Cool Conversations with Kenton Cool Cool Conversations

Anna Hemmings is a phenomenal athlete who has been crowned World Champion six-times and competed at two Olympic games. Her chosen sport is marathon kayaking which requires high levels of strength, endurance, and skill (you will learn how difficult Kenton finds it to sit in a kayak, let alone race in one!).


Anna's story is a remarkable one: she tells Kenton how she was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome at the peak of her career and had to overcome huge challenges to get back to the top of her sport.


Since retiring from racing in 2008, Anna has built a successful career as a keynote speaker, leadership coach and training consultant supporting organisations to develop high-performing teams and achieve their goals.

This week, Kenton sits down with James Peach - a brand strategist by trade, who likes to add side-helpings of adventure to keep things interesting!


James has worked for brands such as Innocent, Uber and Vinted and he shares some fascinating insights into their cultures and his experiences with these organisations. He talks about 'hustle', 'toe-stepping' and 'teetering on the edge of the red' amongst other things.


Interestingly, James has a self-declared obsession with time, wanting to squeeze value out of every minute of every day. This has led to some great adventures including walking across Argentina, cycling around the world, and completing a tandom triathlon challenge.


This episode is slightly longer than normal, but we hope you enjoy the rich discussion between Kenton and James.

This week, Kenton talks to Justin Wateridge who is MD of boutique travel agency, Steppes Travel, and extremely passionate about travel. Justin has visited over 80 countries around the world and talks enthusiastically about each and every one of them.


Justin travels with curiosity, learning about aspects of people and culture that aren't covered by headlines or magazine articles. He is also a heartfelt conservationist and he has run the London Marathon twice in a rhino suit, raising money for Save the Rhinos.


Justin often combines his love of travel with adventure, and in July this year he and a friend are participating in the Yukon 1000, a tough multi-day canoe race down the Yukon river through wilderness, rapids and bear country.


Kenton and Justin exchange travel stories and experiences throughout this conversation - enjoy!

This week, Kenton chats to Anna Wells who, just two weeks ago, became the first female to ever complete a Winter Munro Round. Anna climbed all 282 Munros between 22nd December 2023 and 14th March 2024 - a feat only achieved by three others in history.


Anna took three months leave from her day job and careered head first into this awe-inspiring challenge. She climbed mountains in all weathers, many of them on her own, and she clocked some very long days. At the end of the challenge she covered 155km and 11,000m of ascent in three days!


Anna is super passionate about being in the mountains and she and Kenton really hit it off in this episode!

This week, Kenton speaks to ultra-runner and endurance coach, Allie Bailey.


Allie's story is not straight-forward. From the age of 14, she battled with addiction to alcohol, she was severely depressed, and she suffered numerous mental health crises. She started running in the midst of her addiction and completed many marathons and ultra-marathons whilst hungover or under the influence. This only served to strengthen her conviction that she didn't have a problem because she was a runner.


Kenton and Allie discuss some of her memories from her darker days, her journey in running, and her fascination with how our brains work. Allie's honest, direct and straight-talking approach is refreshing and engaging. Her book, "There is No Wall" is out now.

This week, Kenton chats to Jono Sumner who runs a very successful business with his brother and his best friend. The threesome co-founded LifeJacket Skin in 2020 after several of their friends, and Jono himself, were diagnosed with cancer.


LifeJacket has a single vision: to halt the increase in skin cancer, which is the world's most common cancer even though it is 90% preventable. Their skin protection products range from sun cream and moisturiser to body wash and anti-chafe bars.


Jono is super passionate about what he does and he gives a very compelling argument to 'invest in yourself', whether that be skin protection, nutrition, health or lifestyle. Kenton learnt a few things during this podcast recording, and we are sure that you will too!