I originally came here in 2007 from a certificate 5 in Ministry, i became an ordained pastor. There were three dudes that got hand picked in Sydney to be a street pastor to walk the streets of Sydney in Oxford Street and Kings Cross. I didn't get the job , so i moved up to Byron Bay. My life had a series of unfortunate/fortunate events and i ended up leaving the church and i went on the streets and i just started dancing. I originally started dancing in the church when i got my legs back, i got hit by a car and i couldn't walk for eight months, i started dancing in the streets and everyone fell in love with the crazy happy man. Tommy Franklin

Our world is one where conventionality is applauded, where conforming and fitting in with the Jones’s is encouraged, where letting go of your passions in the place of choosing more ‘serious’ or mundane pastimes is deemed ‘wisdom’. I see people everywhere slaving away at jobs they hate just so that they can attain the physical status symbols that also don't make them happy. And the wisdom of this is rarely questioned. We even see people defending the current economic and social systems with all their zest and vigour, having never really taken the time to analyse or assess these systems objectively. Such is the power of fear within people to tear down mental constructs that they’ve clung to all their lives. Or perhaps it’s their family and friends that has clung to these beliefs and they dare not rock the boat. Whatever, the current systems on our planet are insanely unhealthy. I believe in us, and I believe that we are freeing our Planet. Bit by bit. We are doing it. I pledge myself to doing it more and more, with my voice, with my heart, with my music, with my stories. I believe in our children. I want them to grow in Love and Fearlessness. I want to inspire the mamas and the papas, the future mamas and the future papas. I carry the mountain magic and the condor song. I carry the timeless African shamans beat, the Apache courage and the flamenco soul and passion.

Chrissy Fire Mane

I believe in a society where we are unlimited in what we can say, what action we take and even what we wear. Freedom of expression is being limitless. I have structured Mr Vintage in such a way as to challenge the undercurrent in society so people can, as we like to say ‘be uniquely you.’ I often find myself questioning why we were born to stand out, yet try so hard to fit in. I want to allow people the opportunity to be themselves and dress however they want.

Nathan (Mr Vintage)

Vidal Sassoon is an inspiration, ground-breaking, a pioneer, he changed things. My dad worked with him. Dad was an energetic and charismatic guy. Hairdressing is a beautiful art, it gives people a smile when they feel good and it lifts them up. A connection is important, you have to tune into them, but listening is the most important thing.

Frank (Frankie God of Hair)

It felt like in the big smoke I would have never had the confidence to start a business and I would have never imagined being able to open a shop in the big city. Whereas, when we came here, there is this amazing community full of creatives and starting a business in a regional area felt so much more accessible for normal people like us. We didn't come from a retail background, we came with no money and yet the markets were this amazing springboard for us. Here, we felt like we could do anything, and I always feel really thankful (to this town) for that.

Lizzy and Spelly (Spell and the Gypsy Collective)

We use knitting to draw attention to ourselves while we peacefully & productively protest against the destruction of our land, air, and water by corporations and/or individuals who seek profit and personal gain from the short-sighted and greedy plunder of our natural resources. We support energy generation from renewable sources, and sustainable use of our other natural resources. We sit, knit, plot, have a yarn and a cuppa, and bear witness to the war against those who try to rape our land and divide our communities. We want to make sure that our servants, the politicians, represent our democratic wishes and know they are accountable – to us. We are very happy to remind them of this - often. We represent many who cannot make it out to protests – the elderly, the ill, the infirm, people with young children and workers. You don't have to be a Nanna; you don't have to knit to save our land, air and water for the kiddies.

Knitting Nannas

We met at a Henry Diltz exhibition in Sydney. I was with my friend Cat and he was with his band. We borrowed a car and went to their gig in Cronulla. he was chatting up my friend, i drove his friends home and then he facebook stalked me six months later. A psychic lady named Mariana told me he wasn't the one for me, and that i'd have one child...a girl named Penelope, I don't like being told what to do.

Amanda, Andrew, Banjo and Percy

Live for the sea, swear by the moon, love by the stars, care for the earth. Celeste Twikler

I only have one practice, to be present to what is, and to see the perfection of everything as it unfolds, rather than in retrospect, so that when i die i don't miss that moment.

