Callum Jones | Extraordinary Life Stories

0:07Callum, thanks for joining me. No problem, pleasure to be here. Cool. Tell me, who is Callum Jones? So I would say he's just a normal human being, just like everybody else that has had a couple of decent opportunities that I've taken and, yeah, gone from there really. And I guess now the sky's the limit, I would say. Love that. You've got such a positivity coming from you. And that normal, what is normal, right? But you're super relaxed, super chilled. and yet some of the things you've done, and let's go straight in on Love Island, that's high level, that's high pressure. But it doesn't feel like it's phased you at all.

0:46No, I just think it's only high pressure if you tell yourself it's high pressure. I mean, for me, I was quite relaxed. Obviously, when the opportunity did come up, I just thought, why wouldn't I take this chance? It was more looking at the positives that could come out of the situation rather than the negatives. like a lot of people would obviously rather look at the negatives as like oh you're in the spotlight what about if people think this about you and I think for me it was more just just do it why not have you always been like that so tell me going back to a younger version of yourself you know have you always had that kind of glasses half full whereas some people overthink the negatives which could count them out of opportunities right have you always had that positive attitude yeah I I think for me, I'm definitely more of a glassed half-fucked type of guy.

1:33There's so many worse situations you could be in as a person. Obviously, we all know what's going on in the world as well. And it's like, if you're in a nice place in your life, why would you then look at it like a negative space kind of thing? So I think for me, I've always kind of just looked at it in a positive way and not really looked at the bad things. no have you felt that that's you mentioned that word normal before but there are a lot of people that kind of almost water the weeds rather than the flowers I'd imagine your social group your friends your family really value that do you feel that because that positivity if you've got that positivity about yourself you'll give that up to the people around you as well yeah I think like you say when these opportunities come up you can either go two ways I think some people you can like it can kind of get to you and it can affect you or you can And basically just stay the same way.

2:29Be the person that you've always been. Stick to your values. Stick to your morals. And yeah, just be the same. Be genuine. And don't try and be someone that you're not. No. And I think so. Yeah, I've always thought of that. But with some of what you've done, it's easier said than done, right? So from a Love Island point of view, right, you went in there as normal Callum. Yeah. You come out and you're a TV star. Yeah. You are a known face walking down the street. Lots of things change for you. You've got people coming to you with new opportunities. Did you feel anything about you change at that point?

3:04And how did you manage it? Or was it just being effortless for you? To be fair, obviously, the first time you come out, it's very overwhelming because it's like a brand new world. You're introduced to things that you've never even seen before. It's a very different type of environment you're in compared to what your normal life is like. So I think for me, the first stage is very overwhelming because you think, oh, wow, this has come for a while. I've never had this opportunity before. But I think once the dust settles and you kind of get into it, I think it's for me personally, it's been quite easy.

3:40I mean, obviously, things are very strange and very alien to me, like people asking for photos and stuff. But I feel like if you kind of like put your blinkers on and don't look at that, I think life is just the same as what it was before but that is that's from my personal perspective anyway i know it can be different for you grounded yourself as well right yeah that's a cute that's a mindset which is the same kind of mindset as going in and saying almost like whatever will be will be you seem to take things well but tell me about that that moment you come out and and life has changed is there an onslaught of opportunity because you went in to that environment to potentially give yourself for more opportunity.

4:20Yeah. How much control do you have over that? So when these things are coming, are you being advised? Are you being almost told to do something? How much did you get to choose? So regards to opportunities, not everyone is going to have the same opportunities. Like you said, you could do a week in the show, you could do six weeks in the show, and it can all vary. And I mean, opportunities actually come your way. So the first time I've done it, it was COVID. So I come out, COVID was like two months after. So for me, it was like, I had a short window of two months. and then we was all in lockdown, couldn't really do much.

4:51So the first time I went on there, the opportunities were very limited in terms of doing all these amazing things that I've seen other people do. I mean, the second time, it's like the opportunities that come your way are incredible and it's like it's so nice to have these opportunities, but at the same time, not everyone's guaranteed it. And I think if you go into the show or any type of reality show and you think, oh, I can't wait for all these opportunities, I think you kind of set yourself up for failure in a way because if you don't get them opportunities, it's just you're going to feel done by, you're going to feel like you're not going to feel the best about yourself.

5:26And like I say, I think you've just got to go in there and expect nothing and kind of hope for the best, which is what I've done. So you've got 2020 and then you've got last year, 2024 was filming just about to be March 25 for context. Was there an opportunity that you wanted to come your way? Is there still an opportunity on the back of being able to build a platform that you would absolutely love to spring into? I mean, there's still a lot of things I want to do, a lot of things I want to still achieve, but if them opportunities don't come my way, then it's not meant to be, but if they do, then great.

