Trail Blazers

Hosted by Explosive Brands

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Latest episode

Oct 2026

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About the show

Trailblazers is our exciting venture to share with you the cutting-edge concepts, valuable knowledge, and industry expertise we've gained over the past few years. Whether you're looking to take your career to new heights, considering a change, or feeling a bit stuck and in need of inspiration, we've got you covered. Our mission is to bring you a better understanding of intriguing concepts and ideas that you've been curious about. We'll also provide practical steps to put these ideas into action. The best part? We want to make it fun and engaging. Our hope is that these episodes offer information at a level that's easy to grasp and remember. We know you won't become an expert in just 45 minutes, but you'll gain enough knowledge to feel empowered. You'll think, "Hey, I understand this a little better now! I'm excited to dive deeper into it without feeling overwhelmed." So, let's embark on this adventure together and unlock your full potential.

Listen to episodes

44 recent

October 15, 202626 min

Designing Mental Healthcare Around Real People | Ben Finlay on Trail Blazers - Part 3

Can technology make healthcare more human? In the final part of this three-part Trail Blazers conversation, our host Johnny returns to Ben Finlay, life science leader and healthcare advisor at Ranvier , to look at what it takes to turn promising science into something people can actually use. Ben begins with the product itself. Ranvier’s platform is at alpha stage and has been used in approved research with GP practices, pharmacies and research associates. He explains how it has been shaped by user-centred design. Rather than a single interface, there are distinct views for the person taking the test, the research associate guiding them, and the GP, pharmacist or neuroscientist who may need to act on the results. Each is built around what that person needs to see, and when. The conversation then turns to technology and attention. Johnny and Ben discuss how a platform could act as a timely nudge, a reminder after a few months to retest or speak to a professional, rather than another app competing for our screen time. It is a useful case study for anyone working in digital product design, behaviour change or healthcare communications. They also cover Ben’s plans for the next phase: more research, an ambition to bring a home test kit to market by 2027, partnerships with universities on industrial design and academic research, and why scaling responsibly matters in a sensitive area like mental health. Ben is clear that the aim is to support practitioners, not replace them, so their time can be directed to people who may not feel able to ask for help. Looking further ahead, he describes an ambition for a credit-card-sized passive sensing device, still five to seven years away, and why the human touch has to stay at the centre. As Ben puts it, people need people, and technology works best when it helps connect them. For anyone working in healthcare design, service design, brand or communications, this is a thoughtful look at how to build technology around people. This is part three of a three-part conversation with Ben Finlay. Watch all three parts on our channel . This conversation is for general information only and isn’t medical advice. Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands Get in touch with us on LinkedIn Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn

October 8, 2026Episode 820 min

Healthspan vs Lifespan: Are You Investing Enough? | Ben Finlay on Trail Blazers - Part 2

In part two of this three-part conversation, Johnny and life science leader Ben Finlay widen the lens from measuring mood to the long game of brain health. Ben shares how he found his purpose and why he believes it compounds over time. He also explains how Ranvier's research is expanding beyond the taste test to anxiety and early-awareness biomarkers, which are still in development. Along the way they explore trauma and the body, lifespan versus health-span and why preventative health is so hard to make feel urgent. Part one aired last week, don't forget to give it a listen. This is part two of three. Subscribe so you don't miss the final episode! Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands Get in touch with us on LinkedIn Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn

October 1, 2026Episode 728 min

Can a Taste Test Measure Your Mood? | Ben Finlay on Trail Blazers - Part 1

Can a simple taste test help measure your mood? In part one of this three-part conversation, our founder Johnny sits down with Ben Finlay, founding director of Ranvier.ai, to explore how better design and clearer communication could change the way people start conversations about mental health. Ben explains why the current route into support can feel so hard and how Ranvier's research-stage taste test, aims to give people an objective mood score they can track over time. Whether you work in design, healthcare or communications, this is a fascinating look at user-centred thinking in action. Part one of three. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode. #MentalHealth #HealthTech #DesignThinking #UserExperience #TrailBlazers Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands Get in touch with us on LinkedIn Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn

September 9, 2026Episode 649 min

The Wealth Myth: Cash vs Equity | Andrew Craig on Trail Blazers - Part 2

Why do wealthy people get demonised for investment, one thing that actually fixes broken economies? In part two of this conversation, Johnny and Andrew Craig dig into the difference between cash and equity, why capitalism, not activism, is the real engine behind solving plastics, disease and climate change and why so few people understand how wealth is actually created. Andrew lays out a genuinely bold idea: a £5,000 seeded, ring-fenced investment account for every British newborn, invested only in UK smaller companies and untouched until retirement. He also unpacks how compounding and long-term investing transformed Ireland's economy and why understanding markets matters more than most people realise. This is part two of a two-part conversation. Catch part one (live now) if you missed it on your preferred podcast platform. Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands Get in touch with us on LinkedIn Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn

August 18, 2026Episode 546 min

Why Are Brits Poorer Than They Should Be | Andrew Craig on TrailBlazers - Part 1

Britain used to be 10% of the world's stock market. Now it's under 3% and it's cost the country an estimated £20 trillion in lost wealth over 30 years. In this episode, Johnny sits down with Andrew Craig, founder of Plain English Finance, author and a nearly 30-year veteran stockbroker. Together they unpack how bad policy, the rise of passive investing and a financially illiterate political class quietly gutted UK capital markets. They cover the "death" of the London IPO, why pension funds abandoned British companies, the "inelastic markets hypothesis" and why Britain's world-class science and IP rarely turns into British wealth. This is part one of a two-part conversation. Part two is coming soon, subscribe so you don't miss it! 🔗 Get in touch with Johnny: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnny-isaacs/ 🔗 Learn more from Andrew Craig: Plain English Finance (YouTube & plainenglishfinance.com) 🔗 Find us at: explosivebrands.com Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:54 Andrew's background & books 02:04 What a Stockbroker Actually Does 03:42 Founding Plain English Finance 06:11 The UK Stock Market's Collapse in Numbers 11:08 How UK Pensions Abandoned British Shares 13:22 Britain's Biotech IP: DNA, Stem Cells & DeepMind 17:23 Active vs Passive Investing Explained 21:13 Why Britain Became a "debt" Economy 23:28 The rise of ETFs and Passive Funds 33:54 Why Big Tech has Stopped Truly Innovating 46:14 Wealth Inequality: Cash vs Equity 1:06:21 The ESG Fallacy & Real Climate Solutions 1:16:27 A Practical Fix: a UK "Baby Bond" Proposal 1:39:03 The Laffer curve: Ireland vs the UK 1:47:26 The Cantillon Effect & Who Really Loses 1:51:29 Get in Touch with Andrew Craig Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands Get in touch with us on LinkedIn Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn

April 23, 2026Episode 446 min

Is Your Work Ethic Actually Destroying Your Health? | Bianca Errigo on Trail Blazers

April is Stress Awareness Month so there's no better time for this conversation. In our third sit-down with Bianca Errigo, CEO of HumanOS, Johnny Isaacs digs into one of the most important topics nobody wants to talk about: the devastating impact of stress on our health, our workplaces and our lives. Stress is at the root of 80-90% of human illness and disease. Burnout is hitting people at an average age of just 32. 150 million people in Europe alone are living with mental health issues. And yet somehow, we still glamorise the grind. Bianca and Johnny explore the deep roots of hustle culture, tracing it from early religious morality through the Industrial Revolution and ask why working yourself into the ground became a mark of status and whether that's finally starting to change. They also get into the real psychology behind high performance: why most founders and top achievers start from a place of trauma rather than love, what true resilience actually looks like and why separating your self-worth from your business results might be the most important skill you never learned. And they tackle the conversations happening right now AI and automation replacing jobs, the anxiety gripping workplaces where employee engagement sits at just 10% in the UK and what it actually takes to raise VC funding as a woman in a male-dominated industry. Bianca shares, with true honesty, what the first two years of building HumanOS really cost her and how she found her way back. Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands Get in touch with us on LinkedIn Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn

March 6, 2026Episode 346 min

Can Your Phone Detect High Blood Pressure? | Laurene Pearce from Lifelight on Trail Blazers S02, EP3

In this episode of Trail Blazers, Johnny sits down with Laurence Pearce, CEO and founder of Lifelight, a health-tech company developing software that can measure blood pressure using nothing more than a smartphone camera. By analysing subtle changes in skin colour captured through the camera, Lifelight’s technology can detect vital signs without the need for traditional cuffs or wearables. Laurence explains the scale of the global hypertension problem, often called the “silent killer” and how making blood pressure monitoring accessible through everyday devices could help detect risk earlier and expand preventative healthcare worldwide. The conversation explores the science behind the technology, the challenges of building medical grade software and what is the potential for smartphones to transform how people monitor their health. You wouldn't want to miss it! 🔗 Lifelight: https://lifelight.ai/ 🔗 Connect with Johnny: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnny-isaacs/ 🎙️ Follow Trail Blazers for more conversations on innovation, health and impact. Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands Get in touch with us on LinkedIn Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn

December 1, 2025Episode 230 min

Why Hormone Health Is Failing Women? And How to Fix It - Lauren Redfern on Trail Blazers | S02, EP2

In this episode of Trail Blazers, Johnny sits down with Lauren Redfern, Executive Director of Hormonally to explore how education, empathy and access can transform women’s health. Lauren shares her journey from medical anthropologist to founder of a global nonprofit and how her PhD research on testosterone and menopause led her to the discovery that women aren’t being given the information or care they deserve. Watch, share and start the conversation! 🔗 Visit Hormonally: https://www.hormonally.org 🎙️ Follow Trail Blazers for more conversations on innovation, health and impact. Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands Get in touch with us on LinkedIn Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn

November 17, 2025Episode 126 min

Workplace Wellbeing, Performance & Leadership with Bianca Errigo on Trail Blazers | S02, EP01

In this episode of Trail Blazers, we’re joined by global speaker and wellbeing expert Bianca Errigo, founder of HumanOS. Bianca shares insights from her latest workplace wellbeing report, exploring why traditional wellbeing strategies fail, what “balance, belonging and development” really mean and how organisations can evolve beyond outdated systems. From abolishing boredom to fostering purpose and psychological safety, this conversation dives deep into the future of human-centric performance in the age of AI. Stay tuned until the end! 🔗 Connect with Bianca: https://www.linkedin.com/in/biancaerrigo/ 🔗 Learn more about HumanOS: https://humanos.co.uk/ 🔗 Download the report: https://humanos.co.uk/the-workpl-ace-wellbeing-deficit/ 🔗 Connect with Johnny: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnny-isaacs/ Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands Get in touch with us on LinkedIn Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn

June 11, 2025Episode 361 hr 37 min

The Truth About Stress, Sleep & Movement - Simon Gilchrist on Trail Blazers, Episode 36

Simon Gilchrist, physiotherapist and founder of GRIT, shares how movement, stress recovery, and holistic health principles can support long-term wellbeing. From elite athletes to everyday recovery, we cover sleep, strength, bone health, and the mindset shifts that help people thrive. Trail Blazers | Explosive Brands Get in touch with us on LinkedIn Get in touch with Johnny on LinkedIn