Kirsty Hulse, Founder of Confidence Live. "The things that make me stand out. I got from Stoke"
Welcome to the knot pod. I'm your host, James Routledge. And the knot is the home of good news for Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire. We're on a mission to change the narrative about where we live. And that's why every day, we share with you positive stories, events, things to do, and journalism that all shine a light on what's great about this place we call home.
James Routledge:You can find us online at www.thenot dot news, where you can sign up by email to get curated, no ads, no clickbait news direct to your inbox. On this podcast, we're interviewing inspirational creatives, entrepreneurs, and leaders from across Stoke and Staffordshire. Episodes are out every other Wednesday. And you can watch the entire thing on YouTube too. Before we get into it, I'd like to thank our partners, Dissident Creative Agency and Stone, for recording and producing this podcast.
James Routledge:Duchess China, for providing the great tea sets. And Wandering Bee for providing the candles. I hope you enjoy this episode and join the knot for everything great about Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire. K. Welcome to the Knot Pod.
Kirsty Hulse:I'm excited to be here.
James Routledge:We've just lit the Wandering Bee candle. Yeah. We're about to pour a cup of tea from the Duchess China Alice in Wonderland tea set.
Kirsty Hulse:Yes.
James Routledge:And we're here at Dissident Studios.
Kirsty Hulse:That's amazing.
James Routledge:We're made in Stoke and in Staffordshire. And I've got you, Kirsty Huls on. So thanks for thanks for joining.
James Routledge:I'm excited. I'm actually also very excited for a cup of tea. Shall we pour it? It's a peppermint tea.
Kirsty Hulse:It's excited. I'm actually also very excited for a couple of things.
James Routledge:Shall we, Paulette? Is it peppermint tea? I've warmed the pot and everything like my dad always tells me to do.
Kirsty Hulse:I've got an ice Emma Bridgewater teapot, and it does add a bit of a special moment to your day.
James Routledge:Yeah. It's it's more ceremonial, isn't it?
Kirsty Hulse:It is.
James Routledge:This is what oh, it's kinda oh, that's a good pour.
Kirsty Hulse:Good for your good for your digestion.
James Routledge:Cheers. Perfect. Cheers. Good start to the pod. That's extremely warm.
James Routledge:It's very hot. It's extremely hot.
James Routledge:Wow. That's hot. We both burnt our tongues and ruined the stuff.
Kirsty Hulse:Like 30 degrees. That's the start. Not the weather for us. A refreshing coffee.
James Routledge:It's not the weather for us
Kirsty Hulse:at all. I'm actually beady. No. I'm actually you.
James Routledge:Oh, wow. Like, how long have you been back in this area for now?
Kirsty Hulse:We moved officially about to Stoke on the 28th September. So about yeah. 10 months. That's that's okay.
James Routledge:Okay. So you're you're you're there. Do you call it do you live in Stoke?
Kirsty Hulse:I know. But I call it Stoke because I grew up in Stoke. Yeah. And so in my mind, Stone isn't a separate place because I used to go there as a teenager. But I do live in Stone.
James Routledge:No. I I and I'm not trying to go sort of county lines maths test on you. I just it's it's interesting, isn't it? What, you know, what Stoke, what Staffordshire, what does what does Stoke mean, like, to you, Stoke and Couch Lake? Because it's the same for me.
James Routledge:Like, I grew up in, you know, Mia Heath and Starlington, which are technically in Staffordshire, I think. But
Kirsty Hulse:Oh, really?
James Routledge:Like, if I went to university when I went to university or when I moved to London and someone said, where are you from? Stoke.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. Yeah. And it's interesting. I have found, like and I hate this. But depending on who I talk to, sometimes I'll say Stoke, and then sometimes I'll be like, Staffordshire?
Kirsty Hulse:Because, you know
James Routledge:No. I completely know it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
James Routledge:I noticed that she I was picking up these genuinely picking up these, the the tea the tea set from Duchess China this morning. And some, like and this is this is not just for them, but this happens a lot. Some stuff says made in Staffordshire on the back.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. And
James Routledge:some stuff says made in Stoke on the back. Yeah. And it's like that perception and that brand.
Kirsty Hulse:Yes. Yeah. I used to live in the US, and Starbucks used to have, when you could buy the mugs and stuff, they used to have in the States, they used to have a big sign that said, made in our heritage factory in England. And it used to annoy me every time, like, in England. Okay.
Kirsty Hulse:Sure. Sure.
James Routledge:Yeah. When, when do you say Staffordshire then? And who
Kirsty Hulse:If, like say if I'm working in London, and I'm speaking to someone I wanna get money from, I just find maybe sometimes I because there's something about, like, oh, London and Staffordshire. Like Yeah. Can I swear?
James Routledge:Yes. Please do. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:Like a fucking town and country mouse.
James Routledge:Do you
Kirsty Hulse:know who you those folks. But I think, generally, if I'm speaking socially, I'll say Stoke.
James Routledge:Yeah. Gotcha. Staffordshire feels then maybe it gives you that sort of, like, edge of affluence or, like, status or class or whatever. Yeah. I get that.
James Routledge:I think Staffordshire's got connotations of, you know, greenfields and country estates and, like, manners, hasn't it? And then Stoke's got a whole different edge to it. But then I also like I kinda like shock not shocking people, but I think sometimes people yeah. I don't know. I I like saying, yeah, I'm from Stoke and just seeing I kinda like seeing how people react.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah.
James Routledge:Yeah. I was actually on a stag do recently, and a guy kept telling me how Stoke was a shithole. I hate it. And I was like and and it was funny because I not that I don't he didn't know who he was talking to in that sense, as if I was gonna have a fight with him. But he I don't think he he got my sort of, passion.
James Routledge:But it was just interesting because he's not he wasn't from this era. And he was just there was no real substance to that. I'm not saying I'm not really saying he was right or wrong. It's just that it very much felt like a statement that had been placed in his head from somewhere.
Kirsty Hulse:And I think people think so someone said to me very recently, like a client, quite a senior person I really respected, and he was, like, like a client, quite a senior person I really respected, and he was like, oh, wait. And he's from Nottingham. It's feels kind of a similar place. And he said, where are you from? I said, Stoke.
Kirsty Hulse:And he just, like, went. He's like, oh, Stoke's the worst. And I was like, do you think I've never heard that before? Wow. You know, do you think, like, from the moment I left the city, people haven't been, like, making those comments as if it's the first time anyone said it?
Kirsty Hulse:I find it incredibly tedious.
