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This episode is supported by 
Movember, the leading charity 

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changing the face of Men's 
Health. 

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Welcome back to To Be Away 
podcast with me, Elliot Ray. 

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And me, Joey Braley. 
Today we are joined by one of 

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the most recognizable voices in 
health and fitness in the UK, 

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Joey Wicks. 
During the pandemic, Joe became 

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a household name with his PE. 
With Joe, workouts streamed live

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into homes and classrooms around
the country. 

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I was definitely in my living 
room doing star jumps and push 

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ups. 
Joe has a huge following as the 

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body coach and author of Leaning
15 Recipe books. 

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Sharing workouts and nutritional
advice has helped millions of 

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people rethink their 
relationship with exercise and 

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food. 
Joe has used his platform to 

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speak openly about mental 
health, ADHD, body image and his

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own upbringing, and campaigning 
for better support for 

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Children's Health and 
well-being. 

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Through documentaries, books and
his advocacy around food and 

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physical activity, he's becoming
an important voice in the 

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national conversation about how 
we help young people thrive. 

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Welcome to the podcast Joe 
Ricks. 

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How you doing, Joe? 
I'm good. 

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Thank you for that introduction,
mate. 

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It's lovely to finally get to 
catch you. 

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We obviously bumped into show an
event. 

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I'm so glad we can have a 
conversation now. 

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And yeah, I think your podcast's
great. 

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What you're doing, the mess 
you're sharing is really 

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important and so I'm super 
passionate about. 

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So I'm looking forward to our 
chat really. 

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Oh, it's great to have you here.
So, Joe, we met last June and we

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were in the queue for Jamie 
Oliver's new premiere. 

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And I was, I was like, you know,
with the normal people, with my 

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friend Natalie in in the queue. 
And I look behind me and Joe 

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Wicks is behind me in the queue.
And I thought, you know what, 

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you could have easily have gone 
straight in with the rest of the

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VIPs. 
And I thought it showed us such 

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a humility and, you know, a 
grounded person who was willing 

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to to join the queue that I want
to start with that. 

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You know, you've had a massive 
rice to frame. 

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You're a household name. 
I'm sure you get recognised 

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everywhere you go. 
How have you managed to maintain

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that grounding and that humility
as you've become more popular? 

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I get asked this question a lot 
actually, because I think it's 

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such a perception of fame and 
like what your life really like,

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you know, from an outsider's 
view of social media. 

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And I might do an event and 1000
people turn up, but that's 

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obviously like an event that 
I've organised and I've like 

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announced it and stuff. 
But actually I really, I really 

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have a nice level of fame. 
Like I can, you know, I go into 

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London my and I jump on the 
train, like obviously go to 

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certain events where there's 
lots of families and kids and 

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they I'm not going to say people
don't recognise, but it's not 

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like to the point that I don't 
want to be out. 

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And I actually always love the 
interaction. 

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Sometimes it's a quick little, 
you know, Oh, Joe, I loved your 

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videos in lockdown or I'm with 
my friend who's got your 

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cookbook. 
Can we have a quick selfie? 

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It's not like a, an, it's like a
fame from like a, you know, like

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a pop star or like a, a, a 
famous TV actor. 

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I think because people always 
feel like they know me, like 

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they sort of feel like I'm a 
friend when I, when I bump into 

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them because they've done all my
workouts. 

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I've been in their living room. 
So it's always been, yeah, I've 

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never really had an issue with 
it. 

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Do you know what I mean? 
If anyone ever sees me when I'm 

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out, I always say, like always 
say hi because sometimes people,

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they get a bit nervous and then 
they'll DM me on Instagram. 

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I'm saying, I just saw you. 
I really wanted to say this. 

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And they'll send me this lovely 
message and I say, oh, listen, 

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next time you see me, like tell 
me because I love meeting 

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people. 
Like knowing that I've got that 

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connection and I've actually had
an impact on someone's life. 

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So yeah, it's something that 
it's, it's, it's not been, I 

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haven't actually think about 
that. 

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It's really just I just kept my 
feet on the ground. 

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I am who I am. 
You know, I really have a close 

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group of friends that I've kept 
my sort of circle quite close 

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and I, I didn't really get 
caught up in the whole fame and 

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celebrity red carpet kind of 
atmosphere of, of that 

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environment. 
So yeah, basically I've built my

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business at home on an iPhone 
with my family. 

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It just so happens that you all 
got to see it and lock down and 

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I've televised it through 
Instagram and stuff. 

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Yeah, I love that. 
I definitely feel like I I knew 

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you when I met you because 
you've been in my living room. 

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But let's let's go back to the 
beginning then. 

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So you've spoken quite openly 
about like your upbringing. 

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And I know it wasn't always easy
addiction with your parents and 

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and mental health as well. 
Can we talk about that in 

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regards to your upbringing and 
what were the the parts of it 

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that really shaped the man you 
are today? 

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Yeah, I've, I've gone down this 
sort of path of exploration 

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around my child a little bit 
recently with, you know, I did 

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Desert Island. 
This was the first time I really

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publicly spoke about my dad's 
kind of addiction to my mum's 

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mental health issues. 
And then I did a documentary 

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with Channel 4, which is called 
Facing my childhood. 

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I really sort of went into like 
what my parents went through and

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how that affected me as an 
adult. 

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But the more I understand it, 
the more I realised that 

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everything I went through as a 
as a child has really shaped me 

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as the man I am today. 
Like it's really taught me to be

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a good parent, to be present, to
have empathy for people and to 

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really be considerate and 
thoughtful and caring towards 

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other people. 
And you know, I really, although

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I went through, you could say a 
traumatic childhood, there was a

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lot of, you know, a lot of 
shouting and, you know, lots of 

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kind of, I didn't see the drugs,
but the effect of drugs on my 

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dad because my dad was a heroin 
addict. 

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So it's very, it's like it's 
just a sedative, right? 

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So he was there but wasn't 
really emotionally available. 

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And my mum had eating disorders 
and extreme like OCD. 

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So I had two really different 
personalities that I was living 

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with. 
But again, I don't, I didn't let

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it let it define me. 
Not all sort of hang on. 

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I didn't hang on a second and 
let it bring me down. 

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I actually just used all this 
sort of like mad energy and mad 

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sort of passion I had and just 
sort of started sharing at the 

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world. 
And so yeah, I just think. 

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But a lot of my love and drive 
towards helping families, 

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especially families with 
children, parents with mental 

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health issues, it comes from 
that experience and living in a 

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council flat, living in that 
environment of being on benefits

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and, you know, being skinned and
everything, being you're just 

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stressed out and worried about 
money all the time. 

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And any money that came in was, 
was being used for drugs and 

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stuff. 
So yeah, I, I see it. 

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I just think people say, like, 
would you change your life or 

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change your childhood? 
And the truth is like, I just, 

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I'm really proud of who I am 
today. 

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And I wouldn't change what I 
went through because it's given 

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me a resilience and a mental 
strength to really do good 

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things in my, with my energy, my
time. 

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So yeah, I'm proud of my 
background really, to be fair. 

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Yeah, I can imagine when we we 
talked about you being so 

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grounded, I can imagine having 
that upbringing, you know what 

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it's like to struggle, you know 
what it's like to not be in a 

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position you're in now. 
And I guess that that helps, you

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know, in regards to perspective.
So as you were growing up in 

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terms of like obviously 
difficult around the house, up 

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and down, were there people in 
your wider community? 

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Do you have role models that you
look to? 

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Did you have like a shining 
light? 

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Did you have examples where you 
could say, yeah, this is who I 

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want to become, this is how I 
want to act and behave? 

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What was that like for you? 
So, yeah, I grew up obviously 

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in, in a council flat. 
You know, we, we didn't have, we

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were on benefits. 
My mum, my mum didn't work for, 

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for many of my earlier years, my
dad was at roofer. 

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He'd be out and he was like a 
functionality. 

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So he would be working, but then
he'd be like relapse and then 

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he'd be in rehab and he'd be 
gone for months at a time. 

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And, you know, I had no one 
around me that was kind of like 

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ambitious or entrepreneurial, 
like in business or anything, 

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you know, and most of my family 
were probably on benefits at the

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time. 
The the first time I started a 

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proper role model in my life, I 
would say was my my PE teachers,

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like the male role model who I 
always found out that like could

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really deal with my energy. 
Because obviously when you got 

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someone at me, try and make me 
sit down in maths and sit down 

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and focus on something that I 
just didn't enjoy was 

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impossible. 
And I was very irritating and I 

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was annoying. 
I was, I was, you know, 

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disruptive, like attention 
seeking class clown if you like.

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But in sport and fitness, they 
didn't kick me out of those 

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classes because I was there and 
they loved it because I was the 

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one getting everyone and moving 
and getting, I've got almost 

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like a, it's funny, I felt like 
I was a bit of APE assist. 

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I was assistant to the PET 
because I'd be the one saying, 

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right, come on, hurry up, get 
dressed. 

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We got to get out there because 
we can't play football. 

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I can't play football on my own.
Like we're it's a team sport or,

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you know, just just like always 
putting the cones out and trying

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to get that session started as 
quick as possible. 

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Whereas in the other classes I 
was disruptive. 

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I'd be kicked out, I'd be 
sitting in detention and 

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isolation and stuff. 
And so, yeah, I think the PE 

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teacher and that that role model
of someone that like really 

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liked me, really liked my 
energy. 

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We had a great relationship. 
They made me laugh. 

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They were always like young and 
fun. 

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And I, I really did visualize 
and want to become a PE teacher.

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So that's all I could sort of 
imagine. 

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So that was my sort of path. 
From about 14 or 15, I decided 

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that when I leave school, I'm 
going to go to college, go to 

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university and I'll be a PE 
teacher. 

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Obviously, if you Fast forward 
to lockdown, although I'm not a 

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qualified PE teacher, I really 
was like, in that moment, so, so

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happy that I was thinking, I'm 
getting that millions of kids 

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exercise now. 
This is like my dream come true.

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So I kind of came full circle in
that moment. 

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And I didn't name myself the PE 
teacher to the nation that was 

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obviously the media. 
But I'm really, it's just, it's 

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kind of like, yeah, it's just 
really like, what's the word 

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serendipitous That I became in a
way a teacher of PE and sport, 

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you know, through, through that 
social media thing. 