5:59And I think that is the kind of outlook I've had since the start of it all, and it's still the same outlook now. So, I mean, yeah, if they come my way, great. If they don't, then it's unfortunate, but life goes on, I guess. Yeah, because I mean, modelling has been a big sort of opportunity that's come your way. Did you, I guess where I'm going with this question is, did that come to you as an opportunity and you embraced it and you enjoyed it, or did you actively want to pursue that? So you sort of almost carve out that, that kind of, this is what I'd like to do and I'm going to hunt those opportunities out.

6:30Yeah, I think with that aspect, I would say I never thought about it at the start. And obviously as I've gone into it, I've enjoyed it more and more, but it wasn't something at the start where I thought, oh, I can't wait to do this, see if this opportunity is what I'm going to do it. I think that's kind of something I fell into. But like I say, I've still got so many other opportunities and stuff that I really want to do. But yeah, with the modelling aspect, I would say I kind of fell into that. Okay. Yeah. It feels like this whole not overthinking, which is what it comes down to. And you didn't go into Love Island with an agenda.

7:04Yeah. So however far I get, this is what I want to do. It feels like that's really worked for you. It's actually probably worked for you from a point of view of popularity as well. Like, I'm enjoying talking to you now. There is no agenda. In the actual environment of being filmed and so on, regardless of everyone else playing their own games, you were just being callum. Do you think that's reflected as well with a really big social following as well? People enjoy following you, what you put out, what you're doing, because you're authentic. Yeah, and I think that is definitely a reason why I've got a following.

7:35and I think I've seen obviously a lot of feedback after the show and it was like it was just himself. And I think, like you said, if you go into things like that and opportunities and you've been anything but yourself, I feel like you'll get caught out and people can see right through it. There's nowhere to hide as well, right? Yeah, there's nowhere to hide. Did you feel that? Did you see that with other people? You don't just name any names, but there's obviously an element of agenda, game-playing ego that goes and grows. You seem to have that very much under control, but did you spot that in people and see how that probably almost undid them?

8:07Yeah, personally I can see it when it happens, especially because you spend 24 hours a day with people in there, six weeks. It's like you can see when someone's being genuine and you can see when people aren't being genuine and it's very visible for me to see that. And like I said, the main thing for me going in there was just to be myself because I think everyone wants to be perfect. And it's, yeah, it's not always perfect. Like, I'd rather be authentic than perfect. So, yeah. There is no perfect, right? I mean, I would call you brave. I've got 20 years. I'm 47. You just turned 27? 28, I am. Oh, okay.

8:47Still got 20 years, aren't you? a 25, 26, 27 version of myself wouldn't probably go on Love Island. I think there's probably a slight shift of vulnerability in men that's got better, but that whole fear of judgment, that whole, quite simply, not taking the opportunity that you grabbed with both hands. I think the part, you know, whether it comes to me as an opportunity to say, do you want to go on? I reckon I'd have turned around and said, I can't do it. I'm too scared to go on. Was there ever anything that was in your brain that said that or is it just like that's a great opportunity i'm in yeah like i said it was literally it was the glass was full it wasn't oh what about this or about that it's like because i know how slim and quite these opportunities can come around and not everyone gets to go on shows like that and i did i did see a start actually something like more people get there's a higher there's a lower chance of getting in love island than there is to into oxford university or something stupid like that so it's like why wouldn't I take the opportunity like 100 ,000 people apply for it if I get accepted then why would I say no 100 % and I'm massive respect for it you know I'll make that point I'm if anything I'm sort of coming from that point of view of almost what advice would you give to someone that um male female however old they might be that's masking that's um bottling up their emotions it's actually stopping them from taking those opportunities I know there's a bit of repetition here for you because I think it comes back to the fact that you've got that can-do mindset, but steps that someone could take or maybe advice you've given to someone previously and could do again now where they are just stifling themselves, shackled.

10:26I think a lot of it comes down to, say, like fear of judgment and what other people think of you, but that's going to happen anyway in life. I mean, anytime you walk into a room with people you don't know, people are going to judge you anyway, so I think it's no different. and the only thing you're thinking about is the wider audience because it's watched by so many people. But you're not going to interact with these people that are watching TV on everyday life. Do you know what I mean? There's like a million people. You're not going to bump into every single one of them. So I think to think of like, oh, there's so many people watching me, it's like, it's kind of, I don't mean to sound bad, but it's kind of irrelevant, like people watching you.

