The New Mind

This week on The New Mind, I sit with Big Nick Collins….
In one of the most emotional and powerful episodes of The New Mind Podcast, Nick opens up on the devastating loss of his soulmate and the mother of their children, Beth.
Beth tragically died from a brain aneurysm at just 36 years old.
Nick shares the raw reality of grief, the moment his world changed forever, and what it’s really like to navigate unimaginable heartbreak while trying to remain strong for his children. With remarkable honesty and vulnerability, he opens up about love, trauma, loss, resilience, mental health, fatherhood and the lessons that emerge when life forces you to rebuild from the ground up.
This is a conversation about far more than grief. It’s about the human capacity to survive the unthinkable. It’s about carrying love after loss. It’s about finding purpose in pain and learning how to keep moving forward when every part of you wants to stand still.
If you’ve ever experienced bereavement, loss, trauma, heartbreak, anxiety, depression, or the fear of losing someone you love, this conversation will stay with you.
Nick’s courage, honesty and vulnerability are extraordinary. His story is heartbreaking, inspiring and profoundly human.

What happens when grief, masculinity, pain, purpose, and identity collide in one human being?
In this deeply powerful episode, I sit down with Aaron Ashton, one of the most resilient and emotionally raw voices emerging from British combat sports.
Aaron’s story isn’t just about fighting….
It’s about survival and it’s about loss.
It’s about what happens to the human mind and body when life pushes you beyond what should be possible.
From brutal setbacks and painful defeats to becoming one of the most talked about names in bare knuckle boxing, Aaron’s journey has been anything but ordinary. 
But in February 2026, the world witnessed something far bigger than sport.
Just hours after losing his father, after spending days sitting beside his hospital bed, Aaron stepped into the ring at BKB 51: Heavy Lies The Crown at The O2 Arena.
What happened next stunned the combat sports world!!
Carrying unimaginable grief, Aaron delivered the performance of his life, stopping heavily favoured opponent Brad Donovan.
The moment went viral worldwide.
But behind the knockout was something much deeper.
In this conversation we explore:
* Grief and masculine identity
* Trauma, emotional suppression, and resilience
* What fighting teaches you about the human psyche
* The psychology of pain and pressure
* Mental strength versus emotional avoidance
* The reality behind combat sports
* Fatherhood, loyalty, discipline, and loss
* What happens when life strips everything back

This is one of the most honest, emotional, and psychologically revealing conversations we’ve had on the podcast.
If you’ve ever battled pain silently, questioned yourself, fought through grief, or tried to stay standing while life was breaking you internally, this episode will stay with you.
Watch until the end.

Subscribe to The New Mind podcast for more uplifting and insightful conversations that explore the depths of mental health, personal growth, and inspiring stories of individuals making a difference in the world.
Thank you
Connect with me: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellamccrystal 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellamccrystalhypno   
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ella_mccrystal
Web: https://www.ellamccrystal.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EllaMcCrystal

In this gripping episode of The New Mind Podcast, I sit down with one of Britain’s most infamous nightclub enforcers……a man who survived decades of violence, organised crime, revenge threats, shootings, and chaos on the doors of some of the UK’s roughest clubs and pubs.
Bullied relentlessly as a child growing up near Ramsgate, he transformed pain into power through boxing, eventually becoming one of the most feared and respected doormen in Southern England.
For over 40 years, he lived in a world most people never see.
Violence. Gangsters. Knives.
Guns.
He shares stories from thousands of brutal confrontations, brushes with death, underworld connections, and the psychological toll of living in constant hypervigilance.
This is not just a story about fighting…..It’s a story about trauma, identity, masculinity, survival, and what happens when a human being decides they will never be powerless again.

Inside this episode:
• The psychology of violence and dominance
• Growing up with bullying and humiliation
• Life as a nightclub doorman in Britain’s most dangerous era
• Encounters with gangsters and organised crime
• The hidden trauma behind aggression
• Hypervigilance, fear, and survival psychology
• Masculinity, power, and emotional suppression
• What decades of violence does to the nervous system
• Escaping death and living to tell the tale
• The truth about strength, respect, and fear

This is a raw and moving & intense conversation!!
Watch until the end.

Subscribe to The New Mind podcast for more uplifting and insightful conversations that explore the depths of mental health, personal growth, and inspiring stories of individuals making a difference in the world.
Thank you

This is one of the most difficult, yet important conversations we’ve ever had on The New Mind Podcast.
This episode explores the reality of abuse within the home, the psychological impact of prolonged trauma, and what it takes to survive something that should never happen.
This is not shared for shock.
It is shared for awareness, understanding, and truth.
Because silence protects harm.
And truth is where healing begins.
If this conversation resonates with you, or you know someone who needs to hear it, share it.
You are not alone.
⸻
⚠️ Viewer discretion advised. This episode discusses themes of abuse and trauma.

This is The New Mind. Where truth meets the human story… Enjoy! 
Subscribe to The New Mind podcast for more uplifting and insightful conversations that explore the depths of mental health, personal growth, and inspiring stories of individuals making a difference in the world.
Thank you

Connect with me: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellamccrystal 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellamccrystalhypno   
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ella_mccrystal
Web: https://www.ellamccrystal.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EllaMcCrystal

Connect with Stace: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stace_don/
Web: https://thelifeofstacedon.wordpress.com/
Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-launch-safe-seen-heard-across-the-uk?utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp20_t2&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&lang=en_GB
My Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1915306868?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_J1TN76VS2Q7X59SC06YR&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_J1TN76VS2Q7X59SC06YR&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_J1TN76VS2Q7X59SC06YR&bestFormat=true

This week’s compilation episode of The New Mind brings together three men who have witnessed and lived through experiences most people will never encounter.
Their stories move between shock, pain, heartbreak, and unexpected moments of humour, offering a rare and deeply human insight into resilience, survival, and the complexity of the mind.
This is not just something you listen to. It is something you feel.
If you are drawn to understanding human behaviour, trauma, and the hidden layers of lived experience, this episode will stay with you long after it ends.
Listen/watch now and explore the depths of the human experience.
This is The New Mind. Where truth meets the human story… Enjoy! 

Subscribe to The New Mind podcast for more uplifting and insightful conversations that explore the depths of mental health, personal growth, and inspiring stories of individuals making a difference in the world.
Thank you
Connect with me: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellamccrystal 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellamccrystalhypno   
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ella_mccrystal
Web: https://www.ellamccrystal.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EllaMcCrystal

Connect with my guests: 
Kevin Lane: https://www.instagram.com/fittedupandfightingback/
Yammy B: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWvjCWaeyUWQ2CKLRtc2hOg
Ben Hatchett: https://www.tiktok.com/@ben_hatchett_official