Journal
Tens x Tiny Changes
Creating positive experiences through our mood enhancing lenses has been central to our ethos since day one. We love that our sunglasses add a little bit of warmth to your daily travels; however we recognise that maintaining a healthy mindset takes more than that. Mental health is an incredibly challenging issue at the heart of our generation and the Tens team. Today we’re sharing our first steps in actively engaging and driving support in what we feel is an immensely under-resourced space. We’re proud to announce our partnership with Scottish mental health charity, @tinychanges; a community of tiny change makers, working together to help young minds feel better. Tiny Changes is a Scottish mental health charity set up in 2019 by the family of, and in memory of Scott Hutchison. Scott was best known to most as the lead singer and songwriter in Scottish folk indie band, Frightened Rabbit. Through his music and art, Scott made tiny changes that made a big impact. His honesty and openness about his own mental health inspired people from all walks of life. Scott’s family felt sure he would want his voice to continue to be heard. This legacy inspired a bold vision; to make young minds feel better. Tiny Changes has three main aims in its mission: Irrespective of your location around the world, we implore you to visit @tinychanges on Instagram and their website at tinychanges.com to find out more about their story, how you can support it and importantly; learn about what you can do to manage your own mental health as well as looking out for others. It’s never been so important to do so during a testing time for everyone. We hope that you can join us on this journey supporting Tiny Changes and all the important work they do. Every tiny change can make a big impact. - - #TinyChanges
City Guides: A Long Weekend in Lisbon
While the sun's come out plenty this month in the UK, and so far the conditions have been perfect for Tens, we've still not been blessed with that spring heat. Yearning for that summer heat, our Iain took a trip to a new city with his best pal & a camera. If you've been to Lisbon before you'll know of its stunning architecture, colours, food & warmth. Iain got so excited about it he's written us his guide. If you're needing any more tips, just slide into our DMs, amigos! Okay, the first tip is to get electric scooters EVERYWHERE (well, not up the hilly parts). Most of them are around €0.15 per minute with around a €1 starting fee. They go up to 26km/h and are SO much fun. You just pick them up from the side of the street and leave them wherever you want! If you take them along the water from Praça Comercio you'll pass some lovely sights, the path gets bumpy at times though. We never actually used the metro, just walked around in the sun and only got the train out to further away places. For a half-day trip, I'd highly recommend going to see Sintra and the vibrant castles there. It's a bit of a trek to walk up there (around 45 minutes uphill), but you can always get a Tuk Tuk up & down! The castle is STUNNING and set in a forest park. Very 'Instagrammable' and the views are class. I wouldn't go on a Saturday though, and I guess try get there early as it was super busy. The return train ticket is €5 and takes 40minutes. Another great half-day trip idea if you get a super sunny day is Cascais. It's a GORGEOUS small beach town with even smaller windier tiled streets. Great wee outdoor seating spots for food & sangria, a really nice chilled beach too. If you go, you must walk up to the fort and check out the lighthouse, it's gorgeous. This is also €5 return but takes a bit longer, around an hour each way. On the way back, it's worth checking out the Champalimaud Foundation. Honestly one of the most impressive examples of architecture I've seen in my life, look it up. It was mind-blowing. We went near sunset when the golden light was stretched over it which was super dramatic. You can go on the way there too of course, just get off the train at Alges, then it's a 10 minute walk. Along that same train line as above you've got the MAAT museum. This is in two parts, there's the old thermal power station and then the new Amanda Levete building which is extremely cool. It's only €9 to visit both buildings (or a fiver each) so might as well go see both if you're there. Very impressed.Back towards the city you've got LX factory which is a bustling spot. A lot of vintage shops and street art to check out. What's cool about it is that it's under the main bridge so the surroundings are sick. We ended up sitting for hours under the bridge