A LOAD OF BS ON SPORT

I originally published my written story about Tshepo the Jean Maker in June. It had one of the best responses of all my pieces so far. And no wonder, because Tshepo Mohlala is inspiring and he speaks from the heart.Tshepo Mohlala’s story, values and life philosophy are a perfect match for everything that I am striving to show in this podcast series. From the most humble beginnings, Tshepo (meaning hope), the self-taught stylist and designer, has built his business from the ground up, and is now recognised as one of South Africa’s hippest denim brands.In this recording, I talk about:The unexpected visit from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2019Growing up in downtrodden Tsakane under the influence of his aunt and grandparentsBecoming Tshepo the Jean MakerThe celebrity followingHope for the futureI always encourage my readers and listeners to share these stories. In this case, I really urge you to take a moment to share and tweet - the more we do this, the sooner Tshepo’s beautiful Presidential Slim Fit jeans will make it to the UK!Please subscribe to this series so I can share even more amazing stories with you. You can also subscribe to my newsletter where you can find these recordings, the written transcripts and other pieces. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I talked with James O’Malley who spent 15 years in the Royal Navy:·  Leading counter-piracy operations in Somalia on behalf of the European Union·  Leading a major project dealing with the Ebola crisis·  Working as EU medical operations planner in volatile situations in Iraq, the Far East and Afghanistan“So we helicoptered in and within 10 minutes there were rounds flying, we got shelled, we had to move our positions. I remember thinking, you know what, this is probably the most exciting thing I've ever done in my life. I was with the guys that I trained with. I knew that our training was really good. I knew my medical skills were really good. I knew that if any of my friends got hit, I was there and I could save their lives or do everything I could.”And he recently led an expedition to Everest where he suffered a collapsed lung and nearly lost his life. This is an inspiring story filled with excitement, tragedy and recovery.I really hope you enjoy! If you do, please press the subscribe button on Apple or follow in Spotify. You can also subscribe to my newsletter where you can find these recordings, the written transcripts and other pieces. That's at danielsjross.substack.com   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today my guest is George Calhoun. George is the Executive Director of the Hanlon Financial Systems Research Centre at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey where he focuses on Quantitative Finance programs. He is now also the co-Principal for a recently awarded planning grant from the National Science Foundation to create an Industry/University Research Centre focused on FinTech.George is also the author of several books, and writes frequently for Forbes magazine on finance, with a particular interest in China.That's where today's conversation takes us. George gives us the inside track on the strange and curious disappearance of Alibaba founder and CEO Jack Ma since he made THAT speech last October 27th.In this episode, we cover:- What has happened to Jack Ma and why has the world's largest ever IPO (The Ant Group) been cancelled?- The various sightings of Jack from rural China to the golf course to Alibaba HQ- The paradox of the Chinese government's behaviour- What the future holds for Jack: prison, retirement, a comeback?- The strange global media silenceWe conclude with exciting FinTech news from George's university, the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, which has just been awarded a major grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to create a new national research centre on Fintech.I really hope you enjoy! If you do, please press the subscribe button.You can also subscribe to my newsletter where you can find these recordings, the written transcripts and other pieces. That's at danielsjross.substack.com  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I talked to ex-England rugby Sevens captain Ollie Phillips’s about elite sport, great adventures and battles with mental health.To understand how Ollie rose to the pinnacles of his sport, played for the biggest rugby club side in the world, captained his country but then veered off into addiction and depression, listen now... Click here to read the article and to subscribe to my newsletter so you will receive more inspiring stories into your inbox automatically. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.