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Yeah, and shout out to all the 
PE teachers. 

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Yeah, that is, we talk about 
role models, male role models, 

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so much on this podcast 'cause 
there is such a need for good 

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male role models at the moment 
in particular. 

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And obviously you've seen that 
the news is very much directed 

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towards what's going on with 
boys at the moment, particularly

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after adolescence. 
And now we've got Louis Three's 

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documentary Manosphere, and 
there are so many parents so 

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worried about their boys and 
that they're going to go down 

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the wrong route. 
And a lot of the narrative is 

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the absent fathers of the 
problem. 

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So single mums in particular are
really worried about what that 

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means if they're raising boys 
and feel completely hopeless, 

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many of them at the moment. 
And you've just articulated 

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beautifully how there are just 
good men around boys that they 

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can adopt behaviours that they 
see from these really great male

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role models. 
From that point around, you 

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know, male role models, I didn't
have a male role role in the 

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house, but those PE teachers 
through my secondary school 

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years that they really were 
influential. 

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But I think the one thing I'll 
say about, you know, when, when 

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you have like an absent parent 
or, you know, your mum's kind of

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replacing that role, like my mum
always loved us and supported 

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us. 
And I think if you love and 

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support your children and you, 
there's that communication and 

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there's those boundaries because
my mum was really strict of us. 

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00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:56,600
Like she, she, she had like a 
quite a challenging child and 

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she, she left, she got kicked 
out of home at 15, like she was 

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living in a squat. 
You know, she, she had no kind 

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00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:03,760
of rules and regulations where 
with us, she was really strict. 

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Like we had to respect her. 
So she taught me the 

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fundamentals, like how to, you 
know, how to respect women. 

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She, she wouldn't just let us 
bring girls home. 

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00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,120
She was like, she really, I 
don't know. 

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00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,040
I just learnt the values of like
being respectful to, to women 

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00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:18,400
and, and girlfriends, and that 
really came from her. 

234
00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,400
So like, don't, don't feel like 
you. 

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00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:23,240
If there's not a role medal, 
your, your boys can't still end 

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00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:25,400
up really kind and loving 
because me and my brothers have 

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00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:26,600
got three. 
We're one of three boys. 

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You know, we're all, we're all 
good partners. 

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00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,040
We all respect our women. 
We love our girlfriends and our 

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00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:33,760
wives and stuff. 
So it's like, it's not you can, 

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00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:34,800
there's, there's hope in that 
this. 

242
00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:36,920
You can be positive about that. 
Like don't feel like you're, 

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00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,160
you're destined to a child 
that's going to be disrespectful

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00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:42,200
to women and stuff because they 
haven't got a male role model. 

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00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:45,520
I think the mum has a really 
influential role in that, you 

246
00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:49,000
know, to play. 
Lovely to hear you RTK that. 

247
00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,160
Let's talk about your 
relationship with food and body 

248
00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:54,440
image. 
So you've spoken about having 

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00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,040
issues with with food and and a 
new relationship with your body.

250
00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:01,320
When did that start? 
Was that in your teenage life? 

251
00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:03,000
What, what part of your life did
that kind of start at? 

252
00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:06,520
So obviously growing up as a 
kid, you earn your own benefits.

253
00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:07,680
Like there's not a lot of money 
in the house. 

254
00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:09,560
So the food, the quality of the 
food we were eating wasn't 

255
00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:11,120
great. 
You know, my mum was also 

256
00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:13,560
uneducated on nutrition and 
cooking because she didn't, she 

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00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:16,920
wasn't taught these things. 
So I had a probably, you know, 

258
00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,080
I'd say 90% ultra processed food
diet. 

259
00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:22,040
There wasn't much fruit and veg.
You know, it was very much like,

260
00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:26,840
you know, ready meals, frozen 
meals, lots of snacks and crisp 

261
00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,240
and chocolate and sunny delight,
all those things in the 80s and 

262
00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,640
90s, you know, like frozen 
crispy pancakes, potato waffles,

263
00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:35,320
all these things that, you know,
tasted great, but I was pretty 

264
00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:37,680
much running on the sugar. 
So, yeah, I'm sure that I had a 

265
00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:39,800
knowing now about nutrition. 
I'm sure that had an effect on 

266
00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,800
my my focus and concentration at
school and my kind of energy per

267
00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,160
SE. 
But you know, I, I just, I was 

268
00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:48,280
never happy with my body because
I was really, really slim and 

269
00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:50,120
skinny as a kid. 
And like, you know, when 

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00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:53,080
something hurts your feelings, 
people use it against you. 

271
00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:56,560
So when my brother used to call 
me skinny or skinny legs, it 

272
00:11:56,560 --> 00:11:57,760
was, it would really hurt my 
feelings. 

273
00:11:57,760 --> 00:11:59,920
So I had this complex that I was
skinnier than everyone else and 

274
00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:02,400
that I had no muscle. 
And so I definitely had this 

275
00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:04,680
feeling of like insecurity about
my body. 

276
00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:09,000
So as soon as I got my first job
at 15, when I was working in 

277
00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,960
Wilkinson's in Epsom, you know, 
I got a gym membership, went to,

278
00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:15,000
went to the local homes place 
and was like every day after 

279
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,600
school gonna lift weights, 
trying to change my physique. 

280
00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:19,560
But I was doing it for mental 
health too. 

281
00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:22,520
But I didn't know at the time 
because obviously I was draw. 

282
00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:24,600
I was driven by the idea of 
changing my body image. 

283
00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:27,480
But actually what was going on 
really was an emotional stress 

284
00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:28,680
relief. 
And it was dealing with the, the

285
00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:30,840
anger and resentment I was 
experiencing because at that 

286
00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:33,720
point as a teenager, I was so 
fed up with my dad relapsing 

287
00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:35,960
over and over again that it 
really started to me off. 

288
00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:38,320
And so I used exercise as a, as 
a therapy. 

289
00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:41,280
It was my therapy and 
essentially so, yeah, I just 

290
00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,200
obviously always had an image, 
you know, thing of my body 

291
00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:44,600
image. 
And but also knowing that 

292
00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:48,080
exercise to me is more than just
changing my physical external 

293
00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:50,760
self. 
It's actually about my mood, my 

294
00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,360
energy, my stress levels, my 
optimism for things. 

295
00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:55,800
So it's been a big part of my 
life, the exercise thing, you 

296
00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:59,080
know? 
And for me, Joe, you're, you're 

297
00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:01,200
the person who actually got me 
back into exercise. 

298
00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:05,840
So I became a dad in 2015 and 
didn't do any exercise properly 

299
00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,080
for five years after my daughter
was born. 

300
00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,000
We moved house. 
I was just in the thick of 

301
00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,040
parenting and and whatnot and it
was locked down. 

302
00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:15,000
And your videos like got me back
into exercise. 

303
00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,280
And now I go to the gym everyday
and with gym go, I'm exercising,

304
00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,800
I'm doing my steps. 
And for me it's definitely 

305
00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,240
mental as well as as physical as
well. 

306
00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:26,680
I know there's a lot. 
I go to the gym and there's lots

307
00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:30,800
of young boys there, which is 
great because health and fitness

308
00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:34,520
is of course important. 
But I do also feel like they are

309
00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:38,480
chasing maybe being influenced 
by the manosphere and what 

310
00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,200
they're seeing online chasing 
like the perfect body. 

311
00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:44,640
And I do get worried that 
they're at the gym for the wrong

312
00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:47,360
reasons as well. 
What would you say to to parents

313
00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,240
of young boys or young boys who 
are maybe exercising just to get

314
00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:54,760
buff and they feel that pressure
of I need to look a certain way.

315
00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:56,520
What would you say to to those 
young people I'm. 

316
00:13:57,400 --> 00:13:59,120
Going to be honest with you 
about something right when I was

317
00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:03,680
when I was at university. 
This is in like, you know, 2005,

318
00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:07,600
I done a dissertation and I've 
still got it. 

319
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:11,440
It's like it was, it was body 
dysmorphia and social physique 

320
00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:13,200
anxiety in young men. 
You know, like I was really 

321
00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:15,600
interested in this idea of like,
why am I going to the gym? 

322
00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:18,720
But I still don't like my body. 
And why are we so driven by like

323
00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,680
trying to physically change the 
way we look and this and you 

324
00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:23,360
know, that's back in the day 
when all you had was like men's 

325
00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:26,560
health and Men's Fitness, right?
And it even today, it feels so 

326
00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,600
apartment today that I did that 
because as a 40 year old today, 

327
00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,040
I would say my self-confidence 
around my body is probably the 

328
00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,520
lowest it's ever been because of
social media, right? 

329
00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,240
Because I, but now if you, if 
you look at one physique like, 

330
00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,480
and my, my Instagram explorer 
page is a lot of like really 

331
00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,480
fit, ripped musty guys, right? 
And what has happened is it's 

332
00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,480
slowly but surely like kind of 
walked my view of like what a 

333
00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,760
man's body should look like. 
And you know, the fact is most 

334
00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:56,680
of them are going to be using 
peptides, growth hormones, 

335
00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,680
steroids, anabolic stuff, you 
know, so this is not a realistic

336
00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:01,480
physique. 
But because I've been lift, 

337
00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:04,040
honestly, if I told you how hard
I've trained and how much food 

338
00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,200
I've eaten over the last 20 
years and my body doesn't look 

339
00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:08,880
much different to when I was 18,
right? 

340
00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:13,080
But you can get these guys now 
within the space of 12 months, 

341
00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,840
you know, doing certain 
performance enhancing drugs and 

342
00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:17,560
their, their body looks 
ridiculous, like they look 

343
00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:19,600
unbelievable. 
You know, they're ripped, their 

344
00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,280
shoulders are massive. 
And it's most I can, I'm 

345
00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,760
starting to understand now that 
it's not natural. 

346
00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:29,000
But when you're seeing that 
every single day, it really, you

347
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:30,680
start to compare yourself, you 
can't help it. 

348
00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,640
So I'd be really cautious about,
you know, young children being 

349
00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,320
exposed to social media and you 
know, same for girls, right? 

