Life Happens is the mental fitness podcast brought to you by 87%, the mental wellbeing platform.
In the series, James Gwinnett, endurance athlete and Marketing Director of 87%, speaks to inspirational people from the worlds of adventure, business, intelligence, sports, the military and more, to get their take on life’s ups and downs, the setbacks they’ve overcome and how they’ve dealt with failure to get to where there are at the pinnacle of their sectors, all with the aim of helping listeners build positive mental health.
Sgt Aaron Quinonez didn’t have your average upbringing. Growing up in a remote part of America, where the growing of marijuana was prolific, he was regularly on the run from the law and was forced to live homeless as a teenager due to his father’s addiction issues.
Joining the Marines straight out of High School, he found the discipline that he had been searching for and passed through the Corps’ brutal training regime, specialising in communication as a forward observer. A tour in Iraq followed.
But in Aaron’s own words, “nothing prepares you for war, apart from war,” and little did he know his real battle would be fought in his mind. After eight years of service, he started getting panic attacks, and suffered from depression, and was diagnosed with PTSD. Medication only served to numb the pain and being forced to pay for his own medical bills left him homeless once more.
Angry and resentful, Aaron was on the verge of suicide when he found solace in the church. He created a process of healing through serving others and this has seen him turn his life around. He is now CEO of a multimillion-dollar business and has founded a non-profit organisation that serves to help other veterans. He received the 2016 Distinguished Service to Veterans Award and the 2018 Superior Award from the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
In this remarkable episode of ‘Life Happens’ Aaron chats to our Marketing Director, James Gwinnett, exploring his troubled past and how he came up with a plan to overcome his anxiety and negative experiences by creating more positive ones. Aaron is also the award-winning author of Healing Thru Service, which takes his learnings and offers help to anyone in crisis.
A powerful advocate of the importance of speaking up about mental health, Aaron is living proof that no matter how low you feel, it is possible to lift yourself back up again.
We hope you enjoy the episode. If you do, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3_epM9brXJny3Hngc8PHA) and share it with your friends as this will help us in our mission to improve the mental fitness of society percent by percent.
'Life Happens' is the podcast that helps you build mental fitness, speaking to inspirational people about life’s ups and downs, how they’ve overcome setbacks and what it means to them to be mentally fit.
28 Sept 2021
'Life Happens' ... with Ruari Fairbairns
As a hyperactive kid growing up on the Isle of Mull, Ruari Fairbairns was misunderstood and branded mischievous and troublesome. Put through counselling from as young as six years old, he then attempted suicide twice in his early teens before finding drugs and alcohol. Fortunately, a sharp entrepreneurial brain saved him from further harm – as he set up multiple companies from the age of 15 onwards – but his toxic relationship with alcohol followed him to London’s binge drinking culture as he worked for 13 years as a broker.
Deciding to take a break, it was during an alcohol-free period that Ruari noticed how his life improved – from becoming fitter, healthier, happier, more productive, to being a better dad and husband, he transformed not just his physical health, but also his mental health.
It became Ruari’s mission to help others who had become disillusioned with alcohol to make the same changes and One Year No Beer was born, a now global platform with 100,000 members in over 130 countries.
In this energetic and honest episode of ‘Life Happens’, James Gwinnett, marketing director of 87%, explores with Ruari how he came to terms with the difficulties of his childhood, how we need to reassociate our relationship with alcohol and how to take on the challenge of taking a break from alcohol without losing something that we cherish as a natural human instinct … our social status.
We hope you enjoy the episode. If you do, please share it with your friends and subscribe to the 87% YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3_epM9brXJny3Hngc8PHA), as this will help us in our mission to improve the mental fitness of society percent by percent.
'Life Happens' is the podcast that helps you build mental fitness, speaking to inspirational people about life’s ups and downs, how they’ve overcome setbacks and what it means to them to be mentally fit.
7 Sept 2021
'Life Happens' ... with Nicky Marshall
In the early 2000s, Nicky Marshall was a successful businesswoman, a mother of four and a lover of adventure. From indoor skydiving to qualifying as a scuba diving instructor, adventure was a huge part of her life.
Transitioning from finance to wellness, in 2010 she embarked on another adventure; one of entrepreneurship. She started a wellness centre, complete with coffee shop for clients to learn about the different therapies on offer, but with this came the early mornings, late nights and stress of covering overheads. As can often happen, stress led to fatigue and a poor diet, which caused her blood pressure and cholesterol to rise significantly over a six-month period.
This ‘perfect storm’ of poor health led to suicidal thoughts and ultimately to Nicky’s body shutting down in the form of a debilitating stroke, which left her temporarily paralysed.
In this episode of ‘Life Happens’ we speak to Nicky about transitioning from being fiercely independent to struggling with negative thoughts that she would have to give up the life of adventure that she had so enjoyed, and the business, which despite causing her stress, was her dream. We chat about her decision to overcome these thoughts and how she found the motivation and strength to bounce back.
We hope you enjoy the episode. If you do, please subscribe to the 87% YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3_epM9brXJny3Hngc8PHA) and share it with your friends as this will help us in our mission to improve the mental fitness of society percent by percent.
'Life Happens' is the podcast that helps you build mental fitness, speaking to inspirational people about life’s ups and downs, how they’ve overcome setbacks and what it means to them to be mentally fit.
Inside a recent episode
'Life Happens' ... with Rupal Patel
Published 12 Apr 2021 · Transcript excerpt
[…] But, you know, I do think that we are all aren't equal and it takes a lot to internalize that, but I also helped myself internalize that by not studying so deeply the people and giving myself reasons to be afraid of them or intimidated by them or feel inferior in any way. […]
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