In this special episode, I speak with a mate of mine, Aimee Hill.

At the end of last year, when Aimee was 6 months pregnant, she went into a local optician for what was supposed to be a routine eye test.

During the examination however, the optician identified something of concern, specifically in regards to Aimee’s left eye.

This resulted in a referral to a local hospital, so Aimee could be assessed further.

Mere weeks after that initial hospital appointment, and Aimee found herself in a specialist eye unit in Liverpool being officially diagnosed with malignant melanoma, as a cancerous tumour had been found at the back of her left eye.

Not only was this of course, a complete shock, but Aimee then had to consider treatment options and the best way forward while heavily pregnant and during a global pandemic — I’m happy to say now though, that Aimee’s little boy Evan was born earlier this year!

In this episode, Aimee candidly and bravely shares her experience in great detail from beginning to the present day. We talk about how she managed to cope emotionally and how ultimately, it was the the life growing inside of her, and the support of those closest, that kept her going at the most difficult of times.

Aimee wants to share her journey in the hope that it’ll raise awareness about the importance of getting regular eye tests, and contribute to the removing of the stigma and fear surrounding the discussion of cancer openly, especially considering that 50% of people in the UK will be affected by cancer at some point in their lives.
 

I feel really privileged that I’ve been able to help in some small way by sharing this story with our audience, and as I say during the episode, I'm really in awe of Aimee's strength and courage, in what has been and still is, a period of immense difficulty and uncertainty.

Thanks for listening.

Rhys X

This episode's theme is LISTENING TO YOUR BODY.

I (Rhys) talk about a recent experience which reminded me about the importance of listening to my body, while Leila shares her theory that we human beings were engineered by aliens who created us by using monkey DNA...or something to that effect. 

Anyway...

During the episode, we also chat about: 

• Our own experiences with listening/not listening to our bodies. 
• Understanding what our bodies actually need and when. 
• How natural it is for animals to be at one with their bodies. 
• How symptoms within the body are messengers trying to tell us something. 
• The importance of considering health holistically when looking at our mental health. 
• And a whole lot more.

Just so you know, our conversations are completely unfiltered, unedited and happen very organically.

Also to note, we’re not professionals — if you’ve heard us speak, you will know that. We’re just a couple with a passion for nattering about our mental health and trying to navigate our way through the mad old game we call "life".

We explore these topics in real-time and figure out our opinions and share our experiences on the fly. We have no agenda, other than that we want to try and help. Often we miss things out and get things wrong. We're human — anyway, you know the score by now!

Anyway, please enjoy our chat, all about LISTENING TO YOUR BODY.

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If you're not already following us on Instagram, what're you waiting for!?

It’s Rhys here, and in this additional mid-week episode, I chat with special guest, musician, Kris Dawson.

You might know Kris as one of the guitar players in banging British metalcore outfit, Bury Tomorrow, but did you know that he’s actually a man of many talents and also training to be a barber?

Well, now you do…

In this wide-ranging conversation, we chat about Kris’ journey of self-discovery, which led to a breakthrough and positive change in his mental health and wellbeing.

A big piece of the puzzle for Kris, was for him to stop drinking alcohol because over time, he’d come to realise how much of a negative impact it had been and was having on his mental health.

Kris goes on to share his experiences with anxiety and depression and how there were moments on tour when he really, really struggled day to day to cope. 

Following on from this, we talk about how and when Kris sought mental health help and the importance of sharing your feelings with those you trust.

Along the way, we cover Kris’ passion for exercise and the positive effect it’s had on his mental health, and how it’s helped him focus over the past year in lockdown.

Thematically, we also cover:

Uncertainty, spending time in solitude, letting go of the things that you no longer enjoy and impinge upon your ability to live a happy life, letting go of the things we can’t control, focus, hard work, determination, ego, authenticity, change, counselling, travel and touring in a band, self-awareness and development, friendship and peace.