drinking margaritas. Ideal. One of my favourite things about Lisbon was watching the old trams rattle past. We didn't actually get on one, but they're all over the old town area, and super cute. There's also a funicular you can get from the centre which has the same vibe - again, didn't go up but would have done if we had an extra day.Drinks-wise, Foxtrot is a great quirky cocktail bar that's a bit further out of the main Barrio Alto but worth it. If you time it right, I'd recommend going to Park Bar for sunset, that was cool. It's a bit tricky to get to as it's literally on the roof of a multi-storey car park, but once you work that out you're golden. Went to this great wee jazz bar too called Palheta, so much fun and the crowd spills out onto the street. Such a warm vibe. If you know your bars and have good judgement, you'll find what you're looking for on most corners. The food in Lisbon is to die for. A top spot for us was Farès, mediterranean Ottolenghi vibes and a fairly new restaurant but it was simply perfect. Great if you're into that taste, and the staff are extremely friendly. Amazing tunes, really nice cocktails. Make sure you try the artichokes if you're into that. The owners also own this cafe called Janis which is a perfect Parisian-style brunch spot. Another good brunch spot was Juicy Lisboa, nothing out of this world, just really good healthy food & juices. If you're not into your meat, then check out AO26 (Vegan Food Project). The burgers and basics looked good, but I had this imitation scored scallop dish with shimeji mushrooms, with vegan caviar, blue spirulina foam and all sorts of goodness and it was probably the best thing I've ever eaten in my life. Great organic wine there though. We also went to this taqueria called Pistola y Corazon which was amazing. Really creative cocktail menu, & fantaastic tacos, however there's usually a bit of a wait. Try to get there for like 6:45pm (opens at 7) to put your name down. If there's 20 odd people outside you'll probably be waiting half an hour. You can also order drinks for waiting outside and they'll give you tortilla chips. And last but not least, for those famous custard tarts, we kept going back to the same place. Just near Praça da Figueira called Confeteria Nacional - beautiful interior. And if you're vegan, don't fear! We got our vegan fix from Zarzuela. If you're planning on going, DM us on Instagram with any questions. Photos by @yoiain & @steffiholtz
Doyenne - Making Skateboarding More Accessible
Question, who springs to mind when you think about a typical skateboarder? For most, it’s probably a white male, right? Don’t worry, it’s not your fault if that’s who. In skateboarding and, let’s be honest, across all sports (especially extreme sports), there is still a frightening lack of representation of women & other minority groups. Skateboarding, even as a subculture is still largely male-dominated, and for something that’s supposed to celebrate individual expression, there still seems to be limited space available for women, the LGBTQ+ community, and those with disabilities. Surely anybody can grab a board and just… go out and skate, right? Well, it’s not that simple, actually. Blame Tony Hawk if you like, but we’ve found ourselves in a bit of a problematic loop anyway, which begins at the local skatepark. The lack of role models within these minority groups (especially intersectionally) to draw inspiration from makes it so much harder for them to join in. It’s fair to assume that a young adult male approaching a skatepark filled with other young adult males, would feel far more comfortable in this space compared to, say, a queer black woman, right? So why is this the case…There’s a certain intimidating nature to a skatepark. For one, it’s the sport itself. Skateboarding requires a huge amount of confidence. It’s an extreme sport, it’s dangerous! Skateboarders often need to have the guts to throw themselves down a concrete ramp, or slide across a metal rail with sheer confidence to avoid potentially deadly injuries. This bravado doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people, especially those who have experienced plenty of rejection & ridicule throughout their lives - be it team sports, or even socially.This is where Doyenne come in. The women (remaining anonymous) that run Doyenne in Glasgow, Scotland, have been taking an ‘act local’ approach since launching to creating a much bigger space for women, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities to enjoy skateboarding. In general, Glasgow is one super friendly city, so it’s not a bad place to start. Whether