On this episode I sat down with Mr. Natty (@mrnattyofficial), one of the most interesting people I know. It’s hard to put him in a box, in fact you can’t, but he’s a men’s hair stylist, entrepreneur, world traveler, and even a permaculturalist with loads of stories and lil life hacks to keep you balanced and on your toes.

I wanted to have a chatty with natty, because literally every time I chat with him he drops a little seedling of wisdom that inspires new ideas, practices, and even travels. A few years back he was giving me a cut when we struck up a conversation about India...which rekindled the fire within me to get out and go travel the orient myself. Since then we’ve been in touch pushing each other along, and I’m excited to bring you the latest and greatest from the man himself.

In this episode we chat about: the importance of keeping things mixed up in life - from routine to environment to food, his journey from growing up in London to living on a farm, becoming a surfer, diving into the world of meditation, and building a career traveling around the world cutting hair and building a brand.

Natty shares some stories from his days roaming India, working with top fashion icons in Europe, taking on New York City, and experimenting with new ways to level up men’s grooming into a more conscious and sustainable ecosystem of products and experiences. We even touch on some real tangible ways to keep things exciting and fun as most the globe is still on some sort of lock down.

There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world right now with COVID-19, but we have some great laughs and share some deep insights that are bound to give you a lil boost and open your mind to some possibilities these next few days, weeks, and months. So without further ado, here’s the one and only, Mr. Natty!

Show Notes:

Natty decided to run an ultra marathon after watching a Netflix show
It’s good to mix things up with the foods you do and activities you do
Natty’s been preparing himself for a long time for this point in his life – it’s important to keep changing hobbies and interests to stay on your toes and adaptable
Natty planted a little vegetable garden and is now growing his own food
Natty needs the city and the nature to stay sane and balanced
Natty grew up in the city, but when he moved to the countryside as a kid he got into farming horticulture and permaculture
He got interested in permaculture after watching a documentary about Bill Mollison, the father of permaculture
He loved doing the farm work, but found it sort of lonely. He got into hair cutting, it was more social and he liked the lifestyle
He talks about growing up in London in the 80s was a good time – the end of the punk era, there were riots, lots of unrest, but with that came a lot of creativity, unity, and community environments, acid house scene
Natty would travel to Paris and Milan, Venice, Florence to cut hair, and he got into the world of high fashion with Maison Margiela & Miucca Prada
Natty is doing online haircuts right now to keep people looking fresh during the Covid-crisis
Natty’s also facilitating meditations online too
For Natty the tools that keep him feeling his best are open space, fresh fruit and veggies, meditation, some yoga, exercise, and community
It’s important to share the tools with others that have helped you get through things in life.
What led Natty to meditation – he went to a basic hatha yoga class in London, but then he started to read books about yoga, and went to Glastonnbury festival and met this guy that was very ‘out there’ and was doing Kundalini
He got inspired to go to India, where he stayed in an Ashram, and with a group of naked Sadhus where he was introduced to different tantric practices
Sadhus – spiritual holy men in India there are different sects of them, the cannibal ones, transvestites, aescetic ones, naked ones…
Natty says he ‘found himself’ when he got back in the tube in London, when he saw all the miserable people there….
He compares India to New York… when you show up you’ve got to be ‘ready to go-go’… you have to have this sort of mentality and throw yourself deep into their life – this will lead you to some wicked adventures
Natty shares how he got into surfing as well – he was sold on the lifestyle when he saw some girls walk by in crocheted bikinis, and when surf legend Wayne Rabbit Bartholomew walked down to the water in a fur coat over his wetsuit and kissed two girls
Natty realized that some things he can’t do on his own – he learned the importance of delegating
Natty talks about living the nomadic lifestyle and importance of community
A lot more urban people might start leaving to the countryside after covid-19
People with skills are going to start coming out of the woodwork and sharing them
'“I think there’s going to be more communities or commune-y type things opening up”
“You’ve just got to take your shoes and socks off and feel the ground.”
In big cities, there’s got to be more open spaces and things like the high line in New York
“Big box retail is done-zies. The rest of those retail spaces will be living environments and community environments.”
Prince Charles experimental community called Poundbury all about the community village spirit
Natty thinks what’s going to happen to the villages and countryside will be like Jack and the Beanstalk… people will start coming back to the countryside
Natty talks about hipsters vs. ‘lumbersexuals’
Natty says what’s happening now is a bit of a reset – we may start to see new types of money systems come about, as well as lifestyles and skill building
Natty is discontinuing his product brand – it got too big and ran away from him… it’s a microcosm of what’s happening with the larger world right now – but now there will be more conscious products, more sustainable packaging, less products, and bringing in like-minded people together to be involved