The Brave Man Project with Hamish Niven

About The Brave Man Project with Hamish Niven

This is not a podcast about fixing yourself. You are not broken machinery. The Brave Man Project is for the man who is brilliant at his job and dead behind the eyes - the one everyone swears is fine. Raw, unedited conversations with men who wore the mask so long they forgot their own face, and men who took it off and found the world in Technicolour. No formulas. No five-step plans. No burnout experts. Just the truth about what falling cost them, and what it actually took to build something real. The show moves through two lenses. The Mirror reflects the lie you've been telling yourself: "I'm alright, mate." Men who were Captain of the Universe, who loaded bricks onto their backs until the weight turned lethal - the heart attack at thirty-seven, the iron mask worn through a marriage, the three drinks needed to sleep. Then they fell. And they chose to look. Their story is your story, a few years back. And they got out. The Window expands the view. Men who woke up and saw in colour - not because their circumstances changed, but because they did. They don't reflect your collapse. They prove you were never broken to begin with. The Mirror asks, "is this you?" The Window asks, "could this also be you?" Your host, Hamish Niven, spent twenty-five years filming other people's lives while avoiding his own. Professional, reliable, the man who always showed up - all of it a performance. When addiction brought him down, he didn't find recovery. He found the man buried alive under his own competence. He holds the space here the way he wishes someone had held it for him: no judgement, no advice, no applause. This is for the man tired of the noise and the bullshit. The man exhausted from carrying a mask. Whether the universe is currently kicking you into the foetal position, or you're simply sick of the black-and-white grind. The performance is over. The real work starts now.

Publisher

Hamish Niven

Category

education · education · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

13 Jul 2026

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

18 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Oct 2026

   Christopher - What If the Story You Tell Yourself Is a Lie?

   Christopher Folkens spent nine years making Catalyst: seven hard men in one room, every reason to kill each other, and one who asks questions. Sound Bites "Can we not see this? Can we not see how that is who we've become?" "What if our story is the lie?" "Which one of you is the worst of them all?" "Every moment of our lives is either choosing heaven or choosing hell based on what we choose. That's our choice." "That rage can calcify into cancer." "What if the story I've been telling myself is a lie all along?" "We're living to be right about the story we wrote." "Life has a tendency to continue giving us these lessons on a larger and larger scale until we freaking listen." "They wanted to call it Kill the Parasite." "Questions create choices and character is revealed through choices." "It's standing up for something instead of resisting what is." Description Christopher Folkens spent nine years getting his film Catalyst out into the world. Seven men are thrown into one room with every reason to hate each other, and told to kill the parasite. The scenes in that room were structured improvisation, some roles played by non-actors who came from that background. Hamish found the film flicking through Amazon and was up at three in the morning thinking about it. They talk about the story you tell yourself, what being right costs, the title the distributor wanted instead, and why questions create choices. What We Explore The story you've told yourself hundreds of times, and what if it's a lie Being right about the people we hate, and what it costs us and everyone around us Questions create choices: freedom or fear, every morning, at every choice point Mentioned in This Episode Catalyst (2025) — Christopher's film, nine years from first day of shooting to release 12 Angry Men — Catalyst began as a modern reimagining of it; Christopher played the angry juror in the play at school Saw — the films where people are forced to kill; in Catalyst they want to Kill the Parasite — the title the distributor wanted instead of Catalyst The Asset — Christopher's short, an AI sci-fi thriller, premiering at the Beverly Hills Film Festival The Pulse nightclub shooting, Florida — the true story behind the feature he has just finished writing, told through two paramedics who defied orders to save lives Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. — the courage to do different Connect with Christopher Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisfolkens/ (https://www.instagram.com/chrisfolkens/) Website, Mystic Films: https://www.mystic-films.com/ (https://www.mystic-films.com/) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0NAAAoXTWeOHRGRKemzDPg (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0NAAAoXTWeOHRGRKemzDPg) Vimeo, Mystic Films: https://vimeo.com/mysticfilms (https://vimeo.com/mysticfilms) Catalyst trailer: https://youtu.be/cgpZrc7Mx6Y (https://youtu.be/cgpZrc7Mx6Y) Catalyst (2025) on Apple TV: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/catalyst/umc.cmc.529abjfyyogvlqfit2qfxglg6 (https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/catalyst/umc.cmc.529abjfyyogvlqfit2qfxglg6) Catalyst (2025) on Plex: https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/movie/catalyst-2025 (https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/movie/catalyst-2025) A little about Hamish Niven For 25 years, I lived a life that looked successful from the outside. Inside it was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on the fire — addiction, alcohol. I was on a steep path to self-destruct. November 2018. I chose life, and had to change everything. I built The 13th Room because nothing like that existed when I needed it. The Brave Man Project — this podcast. It is about men, but not just for men. Men who broke under the weight of their own performance. Men who rebuilt and climbed so much higher. The 13th Room is a space for the successful man who needs to change and knows it. 13 sessions, you and me. No fixing. Pure witnessing. Starts with a free 20-minute conversation. Podcast website: https://thebravemanproject.com (https://thebravemanproject.com) Hamish's website: https://hamishniven.com (https://hamishniven.com) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven (https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/ (https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven (https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven) Worth ten minutes, a quiet room and a pen: https://hamishniven.com/the-damage-report (https://hamishniven.com/the-damage-report) More on this: Waking Up — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB_WteL8zy1KFp7I9WwQCTgyABavWOrVe (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB_WteL8zy1KFp7I9WwQCTgyABavWOrVe) Before the Crash — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEQxwG7RzDe8 (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEQxwG7RzDe8)

2. 