350
00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:38,680
And, and female physics is 
beautiful fitness models and 

351
00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:41,480
that's why it's happening to me.
I'm 40 years old like, and I 

352
00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:44,080
understand the fitness industry,
but so many people just think 

353
00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,720
it's Natalie think take your 
protein and creatine, you know, 

354
00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,280
have a protein shake and have 
the creatine and you're going to

355
00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,280
suddenly look at that. 
But it's, it's just, it's just 

356
00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:55,440
so difficult to build muscle 
that it's just a real kind of 

357
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,960
walked view and you get this 
dysmorphia around like your body

358
00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:00,080
and what you should be looking 
like. 

359
00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,680
And, and it is, it's, it's 
really prevalent because social 

360
00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,160
media now, once you look at one 
video, one guy that's ripped up 

361
00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,360
and talking about Retta true 
tide or growth hormone and 

362
00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,160
testosterone that week, all 
your, all you're going to be 

363
00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,200
served because the algorithm 
like sticks onto you so quickly 

364
00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:16,680
is this message of, well, 
everyone's doing growth hormone,

365
00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,400
everyone's doing peptides, 
everyone's doing this stuff. 

366
00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:21,600
And you start to think like, I'm
never going to look like that 

367
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:23,480
unless I'm wanting to do that. 
And then obviously people do 

368
00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:25,440
get, I've never gone down that 
path. 

369
00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,280
But young people are getting 
drawn into taking these 

370
00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:30,200
substances before their bodies 
are fully developed. 

371
00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,160
And it's a massive issue 
definitely because the people 

372
00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,120
that use it are so they're so 
evangelical about it, like, Oh 

373
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:38,120
my God, look at this. 
I'm on this cycle. 

374
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:39,600
My body's completely 
transformed. 

375
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,320
Click the link or DM me to get 
the, you know, whatever the, the

376
00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,520
contact to these, to these 
supplements and things. 

377
00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:47,920
And it's most people are just 
selling like fitness plans and 

378
00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:49,760
supplements, but really they're 
doing it unnaturally. 

379
00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:52,520
So yeah, it's a big issue right 
now facing young men, I would 

380
00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,480
say. 
Do you also think we can take 

381
00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:59,760
fitness a bit too far in that? 
Like I have a 12 year old and a 

382
00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:04,440
10 year old son, two boys, and 
my 12 year old is obsessed with 

383
00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:06,480
the gym. 
Like he wants to go to the gym 

384
00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,319
all the time. 
And I said to him the other day,

385
00:17:09,319 --> 00:17:10,760
like, I'm glad that you're into 
fitness. 

386
00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,480
I really like it. 
But you also need to go out when

387
00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:17,839
you're a bit older and have fun.
Like I do both like go out, 

388
00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:21,680
drink a bit, fall over, you 
know, I'll come and pick you up,

389
00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:25,040
but also be be healthy and go to
the gym. 

390
00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:29,120
And it seems to me lots of kids 
now don't do the fun bit. 

391
00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,800
They don't go out and get drunk 
and fall over like we did when 

392
00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,480
we were younger. 
They're just obsessed with going

393
00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,720
to the gym constantly. 
And sometimes I think, like, I 

394
00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:41,920
withdraw from talking about 
fitness a bit to my kids because

395
00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:45,920
I feel like they're getting so 
much pressure externally on 

396
00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:50,760
fitness that actually it could 
mean that they miss out on so 

397
00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:52,760
much fun. 
Like my formative years, all the

398
00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,880
things I remembered that were 
fun when I was younger were me 

399
00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:59,720
going out with friends and 
bonding and community and, and 

400
00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:03,040
getting drunk and falling over 
and doing the silly things that 

401
00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:06,760
kids do. 
And so, yeah, so I sometimes 

402
00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:08,800
bear away from talking about 
fitness to my kids. 

403
00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,880
Do you think sometimes we maybe 
there's too much talk about 

404
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,800
fitness? 
Yeah, because I, it's hard for 

405
00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:16,960
me to comment on that because I 
haven't got teenagers yet, you 

406
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,240
know, and all of my friends, 
we've all got sort of like 5678 

407
00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:21,680
year old kids. 
So we're not at that stage where

408
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,480
like I can have conversations 
like how they doing with school 

409
00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:26,920
and fitness or what are they 
like socialising? 

410
00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,280
So, but I know there's a massive
cultural shift like with 

411
00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,640
nightclubs closing with, you 
know, there's like saunas with 

412
00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:35,600
raves in there's like, you know,
lot of lot of you know, people 

413
00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:37,920
like celebrating that, you know,
not drinking a sobriety, which 

414
00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:39,840
is a positive thing because you 
know, alcohol. 

415
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,040
I obviously I wasn't a big 
drinker, but I did used to have 

416
00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:43,480
a night out. 
I would go out drinking, but I 

417
00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:45,480
think people were just more 
aware of like the impact on 

418
00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:47,400
their mental health. 
And so there's obviously like, I

419
00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:48,800
mean, there's sobriety 
influencers, right? 

420
00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,760
There's there's there's zero 
free beers and alcohols and 

421
00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:53,280
things. 
So I think there's a massive 

422
00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:54,640
shift in that Gen. 
Z, especially Gen. 

423
00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,080
Z, like they'll go to a gig and 
a concert the minute the last 

424
00:18:57,080 --> 00:18:59,240
song's played, they just walk 
out so that these venues aren't 

425
00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:01,080
selling beer and people aren't 
like part until 2:00 in the 

426
00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,760
morning. 
But I, you know, with my kids, 

427
00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:04,880
I'm always trying to make it 
fun. 

428
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,320
So we don't have structured like
fitness classes. 

429
00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:09,560
I'm like, come, we're going to, 
it's more like let's go on a 

430
00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:11,680
bike ride. 
Let's do some, you know, hide 

431
00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:13,520
and seek in the garden. 
Let's do some pad work and have 

432
00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:15,960
a little bit of fun. 
But it's always like multi 

433
00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:17,480
sport. 
So like one minute we'll say 

434
00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,160
let's go to the park and we take
our basketball, football and our

435
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:22,840
skates and our skateboard. 
And so I'm just trying to give 

436
00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:24,280
them a chance to experience 
movement. 

437
00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:26,920
But I mean, and you know, none 
of it's competitive, right? 

438
00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:29,640
None of my kids, they do, they 
do clubs and things, but it's 

439
00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:31,320
really for fun. 
But I don't know. 

440
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:33,520
Yeah, of course, you, you, you 
can be too extreme of anything. 

441
00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,520
But I, you look at me and think,
oh, you're addicted to exercise.

442
00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:38,840
And it's, it's a negative thing.
But I've always just loved it. 

443
00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,200
And it's been such an easy 
natural thing for me to do. 

444
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,480
Like it's just in my DNA. 
It's such a default setting that

445
00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:46,800
when I wake up, whether I'm in a
good mood or a bad mood or 

446
00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,360
whatever I'm feeling, I do a 
little bit of exercise and it 

447
00:19:49,360 --> 00:19:52,000
shifts, it shifts my day and 
makes me feel so positive. 

448
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,880
So I think it depends what sort 
of your personality type is. 

449
00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,720
But if you are consuming lots of
social media and seeing lots of 

450
00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:00,480
images of physiques and 
supplements and, you know, 

451
00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:03,120
people doing steroids, it's 
going to be, and you're young, 

452
00:20:03,120 --> 00:20:05,600
161718 year old guy, you're 
going to be influenced by these 

453
00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:08,720
things a lot more. 
And so, yeah, you've got, I 

454
00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:10,520
suppose, have to keep having the
conversations and. 

455
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,240
And keep supporting them and and
guide them and asking them, you 

456
00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:14,840
know, what is it? 
What's driving you to go to the 

457
00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:16,200
gym? 
Like is it about your health? 

458
00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,560
Or is it you know about your 
your mental health or your body 

459
00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:21,640
and just have like those open 
conversations Then you might get

460
00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,600
to more positive place of it. 
Yeah, I like that. 

461
00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:26,520
Yeah. 
And I think you're a great male 

462
00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:29,480
role model, by the way. 
I don't think that you're 

463
00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:30,920
addicted to exercise and it's 
bad. 

464
00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:33,320
Oh, thank you. 
And I'm glad to say that. 

465
00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:35,360
I just think everyone, every 
look, every kids, so different. 

466
00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:37,320
Every teenage is going to have 
their own little view on 

467
00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,360
exercise. 
And I don't know, I'll be more. 

468
00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:40,760
I'll be so much happier with my 
kids. 

469
00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:43,440
We're into exercise and if they 
weren't as them to really like, 

470
00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:45,240
you know, struggle and see them 
struggling. 

471
00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,560
Because I think when you're 
active, you just have a much 

472
00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:49,160
better life, right? 
Simple as that. 

473
00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:51,320
You just have an easier life, 
less stress, and you feel your 

474
00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:53,760
body moves better. 
So overall, it's more positive 

475
00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:55,400
than negative. 
I think that kids are exercising

476
00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:56,440
and getting to the gym and 
stuff. 

477
00:20:57,080 --> 00:20:58,520
Yeah. 
And as Jody said, I think you 

478
00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:02,760
are probably like the example of
someone who represents us in 

479
00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,880
such a healthy way because I 
never look at your content or 

480
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:07,880
your videos and think, oh, I 
need to get buff. 

481
00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,760
It's more about health and 
well-being, and it's more about.

482
00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:12,280
What you saying about you saying
I've got a little muscle? 

483
00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:15,640
Look, I can't tell you how 
strong am I? 

484
00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:19,320
I can do pull ups, right with 20
kilograms wrapped around my 

485
00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:21,640
waist. 
I'm really strong, but my body, 

486
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,360
I never build muscle and I eat 
loads of calories, loads of 

487
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:26,200
protein. 
This is the thing that building 

488
00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:28,360
muscles really, really hard. 
So when you see these 18 year 

489
00:21:28,360 --> 00:21:31,160
olds that were these amazing 
physiques, massive arm, like 

490
00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:32,880
there's no way it's natural. 
Do you know what I mean? 

491
00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,200
It's really, really misleading. 
Really. 

492
00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:37,280
Yeah, 100%. 
But you're, you're one of the, 

493
00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:39,360
the good, the good ones. 
I would say I'd love for my 

494
00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:41,080
children when they're old enough
to watch your content. 

495
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:42,760
I have a 10 year old and 
three-year old, so I'll be 

496
00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,720
directing them to your YouTube 
channel when they're old enough.