Zenith

Ozzie and I met in his family Home on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Our mums had recently become friends. They met through a neighbour of theirs who would repair my mum, Maria’s guitars. I was around ten years old and Ozzie was several years older. Ozzie’s Mum, Cathy would regularly host dinner parties that my sister Jo, Mum and I would attend. Her house always smelt like patchouli and delicious cooking. It was full of interesting objects and colour everywhere. Ozzie’s Dad had recently passed away and my parents were going through a divorce. I realise now it was a time where both our mums were a great support to each other. Their home was an open door to unique characters that I am still friends with now. Little did I know these characters would form an integral part of our story. I remember the first moments of witnessing Ozzie’s huge jovial smile. It gave me butterflies. His whole face would sparkle and light up when the grin appeared. I was painfully shy as a child but somehow my mum convinced me to sing to a dinner party crowd, ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ from the movie, The Lion King. Ozzie recalls it being one of the sweetest things he'd ever seen. I have a vivid memory of mum coming into my room one day and telling me Cathy told her that Ozzie said he'd marry me if I wasn't so young. I remember wishing badly that I was older. It wasn't until my 21st birthday party that we shared our first kiss. By my 22nd birthday I was pregnant. This came as a shock which brought on some pretty intense emotions. Ultimately, we were ridiculously in love, so along came forth our first born, Rocky River Wright. We then spent years with our child travelling, surfing, writing music and playing in our band that consisted mainly of Ozzie and myself. Occasionally my mum, Maria would join us on stage along with various drummers and players who we've collaborated with over the years. Our first band name was ‘The Love Land Band‘ which was born from the countless love songs we wrote in the early days which we recorded in the DIY home recording program ‘Garage Band’. Music is not something we’ve ever taken too seriously but it’s deeply a part of us and we still strive to weave it into our daily routine. We initiated a move to Byron Bay a few years ago. I felt we needed to shake off some of the stagnancy that came with still living in the same town we both grew up in. Life on the North Coast has been a vital ingredient to the next phase of our family and us as individuals. I see in our two children that music and art is riddled through their bones. Living in a community minded and creative town surrounded by nature definitely supports this. They have also inherited the same jovial smile from Ozzie which will surely travel with them through their own unique journey. Mylee and Ozzie

Our captain says that if our oceans die we die. Me, I say, if our oceans die we will die a slow death.

Adam (sea Shepherd)

Change, Change, Change. We are all born with different attributes, more money, same patterns. Situations change, have a taste and get on with it.

If you're over 50 give me a ring.

Peter (Byron Palm Reader)

I am, that I am The work that I choose is creativity and so I am....

Scotty

After years in the W.A desert looking for gold, I arrived in Byron in '95. Then, Byron was full of alternative lifestyle people, dreads, tats and piercings. Main Beach parking lot was full of combi’s, 24/7, Tyagarah had 300 people camping. Slowly, the trendy sea change has taken over; Byron is becoming straighter and squarer. Still though, I consider it to be the best place to live on the east coast; incredible nature, beauty, space. And after my international travels, I still call Australia and Byron, my home.

Jory

I was 17 years old when I married Merve, he passed away 18 years ago and it only seems like yesterday. You have to reinvent yourself, you either sit at home in a chair or you get out there and enjoy life. I hope he would have done the same thing had it been me, I'm sure he would have, probably not have been as crazy or take his clothes off.

Feather

artist, healer, mother, lover

All children are artists. Some children never stop. I am one of those. 

People, places, relationships, art and the self is always changing. Change is consistent and change is in essence inconsistency. Its how we accept, surrender and embrace it that matters. And being ‘ok’ with failing at times is part of the experience too.

Nature is god, good, pure, and constantly consistently changing. 

Beautiful/ ugly/ awkward/ uncomfortable. -Just is. It has permanent rightness even among flaws. The flaws are divine possibilities for growth. Nature accepts, surrenders & embraces. My art is an ode to nature- of which we are a part. 

Power-full

Beauty-full

Colour-full

Full of the contradictions of right/wrong, light/dark and a sense of humour is essential. Never take yourself or your art too seriously.

L O V E 

"Let it shine, let it shine, oh let it shine"  Avis Burgeson Christiansen

Rhiannon

I started off as an interior decorator, as from when i was a young girl I always had a passion for colour, texture and anything vibrant. Floristry felt really natural to me and after working with a friend in her shop a few times it all just came together and I found my calling!

What I love most is watching the reactions that people have when you make a delivery or they pick up their creation. I think because flowers are alive and natural, there’s freshness, they tell a story. If you look in a bare room and there’s nothing in there, and you put flowers in it, there’s no denying they instantly give it life.

I created an arrangement recently for a funeral for a grandma, I went into her garden and picked some of her beautiful orchids and created a casket arrangement unique to her personality, the flowers sat on her coffin and it was really special. Funerals are just as special as weddings to me. In fact making florals for anything that creates memories is amazing!

Victoria

Mamma she knows, (mother earth) she only needed one of us to wake up and remember; only one of us to remember, to sing the song to call the others home.

People are waking up, they are coming home. We are from the stars, we are divine beings. It is our birthright to be on this land. My people know that we don't own the land, we are custodians, we have been programmed to believe that there is division, that we are separate from one another, from the land. The ancient ones know, the ancient ones teach about our connection to it all. The people are waking up, it is our time.

Jingki

There is more to us than ocean and sky.

We are the dreamers and the seekers, the bright, the dark, the lost and broken. Drawn to the calm we've come. Led by the empty heart to gather on the shores like flocks of hungry birds, we dive into the murky depths.

Join with us, to hunt for silver fish.

Here, in this place we have cried for strength and found it. Here in the endless. In the rocks, the trees, in the souls who stretch their humble arms, to save us as we drown. Wade deep now. Wade far from common sand. For here it’s hard to swim in shallows for long.