   6 Oct 2026

   Taylor - I Was a Good Alcoholic With a Great Career

   Taylor Roark was a Wall Street lawyer in New York, Tokyo and London, and at home, a glass of wine became the whole bottle. Then, at 2:30 on New Year's morning, a friend asked: "Hey Taylor, are you okay?" Sound Bites "Let me just have a glass of wine. Well, let me have half a bottle. Well, the bottle's already open. I might as well finish the whole thing." "I can't go save the galaxy. I have chores to do." "Some people, sadly, go to their grave, having refused the call." "I could probably count on one hand, maybe two, the number of people who were legitimately happy and satisfied with what they were doing." "You get golden handcuffs. You're paid well to stay in something that is maybe not very thoughtful and fulfilling." "I wish I had the courage to do what you, what you're doing." "When you're green, you grow, and when you're ripe, you rot." "But from the mindset of somebody who's in pain and struggling, they're a comfort. They're a relief." "Responsibility is simply the ability to respond to whatever's happening." Description Taylor Roark went to law school almost by chance and ended up a Wall Street lawyer in New York, Tokyo and London. In his third year, at a review in Tokyo, a partner told him he was well on his way to partnership. He looked around and could count the happy lawyers on one hand. Today he runs his own business, Galliant Trainings, coaching and facilitating workshops. He talks about refusing the call, the good alcoholic nobody worried about, and the question at a party that he couldn't answer honestly. Chapters 00:00 The Good Alcoholic 03:26 Wrong Turn into Law 09:29 No One To Tell (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg6QDdf7d44&list=PLCndFFMmNzf8) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEQxwG7RzDe8 (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEQxwG7RzDe8) 13:00 Count the Happy Lawyers 15:54 The Trapped Partner 20:11 What am I Chasing? 24:00 Green Grows, Ripe Rots 26:29 The Money Wasn’t Enough (https://hamishniven.com/the-damage-report) https://hamishniven.com/the-damage-report (https://hamishniven.com/the-damage-report) 29:56 Addiction as Comfort (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB_WteL8zy1IMWp1iosQsEc10IGnT2W_M) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB_WteL8zy1IMWp1iosQsEc10IGnT2W_M (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB_WteL8zy1IMWp1iosQsEc10IGnT2W_M) 34:49 Hey Taylor, Are You Okay? (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCndFFMmNzf8) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCndFFMmNzf8 (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCndFFMmNzf8) 42:48 Responsibility as Response 45:49 Spear in the Ground What We Explore Golden handcuffs: well paid, quietly trapped, and not seeing there's a choice The good alcoholic: functioning, successful, and a bottle finished most nights Refusing the call, and the friend who asked "are you okay?" twice Mentioned in This Episode Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces — the step in the hero's journey where the hero refuses the call Star Wars — Luke tells Obi-Wan he can't save the galaxy, he has chores to do Taylor's lat; mentor, who taught him intuition — "when you're green, you grow, and when you're ripe, you rot" Connect with Taylor Website: https://www.galliant.life/ (https://www.galliant.life/) Men's Meditation, Monthly Mondays: https://www.galliant.life/mens-meditation-monthly-mondays (https://www.galliant.life/mens-meditation-monthly-mondays) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetaylorroark/ (https://www.instagram.com/thetaylorroark/) Instagram, Galliant: https://www.instagram.com/galliant.life/ (https://www.instagram.com/galliant.life/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-roark/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-roark/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetaylorroark (https://www.facebook.com/thetaylorroark) A little about Hamish Niven For 25 years, I lived a life that looked successful from the outside. Inside it was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on the fire — addiction, alcohol. I was on a steep path to self-destruct. November 2018. I chose life, and had to change everything. I built The 13th Room because nothing like that existed when I needed it. The Brave Man Project — this podcast. It is about men, but not just for men. Men who broke under the weight of their own performance. Men who rebuilt and climbed so much higher. The 13th Room is a space for the successful man who needs to change and knows it. 13 sessions, you and me. No fixing. Pure witnessing. Starts with a free 20-minute conversation. Podcast website: https://thebravemanproject.com (https://thebravemanproject.com) Hamish's website: https://hamishniven.com (https://hamishniven.com) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven (https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/ (https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven (https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven) Worth ten minutes, a quiet room and a pen: https://hamishniven.com/the-damage-report (https://hamishniven.com/the-damage-report) More on this: I've Earned This — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB_WteL8zy1IMWp1iosQsEc10IGnT2W_M (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB_WteL8zy1IMWp1iosQsEc10IGnT2W_M) No One to Tell — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCndFFMmNzf8 (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCndFFMmNzf8)

3. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Tom - I Was Barely 40, Rich, and Asking Is This All There Is?

   Barely 40 and very well paid, Tom Morgan was sitting on a Manhattan trading floor when his whole being became bathed in love. Then a voice started in his head, and it didn't stop for two years. Sound Bites "I had what I can only describe as a spiritual awakening or psychotic break depending on your biases." "I had this objectively incredibly desirable life. And I was looking around being like, shit, is this all there is?" "Like you're making so much money, you have no transferable skills, just hold on." "Toothpaste comes out of the tube and you can't put it back in again." "We have these 67 year old adolescents running the world who behave like adolescents." "God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience and shouts in our pains." "Don't employ a psychotically depressed life coach, just a piece of advice." "Give me your life and I will give you that salary." "If I had had hope, the dark night wouldn't have been dark." "Your choice isn't no death. Your choice is risking death through the adventure." Description Tom Morgan jumped through every academic hoop, got fired as a football agent, then lucked his way into the City and on to New York. At barely 40 he had the salary, the Manhattan life and the commitments, and a desk in an office where, he says, everyone was pretending to work. Then he started asking whether this was all there is. Today he runs The Leading Edge, a community for people hearing the same call. He talks about why it so often arrives around 36, what happened after the awakening, and why Wall Street never talks about it. What We Explore Rich, successful and asking "is this all there is?", and why it so often arrives around 36 A spiritual awakening on a trading floor, and the two years of hell that came after it The terracotta army: men told there's no second act, and what it takes to leave the Shire Mentioned in This Episode Bill Plotkin — his soul initiations in the wild, and his claim that this crisis is an established time of life Iain McGilchrist's hemisphere theory — it lit Tom up during lockdown, and it is his first theory of the voice C.S. Lewis — "God whispers in our pleasures…", the line Tom reaches for when the body forces the change The Gospel of Thomas — what you bring forth saves you; what you don't destroys you Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth — "spiritual nitroglycerin", and the patient zero of Tom's whole journey Carl Jung — "there's no greater burden a child can bear than the unlived life of the parent" Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari — Tom loved it at the time, and now thinks it is catastrophically wrong The Matrix — for Tom, the best telling of the hero's journey Oldboy — the film he reaches for to describe the first night he felt his son's love Spring 1 from Max Richter's Recomposed — on the beach at Montauk, when he began to feel his boy Moloch — the force Tom felt sitting underneath Wall Street Tim Freke — our guest on episode 4, who told Tom that not everyone makes it out The Leading Edge — Tom's community of 150, and the network of networks he is building Connect with Tom The Leading Edge on Substack: https://newsletter.theleading-edge.org/ (https://newsletter.theleading-edge.org/) X: https://x.com/tomowenmorgan (https://x.com/tomowenmorgan) Tom says he is less active on X than he used to be. Substack is where he writes. A little about Hamish Niven For 25 years, I lived a life that looked successful from the outside. Inside it was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on the fire — addiction, alcohol. I was on a steep path to self-destruct. November 2018. I chose life, and had to change everything. I built The 13th Room because nothing like that existed when I needed it. The Brave Man Project — this podcast. It is about men, but not just for men. Men who broke under the weight of their own performance. Men who rebuilt and climbed so much higher. The 13th Room is a space for the successful man who needs to change and knows it. 13 sessions, you and me. No fixing. Pure witnessing. Starts with a free 20-minute conversation. Podcast website: https://thebravemanproject.com (https://thebravemanproject.com) Hamish's website: https://hamishniven.com (https://hamishniven.com) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven (https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/ (https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven (https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven)