497
00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,320
I guess the big conversation 
about male role models and, and 

498
00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,520
especially visible men in the 
media, we've had so much 

499
00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:59,240
conversation about are there 
good men in the UK? 

500
00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,880
Are there visible male role 
models, people that we can look 

501
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:04,920
to in the media? 
And you are one of those. 

502
00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,720
How consciously do you feel 
about that in regards to do you 

503
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:12,800
feel like when you're doing your
content, when you're on socials 

504
00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:16,560
or just when you're going around
in your life, are you aware of 

505
00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:18,200
the impacts that you have on 
young people? 

506
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,920
Do you consciously think about 
that on your day-to-day basis? 

507
00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:25,720
And do you think we need more 
visible male role models to 

508
00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,760
actually be out there talking 
more openly like you do? 

509
00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:32,800
Well, thank you for for saying 
that you think my role model and

510
00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:34,600
a positive energy. 
I do want to be that guy. 

511
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:36,840
I want to be a positive, you 
know, run one in terms of 

512
00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:39,640
exercise and nutrition. 
But as a parent, you know, as a 

513
00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:41,240
parent, it's hard being a 
parent. 

514
00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:43,440
You know, it's hard being a good
parent and a patient parent and 

515
00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,360
with all the stress of what's 
going on. 

516
00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:48,120
So, you know, things I share, I 
always do it from a point of 

517
00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:49,720
life. 
Can I help someone? 

518
00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,000
Can I because I don't ever want 
to be that guy that's putting 

519
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,040
other people down on making them
feel like they're less than or 

520
00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:56,600
not good enough as a parent, 
because I know the challenges of

521
00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:57,960
of being a parent. 
It's not easy. 

522
00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:00,880
So I try to sort of inspire 
through my content, but I don't 

523
00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:02,920
overthink it. 
You know, I don't think, Oh, 

524
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:06,840
here's a strategy for, you know,
getting kids eating better. 

525
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:08,440
Like I just had kids along the 
way. 

526
00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:10,680
I had to learn to wean and I did
a weaning book and that that 

527
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,000
book really helped lots of 
people get their children onto 

528
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,680
some some healthy food. 
And obviously now with my 

529
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:18,520
animation, I'm doing a series of
CBeebies and YouTube is called 

530
00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:20,800
activate. 
It's a, it's an animated work. 

531
00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:22,280
I see it's for kids. 
Your little 3 year old will love

532
00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:23,840
it. 
And I don't overthink it. 

533
00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:25,680
I just think of different ways I
share the message. 

534
00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:27,560
Like this is an example. 
This podcast is another way of 

535
00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,640
talking about the things I love.
It might be a documentary. 

536
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,280
It might be like the ultra 
processed food documentary. 

537
00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:35,880
There's different things I do, 
but it's all gearing towards the

538
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:39,320
same thing, which is getting 
families and and kids and adults

539
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:44,440
exercising, moving, cooking and 
eating healthier food and and 

540
00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:46,600
doing those things consistently 
because I do believe that is the

541
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,520
most impactful thing on 
someone's health and well-being.

542
00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:52,720
But yeah, I have AI definitely 
have a responsibility and I'm 

543
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:56,560
aware that things I say, you 
know, can impact people 

544
00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:58,000
positively. 
But you know, something you say 

545
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,440
can also get taken out of 
context and then you get and 

546
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:01,880
you've, you've done the opposite
of what you're trying to 

547
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:03,680
achieve. 
So yeah, you just got to be 

548
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,080
mindful of the people. 
People do trust you. 

549
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:10,000
And that that authenticity has 
taken so many years to build up.

550
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,000
But what it does allow me, it 
allows me to stay really focused

551
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,760
on the task and the mission 
rather than getting drawn into 

552
00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:19,960
like, you know, selling, I don't
know, I don't believe, you know,

553
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:21,800
partnering with like a fast food
chain or something. 

554
00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:23,560
You know, I just have to stick 
to what I'm good at and really 

555
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:24,800
focus on it. 
And it's really given me that 

556
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:27,120
longevity in my career. 
Like, I'm still going like 14 

557
00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:28,960
years later. 
I'm still building an audience. 

558
00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:32,280
I'm still engaging people. 
But yeah, I, I'm really, I'm 

559
00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:34,480
really passionate about 
inspiring people. 

560
00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,120
And I hope that I'm doing that, 
you know, even after all these 

561
00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:39,080
years. 
Yeah, so we're not going to see 

562
00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:41,160
a Joe Wixon Burger King 
collaboration anytime soon, is 

563
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:42,640
that what you're saying? 
What you're. 

564
00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,040
Saying no, I haven't eaten. 
I haven't eaten a McDonald's or 

565
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:46,800
Burger King for years. 
I used to love a sausage named 

566
00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:48,480
Mcmuffin though. 
On the way, on the way to my 

567
00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:50,960
boot camp, I'd do my boot camp. 
And so after my boot camp, I'd 

568
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,520
go down 7 Mcdonald'd have a 
sausage named Mcmuffin. 

569
00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,680
But now them days are over now. 
Yeah, yeah, I was like that. 

570
00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:59,280
And my youngest started going to
McDonald's and I relapsed. 

571
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:00,920
But I can do better. 
I'm going to do better. 

572
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,200
So Joe, you're a dad. 
You've got 4 kids. 

573
00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,840
How old your children? 
So I've got a girl who's 7A 

574
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:11,280
little boy who's six, another 
goes 3 and then a boy who's 1. 

575
00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:12,720
So yeah, we're right in the 
thick of it. 

576
00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:14,280
It's chaos. 
This is the quietest you'll ever

577
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:16,360
hear in my house because they've
all, they've all gone Well, my 

578
00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:18,320
mum, actually my mum's taken my 
kids to Butlins today. 

579
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,000
And I love as a kid, like that 
was our holiday. 

580
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,480
We'd go camping on the South of 
France. 

581
00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:24,880
We go to Butlins. 
So she's taking my two older 

582
00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:28,240
kids to Butlins for four days. 
And then I've just got the two 

583
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:29,800
babies with Rosie this this 
week. 

584
00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,480
So it'll be nice because I can 
get the 2 little ones to bed and

585
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:34,640
hopefully have like an hour or 
two to relax in the evening. 

586
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:38,600
Because when you put in all four
down, it takes like 2 hours and 

587
00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:39,960
sometimes they're still awake at
half nine. 

588
00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:41,480
You're like, Oh my God, how are 
you not sleeping? 

589
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:43,160
I've just read you 3 books, go 
to bed. 

590
00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:48,160
So a lot of my work is around 
helping dads to balance their 

591
00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,000
career and also being an active 
dad. 

592
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,240
We have a program called 
Parenting Out Loud, a workplace 

593
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,480
culture change program. 
You've got 4 kids and obviously 

594
00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:58,360
a busy career as well. 
How do you find the balance of 

595
00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:01,680
homeschooling children being 
active, parent being equal, 

596
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,920
parent also being Joe Wicks as 
well? 

597
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,560
Well, I'm not going to pretend 
the homeschooling thing is a 

598
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:10,480
doddle when it's just walk in 
the park because it's really 

599
00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:11,800
not. 
It's a proper challenge and it's

600
00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:13,360
a commitment we've made, but 
it's not easy. 

601
00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:16,120
It's stressful, put it that way.
But I'm I'm, you know, I'm 

602
00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:17,560
really blessed that you know, my
career. 

603
00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:20,920
If you think about it from the 
very start, like I was living in

604
00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:24,880
a flat in Surbiton with an 
iPhone framed food in the pan 

605
00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:27,760
built on Instagram following and
that built that lean and 15 

606
00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:29,360
business, obviously. 
And then obviously the the 

607
00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:32,320
fitness stuff came later. 
But I'm so blessed in the sense 

608
00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:34,600
that I'm not ATV celebrity where
I have to go off doing like 

609
00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:38,240
weeks of filming documentaries 
and long days out the office, 

610
00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:40,480
like my office is like my office
is here. 

611
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:42,000
So I've got my kitchen for 
cooking. 

612
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:44,760
I film workers in the garden or 
workers in the living room. 

613
00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:47,480
I I move stuff out the way and 
we'll do it in one of the 

614
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,840
bedrooms. 
And so this is my office. 

615
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:51,440
So I'm really blessed. 
I get to be around. 

616
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,880
So even if I've got a busy day 
on, like I can still get an hour

617
00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:56,880
with the kids or half an hour 
here, a little bits throughout 

618
00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:58,960
the day. 
So that has that's good. 

619
00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:00,840
That's good and bad because it's
really hard sometimes to 

620
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:02,120
separate between am I being a 
dad now? 

621
00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:03,640
Am I working? 
And they don't really get that. 

622
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,520
So when they come up to me like,
oh, can we play the guitar? 

623
00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:08,800
Can we build Lego? 
I'm like, and I don't, I don't 

624
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:10,960
want to say no, but something 
like, listen up right now. 

625
00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:12,880
I'm in my office. 
I've got to do some work. 

626
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:14,760
And sometimes they'll get 
involved in the cooking stuff. 

627
00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:18,040
But you know, I think I'm, I'm 
just, and I've thought of all 

628
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:21,120
the things I'm, I'm grateful for
is the fact that I've been able 

629
00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:23,000
to build a digital business 
where I can take them along for 

630
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,240
the journey. 
I, I, I really think I would 

631
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,680
have struggled being ATV 
celebrity, sort of, you know, 

632
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,320
filming internationally, going 
around the world and not taking 

633
00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:33,480
my kids with me because I am at 
my happiest when I'm with them. 

634
00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,440
So I've managed to sort of 
integrate them into my world and

635
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,560
they're part of my, you know, my
part of my, I suppose my social 

636
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,320
media presence is now with them.
And, you know, I'm really 

637
00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:45,200
blessed and grateful that I've 
got that time because I really 

638
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:48,000
know that the most important 
thing right now for me is time 

639
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:49,720
with my kids. 
Because this moment, like, you 

640
00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:52,360
know, like when they get to a 
certain age, we're going to miss

641
00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:55,280
this, this moment that we're in 
now, these earlier years, that 

642
00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,160
these are the most magical years
where you feel like you, you 

643
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:01,120
really can influence them and 
you can be their best friend and

644
00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:03,120
they love it. 
And so that's one of the reasons

645
00:28:03,120 --> 00:28:05,280
we homeschool. 
Like I've got nothing against 

646
00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:06,800
the school system. 
I think schools are amazing. 

