AFTER growing up on a Birchwood estate and becoming a businessman, Wayne Berry has started a podcast about the stigmas associated with being underprivileged and wants to give back to the community.

Wayne has started The Chav in the Boardroom podcast recently, which was eight months in the planning.

He said: “I’m a product of Oakwood in Birchwood and I’ve lived on a council estate all of my life.

“I’ve come from a poor Salford family so having seen marginal success in business myself, the first thing I wanted to do when I had my own family and understood the problems my mum and dad had, was to give back.

“I personally want to give back to communities like Birchwood, Oakwood, Orford and Dallam and give kids the opportunity to get online and sit mock interviews, take online tests and do things that I couldn’t do as a kid.

“We wanted to do a podcast as it’s a popular medium at the moment and I’ve interviewed a lot of people over the years and I like to talk so I put all of that together and out came The Chav in the Boardroom.”

The name is an ironic nod to people who have overlooked Wayne due to his accent and he has even been told he was ‘a little bit chavvy’ for certain clients.

He feels very passionately about providing underprivileged kids with opportunities in life.

“It’s massively important. It really annoys me that there is a whole section of society that is really overlooked and targeted with misconceptions,” continued Wayne.

“Even on the train if I hear someone refer to someone else as a ‘chav’ or a ‘scruff’ I will entertain them because I feel very passionate about it.”

 

Podcast controller Matt Withington

Podcast controller Matt Withington

 

His first episode has been released and it features Birchwood’s very own George Sampson.

The 39-year-old, now based in Knutsford, added: “I’m not a podcast host so I thought I need somebody that I can bounce off.

“George is also from Birchwood and he has inspired millions of kids around the world with his dancing. He also came from a council estate and has that story of getting out of it – he was the perfect choice.

“I’m immensely proud of the project and the idea behind it.

“I’ve been under a lot of stress personally so the project could have been dropped but it went the other way and gave me the impetus to drive it forward.

“In the past, I have struggled opening up about things like this but it now gives me a vehicle to talk about my own issues and relate to other people’s issues too.”

Wayne is keen to collaborate with Warrington businesses for support and to chat with footballers and entrepreneurs who have come from underprivileged areas.

“I only want to talk to people that have been through the struggle who can teach people to get out of it.”