Mantality

#063 Finding Freedom of Mind after Man United

Rhodri Jones was a young professional footballer with Manchester United and Rotherham United but had to retire in his early twenties. He has since moved on to become a television director and most recently a Mind Fitness Coach, working with high-achievers in the world of professional sports, business, and the performing arts. He has also has been an advocate in raising awareness about mental health in society.
In this episode, we talk openly about the mental health battles Rhodri suffered during his time at Man Utd and soon after he departed, the parallels with Stevie's own situation at the moment and what Rhodri is up to now. This is a really important conversation, particularly with a lot of athletes that don't make it into elite sports dealing with depression and anxiety issues.
Join in the conversation and let us know what you think over on our social media channels.

#062 Mantality Counselling: Why Vulnerability Matters (with Jon Bell)

Jon Bell is an integrative psychotherapist with experience working with a wide variety of people facing uniquely different and difficult challenges. He has just completed his MA thesis into vulnerability in Rugby League, looking at how striving for authenticity in the toughest of sports can present all of us with a therapeutic template for happier, wholehearted living.Jon has recently started practicing as Mantality's lead counsellor and has just recently started offering support for people who feel like counselling would improve their life. In this podcast, they cover: The 'unwritten code' when living as a rugby league player, Jon's rugby league career, what Jon believes a sportsman goes through when retiring from their sport, the power of counselling and why Stevie uses it, how to use vulnerability.

#061 'Cleverest Bloke We Know' (with Ralph Ineson)

We were delighted to be joined by actor, Ralph Ineson, known for his roles in known for The Witch, Guardians of the Galaxy, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and so much more. But to many of us, he’ll always be ‘Finchy’ in The Office.
We had a wide-ranging chat about his career, the challenges he’s faced, the obstacles of being an actor and how he keeps his mental health in check, The Office - what it is like working with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and Leeds United.

#060 Brain Health and Transformational Medicine (with Dr Dan Engle)

Dr Dan Engle is Board Certified in Psychiatry and Neurology, with a clinical practice that combines aspects of regenerative medicine, orthomolecular psychiatry, integrative spirituality and peak performance methods.
Dr Dan is the author of the Concussion Repair Manual. A Traumatic Brain Injury radically changed the course of his life and Dan emerged with a passion for neurology. Dan is a progressive doctor who believes that The true goal of medicine is to facilitate the innate healing of the body and mind… and thus support you to become whole, happy and free.
Dan notes that he learnt more about the human mind from spending a week in the Amazonian jungle taking the hallucinogenic ayahuasca than he did studying psychiatry and neurology for years.
In this podcast, we also talk about how TBI's were used as initiations in some tribal communities and Dr Dan's fluctuations in his own mental health and what it has taught him.

#059 Brain Injury: The Truth Hits Hard (with Dr Willie Stewart)

Dr Willie Stewart is Consultant Neuropathologist and holds honorary Associate Professor status at the University of Glasgow (Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology) and the University of Pennsylvania (Department of Neurosurgery). 
This podcast is a brutal conversation about the realities of brain injury caused by a concussion. 
In this episode, we defined what a concussion actually is and how it is currently tested. We compared Boxing to Rugby and Football and discussed the evidence to show that multiple concussions can have very serious & in some cases life-threatening consequences. 
The episode is hosted by Stevie Ward who is currently suffering the long term effects of concussion and Chris O’Connor who has had a similar experience previously. Both Stevie and Chris found this podcast hard-hitting and scary to learn the science behind brain injury; Something, as a society, we know very little about. 
Is it the employer's responsibility to look after their players? What does the future for testing look like? And how can we ensure protocols are strong enough & adhered to in our amateur games? It’s all in this episode. 
We are committed to starting a conversation around brain injury in sport. Please leave a review and jump into the conversation on our Instagram page.

#058 Break The Stigma and Conquer Your Mindset (with Keegan Hirst)

This week, former professional rugby league player Keegan Hirst joins us on the first live podcast Q&A with our Evolve members. In August 2015, Keegan came out as gay, breaking the stigma and becoming the first British professional rugby league player to do so. He is now a mindset coach & personal trainer and in this episode, Keegan talks about living life on your terms and how authenticity is key. If you’d like to be part of the conversation on our next podcast, join our community by visiting https://mantality.co.uk/coaching

#057 The Unusual Suspect (with Ben Machell)

In this episode, we were delighted to be joined by writer and journalist Ben Machell. Ben has met a huge range of interesting people including; former spies, Nobel Prize-winning scientists, people wrongfully on death row, Taylor Swift, Pele, the families of murder victims, Grenfell firefighters, billionaires, political dissidents. The list goes on. We chatted to Ben about what he’s learned speaking to so many fascinating people, what stories stand out and why he got into journalism. We also speak to him about our combined love for Leeds United and talk about Ben’s new book, The Unusual Suspect, which is out now!

#056 Stevie Ward: My retirement with concussion

Tanya Arnold interviews Stevie Ward and his partner Natalie Alleston about the realities of concussion and having to make the decision to retire at the age of 27 from a sport you love.
This interview is a personal look into the difficulties and complex challenges faced by a person suffering from a mild traumatic brain injury and the people closest to them. You will hear about the realities of the symptoms and how they have to be managed and understood if the person wants to carry on living a happy and fulfilled life. 
You will discover what went into the decision and how Stevie and his partner will be trying to look forward and find their way in a life without rugby league whilst still recovering from a brain injury. 
Although this interview is an in-depth look into Stevie’s year with post concussion syndrome it is not a reflection on what happened in a professional setting but more a reflection into the crucial work that has to be done in your personal life when trying to handle the devastating changes that come with brain injury. 
A big thank you to Tanya Arnold for taking the reins for this special episode on the Mantality podcast.

#055 Confront and Conquer (with Jason Robinson MBE)

Jason Robinson is a former rugby league and rugby union player. A World Cup winner in 2003 with England RU who became the first ever black man to captain England. 
He played for the British and Irish Lions and won everything on offer in English rugby league too.  He was one of the deadliest attacking players ever to pick up a ball. 
Jason also uncompromisingly addressed his mental health in his career and states that "you can’t conquer what you don’t confront".
From humble beginnings growing up in Hunslet, Leeds, Jason has become a role model for so many people in tough situations.

#054 Living With Diabetes (with Jon Peach and Chris Bright)

Stevie talks with Jon Peach and Chris Bright who are both involved in The Diabetes Football Community.
Chris Bright was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as an 8 year old in 1999 and despite the setback at that age he still wanted to become a footballer. In following this passion and love for the game, he has faced the stigma that society has created around diabetes in every changing room he was a part of. Following this and the part time career he has had in Football whilst becoming a Wales Futsal international, Chris decided in 2017 to face that stigma and try to create something which could help others tackle it through a mechanism of peer support. The Diabetes Football Community was born and both Chris’ and Jon’s work to grow the community and go beyond stigma has continued ever since. 
Jon was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged just 5, and in a similar vein, it hasn't stopped him living the life that he has, playing football and having an active career as a PE teacher. 
With these achievements, come the challenges that we don’t even come to think of when someone has diabetes, the physical and the mental. We open up the dialogue around the day to day challenges but also those which impact upon them in a social environment. 
These guys have created a community and movement to help people with diabetes connect and get through their struggles and also educate us about what life is like when living with diabetes.