Musician Jake Morrell is currently preparing to support the Brand New Heavies at Festival Too, Europe’s second largest festival, on July 7. “It’s going to be insane,” he says enthusiastically.

Jake and his band have every reason to be excited; they’ve worked hard to get this far.

Jake has been performing from a young age, starting with school productions and then performing with bands and as a solo artist as a teenager. He then went to study graphic design at the University of Falmouth, but he always viewed it as a ‘back-up plan’ if he failed to break into the music industry: “I chose it because I was relatively ok at it and I love being creative. And an added bonus is that I am able to get the exact design and look I want when it comes to the music stuff like CD covers and posters.”

After graduating, Jake grabbed any opportunity he could to perform at various gigs. “I did about a half hour solo set headlining the acoustic stage for the Falmouth Garden Party. It was an amazing venue in their Italian gardens surrounded by shouting students, Pimms and deck chairs. My most recent has been Harper Adams University, myself and the band played for their summer ball this year along side Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Twin Atlantic and Jaguar Skills. It was an insane place! The gig was at 3am in the morning but the students were buzzing and on form! I would happily go back there again!”

The band he refers to consists of Lewis Jenkins on drums, whom Jake’s known “since high school”; Robert Wiseman on piano – “we jammed together a bit before the whole ‘band’ thing happened” – and Thomas Maddison on double bass – “a lovely chap; he fits in like crackers and cheese!”

Although he has the band behind him, Jake is also a talented musician who can play the piano and guitar: “I’ve been playing guitar for about the past 7/8 years! Once I picked it up I was hooked! And some days I’ll practise for four hours plus when I have the time. But it feels the most comfortable when I have a guitar in my hand and the band behind me.”

Indeed it seems producing Jake’s style of ‘folk-pop’ is a collaborative effort. “I write most of the music and lyrics but the band all contribute,” he says, “especially when it comes to the technical side of the writing as I am not the most ‘conventional’ musician.”

Surprisingly, despite his love of performing, Jake didn’t initially have an urge to be in the spotlight. “But when I started to get the impression that people liked my music then I was, of course, eager to share with the world and all who are in it! After all … sharing is caring!”

Nowadays, he’s loving every moment. “The adrenaline rush is addictive! When you get the crowd bouncing to your songs and singing the lyrics back to you there is not a comparison to the feeling! I got asked what is my aim in the music industry … my answer was ‘to have a crowd of over 3000 people singing my song back to me’ and that is still the dream really.”

Jake and his band certainly know how to enjoy themselves but they also know how difficult it is to break into the music industry and are determined to work hard and succeed. “I’m not a natural salesman, especially when it comes to selling myself so it is and was hard work to get as far as I have, but the motivation is still there to keep going to get to bigger and better places. Myself and the band are now starting to get some seriously fun gigs with bigger and bigger artists.”

Always wanting to climb higher, Jake decided to start making his own music videos to increase awareness of his work: “I thought it would add another element to my ‘image’ and aid in selling my music and myself. Everyone likes to watch things on YouTube so I thought it would simply add to my advertising.

“[But] the music industry is a harsh, brutal world and you have to earn your respect. With sites like Spotify and YouTube it helps artists through showing their music and sometimes that does lead to the dream record deal. But to get into the music industry you have to work hard and fast. You have to sometimes run before you can walk, some might say. But as long as you enjoy what you are doing, have fun with the people you’re doing it with, and have some belief in what you’re doing, there isn’t anything you can’t achieve.”

Having already achieved so much with his positive attitude and determination to succeed, Jake is in the perfect person to give advice to others who are in a similar position:

“Enjoy what you do and be fearless  … People can only say no! Practise makes perfect. Organisation is a key skill. And the most important of all: take what you get! Don’t be picky – sometimes you have to play the bad gigs to get to the good ones, and at the end of the day it’s all experience.”

To listen to Jake’s songs and new album, Hey Bright Eyes, go to Jake’s website: www.jakemorrell.co.uk 

By Kate Wilson

[Image courtesy of Jake Morrell]

Alcohol may have been the muse for many a writer and composer, but, for Freya Smith, the inspiration for the musical that she has co-written with Jack Williams turned out to be a night of misplaced sobriety: “I went to a house party and I think because maybe I was catching an early train the next day or some other reason I decided I wasn’t going to drink. So I experienced this house party, which was full of the usual sort of crazy and extravagant theatre people, while completely sober. I thought to myself, ‘I could do something with this ridiculous situation.’”

