Simon's energy is tricky to describe. Perhaps the best way to describe it is in the form of a recipe:
Take one handful of spontaneous joy, a generous portion of raw creativity, and a delicate serving of sensitive curiosity and compassionate caring. (I'm not really sure what sort of recipe this is. It's more of a list of things which describe Simon's energy.)
Working and living in Germany, Simon earns a living as an illustrator. He lives a humble yet action-packed life which includes (but is not limited to) rock climbing, art-battles and backflips. But unlike an artistically-gifted mountain climbing hedgehog, he's also published multiple illustrated books which are packed with his flowing creativity, including his most notable book to date – Jackson Norby - a collaborative project between himself and the imagination of Lenn - a four year old child.
Why I wanted to talk with Simon.
Being someone who has struggled to express myself freely, Simon's authentically flowing self-expression instantly captured my attention.
I wanted to know, had he always busted such hustling tunes? (translation: had he always been living so authentically?) or had this been something he'd worked at and developed over time? How did he come to be the way he was? What was his childhood like? And how had that influenced how he interacts with himself and the world around him now?
I sat down with Simon and we had a big chat over Skype. This interview really is action packed with gold nuggets of wisdom about childhood, personal growth and being yourself, including sprinklings of spontaneous fun.