The Creative Journey; Persistence & Integrity.

It was at a tasting with Mount Gay XO, that I appreciated the need to persevere to benefit from what lies ahead, the first couple of sips of XO can feel harsh and its not until the third ‘vital’ sip, when you get the best of the Flavour!

In a similar, way the creative journey can feel like it’s all a bit too much, many turn away and pursue more conventional paths but, if you stick with it the rewards can be plentiful.

Jordan’s Story:

Jordan Edwards is a presenter and writer from North London. He specializes in giving a voice to those who are seemingly voiceless or underrepresented in society with the aim of changing perceptions around both mental health and black history.

Motivations…

For me, growing up there was always a set path in life. We never really had much money, so I always knew that I’d have to do well at school, go to university and get a good job. That’ll be what gets you out of the hardships of the day-to-day struggle. Now that I’m pursuing a career in presenting and journalism, it’s become apparent to me that my experiences and passions can actually be very valuable to others. I’m currently making bitesize black history videos based on the fact that the scope of history I was taught at school was very narrow (a sad reality for all kids in this country). My main motivating factor is the idea that somebody can watch one of my videos and be inspired! Each video is usually between five and ten minutes long to make it as digestible as possible. I want kids and adults alike to be able to take little nuggets of information away from each video and tell their friends because so much of history has been erased or warped – it’s so important that people understand what really came before them and with that, they can start to appreciate their own power.

What Is Success?…

It took me a long time to work out what “success” really is. I graduated from University in 2014 still with no idea what my life would look like. There was absolutely no traditional career path that stood out to me and I just became really unhappy. How would I ever be “successful” if I’ve got no idea where I’m going? That’s when it hit me – success is happiness and happiness is the thing I need to be pursuing above all else. If, one day, I look back on my life and see I made so much money doing a job that made me miserable, there’s no way I could call myself successful. I could say I was good at my job, but if my job makes me miserable then what’s the point? Since I shifted my perspective on happiness and success, I’ve taken the pressure off myself a bit – allowing myself the time to pursue different avenues of creativity which have ultimately led me to where I am today – whether I’m on-set conducting interviews, researching for articles or at home talking to a camera, I can do it with a smile on my face – and, although I’m still in the early stages of my career – for me, that’s success!

The Importance Of Support…

I know that if it weren’t for the support of my loved ones, there’s no way I’d have backed myself to take quite so many leaps of faith! I’m somebody who is very selective about the people I have around me and I’ve managed to cultivate a tight-knit group of friends and family who will always push me towards new challenges. I’m definitely someone who can test people’s patience sometimes though, so my love and appreciation for them putting up with me knows no bounds! They are nothing but supportive of my journey both professionally and personally.

My Most Vital Support…

It kind of goes without saying for me that my mum has been there every step of the way. I can imagine not many parents would be quite so supportive of their child quitting their job in order to pursue happiness with no guaranteed stability on the other side but she understood it more than I could’ve possibly imagined. There’s never been any pressure or expectation for me to fit a certain mould and that’s something that I’ll always be so grateful for. She continues to support me with everything I do and is constantly making adjustments to her own schedule so that I can record whenever I need to.

There’s also no way I’d have been able to prove so much to myself if it wasn’t for my partner. She’s been amazing! She’s also following a creative path as an artist so we have a shared understanding of the struggles and stresses that can bring. Being on the same page with somebody is probably the most valuable thing you can have in life and we’ve spent so many hours bigging each other up to the point where we know we can achieve anything we set our minds to. Of course, this means that everything that once seemed out of my reach now feels fully attainable as long as I continue to move forward.

My Goals For The Future – Short Term & Long Term…

I don’t like to make concrete goals for the future because the nature of the creative path is so fluid and constantly changing. I do, however, have some rough plans. In the immediate future I will be investing more into my Youtube Channel to be able to create a higher quality of content and grow the channel. Ultimately, I would love to use the channel almost like a portfolio so that as I evolve as a presenter, my progress is there for all to see and it could potentially lead to more work with other organisations because presenting some kind of investigative documentary really appeals to me. I do also love being an independent creator and I really enjoy conducting interviews with people who have amazing stories to tell. For now, I’m doing that for the most part in the form of writing but I would hope that one day I’ll be able to make the transition towards recording regular video interviews that capture people’s imagination – so who knows, perhaps I’ll be a regular fixture on Youtube for the foreseeable future!

