Phil Szomszor
@phil.brightside.digital
Co-founder of LinkedIn strategy & training business, plus:
⚽️ U9 football coach
🐶 double doodle owner
🕹️ retro gaming podcast host
👕 extreme ironing founder
⚽️ U9 football coach
🐶 double doodle owner
🕹️ retro gaming podcast host
👕 extreme ironing founder
Pinned
Phil Szomszor
@phil.brightside.digital
· Dec 19
Chairman of the board: starting the extreme ironing craze and how it become an epic meme
In 1997, a single moment changed my life forever when I decided to take my ironing outside and tell my housemate I was “extreme ironing”. “Wait there,” he said when he spotted me in the garden , then ...
www.linkedin.com
Still get asked about extreme ironing and receive interview requests, no matter how low a profile I keep (I did it with a completely different name 20+ years ago).
A while ago I wrote the story of how it all started and the weird and wonderful journey I went on. Here's what I came up with ⤵️
A while ago I wrote the story of how it all started and the weird and wonderful journey I went on. Here's what I came up with ⤵️
Proper chills watching the Stranger Things Season 5 trailer, with Queen’s Who Wants to Live Forever 🎵
Will be a Kate Bush moment for Queen, not that they need it.
youtu.be/PssKpzB0Ah0?...
Will be a Kate Bush moment for Queen, not that they need it.
youtu.be/PssKpzB0Ah0?...
Stranger Things 5 | Official Trailer | Netflix
YouTube video by Netflix
youtu.be
November 25, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Proper chills watching the Stranger Things Season 5 trailer, with Queen’s Who Wants to Live Forever 🎵
Will be a Kate Bush moment for Queen, not that they need it.
youtu.be/PssKpzB0Ah0?...
Will be a Kate Bush moment for Queen, not that they need it.
youtu.be/PssKpzB0Ah0?...
Reposted by Phil Szomszor
🎙️ We’re diving back into the wonderful world of #Pico8 with one of its most creative minds, @johanpeitz.com
From Alpine Alpaca to Golf Sunday, his games capture everything we love about Pico-8. We discuss game design, demakes, music & more.
On Spotify, Apple etc. open.spotify.com/episode/44MS...
From Alpine Alpaca to Golf Sunday, his games capture everything we love about Pico-8. We discuss game design, demakes, music & more.
On Spotify, Apple etc. open.spotify.com/episode/44MS...
November 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
🎙️ We’re diving back into the wonderful world of #Pico8 with one of its most creative minds, @johanpeitz.com
From Alpine Alpaca to Golf Sunday, his games capture everything we love about Pico-8. We discuss game design, demakes, music & more.
On Spotify, Apple etc. open.spotify.com/episode/44MS...
From Alpine Alpaca to Golf Sunday, his games capture everything we love about Pico-8. We discuss game design, demakes, music & more.
On Spotify, Apple etc. open.spotify.com/episode/44MS...
Saw the Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere last night. Kept away from reviews before, which I'm glad I did. Well worth seeing as a lifetime fan. Jeremy Allen White pulls it off as the Boss, and Stephen Graham was brilliant, as always, as his old man. Go see it.
October 31, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Saw the Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere last night. Kept away from reviews before, which I'm glad I did. Well worth seeing as a lifetime fan. Jeremy Allen White pulls it off as the Boss, and Stephen Graham was brilliant, as always, as his old man. Go see it.
New full size Amiga 1200 recreation to be launched next year 🎉
There have been so many hardware releases this year, from Spectrum Next to the special edition 64 - but this is the one I’ve been looking forward to.
#Amiga #Amiga1200 #ReteoGamesLtd
youtu.be/p4aGhSoP7Rg?...
There have been so many hardware releases this year, from Spectrum Next to the special edition 64 - but this is the one I’ve been looking forward to.
#Amiga #Amiga1200 #ReteoGamesLtd
youtu.be/p4aGhSoP7Rg?...
THEA1200 - Announcement (EN)
YouTube video by Retro Games
youtu.be
October 24, 2025 at 6:26 PM
New full size Amiga 1200 recreation to be launched next year 🎉
There have been so many hardware releases this year, from Spectrum Next to the special edition 64 - but this is the one I’ve been looking forward to.
