Made In Chaos with Ryan Curtis

Ryan Curtis
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Made In Chaos is a podcast about resilience, mental toughness, and rebuilding your life after everything collapses. Hosted by former MMA fighter Ryan Curtis, who survived a catastrophic training accident that left him paralysed from the neck down, this show explores what it really takes to recover - physically, mentally, and emotionally. Each episode digs into adversity, discipline, identity, trauma, growth, recovery, and personal development, sharing lessons that help you create lasting change and a stronger future.

  1. 4d ago

    He Won In Front Of Dana White, So Why Didn't He Get Signed? - Paddy McCorry

    A Cage Warriors World Champion on Visualising Victory, the Fear of Being Average, and the One Habit He Had to Give Up to Finally Chase the UFC. Paddy McCorry is a Cage Warriors world champion from Belfast who found MMA almost by accident and went all in, driven by a fear of ending up average and a belief that he was meant for more. In this raw, honest and genuinely fascinating conversation, Paddy opens up about the mental tools that took him to the top, the mentors who kept him off the streets, and the sacrifice he finally had to make to become the full package. Ryan sits down with Paddy for a conversation that’s as much about mindset and escape as it is about fighting. What we get into: Falling into MMA, and deciding on day one to give it ten yearsWhy the fear of being average drove everything he’s doneHow he visualises in such detail he gets adrenaline rushes from itControlling the controllables: building certainty one visualised moment at a timeWhy you should also visualise the bad positions, not just the winsThe Ultimate Fighter house, no phones, and learning everyone’s struggleWhy struggle breeds success, and how to channel it the right wayHow mentors and combat sports saved him, and how kids get groomed by criminals“How you do anything is how you do everything”His honesty about cannabis, relapse, and every level demanding a new sacrificeDelayed gratification, and why making mistakes doesn’t mean giving up the visionWhy he refuses to pretend he’s a perfect, superhuman athleteRyan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who’ve turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing. If anything in this episode affects you, support is available in Ireland. The HSE Drugs and Alcohol Helpline is free and confidential on 1800 459 459, and Samaritans are available 24/7 on 116 123. Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis 🖊️ Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Temple Bar. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory

  2. Oct 21

    He Guided a Blind Runner Through Everest. Then Everything Went Wrong - John O'Regan

    He Grew Up in the Flats With a Fishing Rod Made From a Tree Branch. He Went On to Race at the North Pole, Across Antarctica and Through the Sahara. John O’Regan’s Extraordinary Life. John O’Regan is one of Ireland’s most accomplished endurance athletes, an ultrarunner who has competed in some of the most extreme races on the planet: the North Pole Marathon, Antarctica, the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara, the Yukon, the Spartathlon, and a run to Everest Base Camp. He’s also spent years guiding a blind runner, Mark, through many of these same brutal environments. Ryan sits down with John for a genuinely inspiring, story-rich conversation about survival, endurance, mindset, and what a life lived at the edges actually teaches you. What we get into: Growing up in the Dublin flats, fishing with a branch, and the escape the outdoors gave himWriting a letter to survival expert Ray Mears in 1988, and how it changed his lifeWhy the most important thing you can carry anywhere is knowledge, not kitThe Dunning-Kruger moment: going over thinking he knew it all, and getting humbled fastThe Sahara, the North Pole, the Yukon, Antarctica, and what each one demandedLending his spare snowshoes to explorer Ranulph Fiennes at the North PoleYears guiding Mark, a blind runner, through deserts, ice and the HimalayasThe hardest thing he’s ever done: the race into Everest Base CampThe accident in the desert, the first-aid kit lesson, and “cheating the system”What 24-hour races teach you about rationing energy and the mindThe beginner’s mindset, and why “how you do anything is how you do everything”Why there’s no finish line, and why we get old when we stop doing thingsRyan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who’ve turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing. Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis 🖊️ Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Temple Bar. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory

  3. Oct 14

    Why Couples Stop Having Sex (And How to Fix It) - Lisa McFarland

    After Years Walking With Couples, a Relationship Coach on What Most People Get Wrong, How to Fight Well, and Why the Grass Is Greener Where You Water It. Lisa McFarland is a relationship coach who has spent years helping couples move from disconnection back to closeness, and who went on her own marriage journey over a decade ago before doing this work. In this warm, funny and genuinely useful conversation, she breaks down why relationships drift, how to argue without damage, and the small daily habits that keep love alive. Ryan sits down with Lisa for a conversation that anyone in a relationship, or wanting one, will take something from. What we get into: Why relationships take conscious effort once the honeymoon chemicals fadeThe "mental load," and the conversation couples need to have about itWhy 80% of arguments are never actually resolved, and what to do insteadAttachment styles, and why we're sometimes drawn to chaos over securityHow to do "healthy conflict," and the ten-minute rule that stops fights escalatingWhy "I'm sorry you feel that way" is not an apologyWhy you should never make the big decisions at 10 at nightWhy men and women often need connection in different ordersThe daily micro-habits: the six-second kiss, the daily hug, the drip-drip of careLove languages, responsive desire, and why good intimacy starts long before the bedroomLoving someone versus being in love, and why that moves up and downThe one thing that predicts whether a couple will still be happy in 20 yearsRyan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who've turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing. Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis 🖊️ Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Temple Bar. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory

