The Oblique Life Podcasts: Recent Episodes
The Oblique Life
The Oblique Life is a London based Membership Club and Lifestyle Management Service tailored for a community of like-minded, social, genuine and diverse people.
We'll be sharing on Soundcloud podcasts relating to member interviews, themed discussions, special mixtapes by our Oblique DJs and live recordings from our various live music experiences.
Oblique Spotlight on Sustainability is our commitment to focus and discuss some of the most pressing issues we need to overcome and solutions we need to adopt in order to shift our planet from 'self destruct mode' to 'sustainability mode'. Every session we will invite different guest speaker(s) that can explore a specific topic and open a discussion with our members to help further our understanding and opportunities in the sustainability and impact space.
For our next session we will be focusing on eliminating food waste with guest speaker Heather Lynch, Sustainability Manager at Oddbox.
Between 33-50% of all food produced globally is never eaten, and the value of wasted food is worth over $1 trillion. What’s more, it is fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers that have the highest wastage rates of any foods. It is for this reason that companies like Oddbox are so important within wider food systems as they work to reduce this wastage, whilst directly solving some of the key inefficiencies that have existed for decades between all major stakeholders involved. During this session of Oblique Spotlight on Sustainability, we will be exploring these themes in more detail and reflect on some of the key factors that we should all consider to help reduce the environmental and social impacts of food wastage.
About Heather Lynch
Heather is the Sustainability Manager at ODDBOX and is responsible for driving ODDBOX’s sustainability agenda. She was involved in the B Corp certification process (ODDBOX became a certified B Corp in July this year) and in developing a personalised way of measuring the impact of the food saved, based on the composition of fruit and veg in every box we send, so that each customer can understand what impact they've had by purchasing an Oddbox.
Before joining ODDBOX, Heather was a consultant in the Sustainability and Climate Change at PwC, working on impact assessments for investors and managing large international development programmes and organisational transformation projects.
About Oddbox
ODDBOX is London's largest sustainable fruit and vegetable subscription box that fights food waste. Working directly with growers, we offer an alternative to the strict supermarket cosmetic specs and take this totally edible produce, which has been rejected because they’re too small, too big, slightly misshapen, not the ‘perfect’ colour or surplus to requirements at a price deemed fair by growers.
Using only recyclable boxes to make sure every possible aspect of our business is helping the planet, we then deliver straight to your door. We then donate up to 5% to local charities like City Harvest and The Felix Project to fight food poverty with food waste. We want to inspire people to eat more sustainably, through rescuing great tasting seasonal fruit and veg.
In this session our focus was on plastic. Plastic in many ways is the symbol of the fight we face to save our planet. A material that has become omnipresent but causing so many issues and challenges to our environment. In this session we will be exploring this material, briefly touching on why it is such problem but focussing more on how we can live in a plastic free planet.
These are all big and important questions which is why we invited Sian Sutherland, Co-Founder of a Plastic Planet. Igniting social change, creating brands, campaigns and businesses with soul is Sian’s passion. Multi-award winner, including Female Marketer of the Year, CEW Achiever Award, Entrepreneur of the Year ,British Inventor of the Year and the UK Government Point of Light Award,; Sian is a serial entrepreneur with a varied background in advertising, Michelin Star restaurants, film production and brand creation design agencies. In 2005 she co-created Mama Mio, the first premium pregnancy skincare range and in 2014 launched Mio, again creating a new niche in a saturated market – delivering skin fitness to active women. The business was sold to The Hut Group in 2015. Now Sian is often asked to speak about female empowerment, entrepreneurship and how to build positive, passionate, responsible brands and campaigns people really connect to.