James Routledge:And that was unsolicited? Completely unsolicited. It's always unsolicited, though, isn't it?
Kirsty Hulse:People think they're being very
James Routledge:What do you think that like? Where do you think that comes from?
Kirsty Hulse:Do you know what? I think my if I was to look at it compassionately, I think it's a person's desire to connect. I think, you know, when you meet a stranger, you're trying to find that common ground. So I think there is a bit of, like like, joking and teasing. I often think it comes from a good place of someone wanting to, like, connect with you, I think.
Kirsty Hulse:But obviously, if you've grown up constantly been told where you grew up as a shithole, it does get very tiring. Because you can't keep telling people where they grew up as a shithole and not internalize you're a bit shit. So I it really frustrates me.
James Routledge:Literally can't live in a shithole or a perceived shithole without feeling like a piece of shit. Like, you you you can't do that. I mean, me and my mates used to say it's a shithole, but it's our shithole.
James Routledge:And that
James Routledge:was like this sentence of of love, really. But I think the the sad part of that is, yeah, on some level, I imagine we'd have all been like, oh, yeah. But we don't necessarily feel great about that.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. I do. And I do I think when people say that stuff, I do think they're just trying to, like, have a bit of friendship banter.
James Routledge:It's a bit of banter, isn't it? And and maybe where they're from, they think, is a bit of a chisel
Kirsty Hulse:as well. Exactly.
James Routledge:So they think it's okay to say it. When you were where did you grow up here? Just so we get into we love the details. You know what people are like from this and Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:Meer Park.
James Routledge:You don't have to think of street name and number. That would be strange.
Kirsty Hulse:The moment dad still
James Routledge:lived there. Yeah. But people love the details. So Meer Park. And then you went to school, Blythe Bridge Blythe High.
James Routledge:From Blythe High. That's it. What was your perception, like, of the place growing up? Because, obviously, you don't know any different.
Kirsty Hulse:I growing up, I've learned a whole different side of the place since I moved back. Like, growing up, we never went to, like, Bollaston Downs, or we didn't do any of the walks. Or so it was very much like I'd get the number 6 bus up to Hanley in Longton over the weekend.
James Routledge:Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And that was it. That was my life. And I think my perception I it's hard to say because I think it was all I ever knew. Right? So I think it was I had this sense that I wanted a career.
Kirsty Hulse:And I when I was a teenager, I wanted to be an actress for, like, a hot minute. And I started it's like, who hasn't? And then I was about 15, and I went to stage school, and they told me that I if I had any chance of making it as an actress, I'd have to change my accent. And I think that's when I started being like, oh, because I was proper like Connor Donna Warner, really, like, pottery's dialect. And so I really started changing it.
Kirsty Hulse:And I think maybe that was the first time I started being like, wait. Is being from here gonna, like, hold me back in any kind of way?
James Routledge:You know, that was the first time you're, oh, this is a disadvantage.
Kirsty Hulse:Yes. I think so.
James Routledge:At 15?
Kirsty Hulse:15.
James Routledge:Yeah. Wow. But but other than that, you were, like, happy. You know what I mean? I'm like yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And again, when you're a teenager, like especially and I do think the place has changed since, you know, the nineties and the early noughties when I was a teenager. I I wasn't a teenager in the nineties, but I was a teenager in the early noughties. And, I mean, then it was you know, places like Longton in particular were really having a rough time. And you'd get the bus and you'd look out. And, again, you knew that it was, like, a bit rough around the edges.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. But I've always liked it as a place. And even, you know, I left and I was not in this city for a long time, but I always felt of it and, like, part of it in a way that I think a lot of other places you don't seem to get such a strong connection to. So I think I growing up, it just it was what I knew. It was all I'd known.
Kirsty Hulse:And I think I knew it was there wasn't anything to do, and we just hung around the streets. Yeah. But I don't think I knew an alternative.
James Routledge:Yeah. And then how did that shift when you did like, when did did you leave? Was it uni? Uni.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I remember the first time I had a courgette at uni.
James Routledge:Yeah. And so
James Routledge:I was that like a vivid memory?
James Routledge:Or It's
Kirsty Hulse:just like
James Routledge:a super vivid memory.
Kirsty Hulse:Because, again, I think that was when I realized that
James Routledge:way, that's the last thing I expected you to say.
Kirsty Hulse:Like, I just remember being, like, 1st week at uni, and someone was like, oh, should we have, like, some pasta with some and courgette? And I was like, what the fuck is pesto? Yeah. And what is a courgette? Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And everybody just knew what it was. And I think, again, then, I was like, oh, wow. Okay. So I've missed stuff. They were like Yeah.
James Routledge:And it
Kirsty Hulse:was just in Tesco, but I it was wasn't in our Tesco. Go.
James Routledge:Yeah. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And so, again, I think it was around then that I was and this is pre Internet, and I think the Internet is a great equalizer culturally.
James Routledge:Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And this is, again, before, really, we had that Internet that set those you know, you didn't have, like, an Instagrammer talking about recipes that are accessible for everyone. Yeah. So at uni, I've really felt quite othered at uni, actually, especially because I was like
James Routledge:What uni did you go to?
Kirsty Hulse:I went to Birmingham, And I just remember, like, people, like, screaming with laughter when I said cookbook.
James Routledge:Yeah. And Yeah. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And everybody that I went to uni with was like, had been to boarding school and private school and stuff. So I felt very different Yeah.
James Routledge:Then. I mean, it it's amazing that, you know, in generations gone by, if you're from a place like Stoke, you wouldn't have gone to well, you wouldn't have gone to uni.
James Routledge:So Yeah.
James Routledge:It's brilliant that we've both had that. But I yeah. Very similar experiences. The accent, I think, at uni, I I realized my accent wasn't the same as other people's. Obviously, I knew other people had different accents.
James Routledge:But for some reason, you know, the Geordie accent, people didn't take the piss out of. The Scouse accent, maybe a little bit. Other accents didn't see I don't know. Whereas I I feel like mine got quite a lot of attention.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. You
James Routledge:know, book or the big one for me was, smile, Bally.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. Dally.
James Routledge:Malon. Like, I'm I never forget, like, being on pre drinks or something else. Like, oh, should we buy this melon, lads? I'm like, I just got absolutely
Kirsty Hulse:no idea. You and the lads buy a lot of melons.
James Routledge:I can't remember. Or I had a mate that was actually called that was called Elliot. I couldn't say his name. I actually he kept saying to me, you're saying my name wrong. And I was like, no, I'm not.
