Started during the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m Fine is a health and fitness podcast here to help you feel less alone in the madness that is 2020. After training together a few times a week, friends Damo and Mark sit down to chat about wellbeing, fitness, sports, conspiracy, and whatever else is on their minds. They are very open with one another, facing the stereotype of men not sharing their feelings head-on while exploring meditation, stress, aging, and more. Exchanges can be rambling, with episodes upwards of 50 minutes long, but they are a great pair to keep listeners company. 

As Damo and Mark say, “We’re all a work in progress and this podcast is no exception.” They strive to be the best versions of themselves, resulting in wonderful and deep conversations listeners can learn from. Their voices can be hard to hear, so make sure to get comfy, settle in, and turn your speakers up!

We were fortunate to talk with Damo Connop about the podcast, how they differentiate from other podcasts, and their future plans in podcasting. See below for our full Q&A.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Podchaser

DISCOVER PODS: How’d you get into podcasting?

CONNOP: I’m a digital media professional and musician so have always been interested in anything audio. Mark’s got plenty of ideas and stories so thought we’d have a crack at putting something together ourselves rather than just talking about it. Our first episode was our first attempt and actually the first time since we’d known each other that we’d sat down and had a one-to-one chat!

DISCOVER PODS: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to I’m Fine?

CONNOP: We both experience various forms of mental health and wellbeing challenges and have some opinions about them and how the world around us perceives them. Mark’s lot further down the line than me in terms of self-discovery so we’ve got different angles on many shared life experiences. The biggest thing we have learned is that we’re not alone in our challenges and how amazing it feels to realise that many others are in similar situations. Sharing experiences in a respectful, humble and light-hearted way is at the heart of the podcast in the hope that we can connect and have JUST ONE person feel like they’re not alone.

DISCOVER PODS: What kind of feedback have you heard from your listeners?

CONNOP: It’s actually been a real mix but the most common is perhaps that our vibe has been so relaxing that people have been using us to go to sleep!! We’ve actually taken that as a huge compliment as we wanted to be the opposite of some of the more energetic and “shock-jock” radio-style podcasts out there. We’ve also found that listeners take very different things away; be that nutritional advice, random facts, nuances of our human body, strength training etc.

DISCOVER PODS: Describe your recording set up? What equipment are you using?

CONNOP: I have some links here: https://anchor.fm/imfinecast/episodes/2-Love-You-To-The-Fridge-And-Back-ej09fh but we use Neewar condenser mics running into a Tascam US-16×08 (a little overkill for this but it’s my drum rig!) and then USB out to Garageband. I knew very quickly that the mastering was going to be key and I have very high production values so made a simple mastering workflow as follows… I take the edited WAV from Garageband and import to Adobe Audition where I have an amplify and de-noise preset running. I also check loudness using a loudness radar to measure LUFS, this has been very useful indeed. My test has been whether I can listen successfully in the car! Then, from there out to MP3 on Anchor.

DISCOVER PODS: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an indie podcaster?

CONNOP: That’s a great question. The biggest one is staying true to what we believe is right no matter what feedback we receive. As I’ve touched on, we have a huge responsibility to our listeners in ensuring we handle sensitive and emotive subjects with the respect they deserve. We appreciate there are so many podcasts talking about similar issues and we don’t want to add to the noise. We genuinely believe we have something to build on but can only do that with the help, guidance and support of our listeners.

DISCOVER PODS: Where do you want to take your podcast?

CONNOP: We are cautiously ambitious of course but we really don’t have any specific targets. We know this is a long burn and we’re willing to put the effort and time into it. We passed 1000 plays today which is a great milestone after just 6 weeks of doing it. We’ll take confidence in that and really drill down on honing our craft over the next few weeks.

DISCOVER PODS: What other podcasts are you listening to now?

CONNOP: We are both loving Sam Harris at the moment along with Phone A Friend, How Do You Cope, The Minimalists and Top Flight Time Machine.

DISCOVER PODS: Anything else you’d like to add?

CONNOP: We’re truly humbled that anyone is listening at all as 2 months ago this was only just a “silly idea”. We’re so glad we took the step and we’re looking forward to seeing where this journey ends. Thanks for the opportunity to write these words!

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