  4. Oct 7

    How to Actually Get Rich in Ireland - Paul Merriman (Ask Paul)

    Ireland's Best-Known Financial Advisor on What We Get Wrong About Money, and Why You're Probably Doing Better Than Social Media Tells You. Paul Merriman, better known as Ask Paul, is one of Ireland's most recognisable financial advisors and CEO of Fairstone Ireland. In this conversation he cuts through the noise, the viral "skip your coffee" advice, the pressure to be a millionaire by sixty, the panic about pensions, and gives a refreshingly honest, jargon-free take on money in Ireland. Ryan sits down with Paul for a genuinely useful conversation about planning, property, pensions, investing and why the best investment most people can make is in themselves. What we get into: Why we don't plan enough, and the one habit that quietly changes everythingFinancial literacy in Ireland versus the US, and why we're actually good saversGood debt versus bad debt, and what wiped the country out in 2008Why he pushes back on the "cut out the coffee" advice, and when a "money diet" does make senseThe housing crisis, developers, planning, and why there's no will to fix itWhy you're probably doing better with money than social media makes you feelThe real biggest asset most people have, and it isn't their bank balancePensions, tax relief, ETFs and why there's no one-size-fits-all answerDeemed disposal, the savings account changes coming, and the noise around bothWhy investing in yourself beats an ETF in your twentiesLooking wealthy versus being wealthy, lifestyle creep and "Die With Zero"After 20 years, the one thing he's determined not to get wrong in his own lifeRyan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who've turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing. This conversation is general information, not personal financial advice. For advice specific to your situation, speak to a qualified financial advisor. Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis 🖊️ Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Temple Bar. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory

  5. Sep 30

    Inside the Secret World of Professional Poker: Cheating, Millions & Reading People - Chris Dowling

    A Professional Poker Player on Risk, Luck, Reading People and Why You Can Make the Perfect Decision and Still Lose. Chris Dowling has spent well over a decade making a living at the poker table, from local card rooms in Ireland to the high-stakes rooms of Las Vegas. But this conversation is about far more than cards. It is about how to think clearly under pressure, how to read people, how to manage risk and emotion, and how to keep making good decisions when the outcome is out of your hands. Ryan sits down with Chris for a genuinely fascinating look inside the mind of a professional, and the mental habits that apply to anyone's life, whether you have ever played a hand or not. What we get into: How Chris went from the electrical trade to professional poker after the recessionThe three levels of poker, and where the real money and the real pros actually areWhy films get poker completely wrong, and how cheating really worksWhy poker is not gambling, and the maths that makes the house always winReading people: what you can actually tell from how someone acts, dresses and betsGame theory, exploiting mistakes, and the rock paper scissors trick that explains it allWhy the best players randomise their decisions using their watchGoing on tilt, and how the same emotional spiral shows up everywhere in lifeWhy most people badly misunderstand luck and probabilityWhat separates a calculated risk from being reckless, and when to walk awayHow experience, not talent, lets the best stay calm playing for millionsThe single most useful thing poker can teach you about decisions in real lifeRyan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who've turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing. Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis 🖊️ Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Temple Bar. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory

  6. Sep 23

    The Mental Health Crisis Ireland Keeps Pretending Isn't Happening - Rob Connolly

    He Built One of Dublin's Best-Known Businesses While Addiction Nearly Took Everything. Rob Connolly on Success, Grief, Recovery and the Brother He Lost. Rob Connolly is the founder of The Ink Factory, one of the most recognisable tattoo studios in Ireland, and a serial entrepreneur since his teens. But behind the businesses is a life shaped by addiction from the age of twelve, the loss of his brother John to suicide, and a long, honest reckoning with what success is really worth. Ryan sits down with Rob for one of the most open and moving conversations Made in Chaos has had, about building a life while battling addiction, the loss that changed everything, and why he believes there is always a way back. What we get into: Getting into business as teenagers, from nightclubs to The Ink FactoryWhy he built The Ink Factory around community, not just tattoosGrowing up in an addicted household and using from the age of twelveHow success became the perfect place to hide an addictionMistaking net worth for self-worth, and the hole that no business could fillLosing his brother John to suicide, and the years of grief that followedThe conversation with Ryan that helped Rob reconnect with his brother in timeWhy there is always a way back, no matter how far downThe John Connolly Foundation and the mental health work it fundsThe loneliness and identity crisis facing young men in IrelandWhy Ireland's mental health system too often fails people until crisis pointRyan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who've turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing. Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis If anything in this episode affects you, support is available in Ireland. Samaritans are free, 24/7, on 116 123. Pieta (suicide and self-harm support) is on 1800 247 247, or text HELP to 51444. The HSE Drugs and Alcohol Helpline is on 1800 459 459. 🖊️ Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Temple Bar. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory

