A Life Less Ordinary with Sophie Elwes
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© 2023 A Life Less Ordinary with Sophie Elwes
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Hosted by Sophie Elwes, who knows a thing or two about overcoming difficulties, after sustaining a spinal cord injury in 2011. Each episode Sophie will interview an extraordinary guest who has faced and overcome enormous challenges and adversity and is achieving incredible things in spite of what they've had to deal with. She'll be finding out their story, about their greatest struggles and triumphs, and asking them what advice they would share with other people dealing with challenges of their own.
31 Episodes
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Working in the NHS for 27 years, Dr Clair Pollard is a Clinical Psychologist and Acting Director for a large psychology mental health trust in South London and a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. She also sustained a spinal cord injury during her training at the age of 25 which left her paraplegic and a wheelchair user. Undeterred by this, it was her determination and focus on her training that enabled her to come to terms with her acquired disability. She talks about the 'mental health tsunami' we are facing in the UK at the moment, particularly for young people but adds that the fact that people are talking about it more now is a huge advancement. She shares some great advice about how we can help both ourselves and others.She talks about the advantages and challenges of having a spinal cord injury in her role and her strategies of how she manages in the workplace by being assertive and not being apologetic, and how she feels she's a better psychologist because of what she's been through.Find Sophie on Instagram @sophieelwes.
Rosie Wilby is an award-winning comedian, author and podcaster who has appeared a number of times on BBC Radio 4 programmes including Woman's Hour, Saturday Live and Four Thought. Her first book Is Monogamy Dead? was longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize and followed a trilogy of solo shows investigating the psychology of love and relationships. Her new book The Breakup Monologues is based on her acclaimed podcast of the same name and it explores the science of heartbreak and the unexpected joy that can come from breakups.In this conversation Rosie talks about growing up and coming out as gay in the 1980s and how she found her crowd in the queer community after moving to London. She tells me about her experience of being in a 'secret' relationship for five years with a woman who hadn't come out to her parents and we talk about the internalized homophobia experienced by many and Rosie shares how she's learned to empower and enable others to 'own' and feel more at ease with their sexuality.Rosie includes a chapter in her book on friendship breakups and we talk about how they are rarely acknowledged in the same way as romantic relationships, and there's no 'script' for them, despite the pain they can cause.We talk about post-traumatic growth after a painful breakup and how they can eventually lead to healing personal growth, leaving us better equipped to make informed choices in future. Rosie shares her greatest learnings from her breakups and we discuss the merits of singledom.Rosie's first book, Is Monogamy Dead? explores the need to reinvestigate monogamy for modern times and she shares some inspired insights into how we can reimagine monogamy and make relationships work for us, without piling the pressure and expectation onto one person to provide everything we need.Rosie is on Twitter @rosiewilby and Instagram @breakupmonologues and you can check her book out here.Find Sophie on Instagram here.
Alexandra Adams was the first guest on this podcast, and the inspiration behind starting A Life Less Ordinary. She's also a medical student who is deaf-blind. In 2020 she went into hospital with symptoms of an undiagnosed chronic illness and was there for 17 months during which time she massively deteriorated and experienced some shocking mistreatment at the hands of medical staff and some hugely traumatic experiences, including having covid in hospital in the midst of the pandemic. Alexandra shares these experiences as well as that of finding her community online of others with chronic illnesses.She tells me of how earlier this year she managed to find a renewed sense of purpose and was able to get back on her medicine degree, as well as a job as a phlebotomist. Sharing her story more recently on Tiktok she blew it up with her myth-busting videos about being a deaf-blind medical student. Alexandra talks openly in this interview about her mental health struggles and she shares some wonderful advice on how to cope with setbacks.TW: In this episode Alexandra tells me about some shocking stories of mistreatment and lack of care whilst in hospital. It is acknowledged that staff were under immense pressure and there was a huge lack of resources and staffing during this period. Fingers are not being pointed. Alexandra is merely sharing her experiences and her learning from this challenging time. Find Alexandra at @alexandraelaineadams and Sophie at @sophieelwes.