Persistence & Resilience…

If there’s one guarantee, it’s that the creative journey is a long one! If you’ve got that integrity to create things which are deeply meaningful to you, then it’ll take a long time for it to take hold and for people to start recognising your talent. It’s like when there’s a new TV show out – the audience are more likely to watch it if there’s at least one familiar face and I think that’s because people are generally more comfortable with something or someone that they know. There’s an element of trust there which, when you’re starting from the beginning as an independent creative, is something that takes a while to build. Sadly, there is a recipe for instant success but it’s one that just doesn’t really appeal to me. You can look at a platform like TikTok for example; all you really have to do is stay on top of the current trends, do them well and the recognition will come. While that might be tempting for some, that all just feels a bit empty to me.

True creativity is about expressing what’s inside you, so you have to stay persistent with it and build up that sense of resilience because it’s a lot of hard work and there’ll be a lot more knockbacks. You think you’ve opened one door but then it slams back in your face so you’ve got to be prepared to keep pushing because like I said, we’re playing the long game here.

Advice For My Younger Self…

Although I’ve been presenting for quite a few years now, it seems as if opportunities are just recently beginning to come my way, so weirdly enough, it kinda feels like I’ve only just started in my career. Now I’m proving to myself that I am good at what I do and there’s so much room to get even better! If I could go back and chat to myself a few years ago I’d simply say ‘Do it! You can make all the excuses in the world about not having the time, or the space to get it done the way you envision, but just do something!’ Imagine you’re standing at the threshold of the world that you see for your future – it can take you years to make that first step over the threshold, but then you’re in it and the second step will just come naturally after that. Then when you’re ready, you can take the next one.’ If I could have heard those words from my future self, it might have been the wake up call that I needed to have a bit more faith in myself. I’ve already had so many amazing experiences and it’s crazy to think how many more I might’ve had if I’d have just pulled my finger out a bit sooner!

Biggest Hurdle or Barrier…

My biggest barrier was probably myself, y’know? I never really had that self-belief to seriously back myself. Carving your own way is something that you’re never taught about in school. Everything is laid out in front of you to get an education and then get a job so that always seemed so much more attainable – it’s just the default option and you almost get convinced that if you don’t take the default option, then there’s nothing else and you’ll never amount to anything. So, for me, really changing my mindset to believe that no matter how hard it’s gonna be, I’m good enough to do this was a massive turning point for me.

To see Jordan’s work, head over to his Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdwDpQ9rkjBpl_1fAiJZlnw

Lauren-Marie’s Story:

Lauren-Marie Haywood is a multidisciplinary portrait artist from East London. Her work involves creating pieces that explore the intersection between womanhood and blackness. She specifically addresses the struggles that affect black women in London today and throughout history.

Motivations…

It’s not always easy being a young creative. There are so many outside pressures and obstacles to contend with but then I see the impact that my work has on people. Seeing and hearing the reactions of people who my work resonates with is definitely one of my greatest motivations. Each of the concepts behind what I do is rooted in theory, history and my own personal experience of being a contemporary Black Briton. I feel a genuine sense of pride when people who have similar experiences to my own tell me that my work makes them feel seen or understood. That’s really what drives me to continue doing what I do.

What Is Success?…

One thing that’s important to consider is that African history is so rich and complex and it’s something that has deep rooted emotional ties to the community. There’s a certain shared experience between people of African descent today; one that permeates through generations. In creating a visual artwork, my main goal is to highlight and preserve elements of black history which affect these shared experiences. But what determines my success in reaching this goal? Well, in conveying a sense of empowerment and unity, I feel like my notion of ‘success’ really comes from the community. The feedback and support that I receive from people with whom my work resonates is so important to me. For me, this is the ultimate marker of success.