#Amiga #Amiga1200 #ReteoGamesLtd
youtu.be/p4aGhSoP7Rg?...
There have been so many hardware releases this year, from Spectrum Next to the special edition 64 - but this is the one I’ve been looking forward to.
#Amiga #Amiga1200 #ReteoGamesLtd
youtu.be/p4aGhSoP7Rg?...
Just finished binging Coining It, the podcast about self-styled bitcoin Robin Hood, James Parker.
@lewisgoodall.com does a brilliant job on the narration and intereviews and is pretty sensitive to all the guests, without punching down or judging.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...
@lewisgoodall.com does a brilliant job on the narration and intereviews and is pretty sensitive to all the guests, without punching down or judging.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...
Coining It
True Crime Podcast · Series · In a damp Blackpool flat, James Parker is broke, restless, and stuck in a life going nowhere - until he discovers a glitch in a Bitcoin trading platform that begins pouri...
podcasts.apple.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Just finished binging Coining It, the podcast about self-styled bitcoin Robin Hood, James Parker.
@lewisgoodall.com does a brilliant job on the narration and intereviews and is pretty sensitive to all the guests, without punching down or judging.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...
@lewisgoodall.com does a brilliant job on the narration and intereviews and is pretty sensitive to all the guests, without punching down or judging.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...
This might be the most important podcast listen for anyone in the PR industry this week. @prweekuk.bsky.social tackle the rise of antisemitism - featuring agency leaders Mandy Sharp, David Fraser and Barry Frankfurt.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...
PR and antisemitism: ‘where's the empathy?’
Podcast Episode · Beyond the Noise - the PRWeek podcast · 13/10/2025 · 43m
podcasts.apple.com
October 15, 2025 at 12:20 PM
This might be the most important podcast listen for anyone in the PR industry this week. @prweekuk.bsky.social tackle the rise of antisemitism - featuring agency leaders Mandy Sharp, David Fraser and Barry Frankfurt.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...
MTV to stop broadcasting music videos in the UK 😢
Fond memories of watching the likes of Oasis, Alanis Morissette, The Cranberries, Spice Girls and the Smashing Pumpkins - not all bands I necessarily loved - playing on repeat on our rented telly in our uni house.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Fond memories of watching the likes of Oasis, Alanis Morissette, The Cranberries, Spice Girls and the Smashing Pumpkins - not all bands I necessarily loved - playing on repeat on our rented telly in our uni house.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
MTV to axe its music TV channels in the UK
The broadcaster will stop showing music videos in December, but its main channel will remain on air.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
MTV to stop broadcasting music videos in the UK 😢
Fond memories of watching the likes of Oasis, Alanis Morissette, The Cranberries, Spice Girls and the Smashing Pumpkins - not all bands I necessarily loved - playing on repeat on our rented telly in our uni house.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Fond memories of watching the likes of Oasis, Alanis Morissette, The Cranberries, Spice Girls and the Smashing Pumpkins - not all bands I necessarily loved - playing on repeat on our rented telly in our uni house.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Phil Szomszor
🕹️ Back with a bang!
We’re talking Operation Wolf, Thunderbolt, Night Striker & Space Gun with TAITO's Yuichi Toyama in our latest episode.
Arcade nostalgia + behind-the-scenes insight = 💥
🎧 Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/1Vf0...
#TAITO #retrogaming #arcade
We’re talking Operation Wolf, Thunderbolt, Night Striker & Space Gun with TAITO's Yuichi Toyama in our latest episode.
Arcade nostalgia + behind-the-scenes insight = 💥
🎧 Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/1Vf0...
#TAITO #retrogaming #arcade
September 18, 2025 at 4:26 PM
🕹️ Back with a bang!
We’re talking Operation Wolf, Thunderbolt, Night Striker & Space Gun with TAITO's Yuichi Toyama in our latest episode.
Arcade nostalgia + behind-the-scenes insight = 💥
🎧 Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/1Vf0...
#TAITO #retrogaming #arcade
We’re talking Operation Wolf, Thunderbolt, Night Striker & Space Gun with TAITO's Yuichi Toyama in our latest episode.
Arcade nostalgia + behind-the-scenes insight = 💥
🎧 Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/1Vf0...
#TAITO #retrogaming #arcade
Reposted by Phil Szomszor
🎙️ This week on Retro Titans:
We talk to @brandonsalt.bsky.social from @retrododo.bsky.social about building a retro gaming empire, losing traffic to Google, and sounding the alarm on AI.
And, his top picks for Evercade & handheld emulators.
Listen on Spotify + more open.spotify.com/episode/0ucV...
We talk to @brandonsalt.bsky.social from @retrododo.bsky.social about building a retro gaming empire, losing traffic to Google, and sounding the alarm on AI.
And, his top picks for Evercade & handheld emulators.
Listen on Spotify + more open.spotify.com/episode/0ucV...
July 12, 2025 at 3:54 PM
🎙️ This week on Retro Titans:
We talk to @brandonsalt.bsky.social from @retrododo.bsky.social about building a retro gaming empire, losing traffic to Google, and sounding the alarm on AI.
And, his top picks for Evercade & handheld emulators.
Listen on Spotify + more open.spotify.com/episode/0ucV...
We talk to @brandonsalt.bsky.social from @retrododo.bsky.social about building a retro gaming empire, losing traffic to Google, and sounding the alarm on AI.
And, his top picks for Evercade & handheld emulators.
Listen on Spotify + more open.spotify.com/episode/0ucV...
🔓 New free coworking space unlocked: Samsung KX.
Decent coffee and plenty of room (until word gets out).
Try not to get distracted by the gaming station…
🚶♂️ 3 minute walk from Kings Cross and St Pancras.
📍 Coals Drop Yard, London
Decent coffee and plenty of room (until word gets out).
Try not to get distracted by the gaming station…
🚶♂️ 3 minute walk from Kings Cross and St Pancras.
📍 Coals Drop Yard, London
June 26, 2025 at 3:04 PM
🔓 New free coworking space unlocked: Samsung KX.
Decent coffee and plenty of room (until word gets out).
Try not to get distracted by the gaming station…
🚶♂️ 3 minute walk from Kings Cross and St Pancras.
📍 Coals Drop Yard, London
Decent coffee and plenty of room (until word gets out).
Try not to get distracted by the gaming station…
🚶♂️ 3 minute walk from Kings Cross and St Pancras.
📍 Coals Drop Yard, London
How can it be 30 years since Pulp’s Different Class came out?
Forget Oasis vs Blur, Pulp - and this album, in particular - were always my favourite.
This Radio 2 Class of 95 is worth a listen.
Favourite song?
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Forget Oasis vs Blur, Pulp - and this album, in particular - were always my favourite.
This Radio 2 Class of 95 is worth a listen.
Favourite song?
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Sounds of the 90s with Fearne Cotton - Class of 95 - Pulp - Different Class - BBC Sounds
Jo Whiley takes a deep dive into Pulp's career defining Different Class album.
www.bbc.co.uk
June 6, 2025 at 4:50 PM
How can it be 30 years since Pulp’s Different Class came out?
Forget Oasis vs Blur, Pulp - and this album, in particular - were always my favourite.
This Radio 2 Class of 95 is worth a listen.
Favourite song?
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Forget Oasis vs Blur, Pulp - and this album, in particular - were always my favourite.
This Radio 2 Class of 95 is worth a listen.
Favourite song?
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
My side-hustle / hobby podcast is conversations with people who are bringing old-school video games back.
The latest interview is with two of the heads of Blaze Entertainment, the company behind cartridge-based system, @evercade.co.uk
Check it out 👇
The latest interview is with two of the heads of Blaze Entertainment, the company behind cartridge-based system, @evercade.co.uk
Check it out 👇
Excited about the Evercade Showcase? 🙋♂️
Or maybe you have questions… 🧐
Either way, check out our exclusive interview with Blaze head honcho Andrew Byatt and marketing supremo Sean Cleaver.
Listen on Spotify, Apple, Amazon and more open.spotify.com/episode/4Jt3...
#retrogaming #neogeo #taito
Or maybe you have questions… 🧐
Either way, check out our exclusive interview with Blaze head honcho Andrew Byatt and marketing supremo Sean Cleaver.
Listen on Spotify, Apple, Amazon and more open.spotify.com/episode/4Jt3...
