This week, talent agent Yan Javeri joins me for part one of a two-part conversation. We go back to a childhood built on practicality rather than explanation, being sent to boarding school at eight while his brother stayed home, and the years he spent quietly studying other people to work out how to belong. It's a story about camouflage, and what it costs to build a version of yourself just to fit in.

Follow Yan on Instagram at @yancameronj.

Follow along on TikTok and Instagram at @christopherallenofficial, and subscribe on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Wednesday.

References mentioned in this episode:

- University of Westminster, Harrow campus (formerly Harrow School of Art, where Yan studied): https://arts.westminster.ac.uk/history

CONTENT WARNINGS

- FAMILY ESTRANGEMENT

- BOARDING SCHOOL SEPARATION AT A YOUNG AGE

- BULLYING

- AN EMOTIONALLY UNHEALTHY EARLY RELATIONSHIP

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

03:08 Four pages of prep, and a year of therapy

07:32 Always structured: mapping things out to feel in control

08:24 A childhood of sensory overload and no explanations

09:38 Sent to boarding school at eight, while his brother stayed home

14:40 Negotiating his way back to state school

15:38 The crocodile briefcase: culture shock in Essex

19:59 Studying the popular kids, and building a version of himself

23:34 Art school, his first boyfriend, and getting in by fibbing

25:13 Fearless at Harrow: cleaning toilets at 4am for his freedom

31:48 An invitation to Geneva