What is The Aeolist?

Back in 2018 I took my first ever mental health first aid course. At that point in my life I’d had several very dark periods in my life, just like many others have and I wanted to create a mental health brand to help others who would have felt just as lonely as I.

The intention of The Aeolist is to help people eliminate the feeling of being surrounded by artificial personality types and at the same time, build a community of people focused on a life with more authenticity built within it.

Ok, but why call it that?

The name is intentionally ironic. In a world with a million podcasts that tell everyone how they should live their life, I saw the potential irony in creating a mental health brand that supports people. So I call it out, straight away.

So, why this format?

So, straight up. I’m not a huge lover of social media and I find myself leaning more towards doubting whether it’s a “net good” invention. One of the things I struggle with is the hard sell pitches about how you should live and what you should do.

I feel like a softer world is needed for many people.Myself included. I like writing short stories. I like that people can take those stories in any direction they wish. People can take the intended meaning behind the story or totally create something different. Plus, they’re easy to relay to others.

What are those services all about?

Well, over the past forty plus years of my life, I’ve been a photographer, a singer songwriter, a zoo keeper, I’ve been on reforestation projects, I worked in TV (behind the scenes), I’ve been in marketing roles, I’ve held corporate roles, I’ve been deeply depressed a number of times, I’m a Dad and a husband. I’m a writer, I’m a reader, I’ve been in therapy for many years and I’ve spent much of my life being a non-conformist.

I’m really happy with my unique value and experience stack (of course everyones value and experience stack is unique) and I feel that me experience in life and the darkness and guilt that often comes with it means that I can be of help to people.

I really hope that I can support people who have been through the ringer too.

Right then, what about the photography?

So my latest life journey has been to focus on my peace. I dream of quiet and calm far more than I ever used to. Going back through my years of photos has proved to be highly cathartic and for me, the imagery along with the stories, really creates an interesting layer for creating a calm, resonate space to think productively and focus on the core messages that speak most importantly to us.

For me, I hope it speaks just as loudly as the stories I create - I guess time will tell.