Bonus episode. Friday drop. No apologies.

Chris Grimes and I sat down to pull back the curtain on exactly what we have built for Social Commerce Live in Manchester on the 5th of June, and honestly, the more we talked the more I realised this thing has taken on a life of its own.

We have got Spectrum bringing Russell Hobbs, George Foreman and Remington, all three brands in the room with samples. We have got Wilko, who launched on TikTok Shop and are doing numbers that would make your eyes water. We have got a live studio next door where you can watch a professional brand live in action, the kind of setup that rivals what Outlandish put on in California. We have got a creator panel with Matt, Gus, Joe, Kelly Jones who took Whatnot from zero to 400,000 pounds since November, and Leighton, an actual OG QVC presenter who has more tricks up his sleeve than most people on TikTok will ever know.

But this episode is about more than the agenda. Chris and I get into why the creator and brand relationship has become so toxic, why that narrative is mostly coming from one side, and what actually happens when you get the right creator, the right brand and the right agency in the same room together.

We also talk cross platform, what it really means, why TikTok is still the engine but should not be the whole car, and why every affiliate sitting in the TikTok bubble right now is leaving serious money on the table.

Tickets are still available but not for long. Link below.

Social Commerce LIVE in Manchester: https://des-hamilton.co.uk/social-commerce-live-manchester/

Sponsored by SellerAMP SAS Seller Amp: http://selleramp.com/hellorich Use code: HELLORICH_SAS for 50% discount on month 1 or HELLORICH_SAS_ANNUAL for 5% discount on year 1

Follow me on the socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/des_hamilton_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@des_hamilton YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@des_hamilton Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/deshamilton

Join AffiliNation: https://affilination.co.uk/

He was a national operations manager for a pharmaceutical company. Away Monday to Friday. Missing his daughter grow up. A career that was going places.

Then he had a mini stroke. And just like that, it was over.

For six weeks he could barely speak. His short term memory has never fully come back. His wife Stacey runs his calendar, his diary, his life. And yet in less than two years, Matt Scoons, better known as Embarrassing Dad, has become one of the most recognised creators on TikTok in the UK.

£450,000 in GMV in six weeks on garden furniture. Selling out 120 dash cams in 15 minutes because someone crashed into a car in the background of his live. Nearly £2m in GMV in nine months last year. A trip to China, all expenses paid by TikTok, the day after he speaks at Social Commerce Live in Manchester.

In part one of this conversation, we go right back to the beginning. Who Matt was before any of this. Why a comment from his daughter turned into a TikTok channel. And how a working class lad from a council estate ended up making so much money he worried the police were going to knock on his door.

This is one of the best stories I have heard since getting into this space. And I have heard a few.

Part two next week.

Social Commerce LIVE in Manchester:
https://des-hamilton.co.uk/social-commerce-live-manchester/

Sponsored by SellerAMP SAS Seller Amp:
http://selleramp.com/hellorich
Use code: HELLORICH_SAS for 50% discount on month 1 or HELLORICH_SAS_ANNUAL for 5% discount on year 1

Follow me on the socials:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/des_hamilton_
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@des_hamilton
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@des_hamilton
Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/deshamilton

Join AffiliNation: https://affilination.co.uk/

She had a year's wage saved up. She was ten grand short. So she sold her car, topped it up, and handed in her notice.

That is the kind of person Vicki Morgan is.

In part two of this conversation, we get into the part of Vicki's story that I think is going to land hardest. We talk about what it actually feels like to go full time as a TikTok creator, the grind of three videos a day for six months before anything clicked, the treadmill lives that built her a community of people who came back every single day just to get their steps in and have a chat, the shark vacuum cleaner that made her mate Pete a grand in one night, and why she is still driving her mum and dad's old Citroen and absolutely loves it.

But more than any of that, this episode is about mindset. Vicki figured something out that most people never do. She stopped worrying about the platform, stopped chasing the algorithm, and just kept being herself. And the more chilled out she got, the more stuff came her way.

She also gave some of the most honest advice I have heard on this show about what it actually takes to make the leap. Life is too short to be miserable. Just give it a real go.