  7. Sep 16

    Traveller Culture, Fighting & the Life Settled People Never See - Lucas Connor

    He's an Irish Traveller Who Speaks Five Languages, Reads Nietzsche in German, and Is Reviving a Dying Language. Lucas Connors on Culture, Community and Everything Settled Ireland Gets Wrong. When most people hear the word "Traveller," a set of assumptions follows. Lucas Connors spends this episode gently, brilliantly taking those assumptions apart. He's a jiu-jitsu black belt, a linguist reviving the Shelta language, a voracious reader of philosophy, and one of the most thoughtful guests Made in Chaos has had. Ryan sits down with Lucas for a warm, funny, genuinely eye-opening conversation about Traveller culture, identity, prejudice, community and curiosity. What we get into: Why Lucas says he doesn't really believe in bigotry — and his remarkable approach to changing prejudiced mindsWhat settled Ireland gets most wrong about Travellers, starting with the fact that it's an ethnicityThe Traveller sense of community — walk in, no knock, the company is the rewardShelta (or Gammon): the Traveller language, where it came from, and how Lucas is reviving itWhy so many young Travellers grow up believing they're "only simple" — and how that belief is passed downHow his mother refused to let him set his sights lowCuriosity as a superpower: from the Bible and the Quran to Jung, Freud and NietzscheWhy he reads Nietzsche in German — and journaling as a tool for thinkingMy Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, reality TV, and how stereotypes get manufactured and soldThe generation of educated young Travellers changing the culture from withinJiu-jitsu, "culchie strength," and the mindset of never staying downLucas turns the tables and interviews Ryan about the accident, gratitude, and living fullyRyan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who've turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing. Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis 🖊️ Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Temple Bar — Ireland's highest rated tattoo studio. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory

  8. Sep 9

    Why Do So Many Working-Class Young Men End Up in Prison? - Bob Cullen

    He Went From Addiction, Violence and a Seven-and-a-Half Year Prison Sentence to Studying the Very Behaviour That Destroyed His Life. Bob Cullen on Violence, Class and Whether People Can Really Change. Bob Cullen grew up in Blanchardstown as, by his own account, a shy and sensitive kid — and became a violent, addicted young man who ended up serving over seven years in prison. What makes his story extraordinary is what he did next: he studied criminology from his cell, and is now finishing a master's, trying to understand exactly what turns an ordinary child into a violent criminal. Ryan — who shares a lot of common ground with Bob — sits down for a genuinely thought-provoking, at times challenging conversation that pushes back on both sides. What we get into: What actually turns an ordinary kid into a violent criminalWhy Bob believes violence is a "pathogen" you catch through proximityMasculinity, patriarchy, and how young men build status when they have nothingWhy he argues the harsher a system punishes, the more crime it createsThe difference between explaining your actions and excusing themSystemic vs street crime: why a bike shed can cost more than people go to prison for stealingWhy the same few postcodes fill every prison in the countryAddiction, two suicide attempts, and the moment he decided to stopPrison abolition — what it actually means, and the pushback he getsDelusional self-confidence, luck, and the doors that have to openRoutine, discipline, neurodivergence, and how structure saved himThe one lesson he learned the hard way: the love you need has to come from youRyan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who've turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing. Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis If anything in this episode affects you, support is available in Ireland. Samaritans are free, 24/7, on 116 123. Pieta (suicide and self-harm support) is on 1800 247 247, or text HELP to 51444. The HSE Drugs & Alcohol Helpline is on 1800 459 459. 🖊️ Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Temple Bar — Ireland's highest rated tattoo studio. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory

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Made In Chaos is a podcast about resilience, mental toughness, and rebuilding your life after everything collapses. Hosted by former MMA fighter Ryan Curtis, who survived a catastrophic training accident that left him paralysed from the neck down, this show explores what it really takes to recover - physically, mentally, and emotionally. Each episode digs into adversity, discipline, identity, trauma, growth, recovery, and personal development, sharing lessons that help you create lasting change and a stronger future.

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