Jake Humphrey: ‘High Performance is about high happiness’

He may be one of the most trusted and accomplished broadcasters on television, but some things still make Jake Humphrey nervous.

Jake’s High Performance podcast has given inspiration and motivation to people of all walks of life all around the world, sharing insights from leading figures in sport, business and entertainment.

Now, Jake is taking his High Performance podcast on tour in a full-scale theatre show, which comes to Northampton on May 7.

And despite having spoken to millions of people in a broadcasting career stretching back more than 20 years, the prospect of stepping out on stage is one that brings some trepidation.

​"I’m feeling excited – and apprehensive,” he says.

“My job is presenting and hosting podcasts. This is nerve-racking. It's not like doing a podcast. We're doing a full theatre show with a big production. I'm not a stage star. But life is full of these moments.”

That mixture of emotional honesty and openness to new experiences seems to define the ethos behind High Performance. Its name may evoke images of slick Apprentice contestants or expensively suited corporate bosses – but for Jake, the aim is altogether more soulful.

"High performance is not about high achievement – it's about high happiness, high resolve,” says Jake. “Our aim is to leave the audience feeling inspired and ready to take on the world – and that needs empathy and understanding.”

The tour is billed as offering audiences a “unique chance to be guided in reaching their very own high performance” and as an “experience designed to encourage audiences to reach their full potential, in all aspects of life”. During the show, Jake and co-host Damian Hughes share some of the best advice given by their podcast guests over the years, from footballer Alex Scott and Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey, to author Rachel Botsman, rapper AJ Tracey and many more.

The Northampton show will have guest appearances from Roxie Nafousi, the ‘self-development coach, manifesting expert, author and Instagram Agony Aunt’, and live music from singer, songwriter and producer Kye Sones, who is responsible for hits such Remember, by Becky Hill and David Guetta.

The aim is “to encourage the audience to always be kind, unleash the power of optimism and to embrace failure”.

That point about failure feels especially pertinent to Jake. “I started as an A-level failure,” he says. “I got work experience at Anglia Television instead of going to university. If I'd passed those A-levels, I'd have gone to uni like everyone else.”

Thus began a broadcasting career that led to early TV presenting jobs with CBBC, before moving to BBC One’s Football Focus in November 2006, becoming the BBC's first American football host in 2007 and presenting the afternoon show at the Olympics for the BBC in Beijing in 2008.

Then came perhaps the most significant move of all: becoming the anchor for the BBC's Grand Prix coverage in 2009. On the professional side, it led to plaudits from Jake’s hero Des Lynam. And personally, he met people who would shift his perspective on life.

"I grew up in a family and upbringing full of love, but not huge ambition,” he says. “When I was in the pit lanes, I was able to say 'how have you got here?'.”

Jake learnt that “people are not successful or unsuccessful from birth”. He was struck by stories of overcoming adversity, of making the most of opportunities, and of performing to one’s potential. He then wanted to share these with others. "Trying to give back is a key thing for me,” he says.

The High Performance podcast began in 2020. It has since gained a legion of fans around the world. It has led to Jake having contact with everyone from Special Forces combatants to teachers and parents –lots of them, he says – who want to do what they do better and pass ideas on to the next generation.

Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for such motivational activity to attract some scepticism. It doesn’t always sound stereotypically British, for starters: it can seem at odds with a culture that traditionally reveres the amateur and the underdog, and whose comedy heroes are often rather shambling and dishevelled. There may also be concerns about playing to common insecurities.

But Jake can see no downside. “The magic of High Performance is that we're not telling people what to think,” he says. “High Performance is a collection of the most inspiring people on the planet. Nothing negative can come from it. You can be cynical, but what does cynicism do for you? High Performance is about exploration, so let's explore together.”

There is also the fact that its guests have tended by some margin to be men. Of the 100 guests leading to the end of last week, 79 had been male. But Jake sees this as a symptom of a broader problem.

He says: “The High Performance team is predominantly female - but society needs to catch up. Only five per cent of FTSE 100 CEOs are female. We want to be part of the solution to that.”

Moving from judgmentalism to understanding seems to be of fundamental importance to Jake. One of his favourite quotes comes from the late American politician Bill Bullard: “Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy.”

"We live in a world full of opinion,” says Jake. “But we need to park opinion and focus on empathy. That's what we're trying to do.”

And how does Jake summarise the message of the High Performance?

“Do the best you can, where you are, with what you've got.”

Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes will tour the UK with the High Performance live show this year. Visit www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/live2023 to book.