The High Performance Podcast

On this weeks episode Jake and Damian mark Movember by taking on one of the biggest threats to men’s health: loneliness.

We recently interviewed Kevin Sinfield about his relationship with Rob Burrow which inspired this week’s question: what does it really take to be a better mate? The answer starts with the small things you do for someone and ends with the things you finally say out loud.

The more outrage the internet creates, the more money platforms make. But what happens to the people caught in that cycle? Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Jon Ronson joins Jake and Damian to examine how algorithms reward conflict, push creators towards increasingly extreme content and punish those who choose nuance.

Through the story of a creator who amassed 13 billion views before seeing the damage caused by chasing the algorithm, Jon explores the human cost of online success. He also turns the lens on himself, reflecting on his own fear of becoming irrelevant and the relentless search...

Jenson Button won six of the first seven races of 2009, then nearly talked himself out of a world title. This is Jenson at his most candid about what really goes on behind the visor.

Originally released in 2021, he takes us back to the start: parents who split when he was seven, a dad who spent every penny in his account on a go-kart, and a mum who tried to stop him racing before becoming his biggest supporter. Then the early Formula One years — a boss who told the world he was a playboy, a team that ne...

Released by Arsenal, shipped out on four loans, and described by his own academy as the “runt of the litter”, Harry Kane was never the obvious one. So how did he become the first Englishman since Michael Owen to win the Ballon d’Or? Mauricio Pochettino, Jesús Pérez, Gareth Southgate, Alex Inglethorpe, Geir Jordet, Kieran Trippier, Justin Cochrane and Andy Cole, who all saw him up close at different stages of the climb, help Jake and Damian answer that question.

“Just keep on rowing.” It’s the simple advice Lewis Moody’s father gave him, and a philosophy that has stayed with him through some of life’s hardest moments. Now living with a terminal MND diagnosis, those words have taken on a new meaning.

The former England rugby captain explains how he’s approaching the uncertainty ahead, why he’s determined to use his experience to make a difference for others, and how his perspective on adversity has changed. For Lewis, positivity isn’t about pretending things are easy. It’s about choosing how you respond when they...

This week's episode is presented by Stripe, and features Co-founder of Arcade the entertainment company behind some of Europe’s biggest creators including Fallow Chefs, Max Fosh and The Sidemen.

Jordan opens up about why the traditional model of influencer marketing is fundamentally broken, how modern algorithms allow a creator with 10,000 followers to achieve more reach than someone with a million, and why faceless legacy media institutions are facing an existential crisis against personality-led publishing. He also reveals how his company helped The Sidemen to scale from a single employee into a multi-company empire with 75 full-time st...

Jake and Damian take on one of the biggest myths in high performance: that the best people feel no fear.

Almost every guest who’s sat in the chair has talked about playing without fear. The research says that isn’t how it works.

Award-winning comedian, writer, and television host Jimmy Carr has made millions of people laugh by saying the things most of us wouldn’t dare say out loud. But behind the jokes is a mind constantly wrestling with confidence, anxiety, control and the pressure to keep performing.

He joins Jake and Damian for an unusually revealing conversation about what it actually takes to build confidence, why humour can give us perspective when life gets difficult, and how quickly our minds can spiral when we feel out of control.

Jimmy gets brutally honest about his ow...

When Jeremy Clarkson was sacked from Top Gear, Richard Hammond was offered something most presenters could only dream of: the chance to take control of the show. He said no. For Richard, Top Gear was never about one person, it was about the three of them, and he wasn’t prepared to step into Clarkson’s place alone.

Richard reflects on 26 years on the road and the personal cost of a life spent constantly somewhere else. After losing his father, his marriage and his home, he found himself confronting a question every broadcaster eventually faces: who are...

Dina Asher-Smith, Alex Albon, Nick Cox, Richard Osman and Phil Heath help Jake and Damian take on the struggle we hear about from you more than almost any other: comparing your real life to everyone else's highlight reel.

Even the people at the very top aren't immune. Dina explains why she deliberately avoids watching what her rivals do in training. Alex Albon opens up on how measuring himself against Max Verstappen at Red Bull pushed him to force it, and how that unravelled his confidence. Nick Cox, former head of the Manchester United academy, explains why...

Former Red Bull Racing team principal and one of Formula 1’s most recognisable figures, Christian Horner spent 23 years building a life around winning. So when he lost the job he had done for two decades, his first feeling wasn’t anger. It was relief.