In 2017, Siân and Frederikke Magnussen founded A Plastic Planet; a global social Impact movement with a single goal - to ignite and inspire the world to turn off the plastic tap. As entrepreneurs, they bring a different fresh pro-business approach to environmental issues focusing on solutions and the power of business to impact change at speed and scale. A Plastic Planet are highly vocal in the media, working collaboratively with industry, retailers, Governments, legislators and the UN. Recognised in The 2019 and 2020 Fast Company Awards and winners of International Campaign of the Year, A Plastic Planet created the infamous Plastic Free Aisle campaign, opening this catalyst for supermarket change in Amsterdam early 2018. They also launched the Plastic Free Trust Mark for brands, with over 1000 already certified, and the Industry Commitment Mark ‘Working Towards Plastic Free’. During 2020, they commenced a pivotal project with Skiathos, instigated by the island's inspirational new mayor. From plastic hackathons for Unilever and WPP to creating new laws banning export of plastic waste, from lobbying for plastic taxes, and the planned launch of the first PlasticFree.com materials library with partner IBM, A Plastic Planet have created global impact in just 3 years.
COVID 19 has changed our world in many ways, and as it stands the only solution to get us back to some state of normality (whatever this looks like) is a vaccine. However the rapid rate at which we are developing a vaccine for COVID 19 is causing concern, with big questions about their safety, ethics of production and testing, the role that the pharmaceutical industry plays in this and what future side effects could be.
Earlier this year Bill Gates was accused of illegally trialling vaccines on girls in India, the claim was dismissed and billed false however the very claim brings to light the murkiness around the world of vacccines. In this discussion we will discuss the necessity of vaccines, the ethics of production and consumption and also how the industry is managed and who should get access to them.
We are also absolutely delighted to be joined by Stephen Baker, Professor of Molecular Microbiology based in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge.
His research focusses on studying the mechanisms and epidemiological influences of antimicrobial resistant Gram-negative bacteria. His group used various genomic and laboratory techniques to understand how antimicrobial resistant bacterial emerge and spread and how best they can be combatted through antimicrobials and vaccines. He has published over 300 scientific articles and is a recognized name in global health with a portfolio of work ranging from typhoid fever and other enteric diseases to hospital acquired infections and zoonoses.
In this focussed in on carbon markets and climate change. Carbon markets are one of the most contentious parts of the Paris Agreement on climate change, offering a way to dramatically reduce the volume of emissions globally. However are carbon markets actually the solution or another loophole for the big polluters to just pay their way to adding more CO2 to the atmosphere? Secondly how can we create more efficient and transparent markets so we can efficiently trade carbon?
These are all big and important questions which is why we have invited Joseph Pallant, Founder of Blockchain for Climate Foundation and Director of Climate Innovation at Ecotrust Canada. With a longitudinal focus on carbon markets & climate change, Joseph is working to foster collaboration and manifest the dream of the Paris Agreement by connecting the national carbon accounts of the world with Blockchain. He has been active in the carbon market since 2004, providing project development expertise and strategic direction across private, public and NGO endeavour. He developed first-of carbon offset projects in forestry, fuel switching and transportation, founded CPS Carbon Project Solutions Inc., and founded Blockchain for Climate Foundation, “Putting the Paris Agreement on the Blockchain.” A 2019 “Canada’s Clean50” award winner, Joseph’s work, insight and advocacy continue to shape the growth of Canada’s low-carbon economy. Joseph holds an MBA degree from INSEEC, Paris, France, a post graduate diploma in Latin American Management from the McRae Institute of International Management (Capilano College) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of Victoria. He loves to explore BC’s old-growth forests and paddle beautiful coastal inlets with his wife. A new father, the experience of existing amidst the people, cultures and ideas of the world fosters insight and enthusiasm for his work.
So join us on Zoom, the call will be open to only members (no guests are allowed), please just RSVP so that we can send you your private dial-in link. If you do have any specific topics you would like to cover please let us know in advance so we can plan accordingly.
Oblique Spotlight on Sustainability is our commitment to focus and discuss some of the most pressing issues we need to overcome and solutions we need to adopt in order to shift our planet from 'self destruct mode' to 'sustainability mode'. Every session we will invite different guest speaker(s) that can explore a specific topic and open a discussion with our members to help further our understanding and opportunities in the sustainability and impact space.
