Sunny Banana

Jarvah Biltong

Subscribe for exclusive content and 10% off Biltong at https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/subscribe The Sunny Banana, is a play upon the Zulu greeting, Sanibonani, meaning I see you.As tech wrenches us from real life, we are not seeing each other. The Greek word 'idea' means to see. It is as if we have lost the idea of what it means to be human; social, communal, relational. The same word, to see, in Old English is 'seon' which has connotations of understanding. Let's start seeing each other again, listening, respecting, and understanding each other and ourselves. After all, we are people through other people.

  1. 2d ago

    Joan Part 2 I From New Age Seeking To The Faith

    A single moment can cut through years of noise: a quiet nudge that says, go to church because you cannot do it by yourself. Joan from Primal Thrive joins us for a wide-ranging conversation on Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox masculinity, and what it looks like to move from private spiritual seeking to an ancient, communal way of life. He shares how childhood glimpses of Russian churches and icons stayed in the background, then resurfaced after a long stretch of New Age spirituality that left him with more confusion than answers. We talk honestly about the first liturgy experience: incense, vestments, the shared communion spoon, and the feeling of being out of place. Then something shifts. Joan describes the surprising sense of coming home, and how one small act of hospitality after the service can be the difference between walking away and staying. From there we explore why Orthodoxy does not rush you, why humility is so hard for modern people, and why prayer and fasting are not self-improvement tricks but a steady battle to reorient the heart towards God and neighbour. One of the strongest themes is forgiveness. Joan argues that bitterness and bad thoughts can fester into stress and even psychosomatic illness, while forgiveness can bring real lightness, peace, and healing. We also push into the paradoxes of Christian life: strength and gentleness, boundaries and mercy, physical weakness and spiritual beauty. If you’ve been searching for meaning, struggling with isolation, or tired of spiritual content that loops back to “me”, this will give you language, direction, and a practical next step. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Drop us a line Support the show

  2. Aug 12

    #52 Joan Part 1 | Raising Testosterone Naturally

    Consider supporting the Sunny Banana with all proceeds going to our new church building fund. We are the Orthodox Church of the Mother of God of the Sign in Hastings, England. Sunny Banana (Sunny Banana + Jarvah Biltong) Not only will your support go towards the church, but all supporters can also access discounts on all Jarvah Biltong products! Biltong UK supporters only. All products | Jarvah Biltong Low energy, low drive and a constant sense of being “off” have become oddly normal for a lot of men, but Joan isn’t buying the idea that we should just accept it. We talk about his personal turnaround from moderate testosterone levels to feeling genuinely stable and masculine again, and how that shift came from changing the inputs rather than chasing quick fixes. If you care about men’s health, natural testosterone support and building a life with more resilience, this conversation gives you a grounded place to start. We get practical about what raises testosterone naturally: eating a nutrient-dense diet with enough healthy fats, reconsidering missing foods like organs, and looking for hidden root causes such as gut issues, hypothyroidism and the long drag of chronic stress. Joan also makes the case for friction: heavy lifting, physical challenge and real recovery. He explains why a sedentary desk life can quietly erode hormonal health unless we deliberately bring movement and strain back into the week. Then we widen the lens to the social side. Technology, smaller families and constant digital contact can leave men isolated, and Joan argues that brotherhood and purpose are not “nice extras” but part of the health equation. We also cover Shilajit, including where it comes from and why people commonly report more energy, better focus and improved libido, with notes on how women use it too. If you want to support what we’re building in Hastings and hear more conversations like this, subscribe, share the episode and leave us a review. Drop us a line Support the show

  3. Aug 8

    George Demourtzidis Part 2 | Orthodoxy and Modern Manhood

    Consider supporting the Sunny Banana with all proceeds going to our new church building fund. We are the Orthodox Church of the Mother of God of the Sign in Hastings, England. Sunny Banana (Sunny Banana + Jarvah Biltong) Not only will your support go towards the church, but all supporters can also access discounts on all Jarvah Biltong products! Biltong UK supporters only. All products | Jarvah Biltong A calm voice can carry more strength than a shout, and that idea runs through our chat with George from the Gold Coast. We begin with the everyday realities of work and place, then get practical about what property and land development actually looks like: buying land, master planning, civil works, subdivision, and selling blocks to families, homeowners, and investors. It’s a useful lens on patience, responsibility, and long-term thinking, not just business talk for business’ sake. From there, we move into Orthodox Christianity and what it asks of modern men who want marriage and family life. George shares how his view changed from the Hollywood “honeymoon forever” story to an Orthodox understanding of marriage as a union ordered towards salvation, with husband and wife helping each other towards the Kingdom of Heaven. We speak frankly about preparation: prayer, confession, communion, repentance, and the slow building of discipline so a relationship has foundations rather than vibes. We also explore masculinity through the Orthodox lens of meekness. Not weakness, not passivity, but controlled power: being cool, calm, and collected in the eye of the storm. That connects to fatherhood too, including the idea that a father sets the atmosphere of the home. We then tackle self-mastery, sexual discipline, pornography, and why some men practise semen retention as part of resisting compulsions and staying focused, plus the countercultural boundaries around sex and preparation before Holy Communion. If this conversation helps you think more clearly about Orthodox marriage, masculine strength, fatherhood, and spiritual discipline, subscribe for more, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave us a review with your biggest takeaway. Drop us a line Support the show

