 and five travel packsEight Sleep 👉If you want to discover deeper sleep. Use code HPP to get £360 off your Pod 5 Ultra here: https://highpfrmc.com/eightsleep_auDo Health 👉 Get ahead of your health, don't react to it. Head to https://highpfrmc.com/dohealth-hpp-au to sign up now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy Wilman is back for round two, bringing his signature blunt honesty as the creative force behind Top Gear, The Grand Tour and Clarkson's Farm. Few people in television have built more iconic shows or stayed more allergic to nonsense while doing it.In this episode, Andy dives straight into the chaos of creation, explaining why building something from scratch forges an unbreakable bond that makes walking away almost impossible. He shares his philosophy on embracing the happy accidents of television and why great content must always start with purpose rather than chasing clicks.Andy also opens up about his personal approach to mental health, arguing that therapy should be treated as routine maintenance rather than crisis management. He tackles authenticity and current affairs too, breaking down how Jeremy Clarkson earned the genuine trust of the farming community and why precision was desperately needed in the recent inheritance tax debate.This is a conversation about the creative process, the power of unfiltered honesty and the hidden structures behind some of the biggest shows in the world.The paperback version of Andy's book: 'Mr Wilman's Motoring Adventure' is available to purchase now: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Wilmans-Motoring-Adventure-Clarkson/dp/0241788951?ref_=d6k_applink_bb_dls_failedClarkson's Farm 5 is available to watch on Prime Video now.Revolut Business 👉 High-performing businesses need powerful financial tools. Get a £200 welcome bonus with Revolut Business when you sign up at https://revolutbusiness.onelink.me/jLOt/hp-ep2-aud and add money to your account by 30/09/2026. Fees, promotion terms and T&Cs apply.Better Help 👉 Join Jake in Saying It Louder with 10% off Betterhelp Therapy. Click here: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-betterhelp-au Postcode Lottery 👉 Discover how Postcode Lottery players are Powering Hope Together. Click here to find out more: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-postcode-auEight Sleep 👉 If you want to discover deeper sleep. Use code HPP to get £360 off your Pod 5 Ultra here: https://highpfrmc.com/eightsleep_au Do Health 👉 Get ahead of your health, don't react to it. Head to https://highpfrmc.com/dohealth-hpp-au to sign up nowAG1 👉Head to http://drinkag1.com/highperformance to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit, Vitamin D3 + K2 and five travel packs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, and Peter Crouch between them have won Champions League titles, Premier League medals, over 200 England caps. And yet not one of them ever lifted a major trophy for their country.In this roundtable, three men who were inside the 'Golden Generation' dressing room finally say what went wrong. The media that made players scared to perform. The manager who wouldn't listen. The moment the England coach was asking Beckham for a signed shirt. And why, for most of them, playing for England never felt free.But this isn't just a post-mortem. It's highlights what culture, leadership, and environment actually do to elite performers — and why getting those things wrong can waste a golden generation of talent.Thanks to our partners on this episode:Postcode Lottery 👉 Discover how Postcode Lottery players are Powering Hope Together. Click here to find out more: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-postcode-au Better Help 👉 Join Jake in Saying It Louder with 10% off Betterhelp Therapy. Click here: https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-betterhelp-au AG1 👉Head to http://drinkag1.com/highperformance to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit, Vitamin D3 + K2 and five travel packsDo Health 👉 Get ahead of your health, don't react to it. Head to https://highpfrmc.com/dohealth-hpp-au to sign up now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.