BOSS has recruited the help of critically-acclaimed author and journalist Raven Smith to host their latest endeavour, Behind the BOSS, a podcast series shedding light on the success stories of industry greats. Each episode dives into the lives of artists, creators and athletes, discovering what inspires them, hurdlers they’ve had to overcome and why they continue to stride forwards. Having already featured the likes of BOSS global ambassador, two-time world heavyweight champion boxer Anthony Joshua, US fashion stylist Law Roach and entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid, Smith assures us, “There’s some blinders coming soon too.”

A self-proclaimed conversationalist and observer of modern life, Smith’s first book Trivial Pursuit became a Sunday Times Best Seller meditating on the complexities of social commentary, while his latest publication, Men, takes the form of part memoir, part study on the workings of modern masculinity. Between the books and columns (penned in “a writer’s room in Soho above a strip club”) you’ll have no doubt seen his satirical memes and captions shared across your Insta feed – if not, why not?! Reflecting on his new position below, Smith tells us what we can expect next from Behind the BOSS, shares advice for budding writers and explains why Ruby Wax would be his dream interviewee.

Do you remember the first column you ever wrote?
Raven Smith: Ohhh, one of my first American Vogue columns was about J. K. Rowling being a TERF. Great to see she read it and immediately mended her ways.

What’s your favourite place to write?
RS: I have a little writer’s room in Soho above a strip club. There’s nothing on the walls, nothing on the desk, and yet I still find myself distracted. I’m opposite three hotel bedrooms and I’ve never seen anyone shagging, much to my dismay.

I read that you went to Berlin to write your second book, Men, and you tend to bunker yourself away to write, how does this process help you focus? And does that process change depending on whether you’re writing a column or longer form piece?
RS: I find columning and booking very different. I can write a column on a train on my phone, just whack my AirPods in and focus. A book is more of a long-term existential crisis, I have to kind of retreat from normal life and live inside the book for months, it’s a bit of a delicious parasite.

Now to the Behind the BOSS podcast and that idea of carving out your own path – can you talk us through when you first found your calling and how you learnt to direct that into a career?
RS: I’ve always loved a chat, I’ve always found other people interesting, I’ve always been latently self-involved. I love a good story, I find modern life absurd and hilarious. I’ve come quite late to writing but it satisfies all of those cravings, all of my little interests. I’ve always been able to get on with people and BOSS have helped me meet some belters.

Which Behind the BOSS podcast stands out to you in terms of you learning something new?
RS: Sharmadean [Reid] is amazing. Law Roach was a huge mood. Anthony Joshua and Arianne [Phillips] were fab. There’s some blinders coming soon too.

Do you listen to podcasts yourself? If so, what’re some of your favourites?
RS: How Long Gone, obvs. I like that Sex and the City one too.

AJT: How did the podcast come about, what were those initial conversations between yourself and BOSS?
RS: Broadly speaking, we wanted to think of bosses in less of an authoritarian way, more of a marker of having succeeded or excelled in a certain field, and having a knowledge of how to navigate a great career. It’s endlessly fascinating to me the different ways people achieve, manage and sustain success.

Who would be your dream person to interview and what’s your big question for them?
RS: I feel like Ruby Wax has interviewed the greats — Madonna, OJ, Trump — so maybe it’s Ruby I should be asking questions to?

How do you switch off from work? 
RS: It’s almost impossible to quiet the noise in London. Not to sound too housewife-y, but when I’m cooking everything else disappears. It’s a short-lived meditation. I try to only write from my lil Soho room, but here I am answering your questions from the living room.

And what do you do when you struggle to think of ideas? How do you reset the system?
RS: I actually find writing breeds more writing. I tend to puzzle stuff out as I’m typing, finding new little tributaries branching off an idea. I tend to pan ancient notes for new ideas when I’m really stuck.

What advice would you give to budding writers who look up to you?
RS: Keep writing, you don’t get better at it just thinking about it. Every career is a mixture of talent, hard work, and absolute chance. I think that’s good to remember.

Lastly, if you could choose someone to interview you, who would you pick?
RS: Letterman.

Check out Behind the BOSS podcast here.