Using this experience as the starting point, Freya, 21, and Jack, 22, went about creating a musical which follows the various dramas and characters that can be counted on to make an appearance at any given house party. “For example,” Jack explains, “that time old situation when you’re cornered by someone enthusiastically speaking about philosophy and you can’t really escape the conversation. We’ve got songs about beer goggles, songs about drunk dialling, and more poignant songs as well about feelings of isolation and lost love, so it really covers the entire lifespan of a party.”

The result is Part A, a collection of thoughtfully worded songs that convey how navigating one’s way through a house party can be as confusing an experience as any we can hope to expect from our university years. The lyrics that they have written together portray the awkward transition from intellectual to emotional sensitivity, and how this line is often blurred, particularly where alcohol is concerned. The result is a show that is both witty and poignant, which displays a dazzling intelligence and, more importantly, a sympathy that few dare to attempt towards the self-consciously overeducated generation that everyone loves to hate.

The show will be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer, a feat of organisation that has proved almost as challenging as writing the music itself. Freya told The Fresh Outlook how, while they are both involved in the process of writing and composing, she is the one who has spearheaded Operation Edinburgh: “Jack’s really good at writing songs, but he’ll quite happily sit for six hours strumming away on his guitar whereas I’ll come in and just be a bit bossy.” Luckily, Jack sees the two approaches as an integral part of their working relationship: “The whole thing is a two man operation – we have to write the music, but we also have to plan and arrange everything, from the venues to the publicity.”

The initial writing of the songs was a collaborative process. Freya explained to The Fresh Outlook how they went about combining their individual concepts: “We both separately came up with our own ideas and we would begin writing songs, and then we’d come together and play them to each other. Then we would continue with what we liked and mess around with what the other had written. It wasn’t like one person always did lyrics and one person always did music. We both dabble in everything.”

The frequent reflections on the tropes of musical theatre and their gentle parodying of these would suggest that the writers had already spent a lifetime in the business, but this is in fact the first musical that Jack and Freya have written. Both are willing to admit that, until this point, music has been little more than a hobby that they have pursued on the side of their other endeavours. Although Jack plays in a band and Freya plays and teaches the piano, until now their main focus has been their studies – both finished university last summer, with Jack gaining a Law degree from Durham and Freya an English degree from Oxford. They hope that bringing Part A to Edinburgh will help them to launch a career in musical theatre.

Freya said: “We’d love to carry on writing musicals after this. Obviously it’s a bit of a struggle financially, but if we were able to do it, it’s what we’d love to do more than anything else.” Jack stressed the importance of acting upon your ambitions while you can – however whimsical they may seem: “You have to do things like this while you’re young. It’s the time to do it. You can’t go into an office job and realise 20 years later that you wanted to write a musical.”

By Sophie Yeo

[Image courtesy of Freya Smith and Jack Williams]

Just over a year ago, Lucy Cates was working as an assistant manager in a clothes shop. Her alternative style caught the eye of photographer, Scott Cole, who works for tattoo and alternative magazines.

“It was quite a privilege that he wanted to work with me,” says Lucy. “Since then everything’s developed and it’s got bigger and bigger.”

Lucy talked us through some of these tattoos that attracted Scott’s attention. “Almost all my tattoos are music-related,” she says, “apart from my owl.”

And any plans for more?

“I want to get X-Files tattoos – Mulder and Scully portraits on each leg. I’ve been thinking about whether I want to get that done or not, because it’s quite a big thing.”

Lucy’s aware that having so many tattoos will have an impact on her career: “If you’re absolutely covered in tattoos, I don’t necessarily think it’s as acceptable to be a fashion model.”

And, although Lucy mainly does alternative modelling showcasing these tattoos, she is branching out into fashion as well: “I don’t want to just be a tattoo model. I have got tattoos, but I don’t think I necessarily should be just branded as a tattoo model.

“So I’ve gone on to do more fashion stuff, mainly magazine work, catwalks, collaborating with designers, jewellery companies, latex companies. I basically want to do as much as I can.”

