The Locker Podcast

The Army are major employers within the UK job market recruiting a wide variety of graduates each year. The nature of work varies significantly across sectors with no two days being the same. Emergency and various ad-hos duties mean that you may be participating in multinational peace missions and humanitarian relief operations in support of the United Nations one day and responding to national emergencies the next. We’ll talk to a soldier who joined the Army after completing a degree in the Civilian world. Highlighting how the Army offers opportunities for those that have chosen a career path before they join and how traditional careers / skills are just as important in the Army. In today's conversation Major Charlie, who was a qualified dentist who decided to continue the same line of work in the Army talks to content creator and business owner Suleman Kudus. With host Natalie Morris they discuss forging a career and how to make decisions that are in your best interest when it come to your working life.

The armed forces is at the forefront of equal pay, with men and women on the same pay scale and promotions being solely based on performance, capability and potential. However, despite the work progression within the armed forces, other sectors still have a long way to go. As people still have misconceptions about gender in-equalities that exists in male dominated industries. So how do we tackle these issues and move gender equality forwards again? What should society and employers be doing to address inequality head on? We bring together Anna Whitehouse (AKA Mother Pukka) to talk to Major Zabina about how we collectively can overcome these challenges and how soldiers can carve out a successful role in the Army.

The great resignation, working from home, switching careers and starting a business - the pandemic was a catalyst for generations of people to look at their careers and dream bigger. No longer content with the 9 to 5 people are pursuing side-hustles and passion projects to not only be a source of financial gain, but emotional satisfaction too.    Host Natalie Morris speaks with entrepreneurial king Stephen Manderson (otherwise known as Professor Green) and Major Zabina, hearing insights and stories from two extremely varied and unique careers.  

How much should you let your career shape your sense of self? Recent polls suggest that 55% of workers gain a sense of identity from their career. However, linking work so closely with who you are as a person can be damaging, particularly in today’s tumultuous world of work.  In this episode, host Natalie Morris speaks to Headteacher and Director of The Reach Out Project Manny Awoyelu who tells about his journey from excluded pupil to Headteacher and charity director. We also hear from Army Reservist Charlie, who’s currently working to turn his civilian role as a surgeon into one within The British Army.   

What does it mean to be LGBTQ+ today; in the workplace, in society, and in The British Army? How has the world changed to better accommodate and support the people in this group? In this episode, The Locker Podcast takes a deep dive into the world of LGBTQ+ existence and allyship, inside and outside of The British Army with Radio 1Xtra DJ Remi Burgz and soldier Amy, hosted by the Metro’s Natalie Morris. 

Failure is an inescapable part of life – for everyone. Going through failure can teach us invaluable lessons, build character, personal strength, and even confidence, but there is still so much stigma around failure that makes it hard to talk about and even harder to confront. Host Natalie Morris is joined by Army Sergeant Major Gavin Paton and UK Youth Mental Health Ambassador Dr Alex George to discuss how we can find confidence in failure. 

Not everyone finds self-belief easy to obtain; it’s an uphill struggle and means constantly pushing limits, testing boundaries, learning through the good experiences as well as the bad. However, when it comes to success, sometimes the only difference in whether you succeed or not is a result of one simple thing – believing in yourself. Listen to episode 5 of The Locker Podcast to hear soldier Hazel speaking with international sports broadcaster Benny Bonsu about the importance of self-belief, breaking barriers and embracing failure.

From families and friends, to our education and jobs, lockdown has presented challenges for everyone. However, for many pressing pause on routine over the last five months has allowed them to evolve, upgrade and become more confident in themselves. Listen to episode 4 of The Locker Podcast to hear officer Brendan chatting to NHS Doctor and paediatrician Dr Kiran Rahim about the positives and the negatives of lockdown and how we’ve all become more mentally resilient as a result.

Social media has become crucial to our daily lives, in fact internet users now spend an average of 2 hours 22 minutes every day on social media. Yet our relationship with it isn’t so clear. It’s designed to be addictive and more and more, we’re turning to social interaction for a quick boost of confidence. We’re hungry for likes, but this satisfaction doesn’t last long. In this special episode of The Locker, we speak with social influencer Chessie King and soldier Kirsty who open up about their own relationships with social media. We learn their secrets to building a healthy and sustainable relationship with these platforms that doesn’t lean towards dependency and actually helps build our own confidence and self-esteem.

We all know that going to the gym and exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. But what are the draw-backs when goals for fitness are dominated by appearance, rather than feeling good inside? With the rise of gym-bunnies, ‘beach-body-ready’ diets and reality tv shows that shine a light on the ‘perfect body’, it seems the new gym culture is actually making people feel bad about themselves, rather than better.  In this first episode of The Locker, join host Natalie Morris in conversation with TV presenter Laura Whitmore and serving Army soldier Ella, who explore the effect of gym culture on our body positivity, and its impact on our confidence and self-belief. From the pressure shows such as Love Island lead to, to training in a traditionally male environment, we discover what it takes to build long-lasting confidence, not just short-lived endorphin hits.