647
00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:08,840
Like I love teachers and I would
have been a teacher if I wasn't 

648
00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:11,320
the body coach. 
But you know, I just want to 

649
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:13,400
spend more time with them. 
So I've sort of designed my life

650
00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:16,160
in a way to be with them as much
as possible. 

651
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:19,800
You know, when I do go and do a 
trip, it's only maybe two or 

652
00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:21,640
three days. 
I'm not away for that long when 

653
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:23,840
I do travel. 
And, and because of that, we've 

654
00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:25,200
been able to do the home 
schooling together. 

655
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,720
But I think if, if I wasn't 
involved in that sense, I don't 

656
00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:29,920
think Rosie wouldn't, we 
wouldn't have been, we wouldn't 

657
00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:31,560
have been homeschooling because 
it's just too hard. 

658
00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:33,800
But I don't know. 
I mean, some days I feel like 

659
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:35,920
I'm doing, I'm a really great 
dad and I'm really patient. 

660
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,360
Other days I feel like I 
showered at the kids today and 

661
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:41,200
I'm not my best self, but I 
acknowledge that and I apologise

662
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:42,920
and I say, look, I'm really 
sorry. 

663
00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:45,400
I shouted, I'm really sorry, you
know, and I, I think that's a 

664
00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:47,680
really important thing to teach 
the kids that it's OK to 

665
00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:49,800
sometimes lose control a little 
bit. 

666
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:51,440
But as long as you acknowledge 
it and you apologise, then you 

667
00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:54,000
can demonstrate that, you know, 
like you can role model in a way

668
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:55,920
that you can, you can sort of 
learn from that. 

669
00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:58,160
And yeah, I'm really conscious 
of that as well. 

670
00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:02,920
Yeah, we've got lots of parents 
that will be listening that 

671
00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:07,840
either homeschool their children
or are considering homeschooling

672
00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,160
their children. 
As a homeschooling parent, what 

673
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:14,080
tips would you give them? 
What would you say, 'cause I 

674
00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:16,520
think lots of parents thinking 
about doing it would think, God,

675
00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:22,240
I haven't got all the things 
that my kids need within me and 

676
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:24,600
they'll be thinking, what would 
I do with them all day? 

677
00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:27,400
How would I keep them occupied? 
So what do you do with your 

678
00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,640
kids? 
So the little ones we can 

679
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:31,560
obviously at the moment discount
because they're still just 

680
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:33,120
exploring the world, right? 
So the three-year old and the 

681
00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,040
one year old, they're just, 
they're just the troublemakers 

682
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,640
who just trash the house. 
So they destroy everything like 

683
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:40,120
this. 
These boxes of rubbers and 

684
00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:42,640
pencils will be on the floor. 
So that's, that's the biggest 

685
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,840
challenge, which is trying to 
sit and do concentrated focus 

686
00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,560
well with the older 2, But you 
know, once they're napping or 

687
00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:50,560
they're chilling in front of the
TV for a bit, then we can get 

688
00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:52,760
sit down with the older 2. 
But the most important thing 

689
00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:56,120
today is you're not trying to, 
you're not trying to replicate 

690
00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:58,600
school, You're not trying to be 
a school where you're doing like

691
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:00,280
5-6 hours or whatever it is of 
learning. 

692
00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:01,960
You're not, you're not going to 
be able to do that because it's 

693
00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:04,240
really hard in, in in a home 
environment and also with 

694
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:06,880
concentration things. 
So you've got to be much more 

695
00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:09,480
flexible with it. 
We learn in the car, we learn on

696
00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:11,880
the way to, you know, at the 
park where every day is a 

697
00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:15,280
learning day, weekend, summer. 
There's no like half term. 

698
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:17,040
We stop learning. 
It's just constantly learning 

699
00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,480
throughout the year. 
So I'm amazed at how much they 

700
00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,640
can learn when you just do 
focused, concentrated, you know,

701
00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,800
it might just be 15 minutes of 
reading or 15 minutes that we're

702
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:27,400
doing this thing at the moment. 
We do like creative writing. 

703
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:31,280
We just write a little story. 
But what I've learned is that my

704
00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:33,760
kids are only good at the guitar
because I've sat with them. 

705
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:35,400
They're only good at reading 
because I've sat with them. 

706
00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,240
They're only good at reading 
because I've write them, because

707
00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,160
I'm sitting there with them. 
If I walk away, nothing gets 

708
00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:41,840
done. 
Literally, they'll just write a 

709
00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:43,760
sentence or they get all 
stressed out and I'm like, OK, 

710
00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:45,800
I'm going to help you with the 
sentence opening the title. 

711
00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:47,440
And I sort of send them on their
way. 

712
00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:49,680
And it's a skill like the, the 
creative writing their stories, 

713
00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:51,440
you know, they were barely 
writing a paragraph. 

714
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:53,440
Now they're just writing one 
little page like we do like a 

715
00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,120
start, middle and end. 
And I just, it's a skill, right?

716
00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:58,160
So you've got to just you've got
to decide what you want to 

717
00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:00,000
basically download into your 
child's brain. 

718
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:02,960
Now, what do you value? 
For me, it's like life skills. 

719
00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:03,960
It's cookie. 
It's Cookie. 

720
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,040
And it's, you know, it's, it's 
staying active. 

721
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,360
It's it's reading and obviously 
writing. 

722
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:10,000
We don't have much, much screen 
time. 

723
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,560
Like we print out all these, you
know, little things from like 

724
00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:15,920
Twinkle and even like, you know,
I've got these, I might remember

725
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:18,880
these in school that, you know, 
So we're still using like things

726
00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:20,720
you've used in school, the old 
CGP books. 

727
00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:22,720
But you've got to be flexible 
with it. 

728
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:24,360
And you've got to have, you've 
got to understand that some days

729
00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:26,960
you're going to feel like I've 
taught my kids so much today I'm

730
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,640
really happy I've done so well. 
And other days you go, God, 

731
00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:31,520
they've just been running riot 
around the house and they've 

732
00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:32,720
just been playing all day, you 
know. 

733
00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:35,480
But yeah, that's something that 
you've just got to kind of 

734
00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:37,480
accept that everyday's 
different. 

735
00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:40,000
But I am, I am. 
I don't need to be honest. 

736
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,120
I don't know how smart they are 
because I've got nothing to 

737
00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:44,200
compare them to. 
You know, I don't know. 

738
00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:46,720
I don't know if they're behind 
or ahead or on on target. 

739
00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:48,840
But with, with homeschooling, 
you don't need to follow a 

740
00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:50,480
curriculum. 
You, you just as long as they're

741
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,680
learning and you keep a track of
what you're doing. 

742
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:54,840
This is another example. 
This is Indie's little book, 

743
00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:56,800
right? 
Indie's recipe book. 

744
00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:59,240
So she writes it, you know, we 
might cook a recipe. 

745
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:02,320
So this is like cauliflower 
cheese muffins and that's it for

746
00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:04,040
the day we made the muffins. 
She wrote it down. 

747
00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:07,240
That's that's a lesson, right? 
Because imagine, imagine if you 

748
00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:09,640
do one recipe a week by the end 
of the year, like she's going to

749
00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:11,360
be able to cook. 
That's a really important thing.

750
00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:13,520
So it just depends what you're 
passionate about. 

751
00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:16,200
Like depends what you want, want
your child to learn really. 

752
00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:19,680
And it's, I love it, but it's 
stressful and it's everyday 

753
00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:21,880
there's a little bit of a 
conflict, you know, it's like, 

754
00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:23,040
come on, we're doing this and 
this. 

755
00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:26,840
It's not always smooth sailing. 
Yeah, but do you think you'll 

756
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:28,720
continue to do it in secondary 
school? 

757
00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:31,680
You'll just do it forever. 
Yeah, we don't know. 

758
00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:33,920
I mean, we we've only just 
really like this year tapped 

759
00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,080
into the home school community 
at the home Ed community. 

760
00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:38,880
So they'll have meet ups. 
You might, there might be like 

761
00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:42,480
a, a meet up in a park or 
they'll go to Whipstage Zoo and 

762
00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:44,400
all the kids meet and they they 
can make friends there. 

763
00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,280
And obviously my kids do, they 
do like football club and they 

764
00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:48,960
do stage coaching things and 
gymnastics. 

765
00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:51,000
So they're doing their 
socialising around that. 

766
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:54,120
But I don't know, I can't see 
why I would put them into school

767
00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:56,160
because it works for us now. 
But at the same time, if they 

768
00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:59,360
really said, like I really want 
to experience school, like I 

769
00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:01,400
don't want to not, I don't want 
to be home schooled forever. 

770
00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:02,880
I'm I wouldn't deprive them 
that. 

771
00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,280
I would say, all right, give it 
a go, see how you feel, see how 

772
00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:07,240
you find it and let them make a 
decision. 

773
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,120
But at the moment at these 
young, especially primary school

774
00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:12,960
years, I think try it, try it 
until the end of primary school 

775
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:14,560
and then maybe if they want to 
go in secondary school. 

776
00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:16,480
But again, they don't really 
mention it. 

777
00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:20,960
We interviewed Caitlin Moran on 
her and she was homeschooled and

778
00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:25,080
she talks about how her and her 
siblings, I think she has six 

779
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:28,600
brothers and sisters. 
They, their parents didn't, they

780
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:30,400
just couldn't be bothered to 
take them to school. 

781
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:31,640
That's why they homeschooled 
them. 

782
00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:33,760
They couldn't be bothered to do 
the school run in the morning so

783
00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:37,400
they just left them to run 
Ferrell and they said they just 

784
00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,640
messed about for about 3 or 4 
months playing games on the 

785
00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:45,080
computers and then they started 
teaching themselves. 

786
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:49,160
And then her oldest brother went
to Oxford and got like a first 

787
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:52,200
and and they weren't home 
educated as such. 

788
00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:55,240
They were just left to their own
devices with a bunch of books 

789
00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:57,320
and they just ended up teaching 
themselves. 

790
00:33:57,320 --> 00:33:59,960
It was self-directed. 
I love Kate and Rania. 

