When British entrepreneur Matt Haycox first stepped behind a microphone, it was not part of a grand media strategy. It was, by his own admission, frustration. After years in business, media and investment, he felt most conversations around success had become sanitised, shallow and overly polished. Podcasting, he realised, offered something different. Time, honesty and the freedom to say what people actually think.
Today, that instinct has turned into one of Haycox’s most effective platforms. Across his two podcast series, No Bollocks with Matt Haycox and Stripping Off with Matt Haycox, the businessman has carved out a space that blends straight talking business insight with candid, often surprising personal stories.
From boardrooms to broadcast
Haycox’s background is rooted in building and fixing businesses. He has spent more than two decades launching ventures, navigating failures and learning the hard way what works and what does not. Traditional media, he says, rarely allowed room for nuance.
‘Most interviews give you three minutes and a soundbite,’ Haycox explains. ‘Real stories do not fit into that. Business does not work like that and neither does life.’
Podcasting removed those constraints. Long-form conversations allowed him to dig deeper, whether he was speaking to founders about near-misses or celebrities about life away from the spotlight.
Two shows, two very different conversations
While both podcasts share Haycox’s direct style, they serve distinct audiences.
No Bollocks with Matt Haycox is firmly business-focused. Episodes feature entrepreneurs, investors and operators who have built, broken and rebuilt companies. Guests have included figures such as Daniel Priestley, Neil Patel and Rob Moore, with conversations covering leadership pressure, scaling challenges and the mistakes rarely mentioned on stage.
‘Everyone loves talking about wins,’ Haycox says. ‘What people actually learn from are the moments where it nearly went wrong.’
In contrast, Stripping Off with Matt Haycox leans into personal storytelling. The long-form interview series features actors, musicians, TV personalities and public figures, often exploring life beyond their public image. The tone is slower, more reflective and deliberately less rehearsed.
‘You strip away the PR layer,’ Haycox adds. ‘Once people feel safe to talk properly, that’s when the interesting stuff comes out.’
The straight-talking approach has already drawn mainstream attention, with OK! Magazine recently highlighting how Haycox’s podcast format cuts through curated success stories to expose the realities of entrepreneurship.
Why long-form audio is thriving
Haycox’s timing has aligned neatly with wider audience trends. According to Ofcom, nearly a quarter of UK adults now listen to podcasts weekly, with steady growth year on year. Edison Research has reported similar increases globally, particularly among listeners seeking longer, more in-depth content.
Industry data suggests trust plays a key role. Nielsen research has consistently shown podcast hosts rank among the most trusted media voices, outperforming many traditional advertising channels. Spotify has also highlighted rising engagement with long-form spoken content, particularly shows that prioritise authenticity over production gloss.
Haycox believes this reflects fatigue with short-form noise. ‘Everyone’s scrolling, everyone’s distracted,’ he says. ‘Podcasting is one of the few formats where people actually give you their attention.’
Building authority without the sales pitch
Despite the growing audience, Haycox is clear that the podcasts are not vehicles for selling products or personal branding in the traditional sense. He sees them as extensions of how he operates in business.
‘If I would not say it in a boardroom, I would not say it on the show,’ he notes. ‘People can smell nonsense a mile off.’
That approach appears to resonate. Podcast listeners tend to engage for longer periods, often returning episode after episode. According to multiple industry studies, podcast audiences also demonstrate higher recall and trust compared to other digital formats.
For Haycox, the credibility comes from consistency rather than performance. ‘You show up, you listen properly and you do not pretend you have it all figured out,’ he says. ‘That’s what people connect with.’
A platform that keeps evolving
Looking ahead, Haycox sees podcasting continuing to play a central role in how public figures communicate. As platforms shift and attention spans fragment, long-form audio offers stability.
‘Trends come and go,’ he reflects. ‘But people will always want real conversations. Podcasting just happens to be the best place for that right now.’
For Matt Haycox, what started as a simple outlet has become his most powerful platform, not because it shouts the loudest, but because it listens.
Listeners can explore both shows through Matt Haycox’s podcast hub, which houses full episode catalogues and upcoming releases.
