We take to Nottingham's streets to ask you stylish folk about your lives...
My name, Thabiso, means the ultimate being of happiness. Walking outside every day, I can't help but grin. I love conversation and getting to know people. Everyone has something to say. It might not be something you agree with, but it's still a point of view of life. Conversation is the opportunity to learn something brand new. It shows ultimate respect when you can listen to people and say, 'Wow, I have nothing to say – I have only got much to learn from what you've gone through.'
I’ve always had a networking mind – I grew up in a family where both my parents were business people. I’ve always been taught to think ‘How can we further things? How can we develop?’ My sister and I would even do that when we fought as kids. I was born in South Africa and now live in Kenya where I work in the Maasai Mara as a director for my dad’s ICT company, sitting with game rangers and working out how we can use tech to save wildlife and combat poaching. I'm studying filmmaking and television over here in Nottingham for the meantime.
My ultimate passion, though, is music. It’s taught me to be open to criticism and not see it as personal, but as something which is going to build you and create an understanding of yourself and of how other people work. My ability to express myself comes from all the people I’ve met in life. Today I got a beret – I just looked in the mirror and I love it! If I had decided to stay comfortable and opinionated, I would've never had the guts to just say, ‘Yeah, why not?’
How do I cope when things aren’t going right? I once heard that the rain never stops, we just have to learn how to dance in it. So, I get on my skateboard, skate around Sneinton, fall and hit my knee on the ground because life is just like that – you're going to hit the ground and it's going to hurt. But the minute you get back on that board and keep pedalling, it shows that you're trying.
Thabiso Muthui
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