on or off the board, in or out the bowls. Strength truly is numbers here, and through community they’ve given these minorities some new bearings, helping them navigate a new and exciting sport that belongs to all - not just white men. The other side to the Doyenne story, I guess their raison d’être, is in the global efforts. Not only are they bringing together locals to get into skating, they also make beautiful, bold, non-gendered clothing, that splits profit with chosen organisations across the globe. Their new collection - which just dropped this week - supports Free Movement Skateboarding, who empower the young refugee population of Athens through skating. Previously Doyenne have supported (and continue to support) the following organisations, which you can learn more about below. - SkatePal, which supports young people in Palestine through skateboarding - Concrete Jungle Foundation, who use skateboarding as a tool to stimulate positive personal and social development for underprivileged youth- Skateistan, who we’ve talked about HERE- Visibility Scotland, a local charity that supports people with sensory loss in ScotlandIt’s sad that exclusion still exists pretty much everywhere, but where there’s community and positive role models, we can break out of this loop and give something like skateboarding back to who it belongs to. Everyone. Why did you start Doyenne? When I was growing up as a female skateboarder, the clothes that I was wearing were made by brands whose teams were made up of pretty much all males. The people in the adverts in the magazines and the people they sponsored were all male. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still wear these clothes, but I wanted to also wear clothes that would represent me as a female skateboarder. That didn’t exist yet. Why do you think skating has been so overwhelmingly male? I mean it all stems from the Barbie / Action Man thing right? Growing up, girls had toys and products advertised to them that had nothing to do with extreme sports and anything 'rad'. Boys had Bart Simpson. I think because of this, not only do the guys think girls won't be into skating, but also the girls have felt like they never belonged on the scene in the first place. There’s also always been the assumption that well, if they wanted to then they would just… skate. The thing is, skateboarding doesn't even have to be this crazy, deadly, grazen-kneed sport. It can be chill as well. If you just wanna cruise around on your board, it doesn't make you any less of a skateboarder. How do you think Instagram has helped? Instagram has helped a lot as it puts everybody on the same platform. Before that, and before youtube, skaters only had the best of the best on TV whilst watching the X-Games, and in video games and it seems like an impossible skill. But now, more and more accounts are posting videos of beginners, and what’s amazing about Instagram is seeing beginners, women, queer skaters and those with disabilities progressing. I’m a beginner, when I see somebody get reposted that’s at my level, that’s the most inspiring thing to me. It makes me think “oh, actually I could do that”, whereas if I was watching pro skaters all day, even if they’re women, I’ll think it’s amazing but you know, I can’t really attempt that today. If you don’t have the representation near you, if you’re the only beginner at the skatepark then it’s hard. People learn from each other, that’s the thing I love about skateboarding. On Instagram there is so much representation of people at different levels so it’s so much easier for beginners to feel that a certain trick might be possible. Tell us about the clothes! We spent most of our time just choosing the colour palette to be honest. We try to be really colourful, we love pastels but we also want to make sure we have plain colours, and dark colours to ensure that there’s something for everyone. We make sure we’ve got some white, some pastel, some milder colours and some dark. We always like to pop the collection with some illustrated pieces too, so collaborations with different artists is super important to each of our collections. We just did one with Cindy Whitehead who was one of the first pro female skaters! We reached out to her and wanted to use this photo and put her name to it. For decades it's been used by so many people as a stock image without credit, and we wanted to take this and make sure her name was printed next to it so that she would be talked about. What's been the highlight of running Doyenne so far? We just love seeing the support we get from all over the world, it's amazing