From on‑air promos to handmade pots, Emma Puddick proves that creativity doesn’t vanish when you change direction, it just finds a new medium. After years crafting campaigns at Discovery and Fox, she swapped fast‑turnaround deadlines for slow‑turning clay, trading broadcast buzz for the calm rhythm of the potter’s wheel.

Emma talks through the highs and headaches of on‑air creative, a detour into teaching, redundancy and burnout, and how moving to Bristol helped her rediscover joy in making. It’s an honest look at identity, pace, and why the next chapter sometimes begins by slowing down.

** TRIGGER WARNING: This show contains discussion around mental health **

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Soho runner turned bookings lead, then senior at The Farm (leading high-end TV facility), Karen Smith had a front‑row seat on the UK’s post‑production boom. When the adrenaline wore thin, she chose purpose over pace, taking her people skills into an inner‑city London school.

Karen unpacks 90s/00s post culture, client wrangling, and the switch to education, as her passion for all things TV waned, and she decided it was time to do something different. A refreshingly practical take on reinvention and values.

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In the run-up to starting Uni, Declan Cosgrove took a ‘practice’ interview and walked out with an insurance job, becoming the youngest qualified pro in his firm by the age of 21. Decades later, he blended that discipline with lifelong musicianship to launch a company that helps adults learn piano quickly.

Music has always been part of his life but it wasn’t until he sold his successful internet marketing company that he decided to pursue it full-time. His attitude of making things simpler led to the development of DecPlay, a technique that helps people play a song on the piano in 20 minutes.

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From SOAS to suites to scripts, Zuza Zak talks through her creative moves from Uni to post bookings, to promo producing. After which she rewired her storytelling as a food & culture author and broadcaster.

Zuza unpacks transferable creative skills, DIY learning (editing, design), and how culinary heritage can carry the same narrative charge as a 30‑second trailer. Learn how her passion for her homeland and it’s cooking inspired a journey which led to the publication of 4 cookbooks.

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Jack Milligan left school early, learned management the hard way at Waitrose, and rode that work ethic into radio ad sales and agency life. Then he pivoted, launching a roaming pop‑up that blends wine, dining and a soundtrack you actually want to talk about.

Jack explains hospitality lessons that transfer to brand‑building, why curation beats hype, and how to craft nights people remember. A spicy bouquet of graft, flavour and sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After years in production across the BBC and in Manchester media circles, Joanna Yeldham shifted from producing stories to holding them, retraining as a psychotherapist.

Jo guides us through early detours (languages, shorthand, secretarial routes), on‑set coordination, and the emotional intelligence that bridges production and practice. A thoughtful conversation about care, boundaries and burnout recovery.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of Creative Moves, things come full circle as our host Kabir Malik steps into the guest chair. This time, it’s his old boss and friend, Joce Capper, asking the questions. From his early days working at the Passport Office to becoming the go-to sales guy for post-production houses across Soho, Kabir’s career has been anything but ordinary.

He shares stories from along the way, in a candid chat about resilience, self-retraining and how his love of music, and his gift for really listening, have led him into a whole new chapter where he’s finally following his true passions.

** TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussion around mental health, addiction and childhood trauma **

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manish Chauhan works as a Finance Lawyer specializing in Derivatives and always had a passion for writing. At 17, he was told by his creative writing teacher to go and live life before he should even think about writing a novel.

Now his first book is slated with Faber (Jan 2026), he talks community and critique circles. His is the story of someone who took the ‘sensible’ path, all the while making space for the work he truly loved, that wouldn’t let go.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From sixth‑form fan to touring keys, Benjy Giddings lived the musical dream as a member of Morning Parade, who released two albums on major labels and toured all over the UK, Europe and the US supporting bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and The Wombats.

Benjy shares the truth about momentum, collaboration, and keeping the creative tap open, as we learn from the inside how harsh the music business can be and how Benjy rediscovered his love of music, and is now pursuing a career as a sound engineer.

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Daniel Sapiano’s route wasn’t linear: city jobs, temp gigs, post‑production, and then a two‑part life he actually loves: postman by morning, professional beehive installer/keeper by afternoon.

He talks about neurodiverse learning, walking away from a high-flying career generating new business, and finding meaning in steady service. Pounding the streets as a postman, where he found absolute job satisfaction, he also tells us about his latest passion; bees. A gentle manifesto for designing your own day.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we talk to Nicky Sargent, who initially entered the workforce in an advertising agency in Bristol, transferring to their London office after 6 months. Nicky then changed jobs to work for EMAP, initially selling advertising space before moving across to publishing, and was part of the team that launched Television Week.

Following that role came a job at Molinare, where she was forced into working with Vikki Dunn, a fateful partnership that ultimately defined the rest of their lives, and with whom she would go on to co-found The Farm Group, which for decades was the most iconic and beloved TV post-production company in the UK, with multiple sites in London as well as Bristol and Manchester, and also Los Angeles, USA.

Currently working on her third novel (which was short-listed for the Marlowe & Christie Novel Prize), Nicky also provides non-exec director and trustee support to various organisations.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From his first job at Bowers & Wilkins, luxury British audio brand, it was a given Ryan would end up working with sound. 

Moving from recording studio to recording sound on-set and location for film and TV, an opportunity too good to resist led him to taking over independent fashion store Meet Bernard, with his wife Dani, in 2016.

Transforming the business into a successful fashion and lifestyle brand with men's & women's stores in East Dulwich, they’ve proved that a discerning eye for product-buying, combined with a talent for informative and inclusive social content, is a winning formula that appeals to their community of highly-engaged local, and online, customers.

Connect with Ryan Chandler

https://www.instagram.com/stories/rhinosan/

Resources and links mentioned

Meet Bernard - men and women's fashion and lifestyle stores

https://www.meetbernard.com/

Connect with Kabir Malik

https://www.instagram.com/kabbagemix/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kabirmalik/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Summary

Having been fascinated with science and the story of life since the age of 10, Tina studied medicine in the US with the intention of qualifying as a gynaecologist; but life had other plans for her once she graduated from University.

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Establishing a successful career in medical production companies in the UK and the US, Tina moved to a senior position in an advertising agency in the healthcare sector before eventually forging her own path as a social entrepreneur, focussed on improving human and planetary health.

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Along the way she also completed an MBA, became a published author and, in the past few years, has learnt to DJ, playing at conferences as well as parties she organises as part of her drive to harness the power of music, joy and connection for a happy, healthy and long life.

Connect with Tina Woods

https://www.colliderhealth.com/

https://www.longevityrave.world/

https://www.instagram.com/tina.technotic/

Resources and links mentioned

'Live Longer with AI: How artificial intelligence is helping us extend our healthspan and live better, too'

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-Longer-artificial-intelligence-healthspan/dp/1838646159

https://www.livelongerbetter.org/

Connect with Kabir Malik

https://www.instagram.com/kabbagemix/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kabirmalik/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.