Stripping Off with Matt Haycox

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Most people want “motivation.” Olympians build systems, and they learn how to perform when everything hurts, everything’s on the line, and you’ve got to go again in 20 minutes.
In this episode, Matt Haycox sits down with Sarah Lindsay, 3x Olympic short track speed skater, European gold medallist, and a decade-long British champion, now founder of ROAR (London + Dubai) and one of the UK’s most sought-after trainers. 
Sarah breaks down what elite sport really teaches you about resilience, pressure, and identity… then how she used those lessons to build a premium training brand, recover from major injury, navigate litigation, and scale a high-touch coaching operation that delivers results without the usual fitness industry chaos. 
You’ll hear Matt and Sarah talk about:
How Sarah went from “hyperactive kid” to elite athlete, and why sport saved her focus.
The reality of Olympic sport: funding, pressure, and why it’s not “rich athlete life”.
The Olympian mentality: resilience, emotional control, and performing under pressure.
The injury that nearly ended her career, and the brutal rehab mindset that brought her back.
Transitioning from athlete to PT: what most athletes get wrong after retirement.
Building ROAR: why premium results require structure, coaching, and standards (not chaos gyms).
Litigation lessons: what happens when business gets messy, and what she’d do differently.
ROAR’s operating model: team-based client care + coaching systems that scale. 
Dubai, high-performance lifestyle, and training high-profile clients.
Timestamps:
0:00 – 3x Olympian + ROAR Founder: Sarah Lindsay 
1:33 – Coming Up: Injury, mindset, and building a premium brand 
5:50 – Early athletic beginnings: from “naughty kid” to elite focus 
13:40 – Olympic career + the truth about money/funding 
21:37 – Olympic mindset: resilience, pressure, emotional control 
26:48 – The injury: “you might never skate again” + recovery 
31:46 – Redemption, confidence, and retirement decisions 
42:00 – Athlete to PT: rebuilding identity after sport 
48:12 – Starting ROAR: premium training, standards, and experience 
57:07 – Lessons in litigation (business can get savage) 
01:05:19 – How ROAR operates: systems, coaches, client results 
01:09:43 – Dubai life + training high-profile clients 
01:17:33 – Industry views + advice for anyone starting fitness/business 
01:22:33 – Final thoughts 
Follow Sarah:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roarfitnessgirl/
Website: https://www.roar-fitness.com/
ROAR Ldn: https://www.instagram.com/roarfitnessldn/
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Content warning: This episode contains discussion of human trafficking, exploitation, violence and trauma. Please listen with care.
What happens when surviving isn’t the end of the story, it’s the start of your mission?
In this episode, Matt Haycox sits down with Lurata Lyon, author of Unbroken: Surviving Human Trafficking, to share a story that’s hard to hear, but important to understand. Lurata speaks openly about being trafficked, escaping captivity, the realities of grooming and exploitation, and what it took to rebuild her identity and life after everything she lived through.
This isn’t “shock content.” It’s a first-hand account of survival, and a reminder that the world is not always safe, but recovery, purpose, and a future are possible.
In this conversation, you’ll hear about:
The real mechanics of trafficking, how coercion, control, and grooming work in practice.
Escaping, being found, and why getting “out” is only one part of survival.
How Lurata eventually made it to the UK and rebuilt her life.
Trauma, nightmares, and the mindset tools she uses to keep moving forward.
Why she wrote Unbroken, and what she hopes it changes in people.
Timestamps
0:00 – Intro
4:24 – Who is Lurata Lyon & why this story matters 
11:04 – Childhood & early life before everything changed
15:00 – War, instability, and the start of survival mode
24:15 – Crossing the border & how quickly control can happen
34:03 – Kidnapped and trafficked: what captivity really looks like
39:52 – Grooming, coercion, and the exploitation pipeline
49:57 – The “no-win” choices victims are forced into
54:40 – The next 24 hours: fear, control, and endurance
01:10:28 – Reunited briefly… then taken again
01:22:47 – Escaping a second time: survival instincts and strategy
01:30:47 – Smuggled into the UK & the reality of starting over 
01:34:25 – Reconnecting with family after years apart
01:38:13 – Marriage, children, and rebuilding a life after trauma 
01:44:47 – Perspective, recovery, and what keeps her going 
01:51:37 – Final thoughts
Follow Lurata Lyon:
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/luratalyon/
Web: https://www.luratalyon.com/
Book: Unbroken: https://amzn.eu/d/09nLvVHz 
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“Why have you only got five locations?”
That’s what Michael Jackson asked Matt Fiddes, and what happened next turned into a global scaling lesson.
In this episode, Matt Haycox sits down with Matt Fiddes, founder of a worldwide martial arts franchise network, to break down how he scaled from local studios into thousands of locations by doing what most business owners avoid: relentless front-end marketing, tight systems, and brand-building that creates trust at scale. 
But this isn’t just business. Matt also opens up about his decade-long relationship with Michael Jackson, what it was like being around that level of fame, how the media fallout changed his life after Michael died, and his perspective on the child abuse allegations, including the documentaries he points people towards. 
You’ll hear Matt and Matt talk about:
The “napkin blueprint” moment with Michael Jackson, and the scaling lesson behind it. 
Why most founders fail: they over-focus on the service and ignore marketing + sales. 
The “15 marketing ideas by the 5th of every month” rule (and why it forces execution). 
How brand + social proof beats copycats (and why people buy the name, not the tactics). 
What it was like after Michael’s death: paparazzi, grief, and mental health. 
Matt’s perspective on the abuse allegations, and why he says people should look deeper. 
Timestamps
0:00 – Intro
3:15 – Bullied as a kid, leaving school with no qualifications
11:03 – The first studio: how he got to 700 members fast
17:50 – The real growth lever: marketing > “being good”
27:04 – “Hi, I’m Michael Jackson…” and the napkin blueprint
35:05 – What life with Michael was actually like
46:53 – Being around global fame (and why he did it for free) 
57:02 – The abuse allegations: Matt’s perspective + documentaries he recommends
1:08:47 – The MF legacy, Money Freedom Club + what’s next
Follow Matt Fiddes:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialmattfiddes/
Website: https://mattfiddes.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattfiddes1/
Enjoyed this episode? Please subscribe to Stripping Off with Matt Haycox and leave a ★★★★☆ review on Apple Podcasts or Buzzsprout – it really helps others find us!

