London Real

Steve Maxwell is the superhero of every man over 40.  At 61 years of age he is in sick shape, trains the best athletes in the world, and learned Jiu-Jitsu from the Gracie Family BEFORE the UFC was ever created. And it doesn't stop there.  Steve lives a nomadic lifestyle moving from city to city as a fitness instructor with no fixed residence.  In fact he refuses to use a travel bag with wheels forcing him to physically carry everything he owns.  What man hasn't dreamed of living like this? To have a conversation with Steve is to delve into the legendary tales of the emergence of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in America via the Gracie family and the UFC.  On top of that he personally trains Joe Rogan and has witnessed first hand his devastating Taekwondo side kicks.  And don't get me started about hanging with the Barstarzz crew....now that's Gangster. Steve is a big proponent of gratitude and positive thinking and believes that everything in life happens for a reason.  I cou

Author Robert Greene talks about the reaction to his best-selling books "The 48 Laws of Power" and "The Art of Seduction", what he learned from rapper 50 Cent when co-writing "The 50th Law", how Machiavelli was never a powerful man, and why it is most important to first know yourself and then follow your instincts. 

This week we bring you a blast from the past. Entrepreneur, tangoist and author Tim Ferriss stops by to talk about Meta-learning in his new book The 4-Hour Chef, why he consumes magic mushrooms for his annual "Ego Reset", the pros and cons of using the pharmaceutical Modafinil, and why he's chosen not to be a Silicon Valley venture capitalist.

The opportunity to sit down with Peter Joseph is a unique chance to capture a moment in time with one of the great thinkers of our generation.  His first breakthrough film Zeitgeist: The Movie in 2007 was an unexpected success and he founded The Zeitgeist Movement on the back of his 2nd film Zeitgeist: Addendum.  Peter proceeded to release two additional films and produced a satirical Web series called Culture in Decline. Engineering a leaderless movement is a conundrum itself, which is why Peter rarely does interviews and instead prefers to let the movement ideals speak for themselves.  In order to understand all of the tenets of The Zeitgeist Movement I recommend reading the TZM Defined Book available here. What's next for Peter?  He has been busy working on a live-action genre with his InterReflections Trilogy expected in the next few years.  After producing works of documentary and satire, we can expect a new angle.  As Peter says, "The beauty of art

As we continue to watch the rise and rise of Mixed Martial Arts via the UFC, it's hard not to recognise the exciting things going on in at GLORY World Series of Kickboxing.  If you like stand-up fighting like I do, the action packed 3 rounds of 3 minutes truly deliver and the 8 man, single night tournament is the ultimate display of toughness. GLORY Board Member Ivan Farneti is an former technology startup guy who is now in the Fight Game and loving it.  He is building this brand from the ground-up which ultimately means making it a success in America and online.  Glory's embraces social media feels and technology making it stand out from your typical old school media company. With traditional boxing putting me to sleep these days (sorry Mayweather that was my last pay per view) I'm excited to see an ambitious organisation like GLORY bringing us the best in Kickboxing worldwide.

To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about Ido Portal. The cult of Ido Portal is a wave of information, videos, and interviews about a mysterious man from Israel who's not afraid to call out Crossfitters and Vegans alike, who stands on one hand and preaches "self dominance".   I watched his videos and interviews and wondered, "But what is this man really like?" And then I found out. Arriving with what looked like his worldly possessions in a backpack, I met a man on a journey who is trying to spread his ideas on movement one person at a time.   In the age of internet marketing and self-help gurus, Ido has no interest in publishing a book because he thinks it is only a static snapshot of his thoughts at that time and more importantly it is a poor way of communicating his ethos of movement. I would tell you more but Ido does it so much better, so sit back and relax (or better yet squat) as I let him do the talking. I've met over 200 people in my studios and gazed deep into thei

Scroobius Pip is a one-of-a-kind British original.  Just when you think you've figured him out and assigned him to a specific genre of music, he drops another video on you and blasts himself into the next one.  It's this uncertainty of who he really is, and of what he's really trying to express, that fascinates us. Doing well as a manager at HMV in 2005 he opted to pack it all in and hit the road with his music, giving himself one year to make it big.  Within days of that goal he got radio play for his first single, "Thou Shall Always Kill." Since then he's pushed the envelope musically and taken serious interest in crafting high quality videos with deep messages, even before YouTube guaranteed their distribution. Now with his own label Speech Development Records, he's promoting artists like Sage Francis and warrenpeace alongside his own future creations. In person Scroobius Pip is humble, thoughtful and very real.  He gets accused of being Osama Bin Laden by drunk people late at night on

The very day I sat down to speak with Matt Elek, VICE Media's Managing Director of Europe, the MIddle East & Africa, rumours were swirling online of multi-billion dollar takeovers by names like Rupert Murdoch and Time Warner.  Not bad for a company that started off in 1994 selling punk magazines in Montreal.

