If you’ve listened to my 2017 TEDx Talk, you would have heard me talking about my impending trip to Africa. A couple of weeks after that talk, I packed up all the amazing leotards and ballet shoes that my dance community had donated and jumped on a plane to Nairobi to teach ballet classes for Annos Africa - a children’s arts charity running educational arts projects for children living in the slums of Kenya.
It was an experience I’ll never forget that completely blew me away. It solidified my ‘why’ - why I teach ballet, why I’m such an advocate of adult ballet and why I campaign for everyone to understand that ballet truly can be for everyone.
Part of this mission included a trek up Mt Kilimanjaro (one of the worlds seven summits) to help raise money for Annos Africa with our partner World Expeditions. I say we, because I dragged along my Dads really good mate, Mike Lang.
Mike is todays guest and you may hear me refer to him as Uncle Mike, this is because when we were travelling people kept asking if he’s my Dad and I thought it might be easier to just call him Uncle Mike. But to be honest, even though we are not related by blood, Mike will always be family to me. After all, he put up with my moods whilst travelling and sat through many ballet classes whilst I taught!
I would call Mike Lang and adventurer - he’ll blush at this grand label, but he really is. Mike owns and operates The Outlet Homewares and Furniture, and in between buying trips and family time, he always makes room for daily micro adventures and more exotic trips climbing some of the worlds tallest mountains. You can find all these adventures documented on Zero Vanilla - a company he started for the average Joe who needs some inspiration to find the time.
I’m always asked by people what it’s like teaching in Africa or reaching the top of one of the worlds tallest mountains, so I thought this might be a conversation worth recording.