Into the Unknown: Leaving Headspace and starting out on my own

Friends!

I am long overdue an update to my LinkedIn Profile …?

After eight and a half brilliant years, I’ve finally left the warm, orangey embrace of Headspace to venture out on my own.

Back in March 2015 my old friend Andy and I met up for lunch in Shoreditch, London. I was giving him an update on my latest documentary feature film Project Wild Thing, and he kept insisting I should talk with his co-founder Rich and think about joining them at Headspace. It was definitely not a path I was considering, but when Rich and Andy told me they wanted to make films and podcasts about the health of the mind, the penny dropped, and I was IN! Visas, packing tape and lots of farewell parties later we moved the family from our brilliant London life to Los Angeles, dedicating myself to the Headspace mission.

I got to meet, work and play with some of my favourite all-time people. We made some incredible work, won awards and most importantly made a positive difference in millions of people’s lives. There are so many things to be proud of: The Long Time Academy podcast, the Headspace Guide To Mediation series for Netflix, co-creating the multi-award winning Radio Headspace and Dear Headspace, The No BS Barber Shop with Movember, the National Park Campaign shoots, and a Youtube series where Andy takes mindfulness into the wild … so many great projects, and all the while building a deep meditation practice and taking refuge with Lama Yeshe. I also recently graduated from the Headspace Training Institute, achieving a Certificate in Mental Health Coaching.

The company continues to make a positive, global impact at the very root of our humanity - with a bold mission of 'Improving the health and happiness of the world’. I am so proud, grateful and lucky to have played a part in that, and to have had this time at Headspace.

I’m also proud of the fact that I’m doing what I’ve always done - and hope I can continue to do - connecting with people and using my camera and microphone to help them tell their stories, and try to make the world a better place.

So what now? Well, I’ve started a new company, and we are open for business!

The company is being born - name, website etc will be revealed soon - but needless to say I’m building on my successful portfolio, and founding a creative studio dedicated to developing and producing visual and audio storytelling, and building community through compelling narratives. By collaborating with brands, broadcasters, and organizations, we create impactful work that not only entertains but also inspires change and makes the world a better place. There are many exciting plans in the pipeline including documentaries, TV series, books, festivals, and even a collaborative community space where visitors can deepen their connection to the world and the people around them. More to come soon …

The great news is that my first official client is Headspace! I just finished up a beautiful project there, working with the fabulous and incredibly talented Eve Lewis Prieto , and the incomparable content team: Morgan Selzer , Scott Sorenson , Sara Cohen , Sean Fanton , Ori Guendelman , Colin Goheen , Zemero Requena , Xavier Odemns , Lauren Leb Kramer , Elen Tekle , Nina Shamloo, MS, CNS, LDN , Chris "Winnie" Murguia , Robin Hopkins , Courtney Case , George Telonis , Marshall Alex, Emma Nemtin , and of course the unique and wonderful Dora Kamau, Rosie Acosta and Kessonga Giscombe, MS, MSW . So happy to be working with my old family over there at Headspace HQ and I look forward to more projects and collaborations.

In the meantime, my one ask of you is to REMEMBER ME! If you have a contact you can introduce me to, if you want to make a documentary, or start a podcast, if you need help with your content strategy, or you have a brilliant story to tell, if you need your corporate story shared with the world, if you are a celebrity or CEO in need of a nurturing content collaborator/creator, if you’re in Europe and you need a collaborator, director, producer, shooter, editor on the West coast - please connect and let’s talk!

Here’s to love and kindness, and future collaborations.

Ash x