And it doesn’t stop there. Lucy recently appeared in the TV series Switch and is on the verge of being cast in a music video. She’s really embracing the variety of work coming her way: “I wouldn’t say I’m an experienced actor but from what I’ve done so far I seem to be quite confident and I can adapt.

“In modelling you have to take on a different role, the focus is on you, you have to be very confident and it’s almost like you’re telling a story sometimes. With that it’s very similar to acting.”

Lucy is always looking to learn and improve. She looks to others in her industry for inspiration in style and attitude and has found a role model in make-up artist and fellow model, Ryo Love: “Ryo’s been modelling for over three years and she’s been such great support, great help.

“Ryo’s been a very good at telling me how [the industry] works, what to expect, what not to expect, things like that. I think it’s very handy working with her.”

Although Lucy launched her career often doing unpaid work, she is now in a position where that isn’t always necessary: “I feel a bit mean doing it, I don’t want to be like a diva, but at the same time I have to be realistic. You can only do something for free for so long.”

And Lucy has just completed her favourite shoot yet, working with Ryo Love and photographer Matthew Craig: “The images I’ve seen have been the best images so far.

“At the moment, I want to work with the best people I can. I’ve got to that stage of my modelling where I need to be working with better people.

“I need to be raising the bar and this is definitely one of those steps.”

By Talia Rose Hughes and Matthew Cox

[Image courtesy of Scott D'Arcy Masters]

Currently in his second year of studying Master of Fine Arts in Film at the University of Wales in Newport, Steven has been given an opportunity to shoot a film based on the inspiring and amazing life story of James Kofi Annan.

James Kofi Annan was sold into the Ghanaian fishing industry at the age of six; he was forced to work as a child fisherman in more than twenty villages along Lake Volta before he managed to escape seven years later. He dedicated his life and devoted his time fighting for children’s rights in Ghana and despite various death threats from those who make money in that industry, he has neither ceased to his work to free child slaves nor his fight for an end of child slavery in Ghana.

Steven said: “It is certainly a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’! From the day I came across this very remarkable life story I was keen on directing and producing the film myself in order to express the emotions and deliver the message that I had in mind from the start – and also because it is most probably the biggest chance I’ll get as a filmmaker to fulfil my childhood dream, reach people all over the world with a worthwhile cause and establish my name within the industry.”

The thought of creating a film based on someone’s hardships and poignant moments would seem like a challenge, however Steven, saw potential in his own vision and wanted to take the opportunity to produce the film worthy of James Kofi Annan’s tale.

“I’m normally much more into factual storytelling; I do look forward to this project a lot. Fiction can be a very effective medium to inspire a real emotional reaction to true circumstance, rather than presenting the audience with a rather factual retrospective documentation of what actually happened.”

An admirer of film, Steven doesn’t hold a torch for one director, there are many that have influenced him over the years. A big influence is the film ‘Hotel Rwanda’: “It’s a fictional drama based on real life events and the life story of Paul Rusesabagina who rescued his fellow citizens from the ravages of the Rwandan Genocide. It’s also one of my favourite movies and if anything inspired this movie or me as a filmmaker, then it’s ‘Hotel Rwanda’”.

Steven has directed several short films but his most moving was shot last year. Over four months, he directed and self shot several short films that portrayed the incredible efforts of several NGOs all over India, it’s called ‘Dream India’.

“This journey affected me a lot and made a huge difference in my life. In February 2011, I couldn’t believe my eyes when my online searches finally led me to a work placement opportunity specifically designed for film students to create content for the social sector in India’s former capital, Mumbai. Since I had already directed documentaries in Africa and India, I immediately sent out my application – and started praying.”

He went on to say:“Only two months later, I found myself facing the first physical challenges on Indian ground: In a climate 20 degrees hotter than in the UK, I had to learn to literally fight my way through the daily crowds and get used to the incredible noise, the mountains of dirt, the huge and chaotic traffic jams and, above all, the dire poverty. Lying less than 4,500 miles from the United Kingdom, India is home to the largest number of undernourished people in the world – my job was to give them a voice, document the efforts of ‘local heroes’ and showcase how their work creates a future and a perspective for the underprivileged.