Join with us, to hunt for silver fish.

Rebekah and Trent

The best advice I ever received about parenting was that it has two essential components; love and boundaries. Parenting is the art of finding the harmony between these two foundations.

Jamie

Love is the answer.

Bushy

When i came to Australia i was making sauerkraut for a few friends here, then i met Adam, he was such a health enthusiast, and was like, 'let's take this to the next level'. Peace, Love and Vegetables started in a caravan next to Belongil fields, it was a stinky caravan (because of the fermentation).

We are very passionate about health, and that is the driving force behind everything we do. The the number one thing that we hold in upmost importance is harmony.

Adam and Anya (Peace, Love and Vegetables)

In order to have sustainable community you have to make sure the people are sustainable. This means healing trauma.

Jarmbi Githabul, Ngarakwal Culture Keeper

Kindness is the foundation of humanity, Compassion the fabric of society, Everybody deserves love and kindness.

Holley

I've always been very drawn to this area, there’s a certain natural beauty about it, i've done environmental work, and that was my job and passion for years, and this area just had so much, the availability of that natural world was just at your doorstep, so then i stayed. It has a gorgeous feel about it, There’s a certain level of passion or compassion that people bring to this area, which you don't get almost anywhere else, it’s rare to find a community that is as accepting as this one, you can be any kind of kooky person and people don't bat an eye, you can be whoever you want, and your not that freaky person, your just another freaky person in the area, and it’s really cool, it’s a nice feeling to let it loose and not really care, it makes you feel comfortable whoever you are.

Tim

Skateboarding is my life, I have been doing it since I was a kid and it has given me so much. I love kids and I connect with kids, and now I can see, it's not about the skate lessons but being able to help the kids somehow, kids are the future and they will change the world. Skate boarding’s quite hard, everybody falls, kids get hurt eventually, they have a bit of a cry, then I come to them and I say, “life is pretty much the same; obstacles will come, challenges will come, you will eventually fall and you will eventually get hurt; but man you have to get right back up, try again, you can't just give up, you've got to keep trying.”

Flavio

Our world is all about growth, we have always extended ourselves and valued honesty and friendship to grow, inwardly and outwardly as a family; there is no growth without the willingness to love deeper.

Kyle, Annabelle, Iziah and Elijah

I like to call myself the facilitator of resting.

Fuji

God dressed me in these clothes, designed them for me, everything, even my rings and my shoes, it all comes from God. I got seven beautiful pairs of shoes made up, all In different colours.

Shanti

There are three of us who own it. When we started we had a mission of providing alternative healthcare for the community and we had a big thing about providing employment. Also, the fact that we were single mums, booking an appointment for everything you need is really hard, so we wanted a place where mothers could come and get professional advice and not have to pay for the consult every time, yet know they are getting looked after well. It’s a very intimate environment, bottom line, things will come up, because we are in a small space working together, but we work it out. In fact, when Val, Jacinta and I started this place over 20 years ago, we sat in the middle and made a vow to put our personal growth and spirituality before everything.

Mullum Herbals

We smile to people all the time, but when you smile to your own heart, your heart becomes feeling good, and then you start sharing this feeling.

Supi

I went travelling solo last year and at the start of the journey I was couch surfing in America. Couch surfing is so strange, it's almost like a dating site where you look at people's profiles and send a message once you've chosen people you like the look of. I was looking for people that I thought would have some similar interests (particularly in music), at first I was nervous to stay with men (being a single gal travelling in a foreign place) but actually every host ended up being a dude! After this experience, a desire has grown within me to meet people with an open mind. It's so important to see people really for who they are and to let nothing disrupt this. Staying with these people in their homes nurtured a space that was really honest and genuine. I was able to get to know them on a really personal level, because they were in their space that they were totally comfortable in it. I think if we had walked past each other on the street, we might not have thought twice about our lives coinciding again, so it really allows you to just go with it and be open. The world seems friendlier to me now, I feel more comfortable with being alone wherever I am, knowing that someone beautiful isn't too far away.

Merryn Jeann

My dad always said to me, ‘what you want, wants you too’. and I believe that so much.

The Winnies

It was a very clear and strong calling, so I just jumped on board. The beautiful thing about when you’re in alignment with your purpose is that you are so supported. If you can just tune into that and really listen. Business is a hard journey, you have to step up and face it, even when you are feeling blocked. It astounds me every time, even when I find myself in a position of wanting to pack it all in, I can keep coming back to that place of trust. There’s a fire burning in me, it tells me this is bigger than your shit, this is your gift to bring to the world right now. Yeah this is my gift to bring.