how that's possible now with social media. We receive DMs from kids all over the world, and it's crazy to think that someone must have paid super high prices for postage just to represent our clothing and the community. That's so cool to see. What advice would you give to the competent skater to help encourage the beginners in the park? I just always always say to the 'good' skaters in the park to remember what it was like when they were younger, and when they couldn't ollie. And skateboarding should be about sharing and passing on skills, that's what it's all about. You can check out Doyenne’s new collection online HERE, or follow them on Instagram HERE. Photos by @bgracephotos & @yoiain, lookbook styled by @lulaproctor. Cover photo by @_serenabrown
Best of the Month - Vol. 18
Is it just us, or does January get colder and longer every year? Feel like it's already 5 months into 2019 and it only just turned February? Weird. We read somewhere that as you get older, time seems to pass more quickly because each year becomes a smaller fraction of your life. When you're 4, a year is a quarter of your life, so it feels pretty significant. When you're thirty it's a mere 1/30th, so it zooms past. Not the most cheerful fact in the world... However, all the more reason to make the most of your day we think! And this thought's been keeping us motivated, as have all these wonderful things up next that we've discovered in January. Enjoy! Best of the Web As a kid at the dentist coming off anaesthetic once said: "Dubai was LIT"! We didn't get it at first but then we saw the new Kriss Kyle BMX video from Red Bull and yea, it's lit. Watch in max quality in full screen 🔥 Sleep brand Casper announced a new bedside light that we're SUPER excited about. It's a wireless light that simulates sunset / sunrise to help you have a more natural sleep - kinda like a Lumee. However, as it's wireless, you can get up in the middle of the night, give it a wee shake and take it with you for snacks! It's definitely one of those "I didn't know I needed this until now" products. Read more / pre-order it here. Namibian artist Max Siedentopf has set up a sound installation in the coastal Namib Desert to play on loop, in tribute to the soft rock classic 'Africa' by Toto. Enjoy this gorgeous photo set of a Shiba Inu puppy playing in snow for the first time ever, here. Artist Chris Labrooy imagined this modified Martian spec Porsche 911, with a "new propulsion system and bodywork". If Elon sends us to Mars, you bet we'll pick this over a Tesla. Runner Khemjira Klongsanun was seven miles into the Chombueng marathon in Ratchaburi, Western Thailand, when she saw runners dodging a stray puppy. She picked up the lil fella and continued to run 19 miles to finish the race! She's since adopted him and named him Chombueng after the event! Tens Soundtrack Here are some of our office favourites, mostly new, some old. Who else should we be checking out? Visit our profile on Spotify to check out our previous months' soundtracks. Who to Follow Here are some of our favourite accounts to follow on Instagram. If you know anybody that we should be following, let us know! This month we've got @alexfarfuri, @ronyhernandes, @jamie_noise, @amanda_charchian, @mollieroseuk & @nimaelm. #TensMoments At Tens we put our community first, no matter what it is that we're up to. Here's where we share some of our favourite photos with Tens from the last month. We love seeing your tags with Tens, so be sure to tag us in them for your chance to be featured! Photos submitted (in order) by @jimbo.leung, @beinglittle, @effyshowslife, @hanphn, @nathanmueller, @travelchillo, @stuartdudleston, @bennnyy__ & @advanturesscotland.~What things have you discovered this month? Are we missing anything? Slide into our DMs with suggestions!
Meet Rachel E Millar ~ Lettering Artist & Signwriter
There’s Atari old-school and then there’s hand-painted-sign old-school ~ meet Glasgow based Signwriter, Rachel E Millar.
Building an Instax Drone Camera