“I made friendships through the viewfinder of my camera, experienced the peoples’ thankfulness and happiness on the camera’s LCD screen. After an unforgettable journey to the poorest of the poor in the cold regions of the Himalayan mountain range, to orphanages nearby the spiritual city of Rishikesh and to handicapped people in the incredibly hot desert of Jaipur, I arrived back ‘home’ in Mumbai in July and became witness to the bomb blasts that claimed 26 lives and injured an additional 130 people.

“Once, when I was filming at the Mumbai Central Station, the police arrested me and a few days later I almost fell off the Mahim water pipelines after climbing on top of them for a nice shot. Luckily, all these happenings had a happy ending.

“Summing everything up, I can honestly say that every single day in ‘Incredible India’ proved to be the best preparation I could ever get for my career as a filmmaker.”

‘Dream India’ has been nominated for the ‘Young European Film Forum 2012’ and ‘The National Student Film Festival’. It has also been screened in several Cine Societies all over India.

With big dreams and amazing achievements, nothing is impossible for this ambitious director who managed to come across the true biographical tale of James Kofi Annan through his own research.

“I was so inspired and touched by this remarkable story that I immediately got in touch with James’ NGO ‘Challenging Heights’ to ask for James’ life story rights – which I thought, had long ago been secured by a Hollywood Producer already. But I was wrong and I managed to obtain the exclusive rights – and the subject of the film itself is more serious and actual than ever before: It is estimated that there are 246 million children working in severe forms of child labour right now!”

Even though the film hasn’t been shot yet (shooting starts this summer), already Steven is getting overwhelming support in the making of ‘Fisher of kids’.

“The scale and the scope of James Kofi Annan’s story are staggering, which is why I’m so keen about directing and producing this film from the first minute. And although I haven’t even started to shoot the film, we’ve already had a number of huge successes. We have confirmation that the film will be screened in Colorado and at the ‘Miss Africa’ event 2013 and our Facebook page has more than 2,500 likes. We also just launched our official website and had 3,800 unique visitors in the first month!”

Steven managed to secure an Academic Enhancement Bursary and has been awarded by the Welsh Livery Guild a Travel Scholarship.

“This is an honour for us and makes us set our goals even higher in doing justice to James Kofi Annan’s story and fighting for an end of child slavery in Ghana. The total budget of the film is, however £10,000- and that requires us to do a crowd funding in the summer with which I’m looking to raise another £3,000.”

Steven is lucky to be sharing his vision with other talented people. The crew he has chosen all share the same determination and passion.

“I was lucky enough to find seven really idealistic and experienced crew members. All of them will arrive on 26th June in Accra and then stay until we finish the shooting on August 8. What’s really wonderful about the crew is that I collaborated with each of the crew members before on a at least one film shooting, which makes us almost like a family.”

Steven hopes that after ‘Fisher of Kids’ is wrapped, it will hopefully catch the eye of a producer that will give them a budget that allows a feature length to be made.

“If that doesn’t work out, I’d certainly make another film that raises awareness for some kind of injustice in a developing country – because I’ve always believed that film as a medium has the power to influence our world and change it for the better.”

To find out more about Steven’s production or more about James Kofi Annan’s life story visit facebook.com/fisherofkids or check out ‘Dream India’ on vimeo.com/33072273

By Kate Wilson

[Image Courtesy of Steven Keen]

Originally hailing from Carlisle, Daniel Hamilton came to Cardiff to study Illustration at Cardiff Metropolitan university and graduated in July 2011.

Daniel’s fun and exciting doodles look like they are taken straight out of a young boy’s dreams of adventure, but they keep an air of intelligence and humor that comes straight from the world of adults.

“Since I was a tiny human I’ve always been very influenced by quite ‘boyish’ things (technology, vehicles, space travel),” Daniel tells The Fresh Outlook. “I mostly drew things I liked for the fun of it and as a way of expressing my interest. I continued with art because I liked it and was good at it, but after going to university I realised illustration has a lot of power in explaining things visually.

“Regardless of the subject matter, though, my work is fuelled by my humour. If it doesn’t make me react, it won’t make anyone else react and illustration needs to be emotionally intelligent. I try to make the way my work looks fit the feeling I’m trying to get across. If something needs to be sneaky, what does sneaky feel/look like? That will be different from if it’s angry or lazy or whatever.”

Fresh out of university, Daniel set up Morgan Arcade Studios in central Cardiff which provides studio space for practising artists, mostly illustrators, to display their work. Talking about the future, however, Daniel’s plans are less certain.

“I know a lot of people have very specific goals that are planned out to the minute,” he says, “but that doesn’t allow for very much spontaneity and I think that’s where some of the most interesting experiences happen. I’d like to get into editorial, but maybe next week I will be hit by a meteorite…and get superpowers which, as we all know, are a gift and a curse and a big responsibility.”

Looking at Daniel’s illustrations it’s easy to see that if he were to have a super power he would surely chose to be able to fly. Though he’s currently working on getting his solo gliders licence Daniel’s art flies just as much as he does; his creative and original airborne inventions soar from picture to picture.

The images Daniel creates are filled with childlike excitement, not only are these simple black and white illustrations funny and intriguing but also extremely touching. “I want it to connect with people and to inform,” explains Daniel. “Too many people think learning things is boring. Knowledge is power…and it’s damned interesting”.

If you want to find out more about Daniel Hamilton, and see more of his work, check out his blog at danielhamiltonillustration.blogspot.co.uk.
 

By Heather Arnold

[Image courtesy of Daniel Hamilton]

A precociously talented girl who describes herself as an “elf disguised as Batman,” Nat’s drawings have been rewarded with a significant number of fans on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, with her work being enjoyed by thousands of people.

Like most talented people, Nat started early and has always had a keen interest in art. “I’ve drawn my entire life as far back as I can remember,” she says. “I started doing portraits more seriously when I was12, though.”

Indeed, the change in Nat’s art during that time is very clearly shown by a picture on her official Facebook page that shows her work from 2008 to the present day side by side. In that time, Nat’s artistic style has evolved considerably to the very realistic and supremely detailed pieces that you see today.

Nat’s constant improvement over that time period is due to an awareness of how to make her art achieve the effect she wanted; in this case, realism. To that end, one of the main and most noticeable changes between 2008 and now has been a slow move away from colour – a deliberate decision on Nat’s part to improve the realism of her work: “When you do colour it is so much more difficult to achieve realism without it looking almost like a cartoon.

“There’s so many colours and things that have to go together to get that ‘real’ effect. Not to mention black and white brings out features a lot better.”

Nat’s drawings, she says, are “more inspired by the people I draw rather than other artists”.  Their talent feeds into her own, enabling her to draw what she wants.

“Their music or what they do tends to inspire me. That’s why I draw ‘crazy’ and ‘different’ people.”

One such person is the American rapper Hopsin. The artist, who has also acted and produced, is the subject of one of Nat’s most realistic and detailed drawings – presumably thanks to Hopsin’s unique look inspiring her.

This drawing – every inch as detailed and realistic as the Eminem piece – also became one of Nat’s greatest successes to date. When Hopsin saw the drawing he responded with enthusiasm, first messaging Nat and then asking to use the piece in the booklet for his latest album. Nat describes this as “an amazing thing to happen. It’s great when people like that recognise what I do! I love the idea that people give my art immunity by putting it on an album like Knock Madness.”

Though the most recent, this is not the first time Nat’s art has been publically appreciated. “I’ve had a few celebrities contact me before. In fact, a few days before I was approached by Hopsin I had Skylar Grey [writer of Eminem’s 'Love The Way You Lie', featuring Rihanna] message me and start posting some of my art to her fans.”

A visit to Nat’s various web pages will mainly show sketches, but that is not all she does. Despite her using less colour, Nat is not at all averse to using it in non-sketched pieces.

“I still do colour. Not as often as I used to, but I still do it every now and then using oil pastel or watercolour.”

Nat’s versatility, of course, does not end there. In addition to sketches, Nat occasionally dabbles in and enjoys a variety of other pieces of art. “I can do designing such as tattoos, album covers and logos, and I like abstract too,” she says.

The tattoo art in particular is an example of Nat’s versatility, and leads to another ambition of hers – something else she is hoping for her art to achieve: “One day I hope somebody will tattoo a design that I have created on themselves.”

It is clear that despite her reasonably young age, Nat not only has a clear idea of how to improve her art – that much is clear when you observe the change from 2008 to now – she also has an acute understanding of her own motivations, which helps her art to achieve the effect that it does. Her own observational skill, she says, is a key to her talent as a realistic sketch artist.