Clare (Kombucha Mama)

I don't really get inspiration, I actually don't get what it means to be inspired by something, I live in the moment, in the single moment everything is clear. These pictures are therapeutic healing pictures, using the spiral, which is the infinite; the yin and yang, which is balance, balance of the infinite, is the truth of love. So, when you see these pictures, they actually infect you with the truth of love. The idea is that I draw them here, main beach, Byron Bay, because a ridiculous amount of people come here each year, and a serious percentage of these people take a photo of these pictures, which has an infection of love in it, and then they share them with their family and friends all over the world and infect them with love as well, my whole intent is to hopefully infect the world with love, simply by sending more and more pictures on the internet for everyone to take for free, absorb and share. I want to make the world a better place.

Craig

I always say I'm a bit like the village idiot, every village needs one. The king always had a village idiot and it just so happens to be a woman here. I think it's a really important role; it’s the role of someone who always satirises and makes light of the heavier things, it gets people to think about things in a different way.

Mandy

Never underestimate yourself; you are more glorious, wonderful and fabulous than you can ever imagine.

Beautiful All

I spent a large portion of my life hiding and longing to be seen. I wasn't hiding from you, I was hiding from myself. It's taken darkness to find light, it's taken pain to understand compassion and it's taken a whole lot of paralysing fear to feel the soft embrace of my love. I'm now ready to peek out from behind my wall and finally, finally look myself in the eye.... Will you come with me ?.

Tahl

When I was younger my stunt team went to the Juvenile detention centre to teach the guys how to ride and the breakthroughs were incredible. Their whole lives, these people have been told what's wrong with them and then they suddenly get a horse and it isn't going to criticise or judge them. Horses can't tell you what's wrong with you, you just have to start figuring it out for yourself and when you start riding you can feel that you have faced something on your own, which builds your self-worth. Horses teach you so much more about yourself than you may ever realise, but most importantly you feel a connection. Those emotions and qualities are too special not be shared and now I get to share them with everyone. We are trying to keep alive what we all did as kids; riding is just about enjoying that time with the horse, immersed in this raw beauty that we call home.

Kate

When we opened our second store in Bangalow in 2009 we advertised and Hadassa applied. I knew her from a store in Sydney some years earlier and from Bangalow stores that she had worked in and I knew she was the one. Her warmth, her energy and her extremely good customer service skills were just what we needed for Red Ginger. 9 years later we are still working together. She has carried the Bangalow store from day one like it was her own and that is hard to find.

Lesley (red Ginger)

We had a holiday house in federal that we would come back and forth to every minute we could, one time when we were here we planted about half an acre of veggies. Being on the land, we suddenly had this feeling of being wild and free and we would always question why we were going back to the city. On one of our visits, when Matilda was three, she went missing, we couldn't find her. We went up to the veggie garden and found her eating the beans she had planted, that was a defining moment for us, the impact it had on our little family was life changing. Amongst all of us we have a sense of adventure, and an ability to even leave something good behind in order to create something better. We turned our life 180 degrees upside down, it’s giving us a purpose and hopefully inspiring others and it’s connecting us so much more with our kids than we were. One thing that we did really early on was come up with a mission statement and a set of values. The mission statement (for The Farm) was to ‘increase well-being from the soil up’, so ultimately everything we do comes back to that.

Emma and Tom

Skateboarding has taught me not to overthink things. Sometimes it’s good to just try without thinking and not have a plan B. It’s about surrendering to the unknown and its fun! It’s also super challenging and scary and forces me to be completely in the moment. All I ever wanted to do was to skate with my kids while they scootered/skated. My oldest girl is now skateboarding and it’s just such a lovely thing to while the hours away doing something fun together.

Louise

We wear clothing because it is an extension of our personality, we get to bare our souls to people when we get dressed in the morning, we show people what we love, what we are into, what colours we like and even how we like to be perceived. For me, vintage clothing does all of those things and it’s a sustainable and environmental way to wear clothing and support the environment in the world we live in.

Alice

I am blessed to be alive. There have been many times over the years when I have not been overly excited or enthused about life on earth. However the power of light and love has prevailed in my journey thus far! As the years pass me by, I am finding more peace within myself and around me as I learn to create boundaries for my own protection and direction. Surrendering to the infinite power of this magical universe, I am learning to have faith in the process of all tidings as we ride together, as we always have and as we hopefully will continue to do for years to come. I have been many things to many people and to myself over time, of which many of these facades have served me very little. Through all of these stages and varied platforms come lessons and learning and reflection and growing - and evolving. I am blessed to have 3 amazing children who have taught me so much about myself. They inspire me to be more free and remind me via reflections, of who I don't want to be. They are love. Love is all that is real in this lifetime. That is all. My partner has shown me this. I had never experienced such honesty, truth and love as what I share with him. I am blessed. I aspire to delve into my creative waters again very soon. To paint and draw, to sing and dance. To be me. It is easy to lose the essence of self in today's world. I made a big decision today. I demoted myself from store manager of a busy organic health store back down the ranks to an assistant. It was my own choice. I choose life. It's too short. I crave to be happy and fulfilled on all the levels it means to be human. I have taken the leap of path to satisfy my soul. I wonder how I will financially make it but I will. I have faith in the process. In deep gratitude for life and love and connection, I give thanks for being alive. Even when the tunnel is black I know in my heart there is light within and beyond what the eye can see. Set yourself free.