The Importance Of Support…

It’s an amazing feeling when you can express an emotion that resonates with others and it really highlights the importance of being surrounded by like-minded and supportive people; both for my work and for my journey. I’m incredibly lucky to have such a strong support network of loving friends and family who are not only unafraid to express their sense of pride in what I do, but are also unafraid to offer their criticism and advice when I need it most – even if I don’t necessarily agree! This is something which can’t be understated and it’s such a pleasure to be surrounded by so many other creative and ambitious people who also have that drive to progress within their own careers. It’s an attitude that was instilled in me from a young age – growing up around so many hard-working people has had a huge impact on my own work ethic and has pushed me to achieve things both personally and within my practice that I never would have thought myself capable of.

My Most Vital Support…

Given that there have been so many influences in my life, it’s difficult to pin down who might be the single, most vital support in my career so far. That being said, there are certainly some strong female figures in my family whose support has been instrumental in allowing me to achieve what I have in my career; chiefly my mum, grandmother and one of my close aunties. I was born and raised in East London, and my family migrated to Britain from the island of St. Vincent as part of the influx of migrants from the Caribbean’s Windrush generation. I am always amazed to hear and see the things that they were able to achieve with the few resources they had. I have a deep love and appreciation of black women that permeates and colours everything I do. The ethic these figures have collectively instilled within me is to tackle every task, no matter how trivial, to the best of my abilities. It’s served me very well throughout my life, and has pushed me to do better in every aspect of my career.

My Goals For The Future – Short Term & Long Term…

Moving forward, I would like to think big and to do that I’ll be looking into renting my own studio space! I’ve been confined to my bedroom and the living room table since lockdown although sometimes restrictions like that can do wonders for the creative process. I’ve actually been able to create some really fun things from these spaces! Particularly my trio of pieces entitled Edible Excavation which might just be my favourite to date! Despite this, I am excited about the prospect of being able to work on things at a large scale again, similar to how I did in the Studios at The University of Westminster. I also spend the time that I am not creating, teaching and supporting those with profound special needs. So, in terms of taking the next step in my career, I am hoping that within the next three years, I will be able to work towards earning a Masters Degree in Art Psychotherapy; a profession that is a combination of many of the things which are important to me. The visual arts have been such an essential fixture in my life, and I will never forget those who have supported me not only in learning and honing my craft, but also in using it as an outlet to process and understand the things that I have experienced throughout my life. I have always wanted to give this experience to others, in the same way that my teachers, tutors, and mentors gifted it to me. I am excited to see which direction my career takes, and I hope that whatever I end up doing professionally, this goal always remains central.

Persistence & Resilience…

I definitely wouldn’t have been able to achieve a lot of the things that I have done if it wasn’t for my persistence. I think the creative industry, from whichever point that you try to come at it from, is a very difficult industry to get into because it’s such a competitive world. I’ve met a lot of very talented people who I think should have a lot more hype around their work but haven’t been able to break the barriers that they wanted to break whether it’s as a result of funding, not being able to make it into enough media outlets or whatever the case may be. I think, since graduating from University, I’ve been very, very persistent in the way that I’ve approached different agencies to get my work out there; uploading my work online to get people to see it, to build a big enough audience so that people know what I do and appreciate what I do.

The things that I create are very much embedded in my identity; my blackness, who I am and the way that I tackle the struggles that I go through in life. It’s really important to me that in whatever I do, I’m genuine and as true to myself as possible. Having the resilience to be consistently authentic is the best way for people to understand where you’re coming from and to believe in what you’re doing.

Advice For My Younger Self…

If I could give my younger self one piece of advice it would be that you are never truly experiencing the things you are going through alone. There exist people with many of the same passions, insecurities, fears, experiences, and need for support as you. Speak up and find your tribe. Your voice could be the voice that someone else needs to hear.

Biggest Hurdle or Barrier…

It can be very difficult to maintain a presence in the art world as someone who is coming from a working-class background. Funding is something which isn’t easily accessible although there are lots of things that you can apply to. Having been born and raised in East London; I, like most people, have worked hard to get the things that I have and, as I mentioned earlier, I’m still in the process of acquiring a studio space that I can physically work in and create things in. So that’s probably my biggest struggle – having the funds to maintain what I do. I think a lot of the materials that I use are quite expensive as well and my process is quite time consuming but the rewards, I get from it; the way it connects with people, keeps me pushing through that barrier.

