Inside The Maverick Mind

Inside the Maverick Mind is an invite-only vodcast hosted by Emyr Afan — long-form conversations with people who don’t quite fit the mould. Each episode features a Maverick from business, fintech, innovation, tech and the creative world, revealing how they think, what drives them, and how they turn “you can’t” into “watch me.” Episodes drop weekly on YouTube, with audio available on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and back your own Maverick mind.

Inside The Maverick Mind is a business podcast hosted by Emyr Afan, with 24 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Emyr Afan hosts Inside The Maverick Mind, a business show with 24 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #24

  Ep 24 | Hayley Parsons OBE | Challenge Accepted!

  Aug 3, 20261h 4mS1

  Send us Fan Mail She skipped six weeks of school, rang in pretending to be her own mother — and that same school later celebrated her as one of its most successful former pupils. Hayley Parsons OBE didn't follow the system. She built it her way. In this Season 1 finale of Inside the Maverick Mind, Emyr Afan sits down with the founder of GoCompare — one of the most recognisable brands in British business history. Hayley shares the real story behind walking away from a 13-year career at Admiral, launching a comparison site from scratch, taking on Tesco Compare with 6 staff against their 200, and creating one of the most iconic advertising campaigns the UK has ever seen. This conversation is about more than business. It's about instinct, visualisation, reinvention, and the courage to back yourself before anyone else does. In this episode: How she got away with six weeks off school — and what it taught her Building Confused.com from a windowless room Why she ignored her board and ran the GoCompare opera ad anyway The phone call from Norwich Union that made them profitable overnight Taking on Tesco — and why they never recovered Selling GoCompare for £190M and what came next Her one regret from the exit process "Game on. Challenge accepted." ️ Inside the Maverick Mind is back for Season 2 in September.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Inside The Maverick Mind

  Ep 23 | Andrew Jenkins | From The Traitors to the Truth

  Jul 27, 202659 min

  He Died at 21. This Is What He Did Next. At 21 years old, Andrew Jenkins was dragged from a car wreck, lost six pints of blood, and was pronounced clinically dead at the scene. He spent four weeks in a coma. Doctors told his family he would never walk, talk, or recognise them again. He proved every one of them wrong. But surviving was only the beginning. For the next 24 years, Andrew carried the weight of that moment in silence - battling depression, a loss of identity, and the invisible aftermath of a traumatic brain injury - all while wearing a smile and holding down a career in banking. Then came The Traitors. And a walk of 750 miles across four nations. And the conversations he'd been putting off for two and a half decades. In this episode, Andrew sits down with Emyr Afan on Inside the Maverick Mind to talk about: The night of the accident - and what his parents were told at the door Waking from a coma to be told he'd never walk again - and arguing with the doctor Why he never told his son "I love you" until he was 22 years old What it was really like being a Traitor - and why he says he was "too honest to win" Walking 750 miles for Headway brain injury charity - and who was waiting at the finish line The conversations he avoided for 24 years - and what happened when he finally had them Why he's known as "the antidote to Andrew Tate" in schools across the UK How holding a mirror up to yourself changes everything This is one of the most honest, moving, and quietly powerful conversations you'll hear this year. Andrew is a normal guy from a council estate in the Welsh Valleys. And that's exactly what makes this so important. "85% of what we worry about never comes true. Be brave. Have the conversation." Subscribe — new episodes every Monday at 6pm Who in your life needs to hear this? Share it with them. Chapters: 00:00 — Introduction: Clinically dead at 21 02:30 — Growing up in a Welsh valley — rugby, masculinity & silence 08:00 — The night of the accident 15:00 — Waking from the coma & proving the doctors wrong 21:00 — 24 years of hidden depression 27:00 — The maverick moment: finding the surgeon who saved his life 33:00 — Telling his son "I love you" for the first time 38:00 — The Traitors: being too honest to win 45:00 — Walking 750 miles for Headway 52:00 — Being the antidote to Andrew Tate 57:00 — What strength really means Find Andrew Jenkins: [Add his social links here] Headway Brain Injury Association: headway.org.uk #AndrewJenkins #TheTraitors #MentalHealth #MensHealth #BrainInjury #Coma #Resilience #InsideTheMaverickMind #Podcast #Wales #Headway #Courage #StrengthInYou

