In episode 361 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jenny Tomei.

Jenny is the Founder and CEO of JenUp C.I.C.

JenUp is a social enterprise specialising in training teachers on how to spot the early signs of an eating disorder. It also provides workshops for students on eating disorder awareness and body image.

Jenny has lived experience of eating disorders herself, when she developed anorexia when she was 19 years old. She struggled with the anorexia for over 10 years, and in her words, should have been admitted to hospital as an in-patient in 2009 when her BMI dropped to just 14.

At 23 she was forced into treatment but wasn’t ready to recover. She then moved to Australia, ended a toxic relationship she was in at the time, and went travelling.

However, she came back and relapsed.

It was only when she was around 27/28 years old that her first steps of recovery began.

She then relapsed again aged 29 years old, before finally overcoming it in 2020.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, she had to close her personal training business and in the ashes of that, she founded JenUp in 2022.

Since then, she has spoken in secondary schools about her journey of recovery, has qualified as a nutritionist and is in the last year of her qualification to become a specialist eating disorder recovery therapist.

We discuss this journey from crisis to recovery and now advocacy, the impact she has had on young girls and boys she’s spoken with and her goals and ambitions for JenUp going forward.

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can find out more about JenUp here: https://jenup.co.uk/.

You can follow Jenny on social media below:

• Instagram
• TikTok

TRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains discussions about eating disorders, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution.

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In episode 360 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Tom Maberly.

Tom is now a decade into managing his own business, &Friends, a content studio servicing global clients with content strategy, creative, production and delivery.

He is also CEO of a second business, Cavalry, a Contingent workforce management system, servicing marketing, creative and production agencies, and inhouse teams.

Tom founded &FRIENDS alongside two business partners, Matt and Julian.

In 2018, Julian wanted to move his family to Australia as his wife is Australian, so Tom and Matt came together and agreed to buy his share of the business out. Matt became Head of Business development and Tom became Managing Director.

The business continued to grow fast, and their success was recognised with a holding group’s offer to buy them - they got close to a deal but pulled back.

They were then approached by an Australian based business, Cavalry freelancing, who had offices in Sydney and Singapore, about the prospect of a merger, and they agreed, with &FRIENDS acquiring Cavalry in March 2022, taking on the Cavalry proprietary tech.

It wasn’t plain sailing after the merger and it was a big learning curve for both Tom and Matt.

Unfortunately, during this period, Matt’s mental health was also beginning to decline severely.

Tragically, on April 16th 2023, Matt took his own life. It was a huge shock for Tom and the whole organisation. Tom as MD had to steady the ship, support his team whilst also grieving himself.

Just two months before that, on February 16th 2023, Tom’s brother had also taken his own life.

In this episode we discuss Tom’s professional journey and the events around his brother’s and Matt’s deaths.

We then compare the experience of the two griefs as Tom’s brother had a history of mental illness, whilst Matt didn’t.

We talk about how he processed the two deaths and why Matt’s death, in his words, gave Tom an ‘excuse’ to take action on his mental health, where previously he felt too stigmatised to do so without it and take those first steps on the road to recovery.

As always, #itsokaytovent

TRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion about grief, loss and the impact that losing a loved one to suicide can have, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution.

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In episode 359 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Kenny Bartonshaw.

Kenny is the Founder and Director of Headspace FC C.I.C.

Headspace FC is a weekly football group for adults (18+) who want to stay active, meet people, and take a break from the daily grind.

Their mantra is: Play. Connect. Support.

Based in Stoke-On-Trent in Staffordshire, Headspace FC began as a kickabout in April 2024 with Kenny and a group of 8-10 male friends who were either playing in veterans teams or hadn’t played in many years due to life commitments.

The group grew from there and in June 2025, Headspace FC became a Community Interest Company or C.I.C.

In 2025, they secured £9,000 in funding from Sports England which they used to hire more facilities and pitches. They grew from 1 session a week with 8 people to 3 sessions a week with up to 60 people taking part.

With players ranging from 18-60 years old, Headspace FC is strengthening community bonds in the area and building bridges. Even Kenny’s wife has made connections and friends through its creation!

In this episode, we discuss the genesis of Headspace FC and its journey from the first kickabout to now, the rapid growth of it and how Kenny balances it alongside his full-time job as an assistant headteacher of a primary school, and being a father of three children.

For Kenny’s mental health journey, we discuss his career in football coaching and teaching.

Kenny left college and did an apprenticeship at Stoke City FC to become a full-time football coach.

He worked as a coach for around 10-12 years as a senior community coach. He also ran coaching clubs and achieved an UEFA B licence too.

However, he was working very long hours and for very little pay so at 22 years old, he left Stoke City and transitioned into teaching after his wife, who also works in teaching told him about a role for a SEND Teaching Assistant job at the secondary school she worked at and told him he should apply for it.

He successfully applied and combined his job in teaching alongside completing a degree in Sports Coaching and Management with a module in child studies at the Open University.

After two and a half years at that school, he moved into primary school teaching, completed his degree and then underwent his teacher training through Schools Direct and has worked at the role he is in for over 11 years, working his way up to the role of Assistant Headteacher.

We discuss this journey, the role his mentor provided in giving him the confidence to become a teacher and stick with it, a negative experience he had at another football club, and how he reflects on that journey now.

We finish by discussing his mum’s cervical cancer diagnosis when he was in his early 20s, her death from it in 2008, and the impact that had on his mental health as a young man.

We also discuss the grief of losing his best friend in 2018, also from cancer, when Kenny was 32 years old and the impact that had on him too.

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can find out more about Headspace FC C.I.C here: https://headspacefc.co.uk/.

You can follow them on social media below:

• Instagram

TRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains a deep discussion about grief and loss, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution.

Support Us:

• Patreon
• PayPal
• Merchandise