Crack On Podcast

Radio DJ, TV Presenter and total Cardiff legend... Polly James is known for her charisma, talent and uncanny ability to live life at 100 miles per hour all the time.

At her happiest on the radio, interviewing sports stars or at the darts... she has carved out an impressive media career for herself. Despite an adventurous outlook on everything, her path always seems to circle back to Cardiff - a city she loves... and that certainly loves her back.

In this buoyant and life-affirming conversation, Jon and Polly talk about her formative years, how athletics built her work ethic and a passion for preparation. Plus we hear how she skilfully navigates a path from community radio to Red Dragon FM, Capital Breakfast, Radio X and now Sky Sports TV and beyond.

Plus there are fascinating moments of reflection where Polly gives valuable lessons from her own life on overcoming scary situations, making time to slow down and taking a different approach to social media. She also shares important insights on building mental resilience through gratitude and support networks.

Rhys Thomas is a former Welsh International Rugby player who had his career suddenly ended by a heart attack, then spent the subsequent years on a self-destructive path... before turning his life around.

In last episode's Part 1 of this intense and heartfelt interview, Rhys spoke about his life and career up to the point of the heart attack.

Here, in Part 2, Rhys shares his incredible rollercoaster journey from the heart attack onwards. The loss of identity, the abandonment of hope, the struggles with alcohol and the self-denial of the problems he so clearly had...

Then, an intervention from his friends and family led to a life-changing time in rehab and a years-long journey of self-discovery and self-improvement (all the time being open to outside help as he never was before).

He is now able to answer the question "Who is Rhys Thomas?" and his perspective, growth and positivity are truly inspirational.

His story and how he turned it around will make you ask questions of yourself and also give you the tools to potentially take the first steps on your own transformation.

Ex-Welsh Rugby International Rhys Thomas shares his incredible story. From growing up in South Africa, to coming through the youth ranks in Wales and ending up with it all - international caps, money, family, friends and a career playing the sport he loved.

...but everything changed in an instant.

A massive heart attack ended his career and put him on a years-long journey of self-destruction. He has recently built his life back up from rock bottom and learnt valuable lessons that he shares with Jon in this episode.

This is a candid, raw, shocking, sad, inspirational and uplifting listen all at the same time.

There is so much in this interview that we have split it over two episodes. In Part 1 here, we cover Rhys's early years and his up and down Rugby career up to the point where the heart attack hits.

With people's minds turning to Rugby again with the World Cup around the corner, you're unlikely to hear a more detailed, insightful and honest account of the highs and lows of being a rugby pro and pulling on the famous red jersey of Wales.

Rhys leaves no stone unturned and speaks from the heart.

Wyre Davies is a vastly experienced BBC broadcaster and journalist who has covered everything from wars to World Cups.

Growing up in a bilingual house (Welsh and English) gave him a talent for languages. Paired with his wanderlust and passion for politics and current affairs, it's no surprise he ended up as a respected foreign correspondent.

He's now back in Wales making documentaries and leading investigations that bring about real change. There's no better example than his recent report on the WRU that revealed sexism and misogyny at the heart of the organisation and triggered resignations, inquiries and forced the institution to modernise.

Wyre shares his story with Jon, giving particularly valuable insights into how to navigate a complex and competitive industry such as the media. He also talks passionately about seeking advice, the power of perseverance and how to be brave enough to take opportunities when they present themselves.

Watch Wyre's programme - 'BBC Wales Investigates: Welsh Rugby under the Spotlight' - here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001hm2t/bbc-wales-investigates-welsh-rugby-under-the-spotlight

BrewDog is one of the fastest-growing hospitality brands. Known for bringing craft beer to the mainstream, they have expanded internationally as well as branching out into food, cutting edge customer experience and even hotels. Not without controversy, they are a brand with a strong identity - it's hard not to have an opinion on BrewDog.

James Brown is CEO of BrewDog Bars and is a senior figure at the company. He started his career as a teenager in Scotland chopping potatoes at a local chippy... and a lifelong passion for hospitality took root. In this episode, James invites Jon to BrewDog's own podcast studio that they have built in their London offices at Waterloo. James and Jon discuss what makes hospitality such a character-building sector to work in. From learning what makes customers happy (and unhappy), to the kind of bizarre scrapes only people in this industry find themselves in (like accidentally disabling a whole city's mobile phone service in an attempt to turn off the venue entrance lights).

Exploring the Crack On spirit, Jon and James discuss what lessons (and indeed opportunities) COVID presented to the industry and the people who worked within it. Resilience was tested and a new spirit of co-operation emerged to help the sector survive.

Finally, James talks about his innovative tech solution for digital tipping - Tipjar. In his honest reflection on the challenges he has faced, and mistakes made along the way to eventual success, there are valuable lessons for anyone with entrepreneurial ambition and the desire to innovate and make a positive difference.

Stifyn Parri - also known as Mr Producer, or Mr P - is a Welsh legend of The Arts. His story of a drive and desire to progress reveals true Crack On spirit.