Jax

In 2004 my friend Hannah and I became the world’s first professional mermaid’s. In 2006 I went on to create the world’s very first ever mermaid fin and launched my Byron Bay born brand Mahina Mermaid.

Throughout this wild voyage across uncharted oceans, I have experienced both sunny sailing days where I felt like I was touching the sky… as well as fierce storms and squalls that have left me staring straight into the blithering unknown.. on the edge of obliteration. Along my way, I have redefined what success and failure mean to me.  I've learnt that my successes and failures do not define me. They have nothing to do with who I am and my value as a human being. I, like you, was born with the sum total of my soul and how I, like you, will die with the same amount.. While we are here, there is nothing we can do to acquire more of it.. and there is nothing we can do to lose any of it.. If there was anything I could whisper back to my younger self - setting out on her voyage, it would be something like this – “If you want to share your heart and gifts with the world, if you have a vision or a dream you want to contribute - life will conspire tremendous unexplainable amounts of miraculous serendipity in order to lift, support, and carry you deeper into your mission. It will leave you with not a scarce of doubt that this is who you are and
 what you're supposed to be doing in the world.
But... head towards the arena knowing that all heartfelt intentions, passion, integrity and dedication aside.. these will not keep you immune, from the fact that you are going to get your ass seriously kicked!! You may win and you may lose, there are no guarantees, recipes or formulas of your success - and yes you can fail – and IT’S NOT PERSONAL!!
 When your in that wrestle with life asking why it has forsaken you, remember that life isn't out to get you or punish you.. it’s just the weather outside... It’s about how you rise and stand again and take ownership of your autonomous BEING and your own internal weather... If you take it, this call to the adventure, you will be challenged to grow in ways you never thought possible ... AND... it will be the making of you. 
If this is your compass when setting out on your voyage - inner success, becoming who you really are, is guaranteed. It is something only you can attain and no one has the authority or power to take away from you.... You are both the Mermaid and the Voyager and both will guide you home...

Mahina Mermaid

I've done a lot of different things, but the radio shows, they are a constant part of my life. I love the radio for the fact that people don't look at you, there is no expectation, it’s just you, the music and the airwaves and it’s a really amazing place to be.

Rasela

I had a moment when I was an activist, I was sitting on a tripod, for this big forest thing and I was about to get arrested. I remember looking down and there was all my mob on one side and all the lobbers on the other side and they all looked quite similar (apart from the hair). They all loved the bush, they all valued the bush, they were all in a way living off the bush, the main difference really was the different value they put on a tree. The greenie valued it alive and the logger valued it as wood, it struck me then that if we won (which we did in that particular battle) we would just constantly be fighting the same battle. It made me think about what cooperation looks like as opposed to competition, that’s what I am really interested in. How can we do cooperation? How can we get those communities together?

Simon

It's a family; there are all the things that come with a family.

We were at dinner one night at Milk and Honey, having a team meeting and we got a phone call from someone who was having their third or fourth baby. We just all decided to go to the birth, we met her there, between the three of us we got the pool filled and we had to almost carry her in, it was lovely.

It's a very great honour, it's a sacred honour, and because we work this way, there is a great intuition about when they are going to have the baby. There are some very special moments that you will never, ever forget.

And we get to watch the babies grow up.

The Mullum Midwives

It’s long been my view, if we are to survive as a species it is absolutely dependent on how we humans live with each other and the earth.

John (Byron Environment Centre)

We grew up catholic and when I was about 14 my mum had this spiritual breakthrough. She started going to psychic fairs, channelling groups, reiki groups, crystal this and that. I was always tagging along and over time it also became a passion of mine. I had other careers after I finished high school, I ended up in social work and finding it was a temporary solution, I was thinking of leaving the industry, when one day I was walking past a healing centre in St Kilda and there was a sign in the window looking for tarot readers. This has been the best career choice I ever made, it's like having a D&M with strangers all the time, it doesn't feel like work. I am actually really shy but working in TV and having the cameras on me means I have to be really self- aware, it’s fun. This deck of cards, I got from my uncle who taught me the tarot. I once had this realisation that we all walk around with a lot on our minds and we’re not really experiencing life. We are all trapped in our separate boxes in our houses and we are not connecting and that’s why people are dying from depression, because people aren't really talking or reaching out to their friends. Everyone is separate and busy. So what I really love about doing readings is that if someone has a lot going on in their minds and they’re not really able to experience their life or make their life how they want, instead of being scared to face it or hear something bad in the tarot, it’s better to talk to someone about it. With a reading it’s good because you are getting an objective opinion and also that spiritual insight that when we are clouded we don't receive. I try to focus on solutions, so people can go away with a clear mind. I believe we are souls and we are in human bodies to have this earthly experience. I think being present is the most important thing. I think tarot is a good way, not the only way but a good way.