James Routledge:And he was like, it's my name.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. My friend, Eleanor, is like, you're calling me Al, like a man's name,
James Routledge:so I
Kirsty Hulse:can't even hear it. Okay. The big one that I got, taking the piss out of thought, was okay. I'm not gonna say, how do you say the word that's like a test that begins with an e?
James Routledge:Yeah. Well, I know this now. Exam. Exam. Yeah.
James Routledge:I I I think it's hard now for me to sort of reflect on my accent because I think it's been chipped away and changed
Kirsty Hulse:so much.
James Routledge:But at uni, I got slammed for that as well. Eggs, hams, eggs and hams. You know?
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. That was the first time I was like, wait. That's just how you say it. Yeah.
James Routledge:I can remember trying to get a book out of the library and being like, can I get a book out, mate? And, like, I just had to talk. And then eventually, I was like, oh, I see. So, yeah, I could I could, yeah, I could feel, I could feel that. And then what happened after that?
James Routledge:Like, did you did you did that make you wanna, like, hold on to that, like, stoke identity more? Or yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:Did you No. I would love to say I wish it had. Yeah. But I ran from it. I changed my accent Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:Quite dramatically. And but that wasn't conscious so much. It just happened. I think, you know, when your my loop boog and coop dropped pretty quick. And then I moved to London, and I I always had a, I guess, a sense of pride from being from Stoke.
Kirsty Hulse:But I really a lot of my I was always very ambitious, especially in my twenties. And I think I was, like, running away from what I thought this place stood for.
James Routledge:I
Kirsty Hulse:think I was running away from a lot of, like, what I'd associated with my background here.
James Routledge:And what is that from a from a career ambition perspective? How do those 2 play out
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah.
James Routledge:For you?
Kirsty Hulse:I think I'd learned along the lines that money is difficult, and money is hard, and bad people have money. Yeah. And I think that's a belief that a lot of people in working class towns, any working class towns have. The salt of the earth, we're a grafter, money is for knobheads. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And so I I was really trying to shed that because I wanted to be successful. I wanted to have a good career. And I think I'd learned some, like, weird traits about money and also behaviors. I think I wanted to be healthy, like, emotionally and physically healthy. That had never necessarily been modeled to me that well here.
Kirsty Hulse:And so I think I just was, like, really trying to, you know, move away from where I grew up Yeah. In quite in quite, like, a strong way.
James Routledge:Yeah. Yeah. And not you're, like, absolutely not alone in that. But, you know, I think I did that on loads of levels, and I would not just know of loads of people that did that. Like, you can literally see it, you know, if you think of that the the sort of brain drain or the the loss of young people from this area.
James Routledge:I think a lot of people I used to always see it in I don't know. When I moved to London, like, there was people I went to school with that maybe in, like, the year above me or in my year, or I just knew of them. And I knew they were in London when I was there. And I just I don't know. It's like I kind of I I knew that they weren't telling people where they were from.
James Routledge:I could just sense it. Do you know what I mean? I'm not trying to, like, shit on anyone. But I could just feel it and, like, hide in a part of who you are. It's shame, basically.
Kirsty Hulse:Well, I think I learned and I don't think I learned. I think I was told, often quite explicitly, that I wouldn't be taken seriously Yeah. Unless I change my accent, change my humor. There is a a good humor in Stokes that you just don't get anywhere else.
James Routledge:Extremely sarcastic. Extremely sarco and it's
Kirsty Hulse:so and I love it. And it's Yeah. And you have to
James Routledge:Very quick.
Kirsty Hulse:It's quick. Yeah. It's sarcastic. It's self deprecating.
James Routledge:Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:There's no formality. Yeah. I remember when I first left Stoke and somebody tried to shake my hand, I was like, fuck is that? Yeah. Like, what are you there's none of those that, like
James Routledge:No. It's yeah. There's there's less barrier.
Kirsty Hulse:And the thing that actually made me the word that popped into my head was remarkable, so we'll go with it. But the thing that made me, like, stand out professionally was all of those attributes I've got from Stoke. That, like, a, working hard, b, being there's a I think there's a bit of a confidence in this city. And there's a lot of, like, stuff around, like, money and things, but I do think there's a bit of, like, oh, fuck it. I am who I am.
James Routledge:Yeah. There's a great bit of that Yeah. Here, which Take me or leave me.
Kirsty Hulse:Take me or leave me. Yeah. And I think a lot of people are like that here, which I really respect. And so I think a lot of what really made me who I am, my warmth, my ability to chat to people, I learned that here. And that's very, characteristic Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:Of this city, for sure.
James Routledge:You were almost just running away from its perception. And some are maybe the some of them maybe stories, by the sounds of it, that you felt like you picked up around, yeah, ambition or money or what you could go on to achieve?
Kirsty Hulse:And happiness. Mhmm. You know, it was a tough time. Like, the nineties in particular, everybody had been made redundant. People were struggling.
Kirsty Hulse:Families were struggling. I I wasn't surrounded, I don't think many of us were during those years, by, like, much ease or happiness. A lot of people were struggling. And I think I was like, life here is a struggle.
James Routledge:Yeah. Because it's well I was definitely protected from that, I think, in my, like, little bubble of that my mom and dad created for me. But I think I felt that I felt that. I basically felt that on nights out. Like, or or on buses.
James Routledge:Like, if I would get the bus, the 6 or the 6 a, into Hanley through Longton Bus Station, that's where I think I would pick up, like, just a a, yeah, like a a it's what has become deprivation. I don't know if it necessarily was then. But just a a downtrodden, like a lack of like, almost this defeated feeling. And I would I would pick that up. I would especially pick it up, you know, if I was on a night owl and the way just the anger that used to come out on nights out.
James Routledge:Like, you could never go out and handle it and not see a fight. There was just always anger or fighting or just just yeah. Just there was just anger. Like, people were angry. They they must have been picking up from somewhere in terms of, like, a lack of hope and not similar to you.
James Routledge:That's why I just wanted to to to do one, just get away as quickly as possible. And what did what did what was your because you've mentioned a couple of times, like, oh, I was ambitious or, like, you know, I yeah. You what were you ambitious in, basically? Or were you just ambitious?
Kirsty Hulse:I think I was just ambitious. And I've got a big family, and I think that's quite I've got 4 older brothers, and I'm the youngest. And so I think that does create a really you know, when I was little having 4 older brothers, and then they were like teenagers, just like lads, like teenager lads. I'm about 3.
