The Sam Oldham Podcast

In April 2024 many of the best gymnasts in the world competed nationally, internationally and globally in their preparations for the Paris Olympic Games. At the European Championships in Rimini the British junior men took the team final in dramatic fashion for the first time since 2016. In the senior event the Ukrainian team edged out GB scoring 255.762 which impressively would have taken the team title at the 2023 World Championships. The British team produced an incredibly professional performance hitting eighteen routines and taking two individual apparatus gold medals. In the NCAA finals Stamford claimed their fifth title in a row and Asher Hong, Fred Richard and Khoi Young were the standout performers producing some exceptional gymnastics. The final individual Olympic apparatus spots were confirmed following the World Cup event in Doha and in Japan the reigning Olympic champion Daiki Hashimoto scored an incredible 88 average all around over two days. And this is my story.

In 2009 Whilst filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. David Holmes suffered a life changing injury that resulted in him breaking his neck during a test stunt. For a decade David doubled for Daniel Radcliffe in one of the most successful film franchises of all time. A documentary tilted 'David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived' was released in 2023 that shares his incredible story. As a kid Dave found the sport of gymnastics training at South Essex gymnastics club. His legacy is now intertwined with the amazing charity work he's the driving force behind. You can't help but feel inspired after meeting Dave and it was truly an honour to have had the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with such a positive human being. And this is his story.

In 2005 at the age of twenty, Gareth Timmins began the 34 weeks of training required to become a Royal Marine Commando. Prior to joining the military, Gareth was a professional rugby league player representing Leeds Rhino's, however he ultimately chose to walk away from a potential future career in elite sport. After a successful time serving as a Royal Marine he stepped away from military service in 2010. He then went on to work as a maritime security team leader in the Somali basin and is now the founder of Nought Point One which is a performance clothing brand. Gareth is the author of a best selling book titled "Becoming the 0.1%" and has a brand new book on the way. And this is his story.

In 2019 Dan Lonsdale launched his gymnastics strength and conditioning business which now supports one ten gymnastics clubs across the UK and Europe. He had previously worked as the senior strength and conditioning lead coach at the University of Durham supporting their top performance athletes. His background was in the sport of Rugby where he spent nine years developing his skill set. However through a local initiative that connected sports medical practitioners with upcoming athletes in the North East region Dan came across the sport of gymnastics. Gymnastics is a sport that is constantly evolving and the work that Dan provides is incredible valuable to the community. Dan also provides coach education focussing on S&C specifically for gymnastics alongside sharing his knowledge at a number of coaching workshops and seminars. And this is his story.

In the space of seconds on the 11th of February at 8:15PM 2024 I went from what felt like the scariest moment of my life to unquestionably the very best. Ozzy Arthur Oldham was born three weeks early after a forty hour labour by a category 1 emergency C section. Becoming a Dad has been the single greatest achievement of my life and this was made possible thanks to Connie Elizabeth Moreland. Not so long ago I was man that had lost all hope of a future and couldn't see a way out. Every single day now feels like second chance and my goal is to give my son the best possible opportunity to succeed in his own life. I've already made some big mistakes as a father but I'm going to continue to stumble forwards in the pursuit of becoming the person that he needs me to be. And this is my story.

In the summer of 2024 the biggest event in the sport of gymnastics will take place. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games is a culmination of four years of hard work and sacrifices made by the athletes and their coaching teams. The competitive season is well underway and this month the final individual apparatus spots for the Olympic Games will be up for grabs at the final World Cup in Doha. The English and British championships have now taken place and the American team is looking incredibly strong both nationally and internationally winning Gold at the DTB cup in March. It's been a busy Strat to the gymnastics calendar. And this is my story.

In 2006 David Eaton won a silver medal on the High Bar at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne for team Wales. He represented Great Britain throughout the 1990's and early 2000's and competed at the gymnastics world championships in 2001 shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks took place in America. Dave's career bridged two generations and he was part of the British team that failed to qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. He went on to be an early component in the beginning of what became the golden generation of men's gymnastics in Great Britain. An opportunity to study and train in California early in his career in part led to the birth of TURN. Which is now the leading men's gymnastics brand globally. Dave was invited to watch the recent British Championships that took place in Liverpool thanks to the All Around British title he won back in 2001. And this is his story.

In 2023 Fred Richard became the youngest male gymnast to ever win an individual World championships medal for team USA in Men's gymnastics. The US Men's team also took the bronze medal putting them in the driving seat ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer. Fred only competed in his first elite level national championships in 2019 and in that short space of time he's already become one of the most exciting athletes in the sport. He represents the Michigan Wolverines college team competing in the NCAA.Over the past twelve months his profile has grown substantially both in and out of the gymnastics community. And this is his story.

In 2022 Felix Coomber began a four year course studying international social science at the university of Tsukuba in Japan. Felix started gymnastics at the age of five and has won multiple individual medals nationally in recent years. He is the first British gymnast to train full time in Japan and now represents the university team. In 2002 at the Salt Lake City winter Olympic Games Felix's Mum won an Olympic bronze medal in the Skeleton bobsleigh for TeamGB. He recently competed at the English championships and plans to compete again at the British championships in a few weeks time. And this is his story.

In 2023 Will Foden completed his first ironman with a collapsed lung and proved not for the first time that he was someone with the mental capacity to overcome huge challenges. He played professional and semiprofessional rugby for over ten years. Whilst played for the Doncaster knights a freak accident led to him having his leg snapped in half by a horse. Incredibly after this his career took him to Australia and then Singapore where he coached the Singapore Wonderers to a rugby league title. Will is now the CEO of the stay strong collective which is a performance leadership service providing coaching, mentoring and education to both individuals and businesses. And this is his story.

