A little about how
Vitruvian Nomad
came to be

Ever since I was a kid, I struggled to fit in. I’ve always loved people. Our differences intrigue me, and I’ve always wanted to understand more about the people I meet.

But as I grew up, I found it difficult to start and maintain conversations, especially with acquaintances, friends of friends, and people I didn’t know well. Small talk never came naturally to me. I wanted to connect, but conversations about work, the weather, or someone’s latest date rarely held my interest.

I tried hard to chat and be social, often using alcohol to feel more comfortable and enjoy myself. Still, something was missing. I suppose part of the problem was I didn’t yet know what I was looking for.

My mum has always been very sociable. Many of her friends felt like family as I grew up, and I remember being fascinated by their conversations. They questioned beliefs, shared ideas, and talked about things I had never considered. I would listen, and my head would fill with questions of my own. I loved how a conversation could leave me thinking long after it ended.

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Later in life, I discovered life coaches, motivational speakers, and strategists. I listened to them for hours while working in my first IT job. It became a period of enormous professional growth. I started as temporary staff and eventually became the person some of our biggest clients turned to when they needed their problems solved. It opened the door to a career in corporate IT.

But while my career progressed, other parts of my life needed attention. I still struggled with relationships and finances, and I was drinking more than I should.

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During Covid, I attended a Tony Robbins event for the first time, virtually, from my living room. Those four days became the most intense experience of my life.

I took an honest look at each part of my life. Where things were going well. Where they weren’t. Why I kept repeating certain patterns, and what I could do to change them.

One realization stayed with me. Alcohol had become a way to manage my social anxiety and the fears keeping me from being the person I wanted to be around others.

Eventually, I made a decision. I wasn’t going to drink anymore.

Notice I didn’t say I would “stop drinking.” I had tried twice before. This time, I simply decided I wasn’t going to drink anymore. The difference in how I understood my decision mattered to me. It helped me leave behind something which had hurt me and damaged the lives of people I love.

But giving up alcohol didn’t answer every question.

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Years later, I still struggled to enjoy get-togethers with people I wasn’t close to. Was I antisocial? Had I never learned to enjoy socializing without drinking? Was something wrong with me?

After reflecting on another social event, I finally understood what I had been missing.

I loved people, but I wanted to know more than how their holiday went or whether they got a promotion. I wanted to understand how they thought. What they believed. What they feared, hoped for, and wanted to change.

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I could spend hours talking about how our everyday emotions influence our choices. How a belief we barely notice can hold us back from something we’ve wanted for years. What becomes possible when our intentions, emotions, and actions start working together.

These were the conversations I had been looking for, the same kind I loved listening to as a child.

And if I wanted more of them, I needed to start them. I needed to be willing to share more of myself and become someone others could trust to listen without judgment.

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This is why Vitruvian Nomad means so much to me.

The messages on our shirts come from ideas I want to remember and conversations I want to have. Ideas which are easy to agree with, but easy to forget as we go about our lives.

I believe a few words can make us pause. They can prompt a question, bring a forgotten lesson back to mind, or give someone a reason to start a conversation they might otherwise keep to themselves.

My hope is for these messages to help us speak more openly, learn from one another, and pay more attention to how we live. To remind us there is more we can do, more we can give, and more we can become.

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Nomad in ancient Greek meant "roaming in search for better pastures" To me, being a nomad means searching for better pastures with the people we love and care about. Moving through life together, looking for wellbeing, honesty, love, compassion, and wisdom. Wisdom we can put into practice and, most importantly, share.

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Vitruvian Nomad is my way of sharing some of what I’ve found and continuing to learn along the way.

Thank you for being part of this journey with us. Let’s find better pastures together.