James Routledge:Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And I I I had to fight to be seen and heard and often even fed. Like, if I wasn't, like, genuinely doing something hilarious and funny, they'd just eat my food. And so that's what boys are like. That's what brothers are like. And so especially if I had, like, a pack of them.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. And so I think I just I I developed early this, like, hunger. And I also think maybe I think every single person in the world is born with a seed of something in them that they want to express. I think that's true for everyone. And I think it's how, like, buried that seed gets.
Kirsty Hulse:But everyone's got a dream. Everyone, every single person, and some people have an easier access it access to it than other people. And so I think I just always felt this elusive sense of, like, I want to do
James Routledge:some something. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. And I'm still I I still don't know exactly what that is, but this sense of, like, I want to, yeah, have impact, and I want to create.
James Routledge:Mhmm.
Kirsty Hulse:I didn't have those words then, but it it and and I think I was fortunate in that my parents were quite unconventional in many ways. And one of the ways that were very unconventional, I'm very grateful for, is they never forced any, like, academic rigor on me. I think they did on maybe my older siblings, but, you know, you've had 5 kids. By the time it comes to 5th, they sent their cards. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:We wish you well. So they were very much like, just if you enjoy it, do it, and if you don't, don't. So I was given a lot of, like, creative expression and freedom to, like, explore different things. I was never told to, like, do your homework, go to uni. I could do whatever I wanted.
James Routledge:Yeah. Do did you have role models for that growing up? Like, were there people that you looked to and thought, I wanna be like them or people that opened doors for you, even just in your mind?
Kirsty Hulse:My brothers, for sure. And they like, my middle brother, Kieran, he went to Oxford. No one in my school had ever, maybe like one person, had ever been to Oxford. It was this, big deal. You know, my my eldest brother was the first person in my whole family ever to go to uni.
Kirsty Hulse:Wow. So I think my brother's set a precedent. Yeah. And so, you know, one of my brothers now is, like, a judge. Like, we've all done interesting cool things.
Kirsty Hulse:I don't know how, but I think when you have that many people, you kind of, like, create an energy together. Yeah. And, and there wasn't we're all different enough that there wasn't a rivalry. We're all quite different. There's a solid age gap.
Kirsty Hulse:So there wasn't a rivalry, but there was a, oh, if they can do it, I can do it.
James Routledge:Yeah. It's it's cool to hear that because I think sometimes in families, you hear of you sometimes hear families keeping each other small. You know, like, kind of maybe vying for attention in certain ways Yeah. Or, like, getting jealous of 1 or the other. And maybe that's there.
James Routledge:I don't know. But it sounds like you've, yeah, you've you've inspired one another.
Kirsty Hulse:I think so. My mom, you know, my granddad was down the pits. My mom grew up in, I guess, what you'd call poverty poverty. And I think she just really wanted to just create something else. So my parents were like grafters, worked really, really hard to try and, like, create that kind of not even necessarily opportunities, but to create that that sense of hope, that sense of, like, you know, you can do whatever you want.
James Routledge:Yeah. Yeah. And it sounds like you felt that. And even with such an amazing platform, even then, it sounds like you then picked up though on some of the limitations and the sort of glass ceiling perhaps of just the wider area or the judgment from elsewhere. You know?
James Routledge:Like, you go to uni and your accent gets taken the piss out of that, and it's gonna knock your confidence in some way, or just feel like another barrier. Or, yeah. How else did that start to show up, like, just when you went into work?
Kirsty Hulse:Oh my god. I remember I went at a meeting with, like, a, like, a management consultancy. So everyone who goes there pretty much, like, went to public schools. It's a very elitist
James Routledge:What was it? Was this an interview? Or
Kirsty Hulse:No. It was when so I used to run a marketing agency, and I was pitching for some work from them.
James Routledge:Got you.
Kirsty Hulse:And at the time, I was still fairly young, not that age matters, but I think I looked young. Yeah. So I think people were judging me.
James Routledge:And you've jumped into on you've jumped into your own business at this point?
Kirsty Hulse:Jumped in. Yeah. Like, headfirst, jumped in, and went to this kind of pitch, like a pitch for some work, started speaking. And one of them and I'm not gonna mimic the accent, but you know what I mean. One of them, like, leant back in his chair, crossed his arms, and he's like, I'm sorry.
Kirsty Hulse:I have no idea what you're saying. And at that point, my accent was it was like this. You know?
James Routledge:It wasn't
Kirsty Hulse:strong. I was maybe speaking a bit fast because I was maybe a bit nervous, and I think maybe it can get a bit stronger then, but and it wasn't. It was just this total and utter dismissal based on class. Yeah. And I felt a lot and, again, I I wouldn't say that I'm working class.
Kirsty Hulse:My dad was an accountant. Yeah. But I would definitely say that I people assume, and I think there are rooms that I've never been given access to and that I've been, like, shut out from. I think I think people think that there aren't class barriers, and I think for most of us, there aren't. But I think when you get to a certain level, like, it it's it's very, very, very apparent.
James Routledge:Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And it made me really mad. And I think I've been angry about it ever since, and I think that's what's driven a lot of my, like, fuck you, which has been a lot of my ambition.
James Routledge:So it's just a total because it's not just I can't that that sentence of I don't I can't understand what you're saying. Sounds like there was more than that in that interaction. Yes. Someone could politely say maybe, like, could you slow down? I'm struggling to understand you.
James Routledge:You know what I mean? That might be very different, but it sounds like it wasn't it wasn't really about that. I'm assuming you didn't get you didn't win the the contracts.
Kirsty Hulse:In the end, we did, actually. Oh, right. Yeah. Only yeah. Only because I was, like, just, like, went back, kicked off.
Kirsty Hulse:I was pretty tenacious. Yeah. Yeah. But I think there is I've definitely felt for me, it's not it's not about necessarily being from Stoke. It's about being from any, like, regional town or any post industrial town
James Routledge:Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:Where you are a lot of the things that structures that are put in place, especially in careers, like the formality, the, you know, when you say to people, be professional, you're kind of telling people to be like a middle class man.
James Routledge:Yeah. Be something you're not.
Kirsty Hulse:Be something else. Yeah. Sound like a whereas, actually, I think a lot of this idea of, like, what it means to be professional is just elitist Mhmm. And classist. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And I hate it.
James Routledge:Yeah. And then tell us then because you've you've dived into starting your own thing.
Kirsty Hulse:Mhmm.
James Routledge:It doesn't sound like you have any you know, you've not got an uncult that was running, like, a big business. You know what I mean? I'm guessing there weren't, like, entrepreneurial role models. No. I'm having a bit more tea.
