What does it really take to become an elite soldier—and what does it cost?

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Ryan Yates, a 10-year veteran of the British Army, to uncover a story of resilience, trauma, and redemption.

Growing up on a council estate, Ryan always dreamed of becoming a soldier—but his journey was anything but straightforward. From struggling to fit in at a high-end secondary school surrounded by wealth, to failing Army selection at just 15, Ryan’s path was filled with rejection, doubt, and setbacks.

But at 16, everything changed.

Against the odds, Ryan not only joined the Army—he went on to attempt selection for an elite unit at an age and experience level almost unheard of. Facing brutal physical and mental tests, and competing against seasoned soldiers, he pushed himself beyond limits most never reach.

In this episode, Ryan opens up about:

* The reality of modern warfare

* Losing friends in combat

* Operating in high-risk environments, including Iraq

* Encounters with ISIS during his close protection work

* Ignoring the warning signs of PTSD

After leaving the military, Ryan faced a different kind of battle—losing his identity, spiraling into self-destruction, and even attempting to take his own life.

Now, he’s turned that pain into purpose.

Ryan is the founder of The Veterans Army, a charity dedicated to supporting ex-servicemen and women struggling with mental health, transition to civilian life, and finding purpose again. Through his work, he’s helping others fight the battles many never see.

This is not just a war story—it’s a story about survival, brotherhood, and rebuilding from rock bottom.

Ben Hassan’s life is something you won’t believe. Known today for his viral TikTok catchphrase “click click bang bang”, his past tells a very different story.

Abandoned by his mother at just 18 months old and raised by his grandmother, Ben grew up surrounded by violence, rejection, and instability. With no relationship with his father and suffering abuse from his mother’s partners, his early life pushed him down a dark path.

By 16, Ben was sentenced to 7 years in prison for armed robbery and kidnap.

In this episode, Ben opens up about:

• ​ Life inside prison and segregation
• ​ Serving time alongside notorious gangsters like the Richardson brothers and Charlie Kray
• ​ The reality of jail violence
• ​ His battles with mental health and being sectioned
• ​ How he turned his life around after prison

Now a successful figure in the jewellery business and a rising TikTok personality, Ben uses his platform to inspire change and share the truth about crime and consequences.

This is a raw, honest, and powerful conversation you don’t want to miss.

In this powerful and deeply emotional episode, Koa shares his untold story of childhood grooming, sexual abuse, addiction, crime, and ultimately redemption.

As a young child, Koa was groomed and abused by two teenage boys—an experience that shaped how he understood relationships growing up. Believing this behaviour was “normal,” he carried that confusion into his teenage years while battling inner pain and trauma.

Koa began drinking alcohol at a shockingly young age—even walking to school with beer. What started as alcohol use quickly escalated into drug experimentation, and by his late teens, he made a life-changing decision: to fully immerse himself in the world of drugs.

To sustain his addiction, Koa turned to crime—robbing drug dealers and becoming caught in a dangerous cycle of violence, prison, and survival.

In this raw conversation, Koa opens up about:

- Childhood trauma and its long-term impact

- Addiction and early exposure to alcohol and drugs

- Crime, violence, and time in prison

- The cycle of getting clean and relapsing

- His journey toward recovery and helping others overcome addiction

This is a story of pain—but also resilience, growth, and hope.

⚠️ Viewer discretion advised: This episode discusses sensitive topics including abuse and addiction.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone.

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#AddictionRecovery #TrueStory #SurvivorStory #MentalHealth #Trauma #RecoveryJourney #Podcast #LifeStory #PrisonStory #SubstanceAbuse

What happens when your life is defined by one moment at just 17 years old?

In this powerful and unfiltered podcast episode, Declan Moore shares his story of being handed a life sentence with a 13-year minimum tariff under joint enterprise laws. From a promising athletics future to navigating one of the harshest realities imaginable, this is a conversation that challenges perception, accountability, and the system itself.

We dive deep into Declan’s early life, including his struggle with dyslexia and how the education system failed many young people growing up in tough council estates where survival often comes before success. He opens up about living in the shadow of his older brother, whose reputation for violence and gang involvement shaped how others saw him—and how that pushed Declan to try and build his own identity.

Declan walks us through the day that changed everything, the court case that followed, and what it feels like to receive a life sentence as a teenager. We also explore the realities of prison life, breaking down common myths, the mental toll of incarceration, and the lasting impact of being labelled a murderer.

This episode also sheds light on the constant paranoia of potential retaliation, the long-term psychological effects, and what life looks like after prison when your past follows you everywhere.

If you’re interested in true crime, real-life prison stories, joint enterprise laws, or raw, honest conversations about life, choices, and consequences—this episode is not to be missed.

Topics covered:

• Joint enterprise murder explained

• Life sentence at 17

• Prison life realities vs myths

• Growing up in council estates

• Dyslexia and the education system

• Gang culture and family influence

• Life after prison and stigma

• Mental health and paranoia after conviction

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In this powerful and emotional podcast episode, we sit down with Paul Fogarty to hear one of the most unbelievable life stories you’ll ever hear.

