Firestarters Podcast

Sander Tilsley
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Biweekly

Awareness and stories at the intersection of business, communication and art. Welcome to the Firestarters Podcast, where stories come alive at the crossroads of storytelling, entrepreneurship, music and creativity. Through deep conversations with entrepreneurs, artists and thinkers, we explore how personal stories shape identity, direction and impact. But Firestarters is no longer just about stories. Season 2 introduces The Anatomy of a Shift. A framework that reveals the phases people move through when their beliefs, identity or direction start to change. From the first moment of awarenes

  1. 2d ago

    I Am Not Your Typical Therapist | Amandine Grulois

    “I don’t give advice. I just share my own story, and then I listen.” Amandine Grulois created her own job by bringing photography, deep listening and human connection together. She takes the time to hear someone’s story and shares something of herself too. Sometimes, the people she photographs become friends. That stayed with me. The connection goes both ways. In this episode, we talk about how photography helped her see herself differently, how that experience became her work, and what changes when you hire your first employee. We also talk about making time for friends, leaving room to do nothing, and what being rich actually means to her. Then Amandine turns the questions back on me. We get into narrative literacy, understanding your own story, and recognising yourself as the hero of it. There’s a lot of laughing in this conversation. There are difficult moments too. Amandine brings warmth to both, and I’m very glad we got to share this time together. Follow the Firestarters Podcast for more conversations about the people behind the work and the shifts that shape their lives. Explore Firestarters: https://www.firestartershub.io

    I Am Not Your Typical Therapist | Amandine Grulois

  2. Oct 1

    What Makes Someone Open Up? | Inside Our Photo & Podcast Studios (Mats Claus, Part 2)

    Before someone shares their story, you need to earn their trust.In Part 2 with photographer Mats Claus, we go behind the scenes of his photo studio and my podcast studio.We talk about what changes when the camera turns on, how we help people feel comfortable and why sometimes the best thing we can do is shut up and listen.From creative collaboration to emotional boundaries, we explore the responsibility of telling someone else’s story. What do they want to share? What stays private? And where do we draw our own limits?Part of Season 2: The Anatomy of a Shift.Make sense of your story and find your next move with The Shift Mirror:https://www.firestartershub.io/the-sh...Explore Firestarters and the studio:https://www.firestartershub.io

    What Makes Someone Open Up? | Inside Our Photo & Podcast Studios (Mats Claus, Part 2)

  3. Sep 28

    Why He Walked Away From Nightlife Photography | Mats Claus (Part 1) Something drastic needs to change. Where do you start?

    You love what you do. So why does it feel like you’re going nowhere? Mats Claus was photographing the DJs he grew up listening to, working at big events and building a name in Belgium’s nightlife scene. From the outside, it looked exciting. Behind the scenes, the pressure was growing and the business wasn’t sustainable. Eventually, he walked away from nightlife photography. He still loved the camera. He had no idea what to do next. In Part 1 of our conversation, we follow the years that came after: factory work, another attempt at education, travelling through New Zealand and Australia, relationships ending and unexpected friendships beginning. We talk about taking photographs without clients or expectations. About a long drive alone after a breakup. About a parking lot that became a community, and the people whose stories changed what Mats wanted to photograph. Through all those different chapters, he kept returning to the same thought: “I’m a photographer.” Coming back meant getting practical. A healthier relationship with money. Wedding work that could pay the bills. Portraits and plans for personal projects. Finding a way to keep doing what he loved. For me, this conversation brings together the questions running through Season 2, The Anatomy of a Shift. How do you recognise what needs to change? What follows you when you leave? And how do you use what you’ve learned to make your next move? Mats also reflects on preparing his story through the season’s framework, revisiting earlier experiences and changing the order to fit his own life. If you’re questioning your direction, trying to make a living from something you love or wondering whether to start again, there might be something here you recognise. Have you ever walked away from something you still loved? What would need to change for you to try again? Tell us in the comments. In Part 2, we take a look behind the scenes of our studios. Mats through photography, me through podcasting: how we create a space for people to feel comfortable, open up and tell their own stories. Subscribe to follow both parts and the continuation of Season 2. MAKE SENSE OF YOUR STORY AND FIND YOUR NEXT MOVE The Shift Mirror gives you a way to explore what these conversations bring up for you. Through guided questions, examples and an AI reflection tool that works with your own words, you can look for patterns, choose one step to try and return to see what changed. Explore The Shift Mirror:https://www.firestartershub.io/the-shift-mirror Explore Firestarters and the studio:https://www.firestartershub.io

    Why He Walked Away From Nightlife Photography | Mats Claus (Part 1) Something drastic needs to change. Where do you start?

