Trail Blazers

Explosive Brands

Trailblazers is our exciting venture to share with you the cutting-edge concepts, valuable knowledge, and industry expertise we've gained over the past few years.Whether you're looking to take your career to new heights, considering a change, or feeling a bit stuck and in need of inspiration, we've got you covered.Our mission is to bring you a better understanding of intriguing concepts and ideas that you've been curious about. We'll also provide practical steps to put these ideas into action. The best part? We want to make it fun and engaging.Our hope is that these episodes offer information at a level that's easy to grasp and remember. We know you won't become an expert in just 45 minutes, but you'll gain enough knowledge to feel empowered. You'll think, "Hey, I understand this a little better now! I'm excited to dive deeper into it without feeling overwhelmed." So, let's embark on this adventure together and unlock your full potential.

  1. Is Your Work Ethic Actually Destroying Your Health? | Bianca Errigo on Trail Blazers

    APR 23

    Is Your Work Ethic Actually Destroying Your Health? | Bianca Errigo on Trail Blazers

    April is Stress Awareness Month so there's no better time for this conversation.  In our third sit-down with Bianca Errigo, CEO of HumanOS, Johnny Isaacs digs into one of the most important topics nobody wants to talk about: the devastating impact of stress on our health, our workplaces and our lives. Stress is at the root of 80-90% of human illness and disease. Burnout is hitting people at an average age of just 32. 150 million people in Europe alone are living with mental health issues. And yet somehow, we still glamorise the grind. Bianca and Johnny explore the deep roots of hustle culture, tracing it from early religious morality through the Industrial Revolution and ask why working yourself into the ground became a mark of status and whether that's finally starting to change. They also get into the real psychology behind high performance: why most founders and top achievers start from a place of trauma rather than love, what true resilience actually looks like and why separating your self-worth from your business results might be the most important skill you never learned. And they tackle the conversations happening right now AI and automation replacing jobs, the anxiety gripping workplaces where employee engagement sits at just 10% in the UK and what it actually takes to raise VC funding as a woman in a male-dominated industry. Bianca shares, with true honesty, what the first two years of building HumanOS really cost her and how she found her way back. Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands  Get in touch with us on LinkedIn  Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn

    46 min
  2. 02/27/2025

    The $1 Trillion Industry VCs Are Ignoring - Marina Gerner on Trail Blazers

    In today’s episode of Trail Blazers, Johnny is joined by Marina Gerner, who is the Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern, an award-winning journalist and Author of The Vagina Business. Today’s podcast will help to uncover the hidden history of women in business, innovation, and health, and explores the solutions shaping the future. For centuries, women played a vital role in business, yet today, their contributions are often overlooked. What pushed them out of the forefront? Was it wealth inequality? A shift in economic structures? And how does this disparity extend beyond finance into healthcare, technology, and even the data used in medical research? We’ll be exploring topics that don’t get enough attention: the fertility industry, the real risks of egg freezing, and the staggering gaps in maternal healthcare like the fact that the last major childbirth innovation was the epidural… in the 1950s. With 9 out of 10 mothers experiencing birth injuries, why isn’t this a bigger conversation? But this isn’t just about the problems it’s about the solutions. Femtech is on the rise, offering new opportunities for investment and innovation. We’ll discuss how the disaggregation of medical data is finally including women in research, the potential of period-tracking apps (and the ethical risks they pose), and even ground breaking technologies like smart vibrators designed to track health indicators. We’ll start to uncover what’s giving people hope. What are the most exciting areas of research? How can men be part of the change? And what does the future hold for women in business, health, and technology? Whether you’re an investor, a researcher, or just someone who believes in a more equitable future, this podcast is for you. Let’s bring these conversations to the forefront because when we invest in women, we invest in the future. Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands  Get in touch with us on LinkedIn  Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn

    49 min

About

Trailblazers is our exciting venture to share with you the cutting-edge concepts, valuable knowledge, and industry expertise we've gained over the past few years.Whether you're looking to take your career to new heights, considering a change, or feeling a bit stuck and in need of inspiration, we've got you covered.Our mission is to bring you a better understanding of intriguing concepts and ideas that you've been curious about. We'll also provide practical steps to put these ideas into action. The best part? We want to make it fun and engaging.Our hope is that these episodes offer information at a level that's easy to grasp and remember. We know you won't become an expert in just 45 minutes, but you'll gain enough knowledge to feel empowered. You'll think, "Hey, I understand this a little better now! I'm excited to dive deeper into it without feeling overwhelmed." So, let's embark on this adventure together and unlock your full potential.