4. 

   23 Sept 2026

   David - He Says It's Not Safe, And It's For Him To Decide

   David Chambers asks a head of risk what he does, and the man sits up and talks with total confidence. Then David asks about his relationship, and the chair rolls back. Sound Bites "It's decided by the person often who is speaking, who lacks safety." "We call them vulnerabilities to the system because it's how the system can be hacked." "Most men don't know that they don't feel safe." "There's a sinking, there's a backing away, the chair rolls back." "Confidence isn't always transferable between different areas of our lives." "The resentment is like the poison of relationships." "You need to ignore the financial load. Ignore it." "The other men just look at us with care and nod and go, yeah, I do that too, actually." David Chambers spent 16 years testing software, where a weakness in a system has a name. It's called a vulnerability, because it's how the system gets hacked. Most men, he says, learned the same lesson about themselves long before they had words for it. Today he coaches men on love, dating and relationships. He talks about why a man who runs a room at work goes quiet at home, why the money is a smaller share of the household load than men think, and why a safe space isn't decided by the person offering it. What We Explore Why a man who is sharp and direct at work freezes when she asks where this is going Being told your feelings don't matter since the playground, then asked to speak them fluently in your thirties The household load men don't see, and a monthly check-in that stops resentment setting in Connect with David Website: https://www.theauthenticman.net/ (https://www.theauthenticman.net/) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theauthenticman_/ (https://www.instagram.com/theauthenticman_/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IAmTheAuthenticMan (https://www.facebook.com/IAmTheAuthenticMan) X: https://twitter.com/iamauthenticman (https://twitter.com/iamauthenticman) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAuthenticMan (https://www.youtube.com/@TheAuthenticMan) The Authentic Man podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1447910686 (https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1447910686) The Authentic Man podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/64n26CAX3FIhJj7aMR2CO6 (https://open.spotify.com/show/64n26CAX3FIhJj7aMR2CO6) A little about Hamish Niven For 25 years, I lived a life that looked successful from the outside. Inside it was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on the fire — addiction, alcohol. I was on a steep path to self-destruct. November 2018. I chose life, and had to change everything. I built The 13th Room because nothing like that existed when I needed it. The Brave Man Project — this podcast. It is about men, but not just for men. Men who broke under the weight of their own performance. Men who rebuilt and climbed so much higher. The 13th Room is a space for the successful man who needs to change and knows it. 13 sessions, you and me. No fixing. Pure witnessing. Starts with a free 20-minute conversation. Podcast website: https://thebravemanproject.com (https://thebravemanproject.com) Hamish's website: https://hamishniven.com (https://hamishniven.com) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven (https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/ (https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven (https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven)

5. 

   15 Sept 2026

   Azul - A Boy At The Book Fair Gave Me Back My Own Advice

   A boy setting out his classmates' books asks his teacher where his own book is. Azul Terronez nearly lies, then admits he's afraid, and the boy hands him back his own advice. Sound Bites "Hiding from yourself is the game." "Well, you tell us, it's okay to be afraid to just do it anyways." "It had taken me 24 years and 30 days to write that book." "He was loving the identity he had created more than the person." "Great teachers are the ones who are listening to the young people." "Everybody likes to read about it, but nobody wants to go through it." Azul Terronez spent his adult life playing the perfect straight man. Eagle Scout, husband, father of two, school principal. At 19 he had lost the man he loved to suicide, and he locked the whole thing away. Nearly 40, he finally said three words to himself in the mirror. What followed rearranged his marriage, his family and his work. Today he coaches authors through Authors Who Lead, and says children taught him most of what he knows. What We Explore Pretending to other people, pretending to yourself, and which one does the real damage What happens to grief, guilt and creativity when they sit locked in a box for 25 years A question from a boy, a book written in 30 days, and a life built without a plan Mentioned in This Episode Art of Apprenticeship — Azul's first book, written in 30 days, about learning from a mentor by serving them Born to Write, Scared to Start — Azul's free audio series on his website, on finding the confidence to start Connect with Azul Website, and the free audio series Born to Write, Scared to Start: https://authorswholead.com/ (https://authorswholead.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azul-terronez/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/azul-terronez/) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorswholead/ (https://www.instagram.com/authorswholead/) Authors Who Lead podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Qm8I3UO8FEoSh6xaElOFR (https://open.spotify.com/show/3Qm8I3UO8FEoSh6xaElOFR) on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/authors-who-lead-learn-to-write-a-book-from/id1303212874 (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/authors-who-lead-learn-to-write-a-book-from/id1303212874) A little about Hamish Niven For 25 years, I lived a life that looked successful from the outside. Inside it was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on the fire — addiction, alcohol. I was on a steep path to self-destruct. November 2018. I chose life, and had to change everything. I built The 13th Room because nothing like that existed when I needed it. The Brave Man Project — this podcast. It is about men, but not just for men. Men who broke under the weight of their own performance. Men who rebuilt and climbed so much higher. The 13th Room is a space for the successful man who needs to change and knows it. 13 sessions, you and me. No fixing. Pure witnessing. Starts with a free 20-minute conversation. Podcast website: https://thebravemanproject.com (https://thebravemanproject.com) Hamish's website: https://hamishniven.com (https://hamishniven.com) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven (https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/ (https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven (https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven)

6. 

