Inside The Maverick Mind

Ep 14 | Craig Maxwell OBE | The Man Who Was Given 12 Months - And Changed Welsh Cancer Care Forever

YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION: In 2022, Craig Maxwell OBE was told he had a rare form of cancer and 12 months to live. Most people would stop. Craig accelerated. In this extraordinary episode of Inside the Maverick Mind, Craig — a former Welsh Rugby Union executive and one of the youngest commercial directors in world rugby — sits down to talk about the moment that changed everything. The diagnosis. The fear. The clarity that followed. But this isn't just a story about facing death. It's a story about what you choose to do with the time you have. Since his diagnosis, Craig has run marathons, cycled across countries, climbed mountains, and walked the entire Welsh coastline — all while undergoing treatment. In doing so, he has raised over £1.7 million to fundamentally change how cancer is diagnosed in Wales. So that others are found in time. So that no one else hears the words "we can treat it, but we can't cure it" when it's already too late. In this conversation, Craig talks about: * The moment he received his diagnosis — and what happened in the hours that followed * What he's most afraid of, and the things no one can prepare you for * How a terminal illness made him a better husband, father and friend * What "keep going" really means when the stakes are as high as they get * The £1.7 million mission to save lives through early cancer detection * What he wants his children to know about who their father was This is one of the most remarkable, thought-provoking and life-affirming conversations we have ever recorded. Please watch. Please share. It could save a life. 🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with people who think differently when the stakes are real. CraigMaxwell #CancerAwareness #EarlyDetection #TerminalCancer #Podcast #WelshRugby #LungCancer #Mindset #Legacy #InsideTheMaverickMind

Ep 13 | Chris Macnamara | From Homeless Teenager to National Retailer

What does it take to build a premium national brand when you couldn't write your name at age 10? Chris McNamara, founder of The Brogue Trader, is living proof that instinct and resilience can outrun any traditional path. In this raw and refreshingly honest conversation, Chris opens up about struggling with dyslexia and ADHD in a school system that didn't know what to do with him, moving into a council house at 19 with a newborn, a bean bag, and a borrowed microwave - and somehow building a shoe brand with stores from Cardiff to Edinburgh. But this isn't just a business story. It's a story about a boy who chose work over school at 14, who nearly got involved in a post office robbery out of desperation, who survived a heart attack and an armed confrontation at Le Mans - and who has never once stopped moving forward. We explore: * Why The Brogue Trader was built on experience, not just footwear * How a car sales training process still drives his shoe business today * The mentor who told him "it's okay to be skint - it's not okay to look skint" * Why family is the true foundation of everything he's built * What a heart attack at the peak of his success taught him about vulnerability Whether you're an entrepreneur, a parent, or just someone who's ever been told they're not enough - this one will hit home. 🎙️ Inside the Maverick Mind - exploring the thinking behind people who refuse to follow the expected path.

Ep 12 | Prof. Laura McAllister | Inside the Maverick Mind | Captaining a Nation, On & Off the pitch

What does it take to captain your country on the pitch, then go on to shape how that country governs itself?  This week, we sit down with Professor Laura McAllister CBE - former Wales women's football captain, Vice President of UEFA, co-chair of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales, and one of the most compelling voices in Welsh public life. Laura takes us from kicking a ball with her grandfather in the Llynfi Valley to sitting at UEFA's top table as the only woman in the room. She talks candidly about what sport taught her about leadership, why she never had to choose between football and politics, and why Wales is far better regarded abroad than many at home dare to believe. We cover the Euros breakthrough for Cymru women, the slow grind of gender equality in global sports governance, the real risks facing Welsh democracy, and why she thinks "authenticity" as a leadership concept is mostly nonsense. This is a conversation about quiet power, honest challenge, and what it really means to represent your nation - on the pitch and off it. Topics covered: Women's football in Wales | UEFA governance | Constitutional future of Wales | Welsh identity & independence | Public service broadcasting | Leadership, legacy & the maverick mindset

Ep 11 | Spencer John | Inside the Maverick Mind - The Boy who Chose Option 4

**Inside the Maverick Mind | Episode: Spencer John What happens when a boy from Port Talbot - no father, raised by his nan, told at 12 he had three choices: the cemetery, prison, or the forces - refuses all three and builds option four? Spencer John went on to a 25-year career in investment banking across London, New York, Sydney, and the Middle East. Today he's the founder of Ethos Chain, an advisor to the UK Ministry of Defence on financial warfare, a FTSE 100 non-executive director, and the chair of employment advisory boards across all six Welsh prisons. But none of that is the real story. The real story is about trauma rewiring a brain into a superpower. About a daily gin habit at 13 that saved a life - and nearly ended it. About waking up unable to move on Clapham Common and feeling, for the first time, completely at peace. About walking onto a Wall Street trading floor and seeing not power, but insecurity. And about choosing, again and again, to build option four. In this conversation, Spencer and host Emyr Afan - two boys who grew up miles apart in South Wales and found each other on a charity bike ride across America - go deep on: 🧠 Pattern recognition as a survival mechanism 💼 25 years in global finance - and why he walked away at his most successful ⚔️ Advising the MoD on unconventional warfare 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Changing outcomes in Welsh prisons through employment ❤️ The Yellow Sands Foundation and giving back to the rough diamonds 🌍 The end of the global multinational — and what's replacing it This is raw, honest, and genuinely remarkable.

Ep 10 | Blanche Sainsbury - From Boardroom to Purpose

**Inside the Maverick Mind | Blanche Sainsbury - From Boardroom to Purpose: Power, Sacrifice & the National Children's Awards What does it really take to reach the top of British media - and then walk away from it all? In this episode of Inside the Maverick Mind, host Emyr sits down with Blanche Sainsbury, former board-level executive at Trinity Mirror and Daily Mail General Trust, to explore one of the most compelling leadership stories you'll hear this year. Blanche started her career as a teenage classified girl in a newsroom ruled by typewriters and big egos. Four decades later, she'd helped run some of the UK's most powerful regional media businesses, overseen multimillion-pound budgets, navigated cost-cutting in a changing industry - and made headline news herself when she became one of the first people in the UK to remove an editor from their post. Then she did something unexpected. She walked away. Not into retirement - but into purpose. Blanche and her husband Mark founded the Child of Wales and Child of Britain awards, shining a spotlight on extraordinary children doing remarkable things in the face of adversity. What started as a simple idea to celebrate inspiring young people has grown into one of the most anticipated events in Wales, with sold-out rooms, standing-room-only demand, and a reputation for leaving audiences speechless. In this conversation, Blanche and Emyr get into: * What it was really like to be a woman at board level in British media in the 1990s and 2000s * The personal sacrifices of climbing the career ladder - commuting between cities, missing sports days, and living away from home for years * The moment the content stopped feeling right - and why Celebrity culture and Love Island were the final straw * How she made the decision to leave a six-figure career and start something from scratch * What it takes to build a national awards brand with integrity and storytelling at its heart * Why vulnerability is a leadership superpower - and why she's never afraid to say "I don't know" * Growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, being raised largely by her grandmother, and how that shaped her relentless drive * Her "Maverick Moment" - walking into the Daily Mail offices in London and choosing honesty over ego * Why a maverick carries on regardless - and the importance of boundaries, radiators over drains, and protecting your energy This is a conversation about leadership, legacy, and what happens when you finally put purpose before profit. 🎙️ **Hosted by Emyr | Inside the Maverick Mind 🏆 Find out more about the Child of Wales and Child of Britain Awards