Christian opens up about the pressure of leading Red Bull through its most successful era, the emotional armour he built to protect his team, and the toll of always being the person who couldn’t show weakness, from the intensity of Abu Dhabi 2021 to the politics that eventually changed how he felt about...

Andy Wilman is the legendary executive producer behind Top Gear and The Grand Tour, the creative force who helped turn a small, ageing motoring show into one of the most-watched programmes on the planet.

In this revealing conversation, Andy sits down with Jake to open up about the chaotic, brilliant, and often bruising journey behind the scenes. From the early days when Top Gear was “held together by accidents,” to the lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry that formed between Clarkson, Hammond and May, Andy explains how a mix of creative instinct, insecurity, and outright stubbornness shaped the show’s rise.<...

Boris Becker is one of tennis’s most iconic figures, a prodigy who won Wimbledon at just 17, a champion who reached the sport’s highest peaks, and a man who has faced extraordinary highs and devastating lows both on and off the court.

In this episode, Boris reflects on the mindset that drove him to success so early in life, the pressure of living in the global spotlight, and the personal challenges that tested his resilience. He speaks candidly about the sacrifices behind sporting greatness, the mental and emotional toll of fame, and what it takes to r...

In high performance, we often celebrate success, the awards, the headlines, the restaurants, the fame. But for Gordon Ramsay, the real story lies in the struggle behind the spotlight.

In this episode, Gordon Ramsay explores the true meaning of high performance, and the price of perfection. From growing up in a council house and losing his dream football career to standing beside culinary legends like Marco Pierre White and earning Michelin stars around the world, Gordon opens up about the relentless drive that shaped him. 

With raw honesty and trademark fire, he reflects on...

Nico Rosberg spent 31 years building his identity around a single goal to become Formula 1 World Champion. In this episode Nico reveals the stark reality of achieving his ultimate dream, explaining why his 2016 triumph brought relief rather than euphoria and why he walked away from a £100m+ fortune at his absolute peak.

He strips back the curtain on his legendary, fierce rivalry with childhood friend Lewis Hamilton, describing the psychological warfare of their title fights and the conscious rewiring required to stop yielding in wheel-to-wheel battles.

Nico also opens up about his secret mental training r...

We're revisiting this extraordinary conversation with one of our most-requested conversations - Usain Bolt.

Usain reveals the failures that changed the way he thought about performance, including the Olympics in Athens where he failed to make it out of the first round. He shares the moment his coach told him he simply wasn’t working hard enough, and the painful realisation that followed.

Usain opens up about the power of consistency, learning how to lose, handling pressure, competing with scoliosis, dealing with global fame, and the mindset that helped him win eight Olympic go...

Simon Sinek is an author and inspirational speaker. Simon is known for his books ‘Start with Why’ and ‘Find Your Why’, both of which focus on how to find your purpose and help those in your life find it too. Finding your Why, is the idea that “everyone knows what we do, some of us know how we do it, but very few of us can articulate why we do what we do.” Great leaders think, act and communicate in the exact same way, which is completely different from everyone else. They tell people why they do what they do, rather t...

Dr Chris van Tulleken is a doctor, scientist and one of the UK’s leading voices on ultra-processed food. An associate professor at UCL, an NHS doctor, World Health Organisation adviser and author of the bestselling Ultra-Processed People, he has spent years investigating what the food industry is really putting on our plates.

But the truth about what we eat is far more unsettling than most of us realise...

In this eye-opening conversation, we revisit why Chris believes the evidence linking ultra-processed food to physical and mental health problems has reached the same th...

After hundreds of conversations with extraordinary people, Jake and Damian stop and ask a question they've been circling for a while prompted by a recent social media post from Rob Beckett: how has High Performance changed since it started and are we part of the 'grindset' problem?

When the show began, they were fascinated by winning: routine, sacrifice, discipline, marginal gains. Jake once wrote a post about getting up at 5am that he now calls one of his biggest regrets. In this episode they play back their own early conversations, including Jake's advice to Steven Bartlett...

Alessandro Benetton knows what it means to challenge an established order. When the Benetton family entered Formula 1 from the world of fashion, the paddock laughed. But rather than trying to fit in, they rewrote the rules, and went on to win world championships.

Alessandro joins us to reflect on the decisions that changed everything, from recognising Michael Schumacher’s extraordinary talent before the rest of the sport caught on to standing by his team when allegations of cheating threatened the family’s reputation. He shares why backing your instincts, challenging convention and trusting the people around you...

