Professor Green - How To Overcome Life’s Hardest Challenges & Find A Purpose

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May 10, 2021

In this engaging conversation, Professor Green, also known as Stephen Manderson, reflects on his tumultuous upbringing and the challenges he has faced, including the traumatic loss of his father and a near-fatal stabbing. He delves into the importance of personal growth, mental health, and resilience, emphasizing the need for meaningful communication and boundary-setting in relationships. Additionally, he shares insights on gut health and the role of creativity in managing his business, advocating for authenticity and the pursuit of genuine passions amidst life's complexities.

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ANECDOTE

Formative Years

Stephen Manderson's upbringing significantly shaped him, more through cumulative experiences than isolated incidents.
Living with his great-grandmother fostered his love for learning, while family financial struggles and arguments caused him anxiety.

ANECDOTE

Bellyaches and the Gut-Brain Connection

Manderson's childhood stomach aches, initially attributed to a physical condition, were later diagnosed as anxiety and IBS.
This highlighted the connection between gut and brain health, influencing his later entrepreneurial ventures.

INSIGHT

Self-Awareness and Unlearning

Manderson realized the importance of self-awareness and addressing personal issues to avoid projecting problems onto others.
Unlearning ingrained behaviors and understanding insecurities are crucial steps in personal growth.

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We all know Professor Green aka Stephen Manderson for his multiple chart topping songs throughout the years but there is so much behind each and every track inspired by his rocky upbringing, to say he has faced and overcome adversity to reach where he is would be a real understatement.

He was born and raised in Hackney, growing up on one of the most notoriously troubled council estates at the time. He has won a number of personal battles ranging from health trauma and poverty to parental abandonment. Stephen's mother gave birth to him at 16 years old and left him and the home when he was just one year old. His father was absent for the vast majority of the time, leaving Stephen troubled and alienated. He was raised by his nan Pat.

Stephen was stabbed in the neck in a near fatal attack with a broken glass bottle in a Shoreditch nightclub when he was 26. Convinced that he would die, he fled the club in shock and phoned both his mother and grandmother to say 'goodbye'.

In 2008, Stephen tragically lost his father to suicide by hanging. He opened up on this is in his pivotal documentary 'Suicide and Me' released in 2015 for BBC III. They had had a difficult relationship prior and only occasional contact - he had not seen him face to face for six years before to having to identify his body, and his last words to his father had followed a bitter argument.

In 2017, Stephen had a major health crisis and ended up with “a paralysed stomach”, totally unable to digest food. He managed to heal himself in large part through his own research and combinations of gut/balancing products. Since identifying a gap in the market for similar solutions through his own health battle, he has converted that newfound knowledge and research into co-founding liquid supplement company Aguulp, its product range receiving rave reviews so far.

Stephen is incredibly level-headed and self aware despite treading such a rocky path. His constant battle with mental health both personally and within the family has created a mindset that is very unique and this conversation is one that I think everyone needs to hear.

Stephen:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/professorgreen

Twitter - https://twitter.com/professorgreen

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https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo

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