James Routledge:I'd go for more tea. We're loving the tea. I mix so hot. I don't think I can drink more tea. But it actually poured me another one because it's just fun, isn't it?
James Routledge:Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I think we should. Yeah.
James Routledge:Like, how did you end up getting into to business? Like, how did you end up starting your own business?
Kirsty Hulse:So I was working in digital marketing. And, again, I just, I I I graduated 2,008. I did a philosophy degree. I mean, what's anyone doing with that? Peak of recession, couldn't get a job, working in sales, did door to door selling Empower around, like, the arse of the Stoke, round Chelten, door to door for commission only.
Kirsty Hulse:Did it for 6 months, made a 100 quid. I was bad at it. I used to just go in and chat to older people. Yeah.
James Routledge:That's a bad rate of return, isn't it,
James Routledge:for 6 months?
Kirsty Hulse:But I'm
James Routledge:so I'm sorry, but
Kirsty Hulse:it's not the best. And I accrued a lot of debt because
James Routledge:Oh, okay.
Kirsty Hulse:In those kind of commission only roles, they're like, you know, you're just a few yeses away from making loads. I was young, and I didn't you know? So accrued loads of debt and then ended up working in digital marketing. Just a really nice man gave me a chance, like, just saw that maybe I would work hard.
James Routledge:And where was that job then?
Kirsty Hulse:That was in Leeds. So I moved up to Leeds after uni. Don't really know why, but, yes, I moved up to Leeds, worked in digital marketing, and just kind of, like, found a rhythm. It was a new industry. And so I just got good at it pretty quick, and I got invited to speak at lots of conferences.
Kirsty Hulse:And then a friend of mine was the, like, global head of digital for Virgin Atlantic, and he was like, Kirsty, we need a new agency. Who should we use? And I was like, honestly, like, not many agencies are that good at the moment. And then he was like, look, set up an agency, come in to pitch. Mhmm.
Kirsty Hulse:And I'm I cannot say no. Like, I can't and so when he said that, I was like, fine. So went in to pitch for a, like, global digital marketing contract with Virgin Atlantic. We didn't have anything. We didn't have a website.
Kirsty Hulse:I didn't have a team.
James Routledge:Yeah. It was just you.
Kirsty Hulse:It was just me. It was literally just me. And just before I went in, there was all these other really big agencies, established businesses, like, super slick. And I called my mom, and I was crying in the stairwell. And I was like, Val I call her Val.
Kirsty Hulse:That's her name. And I was like, Val, I can't do this. And she's like, doc, you just gotta live life for the anecdote, aren't you? And so I was like, yeah, actually. I'll just do it because it'll just be a good story.
Kirsty Hulse:I mean,
James Routledge:that's a phenomenal line.
Kirsty Hulse:I know. Is that
James Routledge:one of her lines?
Kirsty Hulse:So, like, she has these lines. That's brilliant. Yeah. I live life behind those. And so she said that to me.
Kirsty Hulse:I went in, and I won it. I won the contract. And so then, suddenly, I was like, right. Okay. So I've got a my my first ever client in business is Virgin Atlantic.
Kirsty Hulse:Gotta figure out how to make this work, and then I figured out how to make it work.
James Routledge:That's the most lovely conversation with your mom. Yeah. That is actually, like, I don't know. That just feels like that sums up everything. It's made me emotional, weirdly.
James Routledge:I just feel like I just think I know that love. Like, I think that is, like, that's a very typical, like, motherly, maternal, lovely stoke woman. I've not met your mom. But I just think that, like, that support
James Routledge:Mhmm.
James Routledge:Yeah. I just think that's I think that's that's really nice. Yeah. I could imagine how that would give you a lot of freedom.
Kirsty Hulse:A lot of freedom.
James Routledge:She
Kirsty Hulse:taught me how to run a good sit in protest when I was a kid. Yeah. She's, like, naughty. She's a naughty woman. She kicks off a lot.
Kirsty Hulse:So, yeah, so I think I was given that, like especially as a as a girl in a family of boys, because it could have been very easy for me to feel different. Yeah. Very easy. But if anything, I think I was given a bit more you can do anything than my brothers. I think my brothers were a bit more, had a bit more discipline perhaps than I did.
Kirsty Hulse:But I think that I think my parents were very mindful to try and not make me feel like a girl and different somehow. Yeah. But, yes, that's how I got into business.
James Routledge:Yeah. I love that. Live what is it?
Kirsty Hulse:Live life for the anecdotes.
James Routledge:Yeah. That's cool. I like that. And then when and then that business journey, like yeah. How because we could we could be talking on a podcast that's just about business.
Kirsty Hulse:Mhmm.
James Routledge:And that'd be a whole story in itself of, like, what it's like starting something up, and it's hard and and whatever. Where were you doing that from, for a start?
Kirsty Hulse:I was in London.
James Routledge:Okay. So you've moved down to London. Yep. You're running a business. Yep.
James Routledge:How old?
Kirsty Hulse:I was 26.
James Routledge:So you're young? Young. Yep. How how how are you? Do you like, how are you doing?
James Routledge:Like, are you all over the place? Are you loving it? Are you not even thinking? Oh, god. I was
Kirsty Hulse:I didn't know myself very well. I didn't have much emotional maturity, and the business grew pretty fast. And we ended up with a team, and I was, like, traveling a lot, and it was, like, really good for my, like, ego. You know? Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:I was like I felt like hot shit. And I was like, yeah. This is amazing. I'm doing it. But I was actually quite, like, deeply sad, and I think that happens to a lot of people who move quickly through life.
James Routledge:Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And I got I I was bored. And I think, yeah, I was alright, but then I, married a man I'd met in a bar in California, like, 2 2 months after meeting him. Just
James Routledge:take it a turn.
Kirsty Hulse:Because I I basically went to California, went to, like, a blues bar, met someone, married him 2 months later.
James Routledge:Wow. Okay. Because I've I'm just processing that one.
James Routledge:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:Like, had to ring my family and was like, hi. Yeah. I'm married.
James Routledge:Because Proper like, like, you got married.
Kirsty Hulse:Got married.
James Routledge:For a while,
Kirsty Hulse:I got married. Yeah. Didn't know the guy. Totally in secret. And I
James Routledge:think that is How old were you when you got married? 27. Wow. Okay. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. I think. Yeah. And I think that is just an indication of, like, where I was. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:I was, like, bored. And I looked I wanted a change. I wanted something different.
James Routledge:Searching for something?
Kirsty Hulse:I was searching for something. I I was searching for home, you know, and I really liked the US. And I I was searching for a home. I was searching for, like, connection, and and he was the same. I think he was on a similar journey.