For our next session we will be focusing in on the creating a more sustainable way of being, looking at how we live, produce food and take care of our selves. To help us with the discussion we will be joined by Justin Robertshaw, Aryuveda and Permaculture Consultant. Combining these very interesting and complimentary practices we will be taking a deep dive in permaculture and how a regenerative mindset can help us live a more sustainable life.
In this session we invited one of the individuals that played a role in actually putting together the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Åsa Skogström Feldt is the Manager of IKEA Social Entrepreneurship BV. She has a combination of business and NGO background. She was previously the global President and CEO of The Hunger Project in New York as well as has been the CEO of The Hunger Project Sweden. In between that, she worked at IKEA of Sweden to establish a social entrepreneurship initiative in the supply chain. Some of her other corporate assignments has been as head of marketing for Sony Ericsson in Germany, corporate communications director for Aspiro and as marketing communications manager for Ericsson Mobile Communications in the Middle East and Africa. She is currently also member of the steering committee of the Swedish Forum for Social innovation. Throughout her carrier Åsa has focused on women empowerment; on board assignments, by co-founding two women’ organisations, in exchange programs and grass root activism around the world and in her everyday life. She is passionate about sustainable development and social impact.
Our discussion focussed on the Sustainable Development Goals, how they came about, the amount of collaboration that took place and how companies can play a role in ensuring we reach the 2030 targets.
In this session we invited Kieran Day (Group Director) at Elewana Collection, Cheli & Peacock Safaris and Life & Land Foundation to discuss the importance of educating local communities to support conservation, the future of tourism in East Africa and how we can drive economic growth by empowering local communities.
About the Speaker Kieran Day is a group director of the Elewana Group of Companies which includes Elewana, Afrika, Cheli & Peacock Safaris, Sopa Lodges, SkySafari and the Land & Life Foundation. He is ex PricewaterhouseCooopers with some 25 years corporate finance, M&A and restrucuring experience in the UK, Far East and Africa. His involvement with the Elewana Group spans some 16 years having acted for 10 years in a corporate advisory capacity before taking up a full time executive office within group. Kieran lives in Nairobi, his home for the past 23 years, before which he worked in the professional services arena in London with a 1 year stint in Kuala Lumpar. He is passionate about tourism, safari and the plight of conservation: the need to rethink its future in the wake of accelerating shifts in population dynamics, in particular.
About the Organisation The Land & Life Foundation undertakes the corporate social responsibilities for both Elewana Collection and Cheli & Peacock Safaris. The Foundation aims at improving the lives of communities living alongside wildlife in East Africa, so that they feel the benefits of wildlife conservation, and in turn, support the protection of wildlife for generations to come. Land & Life strongly believes that the sustainability of our wildlife and habitats depends on four key actions: securing land for conservation, protecting wildlife species, providing tangible benefits to communities living around protected areas, and educating the next generation. They achieve these through their four key program areas i.e. Wildlife Warrior Program, Nature Conservation, Medical and School support programs.
This session we looked at how to support and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, Quality Education. Education should be a right for all individuals and is crucial in helping the world break through poverty and inequality, however how do we actually deliver it and what type of education is actually needed. To help us explore we invited the incredible and inspiring team from Nigerian Charity, Slum 2 School. Slum2School is a volunteer-driven development organisation transforming the society by empowering underserved children in slums and remote communities with quality education, entrepreneurial skills, and psychosocial support to enable them to realise their full potential and become social reformers.
On the panel we had 3 members of the team: - Sandra Onyedum, Partnerships and Stakeholder Manager: Leading the External relations, Fundraising and Partnerships department at Slum2School she has attracted and sustained high-level relationships between Slum2School and industry partners while securing unrestricted and program-focused corporate funding which has enabled the successful enrolment of more than 2000 underserved kids into school and still counting. - Ella Togun, Programs Manager: Working in Global Health and Development she has focussed on how to strengthen health and educational systems in resource constrained settings. Having worked across public, private, non-profit and research institutions in Africa and Europe, she has developed great experience in developing programs, training, policy, advocacy and research. - Ruth Ebe, Head of Operations: Even though she is a licensed medical doctor from the National Medical University, Kyiv Ukraine, she currently serves as the Head of Operations at Slum2Schol. Her focus on media and human resource management within the organisation has enabled the enrollment of over 2,000 children into schools including medical outreach programs which has impacted many more thousands through strategic media campaigns, the engagement of over 3,000 volunteers from several countries and continents, including national and international stakeholders.
