Shane Todd is a comedian from Holywood, Northern Ireland. I asked him for a bio and he said to say: "THE WIZARD OF WIT. THE KING OF COMEDY. THE MASTER OF THE MIC. THE SOURCERER OF STORIES."
Nice. After getting up on stage to do stand up as a dare while still in school, Shane has spent over 11 years working on his craft and perfecting the art of getting people to laugh.
Read MoreRagDogs is a new start-up founded by 7 young women from Bloomfield Collegiate School in East Belfast through the Young Enterprise Northern Ireland Company Program. Being “barking mad about the environment” the team developed a series of products around two passions: taking care of the planet and having fun with their dogs. RagDogs produce handmade eco-friendly dog toys with materials that would otherwise be sent to landfill sites and have partnered with animal welfare charities like Assisi to create a profitable business with a social impact.
Read MoreIn 2017, Kilkeel born and bred Jenna Stevenson set up Made In Mourne, a non-profit organisation whose goal is to connect and support over 500 entrepreneurs in the region and provide a space for them to sell their stuff, meet together and as you’ll hear, access fast wifi. Jenna spends a lot of time pitching and presenting the great work Made In Mourne do, but she doesn’t really like talking about herself.
Read MoreRyan Crown is a creative director and designer specializing in hospitality and food & beverage. He lives in Brooklyn New York with his girlfriend Emma and their dog Ted. After working with The Dead Rabbit in New York as Digital Marketing Manager, Ryan moved to become HPH Hospitality’s Creative Director and worked across over 20 venues in their New York portfolio.
Read MoreNorman Houston is the longest serving British Diplomat in Washington D.C. and is our Northern Irish representative for all of America. He’s worked with the presidents and their staff through 3 cycles — so Bush, Obama and now Trump to raise Northern Irish issues on a global scale and showcase all the incredible things our wee country has to offer.
Read MoreAfter winning the green card lottery in 1997, Pauline Turley left friends and family in Newry behind to move to NYC.
Since then Pauline has been on a rollercoaster journey that’s included pulling pints in a bar frequented by famous Irish actors, getting married to an American fella and developing the Irish Arts Center into what is it today.
Founded in 1972, the Irish Arts Center is a multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to promoting a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America of the 21st Century. In October 2018, Irish Arts Center broke ground on the first phase of a new $60 million Irish Arts Center Development project, which is scheduled to open in 2020.
(Looks really incredible so it does).
Pauline is an absolute powerhouse and I had an absolute blast sitting down to hear her story and I know you will to.
Read MoreIn 2014, Aaron Flanagan and his brother quit their ‘proper jobs’ to open Comic Book Guys, Northern Ireland's largest independent comic book store and the first-ever authorised CGC dealer. The one-stop shop located on Great VIctoria Street has been serving Belfast’s thriving comic book scene through golden, silver age, bronze to modern comics, movie memorabilia, toys, collectables and even comics made by local creators (including a comic made by the Comic Book Guys themselves about fighting the zombie apocalypse off in their shop).
Read MoreAfter working in hospitality since he was 13 years old, Steve Pette has spent his life creating experiences for people. Describing himself as a guy looking to make a positive difference in cities through inspired environments, Steve is a cofounder of Ormeau Baths and Central-Working, two coworking spaces that provide local businesses with a place to thrive. Steve has worked with some big names in the hospitality sector and also in the airline industry with Virgin Atlantic and was one of the founding team members who brought the airline to America: redefining the US travel market.
Read MoreIn June 2014, Scott Riley (the founder of Causeway Living) was 100 lb overweight, suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis and on a cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs. He was depressed, isolated and at rock bottom in his life.
But not any more. After some big leaps of faith like being treated by the tribes in the Peruvian Amazon, going 60 days without solid food, and climbing frozen mountains half naked in the snow, Scott now coaches others to “take small steps to giant living” when it comes to their health, fitness and wellbeing.
Read MoreWith over 600 events every year including live music, discos, art exhibits, comedy sketches, open mic storytelling nights and much much more, The Black Box is without a doubt the creative heartbeat of our city. We sat down with co-director Rachael Campbell-Palmer to talk about the importance of creating spaces where people can experiment with new ideas, mediums and art forms.
Read More“So Miss Northern Ireland actually has brains?” That’s the question children’s ICU nurse Katharine Walker has been asked on more than one occasion. In today’s podcast, we chat about what she’s achieved this year, how she balances the influencer life with shift work in the hospital and what methods she uses to fight the fear of missing out.
Read MoreYou may know Mark Dowds as an early investor in Uber, the Chief Operating Officer of Trov, and one the of key people behind the Ormeau Baths coworking space in Belfast. But he sees himself more as “just a guy from Northern Ireland,” a dedicated husband, father, ultra-marathoner, keen cyclist and “possibly the worst pupil the all-boys school Inst has ever seen.”
Read MoreToday we’re joined by two incredibly talented young musicians - Johnny James and Rebekah Fitch.
After meeting on Instagram the two have gone on to perform and record together, with their latest single dropping last week.
In this unfiltered conversation, we chat about how they got into music, the challenges of the creative process and their new song Hiding.
Check it out.
Read MoreBrendan Gallagher is a photographer, Shane Quinn works for Belfast Building Trust - both are passionate about people, history and telling stories that matter. On today’s show, we chat about identity, heritage, civic pride, mental health, what a Successful Belfast looks like and how we can get there.
Read MoreWillie Jack describes himself as a barman, street cleaner and bouncer - but he’s also the owner of The Duke Of York - the heart of nightlife in our city. Willie has been investing in the Cathedral Quarter before it was cool and shares a lifetime of stories with us in today’s show.
Read MoreKarishma Kusurkar left India when she was 6 years old to live in Belfast. It was 1996, she had the army as neighbours and the building wobbled on a windy day. At 18 years old she found herself at a career crossroad between medicine and the arts. After a lot of deliberation, Karishma took the plunge, rejecting her medicine offer at Trinity to study Art at Ulster University.
Read MoreGareth Quinn may be the co-founder of Digital DNA and Kairos - two very successful tech businesses from Northern Ireland - but he claims his road to success was unplanned and somewhat unexpected. ‘Scraping’ his way through school, Gareth grew up working in factories, bars and call centres before eventually landing a job with Belfast City Council.
Read MoreOne day not too long ago, I went to visit this new place around the corner from Ormeau Baths called Cafe Cuan for lunch. A mate had told me that they sell these unbelievable BBQ sandwiches and that they had bought the smokers from Bubbacue. So I went, got one of the best lunches I’d had in recent memory.
Read MoreWhen Andrew McCracken and Jason Harvey met 10 years ago, they had no idea they’d end up co-founding GoFyt, a successful sports tech start-up based in Belfast. After getting injured just before the race of his career in the Commonwealth Games, Jason struggled to find a local physio and get the therapy he needed, despite having a huge range of contacts in the fitness industry.
Read MoreAfter quitting her marketing job in Australia, Danni Simpson bought a one-way ticket to Europe to pursue a career as an artist. Stopping off in Belfast for a short-trip to visit her granny spiralled into working on a number of murals in the city while living above the Harp Bar… It wasn’t long before Danni decided to move to Northern Ireland full-time.
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