Kirsty Hulse:You know, 2 people don't just, like, randomly get married.
James Routledge:No. There's there's and I suppose, you know, you you've left home. You've left Stoke. You've been searching for how to, like, sort of fulfill your desire, like, your ambition or whatever that is. You found a bit of that through business, I'm guessing, if, like because this is similar for me as well.
James Routledge:But it's, if like, because this is similar for me as well. But it sounds like there was still more missing, and it's like maybe marrying you know, getting married and moving to California was the answer. I I think that's totally understandable. To be fair, 2 months is pretty like, that's obviously very unique, but I actually completely understand how you do that.
Kirsty Hulse:I can so get the headspace of it. Like and it was it was fun. It was an adventure. It was new. And, you know, I say I spent a lot of my time running away.
Kirsty Hulse:I remember, you know, going to meet his family in, like, Laguna Beach, Southern California, stunning. And then his family came to Stoke to meet mine. And I remember I put something on Facebook, like, look at how different these worlds are or something. And it was just so this, like, I'm trying to run away. I'm trying to run away.
Kirsty Hulse:Look at how far I've ran. You know, that kind of,
James Routledge:You're trying to glow. I don't know if that's harsh, but, like, you're trying to, like, almost send this message, like, look how well I'm doing. Yeah. Look how different this is now.
Kirsty Hulse:Something like that. Yeah. For sure. For sure. Percent.
Kirsty Hulse:And I think, really, I I just didn't know myself. So what I was seeking actually and it sounds a bit corny, but it's true. I was just seeking a connection to myself. Yeah. Because I'd never taken the time to be like, who are you, Kirsty?
Kirsty Hulse:Like, what do you want? I'd just been like, go go go go go go go go go go. Like, work and perform. Like, I use the word perform a lot, especially in my line of work now. And, you know, growing up in a big family, I really learned, like, if I can make people laugh, then, like, good shit
James Routledge:will happen.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. And so I'd always just, like, gone, gone,
James Routledge:gone, done that. Because you'd already stretched your world quite a lot. Your world's already stretched by starting a business and moving to London. And then you've like, that's a hue that's an even deepest, like, bigger stretch of California, whole different level of, like, wealth and Yeah. Status, and obviously another country, different culture.
James Routledge:Yeah. How did that one, how did the wedding go? Like, did they like, how did that happen? Like, when they came over, like, how was that?
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. So I basically got married, then rang my mom, and I was like, I've got married. Yeah. And my mom was like, you are my only daughter, you little prick. You are giving me a wedding.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. So then we had a wedding at the upper house in Barleston.
James Routledge:All the and all the Californian family came out there.
Kirsty Hulse:Came out. It was weird. You know? It was it was weird. It was a bunch of people going, oh my god.
Kirsty Hulse:What has happened? Yeah. Like, people trying to be like, congratulations. Congratulations. It was chaotic.
Kirsty Hulse:And and I do you know what? I often think, like, oh my god. If I could speak to that 27 year old version of me now, I would be like, do it. That was so fun and weird. Like, definitely don't not do
James Routledge:that. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:A lot of people are like, god. That was a mistake. No. It wasn't. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:It was a mistake on paper. Yeah. It was expensive. It caused me a lot of emotional turmoil and a lot of chaos. But it was like a really important chapter of my life because I I think that's when I really started to sit down and ask myself some of the bigger questions.
Kirsty Hulse:Who am I? What do I want? What do I want to create? And if I hadn't found I do think that life has a way of making sure you get on a path, and I think this was the way that both he and I actually ended up on a path that was ultimately much more positive for us. But yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:So it was just a wild ride. And I'm really glad, you know, if you're gonna do something mad like that, do it in your twenties.
James Routledge:Yeah. I mean, that that's an anecdote, isn't it? Live life, man. That's a that's a strong anecdote. And we do you do have to I think sometimes, like, you've gotta go quite far to learn a lot about yourself.
James Routledge:You've gotta do a lot of exploration. Maybe some people don't need that. Others do. Like, you clearly needed to go literally to California Yeah. To, like, explore the the depths of who you are, which is that just shows how much you've got about you.
James Routledge:You know what I mean? Really.
Kirsty Hulse:Thank you.
James Routledge:Yeah. I I think. Anyway, it shows you the range you've got because not many people would do that. Oh, there's some serious range in that.
Kirsty Hulse:She's got range.
James Routledge:And then, like because now I mean, punchline is now you live in stone. Yeah. So how has that happened?
Kirsty Hulse:Honestly, what a journey. And
James Routledge:then From from California Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah, to stone. So that's a famous California Yeah. Stone. I
James Routledge:Transatlantic route is yeah. There's
Kirsty Hulse:yeah. So International hub. Yeah. I never, honestly, never expected that I would find myself here. But then I was, a couple of years ago, just got this, like, sense that I wanted to, like, create something, but I didn't know what it was.
Kirsty Hulse:But I found, like, whenever I would go to watch some stand up or or I'd go to, like, a show or something, I'd walk into the theater, and I'd be like, is this the place?
James Routledge:But I
Kirsty Hulse:didn't know what I was what question I was asking. I think often I'll move through life quite intuitively. I'll just, like, that feels interesting. Well, that feels interesting. And then my auntie Marilyn runs a dance school.
Kirsty Hulse:Marilyn Jones dance school.
James Routledge:Okay. Yep.
Kirsty Hulse:And, so I I danced forever, and every year they do something called Showtime cracking. And, I just saw her put on Facebook, like, oh, can't wait for Showtime next year. It's at this venue. And it just suddenly I just saw it, and I was like, oh my god. I I wanna run an event in Stoke.
Kirsty Hulse:I wanna run a conference in Stoke. And so then I started confidence live. I'd been working in, like, the confidence space for a few years, and I bought the domain confidence live, like, 3 years before. Yeah. Don't know why.
Kirsty Hulse:And it sat there, and I was like, oh my god. I'm gonna run a big conference called Confidence Live, and it's gonna be in Stoke. Decided to do it at the Kings Hall. And so I started organizing this. I don't know why.
Kirsty Hulse:I don't know
James Routledge:So, genuinely, at this point, you don't really you just follow an urge. There's no, like, other business reason to start a a conference, really. No. Because at this point, you're not running the digital marketing agency anymore. And you're a tray is that how you would A trainer.
James Routledge:Yeah. You're a trainer. You're doing public speaking training, conference training, working in businesses, and also sharing brilliant videos on on social media from my perspective. And you've had just a creative urge. And what what because there's a creative urge to do a conference, but it sounds like there's also a creative urge to do it in Stoke though as well.
