Unmapped with Mike Kelly

Celina Chien (@celinaxchien) is a multi-hyphenate (read: does many things and is incredible at all of them) environmentalist local to London. You’ll often find her snapping shots of rare birds in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta ranges of Colombia, or Leopards in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. When she’s not doing that, she’s busy being a finalist (and now judge) of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year by the Natural History Museum of London for documenting Orangutans in captivity.

When she’s not doing that, she’s swinging around her considerable (and growing) clout to bring Dolce & Gabbana to the conservation table, inspiring them to donate a part of their profits from their sales of leopard print products during her exhibition with them to conserving the habitats of.. yep, you guessed it, leopards. Oh, and sitting on the board of Panthera & Girls Who Click plus the Council of Reserva: The Youth Land Trust.

Before she did any of those things, she was at university studying a Masters of Tropical Forest Ecology. Before that? Oh, not much. Just a TEDx talk at 17.

Now, she’s delving into her love of acting and looking to take her career from behind the camera and onto the screen: acting and presenting.

So… wait. If she’s a scientist, environmentalist & conservationist, savvy corporate influencer, wildlife photographer, public speaker, actor and presenter, isn’t she like… the next David Attenborough?

At just 24 and with a long career ahead of her, the smart money’s on yes.

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SHOW NOTES:

Celina Chien home page - www.celinachien.com

LEOPARD: Honouring the Muse -https://www.celinachien.com/leopard

Instagram & Twitter Handle - @celinaxchien

In this bonus mini-episode, Mike thanks his listeners from Season 1, talks about some of it's successes and lays the framework for Unmapped's evolution in Season 2 and beyond.

Exploring the world through the eyes of Remarkable Humans on Extraordinary Journeys.

As a Filipina growing up right by Sydney's famed Bondi Beach, its no wonder Karina grew up to have a love for the water and environment more broadly.

As a passionate conservationist and more broadly interested in International Development, Karina has travelled the world contributing to projects protecting both the environment and welfare of marginalised communities wherever she goes.

That journey brought her to become the Co-Founder of the Centre for Sustainability Philippines, a Not For Profit organisation focused on protecting what little is left of the Philippines biodiverse rainforests.

Her efforts have started in the archipelago of Palawan - commonly referred to as the most beautiful island destination on the planet - where after years of effort, she has successfully lobbied to have a part of the province's forests declared as legally protected.

Hers is a story of never giving up nor giving in, complete with the type of sliding doors moment that solidifies both the human spirit and the magical powers of this universe to deliver for those who deserve it.

From the sleepy city of Newcastle on Australia's East Coast, Jessica Koncz' (@jess_eatsee) star has shone ever brighter as she explores the world around her and the people in it.

As the Founder of Eatsee and Crave Media, Jess is a proven businesswoman and entrepreneur, which she took to the next level in 2019 by winning Launch, a global accelerator program, picking up Jason Calacanis as an investor and moving to San Francisco to live the Silicon Valley dream.

But to see Jess as a businesswoman would not even scratch the surface of what she offers to the world. Jess is the human personification of the growth mindset and the way she treats herself and those around her is what makes her truly special.

A personal disclaimer: Jess is one of my best friends, but this means I have seen the effect she has on people. She lights up any room she walks into and almost every single person I know that knows Jess says she has changed their life for the better. Her philosophies on life are some of the most beautiful you will come across and the way she's able to use them to inspire those around her is incredible. She's a real privilege to watch in the world up close, and the impact she's had on my life has been profound.

If you're looking to be 1% better to others around you or 1% happier in your own skin, this episode is for you.

When a toxic relationship turned life-threatening, Mila's life changed dramatically. No longer able to justify living the life she was living and with suicide knocking, Mila put herself on a plane to India at the advice of her clairvoyant and behest of her family.

The journey that follows offers up a beautiful and inspirational reminder of what the human mind can achieve and how the human soul can heal when given the opportunity to embark on a conscious pilgrimage. Trips through Asia and Europe created space for Mila to not only survive and thrive but find her true purpose: to use ink and tattoo body art to heal through traditional hand poke methods.