   8 Sept 2026

   Corey - Children Are Wet Concrete And Everyone Leaves A Footprint

   Corey's psychologist gave him a picture for his childhood: wet concrete, and everyone who walked past pressing in a footprint that set hard and stayed. He coaches boys' football now, and he reckons that if he can pull one footprint back out over a six-month season, that is a win. Sound Bites "When you're young, you're like wet concrete, and you had all these people footing footprints in you that were permanent" "If I'm a good boy, if I'm well behaved, then I can create safety in my own environment" "I really feel like my son has evolved beyond me in a lot of ways." "It's not my aspiration to be looked up to." "I wish you could see what I see in you." "Boys who don't have male role models have to find their own way" "My book is unintentionally helping men realise what their emotions are" Description Corey Gaidzionis grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney, the oldest son in a house where his parents would not speak to each other. He carried the messages between them. Years later, his psychologist gave him the picture for it — a child is wet concrete, and everyone who walks past leaves a footprint that sets hard. He coaches boys' football in Western Australia. He wrote a children's book about emotions. It started with a post-it note he put under his pillow every night for a month. He will tell you the football was never really about football. What We Explore Wet concrete and permanent footprints, and whether you can ever pull one back out What a boy takes on when there is no man in the house, and the head-butting when the man comes home Six months with a boy on a football pitch against four days in the bush, and which one actually changes him Mentioned in This Episode The Little Book of Big Emotions - Corey's children's book. Characters for each emotion, space for the child to write, cognitive behaviour therapy underneath it. It fell out of him in a day after a month of post-it notes. Cognitive behaviour therapy - the framework sitting under the book's characters. The manosphere - what a boy often finds when there is no man to look up to. Connect with Corey Gaidzionis Website: https://bigemotionsacademy.com (https://bigemotionsacademy.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-gaidzionis/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-gaidzionis/) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigemotionsacademy/ (https://www.instagram.com/bigemotionsacademy/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coreyg76 (https://www.facebook.com/coreyg76) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@coreygaidzionis (https://www.tiktok.com/@coreygaidzionis) The Little Book of Big Emotions can be ordered through his website. A little about Hamish Niven For 25 years, I lived a life that looked successful from the outside. Inside it was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on the fire — addiction, alcohol. I was on a steep path to self-destruct. November 2018. I chose life, and had to change everything. I built The 13th Room because nothing like that existed when I needed it. The Brave Man Project — this podcast. It is about men, but not just for men. Men who broke under the weight of their own performance. Men who rebuilt and climbed so much higher. The 13th Room is a space for the successful man who needs to change and knows it. 13 sessions, you and me. No fixing. Pure witnessing. Starts with a free 20-minute conversation. Podcast website: https://thebravemanproject.com (https://thebravemanproject.com) Hamish's website: https://hamishniven.com (https://hamishniven.com) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven (https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/ (https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven (https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven)

7. 

   1 Sept 2026

   Cliff– Every Box On Her diagnosis Form, I Ticked for Myself - The Brave Man Project

   Cliff sat with his daughter, working through the tick boxes on her assessment form. She's that, so am I. She's that, so am I. He booked his own assessment not long after. Sound Bites - "It's like being in an aeroplane. If the masks come down, you put it over yourself first, then you help your child." - "If you can learn to self-regulate, you can then lend your nervous system to your child." - "So we're going to put some drugs into your daughter that could be dangerous for your heart. Okay. There's got to be different ways." - "We're going through all these tick boxes, ticking all the same boxes." - "Once you've got your diagnosis, you're like, I don't even know who I am anymore." - "I would always make sure I brought a football because if you get to school and nobody's got a ball, we're like, my God, how am going to get through?" - "I'm drinking and that's probably the only time I was unmasking because I was numbing the worries, the anxiety." - "It got to a point where I really liked the naughty step because it's quiet." Cliff's daughter used to turn a big yellow builder's bucket upside down and sit inside it with her toys. It took two other parents at the school gate, a teacher, and a waiting room full of toddlers before anyone worked out why. Somewhere in the middle of filling in her assessment forms, Cliff started answering for himself. He was diagnosed with ADHD last year. He now runs the podcast Parenting, Autism and ADHD, which his daughter appears on, and is working towards ADHD coaching certifications. Mentioned in This Episode Snapdragons — the assessment service where Cliff sat in the waiting room, saw toddlers being assessed, and realised how much time they had lost waiting Paul McKenna — the technique Cliff uses of changing the voice of the inner critic into a cartoon voice so it stops sounding vicious Eckhart Tolle — the silent observer practice Cliff uses to break hyperfocus when his daughter needs him Connect with Cliff Parenting, Autism and ADHD on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ParentingAutismandADHD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cliff_kilmister08 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cliff.kilmister X: https://x.com/KilmisterCliff LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliff-kilmister-420a07bb Work with Cliff — anxiety support, founding members offer, message him here: https://m.me/cliff.kilmister A little about Hamish Niven For 25 years, I lived a life that looked successful from the outside. Inside it was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on the fire — addiction, alcohol. I was on a steep path to self-destruct. November 2018. I chose life, and had to change everything. I built The 13th Room because nothing like that existed when I needed it. The Brave Man Project — this podcast. It is about men, but not just for men. Men who broke under the weight of their own performance. Men who rebuilt and climbed so much higher. The 13th Room is a space for the successful man who needs to change and knows it. 13 sessions, you and me. No fixing. Pure witnessing. Starts with a free 20-minute conversation. Podcast website: https://thebravemanproject.com Hamish's website: https://hamishniven.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven

8. 