Marilyn

It was 1997, I was studying philosophy at La Trobe University, and one of my tutors asked me if I would help him write a book on murderers because he liked the way I put forward arguments in his class. I said yes, but the holidays began. I partied and forgot all about it. When uni was about to begin, I thought I had better start. I decided to write about the Jack the Ripper murder mystery. I thought it would be easy to research. About 2 weeks later, I was reading a poem by the English poet Francis Thompson. I had never heard of him before, but decided I would get a small book on him. It was on a long tram ride, and when I had finished one of his poems I thought that he could be Jack the Ripper, so I began to research this poet, looking for information showing that he could not have done it. I only found information that showed he might be the Ripper. 20 years later and around the world research, it became a book.

Richard

Shake your pineapple.

KOOL

I came up nearly 20 years ago to study naturopathy and fell in love with the area. I started working at Fundies as a student; the customers are friends and family. Lately, I have been getting into the energetic side of things, I love this area because everyone is open to that, you don't feel like a freak. At the moment I'm really inspired by energy work , my practitioner sees energy, she can see your blocks. I did a course last year, forensic healing; it comes back to these blocks that we have that we pick up between the ages of 0-7, imprinting all this stuff. At the moment, I just can't get enough of it. You can see where it comes from, it really moves and shifts things quickly.

Lisa

After I left my middle-class, good schooling background in London, I decided that I wanted to travel rather than head straight to university. I travelled to a party beach with two of my friends and I lasted less than a week there. I decided that I was more interested in an advert I found about a ‘meditation retreat’ although I didn't really know what meditation was at the time. Here I was at eighteen years old at a party beach in Asia and then I went to my first Vipassana retreat on an island with no cars. It was a bit of a shock to my system but it changed my path. After I finished the course I decided to go and visit indigenous cultures, so I went to North East Thailand, where at the time there were zero tourists. No-one spoke English and there were no guest houses so you had to stay at people’s houses. I stayed for a couple of months in one place where I learnt that communication is much more real and intense when there are no words. When you are forced to live on the same verandah with ten other people you have to be in harmony with one another and with nature. They grew their own food and it brought my focus to the fact that these people were the healthiest, happiest, most vibrant people I had ever met. So, I decided to look at the connection between the vibrancy of these people and food and nature. I studied by observing for quite some time, going back and forth between Asia and London and filling my rucksack with books. I soon realised that essential fatty acids were absolutely key to changing Western civilizations symptoms that were being received from bad nutrition and processed foods. I came across hemp and looked up the nutritional benefits of the seed and discovered that it contained the best source of essential oils and fats in the world. That’s when I fell in love with hemp. I went back to the UK and started my mission and in 1993 I created Europe’s best selling Health Snack. We are now set up in the beautiful hinterland of Bangalow and Hemp Foods Australia is the largest Australian certified organic hemp Food wholesaler, retailer, manufacturer and exporter in the Southern Hemisphere.

Paul (hemp Foods Australia)

We have a passion for kindling and fueling an awakening in people and we do this through our conscious roots music and art. We play in a duo called LioNHeaRT ReBelLioN. We are long time Byron shire locals and home-school our two boys in the lush rainforests of northern NSW, making art and working passionately for rainforest conservation and front line action groups. Learning to really love is the revolution!

Russ and Josie

When you feel sad let it go, Just like a rain cloud letting out snow.

Enjoy your life because you only have one, Cherish your time under the warmth of the sun.

Feel the breeze rushing through your hair, Do the things you love and do them with care.

Jet

We moved to Adelaide Australia where I fulfilled every ‘wogboys’ dream, I became a drag racer with a pristine VG V8 Valiant. I then visited my grandparents in Coober Pedy who where opal mining at the time and opal fever struck me in more ways than one. Living with my grandparents in an underground home and steeping myself back into traditional village lifestyle centred around hard work, good food from the garden, great stories from my Papou (Grandfather) and quality time with dear friends, life was beautiful.
 I became a manager of a local restaurant and employed some lovely old Greek ladies to help in the Kitchen. With much laughter, emotion and all things Greek, I learnt so much from these women. In particular the importance of aligning oneself’s energy to produce exceptional food. Love, passion and total presence in the process were the gifts bestowed upon me. This job also helped me to become a pilot and I enjoyed sharing many flights over the scenic outback. During mining one day for the elusive gem, I ended up in a coma after a rock had fallen on my helmet from the top of a shaft. This changed my life forever. After recovering I found that my senses were heightened and the connection with spirit was strong. I felt called to do a yoga course in Byron Bay.

