The Formula Behind Diary Of A CEO's Trailers | Director of Trailers, Anthony Smith

The man who made millions of people click play on The Diary of a CEO just walked away from the job!In this episode, Anthony Smith, the show's Director of Trailers for four and a half years, reveals the death threat, the burnout, and the real reason he quit one of the most influential roles in podcasting.Anthony Smith spent four and a half years as Director of Trailers for The Diary of a CEO, the podcast hosted by Steven Bartlett that reaches over 10 million viewers a month. Before DOAC, Anthony worked as a video editor at a London agency producing social content for Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and James Bond, and started his own production company straight out of university, working with clients including Asda and the NHS. His trailer style, built through years of trial, error, and at points real burnout, became one of the most recognisable parts of the DOAC brand. In mid-2026, after roughly 450 trailers, Anthony left the company to start a new chapter.In this episode:• Why Anthony left The Diary of a CEO after 4.5 years, and what nobody tells you about walking away from adream job• The death threat he received while working on the show, and how he handled it• How losing an entire day's footage on his biggest early client taught him the most valuable lesson of his career• What burnout actually felt like, including the point where he wanted to quit media entirely and become a traindriver• Why he believes storytelling, not budget or technology, is the real reason The Diary of a CEO succeededIf this gave you even one idea worth stealing, subscribe, there's a new conversation like this every week!Chapters:00:00 I Received A Death Threat01:24 He Just Quit Diary Of A CEO03:04 The Day He Walked Out, He Felt Nothing06:59 The Kid Who Wore A Mask To Fit In13:47 The Night His Acting Dream Died On Stage22:44 “You've Sold Your Soul To The Devil”25:07 Starting A Company Out Of Pure Necessity27:03 Asda, £400 A Video, And A Furious Lecturer38:34 The Shot That Lost Them Everything44:17 How The Partnership Actually Ended48:02 Breakdown, Panic Attacks And Hiding It All56:10 The Dream Job: Disney, Marvel, Bond1:01:52 The Adidas Pitch That Got Him Hired1:08:37 Crying While He Worked, Because He Couldn't Stop1:13:33 Why He Nearly Became A Train Driver1:33:21 The Real Reason He Left Diary Of A CEO1:42:17 The Death Threat, In His Own Words1:45:16 The Message From A Man With Cancer1:50:52 Why Story Is The Most Powerful Thing On EarthFollow Anthony:https://www.instagram.com/anthonyr.smith/?hl=enFollow Olly: https://www.instagram.com/olly.303/https://www.tiktok.com/@ollyfawcett303?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pchttps://www.linkedin.com/in/olly-fawcett-668566177/Get frequent behind the scenes updates from Olly: https://whatittakes.kit.com/51cd36dc35Key words: Anthony Smith, Diary of a CEO trailers, Director of Trailers Diary of a CEO, Steven Bartlett podcast, Diary of a CEO editor, podcast trailer editor, how to make podcast trailers, Diary of a CEO team, Anthony Smith editor, DOAC trailers explained, podcast marketing strategy, video editing career, self-taught video editor, burnout in the creative industry, storytelling psychology, Disney Marvel Star Wars editor, What It Takes podcast Olly Fawcett, why did Anthony Smith leave Diary of a CEO, Diary of a CEO staff departures, podcast video marketing