Oblique Spotlight on Sustainability is our commitment to focus and discuss some of the most pressing issues we need to overcome and solutions we need to adopt in order to shift our planet from 'self destruct mode' to 'sustainability mode'.
For our fourth session, we discussed how to find the companies of the future, what impact really is and how to bring corporate and startup together. We were also joined by guest speaker Evan Patronik, Director of Venture Selection for Unreasonable Group and leads the investment committees for two of Unreasonable’s largest initiatives - Unreasonable Impact and Unreasonable Future. Evan’s expertise is in sourcing, identifying and engaging for-profit ventures from around the world who are solving some of the world’s most challenging social and environmental issues. These ventures range from early (seed) to late growth stage (Series E and beyond), and his focus is on driving funding to these ventures, as well as creating an inclusive and global network of entrepreneurs to be part of the Unreasonable community. Through his relationships with advisory firms, funders, corporates, and ventures, Evan looks to build a stronger ecosystem for leveraging market forces to create lasting impact while providing significant financial returns. In his spare time, Evan is also a merchant marine boat captain, volunteer firefighter, avid freediver, EMT, and Swiftwater Rescue Instructor. Evan is passionate about life, humanity and the planet. He has an exceptional ability to spread excitement and incite kindness, and his intense curiosity pervades every aspect of his work and life. His on a never-ending mission is to "live a life that surprises others, as well as himself, and to do it with maximum enthusiasm!”
Oblique Spotlight on Sustainability is our commitment to focus and discuss some of the most pressing issues we need to overcome and solutions we need to adopt in order to shift our planet from 'self destruct mode' to 'sustainability mode'. Every session we will invite different guest speaker(s) that can explore a specific topic and open a discussion with our members to help further our understanding and opportunities in the sustainability and impact space.
For our third session, we were delighted to invite guest speaker Andre Langwost, Secretary General at European Solar Manufacturing Council. He is also a German-French Lawyer (More than 25 years on the German Bar), Historian (Universities of Gottingen, Freiburg, Montpellier and Krakow), President of Eurosolar-France, President ADIFENA (African German Institute for Sustainable Development in Africa. He specialises in renewable energy, energy efficiency and rural development in non-connected zones (Sub Saharan Africa). We discussed: - Renewable energy in Europe - The role that solar energy plays in this sector - What is being done right now to make the changes that we need to slow down climate change
For our second session, we will have guest speaker Ameer Virani, a sustainable tourism development professional with experience managing sustainability for large tour operators in Southeast Asia, and advising local and international NGOs on their sustainable tourism projects across Southeast Asia and India. He recently co-founded Tourism In Need, an awareness and fundraising campaign to support sustainable tourism organisations in Asia that are struggling to do their important social and environmental work because of COVID. In this session we will be discussing: - What does 'sustainable tourism' mean and how can one become a 'sustainable tourist'? - COVID's impact on tourism in general, with a specific focus on its impact on sustainable tourism development - Tourism and the SDG's - some examples I have seen in practice - Importance of tourism as a driver of development, plus the drawbacks of overdependence on tourism - The future of tourism - how can we all make our future travel have more of a positive impact
Description:Oblique Spotlight on Sustainability is our commitment to focus and discuss some of the most pressing issues we need to overcome and solutions we need to adopt in order to shift our planet from 'self destruct mode' to 'sustainability mode'. Every session we will invite different guest speaker(s) that can explore a specific topic and open a discussion with our members to help further our understanding and opportunities in the sustainability and impact space.
For our first session, we will have guest speaker Alexey Shadrin, Founder and CEO of Everycity. He will be discussing and sharing insights into how we can use "Digital Tech for Sustainable Finance”. He will start with a brief introduction into what Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Finance is and then quickly provide an overview of how digital tech can help us finance and implement the SDGs.