Paul was born into incredibly difficult circumstances. Due to his mother drinking heavily during pregnancy, Paul was born with one arm and no legs. At just 2 years old, his life took an even darker turn when he was abandoned in a bush by his own mother.

No one knows exactly why she did it. Maybe she couldn’t cope. Maybe Paul was a painful reminder of her actions.

Thankfully, Paul was adopted by a caring woman who did everything she could to give him a better life. She encouraged him to maintain a relationship with his father and tried her best to guide him as he grew up.

But as Paul entered his teenage years, things began to spiral.

With little discipline and growing anger, Paul started to act out, rebel, and fall into drugs and alcohol. When his father passed away when Paul was just 16, Paul moved into his father’s flat — a decision that unfortunately fueled his downward spiral. The flat soon became a place where drugs were used and sold, and Paul struggled to keep jobs or stability in his life.

Eventually, things became so bad that Paul’s adoptive mother sold the flat and funded Paul to travel the world, hoping he might find a new path.

Paul traveled solo to Thailand, chasing the sun, alcohol, and drugs — and that’s exactly what he found.

After returning to England, his addiction intensified. Paul became addicted to crack cocaine, experimented with heroin, and turned to shoplifting and violence to fund his habit. Arrests became common, and nothing stood in the way of his next fix.

But Paul’s story doesn’t end there.

After meeting a woman he truly cared about, Paul realised he had something worth changing for. Determined not to lose her, he made the life-changing decision to get sober and rebuild his life.

This episode is a raw, honest conversation about:

• Surviving childhood abandonment

• Living with severe disability

• Addiction and criminal life

• Hitting rock bottom

• Finding a reason to change

• The power of redemption

Paul’s story is shocking, inspiring, and deeply human.

If you enjoy real conversations about addiction recovery, resilience, and life transformation, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

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In this powerful podcast episode, Ben Sheriff shares his incredible journey from deep anxiety and the desperate need to fit in, to becoming a successful professional battling a hidden life as a functioning alcoholic.

Behind the success, Ben was struggling with alcohol addiction that created an alter ego version of himself – confident, reckless, and often destructive. Through years of addiction, failed attempts at sobriety, and periods of drug use, Ben openly reflects on how his behaviour affected his marriage and family life, often avoiding his responsibilities as a husband and father.

After countless attempts to get sober, Ben reached a breaking point and gave himself one final chance to change his life. If he failed, he believed he had nothing left to live for.

That final attempt worked.

Today Ben is sober, a qualified therapist, and someone who uses his experiences to help others overcome addiction and rebuild their lives. He even took on an extraordinary challenge, busking his way from the UK to Russia using only public transport.

In this honest and inspiring conversation, Ben talks about addiction, recovery, shame, resilience, and what it truly takes to rebuild a life after hitting rock bottom.

No Fear, No Limits, No Control sees Matthew Lemm open up about a life lived on the edge and the hard lessons that finally forced change.

Growing up in the 1980s, physical discipline was normal and accepted in Matthew’s home. What he learned early was simple: never back down, always fight, act first and deal with the consequences later. That mindset followed him everywhere. School fights, expulsion, reckless behaviour and a reputation for chaos became part of daily life.

Matthew shares laugh-out-loud stories from his early working years, moments so outrageous they sound unreal, alongside darker chapters that include repeated jail time, going AWOL, and the brutal reality of life behind bars. We talk honestly about how violence became his default setting and how losing close friends pushed everything even further off the rails.

The conversation goes deep into fatherhood at a young age, heartbreak, and the toll an erratic lifestyle took on the people closest to him. Matthew speaks openly about reaching a point where he no longer wanted to be here, and the moment that forced him to confront the life he was living.

Turning things around wasn’t instant. Matthew found structure and purpose through the pub trade, learning discipline the hard way, before going on to open his own successful restaurant. Today, his focus is on giving back, supporting others, and doing meaningful charity work within the community.

This episode is raw, honest, funny, uncomfortable at times, and ultimately hopeful. It’s a real conversation about anger, accountability, second chances, and what it actually takes to change your life when chaos is all you’ve ever known.

If you connect with stories of real-life redemption, growth after rock bottom, and unfiltered honesty, this one’s for you.

In this powerful episode, I sit down with nearly 100x award-winning bodybuilder Daniel Jay Smith Jr to break down the REAL story behind success in professional bodybuilding.

Daniel has competed across the globe, earning close to 100 awards in bodybuilding — but his journey didn’t start on stage.

We dive into:

• Growing up in school and how easy it is to fall into the wrong crowd

• The moment you realize you’re falling behind while others are leveling up

• Developing a relentless self-improvement mentality

• The mindset required to compete at an elite bodybuilding level

• The sacrifices behind being a professional athlete

• Relationships while competing at the highest level

• Radical accountability and choosing to change your life

We also have an honest, mature conversation about:

• Steroid use in bodybuilding — myths vs reality

• The pressures of performance enhancement

• The rise of Mounjaro and its impact on weight loss culture

This episode is about discipline, growth, ownership, and what it truly takes to build a championship life — physically and mentally.

If you’re interested in bodybuilding, self-development, mindset, fitness culture, or the realities of performance enhancement, this episode is for you.