I have been hosting a YouTube podcast for over 3 years, publishing a new video every single week. It started as a fun activity during the pandemic, when there was a lot of time, the world seemed to have been put on freeze, so why not try something creative, something new?
There are many interesting people living in Koh Phangan. It is a hub for holistic therapies, yoga, tantra, New Age practices and wonderful artists and performers. The fact that, after so long, I haven’t run out of people to interview, it is testimony of the pool of talent available here.
It is a true joy and privilege to be able to connect with all these wonderful people and have sometimes deep conversations on camera. I love learning their life story and gaining insight into different modalities, practices and art forms.
The initial physical location of the podcast was Sunset Hill Resort, where I had a roof-top lounge as part of a deal to run residential fasting and wellness programs. I filmed the first interviews with a rather low tech Samsung android phone, I taught myself to edit videos with a free online editor and using YouTube tutorials and I eventually moved the filming to my home in Chaloklum.
3 years and a bit later, the podcast reached over 170 episodes. It features a mix of Koh Phangan style teachers, healers, artists and creatives. A great insight into our Conscious Community and a repository of holistic and New Age modalities, it is purposely uncommercial, low key, even underground.
Still a fun hobby and an opportunity to connect with many teachers, discover new modalities and views of the world and showcase our wonderful community, something I rather love.
Modern technology, as we increasingly know, is a double edged sword and needs to be used with awareness. Social media particularly can be addictive, alienating and possibly a cause for mental illness. The best part of the Internet is the democratisation of media, the accessibility of information, the ability to use free or low cost tools to produce and share content, virtually any content you like.
This is really remarkable obviously and a great advantage of our current times. You can attend an entire university course on human behavioral biology for free, as if you were in class. Amazing expert insight as well as your kid’s birthday party can be uploaded on a server and watched in eternity.
The podcast phenomenon is part of a huge wave of alternative media which has the potential to greatly diminish the power of mainstream “legacy” media. This despite the obvious attempts to control and repress diverse voices and models of the world, read here my experience moderating a local Facebook group. I think the growth of podcasting and independent media is wonderful and a source of hope and optimism for what’s to come.
Can you imagine a world where all ideas, opinions and news come from a handflul of centralised, state controlled outlets. I can, as it is the world I was brought up in, until the quite recent emergence of new media. With all the confusion, attempted manipulations and censorship we can see, today’s world of communication is still freer than it used to be.
In a very small way, I feel part of this unfolding, I am contributing to the emergence of something new, it is meaningful to me and to the community I belong to. I see this creative hobby as a step up the ladder towards more esteem and love and belonging, in a Maslow’s sort of perspective, a step closer to self-actualisation.
I used the same format for over 3 years, with 3 simple questions forming the structure of each conversation:
1- Your story in life to get a feel for the individual in front of me, where they come from, what they identified with in earlier life and what brought them on an often alternative path.
2- Your practice, teachings, art form or passion covers a wide variety of interesting subjects. holistic therapies, embodied practices, body work, breath work, tantra, psychology based modalities and, for sure, the many manifestations of Yoga. Musicians, artists and performers can explain what they do and how they get inspired to create. Other community space owners and teachers of various disciplines have a chance to showcase their gifts to the community and maybe inspire others to follow.
3- Why do you love Koh Phangan is the happy ending question to wrap it all up. A common trait of 98% of interviewees is that they live in Koh Phangan or visit for a certain time at least. This is the Yoga island, Tantra Island, Party Island and Fun Island that attracts a multitude of energies and a diverse group of individuals.
We are all different and all equal in loving the island, or at least in finding it fascinating enough to give it a try. A sweet re-cut of 12 answers to this final question inspired a “Koh Phangan Love” video, watch it here.
And this is the 100th episode, a special short documentary on our community through the eyes of my podcast.
Sometimes people ask me if this hobby will grow into something else, something more? I don’t know and it doesn’t matter.
There is no utilitarian purpose, no real goal. Alongside the For Real Edition Facebook Group, it’s the fulfilment of a heart based passion, a fun pastime for me, a way to celebrate life on the island.