   25 Aug 2026

   Ivan - Every Angry Man I Turned Away Made Me A Wiser One

   Half three in the morning, fifteen years into working nightclub doors, Ivan stopped saying "members only" and told an angry man the truth instead. He says it landed like a punch in the face — and the bloke came back a fortnight later and shook his hand. Sound Bites "Tough guys don't like to be bullshitted to." "Because they respected that I was upfront, I was honest, and I told them the truth about why I'm not letting them in." "When you explain to them the reasons why before they ask, you'll get much further with people." "If you're not willing to face anyone, you're no good to me." "I therapise in class." "I'm just helping you open doors within your own mind to explore places that you might not have looked." "We've got a pharmacy of emotions and feelings." "You're enough, but you've just forgotten it." Ivan Rakitic was eighteen and working backstage when Billy Joel drove through the gate and waved at him. That settled it — thirty-six years in security followed, fifteen of them on nightclub doors. One morning after a bad shift, he sat down and asked himself why he turned men away at all, then rewrote what he said to every one of them. What the door taught him — that no man does what he is told until he is told why — is what he works with now as a therapist, and on the mats teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. What We Explore Why "members only" starts a fight and "mate, you look like you're angry" ends one What fifteen years of reading angry men at 3am gave him that no training course could Therapising in the dojo — an eighth-degree black belt who will not teach you to hurt anyone Mentioned in This Episode Billy Joel — Ivan was eighteen, backstage, when Joel drove through the gate and waved at him. That was the moment security work won him over. Cus D'Amato and the book about Mike Tyson's life, written with the men who trained him, told Ivan that D'Amato took his fighters to a hypnotherapist. That single detail set him off down the path that became his second career. Dr Bob Johnson — UK psychiatrist who worked at Parkhurst prison with men who had done serious harm. Now 89 and retired, he and Ivan still speak every month. Sugar Ray Robinson — nicknamed Sugar because he was so sweet. Ivan points people to the documentary Pound for Pound. Connect with Ivan Rakitic Free strategy call with Ivan: https://calendly.com/ivanrakitic2069/free_strategy_call_with_ivan_rakitic Website: https://ivanrakitictherapy.com.au/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivanrakitictherapy/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ivan.rakitic.802297 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ivan_rakitic_mens_therap A little about Hamish Niven For 25 years, I lived a life that looked successful from the outside. Inside it was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on the fire — addiction, alcohol. I was on a steep path to self-destruct. November 2018. I chose life, and had to change everything. I built The 13th Room because nothing like that existed when I needed it. The Brave Man Project - this podcast. It is about men, but not just for men. Men who broke under the weight of their own performance. Men who rebuilt and climbed so much higher. The 13th Room is a space for the successful man who needs to change and knows it. 13 sessions, you and me. No fixing. Pure witnessing. Starts with a free 20-minute conversation. Podcast website: https://thebravemanproject.com Hamish's website: https://hamishniven.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven

9. 

   18 Aug 2026

   Hubert - Only Zero or One There's No In-Between in an Autistic Brain

   They call it high-functioning. It just means you can't see the cost. He's had some days when he couldn't speak at all, and his mother sat beside him reading Nietzsche aloud until something switched back on. This is a conversation about what it costs to look like you are coping. Sound Bites "There is a physical sensation of discomfort when I lie. I feel physically sick." "What a high functioning autist is, is someone who's just as autistic as every other autist, but someone who can hide it more for the benefit of neurotypical people." "We can pay the ultimate price for fitting in apparently so well, when actually inside we're feeling absolutely out of sync with the rest of society." "It's like a computer that's overheating, the mouse thing starts to jump from place to place, and suddenly it's not moving at all. That's autism for you." "Veracity is the need for truth, order, and things making sense." "We're not a mistake. We're meant to be here. We're doing our job." Hubert found out he was autistic at forty-two. He calls his lot the lost generation — men who got through school, work and relationships playing a game nobody gave them the rules to. He has been a European Parliament intern, an award-winning entrepreneur and a van man. He has also spent days unable to speak, his mother sitting beside him reading Nietzsche aloud until something switched back on. This is a conversation about what it costs to look like you are coping. What We Explore Why a white lie causes physical pain, and what that does to small talk, work and friendship "High functioning" — what the label hides, and who it is actually for The bridge between neurotypical and neurodivergent minds, and why Hubert thinks everything ahead of us gets built on it Mentioned in This Episode Quinn, and the Autistamatic YouTube channel — where Hubert takes the idea of veracity, which he uses to hold truth, order and physical discomfort in one word Nikki Stevenson, writing in The Guardian in 2015 — called prejudice against neurodiverse people the last great prejudice Nikola Tesla — died penniless, and is Hubert's example of what a society wastes when it will not accommodate the people it depends on Star Trek — the version of a future human he was drawn to as a child and still is Elon Musk'sremark that nobody who spent an hour in his head would want anything he has Connect with Hubert Hubert is not on social media. He can be contacted through me via this email address: hamish@thebravemanproject.com The autism education channels Hubert recommends: Autistamatic: https://www.youtube.com/@Autistamatic Autistic AF: https://www.youtube.com/@Autistic_AF That Autistic Guy: https://www.youtube.com/@orionkelly A little about Hamish Niven For 25 years, I lived a life that looked successful from the outside. Inside it was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on the fire — addiction, alcohol. I was on a steep path to self-destruct. November 2018. I chose life, and had to change everything. I built The 13th Room because nothing like that existed when I needed it. The Brave Man Project - this podcast. It is about men, but not just for men. Men who broke under the weight of their own performance. Men who rebuilt and climbed so much higher. The 13th Room is a space for the successful man who needs to change and knows it. 13 sessions, you and me. No fixing. Pure witnessing. Starts with a free 20-minute conversation. Podcast website: https://thebravemanproject.com Hamish's website: https://hamishniven.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven

10. 