Grace Spence Green is a junior doctor and a wheelchair user. Growing up, she had her heart set on becoming a doctor from the age of eight and was a keen competitive climber. In an extraordinary incident in 2018, while she studying at medical school, a man jumped from a height and fell on her, causing her to break her back and sustain a spinal cord injury, becoming a wheelchair user. Choosing not to dwell on the incident, or indeed the man (who has since served time for GBH), Grace returned to medical school and has since started working as a junior doctor in London. Grace and I speak about the incident and her feelings around it, the man, and she tells me why she isn’t angry about the situation. She shares how others, and the tabloids, reacted to what happened and her feelings around that.We speak about Grace’s experience of being a patient at the rehab centre and about her frustrations about that time and the spinal rehab set up. She tells me about how it was for her, returning to the community, and then back to medical school and Grace opens up about her own internalised ableism she realised she had initially and prior to her injury.It is the boundaries she’s set and her own confidence, she tells me, that has enabled her to establish herself and her stance as a medic who uses a wheelchair. We talk about ‘taking space’ and Grace shares some fantastic insights about this, as well as how she has acquired ‘radical acceptance’ about her situation - choosing to use her situation to enable her to ‘step into her power’ rather than being a victim of circumstance.Grace shares some fantastic advice for people who have acquired a disability, as well as some words of wisdom for people who might be struggling with something in their lives.Grace has recently become a Trustee at spinal injuries charity, Back Up and is most active on Twitter.You can reach out to Sophie on Instagram.
This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Berry who is my friend and personal trainer. We’ve known each other for years and every time I have a session with him, we end up deep in conversation and he is a real fountain of wisdom and life advice, as well as a great trainer.Growing up on a council estate in Wandsworth, Mark has always been committed to helping others (alongside his love of sport, mainly football). He started back in the 1990s doing care work in a residential care home. Along the way he’s picked up a lot of knowledge working alongside physiotherapists, he trained as a personal trainer, gym instructor and aerobic instructor and has worked at One Trust for 32 years as a care worker for people with learning disabilities and complex and challenging needs. We know each other from his ‘side hustle’ as a personal trainer in my local gym. His philosophy of training is that it is for everyone. ‘If someone wants to, we’ll find a way’ is what he says of this - he’s all about ‘yes we can, not no we can’t.’To mix things up, we recorded this from the gym, to give listeners a flavour of our relationship and the sort of conversations we have (in between rounds of boxing) - the sound quality is a little compromised but hopefully you can still enjoy Mark’s wise words. In this episode we talk about the importance of taking time out, remaining calm and being patient. Mark opens up about his realisations of his self-worth and how he uses this learning to support and lift up others. We talk about training, how it’s good to challenge yourself, and about the limitations put on us particularly in childhood by our upbringing, schooling, medical diagnoses, and we discuss how important it is to question and challenge these. As you can hear from the episode, people come in and out and its a true reflection of Mark’s character and how friendly he is. I know, for me, my sessions with him provide me with mental health support as much as physical, and we talk about this, particularly for men, and how the gym can provide a safe space for men to talk and get things off their chests, under non-intimidating circumstances.You can follow Mark or Sophie on Instagram.
Gail Muller is an adventurer, educator and author. Growing up in Cornwall, she was sporty and outdoorsy, but at 14 was told she’d need to use a wheelchair by the age of 40 due to muscular-skeletal issues. She has an extraordinary story of her journey of experiencing chronic pain for 15 years, and dedicating much of that time to finding a solution, which she later did, for the most part.At 41 she embarked on one of the toughest treks in the world - over 2200 miles in the USA - The Appalachian Trial. She wrote a book about it called Unlost which is an uplifting and moving account of her journey in the wild outdoors, dealing with extreme elements and facing her fears. In this conversation Gail emphasises how she got into hiking later than most, and encourages others, particularly women, to occupy that role of adventurer too. We speak about her journey with chronic pain, having learned a great deal about it and put herself through a multitude of experiences including fasting in a Thai jungle for twelve days, Gail offers up some great advice for listeners who might be dealing with pain. On being told by a doctor that he did not know what the problem was, we discuss the importance of being cautiously critically analytical of professional opinion, asking questions, and not taking a doctor’s advice to ‘give up hope.’Inspired by Bill Bryson, and after losing a friend to suicide, Gail tells me about her decision to embark on this mammoth trip. She shares with me her greatest fears, including that which came from being raped as a teenager. Having unpicked some of these, Gail has ‘done the work’ which has enabled her to recognise that these fears reside in her head, and finds ways to learn how to manage them, which she graciously shares.We talk about the saying ‘hike your own hike’ - a important metaphor to accept that we’re all on our own journeys, and she tells me how she made peace with doing things ‘her way.’We speak about tactics for resilience, about surrender and what being so exposed to the harshest of nature’s elements, did for her.*Trigger warning: during this episode there is mention of sexual assault and suicideFind out more about Gail on her website or her Instagram. And pick up her book, Unlost.Find out more about Sophie on Instagram.
