The High Performance Podcast

We're revisiting this conversation with James Blunt because it's among the most disarming things we've recorded about belief, ridicule, and where confidence actually comes from.

James made his first album on nothing but belief. He'd burnt his bridges with every record label in Britain and was playing to about twenty people on the twentieth floor of a Ramada hotel — and he was still completely certain the whole world was go...

Jake and Damian tackle the question underneath almost every High Performance conversation: what do the best actually do differently, day to day?

Not the big moments. The small, repeatable ones. Because across hundreds of conversations on this show, the pattern is rarely talent or luck. It's that high performers have built a handful of habits they hold onto when nobody is watching, and they keep doing them long after most of us would...

Premier League icon Ashley Young joins us for a masterclass in longevity, self-belief, and turning rejection into an unstoppable competitive edge.

At 15, Watford told Ashley he was too small for a scholarship, a disappointment that became the operational system for his entire 20-year career. He explains why every manager's doubt or dropped selection became fuel to prove them wrong, from Antonio Conte's brutal pre-season at Inter...

Eddie Howe has stepped away from Newcastle United after nearly five years in charge — his own decision, following what he called "a period of personal reflection." He leaves having delivered the club's first major trophy in 70 years and two Champions League campaigns.

So we're going back to the conversation we had with him in 2022, right as that chapter began. Eddie had just taken the Newcastle job — but before it, h...

Following the heartbreaking death of Nims Purja... Jake and Damian reflect on one of the most inspiring conversations in High Performance history.

Before 14 Peaks made him a global icon, Nims joined High Performance to share the mindset that took him from a childhood of poverty in Nepal, to the Gurkhas, the British Special Forces, and ultimately to rewriting mountaineering history.

In this special tribute episode, Jake and Damian...

Sunderland captain Luke O'Nien has built his career on resilience, determination, and an unwavering belief that hard work can outlast natural talent.. He joins Jake and Damian to reflect on the setbacks that shaped him, from being overlooked early in his career to leading his club back to the Premier League.

Luke explains why he no longer relies on confidence to perform, how embracing discomfort became his greatest strength, and...

For more than 30 years, Adrian Gore has been challenging conventional thinking about health, leadership, and human behaviour. As the founder of Discovery and CEO of Vitality, he's built a global business by asking a simple question: what if we designed systems that helped people become the best version of themselves?

Adrian joins Jake to share the leadership principles behind that philosophy, revealing why optimism is a discipli...

Como 1907 has become one of Europe's fastest-rising football clubs, transformed by bold leadership and long-term thinking. In partnership with Revolut Business, Chief Business Officer Ryan Shelton joins Jake to reveal how the club has redefined what's possible on and off the pitch.

Ryan shares how Cesc Fàbregas has helped shape a high-performance culture, why the club embraces unconventional thinking, and how partnering with Rev...

Rafaela Pimenta is one of football's most influential agents, representing some of the biggest names in the game, including Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Gilberto Mora. She joins Damian to reveal what it really takes to protect, develop, and lead elite athletes at the very highest level.

Rafaela explains why players should be treated as people; not assets, how elite players have built an environment that allows them to perform ...

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Aviva.

The former UK Minister for Prisons and CEO of the Timpson Group, Lord Timpson (James Timpson) believes there's a direct link between happy colleagues and business success. He joins Jake and Damian to explain why putting trust before control has shaped both his people and his company.

Lord Timpson shares the leadership philosophy behind his "upside-down management" appr...

Mattia Binotto has spent almost three decades at the heart of Formula One, helping shape Ferrari before taking on his biggest challenge yet as CEO and Team Principal of the Audi Revolut F1 Team.

In partnership with Revolut Business, Mattia joins Jake ahead of Silverstone, to share what it really takes to build a winning team. He explains how you create a winning culture from the ground up, why great leadership starts with trust...

Ian Machado Garry is one of the UFC's brightest stars, and on 15th August he'll face Islam Makhachev for the UFC Welterweight World Title. Ahead of the biggest fight of his career, Ian joins us to reflect on the journey from window cleaner to fighting for UFC gold, and the unwavering belief that has driven him every step of the way.

He shares the letter his mum wrote after he dropped out of college to chase his dream, the extrao...

What does it take to build a championship mindset and sustain it for a lifetime? In this special episode, recorded live at Gleneagles in partnership with IFS, Jake Humphrey sits down with golfing legend Gary Player for a remarkable conversation to explore the habits, mindset and discipline behind lasting success.

From overcoming childhood adversity to becoming one of golf's most decorated champions, Gary shares the mindset that ...

What does it take to build a Formula One team from the ground up? In this special episode with Revolut Business, Jake Humphrey speaks to three-time Le Mans winner and Audi Revolut F1 Racing Director Allan McNish about building a winning culture from the ground up.

He explains how partnering with Revolut helps the team embrace innovation, move quickly and make bold decisions in one of the world's most competitive sports. Allan a...

Over 15 seasons, Cadillac F1 driver Sergio 'Checo' Pérez has established himself as one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, earning 6 Grand Prix victories and finishing 2nd in the 2023 World Championship.

Sergio walked into Red Bull Racing in 2021 knowing the team was built around Max Verstappen, and was told early on that they operated with a clear number one driver structure. He spent four years in one of the most dem...

In this special episode, Jake Humphrey visits Future Youth Zone in Dagenham, part of the OnSide network, where he sits down with Professor Green for one of his most personal conversations yet.

Reflecting on his difficult childhood, Professor Green reveals how youth clubs gave him a sense of belonging when he needed it most and why spaces like this can change the course of a young person's life.

Jake also speaks to Jamie Masraff...

Jake and Damian tackle the question nobody prepares you for: how do you actually know when it's time to walk away?

Whether it's a job, a career, a relationship, or a version of yourself you've been fighting to hold onto, leaving is one of the hardest decisions any of us will ever make. But across nearly 450 conversations on High Performance, one thing keeps coming up: the people who walk away well aren't the ones who had no choi...

Nick Fry bought an underperforming Formula 1 team for £1 and went on to win the World Championship. But before the historic 2009 fairy tale with Brawn GP, Nick and his wife had to face the ultimate risk: agreeing that if they lost everything, they would be perfectly content living on tinned tuna for the rest of their lives.

In this episode, the former CEO of Brawn and Mercedes strips away the glamour of the paddock to share a ma...

Ben Stokes has just announced his retirement from international cricket. And the person who can best explain what that decision truly costs — and what Stokes has meant as a captain and a human being — is Stuart Broad.

Stuart retired in 2023 on his own terms: last ball, The Oval, England versus Australia. In this conversation, he tells the full story of the night he walked down the hotel corridor and knocked on Stokes...