In 2009 after competing at the English gymnastics championships and walking away with Sven out of seven gold medals. I made the monumental mistake of leaving my gym bag at the competition arena. The following morning Sergey picked me up early to leave for a training camp at the national centre with the GB team. This was by far the biggest telling off I ever received through the entirety of my whole gymnastics career. Luckily we managed to collect my kit bag that same morning but not before Sergey hit me with one of his famous riddles. Next time you should leave your head. They say a bad workman blames his tools. In gymnastics the right tools and equipment can be the difference between winning and losing. And this is my story.

In January 2024 I sat down with former TeamGB Olympic medalist Nile Wilson to talk about his gymnastics career and explore topics outside the world of sport. We have both recently started going to Jiujitsu classes and explore the challenges of starting a new sport. Gymnastics is a bodyweight sport and many athletes can get caught up in trying to control their weight to the detriment of their performance. Myself and Nile try to unpick our own experiences with food and lessons we've learned along the way. I ask Nile if he believes vaping is acting as a gateway drug into smoking cigarettes and he opens up about his battles with addiction. We attempt to tackle the men versus women debate in sport and give our perspective of being in a sport where the women take the lions share. And this is our Conversation.

In the summer of 2024 athletes, coaches and support staff from every corner of the globe will compete at the Paris Olympic Games. Millions if not billions of sports fans around the world will watch their nations sporting superstars go for gold in 32 different sports. A total of twelve teams will battle it out in the men's team event. Great Britain have finished fourth in the last two Olympic Games and the five men selected will be hoping to go one step further in France. Who will earn themselves a plane ticket to Paris and what kind of team will the selectors be looking for? The Olympic Games is the biggest sporting event on the planet. And this is my story.

In 2019 Ashley Watson retired from the sport of Men's artistic gymnastics after nineteen years of competing at the highest level. Shortly afterwards he was recruited by the world famous Cirque Du Solei to be part of a brand new show. The company closed down production and cancelled the new show during the global pandemic and Ash returned home from Canada. He is now a successful content creator in his own right producing gymnastics based entertainment online and following in Nile Wilson's footsteps. Ash was one of the most exciting British gymnasts of his generation to compete over the last twenty years. And this is his story.

In Autumn 2023 I started to notice a gradual increase in stress levels woven into the world around me. People seemed to be driving more erratically, they were under more pressure at work and the cost of living crisis was hitting everybody's pockets. In November I went out to celebrate my brother's birthday and seemed like every conversation I was having revolved around mental health or money worries. Then between Christmas and New Year I went out for dinner with some friends and we had a really interesting disagreement about the wold and how it works. Quite often in life if you follow the money you'll get to the answers you're looking for. And this is my story.

In 2012 Kristian Thomas performed the final floor routine that secured Great Britain's first Men's Olympic team medal in a century. He won a total of fourteen major championships medals throughout his career and was coached by Michelle Bradley at the Earls gymnastics club in the West Midlands. In 2013 he recovered from a knee ligament damage injury in the spring to win Britains first ever World championship medal on the vault in Belgium. He has won major championships honours on more individual apparatus than any other British gymnast in modern times and captained the British Men's team in the Rio 2016 Games. Kristian now works for the football Premier league but will always be remembered for that iconic Olympic vault moment in London 2012. And this is his story.

In 2013 Jack Blake was called up to the Nottingham Forest first team squad and shortly afterwards signed for Mansfield town on loan making his professional debut against Bury town. He spent the following season back playing for the Forest under 23's team, the club he'd joined as a ten year old and captained in the FA youth cup. After a decade at the club, Nottingham Forest released Jack and in May 2016 he decided to take a chance and moved across the Atlantic in hopes of playing football in America. Jack beat the odds and has gone on to make over two hundred professional appearances and build a career in one of the most competitive sporting environments in the world. Currently he is playing for USL Championship team Indy Eleven. And this is his story.

In 2023 I've experienced twelve months of what I would describe as my fullest year of life to date. I turned 30 in February and by the time that milestone arrived I'd already suffered the loss of a loved one. The podcast was born and I embarked on the journey of building a career after gymnastics. Following four amazing years I proposed to Connie and shortly afterwards we found out that we were going to be parents to a little boy. After 30 years of something feeling out of place things began to finally make sense when I was diagnosed with childhood ADHD and OCPD in the summer. You should never stop learning in throughout life. And this is my story.

In 2023 we started planning, recording, editing and uploading the Sam Oldham podcast. By the end of the year we will have sat down and recorded our 50th episode, which is an achievement myself and Sam Lindley are very proud of. I've had the opportunity to sit down and talk to some amazing guests who have been kind enough to share their incredible stories with us over the past twelve months. In this episode I explore the stories that resonated with our listeners the most, talk about what I learned along the way and also what those guests have been up to since appearing on the podcast. And this is my story.

In 2010 James Wells was diagnosed with Myeloid Leukaemia at the age of twenty one. Just six months later following five months of intense chemotherapy James represented team England World Karate championships in Las Vegas. However his Leukaemia relapsed which led to him requiring an urgent stem cell transplant and against all odds his little sister proved to be a perfect match. After another four months of intensive chemotherapy and full body irradiation James remarkably made a full recovery. In total he spent 286 days in hospital and incredibly went on to win two World Karate championships medals in the years that followed. And this is his story.