224: Career Conversations: The man elite athletes turn to for nutrition advice

"I used to struggle at university," Dr James Morehen says. "I really had to put the effort in if I wanted to get a good grade."

James says that struggle remained part of his studies through his undergraduate degree, his Masters and his PhD.

"I had to re-sit a module during my Masters," he tells Elisa Roche in the latest in our Career Conversations series. But he says that was when he knew he had to show some resilience and prove himself.

He certainly has done that.

As well as completing his PhD, James has worked with some of the world's top athletes, including the England Women's football team and West Ham United.

He is currently working as the Performance Nutritionist at the rugby union side, the Bristol Bears.

And those early struggles during his studies must seem like a distant memory now, as he has recently released a book "The Performance Nutritionist".

In this episode, James sets out the main differences between what he does for a living and what other nutritionists do, as well as giving advice on the best way to follow his career path.

Listen on to find out how James set about embarking on his incredible career, the importance he places on a "no d*ckhead" policy, and how something called the Dunning-Kruger effect left him standing in an empty room instead of a sold-out seminar.

Dr James Morehen, Performance Nutritionist

James currently works with professional, elite-level athletes and global organisations. 

Alongside this, he is passionate about supporting individual athletes and clients with their own nutrition, exercise and performance goals.

James has spent 9 years in higher education obtaining a BSc in Sport Science, MSc in Sports Physiology and PhD in Sports Nutrition all from the very well-respected Research Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences from Liverpool John Moores University.