The Oblique Business Breakfast offers members of The Oblique Life the chance to engage in thought-provoking discussions regarding the future of business, whilst getting the chance to connect with other like-minded members.
This week the the Circular Economy and we were privileged to invite Akshay Shah, Group Managing Director of SILAFRICA Kenya as the special guest.
Our discussions will offer attendees insights into the following: -An overview of key trends and predictions made by industry leaders -An understanding of the key players -An exploration of the opportunities and challenges -Mapping of where innovation is coming from, both in the UK and around the world
Even before countless jobs were put at risk by COVID-19 and the impending collapse of the global economy, job security has been on the top of many people’s minds for quite some time now. With businesses across every industry racing to implement automation, AI and other technologies aimed at both increasing efficiencies and decreasing overheads in the long term, you wouldn’t be blamed for feeling some uncertainty regarding the security and direction of your own careers.
For this reason, this month we aim to bring to light some of the practical ways that you can look to take your career development into your own hands and give yourselves the best fighting chance to stay ahead of the game. To help us do that, we’ve invited Oblique Life member Umesh Kumar to join us as our guest speaker. Having helped countless businesses position themselves and their employees to succeed, Umesh will share some invaluable tips and advice aimed at helping Oblique Life members take full control of their career development.
This month the theme is Open Data, using tools like blockchain to enable & empower individuals at local levels. With Guest Speaker, Lawrence Lundy’s experience and expertise, this month we’ll discuss the importance of ‘Open Data’, what tools we need to develop and how we should approach data at different scales to positively influence society and the environment. Lawrence is Partner and Head of Research at Outlier Ventures, a deep tech accelerator and venture fund focused. He pioneered the investment thesis which sees blockchains and decentralised tools as building blocks for a new data infrastructure. He also informs technology policy as an advisor to the OECD Blockchain Advisory Group, a Fellow at the WEF Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and an Expert Advisor to the UK All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Blockchain. He has authored over 20 papers primarily around the impact of artificial intelligence, blockchains and the internet of things, and is a regular speaker on technology quoted in the BBC, Bloomberg, The Economist, and The Wall Street Journal.
5G has been a topic that has been making headlines over the last couple of months, but more often than not for the wrong reasons. Despite the views that various sceptics share however, the opportunities that this next generation mobile connectivity can unlock is truly an exciting prospect and has the potential of revolutionising a number of different industries globally.
Therefore for this month’s Oblique Business Breakfast, hosted by The Oblique Life’s Founding Partner Shonil Sumaria, and with the help of special guest Maria Lema, we’ll be discussing the following:
What is 5G and how does it differ to 3G/4G? What are Smart Cities and what is 5G’s role in driving their development? How can 5G help pave the way for new and emerging technologies and which industries are most likely to benefit? Insights into local and national level initiatives that are helping to accelerate 5G roll out What are the key challenges to making 5G mass adoption a reality? Is 5G a sustainable solution and how are environmental risks being mitigated? About Maria Lema
Maria is a co-founder of Weaver Labs, a B2B tech start-up building an open decentralised platform for Telecommunications. Her role is to align the commercial, operational and technical activities of the company, building long-term strategy and business development to bring their product Cell-Stack and WireMQ to market.
Previously Maria led the 5GUK Testbeds and Trials program at King’s College London, responsible for technical operations in the 5G Lab, as well as Project Management for multiple activities related with Technology Transformation of industry verticals with 5G.
