Episodes

In this episode, my guest is Mark Meier, the executive director at Face It, an organisation set up to help men understand and overcome depression and reduce the rate of male suicide. Mark shares his personal struggle with depression. In 2002, he faced severe depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, leading to hospitalisation. His journey of recovery highlights the importance of seeking help and sharing struggles, even when feeling ashamed or burdened. Mark emphasises the significance of talk...

In this episode, my guest is Mark Bradshaw, who shares his personal journey with gambling addiction. Mark recalls his early exposure to gambling as a child through seaside holidays, and how his love for playing sports later led him to place bets on rugby matches. His introduction to casinos at 18 only exacerbated his addiction, eventually leading him to spend hours daily in high street betting shops. Mark highlights the manipulative strategies of bookmakers and online gambling platforms that ex...

In this episode of Midlife Men, Dave Cohen, comedian, novelist, and comedy writing teacher, discusses his relationship with his parents. His upbringing in a close-knit Jewish community in Leeds, shaped by the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel, lays the groundwork for a complicated familial dynamic. As he navigates adolescent rebellion, moves to London to pursue a comedy career, and challenges his father's firm pro-Israel stance, underlying concerns of family, identity, and mental health...

In this episode of Midlife Men, Nico Morales shares his story of resilience and personal growth, reflecting on his upbringing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He discusses how rejection shaped his early life, particularly when his sister faced a life-threatening situation, leading to feelings of rejection and fear of missing out. As a child, he shuttled between New Mexico and Arizona, highlighting his root issues of rejection and fear. Morales reflects on how early childhood experiences can signific...

Welcome to this episode of Midlife Men with Philip Briscoe, featuring guest James Davis, one half of the Midlife Mentors podcast. James shares insights into navigating midlife challenges, drawing from his personal experiences, including living abroad, going through divorce, and addressing the andropause, sometimes known as the ‘male menopause’. James discusses the origins of Midlife Mentors, stemming from his background in psychology and passion for magazine journalism. He reflects on his journ...

In this episode, Steve introduces F3 (Fitness, Fellowship, Faith), a global movement that originated in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2011. F3 comprises men who meet for outdoor workouts, focusing on camaraderie, fitness, and a sense of purpose beyond oneself. The workouts include boot camp-style exercises and running or rucking sessions, emphasizing pushing each other to improve physically while fostering bonds of fellowship. Steve shares his personal journey into F3, prompted by a friend's per...

In this compelling episode, I am privileged to be joined by Tim and Sue Iorio, who bravely recount the poignant yet ultimately inspiring tale of their son, Nick. Nick was the eldest of three brothers hailing from a Midwestern town in Ohio, a top-class student and athlete, Nick struggled with a mental health disorder, and the only peace he was able to find was through suicide. He died at age twenty. Tim and Sue describe their poignant journey, from the initial signs of Nick's mental health chall...

Shay Doran, a men's coach specialising in helping men overcome sexual performance issues, shares insights into the challenges he faced and how he transformed his life. Initially, on the surface, his life seemed great, but he struggled with a bad relationship with porn and sex, thinking it was normal for every guy. It took years for him to realise the destructive impact on his life. Discussing the escalation of porn usage, Shay highlights how it affects the mind differently from real-life sex....

In this episode, I am joined by Andrea Newton, who is on a mission to provide men with a better understanding of menopause. If, like me, your knowledge is slim and you feel out of your comfort zone anytime the word ‘menopause’ is mentioned, then this episode is for you. With over 30 years’ of experience helping thousands of men and women have important conversations, Andrea’s approach is down-to-earth, and straightforward. This episode will be useful to any man who wants to offer support in a w...

In part II, of this episode, I continue my discussion with Paul Bayliss, who experienced job-related depression when undertaking a massive transformation project for a large public sector organisation. A combination of the demands and high-pressure nature of the role with a toxic working environment and culture proved to be unsustainable. Finally, Paul was diagnosed with depression and signed off work but that was the beginning of another battle to acknowledge the condition and deal with his per...

In this two-part episode, I am joined by Paul (Drew) Bayliss, an accomplished professional with a long and successful career, who shares his experience of job-related depression when he was working for a large public sector organisation in a high-pressure and demanding transformation role. Depression in the workplace is a common issue among professionals, often attributed to long hours, demanding targets, and volatile bosses. Often, it is an organisation’s culture and leadership that creates to...

In this episode, I welcome back Octavian Constantinescu who last time talked about how he was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. This time, he describes his experience of living with anxiety, which he initially mistook as a normal way of living. Octavian constantly felt a sense of dread and had difficulty sleeping due to worries about work and other aspects of life. He compared his anxious thoughts to a repetitive GIF, constantly playing in his mind. Octavian felt incompetent and unable to ask for...

