The James Smith Show

Olly Staniland joins James Smith to break down what actually makes a YouTube video work. Olly works on James's YouTube channel and, like James, studied under Ed Lawrence. They go through real thumbnails and analytics from James's channel, why one video with 80,000 views made nothing while another with 60,000 made thousands, how Matt Armstrong and Carwow built huge channels by repeating one format, and the status games that drive what people click and buy. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Olly Staniland's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@ollystaniland Olly Staniland On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/olly_staniland/ He explains: ◼️ Why you should package the title and thumbnail before you film ◼️ How to steal winning title formats from other niches ◼️ Why more views doesn't always mean more revenue ◼️ The split-testing rules that stop your metrics misleading you ◼️ Why long-form viewers trust you more than short-form followers Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:32 What Makes a Good YouTube Video? 02:46 Package First, Then Film 06:01 The Big Mistake Creators Make on YouTube 07:34 Stealing Titles From Other Niches 11:53 What Is YouTube Actually For? 15:38 Why You Can't Pivot a Big Channel 16:05 Views vs Revenue on the Business Channel 21:11 Split Testing and Misleading Metrics 24:11 Long Form vs Short Form Trust 26:07 Ed Lawrence and the $1,000 Phone Call 31:32 Who Actually Watches YouTube 33:48 Why End Screens Matter 35:39 How YouTube Made James a Better Business Owner 37:35 Scripting vs Riffing 40:31 AI Slop and Copied Scripts 42:00 Dial-Up, The Pirate Bay and LimeWire 44:56 Why Nobody Writes Their Own Emails 46:23 Should You Pay Someone to Run Your Channel? 47:15 Building an Offer for the Boys 54:16 Launch It Before You Build It 55:18 Why Transformation Videos Work 58:13 Matt Armstrong's Car-Build Empire 01:02:35 Raffling the Cars 01:06:48 The AdSense Maths 01:08:37 Carwow's Same-Video-Forever Format 01:11:08 The Status Games We All Play 01:15:47 What Status Has to Do With What We Buy 01:19:51 From Top Lad at Uni to the Real World 01:23:30 Status and Health 01:24:36 Tough Love for Starting a Channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ross Edgley joins James Smith for a reunion years in the making. Ross is the ultramarathon sea swimmer who swam around Great Britain and then the whole coast of Iceland. Ahead of his new book How To Hero, he opens up about losing his dad, waking up in hospital after failed swims, and being told doctors had never seen blood work like his on a living person. He also explains the brain science of why some people keep going when everything hurts and others tap out. 🎬 Edits Course: https://jamessmith.business/ig-edits 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Ross Edgley's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@RossEdgley Ross Edgley On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/rossedgley/ He explains: ◼️ The part of your brain that decides whether you grit it out or quit ◼️ Why purpose has to outweigh pain if you want to finish hard things ◼️ How your reward system crashes when results don't show up ◼️ Why running on anger and self-talk burns out over long efforts ◼️ What Viking berserkers and Icelandic sagas teach us about heroism Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:41 Reunion and Ross's Biggest Night Out 02:24 How Becoming a Dad Changes Everything 06:50 Why People Aren't Having Kids Anymore 09:29 Does Family Switch Off Your Stress Response? 11:17 Loch Ness, Lake Trasimeno and Waking Up in Hospital 14:15 Swimming Through 12 Hours of Darkness 14:45 Why Iceland Produces So Many Physical Freaks 17:32 CrossFit Champions, Vikings and Eddie Hall 19:46 Water Polo: One of the Hardest Sports on Earth 23:57 Getting Crushed by Roger Gracie 27:41 The Brain Region Behind Grit or Quit 29:53 Everyone Is Scared Before They Compete 32:52 Arousal, Warm-Ups and Competing Your Own Way 33:43 Berserkers and the Viking Battle Frenzy 36:37 Nasal Breathing and Building CO2 Tolerance 39:21 When Training Past Your Body's Alarms Goes Wrong 42:23 James Freezing His Sperm Before Tour 43:03 Losing His Dad and the Myth of Sisyphus 48:03 Khabib, Grief and Finding a Reason to Get Up 50:37 How Jiu-Jitsu Gave James's Training Purpose 52:40 Swimming on the Spot for Four Hours in Iceland 55:43 Why Feedback Keeps People Going 58:39 Everyone Needs a Cheerleader 01:00:20 Why Ross Would Never Step Into a Cage 01:02:39 Goggins, Gratitude and Ross's Shadow Self 01:05:55 James Trains to Ruin Other People's Days 01:07:39 Are All High Achievers Psychopaths? 