“I do sketches because I think I’m quite good at analysing. I pay attention to details and that’s just what you need when drawing in realism.”

As for the future? Nat is currently attending college, and is optimistic about her talent and creativity being used in her later career. Her art is certainly good enough to have a strong influence on her future but she is “going to see what the future holds”.

“I’d like to incorporate my creativity in some way in my future. I’ve never thought of an exhibition before but one day it may happen.”

You can find Nat on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheOfficialNatMorley/ or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/herronat. She is avaialable via e-mail at natmorley@me.com.

By Matthew Cox

[Image courtesy of Nat Morley]

After supporting Bon Jovi at the O2 Arena in 2010, winning the Road to V competition in 2009 and releasing an acclaimed debut album you’d think The Last Republic would be happy adopting an ‘if it’s not broken don’t fix it’ attitude – but you’d be wrong.

The dreaded ‘second album syndrome’ is something that most bands fear after delivering a well received debut. The Last Republic decided to combat this by taking the material they’d recorded for their new album… and deleting it all.

Frontman Jonathan Owen told The Fresh Outlook: “Between May and Christmas we had written 26 complete songs only to find that after coming back from our time off  we’d drop all these songs in January and start again.  There’s always an added pressure on the second album and this is why we scrapped the material we wrote because it felt like we were writing the same album again.”

This wouldn’t necessarily seem a bad thing after the high praise debut album Parade received.  A concept album that tackled themes such as social degradation and isolation, the album provided an accurate musical backdrop to modern day Britain. Despite this, Owen is confident the band are able to show they have more strings to their bow with their next effort.

“I was speaking to a close friend with whom I trust with my lyrics and he said that Parade seemed to have this atmosphere that would constantly remind you of a grey life in Britain.  When he read my lyrics for the new record he said that it seems like I’m trying to help take people’s minds away from our current climate.  Musically the new album is far more upbeat. I wanted to write songs more loosely and create a dreamier atmosphere when needed but also write about more universal experiences and topics such as love, happiness, loss, death and friendship.”

The as yet untitled album is set to be released in 2013, with recording currently taking place in Monnow Valley Studios in Monmouth, Wales. Tom Manning takes up the chair behind the mixing desk, something Owen was hugely pleased with as he told us: “We first started working with Tom when he produced some of Parade and we fell in love with his ethos then and we were delighted when he found out we were doing a new record and wanted to be involved with the whole project.  We spoke a lot about how we wanted the record to sound before pressing any record buttons and Tom, due to his love of similar bands as us such as David Bowie, the Cure, Talking Heads etc, just completely understood what we were looking for.”

With priorities focused on getting the new album recorded, the tour that follows will have the task of superseding the highs achieved when they toured Parade throughout Europe: “The highlight of those tours was selling out my favourite venue on the planet – Paradiso in Amsterdam (upstairs) – after causing quite a buzz in Holland from supporting Go Back to the Zoo, and also playing a sold out show at Razzmatazz in Barcelona. “

If you can’t wait until the band finish recording, however, you can catch them performing new material on the dates below:

June 3 -  Welsh Perry & Cider Festival, Blaengawney Cider Farm, Caerphilly

July 21 – Truck Festival, Hill Farm, Steventon

By Gareth Lovell

[Image courtesy of Debbie Jackson]

Glamorgan Atrium students from courses such as Journalism, Television, Media Production and Film Producing created three films based on ideas from students of Neath Port Talbot College for the BT’s Big Voice Film Festival.

The festival is part of Get Set, the official London 2012 education programme for schools and colleges.

The films, titled ‘Drove Drunk’, ‘Shine Bright’ and ‘Bang Tidy’ tackle hard hitting themes such as drink driving, homophobia and safe sex.

The three films will go up against 36 other productions from across the UK and compete in a public vote on the BT’s Big Voice website to decide the winner. The three teams from South Wales were all awarded certificates for their efforts earlier this month at a BT Big Voice Youth Film Festival held in Bristol. They could now receive gold, silver or bronze medals depending on their share of the vote.

Fizzy Oppe, a lecturer in film at the University’s Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries who helped organise the project said: “The opportunity to work on films which were furnished with a proper budget, were scrutinised by professionals from the BBC, BT and Dialogics and were subject to strict compliance issues was an amazing experience for all our students who took part. We were very honoured to produce the excellent ideas that had come from some very talented students at Neath Port Talbot and I hope we can continue with some of these partnerships into the future.”

