Off Point Podcast

Charlene Aldridge describes her acting career as the therapy that's got her through heartbreaking childhood abandonment, early motherhood, and narcissistic abuse to forge her into the incredibly strong person and multi-award-winning actress, producer, writer, and viral tiktocker that she is today.

In addition to his possibly best hair in the biz and his new film The collaborator based on Mirza Waged's novel, Reiss shares all kinds of stories about being an actor, creating, finding love unexpectedly in his late 20s, and why he chose that shirt.

Actress Maia Watkins opens up about what it's like to experience and survive her brain hemorrhage, and how her recovery, holistic healing through Reiki and her Rastafarian culture has shaped her art, poetry, values and ambitions. She also told us what it's like to star in a German snickers ad with Klopp!

We got to speak with East London's very own cockney poet, writer and journalist Curly Wordy about her experience growing up in East London in the 80's, her journey through every form of writing - from journalist, to teacher, to poet - the strength and empowerment she gets from it, and everything that makes the world worth writing about. #poet #poetry #curlywordy #spokenword #art #journalism

Award-winning game developer, Taiwo Omisore is back to talk about how he developed his Top 10 iStore game Taiword, getting featured in the papers, drinking, advertising in the gaming industry, consoles vs phones, creative processes, and some more tech tips

Our guest, Holly, is one of the UK’s very few NHS surgeons with ADHD. She tells us what led to her late diagnosis, how she manages her ADHD during her intense training and career and the extreme demands of the job, discrimination, support, and her adventures in urology.

After someone unceremoniously dumped Les (by text!) there were a few things he wanted to get off his chest. This episode accidentally came about from a discussion we were having off camera at the time, but quickly got deeper into our personal trust issues and how that’s shaped our lives and attitudes as we’ve grown up.

We recorded this the day before Les moved into his first ever home after five months of waiting for solicitors to pull their shit together. He literally went home and packed his van after we wrapped. Since then it’s been mayhem, but buying a place is a nightmare all the way through. Marlon talks about what it’s like buying as a newly-wed couple in London, and we have a laugh and a bitch about the ordeal that most first time buyers are subjected to just to set up roots.

Marlon spent two years growing up in Jamaica as a local, while Les was living the expat dream in Malaysia at the same time. We’ve found we had quite a lot of surprising experiences in common from our time away, like how it feels when you go home and “sound weird”, but there were some pretty shocking differences too. Anyone who’s been away from home for a little while will find something in here for them.

Following on from Ep 6, and guest starring a camera shy Mrs White who was absolutely not tied to her chair, Les takes the pair to task over what it’s like to organise and go through with a wedding. From nightmare rip offs and keeping in step with a government that keeps changing the rules, to how it feels to finally tie the knot and live with eachother, we go through it all. The couple has since bought their first place together, which also happens to be our studio!

Having found a woman who will tolerate him, Marlon made a wise move and put a ring on it. He tells his story and what a pain in the arse all that secret organising is, while Les does his best not to bring up lost loves

Starring the ever so cool Taiwo Omisore (Tai), who you may recognise from Apple’s Black History Month this year, we talk tech in the world’s deepest voices. From a little hobby to a profitable business, Taiwo came up the hard way. He talks about his experience developing some of the top apps on the app store and what it takes to be a tech entrepreneur. We also struggled to open a carton of juice between us. He also fixed Marlon’s oven after we wrapped!

A topic true to Les’ heart because it affects him every day (see www.additudemag.com/author/les-steed/ for details), we have our first guest, Willow, who tells us about what it’s like to be an ADHD woman too. With helpful prompts from our resident professional psychologist, Mrs White (Marlon’s wife - he’s punching), to keep us on track, we talk about the emotional side of being neurodiverse, the pros and cons of the condition and how it affects our work, life, love and a few bits on what it’s actually like to be a little lovely but odd.

Brits are heavy drinkers at the best of times - Marlon got a little carried away and talks about going t-total to an increasingly inebriated Les. We talk about drink culture, our relationships with alcohol, and how it affects us and the people around us for better and for worse. Also a clip from this episode actually helped get Les a job somehow!

Can’t go wrong with a classic - it’s a minefield out there and after a year of doing his best with dating, Les has all but given up, but found a girl at last … who then dumped him just as we wrapped. From dates so dry he had to start talking about his childhood to keep the conversation going, to an oxford educated psychologist who didn’t clock that he had ADHD in spite of telling him to slow his speech down for 5 gruelling hours, to accidentally being “that guy” on a date, to online dating burnout - it’s been tough!

A quick catch up on what we’ve been up to and what’s in store. While we reviewed our last season for better ideas Marlon had the audacity to get married, and Les founded a company and moved house three times. We’ve also got a few more stories to tell from the months since Season 1. Now with better quality everything after Marlon invested in production, and Les actually sat down and wrote something for once, we hope you enjoy our new, shorter, more guesty season.

In this episode we try something different, instead of discussing a long topic. We have a series of mini Random debates.

In this episode we try something different, instead of discussing a long topic. We have a series of mini Random debates.

Celia Li, a content creator and podcast host, discusses her journey towards self-love, embracing femininity, and empowering women. She opens up about her past relationships, including a nine-year relationship where she sacrificed her own needs and a turbulent one-year involvement with a toxic partner. Celia shares how her experiences shaped her perspective on boundaries, self-respect, and the importance of open communication in relationships.The conversation delves into the challenges women face, such as societal pressures, body image issues, and the pursuit of balance between empowerment and traditional gender roles. Celia emphasizes the need for self-compassion, acknowledging emotions, and treating oneself with kindness during difficult times. She also highlights the importance of understanding a woman's menstrual cycle and how it affects her emotions and needs.The discussion touches on sensitive topics like domestic violence, emotional abuse, and the impact of trauma on future relationships. Both Celia and the hosts candidly share personal experiences, underlining the complexity of unhealthy dynamics and the difficulty of breaking free. The episode ultimately reinforces the message of self-love, authenticity, and the pursuit of healthy, empowering relationships.

While recording some promo for season 2, we accidentally recorded another episode.