11:03Because when you're in that experience, there's not a stadium full of a million people just watching you. It comes back to the fact this is your opportunity. This is for you, right? A chance for you to be yourself and create more opportunity. So I want to go back to a kind of young version of Callum pre-Love Island. You were involved in scaffolding. That was your business, right? Yeah. And I want to link this to kind of men's mental health as well, right? You know, I've got my own background in property. And particularly from a construction point of view, there are damning stats, really terrifying stats of kind of male high suicide rates and depression and anxiety.

11:39did you ever feel that in there because i'm imagining you being a lot of fun on a building site and geeing everyone up you know and just having fun with it you obviously wanted to better yourself and go into other opportunities and look where you've got to but did you feel that when you were in that industry um i kind of when i was in when i was a scaffolder and when i was in the construction industry like i think a lot of people end up there without a choice it's like they've just got a job just to pay the bills. It's a means to an end. Yeah, and it's not pretty. Scaffolding's not pretty. Brit weighing, all these trades aren't pretty.

12:15It's like people don't go into it to do things that they enjoy. Because personally, I didn't enjoy it. I didn't enjoy scaffolding at all. It's raining 80 % of the time. You're outside, you're lifting heavy things. Who really wants to do that? and for me it was yeah it's just I think Love Island was just in my head just an opportunity that I wouldn't miss if it come up no to elevate ultimately one of the byproducts of being a scaffolder is it's hard labour you've got one hell of a physique right so without any gym work you were beasting yourself through the day and a discipline early starts you've got a job to do what do you still do to keep fit because clearly the whole thing that goes with Love Island is having a good physique but you probably keep that going for your own self-esteem and you seem to enjoy it so what do you do?

13:09I think for me, like you say discipline's the main thing we're not motivated every day not every day I want to go up and keep fit and look good but I mean it's more discipline it's like if I could get up at half hour every morning go scaffolding every day Monday to Friday and just get up and do it again the week after it's like why? wouldn't I carry on that discipline into more time in the gym and fitness and stuff like that it's like I get we all have bad days but I think just being disciplined and not motivated is the main um I think it's the is the key yeah so have you got like a morning routine I'm interested to know anyone potentially looking at you um or if they can't ultimately see they're listening you know they know you've got a good body what is it that you are doing what do you swear by to keep in shape I just get up and go.

13:58The first things I do in the morning is get up, have a bit of breakfast and go straight to the gym. I just get out of the way in the mornings and I think it sets myself up for the day as well. Don't get me wrong, not every day I'm busy, not every day I'm flat out doing things, but I think going to the gym really helps just create the catalyst of having a busy day and stuff like that. So I think for me, like I say, it's more discipline than motivation. I'll just get up and do it, even if I don't want to do it. That's a mental thing as well, though, right? so even though you've got an amazing mindset and positive the gym keeps you physically fit but actually you're setting your day up yeah and I know if I go to the gym I'll always feel better than not going to the gym so I think there's no bad workout yeah yeah there's no bad workout and I think that is the main thing for me and is the reason why I go I think looking good is just a byproduct of feeling good when it comes to the gym yeah and the typical day so I'm again sort of relating that to this whole all these opportunities that come to you how much now are you going out looking for opportunity and how much of it is coming to you and almost then sort of what does that look like in a given a given day a given week so obviously people are going to show they're not knowing about agents management but i think i think with any aspect of a business because i am a business i am my own brand i think the more you put into it the more you get out so if you're proactive and you're looking at things you can be doing better or look at what tends to work for yourself, what's authentic to you, and you're putting stuff out there, then I feel like the opportunities will come your way.

15:32Like I say, I think that it's just with any business. If you're going to put the work in, it'll come back to your tenfold, I guess. So can you share with me anything you might be working on or working towards that we can look and see? I think the cooking aspect is something I've been enjoying for years now anyway. That's always been a passion for you. Yeah, that's been a passion of mine. Brings personality into it. Yeah, of course. and it's like people enjoy it. Everyone has to eat at some point in the day. So it's like if I can create good content and good things about people, if they can help them with the meal preps or recipe ideas for the week, then I'll do my best to put stuff out there.

16:06And surely there's a celebrity MasterChef scenario. Just listening to you, you've got that fearless attitude and you are a TV star, right? And that dovetails into being an influencer as well, which allows you with the cooking you can marry you can marry up interests and skill sets to be able to actually try and choose what you do am I on the right track there? Yeah I mean yeah definitely like you say if you take your hobbies and your interests and you like you say you can put that into your everyday life and put stuff out there then opportunities like MasterChef and stuff and the baker they've got the bake off and all this cooking with stars they can all come around I think so fingers crossed next year Well that's what I was thinking if I was coming over for lunch tomorrow, what would be the ultimate thing you'd want to cook?