Growing up in North Wales, Stifyn knew from an early age that he wanted to perform. The vision was always there, but many barriers stood in his way. Through overcoming huge odds to gain a place at a top London drama school, to facing challenges from the acting community in Wales and battling attitudes and characters that were blocking him... Stifyn always found a way.

This episode of The Crack On Podcast contains so many lessons about determination, self-belief, passion and lateral thinking. Stifyn was never arrogant, but he was fiercely gritty, single-minded and goal-oriented. If he didn't know how to do something, he figured it out and if there was someone he needed to meet, he found a way to magically bump into them.

This DNA of effort and positivity that runs through Stifyn's life explains the heights he reached - stardom on TV and in the West End and then a second career as the driving force behind a string of high profile events. He got himself to the front of the queue to be the Creative Producer for the opening of the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay, then harnessed that success to land the role as Creative Director for the opening of one of Wales' greatest ever global events - The Ryder Cup.

In the 1980's Stifyn found himself at the forefront of the Gay Rights movement (before he had even come out himself) and his experiences have made him a key figure in the LGBTQ+ community.

Stifyn's story is one of achievement, character, self-knowledge and a strong desire to get the best out of life for himself and the community around him. This is an instructive, inspiring and uplifting listen.

To find out more about Stifyn Parri, visit https://www.mrproducer.co.uk/

Lucy Cohen is the co-founder of Mazuma, a South Wales founded company that helps small and medium size businesses stay on top of their accounting and tax responsibilities. Ahead of its time, it paved the way for cloud-based services like Quickbooks... before the cloud even existed!

An incredibly successful woman, Lucy explains to Jon in this interview where her drive, determination and purpose come from. She's learnt everything she knows about business through experience and there have been real highs and lows. She discusses what led her and her co-founder to seriously question whether their business could survive and imparts vital advice to any entrepreneur about taking a moment to acknowledge how far you have come.

Lucy's resilience has been tested with a recent health scare but she has used it - as she does everything in life - as an opportunity, learning experience and a springboard for positivity. Lucy keeps racking up the achievements. She has represented Wales and GB at weightlifting, written a best-selling book and delivered a campaign that changed the NHS's policy on contraception and pain management.

There are huge life lessons for everyone in this episode. How to not fall for hustle culture. How to find your purpose. How to make do and scrap with a "done over perfect" approach that can win out over VC-inflated budgets. Plus, how to find the "win" in any situation, however negative things may appear on first impressions.

The second part of the Chris Macnamara interview - so good and detailed that we needed to split it across two episodes.

Cardiff legend Chris Macnamara came up from very little, learning his business skills through experience having started working at the age of 14. After working multiple jobs to make ends meet and provide for his young family, a chance encounter with an old school friend inspired Chris to become a car salesman. He excelled and quickly rose to the top of his profession. But buying his first pair of "proper" shoes was a transformative experience for Chris. He couldn't resist the opportunity to follow his passion (and desire to start his own local business in his home city of Cardiff). The Brogue Trader was born.

In this episode we pick up the story as Chris is trying to get The Brogue Trader off the ground. He has a name, and a vision... but very little else. How he goes about building the company is a story of perseverance, values and enthusiasm. The business lessons (and life lessons) in this story are plentiful and powerful. It's impossible to listen to this episode without learning something that will help you either now or in the future.

Chris Macnamara is a Cardiff legend. From growing up with not much, he's become a self-taught business success story who has also raised huge amounts of money for charity. Working from a young age, he was entrepreneurial through necessity, doing all kinds of jobs and running his own companies until he settled in car sales... and quickly made a name for himself. But he turned his back on a secure and lucrative career in cars to follow his passion for shoes. The Brogue Trader was born, quickly became a Cardiff institution and grew to become a group of multiple shops around the UK. 

Chris and Jon and are old friends and this conversation is deep, heartfelt and honest. We hear Chris's whole life story and there are hard-learned pearls of wisdom everywhere. From the importance of family and self-starting, to business acumen and moments of raw emotion that echo from the past, this interview has it all. In fact, the chat was so long and good that we have decided to run it across two episodes a week apart.

Here in Part 1 we hear about Chris's early life and how his formative experiences made him the man he is today. We journey through early jobs and companies, learning timeless life lessons along the way. From working nights to scrape a wage, to being one of the highest paid car industry execs in the country. Then, the fascinating story of how buying his first pair of "proper" shoes led him down a life-changing career path...

Ben Tyler: GB Tennis Representative in the Special Olympic World Games Abu Dhabi   

Special Olympic World Games Abu Dhabi   

Ben has a way of making everything feel positive and looks at life always from a positive view.  As you will hear in the podcast he loves life and life loves him.

Everything that 'CrackOn' involves Ben has in spades!!

True Grit...never let's his disability stop him from doing anything in life, when he puts his mind to something- he does it!!

Hope you enjoy!!

#CrackOn