To see some of Lauren-Marie’s work, you can head over to her Instagram @laurenmariehaywood or go to https://shiverarts.com/pages/shiver-presents-lauren-marie-haywood

Lloyd’s Story:

Lloyd Willacy is a filmmaker (director/director of photography) and a singer-songwriter.

Originally hailing from Preston, Lloyd’s been living in London for the last six years specialising in promos, music videos, and commercials.

Motivations…

As a creative, you need to have faith in whatever it is that you’re creating because at first, no one’s really gonna be interested. So a big motivation for me was when I started to get emails back, y’know? I started to get more phone calls and people hitting me up on Instagram because of what I was sharing. It was reassurance that staying true to me was the right thing to do.

All of us are unique, so knowing that people can see my stuff and be like ‘yeah, that’s the look I want. Let me get in touch with this guy’ – that’s a massive motivating factor to keep going and to keep doing things my way. You know you’ve got that backing and you can say to yourself ‘You know what? I’m not bad at this. Maybe I can actually make a living doing this!’ Don’t get me wrong, there will always be people who don’t quite get it and sometimes they can be the loudest voices you hear but being able to ignore them – to just keep doing what I’m doing and getting results from that – again, that’s a huge motivation for me.

What Is Success?…

For me, success is about doing what feels right for you. We’re all faced with difficult decisions in our lives and careers but when you back yourself, you can look back knowing that you made the right decisions along the way and that you’re happy doing the things you do – I reckon that’s what success is.

I’m in a really blessed position that I get to wake up everyday and be happy doing something that I’ve worked my arse off for! Ultimately, I really enjoy what I do, y’know? My days are good. There are so many people who hate that period of morning til evening and I would say to them that you need to find a way out because you do have a choice and you can make a change for the better. I get to have that continual realisation of ‘Fuck! This is pretty cool, man! I’m directing and shooting videos!’ and that’s something that I have to remember not to take for granted but it’s just that feeling of happiness and appreciation that I would really have to call ‘success’. It’s so important to grab hold of that feeling, regardless of what it is that I’m actually doing, and to keep it going.

Importance of Support…

We’re all a product of what’s around us so it’s super important to have a supportive network of family and friends! Personally, I’m a very sensitive and emotional person; I really hold on to the people that I love and I care about what they think of me and of what I do.

I’ve come to realise that it’s important to be understood. I used to tell myself ‘Nah, it’s not important to be understood, I’m just just gonna do whatever. I don’t need someone to understand what I do day-to-day.’ The thing is though, I’m a very personable person – I share my emotions and feelings about everything really, personally and professionally. I’d actually say that my work is so connected to who I am as a person that I want to be able to share that with the people that are close to me so they can understand it – like elevate me and support me. It’s so important to be surrounded by people who can offer you that support and who are walking in the same direction with you. Not necessarily pursuing the same things but just sharing that positivity and ambition.

My Most Vital Support…

This might sound weird but one of the biggest supports in a way has been myself, man! Being in those times of severe darkness and allowing myself to think ‘That was alright’. It doesn’t mean that I’m fucked or that I’m mad and I can’t do this. It just means that my needs haven’t been met and I need to find a way of making that happen. To continually forecast that level of hope and ability to come back from really low times has been a blessing so finding that ability to support myself was a really important factor.

I’m not about to go and get ‘SELF MADE’ tattooed on my knuckles though! Obviously the support of parents has been crucial. They’ve seen the times when I’ve had no money and no projects in the calendar but they believe in what I’m doing. They might not see it in the same level of detail that I do but they understand that what I’m doing isn’t easy. I’m always making tough decisions and putting myself in difficult situations so to have them there saying ‘we know you’re on the right path, making the right decisions. It is gonna be hard but just keep going’ makes it so much easier to have that faith in myself.

I’ve also got a certain few friends who I’m really grateful for! There are a lot of dickheads in the industry but the people I have around me fully get it. When you’re a nice person a lot of people will see that and try to fuck you over wherever they can so it’s important for me to have that small group of close friends who I can trust and can talk to about these kinda things because without that, it could be really dangerous.