791
00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:01,920
She, she also became a music 
journalist. 

792
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:04,120
Actually, she like got into 
music and, you know, became a 

793
00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:06,640
writer, a writer, wasn't she? 
And she, that's the thing that 

794
00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:09,120
if you, what you'll see about 
your children is that they have 

795
00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:10,360
a chance to like, do what they 
love. 

796
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:13,639
So my boy now Molly nice to me, 
you know, I was having to really

797
00:34:13,639 --> 00:34:15,480
push him in the guitar music and
the piano. 

798
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,719
And now like he runs in the 
house and he'll run up to the 

799
00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:19,639
piano any place like 1020 
minutes at a time. 

800
00:34:19,639 --> 00:34:21,400
But he's found something he 
loves. 

801
00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:23,800
He's my where's my girl indie. 
Like I really have to like sit 

802
00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:26,199
adventures on the end to it. 
But when you're at school, 

803
00:34:26,199 --> 00:34:27,520
you're obviously doing so many 
different things. 

804
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:31,080
But at home school, if you are 
going to try home schooling, if 

805
00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:33,800
your kids really into writing 
are really into like, let them 

806
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:35,960
have more time than that because
they could become an expert or 

807
00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:39,800
an amazing, you know, writer or 
journalist, or they can be an 

808
00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:42,400
amazing musician if they get the
chance to kind of do what they 

809
00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:44,159
love. 
And that that is that what I'm 

810
00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:46,080
saying. 
My little girl Lindy, so she is 

811
00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,440
obsessive like acrobats and 
gymnastics. 

812
00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:51,360
She just can't stop doing like 
back bends and walkovers and 

813
00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:53,880
like, you know, cartwords and 
things. 

814
00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:55,920
So it's like that's PE, like 
that's your sport. 

815
00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:57,760
I'm not going to force you to 
come and play football in the 

816
00:34:57,760 --> 00:34:58,960
garden. 
If you want to do gymnastics, 

817
00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:00,520
just roll around in the living 
room and do that. 

818
00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:03,920
It's just that freedom of 
obviously each child slightly 

819
00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:06,640
different and they can have 
their own sort of learning 

820
00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:10,120
technique and style really. 
Whereas at school it's very 

821
00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:11,920
you've got to fit into a certain
box. 

822
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:14,880
Sometimes it feels. 
My eldest is at secondary school

823
00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:17,920
now and there are like 2000 kids
at his secondary school. 

824
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:19,560
So the teachers just call him 
boy. 

825
00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:24,320
They don't know his name. 
And he is, you know, it's very, 

826
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:26,640
you must do English and you must
do it this way. 

827
00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:29,560
And you, you know, will only 
learn one instrument. 

828
00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:33,320
And it is this instrument. 
And there's no opportunity for 

829
00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:37,840
him to try the things or to work
more on the subjects that he 

830
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,280
really enjoys. 
It's Yeah, I just give. 

831
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:42,880
It a go then maybe give it a go 
if you can. 

832
00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:46,800
Maybe try it for a year? 
I have not got the patience for 

833
00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:49,600
home schooling at all. 
I'm far too selfish. 

834
00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:51,920
It is hard. 
You don't need it's, it's 

835
00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:54,040
testing your patience. 
But you know, like you said, 

836
00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:55,640
like you can get to get to when 
with it. 

837
00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,160
If they can read and, and they 
can study something they love, 

838
00:35:58,160 --> 00:35:59,320
then they can be more 
independent. 

839
00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:02,120
But yeah, I'm, I'm obviously 
really for it at the moment, but

840
00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:03,880
ask me again in a few years when
they're old and I'm trying to 

841
00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:06,280
teach them things I can't get my
head around and I'm like, oh, 

842
00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:08,120
this is too hard to get get back
to school. 

843
00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:11,680
Yeah, fatherhood is massive. 
You know, it's a massive 

844
00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:15,120
transformation for men. 
How would you say becoming a dad

845
00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:17,680
has changed you? 
Your outlook on life, Your 

846
00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:21,160
priorities your your world view 
on on life. 

847
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:26,960
So I had my first kid when I was
32 and I always thought I'd be a

848
00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,240
young dad, but I actually, you 
know, in my head, I'll be like a

849
00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:33,360
dad like 2526, but I, I kind of 
delayed it a little bit. 

850
00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:36,160
But then when I had my first 
little girl, like I just found 

851
00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,440
this real such sense of peace 
straight away like that. 

852
00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:41,200
This is really what life for me 
was about, like creating a 

853
00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:44,120
family and having that stability
because I like that as a kid, 

854
00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:46,200
you know, I really, I felt 
loved. 

855
00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:48,000
I always felt loved. 
But it was just the instability 

856
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,240
of like knowing that it could 
just all be overall be just 

857
00:36:51,240 --> 00:36:53,480
completely torn apart if my dad 
started relapsing and using 

858
00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:55,760
again or he was kicked out and 
stuff. 

859
00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:58,600
So yeah, it gave me like this 
sense of like I finally got 

860
00:36:58,600 --> 00:36:59,840
saying that no one can take off 
me. 

861
00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:02,480
This is my family now and I've 
got something I can look after 

862
00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:04,320
and I just have a lot of love to
give. 

863
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:07,280
So I just, I love this little 
girl so much and obviously I've 

864
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,080
actually got 4 kids and it still
doesn't feel like enough. 

865
00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:12,040
I don't know how or why, but I'm
thinking when am I going to go 

866
00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:15,120
like this is enough kids for me.
This feels like I've got enough.

867
00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:17,400
I still feel like there's one 
more do you know what I mean? 

868
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:20,080
Which is mad. 
But I just love, I really love 

869
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:22,880
being a dad, love of everything 
I've achieved in life, you know,

870
00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:25,840
being a good parent and being 
present and being like a good 

871
00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:28,840
because I am in a sense, I'm a 
parent, but I'm a teacher. 

872
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:32,480
I love teaching my kids, whether
it's a sport or it's cooking or 

873
00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,680
an instrument, anything like I 
get a real buzz from it because 

874
00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:38,520
I know I'm I'm creating the 
future generation of like just 

875
00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:40,800
nice little people to walk 
around in in the in the world 

876
00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:44,720
and be kind to other people. 
But it made me more, I suppose I

877
00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:48,720
don't know about more ambitious,
but more kind of like driven to 

878
00:37:48,720 --> 00:37:51,920
like protect this family and 
look after this family, not just

879
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:54,600
financially, but just some like 
a stability point of view. 

880
00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:57,640
Like I don't want to be someone 
that when things get tough or if

881
00:37:57,640 --> 00:37:59,760
me and Rosie are arguing or 
whatever like that, I'm just 

882
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:01,120
going to walk away and abandoned
them. 

883
00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:04,600
Because that's how I felt my dad
was that when things got tough, 

884
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:08,560
you'd just often be gone. 
And you know, because of that, I

885
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:10,720
want to be a faithful husband, 
loyal husband. 

886
00:38:10,720 --> 00:38:13,600
I want to be with my kids and my
wife and I want to be around. 

887
00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:16,520
So it's definitely, it's 
definitely given me like 

888
00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:19,360
everything I wanted. 
Basically, if you ask me what 

889
00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:22,840
makes me my happiest, it's not, 
you know, book sales and YouTube

890
00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:25,200
subscribers. 
And it's really like my family 

891
00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:27,640
is what really makes me happy. 
That's my foundations. 

892
00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:29,760
Everything else I do is amazing 
and I love it. 

893
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:32,800
But it's that family unit and 
I'm really my happiest when it's

894
00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:35,400
just me and the kids. 
I'm not on my phone. 

895
00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:39,160
I'm with them, I'm with Rosie, 
and that's kind of what I'm 

896
00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:40,360
chasing. 
I want more of that. 

897
00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:42,360
So I'm thinking, how can I get 
more of that, more time with 

898
00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:45,440
them, more freedom? 
Is going to the US trying to 

899
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:47,640
break America going to do that? 
Is going to film a documentary 

900
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:48,960
for six months in another 
country? 

901
00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:51,480
Like, do you know what I mean? 
I only really do the things that

902
00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:53,800
give me more of that more time 
with them. 

903
00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:56,800
That's amazing to hear, you 
know, seriously, because I think

904
00:38:57,160 --> 00:38:59,640
sometimes we're just chasing 
more success, more money, a 

905
00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:03,200
bigger house, more Youtubers, 
YouTube subscribers and stuff 

906
00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:05,080
like that. 
And it's just to hear you say 

907
00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:07,520
actually happiness is in my 
family. 

908
00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:10,920
Like that is so, so, so 
powerful. 

909
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:14,960
So you have 4 kids. 
What kind of people do you do 

910
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:17,880
you want them to be? 
What kind of like behaviours 

911
00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:21,080
would you love to see them 
displaying when they are older? 

912
00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:23,400
What would give you joy in terms
of the kind of people they 

913
00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:26,040
become? 
Well, I've got a lovely picture 

914
00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:28,120
up here on the wall because I 
interviewed him for my podcast. 

915
00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:30,760
It's, you know, them, the boy, 
the fox, the mole and the horse,

916
00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:33,200
and it says what what do you 
want to be when you grow up? 

917
00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:37,040
Kind said the boy Indian Mali 
always be kind to each other. 

918
00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:39,760
Love Charlie. 
So he he he gave us that as a 

919
00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:43,200
gift and that's it. 
That's it sums it up for me. 

920
00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:46,360
Like I don't care about of 
course I care about being 

921
00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:47,560
academically intelligent and 
stuff. 

922
00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:50,160
But if they're kind natured and 
they're generous and they're 

923
00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:52,080
sharing. 
And another thing that's really 

924
00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:54,760
important to me is that thing of
like thinking about other 

925
00:39:54,760 --> 00:39:57,240
people, like just because you're
happy and you're set doesn't 

926
00:39:57,240 --> 00:39:59,200
mean you have to stop there. 
You can actually use your time 

927
00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:00,680
and your energy to help other 
people as well. 

928
00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:03,800
And, and like for me, generosity
is something that isn't forced. 

929
00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:06,400
It's so natural. 
And my little boy Molly, he's 

930
00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:08,080
exactly the same. 
I see it in him, like when it's 

931
00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:10,680
when it's like sharing something
or giving his last bit of fruit 

932
00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:12,240
or last bit of chocolate. 
Boom. 

