Our guest this month is Liverpool writer, storyteller and recovery worker PJ Smith — also known through his writing and performances as Roy.

PJ was a talented young footballer who signed for Everton, but as his home life became less stable, football, school and eventually any sense of direction began to slip away.

By his late teens, alcohol and drugs had replaced football as a way of finding confidence, connection and identity. What followed was a decade PJ describes as repetitive, chaotic and increasingly hopeless.

In 2007, with his life reduced to getting through each day and the possibility of suicide becoming very real, PJ finally asked for help.

During treatment, he was asked to write his life story. A member of staff told him he could write and that he should nurture it. A few weeks later, a slightly dishonest attempt to get an afternoon away from rehab led him to an open audition in front of playwright Willy Russell and another person telling him to keep writing.

He did.

PJ’s first collection, Algorithm Party, introduced Roy: part character, part alter ego and part collection of the men, voices and contradictions PJ had grown up around.

His new book, Boomerang Process, returns to those lives and asks what happened next.

We talk about growing up anxious, his father’s absence, football and belonging, addiction, recovery, creativity and the uncomfortable period when an old identity has disappeared but a new one has not yet formed.

PJ also tells us about his work at Damien John Kelly House, a recovery living centre in Liverpool where men rebuild their lives through honesty and accountability, but also through football, cycling, books, art, music and community.

This is a conversation about wasted potential, second chances and why recovery has to become about far more than simply not drinking or using drugs.

It’s also about what makes a good man: consistency, honesty, responsibility and being prepared to live by the things you ask of others.

PJ’s work

Buy Boomerang Process
https://www.tncbooks.co.uk/store/p/boomerang-process-by-roy

Find out more about Algorithm Party
https://roughtradebooks.com/pages/authors

Damien John Kelly House
https://hubofhope.co.uk/service/835359ba-59f3-42d5-badd-53be0754d932

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Like and subscribe — and, more importantly, share the episode with a mate who might get something from it.

In Episode 6 of Och, Brothers! Where Art Thou?, Pietro and Ross sit down with Tim Bowles, founder of Campwell and co-founder of Icebreakers, two projects rooted in nature, connection, cold water, fire, and the simple but powerful act of men gathering together.

Tim grew up as the fifth generation on his family farm near Bath, where childhood meant open fields, rugby, bonfires, and a deep connection to the land. But after years working in advertising in London and wine distribution in Hong Kong, he felt the pull back home, not just to a place, but to a way of life that felt more honest.

Together, we talk about fatherhood, anxiety, the courage to step away from a “successful” path, and why so many men are carrying things they do not quite know how to name. Tim shares how the loss of friends, his own battles with anxiety, and a need for deeper male connection led to the creation of Icebreakers: a free men’s cold-water community built around nature, ritual, and brotherhood.

This is a conversation about fathers and sons, self-care without self-obsession, the difference between listening and fixing, and why sometimes the thing we need most is not another answer but a fire, a river, and a few good men willing to show up.

This week on Och, Brothers! Where Art Thou?, we sit down with John Arthur. A community activist, recovery coach, yoga teacher and long time friend of Rosco’s, John has spent decades working with people on the edges and quietly helping build better ways forward.

John talks about growing up in a tough part of Edinburgh, living in fear, learning to fight, and how early trauma can shape the nervous system, relationships and identity. We hear about addiction, relapse, and the moment things finally shifted for good, when he stopped trying to do it alone and became willing to accept help.

The conversation moves through recovery and responsibility, ACEs and attachment, men and vulnerability, and why practices like yoga, singing in choirs and strong male friendships became central to John’s life. We also hear how organised communities can genuinely change outcomes, from campaigning for services to creating spaces that help people stay well.

This is a thoughtful, funny and deeply honest conversation about masculinity, healing, and what it means to live with purpose after chaos.

We cover: addiction and recovery, childhood trauma, asking for help, men’s mental health, community action, nervous system regulation, friendship and finding joy later in life.