In this episode, we dive into the world of high-pressure careers, particularly in law enforcement, with Richard Podkowski, a seasoned law enforcement professional. He shares his experiences dealing with the constant stress that comes with protecting U.S. Presidents and major security assignments both domestically and abroad. Richard discusses the societal stigma surrounding seeking support for stress-related issues and the evolving landscape of employee assistance programs (EAPs) that have becom...

In this episode, I am joined by Duncan Bhaskaran Brown, coach, speaker, and Morris dancer, who helps people with alcohol dependency issues. He is also an author. His first book ‘Get Over Indulgence’ outlines a simple system to revolutionise your relationship with food, booze, and life. His new book ‘Real Men Quit’ is out in December. Duncan shares his own experiences of battles with addiction, particularly, alcohol including what made him decide to stop and methods he used to lead a more reward...

In this episode, I am joined by Steve Whittle, founder of Tough to Talk, a charity committed to helping business and community leaders reduce male suicide rates by empowering men to speak openly about their struggles. Steve shares his own experiences of suicide behaviours and how this led to him starting Tough to Talk. He addresses the critical issue of suicide prevention, particularly focusing on the alarming statistics related to men. Suicide is described as the number one preventable cause o...

In this episode, I am joined by Jonathan Bogner, executive producer of reality TV & movies, and entrepreneur with multiple businesses. In 2007, life was great for Jonathan, living in Beverly Hills with his wife and children, living his dream job producing movies and had just sold a movie at a major film festival. Life was to change drastically in a moment, forever. Jonathan suffered heart failure, two massive strokes and lost the ability to speak. He survived but unable to talk or write, he lost...

Welcome to the Mid-Life Men podcast. In this episode, I am joined by author Johnnie Lowery, who writes about his passion for football, but also about mental health and the relationship between the two. Johnnie’s first book, Six Added Minutes, was written while he was at university and published in November 2019 and his second book, Match Fit, was published in August 2023, and is inspired by a desire to ensure mental health does not remain a taboo subject in society. Johnnie shares his own mental...

Welcome to the Mid-life Men podcast aiming to break the stigma of men talking about their mental health. In this episode, we’re looking at techniques you can practise for combatting depression. According to some reports, up to 14% of men in the UK experience depression, and I suspect that number's actually a lot higher. This episode is a little different. Instead of the usual interview format, Dave Williams, author, speaker and award-winning coach talks about his own experience with depression f...

In this episode, I talk to Russ Hoadley on corporate burnout, changing career mid-life, and finding your true calling, in his case as a teacher. Russ was working up to 115 hours a week with a demanding job in international finance, spending his life on an aeroplane, resulting in an unsatisfactory work-life balance especially with a young family. After experiencing a near-fatal medical event, he knew his lifestyle needed to change. He talks about how he started to volunteer at his children's sc...

In this episode, we discuss Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with my guest Octavian Constantinescu, who shares his life experiences and how an adult ADHD diagnosis helped him find clarity and focus. To listeners feeling frustrated at work or not meeting their expectations, Octavian advises investing in their mental health. While external factors may be beyond their control, focusing on one's own actions and well-being is imperative. Taking charge of mental health can empower indiv...

In this episode, Tom Mitchelson, the author, speaker, and writer, talks candidly about his experience growing up in a home where his dad's behaviour was at best unpredictable and at worst violent and aggressive, especially towards his mum. He has since published his story in a memoir titled 'Don’t ask me about my dad'. Tom discusses his life from a young boy to adulthood focusing on the impact his dad's actions had on himself and his family both then and now. He explains why he decided to write...

In this episode, Simon Mcmurdy and Gareth Birkett share their experiences as fathers of children with special needs and life-limiting conditions. Simon and Gareth had previously worked together and ran into one other in a hospital corridor, when they recognised they shared a common bond. They share firsthand accounts of the difficulties encountered, first with Simon and his daughter Olivia, and later with Gareth and his son William. The discussion covers all aspects of their experiences, from t...

In this episode, we look at the devastating impact that an addiction to gambling can have on people's lives. We talk to James Grimes, Head of Education at Gambling with Lives, a community of families bereaved by gambling-related suicide that provides support, raises awareness, and campaigns for change. James is also the founder of The Big Step, a campaign to end all gambling advertising and sponsorship in football, led by people harmed by gambling. James had a 12-year gambling addiction and f...

In this episode, I talk 'Bollox' with Daren Elsley, founder of the underwear brand 'Bollox', which aims to raise awareness of men's cancers. After the death of a good friend from cancer, Daren wanted to do something to highlight men's cancers, so he decided to start his own underwear brand. After trying to balance it with a full-time job, he made the leap to devote his time entirely to building the underwear business and creating a brand that helps open up the discussion around men's cancer. ...