#retrogaming #neogeo #taito
May 30, 2025 at 8:28 PM
My side-hustle / hobby podcast is conversations with people who are bringing old-school video games back.
The latest interview is with two of the heads of Blaze Entertainment, the company behind cartridge-based system, @evercade.co.uk
Check it out 👇
The latest interview is with two of the heads of Blaze Entertainment, the company behind cartridge-based system, @evercade.co.uk
Check it out 👇
If I have to watch this Mother's Day ad from Open Table one more time, I might have to take a frying pan to my phone 🤯 Reckon I get served it around 10x a day on YouTube. Enough already 🍳
<<and breathe>>
<<and breathe>>
March 27, 2025 at 5:15 PM
If I have to watch this Mother's Day ad from Open Table one more time, I might have to take a frying pan to my phone 🤯 Reckon I get served it around 10x a day on YouTube. Enough already 🍳
<<and breathe>>
<<and breathe>>
Reposted by Phil Szomszor
This is a big one: an interview with legendary game designer
Jon Hare, co-founder of Sensible Software and the man behind hits such as Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder
Listen on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts open.spotify.com/episode/0Yq7...
#retrogaming #sensiblesoccer #amiga
Jon Hare, co-founder of Sensible Software and the man behind hits such as Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder
Listen on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts open.spotify.com/episode/0Yq7...
#retrogaming #sensiblesoccer #amiga
March 12, 2025 at 8:22 PM
This is a big one: an interview with legendary game designer
Jon Hare, co-founder of Sensible Software and the man behind hits such as Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder
Listen on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts open.spotify.com/episode/0Yq7...
#retrogaming #sensiblesoccer #amiga
Jon Hare, co-founder of Sensible Software and the man behind hits such as Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder
Listen on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts open.spotify.com/episode/0Yq7...
#retrogaming #sensiblesoccer #amiga
Just saw this from @brucedaisley.com on LinkedIn. Can't express this any better. Google just stepping into line like so many others.
February 11, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Just saw this from @brucedaisley.com on LinkedIn. Can't express this any better. Google just stepping into line like so many others.
TikTok may have got a 75-day extension while Trump plays god, but it's not stopping Instagram trying to lure it's creators across with cash bonuses of $10,000 to $50,000 per month 😮
www.theverge.com/2025/1/21/24...
www.theverge.com/2025/1/21/24...
Instagram is reportedly trying to attract TikTok creators with large bonuses
Instagram is taking advantage of the chaos surrounding TikTok.
www.theverge.com
January 22, 2025 at 3:40 PM
TikTok may have got a 75-day extension while Trump plays god, but it's not stopping Instagram trying to lure it's creators across with cash bonuses of $10,000 to $50,000 per month 😮
www.theverge.com/2025/1/21/24...
www.theverge.com/2025/1/21/24...
If you’ve had enough of the effect that Elon Musk has had on the national discourse this week, have a read of AskBrits on Reddit. A bit of levity and a lot of swearing…
www.reddit.com/r/AskBrits/s...
www.reddit.com/r/AskBrits/s...
From the AskBrits community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the AskBrits community
www.reddit.com
January 11, 2025 at 1:40 PM
If you’ve had enough of the effect that Elon Musk has had on the national discourse this week, have a read of AskBrits on Reddit. A bit of levity and a lot of swearing…
www.reddit.com/r/AskBrits/s...
www.reddit.com/r/AskBrits/s...
Here’s a pair happy to be back in the routine of school runs and the return to work.
📍 Digswell Viaduct, Hertfordshire
📍 Digswell Viaduct, Hertfordshire
January 7, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Here’s a pair happy to be back in the routine of school runs and the return to work.
📍 Digswell Viaduct, Hertfordshire
📍 Digswell Viaduct, Hertfordshire
Sucker for a bit of Jools Holland and tuned in tonight for Roger Taylor (big Queen fan) - but Kathy Sledge, Boomtown Rats and especially Jade worth tuning in for 👏
January 1, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Sucker for a bit of Jools Holland and tuned in tonight for Roger Taylor (big Queen fan) - but Kathy Sledge, Boomtown Rats and especially Jade worth tuning in for 👏
The best move we made in recent years was getting to know folk in the neighbourhood.