Ilias

This photo captures my essence and for that I'm grateful as sometimes I need reminding of who she is. Living among this conscious community of the Byron shire helps unleash her; the lioness that isn't afraid to shine, the light that’s so bright and doesn't hold back. I know that by sharing that light it gives others permission to do the same. This light was birthed in this Rainbow Region . A true blue hippy child some would say. Yogi parents gifting me the slow marinade of luscious creeks, stunning beaches, wild rainforest and powerful mountains, all offering a deep sense of potential freedom. I didn't always know that my light shone the brightest here. I actually had to travel far and wide across the globe to really appreciate what this healing land and it’s spirit and it’s people had to offer; truth, wisdom, love, nature, creativity, trust, expansion and family. Now, again, I am at home here and I continue to discover more of who I am, who I really am, because of what is possible from embodying such a deeply conscious lifestyle. There are many ways to explore and many labels to give, but we know when we are home because our heart is wide and our gifts flow freely as a generous offering from the universe. We are the channels of love. And that’s why I call the Byron Shire home and have now chosen to also raise my family in this sacred place.

Seriya

I love dragons; I wish I could fly like those beautiful majestic creatures.

Elijah

I am a musician. I play and teach. For me music has been a 40 year journey and has taken me around the country and overseas. My life is not just about music but playing with bands and other musicians has provided me with imagination, inspiration, definition and satisfaction. Now I live in Brunswick Heads (having moved from Melbourne some years ago) and I am always meeting new musical acquaintances. Indeed, it seems every second or third person up here plays music. And they are really good at it too.

Al

I've been on the yoga journey since I was 21. That all started in New Zealand and then I moved here, to Australia. At first, I was in Sydney for 15 years and I did my training there. I wanted to move to Byron Bay many times, but people always said to me “everyone is a yoga teacher in Byron, it’s really hard.” I went through a whole phase of change where I had a huge following in Sydney and everything was perfect except I hadn't found my man. I wanted to fulfill these other parts of myself and this longing led me on a trust journey of ‘let’s just see where this takes me.’ I moved to Byron Bay and I met my man one month later.

Kristen

One of the big things that i'm sitting in at the moment, is to surrender to the web of life, the web that’s been woven for us, and to not try and control it so much, because when you try to control it you tighten the grip around something you've restricted and when you release that grip and allow the webs that are to be woven for you to be woven, you can put yourself in a space where you can see those threads for what they are, and to follow them.

Zeke

I find my inspiration in nature, always; the way she recreates herself and fights back, the way she quietly watches and humbly blooms for herself and the enjoyment of the environment around her. Nature holds the answers to so many of our questions.

Montana

I love living in Mullumbimby, I wouldn't part with it. The neighbours are good to us here.

Thelma

My dad was on a scuba diving trip around the Pacific Islands, he stopped in Samoa and fell in love. My mother brought music into my life from Samoa, she taught me how to play the ukulele when I was around 3 and her brothers all taught me how to play drums. Music was always around me and has taken me around the world and bought me to this place now in my life.

Bobby

For 70 years the women of the Bangalow Country Women's Association have sought to serve. We do not all bake and sew. We do not all knit and crochet. We do not all lobby government for social justice. We are not all the same but we share ideals and share a vision for a better future for women and children. In friendship and fellowship we strive to serve and in doing so we enjoy a cuppa and one another's company.

Bangalow CWA

Creation in each moment is sacred to me... Dancing with the dark and the light and weaving a shimmering, starry thread from the two...Creating love and beauty with the simplest of thoughts or a smile...Caring for the lands...Creating community...These things feel important. This place truly holds my Heart.

Vanessa

Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping) was introduced to me by a dear friend who is a practitioner. He mentioned trying it when I was expressing how hard I was finding things in my life at the time. I was really struggling with a lack of confidence; confidence to try new creative projects and regain confidence in myself after an intense relationship ended. I did a healing program specifically about those things and oh my goodness did my life not just do a turn-around, it completely changed course and dramatically improved. I moved, bought a business and collaborated on many creative projects. A new love of my life even appeared - all from working on my beliefs about myself. Doing the tapping made it so much easier to truly feel good about myself. Because I saw the impact it had on me in such a short time, I wanted to be able to do it with other people. So, I went off and studied tapping with incredible teachers from all over the world. Now, I help other people find confidence within themselves to make the life they dream of a reality. I love that the transformation is rapid and lasting. I love seeing people create what's in their soul; whether that is art or a business or just truly enjoying being themselves. It’s a great thing to recognise your own beauty and feel good in your body. It’s empowering. I love sharing these tools that are so simple and effective. If there was a button on your body that you could press, that would help emotions and stuck thought patterns move through - would you want to know where it is? That's basically what tapping is. I believe we should be taught these ancient energy techniques as children. We should all be empowered to know how to process emotions and thoughts so they don't get stuck in our heads and bodies which can create dis-ease in the future. For anyone reading this, try it for yourself! I'm sure you have felt a negative emotion; maybe you feel angry about something today. Maybe you’re feeling stressed? Whatever negative emotions you’re feeling or thoughts that are going through your head can be reduced in intensity by tapping. It is so simple that you can teach it to a child.