This month’s Pages podcast, centred around our theme of the month: The State of Society, features Shanay Shah and Freddie Stuart. Shanay is an Oblique Life Member, working in cybersecurity. He brings experience and understanding of the impact of technology on society and security. Freddie is the producer of openDemocracy's new ourVoices podcast - a series discussing some of the most important structural economic problems of the world today. He is also the presenter of the TWT FM podcast, promoting a radical progressive agenda at this year's Labour Conference, and a regular media contributor on the interconnections of technology, politics and modern capitalism. A really open and honest conversation on the State of our Society, with a lot of food for thought
This month’s Pages podcast, centred around our theme of the month: The Future, features Andrew Steigerwald. Andrew is a scientist and former US policy advisor currently serving as the editor-in-chief of 1440 Daily Digest, a popular daily news brief. Listen to this podcast to hear him discuss the relationship between technology, policy and people and how essential they all are in shaping the future of our civilisation. It's a really interesting conversation interlaced with years of experience in all three areas. This month’s podcast is definitely one to get you thinking about what's to come!
This month’s Pages podcast, centred around our theme of the month: Time, featured Katya Shkolnik. Katya is a nuclear physicist turned artist who now uses her knowledge of relativist theory and quantum physics to inspire her artwork. Her artistic pursuit is driven by thoughts on matter and time. Listen to this podcast to hear her discuss the relationship between time and space and how she translates her research into the density of time, and how each of us experience time onto her canvas. She raises some fascinating points of view and insights that you most likely won’t ever have considered! This month’s podcast is definitely one that you should make time for.
This month’s Pages podcast, centred around Prejudice, our theme of the month, featured Peter Kelly J, a former Royal Marines Commando and entrepreneur of company Imployable, Susan Kabani who is a female tech founder and the mind behind company Ugenie, a business which empowers those who sit outside of the white, male homogeny within the working world and Priya Ghai, a designer of belonging, equity and inclusion who facilitates learning programmes, design processes, and products for clients which follow those same core values. Listen to this podcast to hear them discuss the ways that prejudices manifest differently towards individuals based on their personal identities and experiences. They are an insightful panel who inspire action and will certainly recalibrate your opinions about, and against prejudice!
This month’s pages podcast, themed on: Mother Nature featured Justin Lennon, a marine biologist and entrepreneur of company Conservation Guide, Alex Mark who is the CMO of LocoSoco Group, a new business focused on helping communities to thrive through sustainability and Julia Koskella who works at SYSTEMIQ, a company that helps global corporations, NGOs and policy-makers to solve today’s sustainability challenges. Listen to this podcast to hear them discuss the ways that we can help divert climate change and take better care, and be more aware of our natural surroundings. They are a bunch of green superheroes and will have you believe that you can be one too!
May's podcast on News featured Noisette Martel, a freelance PR consultant for artists and entertainers who has formerly produced French related news content for the CNN, including coverage of eventlys like the Paris November Attacks Joining her is ITV's Political Correspondent, Phil Hornby, He has presented political programmes on ITV in the south of England for nearly 30 years and has been a main presenter of the south’s nightly 6pm news programme.
This week features Brian Rowe, the Connecticut native who took a big leap across the Atlantic. Having grown up on the East Coast, at the age of 25, Brian flew from the nest to L.A. Despite enjoying elements of the beach lifestyle, California’s aesthetic culture drove him to decide to relocate again. Presented with a job offer at a media agency in London, Brian let loose of any fears of failure and committed himself to the move. Exploring the difficulty of his father’s last year, exacerbated by his continental difference, highlighting the importance of journaling and discussing the ‘individualism, smaller community and less openness’ that America’s contemporary political climate has bred, Brian presents his headstrong determination while offering wise words of advice wherever he can.
April's discussion on TV & Film featured a panel of cinematic experts; respectively working in feature film and casting, Joe Miles and Alessana Inez add their professional expertise to the discussion while film fanatic Anton Volkov (aka @TrailerTracker) laces the chat with facts, anecdotes and interest. The podcast explores the trio's experiences in the industry, their thoughts about consumers' relationship with the big screen and their predictions about the future of film.
March's Pages Podcast tackles one of the biggest issues of our generation, "Gender Equality". Featuring Enrique Sacau, group head of Financial Services at Equiniti Plc, and Rebecca Mckelvey, founder of in2scienceUK this podcast explores the pairs' personal experiences, opinions about the current socio-political climate and predictions about gender relations in the years to come.