    11 Aug 2026

    Pasco – I Went to Mexico to Expose Corruption and Came Back to Fix Myself

    Pasco – I Went to Mexico to Expose Corruption and Came Back to Fix Myself Pasco sold everything, flew to Central America with a backpack full of camera kit, and set out to break a corruption story that would make his name. Somewhere in Mexico, he realised the story was about him — and that shaming people changes nothing. Sound Bites "I was reliant on weed to relax me. I was reliant on it to go to sleep. I was reliant on it to come down off an energetic day." "the more I do this work of practicing self-reflection and witnessing others, I realised the more it is all about the stories we tell ourselves, our identity, who we are is made up of these stories" "the sustainable change is the slow one, it's the hard graft, it's the individual, it's never gonna be these big, big changes" "In fact, I've not been in a Men's Circle where a man has decided not to share." Pasco Ashton 6 men on Hackney Downs, sitting on the grass through the summer of 2020 because it was the only place they were allowed to meet. Pasco had been to one men's circle, liked what it did for him, and asked his mates if they were up for it. They said yes. 4 ½ years later, there are now 55 trained facilitators, running Circles across Europe, 1 Circle in the USA and 1 on the way in Asia. Ashton got there the long way around; ecology, photography, Al Jazeera, chasing a career of service he couldn't quite name. 2 close friends took their own lives. He was smoking weed every day to get to sleep. And the big-systems change he'd spent his twenties mapping turned out, in the end, to run through one man at a time. What We Explore Losing two friends to suicide, and the internal loneliness of being a man with no one to talk to. The "cheeky" joint, the "social" cigarette — the small words we use to shrink our own behaviour Why macro-scale greed and power struggles are just someone's internal fear, scaled up What actually makes a room psychologically safe, and why "safe space" has stopped meaning anything Rejecting money for four years, then realising it's the water of the system and just needs to flow Mentioned in This Episode No More Mr. Nice Guy — the classic men's workbook where a lot of men first find the words "Men's Circle" Vice and Al Jazeera — where he worked as a journalist before walking away from that path Mexico — the assignment where he realised blaming and shaming doesn't create sustainable change His Dads' Club in Sheffield. Where 350 local dads joined, inside a year Connect with Pasco Free trial: four circles, no cost, no obligation — and the circles are the core of it. Members also get the two annual UK hikes and ad hoc London events. Pasco's note on finding them: just search "Men's Circle" and they're there. Website: https://menscircle.club/ (https://menscircle.club/) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menscircle.club/ (https://www.instagram.com/menscircle.club/) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@menscircle_club (https://www.youtube.com/@menscircle_club) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@menscircle.club (https://www.tiktok.com/@menscircle.club) LinkedIn – Pasco: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pasco/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pasco/) LinkedIn – Men's Circle: https://www.linkedin.com/company/menscircle/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/menscircle/) A little about Hamish Niven For 25 years, I lived a life that looked successful from the outside. Inside it was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on the fire — addiction, alcohol. I was on a steep path to self-destruct. November 2018. I chose life, and had to change everything. I built The 13th Room because nothing like that existed when I needed it. The Brave Man Project — this podcast. It is about men, but not just for men. Men who broke under the weight of their own performance. Men who rebuilt and climbed so much higher. The 13th Room is a space for the successful man who needs to change and knows it. 13 sessions, you and me. No fixing. Pure witnessing. Starts with a free 20-minute conversation. Podcast website: https://thebravemanproject.com (https://thebravemanproject.com/) Hamish's website: https://hamishniven.com (https://hamishniven.com/) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven (https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/ (https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven (https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven)

11. 

    4 Aug 2026

    Matt - Six Years Sober and Still Not Settling for Average

    Matt Evans — Six Years Sober and Still Not Settling for Average There's a photograph of Matt taken a few weeks before his arrest. He's in the kitchen with his kids. He is smiling. You can see it is half-arsed. 6 years later, he has built a life the old him could not have imagined, and he still refuses to call it finished. Sound Bites "I was literally in the shadow of myself going, I should be more." "It's soul-destroying, mate. It's Jekyll and Hyde in your own brain." "I don't want to ever settle for average, and I don't want her to settle for average." "Sometimes burning stuff to the ground and rebuilding it can be the most perfect option." Matt Evans spent years being the man everyone came to when something needed fixing. Life and soul of the party. Always happy. When it all came apart, the guys who worked for him said the same thing — we would never have known. Six years sober now, and the difference is not that he stopped drinking. It is that he stopped performing. This conversation is about what comes after. Rebuilding trust with a wife who had heard the promises before. Writing down who you are on purpose, because the old story was written for you. And refusing, point blank, to settle for an average marriage, an average life, an average anything. What We Explore Why white-knuckling isn't sobriety, and what "eyes wide open" actually costs Cognitive dissonance; screaming inside while telling the world you're fine Rebuilding trust when your word already has a track record, and why "just because I said it" changed nothing Identity as a conscious choice — declarations, not affirmations, and clearing the old judgement first Growing up with no masculine role model, and what his daughter absorbed about who pays the bill Burning down a charity event five months out and rebuilding it from nothing Mentioned in This Episode The Ultimate Coach — the book about Steve Hardison that Matt credits with shifting his life more than getting sober did. Les Brown — the quote Matt leaned on in early sobriety "Find someone to believe in you when you find it hard to believe in yourself" Connect with Matt Matt's coaching lives on LinkedIn. Facebook and Instagram are just his life, as he put it, "they're not like my coaching world, they're just me." Linktree: linktr.ee/mattevansdfc (https://linktr.ee/mattevansdfc) LinkedIn: mattevansdfc (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattevansdfc/) Facebook: matt.evans.3517563 (https://www.facebook.com/matt.evans.3517563) Instagram: @matt_lovin_life (https://www.instagram.com/matt_lovin_life/) Website: differentfocus.co.uk (http://differentfocus.co.uk/) A little about Hamish Niven For 25 years, I lived a life that looked successful from the outside. Inside it was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on the fire — addiction, alcohol. I was on a steep path to self-destruct. November 2018. I chose life, and had to change everything. I built The 13th Room because nothing like that existed when I needed it. The Brave Man Project — this podcast. It is about men, but not just for men. Men who broke under the weight of their own performance. Men who rebuilt and climbed so much higher. The 13th Room is a space for the successful man who needs to change and knows it. 13 sessions, you and me. No fixing. Pure witnessing. Starts with a free 20-minute conversation. Podcast website: thebravemanproject.com (http://thebravemanproject.com/) Hamish's website: hamishniven.com (http://hamishniven.com/) YouTube: @TheBraveManProject (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject) LinkedIn: hamishniven (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/) TikTok: @hamish.niven (https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven) Instagram: @hamishniven (https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/) Facebook: facebook.com/hamishniven (https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven)

12. 