01:08:43 Thor, Odin and Why Heroes Aren't Pretty 01:10:43 Building Your Ego, Then Destroying It 01:12:05 A Million Followers and Feeling Nothing 01:13:42 The $50,000 Vegas Trip 01:15:48 Ross's Ayahuasca Experience in the Amazon 01:23:07 James's First Time on Ketamine 01:29:06 Hating Therapy and Low Testosterone 01:29:45 How Amazon Tribes Worked Out Ayahuasca 01:31:02 Icelandic Folklore and Living With Nature 01:32:19 James's Mushroom Trip and Duty to the Flame 01:39:29 How Psychedelics Led James to Fatherhood 01:42:58 When Psychedelics Go Wrong 01:45:43 Modafinil, Clenbuterol and Two Weeks in Barcelona 01:47:39 Fuelling the World's Longest Non-Stop River Swim 01:49:38 GLP-1s, Digestion and Losing Muscle at Sea 01:52:59 Getting Destroyed by a Competitive Eater 01:55:25 James's Boring Meal Prep Strategy 01:57:47 Hernias, Snapped MCLs and Getting Older 02:01:40 Stem Cells and Extending Your Career 02:05:18 Do Peptides Actually Work? 02:08:03 Should England Rugby Use Hype Videos? 02:12:49 Mike Tyson's Stare 02:14:03 Training With Volkanovsky and Tom Aspinall 02:17:05 How To Hero Release Date Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Barratt on entrepreneurship, business ownership, and the reality of building a brand from the ground up. Everyone wants the freedom of being an entrepreneur, but few are ready for the weight of total responsibility. Alan Barrett, the founder of Grenade, joins me to discuss what it actually takes to succeed in the protein bar market. He shares the unfiltered truth about being unemployable, taking full ownership of your outcomes, and navigating the friction that comes when you start disrupting major industry players. 🎬 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 Try Grenade: https://www.grenade.com/ Grenade on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teamgrenade Allan Barratt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/al_barratt/ Chapters: 0:00 Trailer 1:20 How Alan and James actually met 3:23 Richard Branson: "I don't know where there is" 5:24 Starting Grenade on a 500 pound loan 9:27 Selling supplements gym to gym 11:29 The first protein flapjack 15:36 When the supplement industry was the Wild West 17:38 Positioning against the chocolate bar 21:40 Making a bar people could actually afford 25:46 Why most people should not be entrepreneurs 27:48 Selling the first business 31:50 Doing right by people pays you back 35:52 Fitness plus military: where the name came from 37:42 The fat burner that started it all 41:46 The fight for the Grenade trademark in America 45:02 The bottle, the shape and a copycat industry 49:10 Borrowing a 17-tonne gun to steal the show 53:11 Demand outstripping supply 57:18 Beating Twix into the UK top 20 59:20 Mars complains to Nielsen 1:01:13 No disruption in chocolate for 40 years 1:01:40 The phone call from Giovanni Ferrero 1:03:23 Ferrero or Cadbury: a two-horse race 1:07:26 Choosing Mondelez, and going full circle to Birmingham 1:11:34 The lawyer who got it badly wrong 1:15:36 Cashing half, rolling half back in 1:19:37 What Grenade is worth now 1:23:41 What America teaches you about packaging 1:25:43 When one can bursts across 50 pallets 1:29:51 Fifty countries that supposedly share a language 1:33:55 Where Grenade goes next 1:35:59 The Cadbury Creme Egg protein bar 1:40:05 Those companies are gone. Grenade is still here 1:44:10 Hitching the caravan to the Ferrari Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca Oliver-Mooney joins James Smith for a conversation that starts with a left-handed can and ends up somewhere far more uncomfortable. Founder of the Raising The Glass network and a drinks industry buyer who has sat on the other side of the table from hundreds of challenger brands, Rebecca explains why most founders put half their message where the shelf will hide it, why GLP-1s are about to reshape what food and drink gets made, and why menopause is the category nobody has been willing to build for yet. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋️‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Rebecca Oliver-Mooney On LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-oliver-mooney-65730614/ She explains: ◼️ Why retailers cover the bottom half of your packaging, and what belongs up top ◼️ What GLP-1s actually do to appetite, and why the shame is the bigger problem ◼️ Why menopause is the next outcome-led category in food and drink Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:26 The Left-Handed Can 03:07 Why Retailers Hide Half Your Packaging 03:42 Ingredients vs Benefits On Pack 04:43 The Conversation About Hiding The Eye 06:19 What Raising The Glass Actually Is 07:55 Was I Being Hypersensitive? 08:44 The Free Mentoring Platform 10:16 Do Men Really Interrupt More? 11:53 Two Women Founders Getting On Shelf 14:18 Toy Trucks And Gendered Play 17:29 Changing Your Political Stance 18:16 Algorithms And Echo Chambers 19:50 Women Coming Into Neutonic 21:26 Electrolytes And The Salt Brands 23:50 GLP-1s: The Real Conversation 24:38 Do You Still Eat On GLP-1s? 28:07 The Shame Around The Medication 30:36 Never Being Hungry Again 32:13 Two Extreme Views On Telling People 36:08 GLP-1s Compared To Insulin 39:20 When Only One Of You Can Afford It 40:53 Wealth, Connections And Starting Again 46:25 Are Men More Driven To Seek Status? 47:59 The Iceberg Model 48:48 Imposter Syndrome 51:11 Raising Investment 53:33 This Candidate Is Probably Going To Be A Man 55:58 Equality vs Equity 58:25 The Employee Who Was Caring For His Mum 59:08 HRT And Dr Louise Newson 01:01:30 Menopause Behind Closed Doors 01:03:32 Anabolic Steroids And Crashed Estrogen 01:04:43 Nothing Is Explained At School 01:06:21 Menopause As The Next Category 01:10:20 Calm, Energy And What Sells 01:15:08 How Buyers Actually Pick Products 01:18:18 The Category Diamond 01:19:06 Smoke And Mirrors For Challenger Brands 01:21:29 Find Your Tribe 01:23:01 You Deserve To Be In The Room 01:25:13 Fake It Till You Make It: The Power Pose Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason 'Foxy' Fox joins James Smith, on his wife's birthday no less, for an unfiltered and very funny conversation that swaps the usual topics for a proper sit-down with the boys. A former UK Special Forces operator and the longest-serving member of the SAS: Who Dares Wins directing staff, Foxy opens up about becoming a dad again at 50 after seven years of IVF, missing his son's birth over a WhatsApp video call, and why newborn sleep deprivation hits harder than anything the military threw at him. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Jason Fox On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jason_carl_fox/ Jason Fox On X - https://x.com/jason_carl_fox Ultra 4 Charity - https://ultra4charity.com He explains: ◼️ Why newborn sleep deprivation is worse than military exercises ◼️ What it's really like to be away working when your child is born ◼️ How Ultra 4 Charity makes ultra marathons accessible for everyone Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:30 Baldness, Hair Transplants and Finasteride 07:05 How Fatherhood Feels Different Second Time Around 08:08 James's Son Blocked From Entering the UK 09:22 Missing His Son's Birth Over WhatsApp 12:22 Older Parents and Seven Years of IVF 14:59 James's Adoption and the Stolen Cheque 17:22 Ibiza Chaos and Writing a Will 19:31 The Pregnancy Complication That Forced an Early Birth 21:37 James's Emergency C-Section Story 24:20 Special Forces vs Newborn Sleep Deprivation 25:10 The Sleep Coach That Actually Worked 28:11 Being Away Filming SAS: Who Dares Wins 30:10 Sam Burgess: Headlocks and Falling Off the Wagon 35:44 Is London Still Worth It? 39:08 Ultra 4 Charity: Running for Veterans 41:42 How Jiu-Jitsu Gives Veterans Purpose 42:27 Foxy's Muay Thai and BJJ Journey 45:08 Snapping His Leg on a 300ft Tower 48:25 Getting Caught by a 'White Belt' 50:14 Rolling With a GB Judo Black Belt 53:57 Why Strikers Scare James 55:43 The Shoplifter Who Sang for the Queen 58:00 Teaching Young Leaders About Mental Health 59:10 James Nearly Joined the Army 01:00:29 Has Britain's Attitude to the Military Changed? 01:02:15 Veteran Support and Military Respect 01:03:07 The ThruDark Story 01:07:37 The Blocked Urethra That Led to Sepsis 01:13:36 In Praise of NHS Emergency Care 01:14:54 A Bali Moped Crash and NHS Hallways 01:18:11 Foxy's Only Real Goal in Life 01:20:41 Adult Circumcision and Other Injuries Down There 01:22:11 The Schoolyard Punch and Gaps in Body Armour 01:23:57 MrBallen's Grenade Story 01:26:41 From an IED Blast to a UK High Street in 16 Hours 01:28:45 Calm in Chaos, Chaos in the Calm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices