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Talking Bollox Podcast

Episode 274 w/ Martin Sturman

18 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

4.739 - 17.787

Talking Bollocks, a Go Loud original podcast. Sponsored by Right Style Furniture. Right price, right style, right now. Visit rightstyle.ie. Go Loud. Sounds better with us.

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18.982 - 38.425 Calvin O'Brien

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38.405 - 53.241 Calvin O'Brien

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53.272 - 60.505 Calvin O'Brien

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60.765 - 73.828

So get down to Roystoyle Furniture today.

81.942 - 100.291 Terry Flower

Episode 274 of the Talking Bollocks podcast brought to you by Go Loud. It's me, CLB. It's me, Terry Flower. And today we're joined by... My name's Martin. Martin, how are you? Not too bad. Yourself? Yeah, all good. Thanks for coming into us. We know you had a long trip up from the West Coast. Long and hot, yeah. Yeah, it could be the hottest day of the year, lads. Oh, it's roast now, Dale.

100.311 - 106.14 Martin Sturman

Yeah, I've had to get a new t-shirt and everything just dripping with sweat when I got in, so... Yeah, play the smart, get in the back one.

107.623 - 116.978 Calvin O'Brien

Martin, we'll kind of go straight to the chase and then we can circle back around. Yeah. But the reason why you're joining us today is because you have Tourette's Syndrome. That's correct, yes. Do you want to give us a brief background of what Tourette's is?

116.958 - 136.694 Martin Sturman

So, yeah, Tourette's is a neurological disorder. It can affect, obviously, motor as well as vocal. It can be as very small as, say, like coughing or clearing your throat for, like, vocal sides and bad blinking for motor. Or it can be, you've probably heard the extremities, as it mostly is in the media, like swearing and... I don't know if you've seen the film, I Swear, as well.

Chapter 2: What is Tourette's Syndrome and how does it affect individuals?

361.905 - 380.767 Martin Sturman

This is just from personal research. A lot of people say they have a tic disorder if you've not had anything as a child or anything like that. And you've also got another disorder called FND, which is functional neurological disorder, which can just happen randomly. A lot of people have developed that, and I found this out online as well, a lot of people have developed that since COVID.

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380.787 - 391.22 Martin Sturman

So there's been a lot of cases of FND, which a lot of people have seizures, they'll have functional tics. So, but yeah, with Tourette's, you have to have, you get born with a gene.

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391.64 - 393.783 Calvin O'Brien

Oh yeah, that's what I was going to say. So there is a gene you can trace.

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395.426 - 410.687 Martin Sturman

That's what the doctors have told me, but I've actually had a genetic test, and I don't know if you can physically get a genetic test done or not, because I don't know whether they know exactly which gene it is, but they just said, that's what I got told by a neurologist, you're just born with it. And sometimes something can trigger it. Right.

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410.819 - 417.19 Calvin O'Brien

Martin, what we do with every guest. Yes. Take us back to the start. Where are you from and what was life like growing up for you?

417.21 - 437.825 Martin Sturman

Well, I was born in, you can probably guess my accent, not over here. I was born in England, Norwich. So I don't know if you know Norwich. Yeah. It's on the east coast. So... You're an English culture, basically. Basically, yes. So I actually, well, I was born in the country, well, I was born in Norwich, but I lived in the countryside. So growing up in school, loved school.

438.266 - 442.893 Martin Sturman

One of the very few kids that probably did love school. Never had any issues at school.

443.254 - 451.828 Calvin O'Brien

So when you were younger, you said the tics were very minor. Yes. When did you first experience a tic and did you have any idea of what was going on?

452.753 - 477.349 Martin Sturman

I mean, I noticed like randomly, I mean, I'd, I mean, one of my common tics is I'll have a random song just pop in my head and just sing it or a line. Or someone will say a word and then that'll link randomly to a song. So a lot of my tics are reactive. Something will happen and then I'll just say it. I'm not even realising it. I think probably my first early tics were probably things like that.

