The Journal #31
Hundred. Galpin. Stage Fright. Camp.
Tickets to The Hundred 2024 are now closed
01. NXT45 - Events
The Hundred 2024 - A World-Class, World-First, event for men.
The Hundred 2024 is only a week away and we’re super excited for this year.
As our flagship event we work tirelessly for 12 months to curate and execute a world-class event specifically designed for men. In fact, we’re pretty sure that this is the first and only event in the world of this type and on this scale with only men’s health and wellness in mind.
Why?
We know that many men are searching for self-improvement and/or looking to connect to other likeminded guys and their authentic selves. There are also many men suffering in silence and unsure of where or how to reach out for support.
We believe in the collective power of groups to effect change and we wanted to create something that any man with a positive eye on his future would feel excited and comfortable attending.
Come on your own, bring a mate, bring your whole team. Everyman is equal and everyman is welcome.
2024 is bigger and better than ever before with even more speakers and more opportunities to experience new things. Our health pavilion and health check provision has also expanded as has our accommodation offering and carefully selected luxury welcome packs for attendees.
Learning from feedback following The Hundred 2023 we are keen to stress that there is no pressure to experience absolutely everything on offer. We run a packed schedule so that you can maximise your time and the benefits on offer. But, if you fancy a lie in or an afternoon sipping a drink under a tree then that is also amazing. Similarly, if you want to jump right in and make the most of what we have to offer then we’re up for that too. This is your weekend, do what is right for you.
Next week we will release the full list of speakers, partners and experiences and a sneak peak at what is coming next from the team at NXT45.
Until then…if you invested in you and are joining us at The Hundred we’ll see you next Friday.
If not, there’s always NXT year.
02. HEALTH - Podcast
Huberman Lab Guest Series - Andy Galpin
If you could only watch or listen to one podcast on fitness then this would be it.
Ok, being completely straight with you, it’s a series comprising 6 episodes and totalling over 19 hours of conversational fitness gold. Told you it was the only one you ever need to listen to.
It was completed almost exactly a year ago and I have listened to it all the way through…twice.
Andy Galpin PhD is a professor of kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton and widely regarded as one of the foremost experts and coaches on the planet on the applications of training for performance. He is responsible for the success of countless athletes, MMA champions, golf stars and MLB stand-outs.
Andrew Huberman PhD is a neuroscientist and podcaster who is an associate professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University.
With Huberman’s eye on the science and Galpin’s knowledge of working at the cutting edge of fitness together they make a formiddable team.
The series is split into topics covering pretty much the whole of the fitness genre, including:
Ep 1: How to Assess & Improve All Aspects of Your Fitness
Ep 2: Optimal Protocols to Build Strength & Grow Muscles
Ep 3: How to Build Physical Endurance & Lose Fat
Ep 4: Optimise You Training Program for Fitness & Longevity
Ep 5: Maximise Recovery to Achieve Fitness & Performance Goals
03. MINDSET - Mike Bates
Stage Fright
Last weekend I spoke at the Gone Wild Festival, Devon.
Gone Wild has grown to become one of the most popular annual family friendly festivals in the U.K with over 12,000 people making the journey to either Holkham Hall in Norfolk or the beautiful Powderham Castle on the outskirts of Exeter every August.
It took me a brutal 8.5 hours to drive down there following an incident and bank holiday traffic on the M5 just south of Bristol but man was it worth it.
I landed a7 17:30, registered with Artist Liaison (get me!), parked in the quietest spot I could find and made my way over to join one of my speaker agents near the castle. We had some promo photos and B-roll to capture with their media team within the castle gardens. The gardens were off limits to the festival goers.
We were just about to start shooting and a tall guy wearing an loosely buttoned shirt, shorts, sandals and holding a can of Thatchers Gold Cider walked over and asked us what we were up to. We explained and he seemed quite interested. He asked me about the talk I was due to deliver the following afternoon and then wondered off to look after his guests on the steps outside of the main castle doors.
He gave us strict instructions not to film his guests and I cracked a joke about being in his back garden (it had been a long drive), he replied ‘Don’t you mean my front garden?’.
When he was out of earshot I asked my agent who he was. ‘Oh that’s Charlie’ she replied. ‘You know, the 19th Earl of Devon!’.
The rest of the evening was spent dancing in a field to Jake Shears, who by the way was rocking a blue velvet jumpsuit and by all accounts had only arrived 30 minutes prior to the start of his set as a result of the gay cruise he had been on being unable to dock in Portsmouth due to the wind. Rockstar!
I watched in awe at the way he owned the stage and seemed to do so effortlessly and without any self-judgement or nerves. I wondered if I could pull off the sleeveless, velvet jumpsuit look…perhaps next year if they invite me back.
It was due to rain heavily that night and so I opted for sleeping in the boot of my car rather than my tent, definitely the right call.
I wasn’t due to be onstage until 16:00 that afternoon and so I made the most of the time I had, and distracted myself from the steadily-building nerves, by listening to the 3 speakers that had been booked before me inside the Adventure Cove.
Up first was Hari-Budha-Magar. Hari is a former Gurkha and the first double amputee in history to summit Mt.Everest. He is now 4 peaks in to his quest to climb the big 7. Legend.
Second on stage was Liz McGonaghy aka ‘Chinook Crew Chick’ who was the longest serving RAF crew member with over 10 deployments to Afghanistan under her belt. Liz spoke of trying to take her own life after suffering with PTSD and the road back to recovery. Heartwarming.