Kirsty Hulse:It was the Stoke that was the driver. Yeah.
James Routledge:That almost feels like a bigger drive somehow.
Kirsty Hulse:I think it was. It was the and I'd always had this subtly somewhere. I remember when I started my digital agency, I researched quite heavily about making it a social enterprise and moving it up to stoke. So it always had a bit of a I'd I'd done alright in business the past few years. I think my industry had a post pandemic boom.
Kirsty Hulse:Like, it really just blew up Yeah. After the pandemic. So I think I'd done alright. I think, like, I felt I had a little bit of money, and I just really wanted to give it back to the community that that gave me so much. Yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:And so I was just I wanna do something in soak. So I started doing in soak, met you, met loads of really interesting people, was, like, blown away Yeah. By the grit and the spirit and the entrepreneurship and the cool shit that's happening here. And then I just one day, I came up for my birthday last year
James Routledge:Mhmm.
Kirsty Hulse:To go to Alton Towers. Brilliant. Saw this property on the market and just the moment and I was like, that's it. That's where that's where I wanna live.
James Routledge:Wow.
Kirsty Hulse:And so then moved up.
James Routledge:And now, yeah, and now in the present, now you live, you know, you live back in this area. You've done you've done Confidence Life 2 2 years in a row.
Kirsty Hulse:2 years in a row.
James Routledge:3rd year is happening?
James Routledge:Is that
Kirsty Hulse:3rd year is happening in a big way.
James Routledge:So 3rd year is happening in a big way. So you're going deeper in into it, actually. Mhmm. And, I mean, I remember when I I went to Confidence Life in fact, I spoke of Confidence Life that first year you did it. And I I my head was rolling off my shoulders because it was it's a genuine I'm not just saying this because you're here.
James Routledge:It's a fantastic event wherever it is in the world. It really is. It's it's full of life and diversity, and I think it is genuinely confidence in the way that confidence actually is. Not this, like, you know, work harder kind of confidence. Yeah.
James Routledge:So it's all it just touches all the right notes, right, for for me at least anyway. And I remember I went, and I was I was like, wow. This is this is epic. And then it felt amazing to walk out and, like, get to Stoke train station. And for me, I got the train back to stone.
James Routledge:I was like, I'm doing that here. And it just for me, I was like, I feel even more powerful because I was like, Kirsty's bringing cool people to this area. She's putting something on that's kind of is progressive
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah.
James Routledge:In this area. I'm like, yeah. This is what this is what I want here. So I was absolutely buzzing. And then, obviously, I was I I came down a little a little bit at the last one, and same energy.
James Routledge:You can just feel it. So, I think it may personally, the edge is even stronger being being in a place that, if we're honest, is critically underconfident Mhmm. I I would say.
Kirsty Hulse:And I actually don't think I could do it outside of Stoke. So, for example, you know, we had Katherine Ryan Yeah. The, like, at the top of her career Yeah.
James Routledge:You've had Katherine Ryan and Caitlin Moran last 2 years.
Kirsty Hulse:And I'm speaking next year. I can't say it, but they're amazing. I'm so excited. Yeah. Like, they're insanely good next year.
Kirsty Hulse:But yeah. So Katherine Ryan drove got up early, drove to Stoke, and she's used to slick venues with the it's called riders where you get, like, whatever you want when you arrive. And I think if I was doing something, say, in a city, London or Manchester, I would have felt a pressure to create this very slick experience. Whereas because it's in Stoke and I've said to her I had meetings with her in advance. I was like, look.
Kirsty Hulse:The venue, it's rough around the edges. You don't have a dressing room. And that was one of her requests. I was like, you don't have a dressing room, but I can put you in the lord mayor's office. He's kindly let us use it.
Kirsty Hulse:So he said mayor or may I never know?
James Routledge:I never know.
Kirsty Hulse:No. We'll go with it. So, like, the mayor had gone, oh, I'll she could use my office. So she goes into this, like, mayor's office to, like, dress herself. There's a drag queen in there.
Kirsty Hulse:And I think if I was there is something about the nature of Stoke. It is rough around the edges. I just find it so permission giving. Yeah. Like, it doesn't have to be, I feel
James Routledge:like people can just, like and then they can relax. Yes. She can just then relax, then she doesn't have to try and be something she's not or, like, keep up these. It's what you're on about. You hate formality.
James Routledge:I hate formality. So it drops formality instantly.
Kirsty Hulse:Instantly. And the whole impact, the whole tagline of the event the whole tagline of the event is impact not perfection. Because I think that's so much about what's happening in this city, the work that you're doing. I think it's culturally really part of, you know, what's happening here. Like, we're not seeking perfection.
Kirsty Hulse:We're just seeking, like, positive change. Yeah. Because I think this idea of perfection is stuffy formality.
James Routledge:And it's comparison. Like, I think
James Routledge:we are
James Routledge:you know, we do so much across Stoke and Staffordshire of comparing ourselves to London or Birmingham or Manchester, and it's it's neither of those nor should it be. It needs to just be authentically itself and find itself in that way. And I feel like that's only gonna happen by us all going on that going on a journey of that, not just trying to, yeah, try to find perfection because it won't it just won't happen. Can you can you say what what's in store next year? Like or do you wanna hold
Kirsty Hulse:It's just gonna be really it's gonna be, like, quadruple the size. I've gone because I was struggling a little bit with the the Kings you know, a lot of people are coming in, and they need somewhere to get a coffee. Or Yeah. And it's just, you know, there's the coral but
James Routledge:in shock. Many people did you have last year?
Kirsty Hulse:About 700 last year.
James Routledge:So you're bringing 700 people into Stoke for an event, which is awesome. Yeah. I love it.
Kirsty Hulse:It's gonna be it's gonna I'm hoping to double that next week.
James Routledge:We're gonna go double. A little bit. That's exciting.
Kirsty Hulse:I hope
James Routledge:And how are you last thing before we we'll we'll we'll close out. How are you finding, like, not just being here. I'd love to know how you're finding being here on, like, a personal level and a professional level.
Kirsty Hulse:Fucking great. You know what? I didn't I was running away from home, but it was always here.
James Routledge:Mhmm.
Kirsty Hulse:Like and I didn't realize when I got back because I moved back and I was telling myself these lies. Like, you know, just be here a little bit, and then I'll Airbnb it, and I'll spend most of my time in London. But I got here and I was like, oh, wow. Okay. I actually feel at home.