My Goals For The Future – Short Term & Long Term…

Well, I’ve been writing a few of my own films so in the short term I’d love to get them off the ground and obviously direct them. These are projects that I’ve had in my head and just been working through for the last year or so. I really want to go more into those because they’re real opportunities for me to explore the true depth of who I am. Being able to marry that with my creativity in a piece that I have full control over – that’s when I get really excited! Don’t get me wrong, I love all of it. I love shooting for people and directing for people but when it’s a project that you are fully in control of – there’s something special about that. It’s really gonna give me the chance to express myself and I think it could help a lot of people as well as being quite a therapeutic project for me.

I’m not really the type of person to set out, like, a five year plan but one thing I would like to achieve in the long term is directing a feature film – that’s a box I’d love to tick! I might even DoP it, you never know. Other than that, I just wanna keep doing what I’m doing; look after myself as much as possible and hopefully keep people liking what I’m doing.

Persistence & Resilience…

I think persistence and resilience is everything really. WIthout it, it would be impossible to really go anywhere. You’ve got to stick to who you are and what you wanna do and I think, try your best to not be distracted by what other people are doing. Like really, really, really stay away from comparison! Obviously you can see what people are up to and everyone’s influenced by certain things but when it comes to persistence, only be persistent in who you actually are. There’s no point in persisting in something that you’ve seen someone else do and thinking ‘I’m gonna do that because that works and it’s safe. It’s gonna go somewhere’. I think, if you’ve got a certain vision in your head you’ve just gotta keep going and going until you get there. If you keep doing something over and over again for a long period of time, then you’ll create something that is something on some kind of level. Obviously you’ve got to be good but what really defines ‘good’. You might do something that’s so leftfield or so different that no one’s ever seen it before. You’ve got no idea whether it’s good or not but then it becomes the next wave of influence on our culture. So whatever you’re doing on that continuum of creativity, if you believe there’s something in it, just keep doing it!

There are gonna be obstacles and it’s gonna be difficult. It might feel like no one is there to support you but that’s where you need to have that strength. It’s about the support you can provide for yourself because ultimately, you know who you are and you know what you need to do to be happy.

Advice For My Younger Self…

I’m kinda touching on what I’ve already said but that shows how important it is. Be persistent! I would tell my younger self not to listen to too many people or at least filter the opinions that you are getting. Be very considerate of who it is and how they see the world – Why are they saying what they are about the things you do? What’s the reason for their perspective? Is it valuable? Because you’re definitely gonna get some opinions over the course of your career, that’s for sure! It’s just about persisting through those scenarios and persisting with your creativity. Don’t settle – just keep going with it.

Also, I’d make my younger self aware of how much there actually is to running a business. It’s not something that’s really taught in school but being a creative usually means going down a path that isn’t that well documented and you’re kinda just figuring stuff out along the way. Even though I’m not a money guy, I’ve had to learn how finances work because you need to know how to handle money. That kinda stuff tends to stifle creativity so where I’d love to get someone involved to help out with it, things like that really are essential skills when it comes to self-employment.

Biggest Hurdle or Barrier…

For me, honestly what has had the most impact on my progression and the way in which I’ve progressed has been my mental health. I’ve had to navigate what it is to run a business whilst being creative and to make all that work whilst navigating the ups and downs of life. Making one thing work without affecting the other is really difficult because, for me it all just falls into one big frying pan just all being whisked around together. Who I am personally, is like who I am professionally so the biggest hurdle would definitely be my mental health. Fortunately, I’ve been able to get through the things that I have, continue doing what I love and make it work. There’s been times when I haven’t been able to do what I really love and when you’re in that position, you know that something’s wrong. It doesn’t mean that you should give up though or that you should start thinking you shouldn’t be doing this for a job. For me, it just meant that I needed help to be able to function efficiently in this crazy world and make it work without it having a real negative effect on my mental health.