Next was Alix Popham, former Welsh international rugby star and co-Founder of Head for Change, a charitable foundation pioneering positive change for brain health in sport. Alix, who played for his country 33 times and in 2 world cups was diagnosed with probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and early onset dementia in 2020. It is thought that CTE is caused by repeated blows to the head and concussion. Inspirational.
And then it was my turn.
I headed back to the car to change into my stage gear and headed backstage to do my final run-though and get mic’d up. I sent my wife a message telling her how nervous I was, like I was going over the top and might never come back.
I chose to deliver a new deck titled ‘Lessons from the Ocean’. It was the Adventure Cove after all. The talk went really well and I was pleased with how I delivered it. It lasted for around 50 minutes.
We ended with a Q&A and a number of the audience had some great questions about the row, about mindset, failure and the future.
But, the final question was the best. It was asked by a 7 year old boy who sat next to his mum on the second row. It was simple and straight to the point. ‘Do you get nervous when you speak on stage?’.
I replied by asking him ‘Do you get nervous when you speak in front of your class?’. He nodded.
‘Good, that is completely normal’ I said. ‘In fact, if things make you nervous it means you should definitely do them. Nerves are great’.
The boy seemed to be happy with my answer (although you never really know with kids).
I took one last round of applause and left the stage.
I was greeted by my agent who asked me with some scepticism ‘Mike, do you actually get nervous?’.
I took that as a huge compliment as clearly I hadn’t shown it.
‘Absolutely’ I replied as she ushered me to front of house where I was greeted by some of the audience for selfies and a young lad with an autograph book bless him. He’ll look back at that one day and wonder who the hell I am!
I’m often asked if I like speaking and I always respond by saying that it is a love-hate relationship.
I love the positive impact it can have on others and the vehicle for change my personal story may be for someone out there. But, I hate the nerves. I always get very nervous and always will.
The nerves are the personal reason I stand up on stage in front of hundreds of people and get paid to speak.
It’s bloody hard. It exposes you. You wrestle with self-doubt for days before. You take a huge risk and could fail dramatically.
But that’s exactly why we should look for things that make us uncomfortable and nervous.
No-one ever grows and develops if they keep playing it safe.
Discover what you find hard and do more of it.
I did a gig earlier this year alongside Sir Ranulph Fiennes in Sardinia.
It was a pinch yourself moment and in the taxi on the way to the hotel I asked Ran if he still got nervous after 55 years of speaking in front of audiences all over the world.
‘Every time’ he replied.
I remember thinking that if our greatest ever living explorer gets nervous then it’s ok if you do too.
I’m betting that Jake Shears does a bit.
Don’t play it safe. Find what makes you scared and do more of that.
You don’t need to wear a blue velvet jump-suit or conquer the world like Ran did, but you do need to conquer yourself.
04. QUOTE
"Do one thing every day that scares you."
Eleanor Roosevelt
05. TIP
It is estimated that over 1.2 million of us go camping in the U.K regularly.
Pitching your tent properly is a critical skill and one that can often make or break a family weekend away, especially if the weather turns…which it will!
The summer holidays may be over but here are a few tips to help you make the most of your journey into nature next year.
The Spot
Look for a flat and level a pitch as possible.
Set up on higher ground if available to avoid floods and waking up in the middle of a stream.
Avoid pitching under large trees if high winds are possible.
Try to utilise an already used pitch. It’s likely been used for good reason and it saves damaging new ground.
Avoid wild meadows and areas of high biodiversity.
The Weather
A tent in full sun all day might sound nice but it’ll be like sleeping in a oven after a hard day on the trails or with the family.
Try to pick a spot that has shade in the afternoon by pitching on the eastern edge of a forest (if winds are not high), dry stone wall or high sided vehicle.
Never pitch at the bottom (lowest point) of any site. Water runs downhill and it will find you.
Pull all of your outer sheets tight and tie one side slightly lower than the other to facilitate water run-off.
Have a plan B for torrential downpours (the boot of the car with the back seats down is often a decent option in emergencies).
In windy conditions ensure all points of the ground sheet and mud-flaps are pegged down fully. Pack away any loose items which may be blown away and take down awnings and unnecessary parts of your tent. Have the number of a local hotel on hand if things look dangerous and you’ve arrived in a 2002 Fiat Punto with the boot storage capacity approximating that of a large lunchbox.
The Tent
Practice putting up the damn thing a few times before you arrive. Don’t be that guy who rocks up with it still in the plastic bag from GoOutdoors and spends the first half of his holiday trying to figure out the instructions whilst his family (and every other camper) look on with embarrassment.
Ensure all zips are closed when putting up your tent, this makes the whole process much easier.
Invest in really good, strong pegs not the ones that bend in hard ground on as soon as they meet a submerged rock or tree root. This might mean buying separately unless your tent is near top of the range.
Set up large tents with the help of at least one more person. We know you don’t need the help (really!) but it’s better to get someone involved early rather than having to admit defeat later down the line.
Unpack and erect all poles and items that won’t blow away before unrolling the fabric or risk a mad dash around the campsite chasing it.
When you get home hang the tent out for as long as it needs to become completely dry, ideally in the garden but a garage with the door open is also good in wet weather. Packing away a tent whilst even a little bit damp will only result in you pitching a mouldy mess the following year.
Happy camping!
See you next week for a ‘The Hundred 2024’ special
We believe that when men live happier, healthier & more fulfilled lives…everyone wins! - NXT45
The Journal by NXT45