933
00:40:12,240 --> 00:40:15,160
He hands it over that thinking, 
my other girl, she finds it a 

934
00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:16,920
bit harder and it's like it's 
forced. 

935
00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:19,560
And so I'm trying to teach her 
like, look. 

936
00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:22,960
When Marley's giving you that 
piece of thing, he's giving it 

937
00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:24,240
to you because it makes him feel
good. 

938
00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:26,280
Tap into that. 
You know, when you give, you 

939
00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:27,680
feel good when you help you feel
good. 

940
00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:29,080
Like it's that you're serving 
other people. 

941
00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:32,520
So that's that's one of the most
the fundamental thing. 

942
00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:35,640
I believe in that, not just 
having the selfish mindset like,

943
00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:37,520
well, I'm good, I've got my 
food, I'm sweet, I'm good. 

944
00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:38,680
I don't need to think about 
anyone else. 

945
00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:41,440
Actually, sometimes when you 
share that meal or share that 

946
00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:43,760
gift with someone else, then 
you're then you're like going to

947
00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:47,000
be feeling so much happier. 
You know, that's a community for

948
00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:49,760
kind of mindset, You know, that 
we've lost obviously some time 

949
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:52,720
with digital and even with 
within our family, sometimes we 

950
00:40:52,720 --> 00:40:54,760
just think, well, we're just not
connected like we once were. 

951
00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:59,160
So it's that actually I'm all 
I'm always thinking about my 

952
00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:02,400
family, trying to build 
closeness and relationships and 

953
00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:04,920
and kind of memories together. 
Like my nan. 

954
00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:07,320
She's 86. 
She's come around tonight after 

955
00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:10,400
this today she's coming for a 
sleepover, not just because I 

956
00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:12,280
want to see her, but I want her 
to have a relationship with my 

957
00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:14,800
with my kids. 
I want my kids to remember their

958
00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:17,200
Nan. 
So once a week or once every two

959
00:41:17,200 --> 00:41:19,320
weeks, she comes in as a 
sleepover and like, it's, it's 

960
00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:22,760
amazing like that. 
That's that's to me is so 

961
00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:24,680
important. 
I have this fear that I'm going 

962
00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:26,400
to regret not spending enough 
time with people. 

963
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:28,160
So especially my mum and dad, 
like who are getting older and 

964
00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:30,840
my nan, like I want to know that
when they passed away, if it was

965
00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:33,800
like that overnight, I can say, 
you know what, I had a really 

966
00:41:33,800 --> 00:41:35,600
good relationship with them. 
I looked after them. 

967
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:38,040
I didn't leave them. 
My kids know them. 

968
00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:39,800
You know, these are the things 
that I really, really value. 

969
00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:42,560
So I'm always saying to my kids 
that look out for other people 

970
00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:45,000
and think about how they're 
feeling when they're on their 

971
00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:46,040
own or they're having a tough 
time. 

972
00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:49,640
That's really the key for me, 
that the key element of 

973
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:53,200
someone's personality that's 
going to transcend and make you 

974
00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:58,320
have a happier life, I think. 
That's really, really beautiful 

975
00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:00,640
to hear you say that. 
I think everyone needs to listen

976
00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:03,120
to that. 
And again, someone in your 

977
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:05,040
position saying that is so 
powerful. 

978
00:42:05,040 --> 00:42:08,160
So thank you. 
This is to Be a Boy where we we 

979
00:42:08,160 --> 00:42:12,480
talk a lot about the plight of 
boys, the joy but also sometimes

980
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:16,040
the struggle of raising a boy in
today's world. 

981
00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:18,680
You mentioned we don't have the 
community that we had before. 

982
00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:22,000
You may have seen the new Louis 
through documentary around the 

983
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:23,640
manosphere. 
There are so many online 

984
00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:26,880
influences and economic climate 
is really difficult. 

985
00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:29,320
Lack of opportunities, lack of 
funding, preferred spaces in 

986
00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:33,760
youth clubs. 
Big question, but what would you

987
00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:40,120
like to see society do 
differently to help raise young 

988
00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:43,520
boys into real, healthy young 
men? 

989
00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:47,440
I think, you know, it's a big 
question. 

990
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:48,880
I think I think it starts at 
home, right? 

991
00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:50,480
I think it is within the family 
unit. 

992
00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:54,840
Like it's trying to, you know, 
communicate with your kids and 

993
00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:57,920
you know, have that open 
dialogue and let your kids be 

994
00:42:57,920 --> 00:42:59,400
emotional. 
Let them get stressed, let them 

995
00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:00,720
have a cry. 
You know, try not to like 

996
00:43:00,720 --> 00:43:03,520
suppress that because I think as
boys and even something I've 

997
00:43:03,520 --> 00:43:05,400
been giving someone like stop 
crying, stop crying. 

998
00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:08,160
Actually, no, don't say that. 
Like let him have his cry and 

999
00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:09,320
then we can have a talk in a 
moment. 

1000
00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:10,680
Let him get it all out sort of 
thing. 

1001
00:43:11,320 --> 00:43:14,160
I suppose that default of like 
stop whinging, stop crying and 

1002
00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:15,280
start there's a reason he's 
crying. 

1003
00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:17,640
Like let him kind of process 
that emotion and then you can 

1004
00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:21,040
learn to, I suppose, regulate 
and not suppress those emotions.

1005
00:43:21,040 --> 00:43:23,680
But you know, I'm very sensitive
and I see it in my kids. 

1006
00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:26,520
They're also very sensitive. 
And so I think maybe that is 

1007
00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:29,080
something that is is modeled, 
but also is in their nature as 

1008
00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:32,800
well. 
But I think I just think talking

1009
00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:34,120
is the most powerful thing, 
right? 

1010
00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:36,120
Talking to a child about how 
they feel, talking to them about

1011
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:39,760
their their body image, you 
know, are they watching things 

1012
00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:41,440
on their phone or are they 
consuming things that have 

1013
00:43:41,440 --> 00:43:44,000
affected their view on the world
and trying to get it out before 

1014
00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:45,800
it bottles up inside them sort 
of thing. 

1015
00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:47,960
I think that's a big issue 
facing young people that they're

1016
00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:50,640
consuming stuff and being 
influenced by people. 

1017
00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:53,200
That documentary was was really,
really eye open. 

1018
00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:54,920
Was it because you realise the 
impact it's having on the 

1019
00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:58,040
people, but it's all just clicks
for clicks to make money. 

1020
00:43:58,040 --> 00:44:00,960
Like, and they're just 1% of 
people that are like monetising 

1021
00:44:01,240 --> 00:44:03,520
that type of content. 
But actually, it's really 

1022
00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:06,680
important that you, you help 
your children understand that 

1023
00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:10,120
the stuff they consume, it 
literally effects them forever. 

1024
00:44:10,120 --> 00:44:12,680
Like if you're watching, if 
you're watching things at a 

1025
00:44:12,680 --> 00:44:14,480
young age, that affects 
yourself, confidence in your 

1026
00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:16,280
body, for example, you have it 
for life. 

1027
00:44:16,760 --> 00:44:20,000
And so like, you know, trying 
to, I know it's hard with phones

1028
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:21,560
because it's like so hard to 
monitor it, isn't it? 

1029
00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:23,600
I'm not at that point yet where 
my kids have got screens and 

1030
00:44:23,600 --> 00:44:25,760
phones and stuff. 
So I'm not, I'm not to deal with

1031
00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:30,000
that like challenge in itself, 
but I think it starts at home. 

1032
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:33,440
And then obviously schools are 
another big influence in that I 

1033
00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:34,680
don't know what the government 
are going to do. 

1034
00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:36,280
I mean, the tech companies are 
so powerful and they try to do 

1035
00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:38,360
this new social media ban on the
sixteens and they all just said 

1036
00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:39,960
no, right? 
I don't know why can't get my 

1037
00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:43,120
head around that. 
But I think there's an awareness

1038
00:44:43,120 --> 00:44:46,720
now with parents that like we 
know that we can't just offload 

1039
00:44:46,720 --> 00:44:49,720
our parents into our iPads and 
iPhones and that we need to be 

1040
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,760
more present in our lives. 
So I think there will be a kind 

1041
00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:57,240
of a sort of revolution towards 
like going back to more screen 

1042
00:44:57,240 --> 00:44:59,560
free childhoods, you know, 
getting kids out playing again 

1043
00:44:59,560 --> 00:45:02,000
and getting them socialising 
because but these are the things

1044
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:03,320
that are important for your 
development. 

1045
00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:05,520
You know, you can't, you can't 
get it all from a screen and 

1046
00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:07,240
from an iPhone and a smart 
device. 

1047
00:45:08,600 --> 00:45:12,440
But yeah, I think I think just 
being, being a loving parent is 

1048
00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:13,520
probably the most important 
thing. 

1049
00:45:13,520 --> 00:45:16,520
Like that's like I said, my mum 
and dad had their issues and it 

1050
00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:18,640
was crazy what's going on in 
their heads, but they loved us 

1051
00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:21,120
unconditionally. 
And that is why I'm here today 

1052
00:45:21,120 --> 00:45:23,960
because if I hadn't had that 
love, I would have probably 

1053
00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:25,480
ended up with some other 
addiction. 

1054
00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:27,840
I would have probably ended up 
numbing myself through 

1055
00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:31,200
something, you know? 
So I think just loving your kids

1056
00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:34,360
and being there for them is the 
most powerful thing you can do 

1057
00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:37,000
for them. 
What do you think about the 

1058
00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:38,640
paternity leave system in the 
UK? 

1059
00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:41,240
Because we have the worst 
paternity benefit in Europe. 

1060
00:45:41,360 --> 00:45:45,560
Most dads take two weeks off 
when their child is born. 

1061
00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:48,360
One in four don't take any time 
off at all because they can't 

1062
00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:50,640
afford it. 
And Elliot and I have been doing

1063
00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:53,680
a big push for the last few 
years to try and potentially 

1064
00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:57,040
have increased to six weeks at 
90% of salary, which we think is

1065
00:45:57,040 --> 00:46:01,560
the bare minimum it should be. 
Do you agree with that? 

