Don’t Hawd Yer Weesht

My first female guest is here for Episode 5. This is also a first in the fact it is not so much a personal journey but a tribute to Jenn's brother Calum who tragically took his own life in 2017. We chat Jenn's early childhood memories with her baby brother, his love of all things music from an early age, his breakthrough into the Rap/Hip Hop scene with Deadsoundz Inc & latterly as 'Lumo' & the tragic circumstances surrounding his death.
We also discuss the amazing award winning documentary on Calum, Mental Health awareness & how Jenn's own career/journey took a whole new turn.

James Docherty was raised in a small scheme within Kirkintilloch on the outskirts of Glasgow commonly known as the 'Bronx'. Deprivation & poverty were par for the course & being a middle child, things were never going to be straightforward. A mother battling alcohol addiction & a tough father, 'Jaydo' was fast tracked into a life of crime, violence & drug abuse.

Listen as i discuss James' upbringing, him being taken into care, sentences in young offenders & eventually adult prison before he manages to access therapy & the process of his recovery begins.

Now working with the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit & ACE's (Adverse Childhood Experiences) James has used his own experiences to help steer young vulnerable kids away from gang violence & knife crime & also works closely researching other issues such as Childhood Trauma & the after effects.

Episode 3 gives me the pleasure to meet up with Derek Friel, better known as The Fat PT. Derek has become a bit of an internet sensation these past 2 years and has gained over 6.5k followers on Facebook alone. However his journey has been far from straightforward. Listen as I hear how Derek was severely burnt in a house fire at just 2 years old, leading to almost 50 operations on his leg. Inevitably this badly impacted his childhood & teenage years & ultimately lead to his life as a young adult were he was morbidly obese. A visit to his GP & an ultimatum of a drastic change of lifestyle or face an imminent death surely gave Derek an easy choice?...

Episode 2 is here & this time my guest is 'James Toner' of Castlemilk in Glasgow. We get chatting of James' earliest memories of emigrating to South Africa as an 8yr old, the sudden tragic death of his father & many years later the brutal murder of his brother & the impact & trauma this had on James throughout his life. In between James is caught up in the all too predictable drink, drug & gang culture & a life of crime which sees him travel to Jersey, London & Goa! However one trip to Goa proves to be more eventful than them all & James' life will never be the same again.

It is here! The very first episode of the 'Don't Hawd Yer Weesht' Podcast series. Listen in as I
catch up with my childhood friend Mario Arciello, discussing growing up in Townhead ( a council estate in the heart of Glasgow) with the highs, the lows and the almost inevitable pitfalls. Mario is remarkably honest as he discusses his tough upbringing, prison time & addiction, before he finds a secret talent that was maybe not all that surprising.

'Don't Hawd Yer Weesht'. I will be interviewing guests who i feel can inspire others and my listeners can relate to. Encouraging folk to tell their story and never suffer in silence.