NWRC, Podcasting & Prison Project: Marcus Fair

Marcus points out that Eternal Media have been filming at North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) for seven or eight years now. The first film focused on Moving On In My Recovery [an acceptance-based cognitive behavioural programme to help people recover from addiction]. Marcus would love to have gone to NWRC when he was looking to recover, but it was not there at that time. He finds any excuse he can to go to visit NWRC in Bangor. James Deakin, Founder of NWRC, and he have chatted about how they can do more together, possibly have an Eternal Media satellite there. 

Eternal are hoping to build a satellite in a prison as well. David says that it would be good to make a series of filmed recovery stories. Marcus points out they are currently using podcasting which is a cheaper and faster way of getting recovery stories out there. They’ve just finished recording a podcast series in a prison. 

The prison has recently set up a recovery wing, which has a small gym and space for mutual aid groups and other activities. However, the people there don’t get to meet anyone in recovery. Marcus emphasised that his Eternal Media team were mobbed when they arrived. They were asked so many questions about living in recovery, because the inmates did not know anyone in long-term recovery. Eternal been skilling up the lads in prison with interviewing techniques and technical aspects whilst recording the podcasts. 

The project was so popular that Marcus put together a funding application to do further podcasting in prison—filming does not work in prison due to security issues. He plans to take people from NWRC into the prison and skill then up there. The inmates will be able to interact with NWRC people on their recovery journey creating an osmosis process of recovery, and see them on the outside when they finish their sentence. Eternal will be able to get incredibly powerful stories about people recovering inside and outside of prison. Marcus Fair is Founder of Eternal Media. 16 January 2024.