Full episode and Show Notes - www.activeminds.life/podcast My 5th guest on the podcast is the travel adventure journalist and author Joe Minihane. After reading Roger Deakin's seminal book Waterlog, Joe became obsessed with wild swimming, and between 2012 and 2015 decided to retrace Deakins wilds swims around Britain and then write a book detailing his adventures. No mean feat given the fact that he didn’t drive at the time and wasn’t a particularly strong swimmer. In his book, Floating, Joe beautifully details his journey in exploring his own mental health and attempts to find acceptance and peace through the healing properties of nature and wild stretches of water. I’ve a lot of respect for Joe in how publicly open and honest he has been with regards to his own mental health struggles particularly at a time when it wasn’t quite as acceptable or dare I say it trendy. I also respect the fact that he has addressed his mental health issues head on, done the hard work and has the discipline to put into practice the self-care strategy that works for him; cause let’s be honest, despite what a lot of the self-improvement industry might have us believe, there is no silver bullet or quick fixes when it comes managing our various expressions of mental illness. Whether it be anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, eating disorders or drugs or alcohol dependency, It takes a huge amount of work and bravery to explore the root causes and gain the awareness needed to manage and overcome these debilitating illnesses…and despite toddlers, babies, furloughs and pandemic lockdowns, Joe finds himself in a good place and grateful for all he has.

Full episode and Show Notes - www.activeminds.life/podcast My third guest on the podcast is a BAFTA award-winning TV presenter, Sony Award-winning radio DJ a renowned fire chef and best-selling author. Christian Stevenson, AKA DJBBQ, has work alongside the who’s who of the action sports world and documented the industries development over the last 3 decades. Christian’s positive energy and larger than life character has been his greatest asset throughout his career, and through the laws of attraction presented him with countless opportunities, as well as allowing him to adapt and reinvent himself when the times called for it. Behind the larger than life front that has served him so well, lies a sensitive soul and during our interview Christian opens up about his own turbulent childhood, the reality of being a single dad to 3 boys and on how opening up and showing his vulnerability has helped him with navigating life’s ups and downs. Thanks to Martin Fisher for the theme tune, and to my editor Cameron Nesbitt. If you enjoyed the podcast please share and leave a review.