  4. Jul 31

    #51 George Demourtzidis | Shilajit, Sin, And Starting Again

    For £2.27 ($3) a month you get: Exclusive access to premium contentAccess to great value on all Jarvah Biltong Products (UK only)All funds go to the Orthodox Church in St Leonard's, Hastings to continue it's transformational workSunny Banana (Sunny Banana + Jarvah Biltong) One bad drink in Fiji turns into a lifelong lesson: what you consume shapes you, not only your gut, but your focus, your mood, and the direction of your soul. George Demourtzidis joins me from the Gold Coast to talk about the unexpected bridge between health and Orthodox faith, starting with the practical stuff we all feel daily: energy, clarity, hormones, and the basics of what we put into our bodies. George shares how he works in land development and why he chose to build a health supplement brand around shilajit, a mineral-rich mountain resin often called nature’s multivitamin. We get into why sourcing matters, how fake products flood the market, and why third-party testing is non-negotiable if you care about real results. From there we zoom out into a bigger idea for men’s health and mindset: your inputs are not neutral. Water quality, processed food, music, and media all train your attention and, over time, your appetites. Then we go deep into Orthodox Christianity: the Eucharist as the real Body and Blood of Christ, the countercultural reality of being told “not yet” at the chalice, and why confession, fasting, and repentance are part of a serious way of life rather than a quick spiritual shortcut. George opens up about drifting into a hedonistic lifestyle, hitting a low point at 32, and the verse that turned him back: Matthew 6:33. He also shares a powerful Pentecost experience that brought a kind of peace and joy he can only describe as grace. If you care about clean living, spiritual discipline, and becoming whole, this conversation will challenge and steady you. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find the show. Drop us a line Support the show

  5. Jul 14

    #50 Fr Aleksandr Groves | Orthodoxy reveals our true humanity

    Please support or subscribe to help us raise funds to buy our new Church Building - https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/subscribe We are an Orthodox Church in St Leonard's-on-Sea, Hastings in Albany Road. Check out the awesome Bed and Breakfast run by Fr Aleksandr and Paul - St Benedict - Victorian Bed and Breakfast, Hastings (updated prices 2026) Join the Jarvah Founders Club and get a discount on Biltong for a whole year!  https://www.jarvahbiltong.com/jarvah-founder-s-page Something strange happens when you step into an Orthodox church: the room is full, yet nobody is performing for anybody else. Attention stops being stolen and starts being trained.  We’re joined by our own Father Alexander Groves to talk about Orthodox Christianity as the work of becoming fully human. We dig into why the Orthodox life involves effort and sacrifice, why that struggle is worth it, and how the Church heals us through prayer, confession, and the Eucharist. Father Alexander also shares his personal journey from an Anglican choirboy with a sense of vocation, to a Church of England priest, to Roman Catholic lay life, and finally to what he describes as a joyful homecoming into the Orthodox Church.  We go deep on Russian Orthodoxy, not as an idea but as lived history: the persecution under communism, the witness of martyrs, and the quiet heroism of grandparents who kept the faith alive when the state tried to crush it. From there we turn to the saints, veneration, and the startling closeness of holiness, including Father Alexander’s own patron, Saint Alexander of Svir, and the story of relics rediscovered after 1989.  Finally, we bring it home to Hastings and St Leonards in East Sussex: a tiny chapel built on a sliver of land, a growing parish, and the surprising chain of events that led to renting a larger building while we work towards buying it, including a visit from the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian icon of the Mother of God. If you care about Orthodox liturgy, Christian tradition, spiritual discipline, and building a real local community, this one’s for you.  Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review so more people can find the Sunny Banana. Drop us a line Support the show

  6. Jul 8

    #49 | The Afrikaans Greek Orthodox continues - Saints and Worship lead us to God PART 2

