The Happy Pear Podcast

What happens when you mix a life of media expertise with the desire to help us collectively look after our health, planet and ‘precious life’? Well, we think you get Sarah Wilson!We used to call her the Sugar Lady, as she wrote, best selling book, I Quit Sugar and founded IQuitSugar.com, a program that has been completed by 1.5 million people in 133 countries.But will find no mention of sugar in this episode as Sarah is so much more than that we discovered! Why? In 2018, Sarah closed the business and gave all money to charity. She now lives minimally, cycling her hand-built bike to red carpet events.Sarah is also the author or two other books: another best seller, First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, and her latest book, This One Wild and Precious Life  which explores the complexities of climate change, coronavirus, racial inequalities and our disconnection from what matters.Enjoy this delightful exchange!Big Love,Dave & Steve x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not a pleasant question, but have you ever wondered what the biggest killer of men in the Western world is? This week, meet Rip Esselstyn, a former professional athlete and firefighter who has dedicated decades to helping people improve their health and fight this biggest killer.“The number one cause of death amongst fire fighters is heart attacks, not fires!”But don’t worry! There’s a happy ending to this fact. Rip Esselstyn has helped thousands of people to regain their health and thrive without surgery or spending loads of money.Did we say thousands? We meant millions: Rip is the Exec producer of the most viewed health documentary of all time, Game changers, which has been viewed over 100m times."We are finding that by exercising, eating plant based, optimum sleep… you can really start pushing the boundaries”Rip embodies commitment to demonstrating longevity and also helping others achieve it. We learnt a lot about health from Rip so hopefully you will, too. Enjoy!Big Love,Dave & SteveFurther Information:If you want to learn more about Rip, visit his site: https://plantstrong.com/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever heard of Dr. Melanie Joy? Well, if you haven’t you should! Is it acceptable to say this could be our favourite episode to date?Joy has an incredible capacity to distill information in the most tangible way. She effortlessly cuts to the core of so many major issues that impact us all. From the macros like climate change or racism to the micros of personal relationships.“When you look at systems of oppression like racism, classism, carnism/animal exploitation. All of these are expressions of the same type of thinking. Each set of victims of these forms of oppression will always have unique experiences, but the systems themselves are structurally similar and the mentality that drives these systems are the same.”Melanie Joy, Ph.D., is a Harvard-educated psychologist specialising in relationships, communication, and social change. She is the author of six books, including the award-winning Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows, Beyond Beliefs: A Guide to Improving Relationships and Communication Among Vegans, Vegetarians, and Meat Eaters, and Getting Relationships Right. Joy is the eighth recipient of the Institute of Jainology’s Ahimsa Award, which was previously given to Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama. Her work has been featured by numerous media outlets, including the BBC, ABC Australia, NPR, and the New York Times. She is also the founding President of the non-profit organisation, Beyond Carnism.Moving from effective and ineffective forms of communication and relation literacy to veganism and her own perfectly coined term, Carnism - We delve deep into her formula for successful relations, and really how attainable it is. “Every communication, has two parts to it; it has the content, that’s what we are communicating about and then there’s the process, and that’s HOW we are communicating. We tend to all over-focus on the content “I just want to get the words right, I just want to get my answer out there”, but the process matters much more. If you think about a conversation that you had, 6 months to a year ago. It’s possible that you actually forgot the content entirely -somebody you talked to at a party or something- but you probably remembered how you felt in that conversation. The process determines how you feel and when your process is healthy, you can communicate about anything without arguing…when your process is not healthy, you can’t communicate about anything without arguing. You probably know people who have so much in common, and yet always seem to find a reason to butt heads and argue together.”A truly awakening episode. Please let us know your thoughts on socials and if you like what you hear, please subscribe and share.Big love,Dave & SteveYou can learn more about Dr. Melanie Joy and her work at carnism.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coined “The Death Metal Irish Baron”, this re-wilding, filmmaking, vegan Lord is not only continuing in the lineage of great ancestors before him but also going against the grain. How? By giving back what he inherited to its true owner: Mother Earth herself… This week's podcast guest is Lord Randal Plunkett.He has been described as an idiot, a moron and crazy but that doesn’t stop him. Randal is aware of the mantle he must withhold;“When you are born into privilege, you must live in servitude… I have a responsibility… I must make things better..”With a lineage of philanthropists, saints and scholars behind him, this is not an easy feat! However, despite the seriousness of the tasks Randal has taken on, he has a great sense of humour and is not what you would expect when you hear the word “Lord”:“The only time I ever go by Lord is when I am wearing a cape, and yes, of course, I have a cape.”We laughed, we went deep, we spoke about his past, the hate from locals that comes with the title, the various places he grew up in, the relationship with his lineage, his love for horror, death metal, filmmaking, and how he came to re-wild his estate.“This is now the most important thing I have ever done."A fascinating character and a natural-born storyteller, Randal and this episode will keep you entertained, will stimulate your curiosity and potentially even start you on your own re-wilding journey!We hope you enjoy it and if you like our podcast please subscribe and share.Big love,Dave & Steve xREFERENCESFILM: The Green Sea by Randal PlunkettInstagramDunsany Natural Reserve Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week you get two for the price of one! Well, actually four if you include us ;)We had the pleasure of hosting both Matt Frazier and Robert Cheeke, and delved deep into their new book: The Plant Based Athlete.Matt being an ultra runner and Robert being a bodybuilder - they are the perfect pair to write THE book on a plant-based diet for athletes.We had a super stimulating conversation. Aside from their own fascinating past, the lads have spent a lot of time interviewing some of the best sportspeople in the world, who are (you guessed it) plant-based, these included:Venus WilliamsRich RollTom Bradyand many more.“There were numerous athletes that we interviewed, who were Olympic medalists, some of the best in the world. Who weren’t even consuming protein powders - Do you know why?”A brilliant episode, particularly as we have just been watching the Olympics!Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. If you want to hear more and support this podcast, please subscribe and share :)Lots of Love,Dave and Steve Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To kick off our new series no better man to have than the wise monk himself - Manchán Magan. And guess what, it was in person! Whoop! Genuinely what a treat, and you can really tell!His name, Manchán, literally means ‘little monk’ and if you were to meet him, there really is no better fitting name - Even how he holds himself has an air of soft wise intellect.We began thinking we were going to dive deep into the Irish language and all its nuances but wow did we get so so much more.Manchán, is the type of person who will keep even the most highly strung business person on edge listening!! We navigate through this conversation from his time on the TG4 travel show taking him to all kinds of weird and wonderful tribes, to mingling with “The Screamists” (a cult who literally spend their time whaling and screaming), to mysterious forgotten histories, and his adventure to beat the mortgage ladder and find 10 acres for 10 grand.Manchán is a writer, a poet and a deep thinker. His latest book 32 words for a field, has instilled in us a whole new passion for the Irish language. Give him 5 minutes of your time and I swear you’ll be downloading Duolingo beginner Irish!According to Manchán the Irish language not only holds the secrets to the best places to find fish in the Irish countryside, or how to predict the weather, but also how to really connect. To connect us to this earth, to the people and inevitably to sustainable living.