Over the years, you might have picked up on a wee obsession of ours... Anything vintage, retro, nostalgic just fills us with pure joy, and we'll often get way more excited over a fuzzy, faded photograph from decades ago over a modern 42MP masterpiece. That's not to say we're old-fashioned - we love the old & new in equal measures. Seeing what's being done in the landscape of photography with modern tech is simply mind-blowing - and we've even dipped our toes in wild aerial photography projects ourselves! We were reading through PetaPixel one day and came across this guy Trent, who had hooked up an Fujifilm Instax camera to a drone he built himself. I don't think we've found anything more up our street than this. We applaud the creativity here, and it shows there really are no limits to what can be done with a drone. Mounting the instant camera, something that's been around for 70 years to a quadcopter? No problem. What we loved most about this project is just how different these images looked in that format to the run-of-the-mill party photos taken with Instax cameras. That look of instant nostalgia, but a few hundred feet in the skies above California really fascinated us, and we're sure you'll love them too. Read more about the project, see the results and check out Trent's video on the project below! Words by Trent Siggard Over the last 5 years, drones have consumed every part of my life. From using aerial systems to carry cameras as a service provider with Drone Dudes, to selling drones with Dronefly, or designing and making drones in China with Yuneec, I’ve been involved in all aspects of the drone industry. The last 3 of those years have dealt heavily in FPV racing, building, and tinkering. One day I got the idea to challenge myself to build a custom drone that can carry a Fujifilm Instant Camera to take one of a kind aerial images. With the drones available today you can fly for up to 30 minutes and take as many photos as your memory card will hold. I wanted to shift the way I think about taking aerial photos and become more intentional in what I shoot. That’s why I’ve decided to combine the two and put an instant camera on a drone. I had an extra 500mm quadcopter frame collecting dust and knew it was the perfect platform for this project. I used some spare parts from Open Grove Raceway including a DJI Naza V2 flight controller and some old UBAD 20a ESC’s to get it flying. After a successful test flight, I had to mount the instant camera. With the camera mounted on the front of the drone and 11″ props, I had about 2mm to spare in-between the camera and the propellers. This made mounting the camera very difficult as I had to remove the camera every 10 photos and put in a new instant film cartridge. I ended up using dual lock to mount the camera in a way where it was removable and used some rubber band reinforcement to hold the top of the camera back. To have a reference of what the camera was seeing I used a standard FPV camera attached the side of the Instax with dual lock so I could have a reference monitor on the ground and to have a rough idea of what my camera framing was like. To trigger the camera I glued a Futaba S3003 Standard Servo to the camera, plugged it into the flight controller, mapped the servo channel to a spring-loaded switch on the controller so it would only be at its limit as long as I held it there, and limited its travel in my remote. This made it so I wouldn’t burn out the servo from over-stressing it while ensuring that it travels the full range it needed to. I mapped the servo channel to a spring-loaded switch on the controller so it would only be at its limit as long as I held it there. You can also see in the image below that there is tape over the flash. On these Instax cameras, the shutter speed is always 1/60th and the flash always fires. In early testing, I noticed that the flash was illuminating the propellers in some photos. Once I covered the flash mixed with the slow 1/60th shutter speed was enough to ensure the propellers wouldn’t show up in my images. This project was a lot of fun for me. It shifted my process on taking aerial photos from one where I shot an access of content, to shooting one image at a time. It slowed me down, made me think, and execute on one image at a time. Words by Trent for Peta Pixel. You can follow Trent on Instagram HERE, and subscribe to his wonderful YouTube channel HERE. Why not hit him up with some questions?
Our Top 100 Tracks of 2018
2018 turned out to be a bit of a rollercoaster with music. We felt the tragic passing of some true greats (Scott Hutchison, Aretha Franklin, Mac Miller to name a few), but with the losses we did have along with them some fantastic gains. At Tens, our music tastes are admittedly a bit all over the place. Not one musical genre can be classed as our favourite, but we're open-minded, and anything is worth fighting over the Sonos for. Selections tend to range from '90s dance classics, Ethiopian jazz, old video game soundtracks... However, surprisingly not much of that has been released in 2018... In this playlist we've put together our top 100 releases from this year in alphabetical order. So please follow and enjoy nearly 7 hours' worth of our favourites!