The study and development of her craft spanned years and continents. As a result, Mila offers much more than an avenue to express oneself through body art. She uses spiritual tools and modalities she has learnt around the world to create and hold space for her clients, offering them a chance to heal their wounds as they rewrite the stories which have held them back from realising their true human potential.

Trigger Warning: themes of mental health, suicide, and violent, toxic relationships are discussed. Please, please, please contact Lifeline (Australia) at 13 11 14 if you feel triggered to the extent you fear for your safety. If you're safe and would like to chat, feel free to reach out to either Mike or Mila. We've been there. We hear you. We love you.

Purchase Mila's book, The Way of the Fire Tiger, here.

Try the meditation Mila discusses in the episode here.

As you might guess from her yoga and surf loving tendencies, Arjanna hails from the island of Sri Lanka. After making her way to Australia for University and eventually corporate life, Arjanna realised this life wasn't for her.

Seeking depth and clarity in her world, she turned to yoga and soon found herself traveling the world in search of knowledge and wisdom related to The Eight Limbed Path, or the path of Ashtanga.

In the years that have followed, Arjanna has become a loved and respected role model and teacher for many of her students, imbuing her teachings with a sense of spiritual purpose, self-reflection and connection to the natural world.

I know from experience: Arjanna is my teacher. When one meets a human being who so intuitively understands what it means to be spiritual, it resonates. Arjanna is one of those humans.

She oozes authenticity, thinks deeply of the world and speaks well of our place in it. As a teacher and devoted yogi herself, running both classes and wellness retreats in different parts of the world, there's none better than Arjanna.

As one of the most distinguished helicopter rescue pilots in the world, Captain Andrew Gutsell (@andrew_gutsell) quite literally lives a life beyond your wildest imagination.

Raised on the farms of New Zealand's South Island, Andrew's flying has taken him all over the world. In 2016, he landed in Nepal, where he became the Head Pilot at one of Nepal's premier Helicopter Rescue services.

This put Andrew at the forefront of rescues on the planet's tallest mountain - Everest - and left him in charge of daring rescues in some of the most unforgiving terrain known to man.

Perhaps more than the deeds themselves, this kind of career speaks volumes about the man. Andrew makes decisions on a daily basis which are the difference between life and death; for the client, himself and his crew.

It takes a unique and special human to operate to their potential in these environments. With carnage often surrounding him, Andrew finds a clarity few could dream of. His perspective on life is rare and eye-opening.

Pack your laptop, get ideating on your next big idea and start looking for creative, co-working beach paradises. Today, Danielle Hu (@thewanderlover) is taking you into the life of a digital nomad.

Danielle began life in New York, taking on Wall St after graduating from an Ivy League college. Once she realised a life stuck in an office staring at spreadsheets was not for her, she began methodically mapping out ways she could do what she loved: travel.

Fast forward to 2021, Danielle travels the globe with online business. Having developed a successful Instagram following early in the app's life cycle, she moved into remote business coaching in order to teach others how they too, can design their lives.

Curretly based in Bali, Danielle will never be too far away from either the waves or a co-working space.

Before making the iconic Bondi Beach his home, Scott Findlay spent his years making waves on the international food circuit and surfing real ones the world over.

From the humble town of Napier in New Zealand, Scotty took to the skies and found himself in London learning from Gordon Ramsey as a young chef. Following this apprenticeship, he fell into a flow of cooking for celebrities on music tours with regular surf trips & (mis)adventures between.

His CV is impressive. He has cooked for the likes of Beyonce, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Pink and many more.

Scotty's status as chef-to-the-stars and his ability to create stunning and innovative dishes has seen him become a chef entrepreneur, with breakthrough concept Milky Lane becoming a wildly successful Australian Burger & Cocktail Bar. Now, Scotty is all in on Flave, a plant-based concept looking to take the world by storm.