The Lion Learns To Write

#TriggerWarning: A big part of identity is race and in light of recent events, quarantine, and a time where some white people are scared and/or ashamed to open dialogue and some black people are exhausted with the cycle, Alex and I try to discuss what the reasons actually are --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

This is the longest episode yet and it could have been so much longer! Jilo is a good friend of mine and we chat over a cup of tea, both finding out things about each other's journeys that neither of us knew! We talk about everything from healing and what/who that attracts, how her tenacity and relationship with struggle has led to her being able to connect to the underdogs in any story, to Africa being a superpower, to why her husband will be the wealthiest man alive because of who he is marrying. We talk about worth, confronting what is unfamiliar, and why she would say to her younger self and girls like her, "you don't know how many nations you are, even without a man" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Supermalcom is what I call a #dancerpreneur. Founder of SuperstepsAcademy.com and Www.Aquafitpro.Co.Uk hailing from Congo, France and UK, Malcom Wa Mbombo Mbombo talks to me about his journeys in dance, business and African history! He reveals why he chose to work for himself, the cultural challenges of dancing full time, and the importance of role models on his journey, and how the Congolese fight to survive has manifested itself in various chapters of his life so far --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Today I sit with Issata who is in beauty, marketing, and journalism and we get stuck into culture, reconnection with heritage on both parents sides, and freedom. From our minds, from burdens, and how she uses awareness as a tool to keep her mind body and soul in check. We talk about why she has a word for each year - why last year was called breathe, and this year, 2020 is for her, a year of rebranding! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Mechanikool and I have an interesting conversation about his 20+ years of dance so far, racism, his ability to use empathy to create a space for discourse with mindsets that different to his own, and the impact dealing with depression in his late teens had on where he is today. We talk about building good relationships and being observant so not to lose sight of who you are in the midst of what life may throw at you, and I also learned how analytical his mind is to be able to connect dots while not assuming his view is the only one out there. With all that's going on in the world, there's something we can take from stepping back to understand the bigger picture and what's actually important. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Today, Sara Dos Santos and I follow her experiences from Portugal to East London, gumboots to social inclusion and international cultural policies in arts, and why self care is so important. We talk about faith and activism, loyalty, burnouts and connection. We explore her relationship with sports and arts growing up, and how her not being chosen spurned a desire to create her own spaces and messages for the world to see. It seems Toni Morrison was right - If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, you must be the one to write it. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

This episode is packed! I sit with Joe and we talk about his relationship with Zimbabwe, UK, art, music, mental health and his experiences navigating as a young black male in Britain. We talk about early father figures, choice and identity, language, the role of deeds to replace addictions, his relationship with death, trauma, and a higher power. We even set a #ThirdQuarterChallenge - to wake up every night, ask for what you want in life, and send us a voicenote at www.anchor.fm/tlltw/message with your results! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Mariama is founder of Smiling Through Light and the One Child One Lamp Campaign - She buys certified solar lamps from manufacturers and employs women as agents to sell them at affordable prices to their communities, at a mark up that pays for their salaries and company overheads. She explains her desire for international development but how working in the solar industry as a woman has brought challenges in the commercial and private spaces. This has led to her developing a scheme that supports men to champion other men to support the women, who will ultimately become more independent - all this, in a context where the idea of an independent woman can challenge the status quo. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Today I sat with Isaac Ouro Gnao, the Togo born, international and multidisciplinary artist journalist and poet and creator of The Oreo Complex, living in London. We talk about his current relationship with both Togo and UK spaces and cultures, and their impact on his journey communicating his socio-political messages through words and movement. For me, this was a reconnection story. His Ewe roots are manifesting in his mindset and development of ritual entertainment - bringing culture to the stage. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

#HappyMothersDay! This is a special bonus episode because I'm interviewing my greatest inspiration in life, and you get to find out why. Some as me why I am the way I am, and now you get to meet the source - my mum! We talk about her relationship with Sierra Leone, UK, mortgage, retirement and her boys! How her foundation guides her decisions, what drives her, her relationship with God, and her ministry of caring for the dying, sick, bereaved and others in distress --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Susan and I talk about Cameroon and her base in Brixton, her journey so far. She drops great tools on how she navigates through life and stays sane, safe environments, and even some struggles within the dance industry where she said "If it's going to jeopardize my truth, it's not worth it". We talk about gifts, legacy, purpose, and the pressures of the world as a young black woman living in London and what she wants for herself --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

"If you think small is insignificant, try being locked in a room at night with 1 mosquito" Usifu Jalloh, of the Cowfoot Prince documentary, is a Sierra Leonean scholar, keynote speaker, drummer, activist, transformative storyteller, founder of the annual Maambena Fest in Kamakwie, and co-founder of the National Storytelling Festival, Freetown. We talk about his own history and experiences, his views on education, religion and how to approach FGM issues, how to develop knowledge and love of self, and how this can affect your experience navigating the world --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Rudzani is a South African artist living in London and we have a beautiful exchange - taking responsibility and forgiving yourself, separating nos from you as an identity, harnessing your uniqueness as a power, and mindset in the families, countries and spaces she's been in! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