“During the dark ages Europe lost all of its libraries, all of it was destroyed, all of its central regal systems. A new sort of violent force was taking over, all the philosophy and wisdom was gone, but Ireland still had it in their libraries because they were never part of that. Now that Christianity was male focuses, it was hierarchal, but it had a key. It had a beautiful visionary voice in terms of Jesus Christ at the beginning of it, and particularly Irish Christianity, because when St Patrick came in 430 AD, we took on some of that, just like the Taro Oman mountain runners in Mexico, took on some of the Jesuits stuff (their clothes etc..) but they kept their connection to the landscape. We did the same in Ireland, we took some of the rules of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, but look at our Holy Wells… Our Holy Wells and our Holy Rivers, we realised that nature was sacred, so we brought some of this knowledge back to Europe. You can find it still in Monasteries in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the teachings of Irish Monastic figures.”A really wonderful episode from a phenomenal character. Let us know your thoughts on social media and if you like what you hear, please support this podcast by subscribing and sharing.Big Love,Dave and Steve xREFERENCESManchán's Book: Thirty-Two Words for a FieldZach Bush MDTaro Oman mountain runners - Book Born To RunRichard Heinberg - Our Previous Podcast EpisodeHelena Norberg-HodgeMoy Hill Farm in County Clare Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We are victims of our own success”Has economic growth destroyed us all? Usually economic growth is seen as a good thing right? Or at least that is what politicians would have us believe. In this episode prepare yourselves! Put your seat belts on! As Richard Heinberg does not hold back. There is no softness or sugar coating here, he has been spreading the word of our impending climate crisis for many many years…Richard is Senior Fellow-in-Residence of the Post Carbon Institute, and is regarded as one of the world’s foremost advocates for a shift away from our current reliance on fossil fuels. He is the author of fourteen books, has written essays and articles, delivered hundreds of lectures and interviews for print (including for Reuters, and Time), television (including Good Morning America, National Geographic, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Al-Jazeera, and C-SPAN), and radio (including NPR, WABC, and Air America). Not to mention, Richard has appeared in many film and television documentaries, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s 11th Hour.Needless to say, when it comes to the climate crisis, he’s the man! In this episode, we jump straight into the core of it all. Richard talks us through everything from the limitations of renewable energy, the growth of capitalism, human ingenuity, to eco-living, community resilience and the power of ascetic beauty.“Ascetics have been hijacked by capitalism, in biology it’s called ascetic decadents. That’s where the competition of production and enjoyment of beauty takes off on its own and it actually leads to the evolutionary bottleneck in a species. The classic example is the Irish elk. Which is this type of elk that used to live in Ireland and started to evolve bigger and bigger antlers, until the antlers were so large… and it was doing this for ascetic purposes. The elk just ultimately could not persist and they went extinct. Now we are doing the same thing with our ascetic pleasures, they have been hijacked by capitalism and by consumerism, so that most of the ascetic consumption that we do in the modern world, is all based on just making money and trying to think a certain way. Everything is ascetically designed to make us want to buy more so it’s serving the very process of economic growth that is undermining our future. So we have to take back ascetics from capitalism and consumerism, and once again it needs to serve our long term wellbeing.”Don’t worry it isn’t all doom and gloom! We left the conversation feeling slightly beat up but overall hopeful and empowered.We look forward to hearing your thoughts on social media!If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the podcast please click subscribe or follow!Big love, Dave and Steve xReferenceNaomi KleinHelena Norberg-HodgesSatish Kumar MagazineZach Bush MD Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you talk to strangers?When you think of the word ‘stranger’, does danger come to mind?This week we talk to the insightful Joe Keohane, a veteran journalist who has held high-level editing positions at Medium, Esquire, Entrepreneur, and Hemispheres. His writing—on everything from politics, to travel, to social science, business, and technology—has appeared in New York magazine, The Boston Globe, The New Yorker, Wired, Boston magazine, The New Republic, and several textbooks. An avid parallel parker and occasional working musician, he also won a prestigious Screenwriters Colony fellowship in 2017 for a comedy television pilot that remains, sadly, unproduced.In this episode we talk to him about his latest book; The Power of Strangers; The Benefits of Connecting in a Suspicious World - An exploration of why we don’t talk to strangers, and the wonderful things that would happen if we did.As some of you might know we are very vocal advocates for ‘loose social interactions’. We love talking to strangers, and any acquaintances we may come across - we simply find people fascinating! So naturally, this conversation was right up our alley.Joe is hilarious, he realised he wasn’t the best at striking up conversations with random people so he thought he would challenge himself by finding out why, and furthermore, is this is a common thing with most people nowadays in our screen-watching world? So he found a course on the topic (that’s right, a course on ‘how to talk to strangers’) and set off to London to find out how!“There is a really good technique I learned when I was doing this which is, don’t ask people what they do, ask them what they would like to do more of or less of, and that will get you a really interesting answer. The person might say “I am a chartered accountant” and you ask; “well what do you want to do more of”, they might say “oh ballet”, and then you exclaim “oh that’s interesting! A ballet dancing accountant, that’s unusual” … and then you are off to the races! That gets you to understanding peoples motivation and individuality. Thats the way you can break the script of boring cocktail party chatter.”From the psychology, to the history, to the practical. Joe takes us through it all in this episode. We talk social studies, individual experiences and for a pair of extrovert-chatty-twins, we even managed to learn a lot!“There wasn't much difference between introverts and extroverts in the actual study. They seem to have the same experience. The extroverts are more comfortable initiating the interaction but the introverts got the same benefits from it once they started doing it. And my theory is (based on my own research), is that the skills you need to be really good at this are introvert skills. It’s listening, it’s noticing, it’s paying attention, it’s not stepping all over somebody, it’s not doing the thing that everyone does in conversations where you are just looking for a way in to talk about yourself. Those skills are invaluable.So I feel that introverts can learn from extroverts in the way that extroverts are good at going up to people. But extroverts need to learn from introverts in the way that you conduct the conversation, in the way that you learn to listen to people, and you don’t make everything about you and you ask them questions about their lives etc…”Give the episode a listen, then go out and strike a conversation with a stranger! Go and explore! Who knows where it may take you ;)REFERENCETheodore Zeldin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are thrilled to say we have our friend, the eco-warrior, Davie Philip.Davie is a community catalyst and facilitator at Cultivate.ie, the sustainability cooperative based in Cloughjordan Ecovillage, and a network weaver with ECOLISE.eu, the European network for community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability. He is the coordinator to the Open Food Hub at Cloughjordan Community Farm and the chair of Open Food Network Ireland.  