Social Commerce LIVE in Manchester:
https://des-hamilton.co.uk/social-commerce-live-manchester/

Sponsored by SellerAMP SAS
Seller Amp: http://selleramp.com/hellorich
Use code: HELLORICH_SAS for 50% discount on month 1 or HELLORICH_SAS_ANNUAL for 5% discount on year 1

Follow me on the socials:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/des_hamilton_
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@des_hamilton
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@des_hamilton
Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/deshamilton

Join AffiliNation:
https://affilination.co.uk/

She spent 15 years in social work. Two degrees. Psychosis units. Adults in crisis. A job she signed up for out of genuine care, that over time took chunks out of her that she is never getting back.

Then she saw a bloke in a charity shop scanning books on TikTok. And everything changed.

In this episode I sit down with Vicki Morgan, one of the most respected creators in the AffiliNation community and someone who has been on this journey with me almost from the very beginning. We go back to where it all started, from used books and ScoutIQ green lights in charity shops, through to online arbitrage, Jellycat at Christmas, and eventually making the leap into TikTok shop full time.

But more than the money stuff, this is a conversation about what happens when you finally stop being the person your job has turned you into and start being the person you actually are. Vicki's mum said it best. She just seems happy all the time now.

Part one of two. And trust me, part two is worth the wait.

Links mentioned: Seller Amp: http://selleramp.com/hellorich Use code: HELLORICH_SAS for 50% discount on month 1 or HELLORICH_SAS_ANNUAL for 5% discount on year 1

Follow me on the socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/des_hamilton_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@des_hamilton YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@des_hamilton Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/deshamilton

Join AffiliNation: https://affilination.co.uk/ Next Live Event Sign Up: https://forms.gle/Ak638G5oCeiTCupE8

It's been a full calendar year. 52 episodes, a curtain call, three failed attempts at something new, and one conversation over drinks in London that changed everything.

I'm back.

In this comeback episode, I pull back the curtain on the last 12 months: how Luke Colwell and I built AffiliNation from a TikTok Shop community into an award-winning agency recognised by TikTok themselves, how we navigated a hand grenade moment that forced a full business restructure, and why, when most agencies are falling apart, we are still standing and growing.

But this episode is not really about the business. It is about what "rich" actually means when you finally have it. Time. School runs. A garden. A kid in swimming lessons on a Tuesday afternoon. And the realisation that the story does not end when the challenge is won. It just moves into a harder, more interesting chapter.

I also get into why I walked away from the podcast in the first place, why three attempts to replace it all fell flat, and what two friends said to me over drinks that finally made me press record again.

If you are someone building something from nothing, trying to get your time back, or wondering whether it is too late to switch lanes, this one is for you.

The show is back. Every Wednesday. And it is only going to get bigger.

Links mentioned:

Seller Amp: http://selleramp.com/hellorich
Use code:
HELLORICH_SAS for 50% discount on month 1
or
HELLORICH_SAS_ANNUAL for 5% discount on year 1

Follow me on the socials:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/des_hamilton_
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@des_hamilton
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@des_hamilton
Substack - https://open.substack.com/pub/deshamilton

Join AffiliNation
https://affilination.co.uk/

Next Live Event Sign Up
https://forms.gle/Ak638G5oCeiTCupE8

• How I started the podcast with nothing but an iPhone and an idea
  
  
• Why production value and consistency matter more than fancy gear
  
  
• From guests like Jamie, Tara, Luke, and Natalie to millionaires reaching out to me
  
  
• The power of podcasting for personal branding and building your network
  
  
• Why I’m stepping away from this show—and what’s coming next with The Untold Podcast
  
  

• Why this is the final interview on the show and what’s next for me
  
  
• How Ron balances a demanding job with building a TikTok income stream
  
  
• The mental shift from imposter syndrome to full confidence
  
  
• Hard truths about affiliate marketing, trolls, and the TikTok algorithm
  
  
• Building multiple income streams, personal branding, and learning to rest

• Ron’s journey from struggling to making over £4,000 from a single viral video.
  
  
• The grind of producing content consistently and how it paid off.
  
  
• The transformative power of TikTok Lives and how Ron found his passion.
  
  
• How personal growth and confidence skyrocketed through TikTok marketing.
  
  
• Insights into how Ron balances authenticity and salesmanship.