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #22

  Ep 22 | Jane Richardson | The Maverick Leading Wales's Museums Into the Future

  Jul 20, 202652 minS1

  What does it take to lead a national institution through budget cuts, crumbling buildings, and a crisis of relevance - and come out the other side with a bolder vision than ever? Jane Richardson, Director General of Amgueddfa Cymru / National Museum Wales, joins Emyr Afan on Inside the Maverick Mind for a conversation that's as surprising as it is inspiring. From a 400-year-old clam that witnessed the Sistine Chapel being painted, to tiny marine worms tracking climate change in real time, to a Welsh hip-hop exhibition sitting next to Turner - Jane is rewriting the rules of what a national museum can be. In this episode: Why Wales's national museum isn't "distinctively Welsh enough" - yet The marine worm researchers whose skills could disappear forever Tom Bones the mammoth - and why he's actually 3D printed Hip-hop next door to Turner, and why that matters New international partnerships with Japan and why Wales needs to be round the table ️ The vision for a cultural quarter in Cardiff Be curious, be brave, be kind - and what those mean when everything's falling apart Pickleball, biscuits, and the China trip she'll always regret Jane is a leader who steers by her own North Star. This one will stay with you. Subscribe so you never miss an episode of Inside the Maverick Mind.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #21

  Ep 21 | Nicola Venetia Steele | The Boutique That Belonging Built

  Jul 13, 20261h 12mS1

  She started with £5, two puppies, and a husband who'd just left. That's not a crisis - that's a maverick opening line. Nicola Venetia Steele is the founder of Venetia Steel Boutique in Bridgend, South Wales - a woman who turned dyslexia, redundancy, hand-me-downs, heartbreak, and a garden shed into one of the most distinctive boutique brands in Wales. But this isn't really a story about clothes. It's a story about identity. About what happens when a little girl grows up feeling overlooked, underdressed, and underestimated - and turns all of that into style, grit, commercial instinct, and fierce self-belief. In this episode, Nicola talks about: • Growing up as the youngest of four, excluded and in hand-me-downs that didn't fit • Turning up to school in her uniform on wear-your-own-clothes day - because she had nothing else • How dyslexia became her greatest business superpower • The mentor who gave her wings - and the lesson that changed how she handles people forever • Building from a kitchen table to a garden shed to a standalone store • The dream that told her to sign the lease • Why she built a boutique specifically for women over 40 who feel invisible • Losing her dog Zosia - and what that taught her about love and priorities • Why independence has been both her greatest strength and her greatest cost CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction - "£5, two puppies, and a dream" 01:10 Were you born a maverick or did life force you to be one? 05:30 The Fiat Panda - what freedom really looks like 10:30 Wear your own clothes day 14:00 Fashion as control, confidence, and belonging 17:00 How dyslexia became a superpower 22:30 The mentor who changed everything -Linda 28:00 Dreams, instinct, and signing the lease 33:00 From kitchen table to garden shed to boutique 38:00 The redundancy - and protecting her team 43:00 Building Venetia Steel Boutique 50:00 Women over 40 - visibility, style, and confidence 56:00 Zosia 1:02:00 Maverick Maxims - quick fire 1:08:00 "A maverick is someone who..." ABOUT INSIDE THE MAVERICK MIND A podcast hosted by Emyr Afan exploring the minds of unconventional thinkers, builders, and creators. Each episode goes beyond the business story to ask what really drives the people who refuse to play it safe.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #20

  Ep 20 | Lucia Rowe | Fear Doesn't Get the Final Word: Surviving a Dictator & Leukaemia

  Jul 6, 202648 minS1

  What does it take to survive a dictatorship, build a career across five continents, beat leukaemia - and then run 270 kilometres across the Sahara? In this episode of Inside the Maverick Mind, host Emyr Afan sits down with Lucia Rowe - linguist, travel industry leader, cancer survivor, and ultramarathon runner -to explore one of the most extraordinary life stories you'll ever hear. Lucia grew up in Ceaușescu's Romania, where the knock on the door in the night was a constant terror. Two of her school friends were killed in the street during the revolution. And yet, from those dark beginnings, she built a 25-year career in the travel industry, helped launch and scale A-Rosa River Cruises in the UK and beyond, and became a powerful voice for breaking down barriers in business. Then came the diagnosis nobody wants - leukemia, during COVID. With no immunity and a global pandemic raging, Lucia chose to fight. She made a plan. She drew on something bigger than herself. And five years later, she is in full remission. Not content with that, she took on the Marathon des Sables - one of the world's toughest ultramarathons - was medically withdrawn the first time, and went straight back to finish it in 2026. This is a conversation about fear, endurance, sunshine moments, solidarity in the sand, and what it really means to keep moving towards the light. Topics covered : Growing up under Ceaușescu and the lasting trauma of the Securitate Building A-Rosa River Cruises from scratch in the UK market Facing a leukemia diagnosis during COVID and choosing to fight Running 60+ marathons and 15 ultramarathons post-illness The camaraderie and raw humanity of the Marathon des Sables Raising £50,000+ for Ruben's Retreat and the Family Holiday Charity What success, freedom, and resilience really mean Ruben's Retreat: Family Holiday Charity: Inside the Maverick Mind - conversations with people who do things differently. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Inside The Maverick Mind. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.