16:52What's your favourite food? Do you know what? I can make a good steak. I know it's very standard, but I can make a good steak. Talk me through that. I'll tell you why, because I love steak. And so when I go to a good restaurant, it never tastes how I do it at home. So I'll just put a bit of oil in the pan. This is a fillet steak and I'll try and do it medium rare so I try and you weren't expecting this I'm intrigued because and I've watched all sorts of things I put a bit of salt and pepper on I take it out of the fridge two three hours before a little bit of oil and then I try and do a slow cook and then I try and sear it and I never quite get it right and then I go to a restaurant I'm like this is delicious this is so much better I don't know if it's placebo of eating out but maybe because I get that placebo sometimes with the food I'm cooking even though I know it tastes good it's like why does this not taste the same but sometimes it's it's better but sometimes I have that same thoughts about why is it not as good but I think I think the key to a good steak is a very good pan and a good sear on the steak because without sear I think it just lacks flavor and obviously throw the butter in there to baste it and stuff like that.

17:59How do you like to eat your steak? I like my medium. So talk to me about the putting it into an already hot pan? Yeah so I've got a hex glass pan or not if you've got hexadecups. Yeah, just got them. I haven't even cooked a steak in the day right last week. You'll get a good steak in them. So get it a nice hot temperature, olive oil in the pan, steak in, obviously salt and pepper. I tend to do them two minutes either side first, ripping hot, turn the heat down, add the butter in and baste it. And some people, depends on what cut of steak you've got. If you've got fillet, people like it to bang it in the oven, just obviously to bring up the temperature in case you don't burn the crust.

18:37But if you turn the temperature down in the pan and just keep flipping every minute until i don't know if you heard of the the thumb technique no so if you do that that's supposed to be rare that's supposed to be medium rare that's supposed to be medium i think and that's supposed to be well done the tenderness of your thumb there so when you press it you can feel how done the steak is i'm gonna be yeah try it it's worth it's worth it for me in the past Love that. Try that out. From a sort of male toxicity point of view, boys' banter is now something that is moving much more into kind of mental health.

19:14And it feels like you could talk to anyone about anything and be a good friend. Have you been in some really competitive environments, Love Island in particular, where you've got to keep yourself kind of guarded and not give anything away because it's a competition, right? But outside of that, where you're clearly very open and I'm going to say vulnerable and deliberately, I feel like I could ask you anything. Have you felt that's changing around you with the environment that you're in, particularly from a TV point of view and the people around you? Because 10, 15 years ago, me and you would not talk so openly.

19:47I might have played football last night and hurt a leg or torn a calf, but wouldn't talk about the fact we're struggling with a relationship or anything I might be struggling with mentally. That feels to be shifting. I wondered if you're feeling that in your environment. Yeah, I would definitely say since obviously going on the show, I've spoken a lot about relationships and stuff and emotions a lot more than I did when I was scaffolding. Oh, okay. And that's only like five years, right? Yeah, that's five years. So that's quite a big shift. Yeah, and I think some of it does come with obviously the industry.

20:20And also I think some of it does come with age and maturing as well as a person. but yeah like I said when I was scaffolding there was no way I would ever speak about anything like that the band was very like harsh you're having a lot of like lads like not going to show weakness right yeah like slagging especially with a big matcha guy right yeah slagging people off slagging each other off there was no like real deep emotional chats and obviously five years on like coming away from that industry now obviously everything that's going on with social media and stuff and like men's health especially I think it's so much easier now to talk about it, especially with your close friends, than it was five years ago.

20:59And personally for me, that has been a lot of change in them five years as well. Which is a positive change. It's really good to hear that. And you're right, with maturity and perspective in your relatively young age, you've, I guess, ultimately put yourself out of your comfort zone. I was thinking about this when I was listening to a podcast with you on how relaxed and comfortable you clearly are and have been about doing things that would certainly put me other people out of it what would put you out of your comfort zone if I said to you there was something you know and give it some thought but like you know because there are certain things that haven't fazed you but is there something where I told him and I said jumping out of a plane going bungee jumping you'd be like I'm interested to know where you draw your line I don't really know because I'm a bit of a thrill seeker as well I like the thrill things like the idea so there's nothing you wouldn't do basically no I'd like to say any opportunity I'd take it I said I don't want to sound like I'm this big macho man with No, you don't come across as that at all.

