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The James Smith Show

The James Smith Show

By: James Smith
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I chat to people smarter than me, hopefully, you'll enjoy listening.720232 Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Sam Dutney: The Truth About Fatherhood, Fear, And Quitting Your Job

    Sam Dutney: The Truth About Fatherhood, Fear, And Quitting Your Job
    Nov 3 2026
    Sam Dutney is a former school director of sport and rowing coach who now runs Top Crew Academy, an online coaching service for rowers. He joins James Smith to talk about fatherhood, fear and quitting a secure school job to go full time, how a $20,000 side hustle month showed it could be a real business, and what he has learned about social media, email and sales calls while growing towards seven figures. They also compare rowing, jiu-jitsu and rugby on pacing, fitness and mindset. A practical listen for coaches and anyone thinking about turning a side hustle into a full-time online coaching business. In this episode: ◼️ Why he left school sport leadership to build an online coaching business around being home for his kids ◼️ How a $20,000 side hustle month, then James's gun to the head advice, took him from about $5,000 a month to seven figure pace ◼️ Why a warm-up should follow a ramp protocol and prime your VO2 kinetics so less lactate builds early ◼️ Why many mindset problems in sport are really fitness problems ◼️ How he grows on social media by answering client questions, posting seven reels a week and keeping a 10,000 person email list warm 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🤼‍♂️ Wear Adapt BJJ: https://adaptjj.com/ 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Top Crew Academy - https://www.topcrewacademy.com.au/ Follow Sam on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/p/DcRs8Q9E5PO/ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:17 From Rower to School Director of Sport 02:59 Why He Left School Rowing 05:18 Starting Online Coaching as a Side Hustle 07:04 Quitting the School Job 07:56 Gun to the Head and the Move to Full Time 10:42 Why Going All In Beats the Fear 13:45 Staff, Revenue and a New Kind of Stress 17:48 Online Coaching Is Closer to Business Coaching 19:02 Why a Business Network Matters 24:49 James's Rowing Story 28:51 Why Rowing Overvalues Height 32:07 Pacing Mistakes in Running and Rowing 35:04 Pacing in Jiu-Jitsu and CrossFit 37:32 Warm-Ups and VO2 Kinetics 39:54 Testing Energy Systems and Fixing Bottlenecks 45:02 Rugby in New Zealand and Why Fitness Wins 47:28 Mindset Problems That Are Really Fitness Problems 48:46 Held in Mount by a Black Belt 51:27 The Race Where the Tactics Almost Worked 55:52 What Works on Social Media 59:11 Why People Care About Your Content 1:03:43 Pro Bono Content and Repetition 1:06:58 Email as Extra Nurture 1:08:32 Growing on LinkedIn 1:11:00 Sales Calls and an 80% Close Rate 1:12:49 Email Lists and Sales Pages 1:15:31 Where to Find Sam Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • The Truth About Fighting Heavyweights, Injuries, and Money in Jiu-Jitsu (Chris Ozbek)

    The Truth About Fighting Heavyweights, Injuries, and Money in Jiu-Jitsu (Chris Ozbek)
    Oct 27 2026
    Christian Ozbek joins James Smith to talk about the harsh realities of training Brazilian jiu-jitsu and why most grapplers struggle to earn money. They cover fighting heavyweights, judo versus jiu-jitsu rules, why judo conditioning is so brutal, the Olympic qualification paradox and the training injuries that often go unaddressed. A grounded look at competitive grappling for anyone who wants to understand the sport, the commitment it takes and what the industry really looks like today. Why you must compete more, and the gap between gym training and competition. 🤼‍♂️ Wear Adapt BJJ: https://adaptjj.com/ 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Follow Christian on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thewizardofozbek/?hl=en Get Chris's instructional - https://bjjfanatics.com/products/feet-finder-foot-sweeps-by-christian-ozbek Chapters: 00:00 From Street Confrontation to the Mat 1:08 The Balding to Takedown Ratio 1:57 Humbled by a Seven-Year-Old 3:16 Judo vs Jiu-Jitsu Rules 4:41 Why Judo Conditioning is Brutal 6:11 The Olympic Qualification Paradox 8:11 The Dangers of High-Level Judo 9:52 The Anatomy of a Training Injury 13:38 The Spectator Effect in Training 17:45 The Disconnect Between Gym and Comp 22:01 Why You Must Compete More 25:49 The Low-Calorie Grappler Strategy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • The Truth About Rugby, Rejection, and Running a Fitness Empire: Ollie Marchon