To see some of Lloyd’s work, you can check out his Instagram @lloydwillacy or head over to his Vimeo page https://vimeo.com/lloydwillacy

Pashcan’el’s Story:

Pashcan’el Mitchell is an award-winning Hair Stylist from East London. With a focus on afro and textured hair, Pashcan’el is in high demand and has ambitions to reach the top of the industry.

Motivations…

Hair styling is an industry that is constantly changing and evolving so I would say, my main motivation comes from watching my colleagues – seeing what’s happening in the industry and keeping up to date with the latest trends and fashions. Everyone knows that trends kind of come back around so the idea of recycling what’s happened in the past and bringing it forward into modern times is what excites me. It does constantly keep me on my toes but I find it inspiring because the way I look at it – I’ll see what trends I like and I’ll try to give it some kind of unique twist so that ultimately, I’m setting my own trends. It’s hard to come up with something completely original because everything under the sun has been done. You’ve just got to put your own spin on what’s already out there. Sometimes that motivation does turn to pressure a little bit but you have to stay conscious not to let that pressure overwhelm you. It’s much better to just take a step back so you can look at the latest trend, digest it and ask yourself ‘How can I put my spin on it? or ‘What’s the next emerging trend I can get ahead of?’ but I really enjoy that part of the job – like I said, it keeps me on my toes.

What Is Success?…

We have a saying that you’re only as good as your last cut and that’s something that I take across the board with everything. If you can see progression within yourself and your own skill set, that’s a good marker of success. For me, that means always acting with intention and putting my all into everything I do. So I might have done a cut ten times before but I’ll never be on autopilot. The next time I do that cut, I’ll still be consciously thinking ‘I’m gonna keep this clean’.

Another element of success to me is standing out. If I’m on a shoot and there’s a particular style that’s on trend right now, the client is probably going to ask for that cut because everyone wants it! For me though, I have to put a different spin on it for each person and make it unique to them. Everyone has a different face shape so it’s all about understanding how you can tailor a particular look so that it suits different people. That’s why standing out is so important for me because it’s almost like a demonstration of the skills I have. I’m constantly competing against myself and for me, personally, it’s about seeing progression with myself and with my work; that is success. You can enter all the competitions out there but whether you win or lose, you have to come out of there thinking ‘how can I get better?’, ‘how can I be stronger next time?’ So competing and making sure you stand out is so important. Make sure that when you see your work, you love it and you find the beauty in it.

The Importance of Support…

I’ve had amazing support from my family and friends but that is such a broad term, isn’t it? – ‘Family and friends’ spans more than just the circle of where you were born. If you have a great network from the jump; your brothers, your sisters, your mum, your dad, auntie, uncle – that’s amazing! I had that growing up. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to be surrounded by this kind of network but there are always people to support you. Once I got into the industry, I found great mentors who I now consider friends that have supported me along my journey. It’s so important to remember this – there’s always a bigger network out there and you’ll be able to make those bonds with people so that when you’re feeling low, they’ll be there to hold you up. People like that can breathe new life into you and really keep you going.

Most Vital Support…

The people who initially opened the door to hairdressing were my mum and my brother. I wasn’t really keen on it at first – I just thought it wasn’t something that guys do but that’s when they said to me ‘If you care what people think of you, you’re not gonna go far’ – so that was obviously an important moment for me!

I remember at my first job, I was working with a lady named Patricia Hope and she could see that my heart still wasn’t in it so she showed me what hairdressing was really all about and what it had to offer. You’re not just standing behind the salon chair – you can enter competitions, go on cruises; you can literally take this anywhere in the world! There are so many different avenues and you can choose what road you want to go down with it. I think that really opened my eyes to all the possibilities that were open to me.

Even though I’ve got so much experience under my belt, I’m still learning and still wanting to get even better. I’m currently working with a lady named Jacqui McIntosh who is mentoring me and pushing me to the next step in my career. She’s basically polishing off my whole skillset, I guess. To have someone like that believing in me and saying ‘you know what, you can do this. You can take it to another level’ and working with me and getting me there is such a valuable asset to have and something which can’t be underestimated.