  4. Sep 17

    Shadow Ownership (responsibility) - With Alex Verhalle

    Alex Verhalle photographs crowded dance floors while trying to stay unseen himself. In this conversation, we explore how his height, insecurity and love of music became part of his photographic signature. For Episode 7 of The Anatomy of a Shift, I sit down with Alex to explore Responsibility through the idea of shadow ownership: recognising the parts of yourself that shape your choices and learning how to work with them. Alex shares how feeling unnoticed influenced the way he moves through a crowd, holds his camera and captures people. We talk about black and white photography, the deliberately imperfect stop motion that became his signature, and the years of practice behind it. The conversation moves through solitude, feeling judged, finding your own creative identity, and the tension between personal art and earning a living. We also discuss an exhibition Alex was planning in Moscow at the time of recording, including the questions it raised around artistic freedom and political responsibility. What is mine to do now, and what is not mine to control? Firestarters Podcast with Sander Tilsley Season 2: The Anatomy of a Shift Episode 7: Responsibility | Alex Verhalle Explore the conversations and ask your own questions with Ask the Podcast: https://www.firestartershub.io/library Want to record your own story? Book the studio: https://www.firestartershub.io/book-the-studio Wondering what chapter you’re in yourself? Explore The Shift Mirror: https://www.firestartershub.io/the-shift-mirror CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome to Alex Verhalle’s world 05:01 Waiting for the right photograph 07:18 Why black and white? 13:00 Photography as an expression of love 18:02 The photographer who tries to stay unseen 20:47 How height and insecurity shaped his technique 24:54 Where his love of music began 30:15 Solitude, silence and feeling judged 38:38 Working with your insecurities 45:42 Finding a signature through stop motion 52:45 Why imperfection fits the music 55:11 Watching Alex’s work 1:03:29 Personal art, time and putting a price on your work 1:07:16 The idea for an exhibition in Moscow 1:10:19 Social media and the changing dance floor 1:19:32 Why the Moscow experience stayed with him 1:23:40 Artistic freedom and political responsibility 1:32:18 Bringing photography onto the dance floor 1:39:33 What talking about an idea can change 1:44:07 Inside the Firestarters studio #AlexVerhalle #FirestartersPodcast #TheAnatomyOfAShift

    Shadow Ownership (responsibility) - With Alex Verhalle

  5. Apr 27

    Friction - With Jeroen Franssens

    You’re not lost. You’re in a shift. Most people feel it.Something in their life no longer fits, but they cannot explain why. In this Firestarters episode, Jeroen Franssens shares how that feeling started for him. Growing up with religion, following a path that made sense at the time, until a personal loss forced him to question everything. That moment did not just change what he believed.It changed how he saw the world. From there, the conversation opens into something much bigger. Why are so many people today searching for meaning again?Why do music, festivals, and community feel almost like modern rituals?And why does the “main narrative” no longer feel as solid as it once did? At the core of this episode lies one central tension: The story you were givenversusthe story you are meant to live We explore how the external world often mirrors what is happening internally, how people project their fears outward, and why more and more individuals are starting to question the narratives they grew up with. This is not just a conversation about society.It is a conversation about identity. If something in your life feels like it is shifting,this episode might help you understand why.