Davie brings us through his fascinating narrative from his early eco-warrior, revolutionist days of being arrested, and as he describes "we were more interested in being proactive than reactive" to the foundations of which he and a few others began the Cloughjordan eco-village."Getting involved in an eco-village or a community project at this scale is the longest self-development course you’ve ever taken. Because you are constantly learning about yourself. And I think that shift that you just mentioned, Steve - that ego to eco, I think that’s a world view that we need if we are going to survive on a hospitable planet by the end of the century. We need to move from that individualistic just consumerist culture that reduces everything into its parts, to where we actually start to see relationships and connection, and the value and health and wellbeing of the whole is good for me as a part of that whole.”Davie is seriously inspirational and does not sugar coat a thing, we dive deep into the successes and difficulties of creating a sustainable community, from our political setbacks to the health and mental benefits of co-living and amenities sharing community.“Community living and land trust show that there are different approaches to living. It’s mad because in Ireland our only two ways to secure a home is a mortgage (a massive dept) 'mort-gage' literally translates to “the grip of death”, or rental with no secure tenure. That’s our options, whereas in Europe there are multiple options, the diversity of ways to secure your home and your home being more than just an asset you speculate on.”A great conversation and a brilliant addition to our community series. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did and listen out for the 4 simple steps we as individuals can start right now to build on our own communities for a healthier and happier future.Love,Dave & Steve xReferencethevillage.ieopenfoodnetwork.ie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are delighted to give you the brilliant John Stewart.John is a sought-after speaker, author and educator, with over 25 years of international experience. He was the Head of Green School Bali (Voted The World’s Greenest School) and literally wrote the book on ‘Thriving at School'! Having won numerous awards within the educational world, John recently took on the biggest undertaking of all by becoming the conductor of Living School Lismor, where he literally repurposed his own house, ripping and exposing walls in order to create a school that redefines all norms. Here, the main goal is creating a love for learning, where the community school focuses on personal and academic exploration for both student and teacher alike.John strips back the many layers of our global schooling system, where attention is no longer on the enthusiasm for learning and draws parallels to the western prison system with its high walls, regimented structures, and disciplinary systems.“A lot of schools build themselves around campuses, so then they have stranger danger issues so the put fences, and then they want to make sure there’s a quality educational offering, so they have these teachers who are credited, they have to be professionally developed - all sitting inside these schools. So when you mirror a school and a jail, people actually can’t see the difference.”We could have spent hours, days, months, years talking to John! Community being such an integral part of our ethos, John really spoke to our hearts when breaking down how essential a school is for a thriving community - it really is at the epicenter.“This takes us back to the definition of a school, it isn’t about getting a career, getting the best mark you can to get into university or a pathway so that you can make heaps of money. That’s a bit selfish and it’s a bit naive. Schools are meant to improve community… Communities have kind of dispersed, we get communities in cafes, at sporting events, we used to have them in churches (and some people still do)… but where do you have all these different views streaming in to be connected - at school.”From John’s vibrant past and international experience to ripping apart his own home in order to create his dream school, we nearly covered it all.We hope you enjoy it as much as we do and get in touch if you like us, get inspired to build your own community school! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prepare yourself, we are the ULTIMATE fans of our latest guest… Steve even claims that in his teenage years he dreamt of being married to one of his songs. If you are over the age of 30 you probably “made out” to at least one of his many hits. The song “Everything I do”, still holding the longest consecutive reign for the Number 1 hit single in chart history!We are thrilled to announce that this week's podcast is with fellow vegan and animal lover, the wonderful, amazing, and magical - Bryan Adams! Yes THAT Bryan!Bryan has been a long-term health enthusiastic and vegan for over 30 years. Back when the word vegan was such a rarity that even Bryan didn’t know the term!We chat in length about food, health and life on the road, and what community really means to Bryan having lived most of his life in the limelight.“The loyalty I have had with my band members and my manager; I have been with the same manager since I was 18, same road crew since I was 21, so I guess that’s my community, it’s my little circus” Aside from his vibrant musical and photography career, Bryan has an amazing outlook on health; “I have this philosophy, that what you do today, and how you run your life, whether it be with exercise or diet, you are building the building block for what you are going to be in 10 years. So whatever you do now, if you are caning it now, you are going to feel it in 10 years. So just think about that when you are planning your life. Everything that I have done in the past 30 years has lead me to the health I have today.”We had such a wonderful chat, we really feel like we made a new friend and look forward to hosting Bryan here in Greystones someday soon. So sit back, grab a piece of fruit or celery stick, relax and enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I am a storyteller; that’s what I do…” Welcome to this week’s episode with the delightful, insightful and charming, Professor Jonathan Dawson.Jonathan might describe himself as a storyteller, however, in this episode it is not Jonathan telling the story: we deconstruct “The Story” or many narratives that we have all been told, which play a huge part in the cause of our climate crisis.“The key narrative that we live within, that really needs to be challenged, is that which governs how we experience the other than human world. Because the messaging is, ‘you look at a tree and its timber’, rather than being an intelligent being. This is the critical bit, because as long as we have stories that these are inanimate objects that are out there for our use, as long as we do that we can continue to sh*t on the world, and if we are going to stop, a big part of the story needs to be that we see the world in different eyes and we see ourselves as living within an animate universe as one brand of intelligence among many other forms of intelligence.”Jonathan is a sustainability educator and a former President of the Global Ecovillage Network. He has 20 years of experience as a researcher, author, consultant, and project manager in the field of small enterprise development in Africa and South Asia and before joining the College he was a long-term resident at the Findhorn Ecovillage.We spoke in length about the many issues which have lead to our need to redefine how we live, in particular Findhorn, which is an amazing example of how a community can live sustainably.“People associate having a low foot print with suffering. In Findhorn, nobody needed television as what was happening outside their front door was so interesting. This is what we need to bring, we are not talking about sacrifices, we are talking about retuning into who we are as a species, and what floats our boats and it is not buying whatever gismo it may be, it is reconnecting with people and finding your own place within your community.”A very insightful episode - we hope you got as much from it as we did.Big love,Dave & SteveReferenceRichard Heindberg‘Small is Beautiful’ by E.F. SchumacherSatish Kumar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For episode 4 of our Community series, we present to you the very man who changed our own perspective on community living years and years ago. The co-founder of the Transition Network and Transition Town Totnes, Mr Rob Hopkins!To give you a bit of background on Rob, he is the author of numerous books including, The Transition Handbook, 21 Stories of Transition and most recently, From What Is to What If: unleashing the power of imagination to create the future we want. He presents the podcast series ‘From What If to What Next‘. In 2012, he was voted one of the Independent’s top 100 environmentalists and was on Nesta and the Observer’s list of Britain’s 50 New Radicals. Hopkins has also appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Four Thought and A Good Read, in the French film phenomenon Demain and its sequel Apres Demain, and has spoken at TEDGlobal and three TEDx events.This was by far one of our favourite episodes. The expression ‘you should never meet your heroes’ does not apply here. Rob was our hero 15 years when we first came across him, and now all these years later when we finally get to meet him, he is still our hero!"At the moment we measure the success of an economy by how much bigger it is than last year. Imagine with your kids; there is a while in the evolution of your children where the fact that they are bigger than they were last year is a good thing. They are growing in the right direction. If that was the only measure, and they just kept on growing and growing and growing, till they were about 50 metres tall… after a little while you would think something is going really really wrong here. Actually what you want is for your kids to grow, ideally to slightly shorter than you are! And then to start growing in different ways; become kinder, wiser, more skilled, more connected, and more resourceful. We don’t have that assumption for our economy, we just say - ‘is it bigger than last year? Grand!’ The fact that cancer rates are rising, anxiety is rising, and people are less and less able to walk home alone after dark, all the things that we don’t want to happen in a society, we don’t measure, we don’t factor them in.”This quote says it all, he is a creative thinker who lets no walls or structures limit his imagination and willingness to strive for a better future. The ultimate doer and who leads by example. We delve into everything from how Totnes became a self-sufficient transition town to how you as an individual can start thinking outside the box and become the change you want to see happen to your own community.Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bruce Parry, Bruce Parry, Bruce Parry! What a gent!How often do you get to speak with someone who has fully immersed themselves in 15 different indigenous tribes all across the world?He ate what they ate including maggots and insects, he slept where they slept at times on hard dirt floors tangled between legs and arms and mosquitos crawling at his skin, he took part in ceremonial practices and plant medicines awakening his soul to all kinds of other realms, but most importantly he opened his mind to old wisdom, other ways of being and thinking which has shaped his existence and shown him new perspectives on life."Just hanging out with people who have a completely different perception of reality, different spirtual beliefs, different relationships with each other, different nature beliefs. All these things that I had to go through massive internal shifts to understand. Because you can just carry on looking at the world through your own scientific material prism but when you start taking on board that actually these people have got something else going on and maybe it’s worth listening too because they are not the ones messing the planet up. I started out kind of thinking I knew it all and ended up realising I didn’t know anything and thats a humbling journey."Bruce is an explorer, indigenous rights advocate, author, former Royal Marines officer, but he is possibly most well known for the three BBC documentary series; Tribe, Amazon, and Arctic. All of which documenting Bruce's exploration of extreme environments, living with remote indigenous peoples, and highlighting many of the important issues being faced on the environmental frontline.We covered it all with Bruce and to be honest could have spoken for days, maybe even months more, we feel a friendship was been made and look forward to keeping an eye on his progress with his next adventure; an egalitarian community in Wales.Further information on Bruce and his latest work:https://www.bruceparry.com/References:Viktor Frankl Sir Ken Robinson George Lamb and We Are Grow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our second episode in our Community series, we are delighted to present the magical Dan Buettner!Buettner is an explorer, National Geographic Fellow, award-winning journalist and producer, and a New York Times bestselling author. He discovered the five places in the world—dubbed Blue Zones—where people live the longest, healthiest lives. Buettner now works in partnership with municipal governments, large employers, and health insurance companies to implement Blue Zones Projects (well-being initiatives applying the lessons from Blue Zones) in communities, workplaces, and universities. The program has dramatically improved the health of more than 5 million Americans to date.In this podcast, we cover the main correlating factors for longevity in these Blue Zones, and how we can start to implement changes in our own lives to be healthier and happier.“If you are overweight in America and possibly Ireland it is probably not your fault. If you go back to the 1980s, in this country about a third as many people were obese and about a seventh as many people were suffering from type 2 diabetes. Back in the 80’s they didn’t have better diets or better discipline. What’s changed is there are about 20 times more fast-food chains now, we drive about 60% more instead of being on our feet, a full 40% of all retail outlets, pharmacies and gas stations... all have junk food. We are genetically hardwired to eat fat and sugar and take rests whenever we can, and that's okay when you live in an environment of hardship and scarcity like we have for 99% of human existence but now you throw that same genetic makeup into a cesspool of burgers, fries, pizzas, and package snacks, your genetics are going to win out all day long!”A great episode to follow from Helena Norberg-Hodge last week. We really hope you enjoyed it! Further information on Dan Buettner:His books:The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way, The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest PeopleThe Blue Zones of Happiness Reference:Richard Leider Calling Cards  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the first guest of our new season titled Community, we are delighted to give you “Mother Earth” herself - Helena Norberg-Hodge.To say we were blown away is an understatement - Dave announced at least three times that he was her new biggest fan!Helena is a pioneer of the new economy movement and recipient of the Alternative Nobel prize, the Arthur Morgan Award and the Goi Peace Prize for contributing to “the revitalization of cultural and biological diversity, and the strengthening of local communities and economies worldwide.” She is author of the inspirational classic Ancient Futures, and Local is Our Future (2019), and producer of the award-winning documentary The Economics of Happiness. The impact of the global market on food and farming has been a focus of Helena’s work for almost 40 years, including two books (From the Ground Up: Rethinking Industrial Agriculture and Bringing the Food Economy Home: Local Alternatives to Global Agribusiness, as well as a Local Food Toolkit, which won a prestigious UK award for investigative journalism.She is the founder and director of Local Futures and The International Alliance for Localisation, and a founding member of the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture, the International Forum on Globalization and the Global Ecovillage Network.Helena speaks with such wisdom and compassion. Her response to the destruction globalisation has had by way of media, food production etc.. and the impact it has had on businesses and individuals, is truly inspiring. "I really wish before I die that we wake up to look at the bigger picture, which is the bigger system that has essentially imprisoned us and kept us running faster and faster, and as we are running faster and faster we are becoming more and more disconnected internally. We are becoming more and more disconnected from others and from nature, from the land..."There is so much we can learn from Helena, one podcast episode isn’t enough! We need to rethink how we have been programmed in order to recognise the flaws and make the necessary changes to save our own health and the health of our planet. This episode is the perfect start to kick off our series on Community. It leaves you wanting to learn more, which we aim to help you with, with our line of equally amazing and inspiring guests.Each speaker has their own unique experience and wisdom to share with us on a variety of topics, from indigenous tribes to the Blue Zones (areas with the most centenarians), building your own community, farming, and local economics. We cover it all!Stay tuned each Wednesday for the next episode.Big love,Dave & SteveReferences:World Localization DayDocumentaries:Biggest Little FarmThe Uber StoryPeople:Naomi KleinZach Bush MD Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's podcast is with the brilliant Professor Paul Dolan.Paul is a Professor of Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also is an author and hosts his own popular podcast called Duck-RabbitWe had a great laugh with Paul, our conversation focused on the many facets of Happiness and how one glove does not fit all.