Kirsty Hulse:And this is what I'm saying to people, like, I feel at home in the place I grew up. Who knew? I feel like I make sense. Like, my personality makes sense here. I feel like I fit.
James Routledge:Mhmm. I
Kirsty Hulse:feel like I can meet people and just have this, like, easy friendships pretty quickly. And I think a lot of the stuff that I thought about this place, I've just not I've not experienced it. And I've found, since I moved back, like, a sense of just, like, peace that I'd I that I've never had ever. So moving back to the place you grew up made me feel at home.
James Routledge:Who knew?
Kirsty Hulse:Who knew?
James Routledge:And what about professionally? Like, do you feel like you can, yeah, you can achieve what you wanna achieve?
Kirsty Hulse:I think so. I do, actually, especially when I've if I have conversations like this, I think sometimes it's easy to maybe slip into a slightly gentler pace of life. And so I think and that's fine. That's very valid. But I think sometimes I'm like, right.
Kirsty Hulse:Let's go. And so I've got a I've got a good community of people building things, and I'm just like, James, let's go for a walk along the canal. Come on. Yeah. And just have
James Routledge:that, like, burst of energy. Harness that because I think you can the massive reward of living in this area, at least for me, is, yeah, is like my mental health essentially
James Routledge:Mhmm.
James Routledge:Because of the the quality of life I feel like I can have and the pace and the just the general culture. And then I do sometimes find that I can I can lack inspiration at times? I just I just can't. I don't I think I'd be lying if I said that I could find that. I find it when I meet people, but I have to seek it out.
James Routledge:Yeah. I think that's that's the someone commented on, one of the KNOT's posts the other day saying, I've always found he said stope, I think this applies this whole area, is a place where you get him, you get out what you put in.
Kirsty Hulse:Mhmm. It's
James Routledge:you're not just you can't just receive here, I don't think. I think you've got to put in because it's it's naturally a fragmented place. This isn't a place where we're gonna get a tram or an underground into the city center and walk out. It's not happening yet, but it's not happening. So you've I think you've got to actively kinda contribute, and then you get it out.
James Routledge:And I think if you just kinda sit there and expect this place to just kinda give you ambition or inspirate, it's not gonna happen.
Kirsty Hulse:Shall we end on a Barack Obama quote?
James Routledge:I'd love to hear it. I've got a couple more quick fire questions, actually, but I need the Barack Obama.
Kirsty Hulse:Because I was literally I was reading Michelle Obama's autobiography recently. It's very good.
James Routledge:Yeah. Good woman, actually.
Kirsty Hulse:Yeah. Yeah.
James Routledge:She's yeah.
Kirsty Hulse:She's coming. Cracking. 10 out of 10. And she'd said a Barack Obama and when I read it, I was on a flight and I was gonna text it to you. And I thought, this is exactly what you're trying to do.
Kirsty Hulse:And I know a lot of the work you get in the knot, some people are like, yeah, but Stokes' just the way it is. It's the way it is. There's a Barack Obama quote that says, you can see a place for what it is and at the same time work to make it better.
James Routledge:Yeah. I I com couldn't agree more, Barack. I literally I literally couldn't agree more.
Kirsty Hulse:Some of your many commonalities.
James Routledge:Yeah. I couldn't could not agree more. I love that. I love that. Yeah.
James Routledge:Because I think we get out what we put in. And I think if we've been if we've maybe been conditioned in a way to to lose power and lose our agency and believe we're not good or peep you know, we're not good enough or we're not smart or intelligent or we don't matter. I feel like it just develops this, like, sense of just being defeated and and expecting life to give things to you. And in some for some people, yes. Like, you know, people need help.
James Routledge:And, of course, we we all need help, and we need to be given things. But at the same time, we've gotta we've gotta contribute and create. And, like, the only way this region is gonna regenerate the the, like, the council are not gonna regenerate Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire alone. Like, they'd literally take the bins out and, at best, do the potholes, hopefully, and keep the roads nice. And they can be a good steward and a good platform.
James Routledge:But, you know, we we we, the people, will regenerate. And that's and and I also get even more passionate because that that's actually the history of this region. It is. The actual history of this region is great entrepreneurs and industrialists that pioneered, you know, actually the whole Midlands, really. So, yeah, I think if we can if we can read the history books and learn from that and take agency and do a bit of Barack Obama, we'll be okay, I think.
Kirsty Hulse:But, have you read Radical Potter?
James Routledge:Yes. I well, I have not I've got it on my shelf, and I flick through it.
Kirsty Hulse:So
James Routledge:Yeah. That's yeah. So my answer to most people's lies, yes. I've read it.
Kirsty Hulse:So completely
James Routledge:read it. And then before we leave, favorite place to get a coffee? Bear. It's a comfortable bear from Bear. Bear.
James Routledge:We're gonna Craig, you're gonna have to sponsor this, mate, because, honestly
Kirsty Hulse:Like, easily fair.
James Routledge:Favorite place to get food?
Kirsty Hulse:I really like Asta Marina.
James Routledge:Good shout.
Kirsty Hulse:I like that. You get, like, very fresh, like, healthy yeah. I really like it there. Yeah. It's a nice vibe.
James Routledge:Yeah. Good vibes. Nice view. Favorite thing to do? Go
Kirsty Hulse:to maid at Modular Oaks.
James Routledge:You're a massive
Kirsty Hulse:maid at Modular Oaks. Huge.
James Routledge:I love it.
Kirsty Hulse:Huge. Such a nice community there.
James Routledge:Yeah. Nice. So you get a coffee at Bear. Bear Mhmm.
James Routledge:Bit
James Routledge:of food at Aston Marina Mhmm. And then doing a doing a class at May's.
Kirsty Hulse:That's it.
James Routledge:Love it. Well, honestly, it's been an absolute pleasure. I like the amount of I mean, yeah, very similar journey. So I was I was trying to hold myself back because I just feel really similar going away to find yourself coming back, realizing home is here. I really resonate, and I hope other people will as well.
James Routledge:And I hope you're a good example of how, yeah, you can both be yourself here, express yourself here, and do great things here. So Yeah. Thanks for being with
Kirsty Hulse:us. Thank you.
James Routledge:Thank you for listening to The Knot Pod. If you like this podcast and want more, please follow us on social media at The Knot Daily, and subscribe to get good news from the knot direct to your inbox via www.theknot.news. Join the community, join the movement, and together, we're changing the narrative, and by doing that, we're gonna change the place. And please always remember, when you see something positive in our area, just think, that's one for the night. See you next time.
