Anatomy of a Leader with Maria Hvorostovsky From LN-CC to Hearted: John Skelton on Extreme Success, Addiction & Rebuilding Life
What happens when extreme ambition meets an unregulated nervous system?
In this episode of Anatomy of a Leader, Maria sits down with John Skelton — co-founder of cult concept store LN-CC, former buyer at Selfridges and Harrods, and founder of mental health project Hearted — to explore what really happens behind high-performance careers.
John shares how he rose fast inside the fashion industry, helped reshape menswear, tripled turnover at Harrods, and built one of London’s most influential retail concepts — while accumulating pressure, burnout, and emotional overload.
This is a conversation about: Extreme talent. Extreme pressure. Identity collapse. Addiction as coping. And the slow, uncomfortable work of rebuilding capacity. Not a comeback story. A reconstruction story.
In This Episode, We Cover:
00:00 What extreme success does to your nervous system
02:07 How John rose through Selfridges and helped reshape menswear at Harrods
25:31 The creation of LN-CC and the reality behind building a cult retail brand
43:53 Addiction as self-soothing rather than weakness
50:34 Why “white-knuckling” recovery doesn’t work
51:51 How fitness, discipline, and self-awareness helped John rebuild from the ground up
54:33 The long timeline of recovery — and why quick fixes don’t work
59:11 Why high performers often avoid emotional processing
01:03:51 Reconnecting with his children after years apart
01:17:17 The philosophy behind his new project Hearted
01:21:47 What leadership looks like when you stop performing and start rebuilding
Why This Conversation Matters
We live in a culture that rewards speed, output and visibility — while ignoring emotional capacity. John’s story exposes the hidden cost of that model. It’s about what happens when identity becomes fused with achievement. When performance replaces presence. When ambition outruns regulation. And when rebuilding becomes the real work.
This episode is for anyone who has:
Built success but felt empty
Burned out silently
Used work, substances or distraction to cope
Hit a personal breaking point
Or is rebuilding after collapse
About John Skelton
John Skelton is a fashion industry veteran, co-founder of LN-CC, former buyer at Selfridges and Harrods, and the founder of Hearted — a project focused on emotional recovery, mental health awareness and honest storytelling.
IG: https://www.instagram.com/_h_e_a_r_t_e_d_/
🎧 Listen now to one of the most raw conversations yet on Anatomy of a Leader.
Follow host Maria Hvorostovsky
IG: https://www.instagram.com/anatomyofaleader/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/mariahvorostovsky/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariahvorostovsky/
Website: https://www.anatomyofaleader.com/
Artwork and video by https://www.londonbeautyphotographer.com/