“This idea that one size fits all approach to living well, would be evolutionarily stupid. We would never evolve to be where we are if everyone was the same. So purely from an efficiency perspective, it makes sense that society has different types of people. So it’s about finding out where you are in that distribution…”Paul uses data and analytics to question our perceptions of happiness and the myths we have been fed or “narrative traps” around stories of love, marriage, ambition, and success. He has an amazing way of using everyday examples to convey his points, which makes his work so relatable and brilliant.“What you want money to be is like a referee in a football game. They always say referees have the best game when no one knows they are there. And that’s kind of how you want money to be, you want it to be there because you need it but not paying attention to it.”A great episode, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.Further reading by Prof Paul Dolan:Book: Happiness By DesignHappy Ever AfterPodcast: Duck-Rabbit Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wow, to say our minds were blown is an understatement! This week we are delighted to present to you our wonderful guest and friend, the mighty brain that is Zach Bush MD.For those who don’t know Zach, he is a renowned, multi-disciplinary physician of internal medicine, endocrinology, hospice care, and internationally recognised educator on the microbiome as it relates to human health, soil health, food systems, and a regenerative future.And if all that wasn’t a mouthful… Brace yourselves, you might need a pen and paper beside you for this one! Dr. Zach takes us through chemotherapy, death, the killing of intuition, soil degeneration, dinosaurs, our dying food system, energy, afterlife and somehow manages to link them all beautifully together in an episode that I repeat had us flabbergasted.“Her intuition was not to put those tablets in her mouth. Her intuition was that there was another cause for her cancer, there was another path she could have taken. And I wore her down over a 45 min period and broke her instinct. I broke her intuition not to take those pills. And when she swallowed those pills, it was probably the worst day of my life as a physician. It was the moment I realised I was breaking human beings intuition to follow my pharmaceutical pathway.”You won’t regret giving this episode a listen and if you want to find out more about Zach, ION and his work visit: www.zachbushmd.comReference:The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For any of you who haven't had the pleasure of listening to Doctor Alan Desmond, this is a real treat.In many ways, we feel he is our 'Father of Gut Health'! A great friend of ours that we have had the pleasure to work with on a number of occasions, including on our own Healthy Gut Course. For over 17 years Dr Al has been studying the gut. Not the easiest undertaking as you'll hear from this episode. He voices the connection between your gut, your immune system, your mental health and how the food you eat is the backbone behind your overall health."What should I eat could be one of the most important questions of the 21st Century... When you look at any gut health issue the evidence all points to the same thing, the emulsifiers, the junk food, the food-like substances that make up 60% of the food consumed in the western world, these have massive effects on our gut health and gut microbiome..."He has an amazing way of distilling information in a tangible and relatable way. We talk in length about the importance of gut health, nature, food, and questioning our western approach to health and our current state of affairs in this pandemic."The UN report published last August says the number one thing we can each do to reduce the risk of a future pandemic is by removing or reducing the animal protein that we eat every day. Our current western diets with high consumption of animal protein mean that we keep hundreds of millions of animals in badly sanitized closed confined spaces, which is a breeding ground for future pandemic virus"In 2019 we had the pleasure of going over to Devon where we assisted in the South By South West Plant-Based Challenge, a phenomenal challenge where Dr Al invited more than 70 medical professionals from the NHS to adopt a healthy plant-based diet to prove to them it would improve their energy levels, reduce their cholesterol, and overall make them feel good. It really was an amazingly rewarding experience that has done a lot of good for spreading awareness of our broken western health system. However, we have still so much work to do.This is an episode that packs a punch! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.Further Information:For those interested in learning more about Doctor Alan Desmond, he has a brilliant book called The Plant-Based Diet Revolution Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are delighted to bring you, YouTubers and VanLifers, Eamon & Bec!As their title suggests, Eamon and Bec are a couple who spend their time traveling around in their customised van. Earning their money from their popular youtube channel which follows all their adventures.“The overnight success that took 10 years to build - that couldn’t be more true for us! You could look at our channel now and think wow that looks like a great living… for us it has been a very very slow burn. However, it has shown us that we love it enough to keep going.”However, it seems things are changing for our favourite Vegan nomads. As for most of us, covid has meant we have had to take a pause, reflect and rethink elements of our lives. For some these have been small reflections and for others, like Eamon and Bec's, it has meant standing still for the first time in years and investing in a solid foundation (one without wheels!).Eamon and Bec's have a wonderful appetite for life, they are a fascinating couple with an abundance of insights on creativity, living as a nomad, working and traveling as a couple, and now building their own cabin in the woods.We highly recommend giving this episode a listen, we had a great laugh and look forward to hosting the pair in Ireland again soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This weeks podcast is with the delightful Dr Gemma Newman.Gemma is a friend of ours, a GP with a special interest in the environment, women’s health, and nature. We have had the pleasure of working with her on a number of health courses, including our recent The Happy Skin Challenge.This was a very informative chat to say the least. We covered so many topics from antibiotic resistance, agriculture and soil regeneration; to the importance of nature.“The UN warns us that by 2050 we could have 10 million excess deaths due to antibiotic resistant infections in humans, because the antibiotics that we are now using will become ineffective and one of the main ways that we are exposed to antibiotics is through the meat that we eat.”Dr Gemma is so knowledgeable and was such a joy to talk with. We really really enjoyed this episode and hope you got as much from it as we did. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa Perry, what an amazing person. The type of person you always want on your side in an argument!She is a psychotherapist and author of many books, including the most recent no. 1 best selling “The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will be Glad That You Did)”I believe the title says it all! In our chat Philippa really puts us in our box and made us rethink our basic approach to parenting, which hopefully it's not too late to start implementing now :)“Teenagers biologically know they need to find a new tribe, because they know you are going to die first. In order for them to find their new tribe they are going to have to make you horrible, as they can’t leave their first tribe if they think their parent(s) are gorgeous and amazing. So they start picking fights with you… don’t take them hating you personally, they have to hate you to find their new tribe”We discussed teenagers to toddlers, boys vs girls to restrictions on social media and mobile phone usage.Again we cannot recommend listening to this episode and more of Philippa in general. A wonderful person and to top it all off she’s a great laugh! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This weeks episode is with our good friend Tony Riddle.Tony is a natural lifestyle coach, author and record-breaking barefoot endurance athlete.Regarded as a trailblazer within the field of natural movement and lifestyle, Riddle is the creator of the Natural Lifestyle Philosophy, that encourages modern urbanites to reconnect with certain innate, ‘wild’ behaviours in order to increase physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellness.Having overcome clubfoot as a child, which involved years of traumatic treatment, Riddle has devoted his life to physical training in various forms – whether it was serving in the army and later establishing himself as a respected personal trainer, pilates teacher and rewilding movement coach, or becoming an endurance athlete in his mid-40s, breaking records for running the length of the UK and completing the Three Peaks Challenge barefoot. While running his own successful pilates studio in West London, Riddle began to study the principles of natural human movement and wellness, including the works of Joseph Pilates, Erwan Le Corre, Lee Saxby and Dr Nicholas Romanov, as well as research into indigenous tribes. The resulting journey of discovery, which included extensive self-experimentation over 18 years, led to the development of Riddle’s Natural Lifestyle Philosophy, which combines his physical training expertise with learnings across science, social anthropology and eastern spirituality.A gifted coach and communicator, Riddle has taught the Philosophy to thousands of people worldwide, through talks, workshops, retreats, social media and the NatLife Tribe, an international subscriber-based community launched in 2020 as a result of the COVID pandemic. Riddle has been featured extensively in the press from The Times, Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Telegraph Magazine, New York Times, Men’s Health, Evening Standard, and on BBC Breakfast, Sky News, The Rich Roll Podcast and many others. His debut book How To Be More Human will be released in 2022. A proud husband to Katarina and a father of four, Riddle considers his family to be his greatest teachers.We had an amazing conversation with Tony, dare we say it may be our favourite yet! We talk about his past, from his childhood with club feet to his alcohol addiction, time in the army to eventually running the length of the UK barefoot.He speaks with such knowledge and wisdom that half way through, when Tony speaks of the benefits of deep squatting, we jump off our seats and squat for the rest of the conversation."You have just as many senses in your feet as you do in your hands. Up to 200,000 extra receptors reside in your feet. The more information you put between you and your foot, as in the more rubber, the more desensitised that information becomes."We should all take advice from Tony and remember to use our bodies, we are made to move. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did, there is a lot to be learnt here.Find out more on Tony Riddle and what he is currently working on: https://tonyriddle.com/nat-life-tribe/https://vimeo.com/thenaturallifestylistReferences:Book: Breath by Matthew WalkerBook: Born to Run by Christopher McDougallPhoto credit Christopher Bake @_christopherbaker Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What a story! Where to start? A 22 year old armed robber who ended up in highest security prison with two life sentences. Whilst in prison he broke two world records, eventually leading to becoming an ultra athlete. Now Nike sponsored and to top it all off he’s gone vegan!John has an amazing outlook on life, and is a true example of how the positive impact of sport and movement can have on your well being and even the choices you make.“If there is hope for me there is hope for everyone, I was in the deepest darkest hole you can be in and I managed to turn my life around.”In total John served 10 years, one of these years in solitary confinement. He has been approached by multiple directors and producers for the rights to tell his story, however John is reluctant to let it fall into the wrong hands. “When I got out of prison I promised myself money would never be my god ever again, I would never make decisions again based around money… film can glamorise crime, so I understand if you glorify criminality to people, some people can get sucked in.”So many takeaways from this episode. Really hope you enjoy it as much as we did.Big love,Dave & Steve Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This weeks podcast is with the man who has lived many lives, the infamous, Glen Hansard!I mean where do we start? For those who aren’t familiar, Glen is an Irish songwriter, actor, vocalist and guitarist for The Frames, and one half of duo The Swell Season Having played roles in the BAFTA-winning film The Commitments, as well as starring in the film Once, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Song.You could say he began his singing career at the age of 13, when he left school to become a busker. He was taken in and his talents were nurtured by an artist and and incredible woman, Philippa Bayliss. From then on Glen seems to have been on track to stardom, breaking bread with the likes of Seamus Heaney, meeting his hero Bob Dylan and eventually touring with him at a very early age.Glen is a perfect example of someone who has said and still says “yes to life”."What I have realised in my life, in the 50 years that I have been here is that, when you follow your gut or when you follow your heart, there is an incredible wave that comes up behind that supports it and when you are not following your heart then there is a wave that goes against you. So it’s really just about catching that wave.”We thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, so much so it is our longest podcast episode to date! We cover everything from his somewhat adventurous route to success, his time on the “Celtic Odyssey” rowing from Ireland to Spain, to his perception of today and the climate crisis.It really is pure gold from beginning to end, we highly recommend giving it a proper listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we talk to the delightful Venetia La Manna, a great friend and truly inspiring woman.Venetia is a podcaster, slow fashion campaigner and co-founder of Remember Who Made Them, which is helping to energise a new solidarity economy in fashion. Venetia tries to bring mindfulness and compassion to all that she does. In her new podcast, “All The Small Things” she chats to inspiring people and thought leaders about finding joy in the small moments, and learns more about their routines, habits and rituals. Throughout her social platforms Venetia challenges fashion brands who are costing the earth and calls out retailers on their unethical practices in the fashion supply chain. Venetia’s campaigning has been recognised globally, and she’s been featured on BBC Radio 1, Now This News and BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. She has written for The Independent and Eco Age and earlier this year, was featured as one of ID Magazine’s young activists fighting to save the planet. In this episode Venetia talks us through the fast fashion industry, it’s unethical practices and how to identify them, and its effects on the enviroment. She talks us through effective and simple ways we can make changes to be more conscious in our own purchasing.“Guilt tripping ourselves is a waste of time we should absolutely do the best we can, but I think it’s of more importance to think about collective action and collectively being active citizens than being conscious consumers”We learnt a lot on this episode, Venetia is delightful to talk to and her social platforms are a great resource for anyone looking for credible fact checked information on the fashion industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Most people really struggle with just slowing their thoughts down. So, I always say ‘What’s your favourite song?”. If you close your eyes, and you can hear the creeks in the piano of the song and hear feet moving on the ground, all of the sudden, you are in that space. That’s meditation and that mindfulness.”This week’s episode is with the incredible Niall Breslin A.K.A Bressie. What can we say about this man? We admire him so much. You would be incredibly hard pressed to find something Niall hasn't done in his lifetime. He is a bestselling author, podcaster, musician, philanthropist, and a former professional athlete. However, right now he is on a mission with regards to mental health. Over the past decade, Niall has become one of Ireland’s most formidable and inspiring mental health advocates. He has undoubtedly been one of the spearheads of the mental health conversation in Ireland and bravely stepped up to speak on the issue years before it became a mainstream discussion. Niall is also the founder and creative director of the mental health advocacy charity ‘A Lust for Life’, a multi-award winning movement that uses content, campaigns and events to facilitate young people to be effective guardians of their own mind. For more information on this, visit: www.alustforlife.com In this episode gf The Happy Pear Podcast, Bressie talks us through his incredible journey through life thus far and how it has shaped his perspective on mental health and mindfulness today. In his early years, Bressie was a massive sport enthusiast