James

Travel information

I am currently

Description

Hey everyone!

My name's James and I'm 29 years young from the UK, London born and raised. There are three things you should know about me: I love living a life of adventure, I love anything to do with self-development, and I love meeting interesting new people. But things weren't always this way. So what's my story? Originally a Mechanical Engineering graduate building a career in security systems, now a world traveller and aspiring 'digital nomad'. Errmm, how did that happen? Inspired by my 6-month road trip across Southeast Asia; taking Thai cooking classes, trying silent meditation in Buddhist temples, sailing between Indonesia's many islands, and progressing my Muay Thai skills to the next level, I knew I couldn't go back to the old, routine life I'd left behind. So...

I started to learn digital marketing & web design and work on my own online pursuits whilst continuing to travel the world, living life to the fullest and leveraging my growing list of skills to use for unique volunteering opportunities. I've backpacked, hitch-hiked, road-tripped, and visited over 30 countries -many of them long stays- on my journey so far, meeting amazing people and experiencing vastly different cultures along the way. I've completed many Workaways which were all positive experiences, the first being in Montenegro working at an adventure sports company for almost 4 months which was such an enjoyable and fulfilling experience that I've continued to get involved in exciting new volunteering roles. I'm looking for something that involves permaculture, physical activities/hobbies, being outdoors in nature, and good people so that I can have another productive spring/summer period this year!

My work ethic is strong as I like to contribute and 'earn' having awesome life experiences. That's why you can expect me to take initiative, act independently, and be adaptable in any situation, learning whatever skills are needed to help out however I can. If you need me to build a simple website, write content or manage and grow social media profiles I can do that as I have a background in those fields. I'm experienced in agriculture, permaculture and animal care as well as various forms of manual labour. I have well-developed people skills that stem from my background as a sales rep at big events, a hostel receptionist/events planner and also having been a long time Muay Thai and Kickboxing trainer as well as an adventure sports guide. This makes me proficient in any guiding/managing roles and a natural teacher—let's practice your English and polish it up! I have many hobbies and uncommon skills, some of which being skiing/snowboarding, surfing, astronomy, chess, mycology, wildcrafting, holistic health, to name a few.

Interests

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent

More details about my language interests
I'm exploring the idea of working remotely as an English tutor so I'd be more than happy for you to practice your English with me!

Find a language buddy

Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

DIY and building projects

General Maintenance

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Life at a Farmstay

Eco Projects

Helping around the house

Animal Care

Hospitality/Tourism

Teaching

More details about your skills

ADVENTURE SPORTS GUIDE — I worked in Montenegro for 4 months both leading and assisting on adventure tours in paddle-boarding, open-water kayaking, mountain biking, road cycling, and hiking. This role involved a lot of work and many tasks, but in particular, required me to hone my people skills and organisational skills to the highest levels. I had to take on a lot of responsibility, learn to act independently and be able to make judgement calls. The groups I led varied in size from couples to 15 persons.

RECEPTIONIST/EVENTS PLANNER — I worked at a party hostel in Bratislava, Slovakia for 3 weeks mainly as a receptionist but also leading some of the nightly pub crawls and other events. I was involved with promoting the pub crawls via Instagram and producing some of their content. Through daily meetings with my manager, I learnt a lot about the inner workings of running a hostel from a business perspective and their management, promotion and retargeting techniques.

FARM-WORK/ANIMAL CARE — In addition to volunteering on multiple permaculture projects, I used to stay on a farm in Devon, England when I was younger for holiday breaks and my Mum lives in a rural farm community in Kent, England so I'm a seasoned veteran in farm-work; including land clearance, looking after animals; grooming dogs, milking cows, lambing, mucking out stables—you name it! Because I enjoyed working on previous permaculture projects so much I really want to explore this further and develop my knowledge and skills in sustainability and homesteading.

MANUAL LABOUR — I've helped out with various projects and worked at a few manual labour jobs, ranging from building wooden structures, working in a machine workshop, maintaining adventure sports equipment, and decorating—just to name a few. I'm physically fit and able to perform any manual tasks needed and I learn fast when working on something unfamiliar and developing a new skillset.

HEALTH FOODS COOKING/PREP/KNOWLEDGE — I was a strict vegan for 3 years which introduced me into the world of holistic health. I can cook healthy, tasty vegetarian/vegan meals that can also be made to exclude pretty much anything requested: grains, gluten, dairy, carbs etc. I'm knowledgable in nutritional science and natural methods for managing health issues. I also enjoy wildcrafting and can identify and forage for specific herbs, berries, mushrooms etc.

DIGITAL MARKETING EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE — I've developed a number of useful online skills through working for companies on their digital marketing as well as on my own personal projects. Some of these skillsets include web design, SEO for webpages, running ad campaigns, managing social media profiles, copywriting and content writing. I'm always learning/improving in this ever-changing digital space but I can offer useful insights and help out with producing and managing content.

SALES — I've worked as both a representative and a sales assistant on exhibition stands at events such as the IFSEC International security trade show (2016 & 2017) in the O2 Arena, London and the OCEANLAVA Triathalon (2019) in Kotor, Montenegro. Dealing with customers as well as helping out with event logistics and following up with potential clients for business were some of the tasks these events involved.

COMBAT SPORTS TRAINER — I've been passionate and involved in combat sports since the age of 12, training and competing out of various pro fight camps in both London, UK and Phuket, Thailand. I'm experienced in teaching Kickboxing and Muay Thai to both children and adults alike through 1-on-1 private lessons as well as large open group workshops. Sessions can vary from beginner level to advanced.

Age

29

What else ...

For volunteering positions, I'm really looking for places with a sense of community and lots of interaction with travellers and/or other Workawayers. I can be very spontaneous and adventurous so it would be perfect to work with people who also like to go out and explore in their free time! However, I'm also happy to methodically stick to the task at hand and enjoy time to myself.

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies

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  Special dietary requirements