I loved this chat because you know what I’m like by now, I love self-development and hearing stories of how people have managed to better their lives and mental health. It gives me hope and inspires me to keep heading in the right direction, and I know it’ll have this effect on you too!

Also, after hearing it back, the stand out theme of this podcast is rooted in authenticity, which in Kris’ words, subsequently then leads to a sort of inner peace — I fully agree.

I’m stoked to have had an opportunity to chat with Kris, as I’ve always been a big fan of his music, so please, enjoy!

This week’s theme is THE ROAD TO PARENTHOOD.

First off, TW on this one for baby loss and miscarriage. 

Another thing to note is that I (Rhys) am flat as a pancake in this episode — not really selling it well, am I? Leila's must have a bad back this week...because she carried this one!

Anyway, in the business of full disclosure and with us being a mental health pod, I thought I should put it out there: I had a shit week. It has now improved though, and I'm back to baseline once more...ready for the next dip. 

Anyway, in this episode, Leila and I have a candid chat about the continuing winding and uncertain road we're currently walking, in an attempt to become parents and how it's impacted our mental health through the years. We talk less about the specifics of what happened but more about how the events made us feel and how we've navigated our way through. 

For those wanting to listen to our full baby loss journey with specifics, we did a podcast with our mates over at The Worst Girl Gang Ever, who do amazing work breaking the taboo surrounding miscarriage and baby loss. Go follow them on Instagram!

During this episode, we chat about: 

• Our baby loss and miscarriage experiences. 
• How the situations made us feel.
• How we both grieved in different ways. 
• How we found a way through and what helped us. 
• Coping with ongoing uncertainty.

Just so you know, our conversations are completely unfiltered, unedited and happen very organically.

Also to note, we’re not professionals — if you’ve heard us speak, you will know that. We’re just a couple with a passion for nattering about our mental health and trying to navigate our way through the mad old game we call "life".

We explore these topics in real-time and figure out our opinions and share our experiences on the fly. We have no agenda and often, we miss things out and get things wrong. We're human — anyway, you know the score by now!

Anyway, please enjoy our chat, all about THE ROAD TO PARENTHOOD.

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If you're not already following us on Instagram, what're you waiting for!?

This week’s theme is FEAR.

I talk about where my fear of small spaces started after being trapped in a tardis made of UPVC doors in B&Q as a kid and we discover that Leila takes pleasure in a lot of the things that others find fearful (she's a strange gal). 

During the episode, we chat about: 

• What fear is and where it stems from. 
• The different types of fear. 
• Whether worry is the same as fear. 
• Our own fears and our experiences with them through the years. 
• Examples of fears we've learned to overcome in our lives. 
• How to overcome fear in your own life by getting comfortable being uncomfortable. 

Just so you know, our conversations are completely unfiltered, unedited and happen very organically.

Also to note, we’re not professionals — if you’ve heard us speak, you will know that. We’re just a couple with a passion for nattering about our mental health and trying to navigate our way through the mad old game we call "life".

We explore these topics in real-time and figure out our opinions and share our experiences on the fly. We have no agenda and often, we miss things out and get things wrong. We're human — anyway, you know the score by now!

Anyway, please enjoy our chat, all about FEAR.

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If you're not already following us on Instagram, what're you waiting for!?

This week’s theme is SELF-AWARENESS.

This is a topic that's come up so many times during our Sunday morning chats, we thought it's about time we made an episode about it. We think it's the foundation for starting any personal development journey or improving your mental health. 

What is self-awareness? Why is it important? How can you cultivate a better sense of self? All of these questions and more are chit-chatted about during this episode.

We also cover:

• What self-awareness actually is. 
• How having a lack of self-awareness can be detrimental to our relationships. 
• Identify unhelpful habits and behaviours that negatively impact your mental health. 
• How empathy and self-awareness link together. 
• How self-awareness links to emotional intelligence. 
• Our own path to becoming more self-aware and how the journey never ends. 
• How to improve your sense of self-awareness, using things that have helped us both. 

