How did you come to work across so many different disciplines – was it a conscious decision?

When I first started out, I was doing the late night show on a radio station in Stockport called KFM, and I really loved it; and then one day this new programme controller came in and fired us all one by one, and it just knocked me for six. So I vowed that day that I’d always do lots of different things all at the same time, to guard against any individual having control over my life. That’s why I’ve always diversified – it all goes back to being fired by KFM that day.

Has your style changed over the years?

I am definitely more empathetic than I used to be – I’ve realised I am in my own way just as nuts as the people I write about. I think the older you get the more you’re aware of your own frailties, and being aware of them makes you a better writer. I’m learning more about how we’re all frail and lost souls. My new collection of articles is going to be called Lost at Sea, and in a way that’s what all my stories are about: people being lost at sea, trying to find a way through life.

How do you deal with not getting access to a story you want to tell?

Sometimes you think,“If I can’t get this person to talk to me, it’s all f**ked, the story will grind to a halt.” When I wrote The Psychopath Test I did this exercise where if somebody didn’t talk to me I would always just think, “Fine, I’m just going to allow the story to veer off in that direction instead.” When a door closes you should actually feel kind of weirdly excited, because it will force you to go off in a direction that you’d never thought of – I’m suddenly sounding like Tony Robbins, but it’s true! Think of a door closing as a really great opportunity to tell the story in a way that you hadn’t ever anticipated. 

What’s your advice for people who are starting out in the media?

That feeling of paranoia and insecurity, of worrying “who’s going to care what I do?” that you have when you’re starting out never goes away; everybody who’s made it still has it, so you shouldn’t allow it to drag you down. If you’re sitting in a room for six months or a year writing a book, it’s very easy to think of yourself as an idiot alone in a room who thinks he’s writing a book – so you do have to remind yourself that you’re doing something that’s actually real, it’s an actual physical thing that people will read on the beach.

Most importantly, don’t wait for someone else to allow you to do it or give you permission – just do it. I’m sort of an old bastard with you young filmmakers because I want to say to you, you’re so lucky that you can just do it; everything is cheap these days and with YouTube now it’s unbelievably easy, so there’s no excuse whatsoever. Your responsibility is just to be good, to make your work as good as possible, and that’s got to be your first priority: find stories that you’re passionate about, that you feel driven to tell, and then just really think about how to tell the story. 

I’ve always felt and still feel that if you’re good, you’ll make it. And don’t be afraid to be a hustler.

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