Chapter 3: What traumatic events triggered the worsening of Martin's tics?

907.838 - 925.408 Martin Sturman

And I just instantly clobbered my mouth. I was like, shit, sorry. I didn't mean that. And I've got a lanyard, luckily. So my sister looked at me and laughed at me, because she knows, obviously. Because I'm one of those people, I don't mind you laughing at me with it. If someone's laughing at me rather than with me, it's a completely different story.

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925.388 - 946.637 Martin Sturman

yeah of course and uh yeah if it gets too much and i'll say something like like if you guys are laughing at me right now if i said well calm it down guys a little bit too much but i was one of those people who will tell you straight yeah yeah but yeah and i just as i say saturday i just literally covered my mouth i was uh probably not the best thing to say in public um but

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946.735 - 951.744 Martin Sturman

You know, in supermarkets, you get the public service. I was put on that regularly.

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952.405 - 954.088 Calvin O'Brien

And this is after they know you have Tourette's.

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954.108 - 964.606 Martin Sturman

Yes, they knew I had Tourette's and they still put me on it. I literally, at the end of an announcement, went, love you. I've deep-throated microphones before.

964.887 - 964.947

Oh.

967.137 - 971.626 Martin Sturman

Luckily, that one's too big for me to put it in my throat. But yeah, I've done that before.

971.987 - 978.119 Calvin O'Brien

So how is it in public wine? You were saying you're getting tired from holding the tics in, but obviously you can't do it at 24-7.

978.159 - 995.753 Martin Sturman

Can't do it at 24-7, no. I mean, the best way I explain suppressing tics is if you breathe in and hold your breath, you naturally want to breathe out after a little while. Rather than breathing out again... Breathe in again and breathe in again. So you're basically filling your lungs up more and more and more. Eventually, you'll just go and breathe it all out.

Chapter 4: How did Martin's childhood experience shape his understanding of Tourette's?

1920.524 - 1934.641 Martin Sturman

I'm just like, yeah, I don't care. I'm happy. But yeah, I mean, it can be hard. I mean, friendship wise, yes and no. Some people love it. I mean, some people love it as a good bit of crack.

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1934.661 - 1946.515 Calvin O'Brien

They love it as a right laugh. I was saying as well to you before the podcast started, you have a great humour with it all. Like you were telling me stories out there and you're pissing yourself laughing. I just didn't mean it. It's like, it's great that you have that.

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1946.495 - 1962.479 Martin Sturman

I found that's the best way of being things. I've always said, if you can't laugh at yourself, what can you do? I mean, you're just going to cry. There's no point in that. You just get on with life and just enjoy it. As I say, you don't know how long you're going to be here. You could literally walk. I mean, I could literally touch wood.

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1962.499 - 1966.545 Martin Sturman

I don't, but I could literally walk out of here and get hit by a bus. You don't know what's going to happen.

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1966.885 - 1967.086 Calvin O'Brien

Yeah.

1967.827 - 1975.438 Martin Sturman

So hopefully it doesn't happen. But yeah, it can happen. You just get on with life. Yeah, it's a crazy world.

1976.195 - 1983.306 Calvin O'Brien

Martin, you were saying that when you're washing the dishes and you're getting certain items took away and what have you. What's it like when you're driving?

1983.787 - 2002.978 Martin Sturman

Luckily, I've been all right. I mean, I have actually read up on this. And apparently, so obviously with Tourette's, you've got your motor tics and your vocal tics. Now, apparently, and whether this is true or not, I don't know. So I'm just reading up off the internet from here. Apparently, because the way you're driving, your brain focusing so much, obviously such a dangerous task.

2003.65 - 2024.798 Martin Sturman

your uh it suppresses the motor side of things more and then increases the vocal side so i will whistle i will click i will tell people they can't park in places um i'll moo at cows i'll do all sorts and but because i have music on as well really loudly music i find really helps and it's been proven a lot of people find music helps them

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