Just so you know, our conversations are completely unfiltered, unedited and happen very organically.

Also to note, we’re not professionals — if you’ve heard us speak, you will know that. We’re just a couple with a passion for nattering about our mental health and trying to navigate our way through the mad old game we call "life".

We explore these topics in real-time and figure out our opinions and share our experiences on the fly. We have no agenda and often, we miss things out and get things wrong. We're human — anyway, you know the score by now!

Anyway, please enjoy our chat, all about SELF-AWARENESS.

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If you're not already following us on Instagram, what're you waiting for!?

In this mid-week episode, I (Rhys) chat with artist Russ Morland, who goes by the name, Lurk (@lurklovesyou on Instagram) — all of Russ' links can be found here. 

Russ is based on Vancouver Island in BC, Canada, and with his art, he creates weird worlds and inhabits them with strange creatures. His work is trippy, psychedelic, fun and vibrant.

Russ draws inspiration from the worlds of lowbrow, street art, skateboarding, and board games, and throughout his career, his work has been featured on shoes, guitar pedals, underwear, skateboards, card games and a whole load more, for prominent clients including Mastodon, Britney Spears, Santa Cruz Skateboards, Etnies Shoes, and RedBull. 

In this conversation we talk about Russ’ tough upbringing in the north of England and how he found his way to creating art from a young age, feeling like a bit of a “weird, loner kid”, as he puts it in his own words.

We talk about his early influences and how he developed the vivid, strange and unique style that his work is synonymous with today.

We also talk about a mural that Russ was commissioned to create by the city of Nanaimo in Vancouver, as part of the Hub City Walls Project.

Russ was chosen by the project to inject a bit of fun and colour onto a grey wall in an area of the city that would benefit from having such a cool, interesting piece of art painted onto one of its walls.

The city approved his proposed piece and he got to work on creating the mural, which took about 10 days to finish.

After its completion, the mural attracted some negative social media attention, with a small number of people who misinterpreted and misconstrued the work, deeming it to be “inappropriate”.

This then sparked an online conversation about art in public spaces, with many people — including the project and city — jumping in to praise the piece, as well as defending their right to have it there in the first place.

This was a difficult and entirely unexpected thing for Russ to navigate, especially as the intention behind the piece was never to offend or be provocative, quite the opposite, it was meant to be fun, vibrant and interesting. Something that could breathe a bit of life back into the surrounding community.

Thematically, we also talk:

The lowbrow art movement, British/Canadian cultural differences, music, developing as an artist, being a father, sobriety, self-awareness and reflection, anxiety, the NFT art world and therapy.

I’m a huge fan of Russ’ art and after having spoken to him back and forth in DMs a fair bit, I knew we were going to instantly click when in conversation, so hopefully that came across.

Hope you enjoy our chat!

This week’s theme is BODY IMAGE.

Leila talks about her experiences being a tall kid and I (Rhys) chat about how I thought the only way to become happy within my body was to strive to become a Marvel superhero...

During the episode, we chat about: 

• Our own unique experiences with body image growing up — both good and bad.
• TW: eating disorders and how body image plays a huge part. 
• TW: baby loss and post-partum body image. 
• Ageing, changing and going with the flow. 
• Social media, societal expectation and advertising, and how that plays into body image. 
• Achieving body neutrality and learning to be grateful for what our bodies do for us. 
• How to improve your self-worth, confidence and body image. 

Just so you know, our conversations are completely unfiltered, unedited and happen very organically.

Also to note, we’re not professionals — if you’ve heard us speak, you will know that. We’re just a couple with a passion for nattering about our mental health and trying to navigate our way through the mad old game we call "life".

We explore these topics in real-time and figure out our opinions and share our experiences on the fly. We have no agenda and often, we miss things out and get things wrong. We're human — anyway, you know the score by now!

Anyway, please enjoy our chat, all about BODY IMAGE.

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If you're not already following us on Instagram, what're you waiting for!?