21:54It's really refreshing. Yeah, I just would like, I'd take every opportunity that comes my way because it might never happen again and that's kind of my mentality on everything. I love that. So what is an opportunity that you would, so rather than even being intimidated, you grab with two hands? It feels like it would almost be like a... Discomfort. A Bear Grylls type thing. Yeah, discomfort. I think Celebrity SAS, Who's There's Wins. If there was any TV show that I'd like to do, it'd be that one. Just because it's like the whole aspects of like pushing yourself, mentally physically um just diving deeper into yourself a little bit um testing yeah test yeah even you said you blocked everything out didn't even think about people watching the program it didn't know how it was going to be because you're not in control of that it feels like you're really good at being able to just control you and just focusing on that and not letting letting other people get in your head you've got a really big social following you mentioned a minute ago um how do you manage that because is someone else managing that for you or are you doing it and my point being that you can't get away from the fact that there's all sorts of then judgment and comments on that yeah it feels that doesn't faze you do you read your comments do you interact are you engaging yeah don't get me wrong i'm human like if i see a bad comment i think oh god that's a bit annoying but at the same time i'll kind of tell myself as well as like it's just a comment it doesn't really matter i'm never going to see that person and i think the thing is as well with social media nowadays it's so easy for someone to comment on a photo a bad negative thing but that's not real life social media isn't real life you're not going to see these people ever and don't forget all you're putting out there is a photo for people to see it's not a proper representation of yourself or anything that's going on in your life so I think for me social media is you kind of got to take it with a pinch of salt and like I say just be yourself yeah it comes back to your raw authenticity and I think one of the things that I'm picking up on is if you can just focus on your own kind of mindset.

23:51What advice would you give to someone that is still struggling with that and can't get away from that sort of judgment, but is just looking and listening to what you're saying? And like, actually, what are the steps I can take to that? Because there's a confidence that comes naturally to me that other people, dare I say, haven't got. What can they do to start building that? Putting yourself in uncomfortable situations is the best way to get over them initial fears. But it might not have to be go on a TV show or go to, go and show yourself to a million people it can just be little things that you don't want to be doing like maybe going to a gym class where you don't know anyone try that or just try like things that you might not want to do and people around you i imagine just getting to know you literally kind of live right now i imagine you're quite careful who you spend time with so you know you're in a relationship with um yas now yeah yeah yeah i'm doing listening to that and you You can feel the love you've got there in that conversation, right?

24:47And then probably the wider group of people, how do you almost select who comes into your world to help kind of get you the opportunities and choose the opportunities? And how good are you at bringing those people into your decision-making? Or are you quite good at just being the one that sort of decides? No, I'm not very selective because I think selective is the wrong word because I always don't have the choice. But I think the people in my inner circle are friends that I grew up with. and I've got a very small circle of friends just because I know the values. I thought you'd say that. Yeah, I know what they stand for and it's like when you don't really know someone, it takes me, for me personally, it takes time to build up the relationship and to see the true selves.

25:31I said you can spend six weeks with someone in a villa, but do you truly know them? And I always like to trust people and let them lose it, then don't give them trust and let them earn it. for me but yeah I've got a very small circle and like I say I know what they're about and I can trust them with everything. Yeah. Did you feel slightly almost sort of alien in either or both of 2020 and 24 Love Island where going right back to the beginning where you said you're normal, you're not chosen for Love Island by being normal. Characters and conflict and confrontation and so on is potentially what they're looking for, right?

26:14And yet that's not you. It's almost like I'm almost asking the question of why did you get chosen? Yeah, I get it. You're a good-looking guy, right? You've got an amazing seat. That's obvious. But I'm almost imagining this whole, are you chosen because you're the normal one? Did you almost feel that? Yeah, because like you say, the TV show needs different characters, whether if you're a theatrical person, if you're a very laid-back person. So every show needs a different sort of character. So for me, I am notoriously a slow burner of showing my personality to people I don't know. So I think six weeks is a good time period for me to spend every day with someone to get the full image of me and what I'm about, I think.

26:54So like you said, maybe I wasn't the most theatrical, maybe I wasn't the funniest or the most emotional, but I think me just being me has done me favours. and at the end of the day that's all you can be I think yeah it's the authenticity I'm going to bring it back and I'm conscious of time and you know I've really enjoyed I felt like I've really got to know you talking to you now and you taking time to get to know people I appreciate you making that time you're an awesome chap thank you and best of luck for everything you do in the future I'm going to be looking forward to watching you jumping out of airplanes and doing all sorts of crazy things and the chef side of things right got to get into that thank you not a problem thank you very much cheers Bye, Jo.

27:36Thank you.