All videos can be viewed and voted here

By Gareth Lovell

[Image courtesy of Glamorgan CCI website]

In a significant year for UK sport, 2012 has already seen Non Stanford win 11th place at the ITU World Triathlon Series in Sydney, and 21st last weekend in San Diego. Fresh from her great performance in San Diego, she says: “Overall I was pleased, if you’d said to me last year that I’d finish 21st in a World Series event I’d have been delighted.”

Her women’s World Series Ranking has since leapt to 18th position, impressive when you consider that in 2010 she ranked 118th, and at 79th in 2011. Did she expect this? “Not at all!”

Currently based in Leeds but originally from Swansea, Stanford describes herself as a “loyal South Walian, temporary Yorkshire dweller”. She graduated in 2010 with a degree in Sport and Exercise Science from the University of Birmingham, which is where she unexpectedly began her triathlon training.

From her early teens, Stanford trained as a cross-country runner, but in 2008 after a series of injuries kept her from running, she began swimming with the university triathlon squad:

“I was picking up injuries all the time and struggling to keep running, which was really demoralising, so in the end I decided to do some swimming to keep fit.”

Everything changed when the university’s triathlon coach persuaded her to train with the team: “I loved the variety of the triathlon training and had a really positive experience with it. From there I didn’t look back. It’s an interesting sport, it’s different, and it’s really challenging, and people really appreciate that.”

After winning 2nd place in the 2009 British Triathlon Super Series, she received the Paul Weston Triathlon Scholarship, allowing her to concentrate on competing professionally as a triathlete. The following year, while also completing her degree, she won bronze at the Premium European Cup in Brasschaat, 10th place in the prestigious French Club Championship, and 5th at the Triathlon de Paris. Since 2011, she has taken top-ten positions at the ITU Triathlon World Cups in both Ishigati and Antalya.

Basking in the current success of the British Triathlon Squad, which also includes brothers Jonathan and Alistair Brownlee, Stanford describes how triathlon is definitely a sport which is gaining momentum in the UK: “Up until four or five years ago I didn’t know what a triathlon was either, and with so many British athletes doing so well it’s definitely raised the profile. It’s a challenge for the masses too, as so many people are now running a 10k and marathons, triathlon is something new and it’s a shinier model.”

Stanford now forms part of the British Triathlon Federation’s World Class Development Squad. As well as 18th in the world, she is also the third highest ranked British female triathete, after World Champion Helen Jenkins and Vicky Holland. Sport can often be fiercely competitive, but Stanford describes how the British squad support each other: “You’re not fighting each other, we’re there to help each other and everyone gets on really well. I think that’s key for Helen [Jenkins] going into the Olympics knowing that she has the backup and the support of the whole team.”

As two high profile Welsh athletes, Stanford and Jenkins have helped to boost Wales’ sporting accomplishments. President of Welsh Triathlon, Dr Dean Hardie, told The Fresh Outlook: “It has been a tremendous start in the Olympic year for Welsh Triathlon, with stunning performances from Non Stanford and Helen Jenkins in the ITU World Triathlon Series. [In San Diego] Non had a solid race finishing 21st in a very strong field, while Helen took 1st place. Helen has already been selected for the Olympic team but there are still two places up for grabs. The final Olympic selection race for Team GB is in Madrid on 26th May where another good performance from Non could see her dreams come true.”

In the run-up to London 2012, Britain’s triathlon chances are looking spectacularly good, and Stanford sees this as a way for the sport to grab more public interest: “With people like Helen [Jenkins] doing so well, [Britain] has three very realistic gold medal chances, not just medal chances, so I think public interest will just keep growing over the next few years. It would be great to get triathlon on the main TV channels!”

What do the next few years hold for Non Stanford? “My main aim is the World Series now, to keep putting in good performances there, as well as the Under 23s World Triathlon in Auckland in October. It’s every athletes dream to go to the Olympics to represent their country. The Olympic Games is very special and to go [there] would be like a dream come true for me. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so I’ll definitely keep training towards that in the next few years.”

Within four years, Stanford’s progress has taken her to the elite races amongst the best in the world, so what advice would she give to budding young sportspeople who hope to follow her example and become professional?

