Charity founders, business leaders and parents; Nathan and Sabrina Dennis have many strings to their bow, and they’ll soon be adding another - podcasters.
The Birmingham-based husband and wife duo are launching ‘Between the Sheets’ on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, where they’ll tackle topics such as relationships, family, business, finances, and much more besides.
Drawing on their own life experiences as a couple, parents to four daughters, and business partners, they hope to inspire others with their realistic advice and personal perspective on how they balance it all.
The couple have been active members of their community for many years, and have built a wealth of knowledge and experience through their work.
They are the founders and leaders of a multi-award-winning charity, First Class Foundation, a West Midlands-based charity that specialises in challenging the over-representation of young people in the criminal justice sector.
Nathan and Sabrina also established their own training and consultancy services Legacy Consultants in order to further this work, by offering organisations strategies and information in order to develop a better understanding of race and racism, and more successfully engage with Black communities.
‘Between the Sheets’ actually refers to the series of meetings and discussions, as represented by spreadsheets and other forms of documentation, as to how the Dennis’ feel they better run their day-to-day life.
“We found these things we’ve done - our 'sheets' have helped our closeness and success as a couple, and we want to share that with other people,” Nathan explained.
“That’s the heart behind the podcast. A lot of the young people we’ve supported through our charity have faced adversity, and we want to show that everything doesn’t have to be perfect.
“Talking about it from a realistic point of view could be helpful to people though, and if we can empower people to build their family, ultimately we can build a stronger society.”
Not only has their charitable work and entrepreneurship informed how they approach their own relationship and family life, but their journey to reach the point where they find themselves today has also been hugely enlightening.
Periods of financial challenges, setbacks and hard family discussions have helped to shape them into the strong unit they are today.
Nathan can recall one particular story when the horrible realisation struck that he had less left in his bank account than he first thought, just after he and Sabrina had got married.
“I remember across the road there was Iceland, and we sort of had five pounds to our name and we were just starting our journey together,” he said.
“I remember I told Sabrina, hold the other end of this five pound note and we looked up to the sky and said a prayer to help us get through this.
“For us, to look back and remember that vividly, and to now be able to say that with our charity work and our business, that we’re in a different place now, is almost like a miracle.
“Because we can remember only having that five pounds. It’s been a 17-year journey. But you have to be patient sometimes - you’re not going to do everything you want to do straight away.
“I’m hoping that that comes across [on the podcast]. To encourage people to take time.”
They hope that by having earnest discourse surrounding topics that some may shy away from, they can encourage others to continue the conversation and be more transparent when it comes to matters of family finances and nurturing relationships.
There are also plenty of light-hearted moments too, including the story of how the pair met - an under-18s disco meet-cute and then three months of plucking up the courage to call - that both Nathan and Sabrina were keen to share, to help people understand more about their story, and relate to their circumstances.
While they describe the podcast as a 'creative endeavour' alongside their other ventures, they're both keen to see where it could take them, moving forward.
"It was definitely a different sort of challenge, because while we'd be used to being a team at the charity and things like that, this was different because it felt like we were opening up ourselves," Sabrina added.
"But once you'd forget that they'd be an audience there, it was just Nathan and I bouncing off each other, and the conversation could end up being quite honest, and powerful."
The duo is launching all six episodes in its first season on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, with plenty of other exciting announcements to follow, including an upcoming audiobook and roadshow.
Looking to the future, both Nathan and Sabrina have grand plans for their business, the charity, and their numerous other ventures. Their aim has always been to leave society a better place than they found it - so watch this space.
The ‘Between the Sheets’ podcast launches Tuesday, August 8, 2023, and is available on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming platforms.
For more information, visit the Nathan & Sabrina website. You can also follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube.