Dame Jess Ennis-Hill is one of Britain’s greatest athletes. A triple world heptathlon champion, European champion and Olympic gold medallist, she reached the absolute peak of her sport.

But behind the medals was a very different story....

We revisit this incredible conversation where Jess reveals what it was like to become Britain’s “Golden girl” ahead of London 2012, carrying the weight of huge public expectations and feeling that anything less than gold would be seen as failure.

She opens up about the injury that cost her an Olympic opportunity, returning to elite...

We've sat down with hundreds of high performers. These are five sentences we've never heard a single one of them say...

"I'll start when I'm ready." "That's just the way I am." "It's not fair." "I've done enough." "I did it on my own." None of them is a character flaw, but each one quietly pulls you away from where you want to be.

From the High Performance archive, Keely Hodgkinson explains why she puts her success down to 90% mindset, in a year when almost nobody believed she'd make the Olympic team. Matthew...

Linford Christie didn't just race his opponents, he tried to beat them before the gun even fired. The Olympic champion reveals the psychology behind his ruthless approach to the 100m, and the mindset that allowed him to keep pushing when most would have stopped.

Linford reflects on the hunger that drove him to the top despite starting his international career later than most, and why winning Olympic gold in Barcelona felt more like relief than celebration. He also opens up about the pressure of constant scrutiny, the emotional armour he built throughout his career, and the...

Robin van Persie captained Arsenal and won the league with Manchester United, but for years he says his hardest opponent was himself.

We re-visit our classic episode with Robin where he talks about the letter he wrote to himself that he didn't believe when he read it back, the childhood friends he let go at 24, the Arsenal exit he'd handle differently and the advice to his son that Jake calls the whole podcast in two minutes.

Our partners in this episode:

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Most of us are waiting for someone to tell us we're ready. This week, Jake and Damian argue that moment never comes, and that the people we admire most simply stopped waiting.

You'll hear from George Russell on the email to Toto Wolff that started his Mercedes journey, Robin Sharma on why it pays to be "a bit of a pirate", Alain de Botton on why the world is built by humans, not gods, and Adam Grant on the feedback that nearly made him quit public speaking. Francis Ngannou, Shane Parrish and Tom Kerridge unpack what...

Donate 👉 Sir Kevin Sinfield's 7 in 7: The Grand Finale https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/7-in-7-the-grand-finale

England Rugby coach and MND campaigner Kevin Sinfield has spent years running into pain, not away from it. In memory of his friend Rob Burrow, he has pushed his body to its limits, finding in the suffering a way to carry some of the emotional weight of the families he meets.

In this episode, Kevin shares the lessons Rob taught him without saying a word: what matters, what doesn't, and how to live with more courage and compassion. He...

Why is sport still drinking? For decades, alcohol has been part of sporting culture. Team nights out, beers after games and stories of legendary drinking sessions have become part of the mythology of elite sport.

But is that culture changing? And if it is, what are we replacing it with?

Jake and Damian explore why alcohol has played such a powerful role in sport, from helping teammates bond and break down hierarchy to simply giving people permission to switch off. They discuss the pressure of constant optimisation, why high performance can become exhausting...

Evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman challenges one of our most persistent beliefs about weight loss: that if you can’t stick to a diet, you simply need more discipline.

He explains why our bodies evolved to hold onto fat, why willpower can only take us so far, and how diet culture has turned eating into a cycle of guilt and shame.

Daniel also shares the story of his own mother, whose obsession with avoiding fat came at a cost later in life, and introduces a simple way to spot bad advice: are you thinking li...

This is a revisit of the conversation we previously had with Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ Team Principal and CEO, and it remains one of the most revealing interviews we’ve ever recorded.

Toto opens up about the childhood experiences that shaped him, losing his father at 15, being forced to grow up quickly and the financial hardship his family faced.

He also speaks candidly about periods of depression from the age of 18, seeking professional help and the feeling that he was alone with what he was experiencing. He explains why he has always “stared into an abyss”...

What do you actually feel when you win? Jake and Damian explore one of the strangest patterns they've noticed across more than 400 High Performance conversations: so many people reach the top of their mountain, only to wish they'd enjoyed the climb a little more.

Damian unpacks the hedonic treadmill and arrival fallacy, and asks what we're actually optimising our lives for when every achievement simply moves the goalposts. Because if the next win is always more important than the one you've just achieved, when do you ever get to enjoy where you are?