    The saints are not a chapter in a history book for us, they are part of the Church’s present tense. We talk about the startling intimacy of Orthodox Christianity: speaking to the Panagia like family, kissing an icon beside a stranger and feeling a real bond, and remembering that holiness is not reserved for monks or martyrs. Along the way we touch on incorrupt relics and the living memory of saints in places like the Ionian Islands, where faith was defended not with clever arguments but with a simple, practical confidence in God’s work among real people.  We then move into what many newcomers notice first: the Divine Liturgy. We reflect on how Orthodox worship is not built around a long talk, but around prayer, beauty, attention, and Holy Communion. The priest is not there to perform; he disappears into the work of worship. Icons, incense, chanting, posture, and silence become a kind of embodied catechesis, the “message” delivered through what you step into and participate in. If you have ever felt worn out by faith as a purely rational exercise, this conversation offers a more grounded path from the head into the heart.  Finally, we share concrete guidance for anyone curious about the Eastern Orthodox Church or trying to deepen their spiritual life: start with the lives of the saints, return to prayer, seek humility, and find wise spiritual guidance. We mention beloved reads like Everyday Saints and the writings of Saint Paisios, and we speak honestly about the struggle of keeping a prayer rule, especially in modern life far from traditional Orthodox cultures. We also share why we’re moving to a subscription model to help support our Orthodox parish in Hastings.  If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the beauty and truth of Orthodoxy. Drop us a line Support the show

  7. Jul 1

    # 48 | A young Afrikaner becomes Greek Orthodox PART 1

    For £2.27 ($3) a month you get: Exclusive access to premium contentAccess to great value on all Jarvah Biltong Products (UK only)All funds go to the Orthodox Church in St Leonard's, Hastings to continue it's transformational workSunny Banana (Sunny Banana + Jarvah Biltong) Nektarios' Business selling beautiful Orthodox Products https://www.instagram.com/prodromossouthafrica?igsh=M25hdDRqM3g5NXJu&utm_source=qr You can’t argue someone into the Orthodox Church, but you can invite them to come and see and that invitation changes everything. We sit down with Nectarios Otto, a chanter we met at the Greek Orthodox Church in Pretoria, to talk about what happens when ancient faith meets modern hunger in South Africa, and why repentance and obedience are not harsh ideas but the doorway into real spiritual life.We also get practical about Orthodoxy beyond Sunday. Nectarios shares the story behind Prodromos Orthodox Goods, a small icon and devotional project born from visits to Mount Athos and monasteries in northern Greece. It’s a conversation about gratitude, hospitality, and the very real need for Orthodox icons and books for families, converts, and lifelong faithful who want their homes to reflect their prayer. Along the way we touch on calendars, parish culture, and what it means for Greek communities to welcome a growing wave of English-speaking newcomers.Then we go personal. From Dutch Reformed roots and contemporary church life to catechism and baptism in the Greek Church, Nectarios explains the quiet sense of “there must be more” that pushed him towards something older and deeper. We close with the saints, especially Saint Nectarios, including a striking miracle story from South Africa and a reflection on why the saints feel present in Orthodox Christianity rather than locked in the past.If you’re curious about Orthodoxy, icons, Mount Athos, or the search for the ancient Church in a modern world, listen now, share it with a friend, and leave us a review so more people can find the conversation. Drop us a line Jarvah BiltongJarvah Biltong is handcrafted premium biltong that brings together flavour, tradition, and communityDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

  8. Jun 2

    #45 | Have you been in the dark belly of a monster? Why a spiritual father/mother is essential

    Subscribe below for 10% off all Biltong from Jarvah Biltong and exclusive Sunny Banana content https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/subscribe Ten reps can feel impossible until someone looks you in the eye and believes you can do them. After a morning at Trojan Gym in Hastings, I share a small moment that caught me off guard: I’m grinding through dips in tired little sets, then a stranger asks, “Can you do ten for me?” I manage ten straight reps, and it leaves me wondering what just happened and why simple encouragement can change our limits so quickly. That question takes us somewhere deeper: who is rooting for you, and do you actually know it? I talk about the Orthodox Christian practice of spiritual fatherhood and godparents, and how a parish priest, monk, or nun can become a steady guide. This isn’t about having perfect answers; it’s about having a trusted person who helps you stay honest, brave, and open to mercy when you’re tempted to hide. We also explore confession and the biblical call to expose darkness rather than live in it. When anger, lust, jealousy, and shame stay buried, they grow heavier and drag us down. When we bring them into the light, they can be healed, redeemed, and transformed. Along the way I reflect on Jonah, the cry of “Lord, help me”, Pentecost and the Holy Spirit, plus a couple of quotes that underline the urgency of stepping into the light now. If you found this meaningful, subscribe, share it with someone who needs encouragement, and leave a review. Who is the person in your life you can call for a coffee and speak honestly with? Drop us a line Support the show

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About

Subscribe for exclusive content and 10% off Biltong at https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/subscribe The Sunny Banana, is a play upon the Zulu greeting, Sanibonani, meaning I see you.As tech wrenches us from real life, we are not seeing each other. The Greek word 'idea' means to see. It is as if we have lost the idea of what it means to be human; social, communal, relational. The same word, to see, in Old English is 'seon' which has connotations of understanding. Let's start seeing each other again, listening, respecting, and understanding each other and ourselves. After all, we are people through other people.

Information

  • Creator
    Jarvah Biltong
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Sunny Banana
  • Show Website
    Sunny Banana