When you get the opportunity to sit down for 90 minutes with the English rapper, poet and journalist Akala, you'd better fasten your seatbelt and bring your passport because your destination is unknown.

Oren Klaff can teach you how to Pitch Anything, but first you have to get to know your inner crocodile. According to Oren we all have a "crocodile brain" that evaluates anything new based on three questions.  "Do I kill it, do I eat it, or do I fuck it?"  If you can't get your pitch past this decision gatekeeper then good luck closing the deal.

Ashley Walters is a man wise beyond his years.  Take a look at his CV and you will quickly understand why.  At age 19 he became part of the UK Hip Hop group So Solid Crew and scored with the #1 single "21 seconds" (performing it in front of 70,000 people) only to go to prison for gun possession one year later.  Upon release he starred with rapper 50 Cent in the movie "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" and most recently has taken on the lead role of "Top Boy", a street crime drama set right here in Hackney that many call "The Wire" of London. And he's only 31 years old. Ashley is the very first actor ever on London Real and if I was expecting a scripted, image conscious performance I was sadly mistaken.  A self-described introvert, Ashley walked me through the emotions he felt when he became a member of So Solid Crew and why that situation was ultimately untenable.  "When I got caught with the gun I was out of control" he explained, "My paranoia had gone through the roof." What I like

When you sit down to speak to the man known as the best media manipulator in the business, you start to wonder who is really going to be in control. Ryan Holiday is a man whose reputation precedes him in a huge way.  After doing business with the likes of Tucker Max, Tim Ferriss, Robert Greene (48 Laws of Power) and Dov Charney of American Apparel, you know he's a highly qualified marketer.  On top of that he's an accomplished author of the books "Trust Me, I'm Lying", "Growth Hacking", and his latest "The Obstacle is the Way."

When Jim Rogers shows up with that Southern drawl and Seersucker suit, you know some Investing science is about to be dropped on your dome. Jim Rogers has been there and done that.  He co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros in 1973 which later became one of the most successful funds ever created returning over $32 Billion to its investors over the decades.

Ivor Crotty is an Irishman living in Moscow working in social media for a news network funded by the Kremlin.  How's that for a bio! RT (formerly known as Russia Today) has made huge strides in the online media space in the past few years being the first television news station to reach 1 Billion views on YouTube.  In the USA their channel is available to 85 million people and they boast such personalities as Abby Martin, Julian Assange and our London Real regular Max Keiser.

Rick Doblin founded MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) in 1986 with the goal of making MDMA an FDA approved medicine and hasn't looked back since.  Today the organisation is involved in studying the uses of LSD, Ayahuasca, Ibogaine and Marijuana in such treatments as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and end of life issues.

Todd Pierce knows a lot about the Guantanamo Detention Camp.  As a Major with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corp his job was to defend three of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay and considers indefinite detention a form of torture.

I still remember the day in August 2012 when Futurist Jacque Fresco and his partner Roxanne Meadows of the Venus Project came to our studios for London Real episode #47.  After accepting my offer to pick them up I headed off to Waterloo station with camera crew in tow to record the arrival of one of our century's great thinkers.

Geoff Thompson is a former bouncer, self-defence instructor, BAFTA winning writer, playwright, author and teacher.  His first appearance on London Real causes people stop me on the street weekly to talk about the effect he has had on their lives.

Dan Peña is by far one of the most eccentric American businessmen I have ever met, and I've seen my fair share over the years.

Rou Reynolds is the lead singer of Enter Shikari, a British post-hardcore band known for their mix of music genres and bold political messages.  I hooked up with him the day he was giving the closing talk at Z-Day, the Zeitgeist Movement's global celebration of unity, activism, and education.