Based partly in Carlsbad, CA and in Keauhou, Hawaii, Kalim Smith and I met a few years back at a ski race in New Hampshire, after which we discovered we had a mutual friend/relative and since then we’ve enjoyed some great times in both London and California, with some wonderful conversations.After becoming paralysed in 2011 he recognised the healing power of plants and now spends much of his time growing gourds to make traditional rhythm instruments in both San Diego and Hawaii. He’s made them for some of Hawaii’s most prominent musicians, teachers and dancers.Prior to his injury Kalim achieved a great deal, with his fingers in multiple pies. He was studying for a PHD at the time of his injury, while teaching Native American languages and working as a stunt actor on the side, amongst other things. Coming from an interracial family, Kalim also has a strong interest in genealogy.In this episode we talk about our shared adventurous spirit and how our spinal cord injuries fuelled that side of us, in many ways. We talk about what it's like not to laugh for two years or more and how caring for something else can be nurturing, whether it be a pet or plants.Kalim talks about the importance of connecting with someone in a similar situation after such an injury and he reflects on how difficult it was for him initially post injury and how he found his way, through recalibrating his self of self and finding things to be grateful for.Kalim is a keen plant man and shares his enthusiasm for the healing power of plants and whole foods. He experiences extreme nerve pain and has found that nature has been the greatest healer. He also shares a recipe for turmeric tea - which has potent anti-inflammatory properties. We mention the spinal injuries charity Back Up and their mentoring service.
Head of Wellbeing at leading employee wellbeing platform, Better Space, James Dashwood is a father, a husband, and a recovering alcoholic. Sober for seven years he has been on a journey of introspection where he’s learned so much about himself, about addiction and about what it means to be content.He shares his story about growing up and how he recognises that he used external things to soothe internal pain. James is remarkably candid in reflecting about how he sees himself, his desire to control others, and to connect, for which he recognises he used alcohol to do so. He talks about AA and the 12 step programme and why it's been transformative for him. We speak about expectations, how releasing them can improve relationships and about why he believes addiction is a spiritual matter.James talks about his experience of depression and anxiety and how, often the things that help the most such as talking to others, seem like the hardest thing to do at the time and he shares some of his tools that help him.We talk about success and how its traditionally measured, and how we both recognise that contentment, over happiness, is something to strive for. And we chat about the importance of taking responsibility and of the power of perception, in Shakespeare's words: 'There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.'We also mention a few books during the episode:Nothing Special: Living Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck Man's Search for Meaning by Victor FranklThe Choice by Edith EgarSolve for Happy by Mo GawdatFind Sophie on Instagram and find out more about BetterSpace here.
Andrew Cotton is a big wave surfer and Red Bull athlete. Growing up in North Devon, he started at 7 and it became his life. He left school and worked in a local surfboard factory until the age of 25 to fund his surf trips. At this point he figured it wasn’t going to sustain him financially so he re-trained as a plumber but this made it clear to him that his real passion lay in big wave surfing. So, with a friend he set about creating online content which, combined with his talent, led him to picking up some sponsors which enabled him to follow his dreams.He spends much of his time in Nazare in Portugal which is home to the biggest surf able waves in the world. It was there in November 2017 that he broke his back surfing a 75ft wave in a huge wipeout. Thankfully he made a full recovery and a year later her was back surfing those mammoth waves.Cotty and I met at a Wings for Life event, which is the Red Bull charity who’s goal is to find a cure for spinal cord injury where he ran a breathwork session. It was here I experienced first hand the effects that the breath can have on your mind and your physiology - truly feeling ‘high on my own supply.’We speak about how he gets into a flow state and about the power of the breath in pushing through the limits we set ourselves. We talk about fear and how he overcomes its and doesn’t let his mind ‘get in the way’ when tackling the biggest waves ever surfed.His advice felt totally applicable to life in general, from treating the journey like a marathon not a sprint, embracing failure and surrounding yourself with great people that inspire you and help you move forwards. You can find Andrew on Instagram here and Sophie here.Find out more about Wings for Life here and join their fantastic World Run in May 2022.
Cathy Reay is a writer, editor, disability consultant and influencer. She is also a single mother of two and her Instagram account provides a great insight into life as a mum with dwarfism, disability justice, sex and dating, as well as some great skincare tips.Cathy tells me about what it was like for her growing up in north Norfolk and how moving to London helped her find out who she was. We talk about celebrating our weirdness. She talks about her experiences of becoming a mother, about medical ableism and how she did not feel welcome in motherhood spaces. Cathy shares her journey around learning to empower her kids to navigate their own journeys, and not constantly trying to protect them, by emphasising the importance of boundaries and consent and staying silent when she needs to - advice that will be relevant for many parents and caregivers. We share our experiences of ableism and air our frustrations around unwanted help and Cathy shines a light on her understanding of the reasons for this.Not wanting to be defined by her disability, we spoke about how people with disability are often automatically given the role of activist or spokesperson, and Cathy maintains that she is not here to educate people. I observe my own internalised ableism when looking to Cathy for answers about ableism.We chatted about dating as a queer polyamorous woman and Cathy provides some advice for navigating dating apps with a disability. We discuss self-love and self-acceptance, and we unpick the internalised pressure about the way women are often programmed to behave around men, which can be heightened by disability. Finally Cathy shares how she’s found her community and has been able to connect with others who share similar identity markers.You can find Cathy on Instagram here.And find Sophie here.
Gregory David Roberts is the author of best selling novel, Shantaram and sequel, Mountain Shadow. Selling over 6 million copies, it is partly based on Gregory's own life experience of escaping prison in Australia and being on the run, during which time he lived in a slum in India. After ten years as a fugitive, Gregory was re-captured in Germany and spent time in both solitary confinement and maximum security before being released over seven years later. After five years on parole, Gregory finished writing Shantaram, got it published and sold the movie rights.After withdrawing from society around seven years ago, and going 'off grid,' Gregory committed himself to exploring and researching spirituality in a 'leap of faith'. This resulted in him writing a book called The Spiritual Path; a personal account of his journey looking at science, belief, faith and devotion. Gregory tells me his story about escaping from prison and being on the run for ten years. He reflects on how his time in prison and how solitary confinement was transformative for him. He talks about what it's like to be a fugitive, when the need to 'fit in' and go undetected is paramount and he shares his experience of living in an Indian slum. We talk about faith and how having purpose has the potential to ease the most dire of circumstances.We talk about self and ego, as well as the importance of devotion, and Gregory gives some sage advice for the spirituality curious (despite his protestations that he is ineligible to provide advice on such matters). Excitingly, Gregory shares some intel about the upcoming Apple + series of Shantaram starring Charlie Hunnam (if you've read the book you'll no doubt be as excited as I am). And finally, he gives some great words of wisdom which are certainly evidence of a life less ordinary.Pick up a copy of Shantaram here and The Spiritual Path here.Find Sophie Elwes on Instagram.
Mo Gawdat is the former Chief Business Officer at Google X (aka the Moonshoot Factory) and before that had a successful career as a stock-trader and tech executive in Dubai. Despite having professional, personal and material success he was miserable, and no amount of new Rolls Royces could make him happy in a sustained way. He decided to use his engineer's mind and research skills to come up with equation to engineer and maintain happiness. He wrote a book about it called Solve for Happy which became an international bestseller. In 2014 this equation was put to the ultimate test when his beloved son, Ali, died aged 21 due to medical negligence in a routine appendix removal operation. Mo shares with me how he coped with the aftermath of the wonderful Ali's death and what he has learned on his journey to understanding how to live well and with joy in this 'game called life.'We talk about the tests that life gives us, and how to avoid getting 'tested.' He gives some interesting insights into the extent to which we have choices in life. He tells me about the negativity bias that exists in our brains and how he talks to his brain to control and reframe his thoughts, in a way that serves him. More information about Mo's quest to make one billion people happy can be found here. Solve for Happy: Engineer your path to joy by Mo Gawdat is available here.Find Sophie Elwes on Instagram.