For years, I was obsessed with uni mates (who I still love) who live around the UK.
Tonight was Christmas Eve drinks at our place. Easier on so many levels ❤️
The kids are… somewhere 🤷♂️
For years, I was obsessed with uni mates (who I still love) who live around the UK.
Tonight was Christmas Eve drinks at our place. Easier on so many levels ❤️
The kids are… somewhere 🤷♂️
December 24, 2024 at 9:07 PM
The best move we made in recent years was getting to know folk in the neighbourhood.
For years, I was obsessed with uni mates (who I still love) who live around the UK.
Tonight was Christmas Eve drinks at our place. Easier on so many levels ❤️
The kids are… somewhere 🤷♂️
For years, I was obsessed with uni mates (who I still love) who live around the UK.
Tonight was Christmas Eve drinks at our place. Easier on so many levels ❤️
The kids are… somewhere 🤷♂️
Gareth Southgate is on Desert Island Discs. What a thoroughly decent man. Never understood the hate he got as England manager. Added professionalism, decency and got better results than almost all his predecessors. What gives?
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Radio 4 - Listen Live - BBC Sounds
Listen live to BBC Radio 4 on BBC Sounds
www.bbc.co.uk
December 22, 2024 at 10:29 AM
Gareth Southgate is on Desert Island Discs. What a thoroughly decent man. Never understood the hate he got as England manager. Added professionalism, decency and got better results than almost all his predecessors. What gives?
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The last episode of my 2024 side-project, a podcast dedicated to retro gaming with an emphasis on @evercade.co.uk ⤵️
🎙️ Retro Titans: episode 28, season finale
Our final episode features regular guest, Evercade YouTube extraordinaire Crazy Burger. We take a tour of 2024 and discuss what we hope the next 12 months hold for Evercade. Enjoy!
On Spotify and everywere else ⤵️ open.spotify.com/episode/7nNK...
Our final episode features regular guest, Evercade YouTube extraordinaire Crazy Burger. We take a tour of 2024 and discuss what we hope the next 12 months hold for Evercade. Enjoy!
On Spotify and everywere else ⤵️ open.spotify.com/episode/7nNK...
December 20, 2024 at 5:42 PM
The last episode of my 2024 side-project, a podcast dedicated to retro gaming with an emphasis on @evercade.co.uk ⤵️
Still get asked about extreme ironing and receive interview requests, no matter how low a profile I keep (I did it with a completely different name 20+ years ago).
A while ago I wrote the story of how it all started and the weird and wonderful journey I went on. Here's what I came up with ⤵️
A while ago I wrote the story of how it all started and the weird and wonderful journey I went on. Here's what I came up with ⤵️
Chairman of the board: starting the extreme ironing craze and how it become an epic meme
In 1997, a single moment changed my life forever when I decided to take my ironing outside and tell my housemate I was “extreme ironing”. “Wait there,” he said when he spotted me in the garden , then ...
www.linkedin.com
December 19, 2024 at 2:07 PM
Still get asked about extreme ironing and receive interview requests, no matter how low a profile I keep (I did it with a completely different name 20+ years ago).
A while ago I wrote the story of how it all started and the weird and wonderful journey I went on. Here's what I came up with ⤵️
A while ago I wrote the story of how it all started and the weird and wonderful journey I went on. Here's what I came up with ⤵️
If you fancy something warm and familiar to listen to in the run up to Christmas, I can recommend Sherlock Holmes read by Hugh Bonneville.
🔗 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s...
🔗 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s...
December 16, 2024 at 9:48 AM
If you fancy something warm and familiar to listen to in the run up to Christmas, I can recommend Sherlock Holmes read by Hugh Bonneville.
🔗 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s...
🔗 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s...
Bold of the BBC to go out with this story, but it goes deeper than misinformation about health claims - it's a wake up call to cult of celebrity and its power to blind people.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Steven Bartlett sharing harmful health misinformation on Diary of CEO podcast
Disproven health claims are accepted with little challenge by host on number one podcast, BBC investigation finds.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 13, 2024 at 10:35 AM
Bold of the BBC to go out with this story, but it goes deeper than misinformation about health claims - it's a wake up call to cult of celebrity and its power to blind people.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...