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Most people remember the highlights: the serve, the swagger, the Wimbledon final, the Davis Cup hero moments.
They don’t remember what it costs.
In this episode, Mark Philippoussis gets brutally honest about what happens when you get big money young (a multi-million FILA deal at 17), hit world-stopping highs (beating world #1 Pete Sampras at 19), then your body breaks, your career ends without your permission, and you’re left dealing with the fallout, mentally, financially, and personally. 
What you’ll learn in this episode
The reality of making serious money at 17, and how it changes you. 
The mindset of a teenager taking down Pete Sampras (and why “no one expects you to win” can be a weapon). 
Comebacks aren’t motivational quotes, they’re rehab, dark days, and doing the work when no one’s watching. 
What forced retirement does to your identity (especially when you never chose it). 
Losing millions, making mistakes, and why asking “stupid questions” is how you get smart with money. 
Mark’s daily high-performance routine (the “20-20-20” first hour) and how he sets long-term + daily goals. 
Timestamps
0:00 – Intro
1:13 – Coming Up
3:03 – The accidental start to a world-class career 
10:30 – Signing a multi-million dollar contract at 17 
18:35 – How a 19-year-old took down Pete Sampras 
29:49 – 1999 Davis Cup: crowd pressure, nerves, and delivering anyway 
32:36 – Wimbledon final (and the comeback year people forget) 
38:27 – Knee surgeries, pain, and being told “you’ll never play again” 
48:35 – Losing millions: mistakes, lessons, and rebuilding smarter 
57:09 – Forced retirement (and falling out of love with the sport) 
59:31 – Battling depression during the darkest stretch 
01:07:47 – Why losing everything became the turning point
01:12:29 – The “20-20-20” high-performance formula + journaling routine 
01:20:32 – Final Thoughts
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Dubai dating is a different planet. In this episode, Matt sits down with Christiana Maxion, a high-net-worth matchmaker who works with wealthy men looking for a serious partner, and charges $65,000 to $350,000 to do it. 
They get into the brutal reality of “transactional” dating, where people say they want respect, while negotiating the relationship like a deal. Christiana explains why every relationship is transactional (money, emotions, sex, status, pick your currency), and why the real difference is the standard you hold and the environment you keep putting yourself in. 
Then it turns into pure business: how her offline matchmaking agency works (vetting, background checks, concierge dates, feedback loops), what “success” actually means, and how she’s scaling it with MAX, a “matchmaking app” built to stop people wasting their lives in DMs and get them to the first date faster. 

You’ll hear Matt & Christiana talk about:
Why Dubai dating feels pay-to-play, and how to avoid ending up in the same loop. 
The real reason men pay $65k–$350k for matchmaking (hint: it’s not romance, it’s time). 
What her process actually looks like: vetting, alignment, concierge dates, and feedback. 
“Delusional” requirements (and the fastest way to ruin your dating life). 
How she built MAX: subscriptions, verification, compatibility matching, and auto-booked first dates. 
The business model behind a matchmaking agency (and why referrals are the real growth engine). 
Why she’s building separate matchmaking “portals” (expats, India, Muslim marriages) and expanding across the GCC. 
Timestamps:
0:00 – Dubai dating is “transactional” (and why) 
6:29 – “Every relationship is transactional” (standards vs expectations) 
7:38 – How she started “Dating in Dubai” and got fired for it 
9:26 – “I’m going to solve dating in Dubai” → launching matchmaking 
10:13 – Why she only represents men + the 40,000-women database 
11:03 – The pricing: $65k–$350k + what “success” means 
13:38 – The “delusional age range” problem (and why it fails) 
19:33 – MAX: paid subscriptions + passport/LinkedIn verification 
20:37 – Why swiping broke dating + how MAX gets you to a real date 
27:35 – App growth: UAE applications, active users, revenue 
30:09 – A real success story (and a brutal horror story) 
35:52 – What she’s building next (GCC expansion + new portals) 
37:10 – Where to find Christiana + MAX 
Follow Christiana Maxion
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christiana.maxion.matchmaker/
Website: https://christianamaxion.com
App: Maxion (available on the App Store)
Enjoyed this episode? Please subscribe to Stripping Off with Matt Haycox and leave a ★★★★☆ review on Apple Podcasts or Buzzsprout – it really helps others find us!