After breaking her neck at the age of 16 in a car crash whilst on holiday in the Highlands, Sarah’s life took a course that was far from ordinary. We speak about her rehab in the spinal unit, where, thanks to some ‘tough love’ from her physio she learned to become completely independent, despite being tetraplegic. She tells me about the early days of adjustment following her injury, how difficult it was going back to school as a wheelchair user, especially having been recently selected to play hockey for Scotland prior to her injury. We speak about the challenges she faced early on and about the support she found most helpful, which came in the form of meeting others who’d gone through something similar. She has travelled extensively, including backpacking across Australia and New Zealand for seven months, and has spent time in various developing countries working with disability organisations, to educate and inform about living with spinal cord injury, where people’s experience of living with paralysis is vastly different from in the UK.Her spinal cord injury transferred her attention from environmental matters to human rights, which led her to do a master's degree in human rights and she has spent time working with refugees.We speak about the challenges we face as wheelchair users, and Sarah shares the things that frustrate her in daily life. She’s a great friend of mine and is my go-to for advice about all things, not just SCI-related. She has some wise words of advice at the end which are relevant for all.
Marsha de Cordova is the Labour MP for Battersea since 2017 and is currently the Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities. She was born with nystagmus and is registered blind. We speak about her upbringing, with five siblings, where her mum fought for her to remain in mainstream education, she says if she hadn't, she wouldn't be where she is today. Marsha entered politics because she's passionate about fair and equal rights and wanted to be a 'voice for the voiceless' - particularly campaigning for disability rights. We speak about how Covid has unfairly impacted certain sectors of society and about how it has exposed existing inequalities in society. Marsha explains how it has had a greater impact on people with disabilities, with regards to both support but also in terms of deaths from the virus - six in 10 deaths was a person with a disability or underlying health condition. We discuss the disability employment gap, social care and access and inclusion and how far we have to go before we can claim to be inclusive as a society.Marsha is emphatic about encouraging other people with disabilities to 'make their voices heard.' She's also been involved in campaigning to make entering politics more accessible for disabled people. Marsha gives some great advice about how to become fearless and to stay true to your purpose.@sophieelwes
Jonny Benjamin MBE is an awarding winning mental health campaigner, writer, film producer, public speaker and vlogger. At the age of 20 he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which is a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar. Having been affected by mental illness from a young age, Jonny is passionate about improving mental health for young people, and has started up a charity Beyond. The charity held the first-ever mental health and wellbeing festival for primary and secondary schools during Children’s Mental Health Week in February this year.Jonny tells me his story about how mental illness has affected him from a young age and about the devastation he felt at getting a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder due to the stigma surrounding it. He tells me about his intention to take his own life and about the life-changing meeting he had with the stranger on the bridge and about how his words of positivitiy and optimism changed Jonny’s mind, which led him on, some years later, to create a campaign to find this stranger called ‘Find Mike’ with the charity Rethink Mental Illness which went viral and was shared by millions all over the world.We speak about the pressure on teachers to take responsibility for children and young people’s mental health and how more action needs to be taken to support this. We discuss compassion focused therapy and self-love – an area we are both passionate about. And Jonny emphasises the importance of active listening – something that many of us don’t do properly, but can be hugely helpful for people.There is still a damaging stigma around mental illness and Jonny is having an amazing impact in dismantling this. For many people right now, poor mental health is absolutely rife and so I was so pleased to have this conversation with Jonny, to hopefully shine some positivity and hope for those struggling, that there are ways to get better. Jonny also gives some great advice for those wanting to help others. jonnybenjamin.co.ukeducationsupport.org.ukmentalhealthmates.co.ukThe book Jonny recommended by Dr Kristin Neff self-compassion.org@mrjonnybenjamin@sophieelwes
Millie Gooch is the founder of Sober Girl Society, an online community which destigmatises sobriety, and brings women together who want to connect and have fun, without the booze. Millie quit drinking in 2018 after experiencing one too many blackouts and the terrible accompanying ‘hanxiety’, leading her to read Catherine Gray’s The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, which kick-started her sober journey. We both talk about our relationship with alcohol, the scary situations its landed us in, and the contradiction of how many of us are so mindful about our health, yet ignore the fact that alcohol is a toxic substance.She opens up about how things were in the early days of sobriety, sober clubbing, and that smug feeling of feeling great when everyone else is worse for wear.We discuss how we both have used alcohol as ‘dutch courage’ and she shares about how quitting forced her to step into her anxiety and sit with her discomfort.Millie talks about her book, which I found was an absolute breath of fresh air, and provided a really positive stance on why getting sober or becoming ‘sober curious’ has myriad benefits and is an option definitely worth exploring. We speak about the narrative we’ve all been given around alcohol, thanks to its gigantic marketing budget to persuade us that drinking is the right option, the memes about gin o’clock, to the automatic assumption that any sort of celebration requires cracking open the bubbly. Millie tells me about how, for her, sober dating has been such a positive experience and also about the events they run at the Sober Girl Society from dance classes to boozeless brunches. sobergirlsociety.com/@sobergirlsociety@sophieelwes