and ultimately worked tirelessly to get the opportunity to play rugby at an Elite level. After sport, he ‘naturally’ moved into music and again, while he loved the industry, he knew he wasn’t coping with the stress and the pressure it put on him. Following a panic attack after a live TV appearance, he knew he needed to finally seek professional help for his issues. Niall spoke so openly about his realisation of needing help. Unfortunately, given what is often the nature of seeking support with mental health issues, Niall struggled with reaching out, mostly out of fear of disappointing those closest to him. One of the most interesting insights from Niall was that he felt he couldn’t tell those closest to him about his struggles ‘out of fear they would have felt lied to for years’. Obviously, once he did open up, this wasn't the case. In fact, the opposite was true. Niall discussed how we all need to work through our emotions, no matter how hard they might be to deal with. Niall spoke about his 10-year journey with therapy, which is still ongoing today and spoke to us about the importance of attitude, choosing our perspective and understanding when suffering is inevitable and allowed. We also shared a really frank conversation with Niall around emotional connection in our personal relationships and how we have failed and succeeded in this aspect of our lives. We talk about the importance of these close relationships and the further importance of true connection within them. We also spoke openly about the dangers of social media obsession and the challenges we have faced from our time in the spotlight. Niall also brought us through the exciting emerging area of music therapy and how it is being used in mental health services in Ireland today. There are some amazing practical tips with this conversation around anchoring your attention that you can implement right away, so we highly recommend listening through. Niall shared his 6 fundamental principles which he encourages people to follow when they begin their mindfulness and meditation journey: - Making it work for you.- Non-judge Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Don’t create another committee. Talk to people where they already gather. Share ideas and that ripple effect will build and build and build.” Our guests on this episode of The Happy Pear Podcast is the amazing duo of Dr Tara Shine & Madeleine Murray, of Change by Degrees. Tara and Madeleine are wonderful humans. Tara has spent 20 years as an international climate change negotiator and advisor to governments and world leaders on environmental policy, most notably as a Special Advisor to the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice.  Madeleine brings a multifaceted background and is expert in employee sustainability engagement and helping businesses create and tell their sustainability stories. Together, they run Change by Degrees, an organisation dedicated to delivering strategic sustainable advice, employee engagement and specialised sustainability comms.  Tara and Madeleine are powerful women, helping create the future we aspire towards.  Climate change as we all know is the major topic of our time which isn’t going away and learning practical digestible steps from experts can really help us continue to take the necessary action needed to bring our world more into balance. We loved the simplicity of these 3 steps we need to take collectively:Reduce our emissions (no power and fuel to come from fossil fuels and all to come from renewables)Store more carbon in our natural environment (through looking after nature; planting more trees; restoring our biodiversity and moving towards better agricultural practices that build our soils)Adapt to living with more storminess - climate change is real and will change things; we need to prepare for these events (the reality of more flooding, higher sea level rise and to create a more equitable and inclusive society for all as we move forward). In this episode, we hear about the importance of societal action on the “Climate Emergency’; the importance of effective communication in climate action; the incredible value beneath our feet in our soils.The girls bring to life the opportunity for incredible innovation within climate action.  They give us some very practical daily sustainable and environmentally friendly actions that each of us can take and the powerful ripple effect this can play.  They weave not only personal action we can take but also how critical it is for businesses to bake sustainability into the very core of what they are about so all business units know and own goals in relation to it.Being mothers themselves, they explain how they navigate parenthood.  We loved how they asked us all to have conversations with our kids on this topic - ask them to describe what a sustainable world looks like to them and by so doing we encourage them to use their voice and spread their vision. Be sure to check out changebydegrees.com and Tara’s book - “How to Save Your Planet One Object at a time” which is available at all good bookstores. This episode is a fantastic listen - we learnt so much.  This podcast was an honour to bring remembrance and more light to this topic and we really hope you enjoy it and take practical nuggets from it. Big love,  Dave & Steve Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We aren't weak. We don’t lack will power. We’re just humans trying to get by each day. The world is tough. It is difficult at the moment. We don’t need to beat ourselves up. Let’s be kind and compassionate to ourselves.”Our guest on this episode of The Happy Pear Podcast is the amazing Dr Rangan Chatterjee. Rangan is a breathtaking human. He is a physician, author, television presenter, podcaster and much more. He has also been a medical doctor for more than 20 years and is a pioneer in the emerging field of progressive medicine. Rangan is best known for his TV show ‘Doctor in the House’ and for being the resident doctor on legendary BBC One's Breakfast Show. He also writes for the Huffington Post and pens a monthly column on lifestyle medicine in Top Santé. His TV shows have been shown in more than 70 countries around the world and in 2017, he came 8th in the Pulse Power 50 list for influential GPs.Simply put, Rangan is on a mission to simplify health. He believes that health has become far too confusing and that we need to get back to basics with a 360 degree approach to health through food and lifestyle. Rangan is always so honest and passionate, and we learn something new every time we speak to him, so we’re delighted to bring this conversation to you and we really hope you enjoy it.  In this episode, Rangan takes us through: -        His childhood and how he now reflects on it -        The importance of getting out into nature -        His 4 pillars of health -        His approach to stress management -        Why journaling can be really supportive  -        His approach to and learnings from parenthood -        Dealing with cravings and changing habits -        Truly understanding your goals for long term change -        Why we need good relationships and meaningful connections -        His definition of success and his journey to understanding it -        The need to be kind to ourselves  This is a wonderful conversation - we really loved it and we hope you take as many practical and useful nuggets from it as we did as an effective gratitude tool. Big love, Dave & Steve   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Health is so simple. We can make it so complicated, but at the base of it is simplicity. That's what I have been focusing on and I can’t tell you the difference it has made” Our guest on this episode of The Happy Pear Podcast is the amazing Ella Mills, founder and driving force behind the brand Deliciously Ella. Ella is all about using her platform to share simple and delicious ways to take the complication out of healthy living and to feel better.   Starting from a personal blog, Deliciously Ella has evolved into so many things, from an app, to a deli, to a series of podcasts and even a hugely successful range of plant-based food products available all over the UK and now Ireland. Her story has a lot of similarities to ours, so it was so lovely to get the chance to sit down for a longer period of time with her. Ella started everything back in 2012. She had previously been diagnosed with a number of serious health issues and following months in and out of hospital and numerous unsuccessful treatments, she started looking into other ways of managing her condition. Encouraged by stories and research, she decided to turn to a whole food, plant-based diet and, well, the rest is history. Ella is the picture of health today and hopes that sharing her journey can help others to follow in her footsteps.   