    28 Jul 2026

    Do you know any stories about Ugly Princesses?

    Do you know any fairy tales about ugly princesses? A 14-year-old girl in the burns unit, scarred for life, asks Kasper for a story about an ugly princess. He didn't know one. So he made one up on the spot — and kept going back for sixteen years. "Stories convey more than numbers." "Speak your truth, keep it real." Kasper Sørensen is a Danish storyteller who works in hospitals, sitting with children who are seriously ill and sometimes dying. He started at eighteen, scared of thirty kids in a kindergarten, and found that a story was the only thing that worked. What began there became a vocation built on truth, presence and the willingness to stay in the room. What we explore: What storytelling actually does in a hospital ward — and why it isn't a distraction from the hard stuff The girl in the burns unit, and answering a 15-year-old's question about what comes after death Why truth is non-negotiable: kids know instantly when you're performing What children facing death say about how to live — and how consistently they say the same thing Holding it together and letting it go: what Kasper does after an afternoon in intensive care Connect with Kasper: A little about Hamish I spent 25 years building a life that looked successful from the outside, but within, it was the opposite. Everything was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on that fire. The joy of life had fallen away. Late November 2018, I had to make a choice: live or die. I chose to live, and everything changed. I had to confront the pain I was carrying, look at the stories, and change. I built The Brave Man Project because there was nothing like this when I needed it. Podcast website https://thebravemanproject.com/ (https://thebravemanproject.com/) Hamish's website https://hamishniven.com/ (https://hamishniven.com/) YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject) LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/) TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven (https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven) Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/ (https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/) Personal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven (https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven) SEO Title: Kasper Sørensen on Hospital Storytelling, Truth and Dying Children | The Brave Man Project SEO Description: Danish storyteller Kasper Sørensen on 16 years telling stories to seriously ill children, and what they taught him about living.

13. 

    21 Jul 2026

    Fuck Suicide, lets Make Guacamole

    Four suicide attempts. A father with schizophrenia. And the avocado that saved his life. "Stop carrying masks — be comfortable with being naked." "The only way to get rid of the chatter is to listen to it." Gareth Stubbs grew up around suicide and mental illness before he had words for either. By eighteen he'd made his first attempt. Two more followed. Today he lives in southern Spain, running retreats and teaching what he calls the Avocado Philosophy — a blunt, often funny look at what's really underneath the mask. What we explore: Growing up around schizophrenia and suicide, and what it did and didn't teach him about mental health The masks we wear to survive trauma, and why dropping them feels like being "naked" Humour as a coping mechanism — and where it stops working The Avocado Philosophy: what's actually underneath when you cut yourself open Building a new life and a retreat business in Spain after three suicide attempts Connect with Gareth: Facebook Community – Our Space to Talk: facebook.com/groups/ourspacetotalk (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourspacetotalk) Instagram: @theavocadophilosophy (https://www.facebook.com/theavocadophilosophy) Personal Facebook: facebook.com/gareth.stubbs2 (https://www.facebook.com/gareth.stubbs2) Website: theavocadophilosophy.com (http://www.theavocadophilosophy.com/) A little about Hamish I spent 25 years building a life that looked successful from the outside, but within, it was the opposite. Everything was falling apart, and I was throwing fuel on that fire. The joy of life had fallen away. Late November 2018. I had to make a choice: live or die. I chose to live, and everything changed. I had to confront the pain I was carrying, look at the stories, and change. I built The Brave Man Project because there was nothing like this when I needed it. Podcast website: thebravemanproject.com (https://thebravemanproject.com/) Hamish's website: hamishniven.com (https://hamishniven.com/) YouTube: @TheBraveManProject (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraveManProject) LinkedIn: hamishniven (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishniven/) TikTok: @hamish.niven (https://www.tiktok.com/@hamish.niven) Instagram: @hamishniven (https://www.instagram.com/hamishniven/) Facebook: facebook.com/hamishniven (https://www.facebook.com/hamishniven)

14. 

    14 Jul 2026

    I woke up as a ticking clock, not as a ticking bomb

    Joe Henderson was a police officer in Brisbane when his best mate Dan rang him to share the one thing he'd always wanted: he was going to be a dad. Thirty seconds later, Joe heard "Oh fu—" and the line went dead. Dan was killed on his police bike while they were still connected. In the years after, Joe carried a guilt so sharp it felt like his own body had betrayed him: If I had not been talking to him, would he still be here? Did I distract him? He carried the shame of not even remembering his own fist flying at his sergeant when the news came. And he carried the weight of an identity that says a real man does not put the load down — until a heart attack at thirty-seven, a PTSD diagnosis, and open heart surgery forced him to wake up as a ticking clock instead of a ticking bomb. In this conversation, Joe talks about the identity men build around being unbreakable, the moment his son asked "Dad, why are you so angry?" and why the only way back was to stand in front of a mirror and strip the facade bare. We talk about guilt, fatherhood, the lie that medication is the only map, and how a father can teach his sons to bounce back by letting them see him fall. Joe now works with men and fathers through Lead Don't Blame. What we explore: The identity men inherit: unbreakable, unfeeling, and alone — and what happens when the body refuses to play the part anymore How one phone call can rewrite a life, and the guilt and shame that follow when a man thinks he caused his best mate's death Why the hardest mirror work is not looking at your face, but staring into your own eyes until the facade falls What fathers actually teach their sons when they stop protecting them from the truth and start showing them how to bounce back Connect with Joe: Website: joe-betterdad.com (joe-betterdad.com) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/leaddontblame (https://www.linkedin.com/in/leaddontblame) Facebook: facebook.com/leaddontblame (https://www.facebook.com/leaddontblame/) Instagram: @leaddontblame (https://www.instagram.com/leaddontblame/)

15. 

