The Following Through Podcast

Many dream of turning a hobby into a business, but hesitate to take the leap. In this episode, Alex and Siobhan are joined by Keir Boxshall, founder of Wild and Cultured, who turned his hobby into a thriving business. Keir, who makes organic fermented sauces and condiments, met Siobhan at a food festival in London after his stall caught the attention of her husband.
 
Keir had a high-level role for an international engineering company, but the stress from work was having a negative impact on his health. He started eating more fermented foods to improve his gut health and had been making his own sauces and condiments for years. The pandemic gave him a chance to have a rethink. Encouraged by his partner, he began his company three years ago and turned his hobby into a successful business. And Wild and Cultured was born.
 
Keir sells his unique spin on many well-known sauces and condiments, but uses fermentation techniques and organic ingredients to create live, non-ultra-processed products, which provide healthy bacteria to the gut and support the microbiome, providing positive health benefits.  
 
He explains his business origins, challenges with perfecting recipes, and talks about the importance of a healthy microbiome. For more info, visit: https://wildandcultured.co.uk.
 
And in Sh*t or Miss, Alex provides Keir with a choice of four options from his personal archive. Keir selects a tale entitled Norovirus in the Woods.
 
Music is by Rich Shillitoe.

Pro-wrestler and comedian Jerry Bakewell joins Alex and Siobhan in this episode. As a lifelong wrestling fan, Alex is delighted. 
 
Jerry talks about how he got into wrestling almost 20 years ago, his time training, his first match, why he started wearing a mask, and the clips online that he really wishes weren't available. 
 
He also discusses his infamous Britain's Got Talent audition, what went on behind the scenes, and the hilarious stuff that was cut. 
 
In Sh*t or Miss, Jerry recalls two incidents that took place in a wrestling ring. The second story took place at a wrestling event as part of a festival, where the audience was distracted by a dog show next door. Jerry took a high-impact move, but what were the consequences?
 
Music is by Rich Shillitoe.

After doing nothing fitness-related since 2011, Siobhan has acquired a gym membership after her brother-in-law won it in a raffle and passed it on. She tells Alex all about the programme a trainer has designed for her and the double struggles of fitness and boredom from cardio. 
 
Her initial goal was to not be out of breathe after dancing enthusiastically to Footloose, but Siobhan has now set her sights on becoming a fully fledged gym w*nker.
 
While Alex proudly explains how he has never held a gym membership in his life, but did dabble briefly in gyms as a teenager to play rugby or become a pro-wrestler. In other Alex news, he gives an update on how his flat sale is going and a potential geographical change in the pipeline. 
 
In Sh*t or Miss, there is a tale of a camping trip in the Australian bush from a familiar contributor. What do you do when nature calls, and the nature happens to be full of scary things?
 
Music is by Rich Shillitoe.

Autism is the theme for this episode as Alex and Siobhan are joined by comedian Mark Nicholas, who is autistic.
 
The conversation covers when Mark was first diagnosed, his difficulties at school, and how much drama lessons helped him grow in confidence.
 
Mark later started doing stand-up comedy, which has boosted his confidence further, allowing him to meet like-minded people on the circuit and raise awareness of autism through his material.
 
Mark also co-hosts the UnmedOKAYted podcast, where they discuss neurodivergent experiences. Check it out on all podcast platforms. 
 
In Sh*t or Miss, Mark shares a story about overdoing it on caffeine at work and how that and a delayed bus disrupted his afterwork poo routine. But did he make it to the toilet on time?
 
Music is by Rich Shillitoe.

Writing new comedy material is the theme for this episode, where Alex and Siobhan discuss how they write – or at least try to. 
 
They chat about the inspiration behind established material and other ideas that have not yet quite clicked on stage. Unsurprisingly, Alex talks about squid. And will Siobhan understand what a punchline is by the end of the episode?
 
Plus in Sh*t or Miss, Ben Summers from the Ginger Giggle Club is back for another tale that involves trouble brewing at a quiz followed by an urgent dash to make it to a toilet before a major fall-out, only for the Rumbles of Doom to chime in his car.
 
Music is by Rich Shillitoe.