She is now married to her wonderful husband, Matt, who is the CEO of Deliciously Ella and she is mother of two small daughters.Ella is always so honest and lovely, and her passion really does shine through when she speaks, so we are so excited to share this lovely conversation with you! In this episode, Ella takes us through: -        The origins of Deliciously Ella and her unexpected journey to creating a business. -        How she balances relationships and life in a family business. -        Balancing ambition and contentment. -        Her health journey, using food as medicine and discovering her online community. -        What her definition of health is today.-        How she balances public and private life. -        Navigating social media today and staying mindful with content. -        Keeping tabs on her relationship with technology. -        Building a brand with herself at the centre. -        How she defines success and what her ‘why’ is. -        Her perspective on gratitude.  Ella is continually an inspiration for us - we always take an incredible amount from her and we really hope you find it great for you! Big love,  Dave & Steve  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Your body isn’t just for show, it does a million things for you every single day that you take for granted and by punishing it or wanting another body is never going to make that relationship better. I tried every single diet fad, every quick fix out there and I never went, 'now I’m happy'” - Roz Purcell Our guest in this episode of The Happy Pear Podcast is the amazing Roz Purcell. Roz is an author, chef, blogger, entrepreneur, podcast host, charity worker, former miss universe, a dear friend, and so much more. Roz always has several amazing projects on the go, from her food blog ‘Natural Born Feeder’, to writing her best-selling cookbooks, to creating ‘The Hike Life’ brand and community, to her amazingly successful podcast ‘Bite Back’. The real question is, what hasn’t Roz done? Most notably, Roz is currently one of the leading body positivity voices in the UK and Ireland today. Over the past number of years, she has used her platform to speak out about her food and body image struggles and educate people on both the physical and mental health impacts of toxic weight loss culture and eating disorder habits. Roz is consistently an inspiration for us. She is open, honest and raw about all her struggles and has helped 1000’s of people improve their relationships with food and exercise through her voice and platforms.  In this episode, Roz discusses: -       Her incredible journey thus far, from growing up in Tipperary, to starting a modelling career and becoming miss universe, to her struggles with food and body image and her continued search for self-acceptance. -       The reality of being in the public eye, behind scenes of having a social platform and trying to balance providing inspiration and realistic expectations online.-       The struggles of being a female in today's society.-       The dangers within the fitness industry today. -       What piece of advice she would give her younger self. -       The importance of nature and hiking in her life and how it acts as her reset button. -       Her and her family's journey from beef farming to being predominantly plant based. -       Her journey to understanding and healing her relationship with food. -       How her definition of success has changed for better and she is now just taking it day by day.  We have known Roz for years and never got the chance to speak frankly with her like this, so we can’t wait to share this conversation with you.  We are super excited about this episode, it's full of practical tips and takeaways and it's an absolute cracker!  Big love,  Dave & Steve Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Yes, you might want to lose weight, yes, you might want to build muscle, but right now, you are enough. The moment you start to look in the mirror and feel inspired by the person you see is the moment you take your own power back.” - Gerry HusseyThis  episode of The Happy Pear Podcast is with the great Gerry Hussey. Gerry is a performance psychologist and has been in the human health and performance field for almost 20 years. In more recent times, he has been coined ‘The Soul Coach’.Gerry has been at the forefront of building high performance teams and individuals in all areas of sport and professionalism. His vast experience has seen him prepare and lead teams for success at Olympic Games, Heineken cups, World cups, and World and European championships. He has worked and currently works with some of the world’s leading sport and business teams as well as coaching for high performing individuals.He brings an unrivalled wealth of honesty, experience and infectious passion to everything he does and this podcast is no different. He really does have an incredible ability to awaken, unlock and connect people in a truly powerful manner. In this episode, Gerry discusses: -        Where his career started as a performance coach with the Irish Boxing Team. -        How psychology and the soul are intrinsically linked.  -        The psychological side of food, nutrition and nourishment.-        The physical and mental need for balance. -        The danger of obsession and the importance of joy, laughter & fun. -        Why exercise is fundamental to our health at all levels-        His amazingly inspiring journey to self acceptance and striving to be the greatest ‘me’ that ever lived.-        Why we need to leave the past behind and live without fear. -        The simple beauty in 5 deep breaths.-        Removing the word ‘but’ from your vocabulary.  In recent years, Gerry has been a big help and inspiration to us - we always learn an incredible amount from him and we really hope you find it good for you! Big love,  Dave & Steve Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you don't have good gut health, then it doesn’t matter how good your diet is. If your gut lining isn’t strong, then no matter how healthy you are, your body is not going to be able to digest and extract what you need from your food.This is the key message from our guest on this episode of The Happy Pear podcast. Dr Megan Rossi, also known as The Gut Health Doctor, founded The Gut Health Clinic in London to make an evidence-based approach more accessible and get people’s guts back on track. Her book ‘Eat Yourself Healthy’ has been an international hit, released in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Portugal, as well as the US and Canada. She also received the Young Australian of The Year award from the Australian High Commission for her contribution to science and public education. If that wasn't enough, she has also worked with Olympic athletes and a number of CEOs to optimise their gut health.  In this episode, Megan talks about:-       The amazing origin of how and why she chose to study all things gut health. -       The importance of the gut from both a physical, mental and immune system health standpoint and some of her tactics to try and increase healthy bacteria exposure. -       The Gut Brain Connection. -       Why you should be striving for 30 different types of plants in your weekly diet.-       Her top tips for improving your gut health today. -       Balancing modern food while prioritising the gut.  She also delves into importance of  -       gut health and bacteria exposure in children-       your environment and its impact on the gut. -       a varied healthy diet on the gut. -       limiting stress and embracing mindfulness, particularly with food.  We learned a huge amount from Megan, a particular highlight of the podcast was her example of thinking of your gut as almost like having a pet in your stomach that needs the right feeding! We really hope you take away practical tips from this conversation.Cheers, Dave & Steve  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Wicks is one of the world’s best-known health and fitness professionals. Author of 9 books, including Lean in 15 and a kids focused one called Wean in 15, Joe has played a central role throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, keeping millions of kids and grown ups fit and healthy through his ‘PE with Joe’ workouts on YouTube. In this episode of The Happy Pear Podcast, Joe describes his early years, his personal struggles, how he found his real passion in life, and how he balances personal family life and a hectic work schedule, including maintaining his hugely popular social media channels.In this open and honest interview, we get a behind the scenes look at Joe, as he reveals what he finds tough and how he overcomes challenges such as negative criticism. We hear how he keeps himself in a positive state of mind, what affects his mood, his definition of success and happiness, and what is next for him professionally. This is a really positive and fun conversation – we got loads from it and we really hope you do too!Big LoveDave & Steve xx Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.