    14 Jul 2026

    "I'm all right mate." The lie every man has told

    John Milham grew up in Australia, met his childhood sweetheart at sixteen, and built a life that looked successful from the outside. Then his wife was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer. Twelve months later, she was gone — and John discovered that the man he thought he was had disappeared with her. In this conversation, John speaks about the collapse of identity that comes with profound grief, the moment his wife thanked him on a sunny walk that became the most transformative moment of his life, and why he had to leave a high-powered corporate career to save what was left of his soul. We talk about complicated grief, the coffee-shop revelation that other humans were actually talking about feelings, and why the only person who could heal him was himself. John now runs Kintsugi Heroes (https://kintsugiheroes.com.au/), named after the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold — because the breaks are what make it beautiful. What we explore: The collapse of the performance most of us live behind when grief strips away every label that made you feel safe Why the Dark Night of the Soul isn't pathology — it's the only door to becoming the man you want to be How thirty years of armour cracked in a single moment of grace on a sunny afternoon Why systems fail broken men, and why community is the only map that matters Connect with John: Website: kintsugiheroes.com.au (https://kintsugiheroes.com.au/) Instagram: @kintsugi.heroes (https://www.instagram.com/kintsugi.heroes/) LinkedIn: Kintsugi Heroes (https://www.linkedin.com/company/kintsugi-heroes/) YouTube: Kintsugi Heroes (https://www.youtube.com/@kintsugiheroes/featured) Facebook: facebook.com/kintsugiheroes (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084850387170)

16. 

    14 Jul 2026

    And Everything Goes From Black and White to Colour

    Tim Freke has spent a lifetime exploring the edge where philosophy meets mysticism. He published 35 books. He built a global following. Then he did something most men never dare: he admitted the central thesis running through 34 of those books no longer held, and he burned it down to start again. In this conversation, Tim opens a window onto the biggest questions — why are we here, what is consciousness, and what does it mean to become the man you are capable of being? He recalls his first "technicolor" spiritual awakening at age twelve, the long retreats that shaped him while other men were chasing careers, and why he believes the universe isn't something we fell from but something we are growing into. We talk about the courage to be wrong, the wisdom of stopping when the inner voice says stop, and why a man's real strength isn't domination but self-taming — the ability to reflect before reacting, and to choose a life seen in colour over one sleepwalked in black and white. Tim is the philosopher behind the Podbook Why Your Life Really Matters, host of The Unividuals Podcast, and founder of the Univigil community. He runs Soul to Soul experiential events from his home in Glastonbury. What we explore: The identity trap of needing to be right, and the courage required to dismantle your own life's work when truth demands it Why spiritual awakening isn't escape or weakness — it's choosing to see the world in colour instead of sleepwalking through it Taming the instinctual self: not meekness, but the hard-won strength to reflect before reacting Soul-to-soul connection as the most radical act a man can offer in a world trained in distraction Connect with Tim: Podbook & Podcast: youtube.com/timfreke (https://www.youtube.com/timfreke) Website & Events: timfreke.com (https://timfreke.com/) Substack: timfreke.substack.com (https://timfreke.substack.com/) Instagram: @timfreke (https://www.instagram.com/timfreke/) Facebook: facebook.com/TimFreke (https://www.facebook.com/TimFreke/) X: @timfreke (https://x.com/timfreke)

17. 

    14 Jul 2026

    He laughed so loud the nurses came to check, he just lost his leg

    Al Richards had the career, the house, the marriage, and a weekend cocaine habit that kept everything numb. In 2009 a failed drug test ended his 24-year career and forced him to look in the mirror. What stared back was a liar and a manipulator — and a man who decided to change. He got sober, got fit, and fought for his marriage as his wife fell into alcoholism. They lost the house. She died on the streets last year. Then his leg turned black. A procedure to fix a hiking injury went wrong, leaving him with "trash foot" — a dying limb and a doctor saying, "You have two hours. We can amputate tomorrow, or you can go home and watch your foot die." Al chose the surgery. He woke up with no leg below the knee — and a freedom he had not expected. Now 62, living simply in a camping trailer, Al is an Internationally Certified Crisis & Recovery Coach, host of The Other Side of Addiction (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-side-of-addiction/id1834514954) podcast — "The World's Best Resource for Understanding Addiction on Both Sides" — and founder of Through the Storm. He still greets his reflection every morning with gratitude, feels his "ghost toes" wiggle, and believes the only way through the storm is to walk straight into it — like the bison. What we explore: The identity men build around work, marriage, and material success — and who is left when all of it is stripped away The two-hour decision: why Al chose to lose the leg rather than keep dying piece by piece The morning mirror ritual that rewires a man's relationship with himself when the world says he should be broken Walking into the storm: how the bison became Al's guide for men who refuse to be victims anymore Connect with Al: Podcast: The Other Side of Addiction (Apple) (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-side-of-addiction/id1834514954) YouTube: The Other Side of Addiction (https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOtherSideofAddiction) Instagram: @mralrichards (https://www.instagram.com/mralrichards/) TikTok: @alrichards780 (https://www.tiktok.com/@alrichards780) LinkedIn: Al Richards (https://www.linkedin.com/in/al-richards-16633033/) Facebook: Al Richards (https://www.facebook.com/al.richards.921)

18. 

    13 Jul 2026

    Brave Man Project : The Launch Teaser

    The Brave Man Project - Launch Teaser This is not a podcast about fixing yourself. The Brave Man Project is a sanctuary for the modern man caught between the suffocating mask of performance and the silent weight of unaddressed trauma. A dual-lens journey. Mirrors and windows. The Mirror reflects the lie you've been telling yourself. "I'm alright, mate." Men who were Captain of the Universe, who wore the mask so long they forgot their own face, who loaded bricks onto their backs until the weight became lethal. Then they fell. And they chose to look. The Window expands your vision. Men who woke up and saw the world in Technicolor. Men who lead others through blue doors. They do not reflect your collapse. They prove you were never broken to begin with. In this teaser, you'll hear fragments of what's coming. The unvarnished truth about what it actually took. This is for the man tired of the noise and the bullshit. The man exhausted from carrying a mask. Whether you're currently being kicked by the universe or simply tired of the black-and-white grind. Five men. Five falls. Five ways through. And two men who will show you the colour. Launching 15 July. hamishniven.com/the-brave-man-project (https://hamishniven.com/the-brave-man-project/)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Contact The Brave Man Project with Hamish Niven

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.