My Goals For The Future – Short Term & Long Term…

So in the short term, my aim is to just perfect my craft and to have a deep understanding of the science of hair. The thing I love the most is just making people beautiful and creating magic so I’m going to continue polishing off my skills so I can just keep improving! Thinking more towards the future though, my aim is to become one of the biggest trendsetters in the industry and to eventually open up an academy and a salon. One day, I’ll be in a position where I can use my skills in styling to travel around the world so I’m gonna say that’s technically a long term goal but I want that ASAP!

Persistence & Resilience…

With persistence you need to know that sometimes, you hit rock bottom and it might feel like you’re not progressing – like you’re stuck. It seems like your peers and the people that you’re watching are flying past you. You’re not earning what you want to earn and ultimately you’re not creating how you want to create. This could be due to your financial situation; or it could be emotional, mental or even a family issue – any number of things. I think when you really have persistence, you can dig in and find that creativity within whatever it is that you’re going through. That’s when you realise how strong you are and how persistent you have been. One day, you might look back and think ‘Wow! Five years have gone past and look what I’ve created!’

Having resilience and Integrity in life is also very important. You need to hold on to your morals but it can feel like a delicate balance at times. Life is always flowing and moving so holding onto your morals too tightly can stop you from achieving things or doing things that you thought were impossible. Having said that, if you let go of your morals entirely, you could end up in place that you never wanted to be in and that’s where resilience is so important – yeah, we need to be flexible but know what it is that you hold dearly and never let go of that no matter how tempting it might be.

Advice For My Younger Self…

I started barbering when I was about 16 and like I said, it wasn’t something I was taking seriously. If I could give a piece of advice to myself growing up or even to young creatives coming up, it’s just that whole thing of doing things with intention and taking things seriously.

I think when we’re young it’s so easy to just jump into things kinda aimlessly without any real direction or purpose to it but when you adopt the mindset that, even if you’re just trying something out, you should give it your all, that’s when things start to change. It might not be something that you decide to take forward but if you’ve given it 110%, you always end up with a skill at the end of it. So yeah, I’d definitely say to my younger self; ‘Go in! Give it your all!’ but also to keep in mind that life is fun. You can take things seriously and still experience the fun of it – it’s only when we start to get stressed and overwhelmed that we forget that life is meant to be fun.

Biggest Hurdle or Barrier…

There are always external and internal barriers that can hold us back. Within myself, I feel like the biggest thing has been my self-belief. I’ve always been one to run my own race rather than competing against other people but, in a way, that can make things more difficult because I’m my own biggest critic. I would judge myself ten times harder than I would judge anyone else so when I started achieving things in my career, I almost developed a bit of Imposter Syndrome. I’d turn up to certain jobs and I’d question how much I should be charging for my work – ‘Am I worth what I’m charging?’, ‘Can I actually do the job?’ Thinking about it rationally, I know I can do the job but it just feels like you’re wearing a mask – like you’re not meant to be in the spaces that you’re in. The way I was able to work through that was to start acknowledging the work of my peers. I realised how important it is to take the time out so you can actually see what’s out there and what people are doing; who you are up against and use that as a measure to ask yourself ‘are you keeping up?’ That’s advice that I would give to anyone; to work on your self-confidence. Think about who you believe you are and what you think your superpower is. Believe in that and work on it.

Another major barrier that I faced was society. When you’re young it’s so difficult to know what options are out there. So many kids are told that they’ll be following this narrow path which has been done over and over again by generations before us and we essentially just keep the whole system ticking over. Like most kids, I had no idea what was out there! – I was growing up not knowing how big the world is and that I’m actually capable of achieving anything. The expectation was that you come out of college and you’ve gotta get work or jump straight into education. I had no idea what else the world had to offer because no one was showing me that, – I had no one who could take me under their wing and tell me the best places to be or how I could ultimately grow in my career.

Eventually, I managed to find those mentors but I almost had to go in search of them for myself, so I could say that my biggest hurdle was almost being left to my own devices and having to figure it out on my own. I feel like that’s such a shame because it can come down to chance sometimes – I found out what’s possible, how big the world is and what I can achieve but loads of people who have potential never get to that stage because there is no set pathway for them.

You can see some examples of Pahscan’el’s work over on his Instagram @pashcanel