In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Sam sits down with Ashley Usiskin, coach, speaker, and founder of The Gift of Help, to explore what true strength looks like in a world that often rewards silence and independence.

Ashley opens up about losing his mum at age five and how that loss hardwired him to become emotionally self-sufficient. But when a life-threatening cancer diagnosis forced him to accept support, he had to completely reframe what it meant to ask for help, and more importantly, receive it.

This episode is an invitation to rewrite outdated scripts around masculinity, vulnerability, and success. Ashley speaks openly about childhood grief, emotional suppression, the school system, and the profound impact of mentorship. Together, he and Sam reflect on the resilience of children, the need for emotional intelligence in education, and why helping others starts with giving them the chance to help you.

This isn’t just about healing. It’s about legacy. It’s about rewriting the rules so that future generations don’t have to unlearn them.

🎧 CHAPTERS & TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 | What Is Success?

00:39 | Childhood Trauma & Early Loss

01:16 | Cancer Diagnosis & The Gift of Help

04:33 | Redefining Success Through Connection

10:29 | Challenging Cultural Narratives

17:12 | Emotional Intelligence in Education

33:22 | Vulnerability and Masculinity

47:42 | Learning to Ask for Help

54:03 | Receiving Support with Gratitude

58:17 | Brotherhood and Shared Grief

1:05:03 | Facing Mortality: What Truly Matters

1:15:03 | Final Reflection: What Would You Tell Little You?

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Ashley Usiskin

Website: https://thegiftofhelp.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gift_of_accepting_help_podcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyusiskin/

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment below. Your support helps us spread this important message and change the narrative around success and mental health.

SPONSORED BY:

Search Seven www.searchseven.co.uk

Nostos Hove www.nostos-hove.co.uk

Rivervale www.rivervale.co.uk

Plus X https://www.plusxinnovation.com/

PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions: https://h2productions.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Howie McConnell has lived many lives: club promoter, DJ, designer, car salesman, creative founder, and a man who faced the darkest moment of his life and found the courage to rebuild.

⚠️ Warning ⚠️ This episode contains content that may be alarming to some listeners. We do talk about suicide which we know can be distressing.

In this deeply honest and inspiring conversation, Howie opens up about his late ADHD diagnosis, his journey through a divorce, redundancy during COVID, and the moment he nearly took his life. But it's also a story of resilience, reinvention, and creativity. From running iconic Brighton clubs to founding 28th Street Media, Howie shares how creativity saved his life, how fatherhood fuels his purpose, and what it means to live authentically, with “peace in the chaos.”

Together we explore themes of masculinity, neurodiversity, emotional intelligence, and the power of being seen. This one’s not just for creatives or entrepreneurs, it’s for anyone navigating change, looking to heal, or wondering how to turn pain into purpose.

00:00 – From Darkness to Light: Howie’s rock bottom moment

03:04 – Defining Success: A triple-header view on peace, presence & parenthood

06:34 – Early Hustles, Millionaire Dreams & Fur-Covered Lighters

07:31 – School, Dyslexia & Creativity Suppressed

10:00 – What’s Broken in the Education System?

14:18 – Work Ethic, Essex Roots & Family Influence

16:20 – DJing, Honey Club & The Creative Scene

24:12 – The Origin of 28th Street Media

25:34 – Juggling Jobs, Redundancy & Survival

27:39 – COVID: The Worst and Best Time

31:24 – Health Wake-Up Call: From 20 Stone to Ultra-Marathons

33:05 – Midlife Awakening or ADHD Clarity?

39:46 – The Gift of Listening (Not Fixing)

43:52 – Late ADHD Diagnosis at 45

50:00 – Advice for Newly Diagnosed Adults

56:43 – Mental Health, Food Banks & The Knife Moment

58:48 – The Camera That Saved My Life

1:10:21 – Goal-Setting, Self-Motivation & Creative Grit

1:17:17 – Launching a Neurodivergent Clothing Line

1:21:15 – Being at Peace: Redefining Success through Contentment

Website: https://www.28thstreetmedia.co.uk

Instagram: @28thstreetmedia

LinkedIn: Howie McConnell

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

Your support helps us spread this important message and change the narrative around success and mental health.

Search Seven – www.searchseven.co.uk

Nostos Hove – www.nostos-hove.co.uk

Rivervale – www.rivervale.co.uk

Plus X – https://www.plusxinnovation.com

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In one of the most vulnerable, profound, and creatively powerful episodes of Different Hats to date, Sam sits down with illustrator, storyteller, and creative genius Asis Patel.

Asis opens up about his journey growing up without his biological father, the bold decision his mother made to leave an arranged marriage, and how that shaped his identity, masculinity, and artistic expression.

In a raw and heartfelt conversation, Asis shares the first time publicly about standing on the edge, literally and emotionally, contemplating suicide, and how that moment became a portal to transformation. We dive into themes of presence, purpose, emotional honesty, creativity, and how self-awareness, community, and storytelling saved his life.

This episode is a reminder that creativity isn’t just about art, it’s about survival, identity, and expression. Asis is living proof that our stories can be our salvation.

00:00 – The Spider-Man Within: A powerful definition of success

03:06 – Introducing Asis: Creative genius and storyteller

05:29 – Taking the Mask Off: Living in alignment with your truth

10:04 – Fulfilment through curiosity, creativity, and sensory living

13:28 – Childhood, creativity & searching for alternatives

17:36 – Asis opens up: Growing up without his biological father

25:17 – Shame, identity & the language we lack as children

28:46 – What Does It Mean to Be a Man?

30:04 – Dancing with the Feminine: Redefining masculinity

41:34 – The masculine and feminine in harmony

45:49 – Asis' stammer, bullying, and finding his voice

53:47 – From Stammering to Stand-up Comedy

1:03:40 – Finding peace with his biological father’s absence

1:17:34 – Creating a life beyond pain: Turning adversity into purpose

1:24:44 – Asis’ Mental Health Struggles: The moment everything changed

1:37:55 – Suicide did happen that day… but so did rebirth

1:47:32 – The Inner Child & Walt Disney dreams

1:48:52 – Final reflections & the gift of storytelling

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Asis Patel

Website: https://www.asispatel.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asispatel

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asispatel

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment below. Your support helps us spread this important message and change the narrative around success and mental health.

SPONSORED BY:

Search Seven www.searchseven.co.uk

Nostos Hove www.nostos-hove.co.uk

Rivervale www.rivervale.co.uk

Plus X https://www.plusxinnovation.com/

PRODUCED BY: H2 Productions: https://h2productions.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.