...

Former British Army paratrooper Josh Boggi’s life changed in 47 minutes when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan, losing both legs and his right arm. But surviving was only the beginning of learning who he was going to become.

Josh opens up about the five-minute conversation with a fellow triple amputee that gave him a new roadmap for life, and how sport helped rebuild his confidence, identity, and sense of purpose. He also reflects on surviving a second near-fatal accident years later, an experience he describes as mentally harder than Afghanistan.

From co...

Global music icon Anastacia has faced breast cancer twice, first diagnosed at just 34 at the height of her career and again ten years later. In this special episode, created in partnership with Postcode Lottery, she joins Jake to share how those experiences shaped her outlook on life.

Anastacia opens up about taking back control, the optimism that has carried her through difficult moments, and why early detection remains so important to her. The conversation also highlights the work of Breast Cancer Now and the difference funding raised by Postcode Lottery players helps make.

...

On the morning of 11 September 2001, Sean Windeatt was a 28-year-old in Cantor Fitzgerald's London finance department, fifteen minutes into his usual morning call with a colleague in New York, when the line went dead. That colleague was inside the North Tower. By the end of the day the firm had lost 658 people alongside 61 Euro Brokers employees— around two thirds of its New York workforce, and more than any other company in the tragedy that morning. The next day Sean was called downstairs, offered a job he'd turned down two years earlier, and handed a blank piece of paper. He as...

England Rugby World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio built his career on an extraordinary ability to create belief under pressure. But behind that drive was a deeply personal source of motivation: the loss of his sister Francesca when he was just 16.

Lawrence opens up about turning grief into fuel, finding the family he needed through rugby, and why the mental and emotional side of performance is so often underestimated. He also reveals how great leaders build belief before the biggest moments and find what truly motivates the people around them.

This conversation is a...

Sir Steve Hansen won 93 of 107 Tests as All Blacks head coach — the most successful run in the history of professional rugby.

We re-visit our chat with Steve where he takes it apart: why "culture" is the most overused word on the planet, why he hates rules, why nobody would admit the All Blacks were World Cup chokers, and the two times he got it badly wrong and had to apologise to a whole squad. Plus the question about walking away that he couldn't finish answering.

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Why does a weekly to-do list feel so overwhelming on a Sunday night? Jake and Damian argue it's not because of your workload, it's because your capacity . Sleep, energy, confidence, clarity, control: when any of these drop, the same list of tasks stops looking like separate, manageable jobs and starts looking like one overwhelming message — everything, now.

In this episode, Jake and Damian hear from:

Dina Asher-Smith has just made history as the most decorated athlete in European Championships history. An MBE, multiple major titles and four Olympic Games within reach, but at 30, one of Britain's greatest ever sprinters is still asking how much better she can become.

In this episode, Dina opens up about the realities behind those 10 seconds on the track, from how her menstrual cycle affected her performance to competing through grief. She also reflects on leaving her coach of 20 years, rebuilding her career, and why bronze can sometimes mean more than gold.

With the 2027...

We revisit our conversation with Fernando Alonso - two-time Formula 1 World Champion, 437 Grand Prix starts, 32 wins - recorded in a rare moment where the visor comes off completely. Jake and Damian get behind the "robot" Alonso becomes the second his helmet goes on, and into the boy who started racing a homemade go-kart at three years old, in a family with no money, no expectations, and no competitive gene to explain where his came from.

Fernando is disarmingly honest about the cost of that competitiveness: the two championships with Ferrari he came agonisingly close to and still...

What do you do when every option is on the table and you still end up with the same idea you always have? Jake and Damian tackle one of the quiet traps of creative work, and land somewhere counterintuitive: freedom doesn't make ideas bolder. Constraints do.

Damian unpacks David Epstein's Inside the Box and the psychology behind why unlimited time, unlimited method and unlimited scope send the brain straight to its safest, most familiar answer and the three tools for building a better box: the Fake Deadline, the One Rule, and the Small Box.

Ballon d'Or winner Michael Owen became one of the world's best footballers by developing an extraordinary ability to turn doubt, mistakes, and setbacks into self-belief. He joins Jake and Damian to reveal how that mindset was built, and why it eventually became one of his greatest challenges.

Michael reflects on the injuries that took away the explosive pace that defined him, and the painful eight-year gap between the player he believed he was and what his body could still deliver. He also opens up about retiring at 33, losing his sense of purpose, the strain it placed...