Ciaran May is the founder of Natural Resilience, a lover of nature and a proud father.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The baggage Northern Irish men are unpacking from their dads/grandas
• Joining the police as a young lad from West Belfast
• Taking “the armour off” for the first time
• The rock bottom moment that changed his life forever
• And breaking limiting beliefs around business/money

Check it out.

https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/ciaran-may-natural-resilience

Ciaran’s Skool: https://www.skool.com/natural-resilience-6996/about

Tom Griffiths is a Sunday Times Top 100 Entrepreneur & Disruptor who is currently launching a revolution with https://www.nightlenses.com

In this episode, we talk about:

• Getting Richard Branson naked
• Digitally selling fish in buckets before they come to shore
• Breaking the “crabs in a barrel” mentality
• 10-second courage
• The power of taking action
• And advice he’d give to an 18-year-old self

Check it out!

https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/tom-griffiths-night-lenses

Willetta Gabriel is the founder of Bethel’s Kitchen: an artisan bagel and pickle business in Dromore, County Down.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Launching an extremely niche product in a rural town
• Why every single bagel tastes different
• (Depending on who rolled it)
• How one social media post saved her whole business
• And her experience living in Northern Ireland for the last 20+ years.

Check it out!

https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/willetta-gabriel-bethels-kitchen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethelskitchen?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9PnmQraZ3Gg9zTFr7

Mark Marais is an entrepreneur from Zimbabwe with deep roots in Belfast.

He’s the founder of the luxury travel business Africa Golf Safari and co-founder of the Sport Changes Life Foundation.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Growing up on an idyllic African farm during the war
• How sport helped with racial integration in his school
• What Donald Draper can teach us about nostalgia
• The difference between space and place
• Starting his business even though it didn’t make any sense
• Combining passion with entrepreneurship
• His experience in and passion for Northern Ireland
• And advice he’d give to his 19-year-old self.

Check it out!

https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/mark-marais-africa-golf-safari

P.S. Mad Men nostalgia video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFpsHus

Tony Novosel MBE is a former motor mechanic, steelworker, and semi-retired academic from Pittsburgh who has dedicated his life to serving Northern Ireland.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How the collapse of the steel industry was the best thing that ever happened to him

• Why he first decided to visit Northern Ireland 50 years ago

• (And why he's been 85+ times since!)

• Acting as "the American uncle” for NI students on the Study USA programme, (which is is managed by British Council Northern Ireland on behalf of the Department for the Economy)

• The transformation power travel has had on his own life and the lives of his students

• Why we tend to oversimplify narratives

• The grassroots movements that led to a hugely successful academic book about NI

• Being awarded an MBE

• And advice he'd give to any student interested in studying overseas!

Check it out.

Graham Robinson is an Artist and Director with over 15 years of experience working with household names like Netflix, Universal Music Group, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Dua Lipa and the BBC.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How the creative journey is made up of incremental steps rather than huge Hollywood moments
• Discovering his art form at a young age
• The role of the artist in society
• Balancing virtual worlds with the "real-world"
• Being led by intuition/calling rather than logic/reason
• What he learned from his time working in London and LA
• How Belfast is positioned to carve its own path in the new era of story-telling
• Why he thinks the big-budget feature film model is about to be disrupted
• The deep heritage/history of Northern Ireland as a place of creativity and impact
• And his vision for the future of the screen industry in NI

Check it out.

https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/graham-robinson-virtual-artist-and-director

Alan Mahon is the Belfast-born Founder and CEO of Brewgooder, an impact beer brand, B Corp, and the fastest-growing independent UK beer brand of 2023.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Meeting George Clooney & Leonardo Dicaprio
• Leaving his "three mums” behind to move to Scotland
• The tension between doing good and making money
• How getting a parasite in Nepal led to him starting his business
• The power of pub culture and its impact on relationships
• Using business as a vehicle to change the world
• Not compromising on quality just because you're "doing good”
• Why he moved back to Northern Ireland after so many years
• And advice he'd give to an 18-year-old version of himself

Check it out!

https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/alan-mahon-brewgooder

Marty Neill is the founder of AirPOS. He’s also an ex-music journalist and avid retro gamer.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Leaving school illegally at 15-years-old
• Building and selling video games as a kid on his Spectrum + 2
• How all the best things in his life have come from “tiny rooms”
• Why you should never fall in love with your business
• Ideas being the “real currency”
• How COVID both destroyed and transformed his business
• Why your business will never love you back
• The huge opportunities that exist in Belfast
• And the new Retro Arcade opening in Belfast later this year

Check it out.

https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/marty-neill-airpos