We get provocative this week as Sean shares his experience as a young, black, british born Jamaican Guyanese cis male artist, navigating the socio political world. We talk gentrification of his neighbourhood and how he's seen that reflected in the institutions of the arts, and why he started the CSDC --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

This week, I talk to Oluwatosin (Tina) Omotosho and we start at the beginning. We talk about what she remembers of living in Lagos, Nigeria, the culture and temperature shock of moving to UK, and how she felt she had to remain resilient to survive school in north west London. We touch on her career working for a charity and her experiences in the corporate world as a young black woman, and her relationship and history with dance as a form of both expression and therapy, which led to the birth of #Mouvement21 and #MondayMouves which have grown into entire communities that stretch around the world --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Some may know Nancy as founder of @NigerianYouthInDiasporaOrg but we delve into her experience as a British born Nigerian growing up in Nigeria but living in UK. We explore how her culture and thinking differs from those around her, her curiosity in cultures, and how having God as her anchor has helped her stand firm in who she is regardless of her environment. We even talk about business and how from a young age she knew that her gift and her why, is people! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

I catch up with Karim about his journey of identity through dance, diversity and inclusion, and his company, New Beings. We talk about an early experience with a teacher and what that prepared him for, his change in profession, the impact of SOAS and the black female councillor who made him feel validated, his career in diversity and inclusion, and why its important that spaces like New Beings, where people can discuss and explore issues around identity, exist --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Bekky is a dance physio and founder of Safe In Motion currently living in Austria, but moving to London. We talk about her relationship with dance, risk physiotherapy, her family, Austria and UK, and the rehabilitation process when doctors told her she could not walk for months. We talk about the psychology of her mind and those around her, the support/lack of, and how her awareness of self through meditation helped her keep hold of who she is. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Joe Faulkner has an incredible story about how and why he started The Krio Kanteen, and how he uses it to introduce Sierra Leone culture into different spaces. We talk about the power of support from our communities, taking ownership and doing things for ourselves, and the positive and negative impacts of traditional thinking --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Joe Faulkner has an incredible story about how and why he started The Krio Kanteen, and how he uses it to introduce Sierra Leone culture into different spaces. In part 1, we talk about his relationship with Sierra Leone as foundation of his identity, the value he sees in its culture, history and people, and the identity crisis of Sierra Leoneans in the continent and diaspora --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Nyasha was born in Zimbabwe, lived most her life in UK and now in Sweden empowering disadvantaged refugee communities in an innovation space. We talk about that, where she calls home and how she feels about it, how she manages her mental health, and about her relationship with gratitude. She's a creative and a connector, so a lot of her work helps people grow so is in a place to see the effects of that on people's perception of identity --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

In this episode, we wish you a Happy New Year and launch season 2 of #TLLTW! Upon returning from a roller coaster of a trip to Sierra Leone to network, spend time with family, host the National Storytelling Festival with PAN and Usifu Jalloh, and have general enjoyment, Andre attempts to process all the positives and negatives to see what Sierra Leone has taught him about identity empowerment and creativity. It's a lot! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

This episode is short but sweet. At the time this will be released, I will be going through customs at Heathrow with my mum en route to Freetown, Sierra Leone to see family and for me to deliver the National Storytelling Festival with Usifu Jalloh, the Patriotic Advocacy Network, and other partners. It's an opportunity to be thankful for getting this idea this far, and an opportunity to thank you, the listeners, for investing your time in it when there are so many other things you could be doing or listening to! I talk about the last couple of years, how Be/Come has evolved over that time, the episodes we've had so far, and the hiatus we are now having until we launch Season 2 on 1st January 2020, and the soft launch of my new website, www.andrebright.co.uk. What an amazing journey! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and see you in 2020! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

In this extra long episode, I was blessed to sit with Michael Lutterodt-Quarcoo - Business Development Manager at Invest in Africa and founder of www.atcp.co - who drops tangible information, strategies and sources for anyone looking to build their knowledge of African contributions to history. We talk about identity's role in empowerment, his journey from finding out he was 'black' when he moved to UK and challenging the position of African nations from age 10, to working in African affairs, learning under ‘the Black History Man' Robin Walker, and why he felt A Tribe Called Progress had to exist as a counter to various internal and external enemies of progress. Get your notepads ready, and prepare to update your reading lists! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

I had the honour of sitting with @black_superhero, @makeda_leilah and @jitta_92 from www.youngsl.com  - a hub for young Sierra Leoneans with a mission to increase the visibility of Sierra Leone at home and in the diaspora, and change the narrative through the arts. They held #SLACfest (Sierra Leonean Arts and Cultural Festival) where @andrebright did the keynote speech that birthed this podcast. We also talk about their vision of creating opportunities for young people back home in the arts & creative industry, and who is representing Sierra Leone on a global level right now. You may even learn a little about our beautiful country, its people, and its culture! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