Featuring born and bred Londoner Amaia Harries, this podcast explores everything from the gender dynamics of structural engineering in university and beyond, to the more personal challenges she faced in her twenties. Notably she touches on the confusing reality of living as a multicultural woman, while looking quintessentially British, leading her to the conclusion that ‘what’s inside dictates how much of a global person you are’. Weaving from anecdotes to the hard-hitting lessons she’s learnt in her adulthood, Amaia’s immediate instinct for self-improvement and her passion for architecture shone through in the open discussion with host Romi.
Having decided to move to London at the tender age of fifteen, that’s just what Kristina did. In fact, if this podcast shows anything it’s that this go-getting attitude is pretty characteristic of Kristina. Discussing her architectural studies in London (which have lasted nearly a decade) while transitioning from Estonia to London, and the different sides to her industry, this chat reveals Kristina’s multi-faceted understanding of the business. Unlike most, Kristina’s in-depth understanding is not limited to her profession; her blog OnTheInside allows her to explore London’s art-scene with her readers, and give them an ‘inside’ look into the artists’ lives. Her inspirational concluding lines, ‘in London anything is possible if you have an idea and want to do something about it’, exemplify her productive and intuitive nature, just one of the reasons why she is such a welcome addition of The Oblique Life correspondents team.
Having grown up in China, Singapore and India, Vishnu Mohan’s childhood gave him a real taste for travel; he has now visited 70 countries and amassed internet fame by documenting his adventures on his travel account, @NoVisaNoProblem. After graduating from UCL with a 1st in Economics, despite admitting he travelled for twenty days every month during the end of his second and third years at uni, Vishnu now works as a trader in Morgan Stanley. Despite his globe-trotting ways, Vishnu insists he wants to live in London for the rest of his life as ‘it is the only city where you can do something new every day of your life’. Discussing how to grow an influencer account, his top countries to explore to and London’s best spots for food (did we mention, he also has an equally successful food influencer account, @TransatlanticFoodies), Vishnu offers insight, advice and humour with host Romi about how to achieve a life of balance while following your dreams.
Discussing his childhood move from Russia to the UK, the professional layers offered by the film industry, filling the shoes of Christopher Nolan in UCL Film Soc presidency and much more, Anton Volkov features on this episode of the Oblique Life Members’ Lounge. With 14k followers on his entertainment Twitter account, @TrailerTrack, host Romi describes him as ‘a great example of a member who has generated a passion into a professional project’. So, if you wanna learn more about the film industry or just about how to transform your hobby into a professional venture, Anton Volkov’s episode of the Member’s Lounge offers insight, advice and passion.
February's Pages podcast tackles modern relationships, featuring Nana Wereko-Broby, Founder of Mr Social (London and New York’s private dating events club), Matthew Milner, COO of CLiKD dating app, and Charly Harrison, a personal development coacha and former founder of a single members' club. Hosted by The Oblique Life's CEO Romi, the episode delves into the experts' advice, anecdotes and predictions about dating in the digital age.
Having lived in Zone One London for all but one year of his life, this episode’s guest appears the quintessential Londoner. While reflecting on his friendship with host Romi, Oliver Stapylton Smith discusses his French school education, the MBA programme, entrepreneurship and his merchandise business Moteefe. Despite admitting that he has to work to find his space due to being the youngest member in the room, listen to this episode to discover Oliver’s predisposition to exude wisdom peppered with wit beyond his years
This Member’s Lounge features born and bread Londoner Priya Shah, who works in local council Politics with project development. Talking about the transition from working in headline-grabbing macro politics to localised-level micro politics, and how that helped her realise how ‘intrinsically linked politics is to (..) every aspect of [her] life’, she offers insight into the little-explored local property development industry. Emphasising the importance of diversity in her industry, Shah discusses her personal venture BAME in Property which she hopes will bring more ethnicity into the property development professions. Packed with stats, inspiration and insight, Priya Shah’s episode shows how much of an explorer she is in all facets of life.
