The Tom's Talks Podcast is a place where we speak to a vast array of people from different walks of life and find out what makes them them. We will speak about their unique journey and delve into the highs and the lows which ultimately define them.
"I do think that losing my mum was the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Joe Fishburn was two years old when his mum died of pneumonia. He was raised by his grandmother, went on to medal at a European championships in gymnastics, and in 2024 became a Gladiators champion. He is also the first person we have had on who has said that sentence out loud, and then explained it in a way that makes complete sense.
This is not an episode about getting over something. Joe talks about how he only recently became able to say that line at all, and how he traces every part of his life back to a loss he was too young to remember. He is honest about the parts that were not inspiring at the time, like realising he was different when his grandma could not stand at the side of the pitch with the other parents, or the day a kid at school made a your mum joke and someone else had to tap him on the shoulder and tell him not to.
He also shares something he tells us he has never talked about publicly before, which is how his mum actually died.
What we get into:
The Gladiators trophy on his grandmother Christine's mantelpiece, and why he calls it a metaphorical thank you for everything she did for him
How his mum died, and why he had never shared it before now.
The moment he realised he had a different upbringing to everyone else, and what it is like to look at the sidelines and see other people's parents.
The your mum joke at school, and what that lands like when yours has died
How gymnastics started by accident, because he had too much energy, and became the way he processed grief without knowing it.
His first European medal, going out unprepared, getting beaten, and saying "we got exactly what we deserved"
Why he calls it one of the best moments of his life and the worst, in the same breath.
The resilience lesson from gymnastics: "you're falling over 99 times to get something a little bit better on the 100th"
What pressure does to a child, and why the kids who find it easy early are often the first to quit.
Being spotted by Roddy, the trials, and driving down in a day to audition for Gladiators.
The final, doubting himself against a faster opponent, and winning anyway
Starting a YouTube channel scared of what people would think, paying a mate to film the first one, and promising himself five years no matter what
Comparison, the highlight reel, and why it has never been easier to feel behind
"Becoming is better than being"
What he would say to two year old Joe, and to 23 year old Joe on the day he won
Tom has talked before about losing his brother Liam, and there is a lot in this conversation that will sound familiar to anyone who has lost someone early: the way grief quietly shapes the person you turn into, and how long it takes before you can talk about it without flinching. If you have been through something similar, this one is worth your time.
A genuinely honest conversation about grief, resilience, mental health, family, and what adversity actually does to you when you grow up inside it.
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