Tens Moments of 2018 ☀️
Our friends wearing Tens and the stories behind them ✈️🌴✨ This year has been a big one for change - from our new website and brand, to Marty moving to Barcelona, Kris moving to London and us moving on up & moving on out of our Glasgow studio to a fully remote team. 2018 was a good one! One of favourite things about Tens is seeing where you all take them - some of you have your trusty classics from our first crowdfunding campaign, and some of you got the first ever biodegradable Tens this year - and they travelled with you. So, before we start counting down to Summer ‘19, let’s look back at some of our favourite Tens moments from this year… “I was in Positano last summer when I took this, it was almost sunset and the view was amazing! I saw the view with the lens and thought I’d try to shoot a photo with Tens in front of my 35mm and that's it. That's the result. That day I was on a ride to Sorrento to visit my uncle and with my parents we decided to make a round and going to the costiera Amalfitana and to stop in Positano.” Follow @se.ph.ora “I was at QC Termetorino, enjoying thermal pools and baths and a relaxing day with my boyfriend” Follow @ggalaska “The plan was to go on a hiking trip throughout the Italian Alps but a injury on my calf prevented me from going. Instead we booked a last minute trip to Curaçao, explored the island and all it has to offer. The beautiful beaches offer the perfect setting for a relaxation getaway. My highlight was definitely our visit to Playa Porto Marie where wild, yet friendly pigs roam the beaches. Must visit, although watch your food and belongings carefully! They’re sneaky and won’t take no for an answer.” Follow @timvrey “I was in a small town called Leonidio in Peloponnese, Greece. I went there for a few days to relax with my three awesome friends Maria, Chris and James. All of them love photography and my friend Chris snapped this photo while the sun was setting.” Follow @yannispap “I took this photo at the end of November in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. I was there on a holiday with my family after not seeing them for almost a year (because I live in Rome and they live in Canada). We were there together for two weeks.This was taken at my favourite beach bar called Lio Beach. I would have my espresso there every morning and end up suntanning all day haha!” Follow @zoeyarielle “This photo was taken at Osaka Castle, it was in April so the cherry blossoms were everywhere. We sort of picked this one as we like the pink tone of it the most. It was also our first and final full day of exploring Osaka before heading to Tokyo and we absolutely loved it there. Everywhere made us feel like we were in a Studio Ghibli film.” Follow @hanphn “This photo was taken in Cincinnati at about the halfway mark of the final cross country Vans Warped Tour. So at this point, we’ve been living on our tour bus for about 4 weeks, caravanning across the US with roughly 100 other buses, vans and semi trucks. We’re dirty, sweaty and loving the traveling circus lifestyle that is the Vans Warped Tour. This last year’s will remain one of my favourites of all time.” Follow @pierrebouvier “I was travelling the east coast of Australia. When we took this photo I was on a boat to Whitsundays voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I’d been living in Australia for a year but hadn’t ever done much travelling so was really excited to be seeing the country for the first time with my best friend (and funnily enough a girl I had been talking to on Instagram for months ended up being there by chance too). It really was a beautiful moment and so glad it was caught on camera because it’s one of those rare times that the Instagram moment lives up to the reality. It really captured a feeling.” Follow @effyshowslife “It was an impromptu girls trip to Maui. We wanted to ditch the crowds on the beaches of Maui to explore the rocky coastline and do some cliff jumping. Should have realized to climb the hot rocks in shoes, but ended up just toughening up those carefree summer feet instead.” Follow @kendra.gauntlett and photographer, @victoriahaas “Back in October, a group of friends from my hometown asked me to join them on a trip as we all always seek out opportunities to shoot photos and videos. A friend of mine has a house in northern Italy in the middle of Alps, so we decided to drive there. The final spot was a peak, over the lakes called “Laghi di Cancano” since we knew that during Fall, the colours would be incredible. And so it was! What we found there was an incredible contrast between the bright blue of the water and the warm oranges of the trees.” Follow @jackcrapa “It was taken in Aurora, Oregon at sunset on a nearly empty beach that turns super reflective once the tide goes out. I was with a group of friends and we were shooting off fireworks and reminiscing on old stories around a campfire!” Follow @justinliv “I was on holiday with my girlfriend, in Italy (Camogli, Liguria) - a hot afternoon spent visiting this small village” Follow @gianmarcobarba “When I brought the sunnies home, I caught Taro, my dog, eyeing them on the table (his favourite snack is to chew on people's sunglasses) I spent 3 days training him to balance things on his nose and when I saw the sunnies I just had to chuck them on him. I reckon he pulls them off better than I do. Stylish little pup that he is.” Follow @mira.bali “We took 3 months off from our jobs and went on an adventure across South