This Member's Lounge features the royal ray of sunshine who is, aptly named, Sun Queen. Talking to host Romi about the Bajan talent she has worked with, what loss and the great women in her life have taught her, and her relationship with her equally talented daughter. Ending with a rendition of Lauryn Hill's 'Ex-Factor', this podcast- like Sun- really has it all.
Increasingly governing our choices, reflections and relationships, fear undoubtedly dominates life. Over the past centuries, fear has certainly manifested itself more immaterially- we worry about human nature, failure and regrets rather than our elemental needs- and this anxious modern psyche looks only to develop. How does fear hinder us today? How can we overcome this debilitating apprehension? Should we look at fear as a 'startpoint rather than the endpoint'? Ben Depraz and Nick Vorwarld offer their thoughts and advice with host Romi.
This episode we speak to music artist and Youtube employee Davy Denke. Speaking about his global education, and the effect of the Financial Crisis on his career prospects, Davy reveals how he came to work at Google and then Youtube. Praising Google’s work culture, and advising that all they want to see is a ‘willingness to learn’ in a potential employee, he talks about the benefits of working for companies which have ‘global impacts’. Moving from his professional music offering, to his personal music interests, the podcast features a live Capella version of Davy’s upcoming single, Key West. So listen in to this episode to learn, laugh, and be lifted alongside Romi, Moses and Davy.
Discussing all things from growing up in the Middle East amidst the outbreak of the Gulf War, to Kanye West’s inspiring individualism, Alex Harris offers insight and laughs on this episode of The Members’ Lounge. While covering a wide array of issues, his emphasis on the need for the ‘cross-pollination of creative arts and artists’ informs his stance on most of the problems affecting modern, urban life. So, listeners, get ready to mentally collaborate with Harris, and manifest his promise that ‘we are greater as a whole than as individuals’.
This episode of The Oblique Life Members' Lounge features the multi-talented, hard working Ria Mehta. Having lived in Israel, Singapore and LA , Ria came to London to do a masters and has since launched multiple businesses. Speaking about the education system; karate; entrepreneurship; the art of delegation and music, Ria reveals her commitments, interests and tips across all aspects of her life. Concluding on those in her life who inspire her, we're sure listeners will feel equally in awe of our guest, Ria.
Discussing all things from childhood, education and the music industry to his spirituality and relationship with religion, this episode of The Oblique Life Members' Lounge features Karan Master, frontman of The Forty Six. Not only is he a member of Oblique, and a creator within our community, but we are proud to have him as The Oblique Life's first signed artist. Concluding that 'You can be whoever you want to be', this podcast is not to be missed; like Karan's music it'll provide insight, authenticity and a desire to learn more. So plug your headphones in and experience the Members' Lounge.
In this episode of The Oblique Life Members’ Lounge we talk to Martin 2 Smoove, one of the best DJs in the UK and someone that has been part of our journey from the beginning. Martin is one of the humblest people we know, started DJing at student parties and is now Eve’s personal DJ. We are going to talk through this journey, ask Martin where his passion for music came and what his plans are over the next few years.
In this edition of The Oblique Life Members’ Lounge we talk to Seema Parmar, or as she is more publicly known ‘The Pocket Rocket’. Many members know her from her incredible HIIT classes in Oblique FIT where she makes being ‘beasted’ so much fun but we are going to go further into the life of Seema, talking through her journey, understanding how she was able to make a career shift and finally the importance of doing something that you truly love.
For our second episode of The Oblique Life we will have our resident DJ and good friend Moses Midas in the hot seat. Over the years Moses has become a fixture within The Oblique Life and is one of our longest standing members. We will be talking through his journey, understanding what it’s really like to be a DJ in the current age, his passion for music and his plans for the future.
To kick start The Oblique Life Members’ Lounge we are going to start by interviewing The Oblique Life Founders, the ‘Sumaria Brothers’: Romi, Shonil and Keyu. Moses Midas will be the guest host for this session and will be finding out about their journey to founding The Oblique Life, speaking with the brothers about their relationship and how they work together and also look forward to what members can expect from The Oblique Life in coming years.