Megan Hine is a survival consultant, producer, adventurer and television presenter. She is also the author of Mind of a Survivor.During her career she has survived a snakebite, Lyme disease, being shot at and hunted by a lion, amongst many other things.An Ambassador for Scouting UK, Megan is passionate about enabling children and young people to experience the wealth of benefits that being in the outdoors and in the wilderness can bring.We talk about how we are not equipped with the skills to cope with the stresses of modern day life, she shares some valuable thoughts about finding our inner resilience as well as some great advice about having a healthy relationship with social media.Often being the only woman in a role that is typically held by men, Megan is on a mission to diversify representation in the industry.We discuss the power of routine, and how its actually saved her life in the past and how creativity can be the key to survival.Working with a wide range of people from A-list celebrities, to local tribespeople, she is extremely versatile. It was fascinating about hearing her experience meeting uncontacted tribes and how these experiences have taught her a great deal about communication and working with others.@megan_hine@sophieelwesFor more information about Lyme disease see globallymealliance.org.
Karen Darke tells me about being injured aged 21 in a mountain climbing accident and how she overcame her fear of heights following this accident to eventually climb El Capitan, as a paraplegic using just her arms. She shares with me her story from first riding a handcycle to becoming a Paralympic champion in Rio in 2016, helped, along with a lot of training, motivation and hard work, by an understanding of how to train her brain and reframe negative thoughts in order to manifest a positive outcome. She tells me about her trip when she cross-country skied across the Greenland ice cap where the challenge lay not only in the physical exertion for a month, but in managing her disability under such extreme conditions. She credits being part of a team with a common objective as a huge part of what makes each adventure particularly special.Karen has done a lot of work in personal development and brain training and shared some fascinating insights about how to combat negative self-talk and achieve goals. She works as a transformational coach and, alongside training for the next paralympic games, is passionate about helping others remove blocks to success and reaching their potential through helping them train their brains. Recorded live at the Back Up In the Cloud festival.karendarke.combackuptrust.org.ukaccessadventures.co.uk@sophieelwes
Siena Castellon is an 18-year-old advocate, author, mentor and Young Leader for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She is autistic, has dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD. After being eventually diagnosed with autism she wrote The Spectrum Girl's Survival Guide: How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic, which is a fantastic guide for neurodiverse girls navigating a neurotypical world.We discuss the stigma around autism in girls; how, because she was undiagnosed and consequently misunderstood by teachers and pupils alike, she was ruthlessly bullied throughout her school life and was failed by a mainstream education system that did not appreciate her learning differences. Getting a diagnosis of autism meant she wanted to support other neurodiverse girls which led her to setting up a mentoring website and writing her book.She talks about autism as a superpower, about challenging stereotypes and we speak about how we need to support and enable those with autism to thrive in a world that is set up for people who are neurotypical. She talks about Neurodiversity Celebration Week, her conception, which has been adopted by an increasing number of schools in the UK. Siena is an absolute trailblazer, who is having a huge impact through her work. Her views about how we view neurodiversity are important and her advice will be useful for many people.
Actor, writer and TV presenter Charley Boorman has travelled all over the world by motorbike, often alongside best friend Ewan McGregor. He has had two huge motorbike accidents which left him with serious injuries which have left long term damage but he refuses to be defined by his injuries. In the Apple TV+ show Long Way Up they travel up from Ushuaia in Argentina through South and Central America to Los Angeles on electric motorcycles – a feat which hasn’t been done before and definitely proved to be more of a challenge than they expected. We talk about the unpredictability of travel, how him and Ewan are like a 'married couple' and how he views his dyslexia as a gift, rather than impediment. We both have a love of adrenaline and share the sentiment that it doesn’t go away, no matter how badly you get hurt. We talk ‘hanxiety’ and the 3am ‘collywobbles’ and Charley shares his frustrations from his time using a wheelchair as well as giving some great advice about coping with challenges.
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