“Patience, perseverance and enjoyment! Find a sport that you really enjoy; it’s your job and you do it full-time, training 30 hours a week, so you really have to enjoy it.

“Also, don’t worry about being number one when you’re younger, it doesn’t matter, just train and learn and enjoy it. As long as you stick at it and have patience and persevere, especially through the hard times, it’ll all be worth it in the end.”

By Jo Powell

[Image courtesy of Dr Dean Hardie, Welsh Triathlon]

A model and makeup artist, Ryo has been involved in shoots all over the world, and her career seems set to reach new heights.

Ryo’s start in modelling came because of what she calls simple “coincidence”. Six years ago one of her old friends – also a model – told her that she should consider getting into the field. She looked into it and things progressed from there.

“I chose to make an account with a modelling network with photographers. I made an account with nothing but some old Myspace pictures that I did with some makeup on. This model saw the pictures and I got asked to do some shoots and I’ve been doing it since.”

After a two-year hiatus from modelling between the ages of 17 and 19, Ryo has “been modelling nonstop since,” in a career that has taken her as far afield as London and Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong shoot conjured some fond memories. “It was amazing,” she says.

“I did this amazing shoot with a girl called Cake Injection. It was 12 o’ clock at night, and we had wine glasses with goldfish in them. It was by far the most random and crazy photoshoot I’ve done, and the photos are incredible.”

Ryo is a naturally creative, imaginative person, and this has led into her profession. Through her career she has developed a clear preference for “creative modelling”, driven by her education. “I did three years of fine art at college, and I’m an artist at heart. Anything that’s funky, unusual or creative, that’s what I love to do.”

The study of fine art is perhaps what drives Ryo to be the unique model that we see today. Her move into both modelling and being a make-up artist, she says, was a natural one. “It was kind of an easy thing to fall into from painting in my degree to painting my face with makeup for shoots.”

Her style is striking and unique, something she says she developed during university, during which time she decided to enter the world of makeup artistry as well as modelling.

“It’s a weird one because as you can see I don’t have eyebrows – I draw them on,” she says. “I never wore make-up [before], ever. High school, college, I had strawberry blonde hair and eyebrows, nothing too quirky.

I was quite gothy in a way. It wasn’t until maybe the end of the first year of university that I just shaved my eyebrows off and started to draw them on.”

The lack of eyebrows is a stark, interesting quirk. During our interview they were a bright orange, adding to the vibrancy of her outfit.

That same sense of originality runs throughout her work. She loves and enjoys the work of fellow models, but when it comes to inspiration? “I’m sort of inside my head.”

“I had the same kind of questions when I was doing fine art – stuff like ‘who inspires you?’ There are models that I like, but I don’t think I see their stuff and think,’oh wow, I want to do that too.’ But I love all their styles individually.”

Ryo’s ideas often come from a more unique place than her colleagues. “I get ideas from dreams, I sketch them, I contact photographers with them. That’s often my personal stuff; … though I can’t do that all the time.”

She strives to be innovative, wanting to do things “in a way it hasn’t been done before.

“People say you can’t do that, it’s been done before, and I say, ‘they haven’t done it like I’ve done it.’

“It’s hard to be truly unique. Everything’s been done before. You can’t choose a specific shoot and say, ‘this is mine.’ It’s about getting your ideas, adapting things for yourself. I get an idea and I go for it, adding my own twist.”

Simply being creative is not enough to make a living, however, something Ryo learned a couple of years ago. “I used to just charge £50 for a day, but people told me that if you don’t charge enough people aren’t going to respect you. Nowadays I charge properly.”

The financial side of modelling has some pitfalls. Ryo claims some of her pictures have been used without her permission. After a shoot in London – involving ballet shoes that left her feet “in agony” – photos from the session appeared, having allegedly been sold all over the world and used in various salons. “I found them online and asked them: ‘Why are you using my image?’

They said they bought it from some website – and they had no idea that it had been stolen. It happens quite a lot. I have a friend in Poland who saw a poster of me outside a nightclub once,” she claims.

Despite this, Ryo sees the positive side: “I just take it as a kind of flattery.”

More information about Ryo can be found at http://www.facebook.com/ryolovemodel

By Matthew Cox

[Image courtesy of Steve Brown]