America - which has always been a dream of mine. We started in Cuba, then Mexico (this picture is from Tulum) down to Colombia and Peru. It's been an amazing time and we travelled only with our carry on small backpacks which was so refreshing (and difficult for me downsizing to 3 pairs of shoes haha). We got engaged in Cuba - hence the showing off of the ring haha! We had delicious food and I absolutely loved the music. It was so interesting to see how different each of the countries are culturally - they’re all united by language, but so beautiful in their own personal way.” Follow @nomad_nonsense “I remember that beautiful day. I had gone with my boyfriend at the sea in Italy... We waited for the sunset, eating a pizza together at the beach. It was a lovely experience! With these excellent lenses it was a breathtaking sunset!”️️️ Follow @ariannavegni Where will you take your Tens in 2019? Tag us on Instagram @tens
Brewgooder - the craft beer that gives back
Pour an ice cold glass of good vibes and let us introduce you to Brewgooder - the craft beer that’s making a huge difference. What if you knew that with every beer you bought, you helped to provide clean water to thousands of people all over the world who need it most? When he was 22, Alan Mahon worked on an international development project in Nepal and fell ill after picking up a parasite from contaminated water. It made him realise how lucky he was to live in the UK and have access to the basic stuff, where someone born in the same moment as him, who lived somewhere without clean water, would have the odds stacked against them. It was this thought (and a love for craft beer) that inspired the beginning of Brewgooder. “Being young and naïve I felt there could be a way to connect the thing I liked drinking and talking about with my friends, with an issue that I’d like to dedicate my life to trying to help solve. In my head that was a beer that helped fund access to clean water for people and that didn’t sound stupid in my head at all, so I went for it.” So in 2016, Alan joined forces with his friend Josh Littlejohn (who started Social Bite) to launch Brewgooder on World Water Day with a simple aim - to provide clean water to 1 million people by donating 100% of profits to clean water charities. With the help of BrewDog - who brew their beer at zero margin - they created something that helps people to make a difference as they catch up with their friends. Although, the ‘brewing’ part didn’t come as easy as Alan first thought… “The first batch I ever brewed by hand back in August 2015 was an absolute disaster. The night before I was meant to sell it at an event in Edinburgh 300 of the 1000 or so bottles I brewed began exploding in various locations around my flat. Me and my flatmate at the time disposed off them in any way we could. We took a fair few to the big black, hatch-operated bins that are everywhere in Edinburgh city centre and it was like a scene from the movie ‘Fury’. It was ‘fire in the hole’ as we disposed one by one of grenades of deadly malt, hops, water, yeast and glass. It was terrifying and utterly demoralising at the time, but I can look back and laugh and thank god I didn’t try and go it alone in the brewing game because that could have gotten very messy.” Since getting the beer side of things perfected, Brewgooder have helped to fund 72 projects (which range from well repairs to new installations) that have given 53,381 people in Malawi access to clean water. In their first project alone, they installed two solar-powered wells in a village called Chiluzi in the Dedza region of Malawi that helped to support around 3,000 people (including a school of 1,500) with clean water. This also helped to support an antenatal clinic, two school feeding programs and a vegetable garden - all thanks to the hard work of Alan and the team, and people like us who decided to get a round of Brewgooder at the pub. Recently, they launched their Honesty Box - where you can pay anything from 1p to however much you think a case of craft beer that changes people’s lives is worth. They also have their Jingle Wells appeal - a festive campaign to fix 12 broken wells in Malawi, bringing clean water access to over 3,750 people in the New Year. All of these projects help to introduce people to what they could do, and for Brewgooder, they want to make sure that everyone knows exactly where their beer money is going: “More and more, we’re working with super-transparent NGOs and charities to deliver our projects. Every level of detail can be accurately measured and communicated. From the GPS coordinates of the village, to the number of people we help, all the way through to how long each well would take to fill a 20-litre bucket. This is next level and helps make our impact real for the people who choose to drink our beer” For us, Brewgooder is a great example of how you can make a difference just by doing what you usually do anyway. We spoke to Alan about the impact of social businesses like Brewgooder and there are loads of options out there to make choices that have a positive impact. Especially as it comes up to Christmas, we can all shop local or with brands that do good and really make a positive impact (even when we’re out for a few with our friends while they’re home over the festive season). For Brewgooder, they’re getting closer and closer to their goal of providing clean water to 1 million people, and it all starts with a beer. Follow Brewgooder on Instagram at @brewgooder
