PODCAST: On the Marie Curie Couch with Anthony 'Staz' Stazicker

Staz is a decorated former UK Special Forces operator with 13 years of distinguished service. After leaving the military, he co-founded ThruDark, a technical clothing brand inspired by his experience, has become a bestselling author, and appeared on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins. In 2013, he received the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for actions in Afghanistan, and in May 2025, broke the world record for the fastest round trip from London to the top of Mount Everest and back, raising over £100,000 for charity.

In this conversation, Staz talks about the death of his mum, Suzanne, who died when he was 11, the effect of her death on his life, and doing grief 'right'.

Oddly, I don’t have many memories of my mum. I’ve got a couple of small memories. But my main memory of her now is her in that coffin. I did not want to be in that room. I didn’t want to touch her, I didn’t want to kiss her. I just was really, really uncomfortable in that situation. It was probably too much to ask of an 11 year old boy, a week after losing their mum to come and say goodbye. I don’t blame anybody for that. Everything was done with the right intentions.

I’m not particularly religious myself, but I went through phases of being brought up by my grandparents who are religious, and I sort of thought there is bigger and better than ourselves. That isn’t necessarily a God… but I would always speak to that something and, that something, that person, being my mum. Which did help me.

Listen to Jason's chat with Staz on the player at the top of the page. You can also listen or download the conversation via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also watch a subtitled version of the conversation on YouTube.

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