    Friction - With Jeroen Franssens

  6. Mar 19

    Disruption - With Ann Bevers

    Welcome to the next chapter of the Anatomy of a Shift. In our last episode, we sat down with Benjamin (Judassime) to explore Phase 4: Darkness. Benjamin showed us what it means to willingly dive into the shadows, using his intense psychological pain, isolation, and avant-garde BDSM fashion to take power back and create beauty from toxic depthsBenjamin’s story proved that true creation often requires confronting the parts of ourselves that society rejects. But what happens when you don't choose to face the dark? What happens when life forces your hand, and the universe decides to hit the reset button for you? This brings us to Phase 5: Disruption In this episode, we sit down with Ann. For 12 years, Ann lived a high-stakes, fast-paced life as a fashion consultant, entirely unaware of the heavy "backpack" of unfelt trauma she was carrying. She was numbing her nervous system with the hustle, the nightlife, and alcohol. But then, the disruption hit. In a sudden, violent collapse of her comfort zone, Ann lost her job and her relationship all at once, plunging her into a deep freeze mode of isolation and depression. Today’s conversation is a raw look at what happens when the illusions shatter. We explore Ann's incredible journey of rebuilding herself from the ground up through painting, unpacking generational trauma, and radically rewiring her brain with plant medicines like Psilocybin and Ayahuasca. Ann proves that you cannot truly see the light without first surviving the dark.

    Disruption - With Ann Bevers

  7. Mar 4

    Darkness - With Benjamin Voortmans

    Season 2 – The Anatomy of a Shift Season 2 of Firestarters is built as a transformation model.Each episode represents one phase in a personal and entrepreneurial shift.Not random conversations. A structured arc. The journey moves from Awareness to Integration at Scale.Benjamin represents Phase 4: Darkness. Darkness is the moment where illusion breaks.Where identity is tested.Where the parts of yourself the world rejects can no longer be avoided. This episode sits exactly there. It is not about scandal.It is about shadow ownership. In this episode: • Arriving as Benjamin, then transforming into full glam as a conscious act of identity (JUDASSIME)• Growing up with trauma and rejection• Psychiatric hospitalization and rebuilding self worth• What happens when your private life becomes national news• The psychological impact of sudden public exposure• Covid and the disappearance of nightlife• Club Kids culture as belonging, protection, and survival• Fashion as storytelling and confrontation• What darkness actually teaches about power Chapters: 00:00 – Arrival and transformation07:42 – Trauma and early wounds09:28 – Psychiatric hospitalization13:12 – Post covid shifts in people17:45 – Club Kid energy21:47 – Dana Montana and lockdown culture37:01 – Entering Darkness41:55 – Collection symbolism01:58:37 – National Day moment02:11:37 – Closing

    Darkness - With Benjamin Voortmans

  8. Jan 29

    Identity - With Vlad Solovov

    This episode of the Firestarters Podcast is a long-form conversation with visual artist and filmmaker Vlad Solovov, whose work spans queer nightlife, fashion, touring, and Tomorrowland. We talk about identity not as a label, but as something formed through experience. Through pressure. Through the environments you move through and the moments that force you to show up. From finding belonging in queer nightlife and creating Zaika, to stepping away from the scene to work in a kitchen. From touring with Indira Paganotto to intense years inside Tomorrowland. From working with Jeff Mills to a full circle moment with Nico Morano. This is a conversation about identity built through action. Key moments 00:00 Teaser and tone00:55 Welcome to the Firestarters Podcast 01:06 Early life, identity and moving away 01:29 Queer nightlife, Zaika and chosen family 02:06 Stepping away from nightlife and working in a kitchen01:08:23 Returning through Indira Paganotto and touring 01:33:51 Tomorrowland years and creative pressure01:55:09 Nico Morano and a full circle moment 02:01:21 Fashion, Judassime and rejection02:13:09 Jeff Mills and the need to keep creating 02:32:10 Reflection and closing thoughts

    Identity - With Vlad Solovov
See All (23)

About

Awareness and stories at the intersection of business, communication and art. Welcome to the Firestarters Podcast, where stories come alive at the crossroads of storytelling, entrepreneurship, music and creativity. Through deep conversations with entrepreneurs, artists and thinkers, we explore how personal stories shape identity, direction and impact. But Firestarters is no longer just about stories. Season 2 introduces The Anatomy of a Shift. A framework that reveals the phases people move through when their beliefs, identity or direction start to change. From the first moment of awarenes

Information

  • Creator
    Sander Tilsley
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Sander Tilsley
  • Show Website
    Firestarters Podcast