1066
00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:03,280
Yeah, of course. 
Listen, it's horrific that 

1067
00:46:03,280 --> 00:46:04,640
people have to go back to like 
work. 

1068
00:46:04,640 --> 00:46:06,200
My my little brother's a 
landscape garden. 

1069
00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:08,640
He's self-employed, you know, he
had a few weeks off, but he's, 

1070
00:46:08,760 --> 00:46:10,440
you know, he's back again. 
And it's just this thing of like

1071
00:46:10,800 --> 00:46:13,320
at a time when you want to be 
with your child bonding or 

1072
00:46:13,720 --> 00:46:15,040
supporting your partner through 
that. 

1073
00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:17,720
Like, you know, you get you get 
torn apart, the family's getting

1074
00:46:17,720 --> 00:46:19,440
stretched apart, right. 
Because now both parents haven't

1075
00:46:19,440 --> 00:46:20,600
to work. 
Both parents haven't to like 

1076
00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:24,080
dropped their kids off in into 
nursery and childcare to get to 

1077
00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:25,360
work. 
They're even like teachers and 

1078
00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:28,520
things and people that like 
should have, should have time to

1079
00:46:28,520 --> 00:46:30,360
be with their children. 
It's just, it's just, it's such 

1080
00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:31,880
a big challenge. 
I don't know what the answer is.

1081
00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:34,160
But of course, I, you know, look
at Scandinavian countries, they 

1082
00:46:34,160 --> 00:46:36,680
get like a year, right? 
I think the men get a year, the 

1083
00:46:36,680 --> 00:46:38,480
women get a year something they 
can take it whenever they want. 

1084
00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:41,800
Like it's such an important 
formative time as well for like 

1085
00:46:42,120 --> 00:46:44,280
the bonding and, you know, to, 
to be there. 

1086
00:46:44,280 --> 00:46:46,520
But obviously the financial 
pressures right now of life, of 

1087
00:46:46,520 --> 00:46:49,960
cost of living, you know, with 
the increase in heat and gas, 

1088
00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:52,920
electricity, all these things, 
it's like it's, it's not easy 

1089
00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:54,520
to, you can't just sort of fix 
it right away. 

1090
00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:56,160
It's going to be a progressive 
thing, isn't it? 

1091
00:46:56,160 --> 00:46:58,440
And the money comes from 
somewhere, like is it the 

1092
00:46:58,440 --> 00:47:00,320
employers or is it the 
government, that kind of fun, 

1093
00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:02,040
that sort of stuff. 
Would be the government. 

1094
00:47:02,280 --> 00:47:05,520
It's currently the government. 
So the government pay £182 a 

1095
00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:07,960
week for two weeks when you take
maternity leave. 

1096
00:47:08,240 --> 00:47:12,080
And it's maternity leave, yeah, 
which is pittance obviously. 

1097
00:47:12,080 --> 00:47:15,160
And usually the man is the main 
breadwinner in most families. 

1098
00:47:15,680 --> 00:47:20,200
And maternity leave is 6 weeks 
at 90% of salary and then the 

1099
00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:25,880
next seven months are paid at 
182 lbs a week and then the last

1100
00:47:25,880 --> 00:47:27,720
three months you don't get any 
paid so. 

1101
00:47:27,720 --> 00:47:31,640
So it's to have potentially the 
same as the current maternity 

1102
00:47:31,640 --> 00:47:34,720
leave weight six weeks to 90%. 
So, but it would be paid for by 

1103
00:47:34,720 --> 00:47:37,360
the government. 
So the employer has a 

1104
00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:39,800
responsibility as well that the 
employer has a responsibility to

1105
00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:41,240
also cover some of their salary 
as well. 

1106
00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:43,880
Are you talking about, are you 
talking about, oh, so are you 

1107
00:47:44,080 --> 00:47:46,040
talking people that are on 
benefits or just anybody that's 

1108
00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:49,160
got a job in the UK? 
Anybody that's got a job, so if 

1109
00:47:49,160 --> 00:47:52,720
you're self-employed and you're 
a man in the UK, you get no 

1110
00:47:52,720 --> 00:47:57,080
right to any paternity benefit 
whatsoever at the moment and you

1111
00:47:57,080 --> 00:48:00,080
only get it if you're employed. 
So self-employed dads tend to 

1112
00:48:00,080 --> 00:48:02,600
just go straight back to work 
and then of course they're 

1113
00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:04,680
working for themselves. 
So they're working really, 

1114
00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:06,200
really hard. 
So they don't get a chance to 

1115
00:48:06,200 --> 00:48:08,480
bond with their kids and they 
end up having mental health 

1116
00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:12,960
issues often as a result. 
So we want to see potentially 

1117
00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:19,000
levelled up to every working dad
and second parent can access 

1118
00:48:19,040 --> 00:48:22,440
paternity benefit as six weeks 
to 90% of salary including 

1119
00:48:22,440 --> 00:48:24,280
kindred carers as well, you 
know. 

1120
00:48:24,680 --> 00:48:27,560
People who of course no 100% 
agree with that and I still 

1121
00:48:27,560 --> 00:48:30,200
think six weeks isn't enough. 
Is it like 6 weeks goes is in a 

1122
00:48:30,200 --> 00:48:32,800
blink of an eye. 
It's the thing that it's the 

1123
00:48:32,800 --> 00:48:37,040
system is so it's so it's set up
against us, isn't it? 

1124
00:48:37,040 --> 00:48:40,560
It's like actually at a time you
should be with a child, you're 

1125
00:48:40,560 --> 00:48:43,080
getting more pressure, more 
financial wire, more stress, and

1126
00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:45,960
then you argue with your partner
and you know, you you're going 

1127
00:48:45,960 --> 00:48:48,280
to have to work and do double 
shifts and get extra jobs just 

1128
00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:52,240
to make make ends meet. 
And it's like it's so it's so 

1129
00:48:52,240 --> 00:48:55,480
like it's so it's not it's not 
thoughtful or considerate of the

1130
00:48:55,480 --> 00:48:58,360
family unit, is it? 
And if you think like long term,

1131
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:01,360
long term health and well-being 
of that family will depend on 

1132
00:49:01,360 --> 00:49:05,440
like, you know, that closest as 
a unit and you know, it's just 

1133
00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:07,800
affecting men and women. 
And it's really, I think it's 

1134
00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:09,160
great you're doing that. 
You see, pushing it at a 

1135
00:49:09,160 --> 00:49:11,200
government level, trying to get 
that petition in the inside and 

1136
00:49:11,200 --> 00:49:13,120
stuff. 
Yeah, there's a parental leave 

1137
00:49:13,120 --> 00:49:15,400
review that's underway at the 
moment and it completes in 

1138
00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:17,160
January. 
So this is basically the last 

1139
00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:20,000
chance we'll have in our 
lifetime to improve paternity 

1140
00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:23,200
leave for dads. 
And if we don't get this passed 

1141
00:49:23,200 --> 00:49:25,840
by January, I just don't think 
there'll be another opportunity.

1142
00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:30,040
So we're we're doing a March in 
April and the 18th of April. 

1143
00:49:30,040 --> 00:49:32,720
And then we've got some of the 
ideas for the rest of the year 

1144
00:49:32,720 --> 00:49:35,000
just to keep the pressure on 
because without the pressure, 

1145
00:49:35,120 --> 00:49:37,640
yeah, it just falls off their 
agenda because it costs them 

1146
00:49:37,640 --> 00:49:40,080
money, of course, to implement. 
So they'll do it. 

1147
00:49:40,520 --> 00:49:44,080
They can not to do it. 
I do totally agree with you and 

1148
00:49:44,080 --> 00:49:46,520
I think this amazing thing 
you're doing it if only people 

1149
00:49:46,520 --> 00:49:49,880
in the government had more like,
you know, just nurturing kind of

1150
00:49:49,880 --> 00:49:52,520
mindsets and just invested in 
this thing and thought about the

1151
00:49:52,520 --> 00:49:53,920
benefits it would have long 
term. 

1152
00:49:53,920 --> 00:49:57,720
You know, you know, it's just so
things are hard at the moment 

1153
00:49:57,760 --> 00:50:00,640
and I'm, and again, this is like
just another challenge that 

1154
00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:02,080
people face. 
You know, you shouldn't have 

1155
00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:04,560
this stress and anxiety around 
having a baby because, you know,

1156
00:50:04,560 --> 00:50:07,080
you're going to be financially 
in a real bad, difficult 

1157
00:50:07,080 --> 00:50:09,360
situation for that first year, 
you know? 

1158
00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:11,840
So, yeah, I hope the March goes 
well. 

1159
00:50:11,840 --> 00:50:13,200
It's a really, really awesome 
thing. 

1160
00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:15,640
Cheers, Joe. 
Well, you've been incredible. 

1161
00:50:15,640 --> 00:50:19,000
You've been amazing. 
You know, we've said it so many 

1162
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:23,560
times that you are genuinely one
of the best role models we have 

1163
00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:26,360
here in the UK and I know that 
comes with a lot of pressure, 

1164
00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:28,920
but it, you know, just being 
yourself, you just, you just are

1165
00:50:28,920 --> 00:50:32,160
yourself and that resonates so 
deeply with me. 

1166
00:50:32,160 --> 00:50:34,600
I know so many people listening,
it will resonate with them. 

1167
00:50:34,600 --> 00:50:38,360
So a massive, massive thank you 
for your time, for sharing so 

1168
00:50:38,360 --> 00:50:42,080
honestly, for being fantastic, 
for doing your work, for being a

1169
00:50:42,080 --> 00:50:45,040
great dad and talking to us so 
openly about your family. 

1170
00:50:45,040 --> 00:50:47,800
It was amazing, beautiful to 
hear you speak like that. 

1171
00:50:47,800 --> 00:50:50,480
So thank you so much. 
Joe Weeks, you've been 

1172
00:50:50,480 --> 00:50:51,600
incredible. 
Thank you. 

1173
00:50:51,760 --> 00:50:53,200
Thank you guys. 
I've loved chatting to you and 

1174
00:50:53,200 --> 00:50:55,480
yeah, I think it's wonderful 
you're doing keep sharing these 

1175
00:50:55,480 --> 00:50:57,040
positive messages. 
It's going to have an impact on 

1176
00:50:57,040 --> 00:50:58,640
people's lives. 
So yeah, thanks again.