Special Guest: Hamza Najam (Founder of Breathe Sober)

Welcome to the first episode of 2026. While many are attacking January with "New Year Resolution Fever," Marc sits down with sobriety coach and breathwork teacher Hamza Najam to unpack our complex, often automated relationship with alcohol.

Marc reflects on his own 12 months of sobriety—the gains, the "othering" at work, and the unexpected challenges of a sunny Christmas—while Hamza explains why your struggle to stop isn't a lack of willpower, but a deeply wired nervous system.

Connect with Hamza Najam:

• Website: breathesober.com
• Instagram: @hamzannajam.sobrietycoaching
• YouTube: Breathe Sober Breathwork

Follow us on X/Insta: @DadsGotAnotherTattoo

• Nature vs. Nurture: Hamza breaks down his journey from a binge-drinking culture in Pakistan to the high-stakes house and techno scene in Canada. He explains why we often drink not for the taste, but to change an internal state.
• The Nervous System Trap: Why "willpower is like bringing a knife to a gunfight." Hamza explains how our subconscious automates drinking patterns to serve an identity we might not even like anymore.
• Introspection as a Tool: Moving past the "external excuses" (the friends, the parties, the stress) to realize that unhappiness is often the root cause of over-consumption.

• The Work Dynamic: Marc shares a raw account of how sobriety might have "hurt" his career in the short term—missing out on the 2:00 AM post-conference bar bonding and the "never trust a non-drinker" stigma.
• The "Mirror" Effect: Why do people ask "Why aren't you drinking?" Hamza reveals the uncomfortable truth: they aren't curious about your health; they are holding up a mirror to their own habits.
• Holiday Hurdles: Marc discusses the "Final Boss" of his sobriety year—spending Christmas in the sun and the nostalgia of "quietly getting sozzled" on a sunbed with his wife.

• Phase 1 & 2 (Mindset & Visualization): Moving from "lacking" to "embodying" the person you want to be.
• Phase 3 & 4 (Rewiring & The New Mind): How breathwork allows you to bypass the ego and release years of unresolved shame to build a thriving, alcohol-free life.
• The 900-Patient Insight: Hamza shares the one thing he’s learned from coaching nearly a thousand people: Alcohol is never the problem; it’s a symptom of an alignment issue.
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In the second half of the episode, we get into the part of Ricky’s story that most people never hear about:

• His move into a health-tech startup trying to use AI to support chemotherapy patients — what they got right, what they got wrong, and what the NHS could never have provided the room to experiment with.
• The emotional cost of working around cancer care, and why even the smartest tools struggle when real humans are involved.
• What founders don’t tell you about health startups: the chaos, the optimism, and the moment you realise you’re building something genuinely useful.
• Ricky’s own mental health journey — how he recognised he was slipping, what made him stop, and the surprisingly simple things that pulled him back.
• Why competence can be a trap: the danger of becoming “the person who always copes” until you suddenly can’t.
• A conversation about purpose, burnout, and the thin line between ambition and self-harm in high-pressure careers.

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These show notes focus specifically on the boxing experience and the discussion surrounding the NHS and the medical profession, as requested.

Special Guest: Dr. Ricky Gondhia (GP, Entrepreneur, and White Collar Boxing Champion)

This week, Marc is joined by Dr. Ricky Gondhia—a successful GP, family man, and startup co-founder—who recently won his debut white collar boxing match. Ricky joins us to talk about the physical and mental release of stepping into the ring, the pressures of the NHS, and why so many doctors are feeling disillusioned.

• The Accidental Sign-Up: Ricky reveals how a random Facebook notification led him to sign up for a 10-week white collar boxing program, and the surprising personal and logistical alignment that made it possible.
• More Than Just Fighting: The importance of the group dynamic—training alongside a motley crew of people (plumbers, architects, etc.) and the "shared cause" that made the experience so powerful and beneficial.
• The Punching Problem: Ricky discusses the psychological hurdle of being a "lover not a hater" and overcoming the natural reluctance to hit an opponent in the head, especially in the context of the sport's high respect level.
• Rocky Theme & Fight Night Chaos: Recounting the exhilarating day, from the Rocky theme tune entrance (and the resulting pressure to win) to the fights kicking off in the crowd.
• AI in the Corner: The surprising role of ChatGPT in designing a personalized training and nutrition program to prepare for the bout, highlighting the poor state of nutrition education for doctors.

• The Vocation vs. The System: Ricky discusses his deep love for the essence of being a doctor (the caring, helping aspect) but his resentment of the NHS system, which he says forces less one-to-one time and more paperwork and litigation-covering.
• The Remuneration Gap: Marc and Ricky discuss the financial realities, with doctors being "dicked on" regarding pensions and compensation levels that have failed to keep pace over the last 20 years, leading some doctors to use food banks.
• The "Say No" Dilemma: The argument that for the NHS to survive, doctors must be empowered to "say no" to non-essential or unrealistic patient demands, even if it's politically unpalatable, to protect resources for those truly in need.

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