The Raspberry Ape Podcast

James Crossley is a former bodybuilder, strongman, and Gladiator from ITV's "Gladiators" In this episode we talk about Jame start in bodybuilding as a youth, being scouted by ITV to join the hugely popular TV show: Gladiators, his career on the show, his subsequent career as a theatre actor, his competitive strongman career, historic stone lifting journey, yoga and much more.

Dan Hardy is a former UFC fighter, commentator, and fight analyst. In this episode we discuss Dan's start in martial arts, his entry into professional MMA, his career in the UFC, his retirement due to a heart condition, his transition to the commentary table, his desire to continue to compete, his journey into psychedelics and much much much more.

"Judo" Jimmy Wallhead is a judo black belt and professional mixed martial artist. In this episode we talk through Jimmy's martial arts career, from his start in Judo to his career fighting in many of the world's top MMA organizations including UFC and Bellator, the issue he's had with the UFC and his role of head coach of an up and coming MMA team.

Jeff Lawson is a BJJ black belt, a judo black belt, and a former MMA fighter. In the episode we talk about how Jeff got into judo, how he transitioned into mixed martial arts in the early days of the sport, his time on the ultimate fighter, some of his coaching philosophies, and his journey with psychedelic plant medicine.

Matt Benyon is a BJJ black belt and the brains behind multiple BJJ brands including Scramble and Polaris. In this episode, we talk about Matt's journey into martial arts, his inspiration for starting Scramble and Polaris, some of the obstacles he has come across on the way, many stories from behind the scenes and much more.

I'm joined again by strength and conditioning coach Andrew Marshall to discuss training, lifting and the passage of time.

Rick Young is a lifelong martial artist whos full list of accomplishments is too long to note but include: Scotlands first BJJ black belt, judo black belt, Karate black belt, full instructor in JKD under Guru Dan Inosanto, full instructor in CSW under Erik Paulson and much more. In this episode, we talk about Ricks early days into martial arts. His meeting with the Gracies and his experience learning under the legendary Dan Inosanto.

Martin Jancsics is one of the world's leading authorities on Stone lifting. In this episode, we talk all about historic stone lifting; its history, the culture, the stories, the myths and the stones themselves. We also discuss how Martin got into stone lifting and how he got so good at it.

Steve Campbell is Manchesters first BJJ black belt and owner of Stealth BJJ. In this episode, we talk about Steves BJJ journey which included living in Brazil for 8 years and all the stories that come along with that.

David Horne is a master of all things strength. Legendary in the grip strength world David has competed in over 300 contest including tug of war, strongman, powerlifting, arm wrestling and grip sports. We discuss Davids journey through strength and all the disciplines he's competed and trained in. He drops continuous knowledge bombs on grip, lifting, injury, strength for BJJ and much more.

Sam Crook is a BJJ black belt and head coach at the Francis Ngannou Foundation, a martial arts based social project in Cameroon. In this episode, we talk about how Sam came to head up the project, what it's like working with the kids, its challenges and how different life in Cameroon is. For more info on the Francis Ngannou Foundation visit: www.francisngannoufoundation.org

Pete "The Greek" Letsos is a Carlson Gracie Jr black belt and founder Rio Jiu Jitsu club. Pete has been training BJJ for over 20 years, starting with Carlson Gracie Jr and spending years living in Brazil training with some of the biggest names in the sport. In this episode, Pete tells tales of old school BJJ in Brazil through the eyes of a gringo and explains why he wants to wristlock the world.

Rosi Sexton is a former professional MMA fighter, Musician, Mathematician, Osteopath and politician. In this episode, I chat to Rosi about her incredibly interesting life. Her unique combination of skills, how she transitioned from maths prodigy to pro-MMA fighter, we take a number of questions from listeners and get some great information on injury treatment and prevention.

Klaus is a strength and conditioning coach and founder of the Black Vikings movement. In this episode, we talk about the founding of the Black Vikings, the sagas, the movements, the mantras, injuries, struggle, axes and more.

Alex Reid is an actor, MMA fighter and Celebrity Big Brother winner. In this episode, we talk about Alex's acting career, his MMA career, being thrust into the media spotlight through big brother, the downside of fame, spirituality and much more.

John Will is Australia's first BJJ black belt and one of the "dirty dozen" - The first 12 non-Brazilians to receive a BJJ black belt. In this episode, we talk about Johns journey in the martial arts, the creation of his magazine; Blitz, training under the Gracie's and Machado's, participating in challenge matches, travelling the world studying martial arts and much more.

Lucio “Lagarto” Rodrigues is a multiple European champion and UAEJJF world champion In this episode we talk about Lucio’s journey into BJJ, having to fight strangers on the weekend before he was allowed to go surf, his friendship with Rickson Gracie, his move to Gracie Barra, his rivalry with Jacare, his battle with cancer and his competitions during and after.

Samantha Cook is a BJJ black belt and one of the UK's finest competitors. In this episode, we talk about Sam's heavy competition schedule, travelling, weight cutting, the growth of women's jiu jitsu, mental health, sleep and near death experiences.

Braulio Estima is a multiple time BJJ World champion, ADCC weight and Absolute champion, and multiple time Pan-American and European champion. In this episode, I sit down with one of the greatest ever BJJ athletes to discuss his incredible career. From his first days on the BJJ mats to being crowned ADCC weight and absolute champion. This episode is sponsored by Yoga for BJJ visit yogaforbjj.net/ape

Ben is an old school UK BJJ legend and one of the earliest British black belts Ben started training in the earliest days of UK BJJ and spent large periods of time training in Brazil with the Gracies. In this episode we talk about Bens journey into combat sports, training in his dads shed, judo legend Steve Gawthorpe, training in Brazil, nutrition, breathing, strength and conditioning, teaching, learning and much more.