In this episode, I talk to the Nosa Odiase - author of the new book A Cry to War (The Last Warrior King) by Enosadeda Odiase and Karen Pumpuni. We talk about the battles, politics, betrayal, love, 5 pre-colonial African civilisations, and 2 years of research that went into this fictional book dramatised from the stories of real people, places and events from the African continent. We discuss why balancing the last 500 years with at least 5000 years of African history is important to changing the brand that is Africa, and what it means for a person's perception of identity to hear stories of beauty and strength from where they're from. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

This is the second part of a conversation with Sitsofe. We talk about her relationship with psychologists, GPs, lack of being seen, and why she believes eurocentric institutions don't make space for her lived experiences. We talk about her body and affect that diet has had to create balance, and even her self as an empath and how she protects her own self and suggests how those with the same gift can do the same. She also announces her new business at www.sitsofewellness.com coming soon, offering 1-2-1s, group therapy, and corporate packages. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

This is the first part of a conversation with British Born Ghanaian Sheila Attah about the importance of finding your therapy, release and wholeness. We talk about her connection to self and why she is now adorning her Ewe name, Sitsofe. We talk African psychology, African spirituality and Physical forms of expression from the continent and why she's using her dance and psychology background to create spaces for others to heal --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

First of all, we're into double figures, how amazing is that!? To mark the occasion, someone thought it would be a great idea for ME to be interviewed as a special episode, so here we are! We talk about my Yoruba name Ebunola, my history, my culture, how I change to become closer to who I would like to be, my connection to and project in Sierra Leone, awareness of self, what angers me, drives me, and what makes me...ME! If YOU have any questions you want me to answer or topics you would like me to explore, please drop a voicenote at www.anchor.fm/tlltw/message --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

This is the second half of a conversation with Sia and we get personal and talk about mental health. Before that, we use her reading list of "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, "Heart Of A Woman", by Dr Maya Angelou, "Milk And Honey" by Rupi Kaur, "The Little Book Of Thinking Big" by Richard Newton and "The Thing Around Your Neck" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as stimulus to touch on the meaning and power of a name, your connection to culture, maintaining holistic health, and empowering yourself to define your self. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

This is the first half of a conversation with Sia and we use her reading list of "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, "Heart Of A Woman", by Dr Maya Angelou, "Milk And Honey" by Rupi Kaur, "The Little Book Of Thinking Big" by Richard Newton and "The Thing Around Your Neck" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as stimulus to touch on the meaning and power of a name, your connection to culture, maintaining holistic health, and empowering yourself to define your self. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

The first foreign-born samurai was black, there were black queens of England, a black Russian General, and the richest person in history was black. What impact could a fuller account of history have on a person's identity? *Parental Advisory Explicit Content* --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Laura is a creative and activist and we talk about multidisciplinary collaborations to help tell your story, and disability in dance! She has started @LauraDFundraising to give backto a number of initiatives she supports and we're one of them! She launched #LauraDListens- counselling sessions where their donations go towards her #BeCome100x donation! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

This is a longer episode as we go deep into conversation with the manifestor himself, Christopher Lutterodt-Quarcoo of www.cl-q.com. We talk about the narratives, beliefs and systems that shape what we believe and how we behave (Unmaterialised™), strategies and methods we need to learn to understand power and conflict (THE ADV_™), and the real cost of creative entrepreneurship, and the mindset​ to match. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

Ainsley's accepted our #BeCome100x challenge, offering creative discovery sessions around self and/or business. He helps you articulate ideas relating to any industry - photography classes, model coaching, portraits for profiles and access to professional platforms and his personal favourite, intellectual exchange. This is a time to talk on a number of topics at complex levels to increase stimuli for those in solitary learning and experiencing social anxiety. Perfect for entrepreneurs! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

@LyandeKaikai and #YolisaSegone interview @AndreBright, founder of www.becomeimmersive.co.uk about his work life balance (or lack thereof) of architecture, choreography and entrepreneurism, and founding @becomeimmersive - - a project using performing arts, talks, and empowerment seminars to help reclaim Africa's narratives --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

In this episode, I'm joined with Belinda Lartey - a Ghanaian healthcare market researcher and naturopathic nutritionist. She works for the Gates Foundation, and lives in London but works on projects predominantly based across Africa and Asia! Join us as we talk about the relationship between science and cultural practices, physical ailments and triggering events, what she prescribes to clients to address root problems (clue: not drugs), and how you can build holistically healthy habits that will better equip you lead from a place of love, not fear. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

We're live! This is a podcast hosted by @AndreBright, founder of www.becomeimmersive.co.uk talking about the idea of this podcast, birthed from a keynote speech at #SLACfest about reclaiming narratives through identity, empowerment and creativity! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tlltw/message