The One Percent

In this episode, I welcome Graham Manley onto the podcast.
Sixty-seven, a former solicitor turned legal headhunter working with commercial law firms in the north of England, married with three grown-up children, and, as he puts it, probably the oldest person in the group. A few months ago Graham reached out after following my content on LinkedIn.
By then he'd spent about ten years putting himself at the bottom of his own to-do list. Work overload, drinking a bit too much in the evenings as a reward for a tough day, a diet all over the place, brain fog and a feeling of being totally directionless. Every day the same - Groundhog Day, only not as funny. He knew where he wanted to be - the version of himself he used to be. He kept breaking promises to himself, and every time things got tough he gave up on the lot. His description: like getting a puncture and stabbing the other three tyres.
So we built slowly, one block at a time, with a weekly plan, accountability to himself and to me, and a group where everyone tells it straight.
Nearly five months in, and still working together, the change is as much in his head as his body. His mindset used to be "when's it going to go wrong?" Now it's "how can we make it work?" He's more resilient, he's present with his family again, and he says it's like walking into a dark room and someone switching the light on. His wife agrees. He's got his old self back.
His advice to anyone on the fence: why wait? It's just kicking the can down the road.
If any of this resonates - I can help - listen to the episode, then book a call with me:
https://theone-percent.com/book-a-call/

In this episode, I welcome Alex Calthrop onto the podcast.
Thirty-eight, a disputes lawyer based in Paris, half British and half Australian, and dad to a nineteen-month-old daughter. A few months ago Alex reached out for a chat.
Nothing dramatic was wrong. He was in a relentless stretch at work, adjusting to life as a new father, and diet, sleep and being present at home were all slipping. He'd also read the books and listened to the podcasts. He knew the stuff. He just couldn't make it stick. And with a daughter, the questions got more real: was he becoming the man she'd be proud of? "Maybe" wasn't a good enough answer.
He signed up in the middle of the busiest stretch of his career: a trial, court deadlines, working past midnight most days for a couple of months. Not the textbook time to start. So we started small. A 10-15 minute bodyweight workout, steps, cold showers. Whatever he could do, that day.
When the trial finished, he didn't need a week or two to recover. His energy and mood stayed up and he bounced back far quicker. The bigger shift is how he thinks. A rough morning no longer writes off the day - it's "what's the next good decision I can make?"
We're still working together, and his advice to anyone on the fence is blunt: you'll earn the money back, you won't get the time back.
If any of this resonates - I can help - listen to the episode, then book a call with me:
https://theone-percent.com/book-a-call/

In this episode, I welcome Steve Faber onto the podcast.
Fifty-two, chartered surveyor, husband and dad. Two years ago he reached out after following some of my content - though, as he puts it, it took a fair bit of nagging to get him on here to talk about it.
Nothing was in crisis. A building project next to his house he had no control over, changes at work, an old injury he couldn't shake. Individually nothing. Together, enough to have him blaming everyone else for how he felt - and then blaming himself when that didn't help either. A bit of a moody bastard, by his own admission, after fifty years of practice at it.
He signed up anyway - and the next day had the classic wobble: have I just been turned over here? He didn't tell a soul for six months, not even most of his friends.
Two years on, he calls it one of the best value things he's ever done in his life. Down from 96kg to 80kg. The fittest he's been since he was eighteen. A cold plunge he still doesn't want to get into most mornings and gets into anyway.
But the bit he comes back to most isn't any of that. It's that he's not a moody bastard anymore - his words. His relationships have improved, because he's not carrying the weight he used to carry into every interaction. He cares about people and doesn't have to be difficult to do it.
If any of this resonates - I can help - listen to the episode, then book a call with me:
https://theone-percent.com/book-a-call/

In this episode, I welcome back Dom Hones - three years after we first worked together.

Community engagement manager, married ten years this December, two kids (eight and five), life full and busy. Dom wasn’t having a meltdown when he first reached out but wasn't operating anywhere near 100%. He’d just turned 40, not 100% - tired all the time, chalked up to parenting young kids. Then a work health day flagged it properly: his metabolic age was 50.

That was the nudge. Not a rock-bottom, just enough of a wake-up call to try something other than another audiobook or fad diet.

Three years on, the numbers hold up: metabolic age down to 42. Eight kilos lost - and kept off. Over a thousand consecutive days of journaling.

But the real proof came in year one, when life got hard - properly hard. Through it, the foundations didn't fall over the way every previous attempt had. What changed wasn't willpower. It was having a framework simple enough to flex with real life instead of demanding perfection from it.

His advice to anyone on the fence: it's an investment, but it's in yourself, and you will not regret it.

If any of this resonates - I can help - listen to the episode, then book a call with me:

https://theone-percent.com/book-a-call/

In this episode, I welcome back Tom Yoxall for his third conversation with me.

Two years ago Tom got in touch close to what he now calls, honestly, the edge of being an alcoholic. Drinking daily, carrying 22 stone, blood pressure through the roof and medicated, not showing up as the man he wanted to be for his partner Kerry or his kids.

Since then: sober. Down to 15 stone 7. A business owner now, having gone self-employed. And - his words - it's saved his relationship and his relationship with his kids.

We talk about what's actually changed day to day: finding an outlet that's just his (the gym, then Jiu Jitsu), learning to tackle stress head-on rather than numb it, and using the group as what he calls "an ace in my back pocket" whenever life throws something at him.

His advice for anyone on the fence: have the call. No pressure, no hard sell - just find out if it's the right fit.

If any of this resonates - I can help - listen to the episode, then book a call with me:

https://theone-percent.com/book-a-call/