    The Truth About Rugby, Rejection, and Running a Fitness Empire: Ollie Marchon
    Oct 21 2026
    Ollie Marchon joins James Smith for a business masterclass on what it really takes to build a fitness brand in the UK right now. A former professional rugby player turned coach, Ollie started out cold calling leisure centre members and training clients in a converted cattle shed. Ten years later he runs Marchon across four verticals: in-person gyms, an online training app, a sports nutrition range and a growing community of hybrid athletes. 🎬 Edits Course: https://jamessmith.business/ig-edits 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🤼‍♂️ Wear Adapt BJJ: https://adaptjj.com/ 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Check out Marchon - https://marchon-global.com/ Follow Ollie on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/olliemarchon/?hl=en Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:28 How Ollie Built Marchon 02:29 How Covid Accelerated the Online Business 03:57 Spotting the Gap in Sports Nutrition 05:28 Building a Brand Nobody Has a Bad Word About 06:32 Bricks and Mortar or Online First? 08:32 Why Every Coach Should Coach in Person First 09:59 From Failed Rugby Career to Freelance PT 11:48 Starting a Gym in a Cattle Shed 12:40 The Small Group Training Model 13:59 Why You’re Always Being Watched on the Gym Floor 14:26 Scaling From One Gym to Two 16:18 The Hires Nobody Tells You About 17:27 Where the Opportunity Is in Fitness Now 19:53 Why Hyrox Affiliates Won’t Last 20:23 James Gets Humbled at CrossFit 22:55 Will GLP-1s Bring a New Wave of Gym Members? 25:06 The Barry’s-Style Strength Gym Model 26:38 Personal Training Is a Luxury Most Can’t Afford 27:55 Why One-to-One Sessions Go Stale 29:51 Jiu-Jitsu Clubs Are the New Health Clubs 32:44 The Real Cost of Running a Gym 34:20 The £200K Business Rates Bill 36:29 Why We Should Want Businesses to Make Money 38:28 Break Even Jumped From 180 to 250 Members 39:48 Why Investors Won’t Fund Bricks and Mortar 40:34 What Happens When Gyms Close 42:39 The Economics of a Jiu-Jitsu Gym 45:38 Building the Marchon Training App 48:56 Price Testing and the Profit Squeeze 51:08 Training as a Customer Acquisition Tool 52:48 Why Online Coaching Is a Lifestyle Business 54:38 Neutonic Pouches and Paid Ads 55:34 James’s Lockdown Slump 56:48 Launching the Marchon Nutrition Range 59:20 Hiring Celtic’s Head of Nutrition 1:01:30 Bootstrapping vs Raising Money 1:03:47 Marchon’s Best Seller: Workout Fuel 1:05:44 Why You Shouldn’t Fear Carbs Before Training 1:07:58 Rituals, Cues and Building Habits 1:09:16 The Protein Price Crisis 1:10:52 Protein Shakes and GLP-1s 1:13:38 GLP-1s as a Business Performance Aid 1:16:46 Why Food Is More Enjoyable on GLP-1s 1:17:49 The Hungry Months Behind Every Abs Photo 1:19:43 James’s Prescription Travel Stack 1:20:41 How Easy Is It to Get GLP-1s? 1:21:53 The Highest Leverage Play in Weight Loss 1:24:08 The Full Marchon Product Range 1:26:58 Marchon’s Top Five Sellers 1:27:56 Do You Actually Need Electrolytes? 1:30:11 Lessons in Impatience From Necker Island 1:33:17 Expensive Mistakes and Finding Your Hero Products 1:35:38 Every Business Is Personal Training Full Circle 1:37:11 Why Ollie Brought In a COO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 39 mins
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Extremely insightful. Enjoyed the witty delivery in parts.. Cheers for the awesome content 👌

Tremendous chat

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I'm finding myself going on walks just so I can listen to James, A very knowledgeable man with a great sense of humor. Really enjoying it, Keep it up :)

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