SLART Note: This recording was created before
existed, but these events have been undeniably formative in the creation of my art.
In 2008 I had come a long way in terms of overcoming crippling shyness (social anxiety). One fateful Wednesday, I got an email from an associate, a man I looked up to called Stefano. He asked me if I would like to go and speak to Ruby Wax about social anxiety for the BBC tomorrow (Stefano couldn’t go, so he kindly thought of me). Everything about the request instilled fear in me. “Speaking to a celebrity, on camera, for the BBC, TOMORROW??!” My mind fearfully exclaimed. Despite the fear, the courageous part of me knew that I had to be there.
On the day, I arrived at the café in Notting Hill, a lovely part of London that has a Richard Curtis film of the same name. I went to the toilet to calm myself down, I was sweating profusely, my palms sweaty, my throat dry, and breathing deeply to slow everything down. After a minute or two, composed but still shaky inside, I go and speak to the producer, and we wait for Ruby to turn up. You’ll see what happens next in this episode.
I will tell the full story soon in a post, it’s a good one.
Enjoy!
P.S. Here’s the full video version if you’d like to watch it:
“‘Come to the edge.’
‘We can’t. We’re afraid.’
‘Come to the edge.’
‘We can’t. We will fall!’
‘Come to the edge.’
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.”
Guillaume Apollinaire
#9 A bold, vulnerable conversation with Ruby Wax on Social Anxiety