This is Niall Mackay, The Podcast Guy. I am the founder of Seven Million Bikes Podcasts, which offers podcasting services.
Today, I’ll tell you more about my story. This blog isn’t just a retelling of what happened. It’s about the lessons I took from those setbacks: the power of focus, the importance of saying no, and why resilience matters more than talent.
Falling in Love with Podcasts
I had been a podcast fan since the very beginning. Back in the iPod days, I would download episodes at home, put them on my iPod, and listen on the bus to university. I remember laughing out loud at the Ricky Gervais show in 2002 while everyone looked at me like I was crazy.
When Serial came out in 2014, podcasting exploded. My wife and I would sit on the couch and listen to every new episode together, which was rare because podcasts were usually something you listened to alone. I didn’t know it then, but that love for podcasts would shape my future.
Moving to Vietnam & Building a Life
In 2015, we came to Vietnam for a vacation and fell in love with the country. We came back in 2016, and somehow, nine years later, we were still here.
I worked in fundraising for charities. At ILA Community Network, we raised $60,000 to build a school in the Mekong Delta. It was an amazing job. But when my wife’s schedule changed, I suddenly had Sundays free. I didn’t want to spend all day drinking, so I started looking for something new.
That’s when the idea came—why not start a podcast?
The Birth of Seven Million Bikes
I noticed that in Saigon, when you asked people what they did, many would say, “I’m just a teacher.” That frustrated me because nobody is “just” a teacher, and also because I knew many had much more to their story. Musicians, designers, professionals—they were all here, but their stories weren’t being shared.
I wanted to change that.
One day I read that Saigon had 7.4 million motorbikes for 9 million people. I thought it was a quirky fact and a perfect name: Seven Million Bikes.
I recorded the first episodes at home with one microphone on the table. Sometimes my dog snored in the background. I knew nothing about audio or editing. I used GarageBand on my old laptop. Still, to my surprise, people listened. Not just a few, but hundreds. Slowly, the podcast grew and became known.
The Setbacks of COVID and Being a “Yes Man”
By 2019, Seven Million Bikes had grown beyond a podcast. I was also running comedy shows, quiz nights, and other events. I thought I was building an entertainment company. Then COVID came.
At first, Vietnam was lucky. While the world shut down, life here carried on. But in 2021, the lockdown hit us hard. Events stopped overnight. I registered my company right before that, paid all the fees, and then had no income.
I tried to survive by doing everything. I was teaching in schools, hosting online quiz nights, making TikTok videos, even doing pharmaceutical marketing. At one point, I counted eight different jobs. From the outside, it looked like I was successful. Inside, I knew I was exhausted and not making much money.
That year I learned the danger of being a “yes man.” Saying yes to everything meant I wasn’t doing anything well.
The Turning Point – Focus on One Thing
In 2023, we went back to America to visit family. I had time to think. I asked myself what I really wanted to do. I didn’t want to be a full-time teacher. I didn’t want to be a TikTok star. I didn’t want to run around chasing side jobs.
What I loved most was podcasting. I had learned so much, and I enjoyed helping others create their shows. My wife reminded me that I had built skills that could help people. She told me to use them.
So I decided: I would stop doing everything else and focus only on podcast production.
I rebranded as Seven Million Bikes Podcasts. And almost immediately, things changed. Clients started coming in. I hired my first editor. For the first time, I felt like I was on the right path.
Big Wins and Recognition
By 2024, things had grown even more. We worked with RMIT Vietnam on their 25th anniversary podcast. It was a huge project recorded in London, Paris, Barcelona, and Saigon. I didn’t get flown out, but I was proud that we could manage such an international production from Vietnam.
That same year, we won big. At the Asia Podcast Awards, we won Best Interview Podcast and I was named Best Producer in Asia. On top of that, our company won SME Company of the Year in Vietnam.
For the first time, I felt validated. Years of learning, struggling, and experimenting had led to real recognition.
My Health Scare and New Beginning
Then came 2025. In January, we lost our biggest client and had our worst month ever. I made barely a thousand dollars. In February, I started feeling dizzy. Doctors thought it might be vertigo, then a neurologist told me it could be brain cancer. For a moment, I thought I had four months to live.
Thankfully, more tests showed it was multiple sclerosis (MS), not cancer. It was still serious, but treatable. I went through treatment and started to feel better.
Lying in the hospital bed, I had time to think again. I always wanted to open a podcast studio, but I thought it would cost $20,000. I sat down and listed everything we needed. It came to about $6,000. Scary, but possible.
So when I got out, I found a small place in Saigon and opened the studio. We worked hard to set it up. By September, we were breaking even each month and even hired a studio assistant. We started attracting international clients.
It was a new beginning.
Conclusion
From laughing on a bus with my iPod to running a podcast production company in Saigon, it has been a wild journey. The mistakes, the wrong turns, the health scare—all of it shaped me.
Today, Seven Million Bikes Podcasts is growing stronger. We have clients, a studio, and a clear mission. The vision is big, and I believe it is possible.
If there’s one lesson I want to leave with you, it’s this: focus on one thing, say no to everything else, and keep going—even when the setbacks come.