Greg James has encouraged people to join his ‘anti-Bartlett cult’ after podcast host Steven Bartlett was mocked over saying two glasses of wine ‘ruined his life for three days’.
The BBC Radio 1 Breakfast host, 40, hit out at the joyless tech-led ‘optimisation movement’ encouraged by the likes of the Dragon’s Den star and other influencers.
A viral clip has circulated of Steven on his Diary Of A CEO podcast regaling the tale of how a minimal amount of alcohol sabotaged the following three days.
Steven, who previously cut out booze after noticing how much of a significant impact it was having on the data on his Whoop band, detailed how the alcohol affected his sleep, diet, motivation to go to the gym and even his ability to podcast.
The comments were poorly received by listeners as they branded them ‘ridiculous’ and said that it was a ‘dramatic’ response to having a couple of glasses of wine.
In reply to the video, Greg asked that people ‘switch off’ their fitness trackers and ‘go and have a nice time’. A message which was supported by a host of other stars.
Taking to his social media platforms over the weekend, Greg said: ‘Can we talk about this Bartlett thing? This wine thing…’
He then plays the clip of Steven, where he says: ‘I had a couple of glasses of wine, didn’t get drunk, it ruined three days of my life because of the domino effect that it caused.
Greg James has encouraged people to join his ‘anti-Bartlett cult’ after podcast host Steven was mocked over saying two glasses of wine ‘ruined his life’
‘It meant that I got worse sleep that night, I ate more poorly the next day because my dopamine system or the cortisol system or whatever was all messed up. Then I podcasted worse and I didn’t go to the gym the day after and I could track all of this on my Whoop, hashtag ad, hashtag sponsor, investor… whatever.’
Responding to Steven’s view, Greg said: ‘So I’ve sort of been railing against this for years. Not the alcohol thing, fair enough if you want to give up alcohol, it can ruin lives, got that – that’s not what my issue is. My issue is this endless optimisation and measuring of everything to the point where it starts to make you feel a bit miserable if you don’t quite hit your own targets.’
Greg then goes on to promote his book, which he describes as an antidote to the approach of measuring everything from calories to sleep score.
He says: ‘So today this is available for 99p, (shows his book All The Best For The Future). And essentially this is the anti-Bartlett. You can have ambitions and goals and get good at a skill and do well in your life professionally and also have a great time.’
He continued: ‘Not everything has to be like work, you can be on and then you can be off. And this is a reminder to go and have a nice time! Go and see your friends, do a nice trip, call your mum. Do something just for you.
‘There’s a chapter in here called waste a day, where I encourage you to do nothing for a day. Optimisation is killing fun. We absolutely need to rail against that. So phones down today. Go and have a nice time! And don’t log it.’
A viral clip has circulated of Steven on his Diary Of A CEO podcast regaling the tale of how a minimal amount of alcohol sabotaged the following three days
The video has received an overwhelming response from fellow stars, who shared their agreement with Greg about the ‘optimisation’ trend.
Julia Bradbury, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021, said that while she does sometimes track her goals, life is about ‘progress not perfection’.
She wrote: ‘Agreed. As someone who’s written books about this, at the end of the day it’s about progress not perfection, and fun. I had cancer. Grateful for every day.
‘I track on days I want to achieve some goals and go on instincts the rest of the time. Interesting thought, that the wine had such an impact on him – and alcohol is something I’ve given up. Reduces my risk of recurrence, and I’ve danced on a few tables in my time’.
Fearne Cotton, who also showed her support, joked: ‘I genuinely sometimes podcast better on a hangover.’
The presenter has spoken previously about her relationship with reducing alcohol, in 2016 she revealed she hadn’t drunk it for two years.
She told the Mirror at the time: ‘I haven’t been drunk for nearly two years [and we don’t] crack open bottles of Pinot Grigio at home. We don’t have alcohol in the house.’
However it seems Fearne is now not completely teetotal and enjoys the occasional indulgence of booze.
Rapper Example also made his stance known, saying: ‘That’s why I don’t wear those stupid f***ing watches. I don’t care. I don’t wanna know. I’ll just live in the moment and get on with it’.
Beverley Turner said: ‘Totally. It’s also out-sourcing instinct to tech. These people will become deskilled at listening to their bodies – not just whether your bloody sleep rhythms are off – but what’s pain? What is illness? What is just tiredness?
‘What is hunger? They stop listening to themselves. They make themselves easier to control externally.. it is disempowerment dressed up as success. It’s the opposite’.
Has a fitness tracker ever made you change your habits?
The video has received an overwhelming response from fellow stars, who shared their agreement with Greg about the ‘optimisation’ trend
Comedian Donna Ashworth said: ‘I do feel this moment in time is about making the simple act of living “well” into a monumental task every day.
‘It’s all a bit too much hard work. Just try and be kind to everyone (and yourself), get outside and eat food that fuels you whenever you can. Humans are messy and not supposed to be on robot mode every day. Embrace the unknown sometimes and mix it up.’
Other stars who showed support by sharing a range of positive emojis included drag queen Danny Beard, This Morning host Cat Deeley and cricket star Stuart Broad.
Match Of The Day host Gabby Logan and Paul Mescal’s mother Dearbhla also vouched for Greg’s view.
Steven has previously promoted the positive health impacts of cutting out the occasional glass of wine or beer by tracking his recovery scores and heart rate variability using his Whoop fitness tracker.
It is unclear whether the story he was telling on his podcast was recently or from before he initially quit drinking.
Over the years, Steven has used his platform to advocate for sobriety and share pro-tips for breaking the drinking habit.
In a LinkedIn post from last year, he said: ‘Three changes to my health I didn’t expect to notice after quitting drinking.
‘I was never a big drinker. I’d have an occasional glass of wine at dinner, or a beer with my friends. I had no idea that cutting even the occasional drink could have such a significant impact. This was data-backed, all measured and tracked through my Whoop.
‘My heart rate variability was sitting consistently closer to the 150ms mark when it would have previously dropped to 40ms any time I had anything to drink, even if it was a single glass of wine. This was clear evidence of the effect alcohol had been having on my cardiovascular health.
‘I was sleeping better and my red recovery scores decreased, which had become normal to see any day after I’d been drinking. According to WHOOP, the average member’s recovery score drops by nearly 5% for every unit of alcohol they’ve consumed the previous day.
‘Tracking the increase in my sleep and recovery kept me on the no-drinking path that I’m still on today.
‘My daily strain changed and showed me how being sober was actually reducing physiological stress on my body.
‘When I first stopped drinking, I became obsessed with the data I was getting from my WHOOP, because it showed me in real time how my body was responding to an alcohol-free lifestyle.
‘If you want to track the impact of alcohol on your body, check the top comment of this post for a link to sign up to WHOOP.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Steven’s spokesperson for comment.
