Athletico Mince is a British comedy podcast hosted by Bob Mortimer and Andy Dawson.[1][2] The series began life as a humorous take on the world of football, including discussions such as whether being gentle in the Premier League makes one a better manager. As the podcast evolved however, the focus of the segments has switched more towards the bizarre, and often true, experiences and encounters of the hosts.[3] Despite the move away from football, there are still a number of features that include personalities within the world of sport such as Steve McClaren, Mark Lawrenson and Peter Beardsley. Other features include Bob’s trips to South Africa, Dom Littlewood and Andy's interactions with Jeremy Corbyn.[4]
The podcast was first released on 8 March 2016. In late 2016 a live version of the show was created and has since been toured around the UK, with a video available online.[5] As of March 2018, the podcast had over 30 million listeners, with over 200,000 per episode.[6][7][8]
Since April 2019, the podcast has used Patreon as a platform to introduce the 'Club Parsnips'[9] membership. This allows the audience to pay for the content, if they wish. The benefits include bonus episodes, access to episodes earlier and no advertisements during episodes.
In most cases, each section is self contained. However, on some occasions there have been crossovers within the stories, for example, the Alderman appearing at a Jeremy Corbyn rally and Peter Beardsley featuring in episodes of Gangs of the EPL.
Each episode of Athletico Mince uses a traditional oriental folk music track for the intro and as a bridge between sections of the podcast. In the first episode Andy explains the music "is to send a message to our Far East listeners". As such, the theme music is an ongoing satirical jibe at Premier League clubs who portray themselves as "global" clubs in order to promote their brand in Asian markets.
As the show has progressed the focus and themes within the podcasts have evolved. While football began as the sole focus of the show, numerous other areas have become important areas of discussion.
Prior to the start of Athletico Mince, Bob underwent heart surgery that saved his life.[14] A running joke in many of the episodes involves Bob questioning Andy as to why he hasn't bothered to ask about his health. With Andy living in Sunderland, and Bob having moved to the more affluent south of England from Middlesbrough, a lot of the humour is based on the social standing of the hosts with Dawson portrayed as a lower class, run-down character and Mortimer as a pompous millionaire who has servants and/or slaves.[15]
In April 2017 Dawson released The World of Football According to Athletico Mince.[16]
Animated versions of the songs, themes and stories have been made available online and used during the live shows. Fan-made instrumental versions of the songs have been used in later episodes.
Certain performances of the 2020 live tour were postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.[13]
The episode artwork for the first 50 episodes was illustrated by artist and designer Ben Brignell.[17]
The chief animator for the podcast is graphic designer @benpics.[18] His cartoon work and animation blends caricature and observation to add another dimension to the podcast.
The podcast has received a largely positive response from both critics and fans with many enjoying its use of football as a theme, without listeners having to be avid followers of the sport.[1][19] There has also been praise for Mortimer due to his performances without his comedy partner Vic Reeves, yet still in keeping with his surreal style. In an interview with Mortimer, Joe Zadeh from Vice quipped that the podcast "from episode one...derailed immediately from its intended topic of football, and has since become a bizarre and engrossing world of idle chat, improvised tales and sketches that often prolapse mid-joke".[20]
Bruce Dessau from The London Evening Standard stated "This is distinctly daft comedy, full of in-jokes, catchphrases and occasional songs. It evokes Viz comic as much as comic Vic Reeves, yet Athletico Mince is very much a winner in its own right."[21]
InThe Guardian’s countdown of the 50 best podcasts of 2016, Gwilym Mumford named his favourite episode as "Steve’s Restaurant Showdown, which features a surreal Scottish folk tale from Mortimer that rivals anything he’s managed as part of Reeves and Mortimer."[22]