Teddi

The first 13 years of my life were very nomadic, we lived in a van travelling Australia with my family of 6. I was home-schooled until I was 13 by my mum, who was more into teaching us yoga, meditation and everything creative. There was very little focus on academics, just the basics. We often spent our days collecting things from nature to create works of art, wall hangings, mobiles, nature was our playground. My parents were very alternative free spirits; they lived in the moment and enjoyed life in the slow lane. We never had hot water or electricity, it was super simple living on the earth and we spent our days in the ocean and our nights by the fire. My upbringing definitely inspired my creativity and passion for sustainability and a plastic free lifestyle, my clothing label is the perfect outlet for me to create change in the industry and give women a sustainable option for beautiful clothing.

Arnhem

Of all the journeys, missions, crazy undertakings and spiritualistic endeavours that I've undertaken, in a reasonably, if not that long but indeed mirthful and vicarious existence, the ramble down the ridgeway trail in the year of 2005, remains to me the most memorable and affecting. The Ridgeway is reputedly Britain's oldest track way, used for at least 5000 years and passes through many ancient bronze age sites, like the stylistic and chalky White horse of Uffington, Grimm’s Ditch (named for the Norse god Odin), the Devil’s punch bowl, Wayland smithy (a burial mound, also named for a Norse blacksmith god), winding through the Chiltern hills, the Thames valley, the Vale of the White horse, until finally reaching the Neolithic henge monument, containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. I undertook this 80-mile odyssey, with a sleeping bag, a staff made of hazel (a gift from a family of travellers I met on the trail) and a small but highly, magically charged harp. For four days I trudged on, through peaceful countryside, with only stags, hares, foxes, and buzzards as my companions, grazing from wild herbs from the hedgerows, and sleeping in woodland and thicket. When I finally reached the mystical village of Avebury, fate, or indeed destiny would have it that I was to be the harpist at a hand-fasting ceremony, a rural folkloric betrothal, the term thought to be loaned into English from the old Norse handfeste ‘to strike a bargain by joining hands’. Some folks spend time at the gym, some have taken to the Buddhist tradition of Vipassana, others seek escapism through substance use (myself on occasion amongst them). But for me, nothing compares to walking an old track to seek insights into the true reality of nature.

Fingal

Pat and I met working together at a cafe. We went to a festival together and have been pretty much inseparable ever since! We moved to Mullum four years ago for reasons that are probably similar to a lot of other peoples’. Shortly after settling in and then opening our business I was diagnosed with cancer. It was profound, the insights I gained after being faced with my own mortality. My armour was stripped back and I had an opportunity to rebuild myself. I discovered the power of subtlety. T

am and Pat

I discovered Circus at a young age after learning how to juggle as a twelve-year-old. I became obsessed. I would practice every afternoon, to the detriment of my homework and the frustration of my school teachers. At 14 I did work experience with one of Australia's leading contemporary Circus companies at the time, Rock 'n' Roll Circus from Brisbane (and subsequently at the tender age of 15 toured to the National Circus Festival in Tasmania as their stage manager). These two events changed my life; I discovered a colourful, flamboyant subculture filled with tattooed, risk-taking, exciting individuals who got paid to do what they loved. It sunk in that this was an option as a career and I never looked back. At the time (early 90's) there was already quite a bit of Circus action happening in the Byron Shire - Leonie Mills had started the Spaghetti Circus (one of Australia's leading youth circuses), there was also Byron Youth Circus (my old friend and world-renowned sideshow artist and Byron local, The Space Cowboy came out of there) and there was a juggling shop in Byron Bay that we all hung out at. At 17 I left school and 'ran away to the circus', I studied at the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne and became a full time circus trainer and performer, travelling nationally and internationally until I broke my arm badly. So I picked up a video camera and started documenting the world that I inhabited. I gave up performing and for the past 15 years, I have been documenting the contemporary circus, physical theatre, cabaret and fringe festival culture in Australia under the alias Carnival Cinema and in 2017 morphed the company into an online Magazine with a podcast and physical magazine in the making. The online magazine archives, entertains, celebrates and reflects the Australian circus and fringe festival community back in on itself and exposes that exciting world to others, told from inside that community.

Hamish

Nobody needs to get old, you have to get wise. If you get wise you will not get old.

Premala

I first came to Byron in 1990 with one of my best friends. I fell in love with Byron instantly, I felt at home here in the hippy rainbow region with my bare feet and I was free to be my weird and wacky self. My favourite thing was all the vegetarian cafes and vegan food options in the area. If I wasn't at the beach or a yoga class, or giving a massage, I was at one of the cafes eating! Then I met Caspar in 1997. He was passing through Byron and he was vegan too. Vegan was pretty rare back then and a vegan man was particularly unusual. I tempted him with food, cooking for him at a full moon dinner party I was having at my place with a few friends. His visa ran out and a few months later I chased him over to England on a one way ticket. We lived in Europe for 5 years. I worked in the Famous vegetarian and vegan cafe in Brighton, Food for Friends as a cook. I was the only vegan cook in a kitchen of 9 chefs. I learnt how to cook for 200-300 people every day. I could actually get inside the large saucepans! We returned from Europe to Byron in 2003 and I began catering for retreats and cooking in cafes. The retreat business grew organically (excuse the pun) into our catering company Organic Passion Catering. We love to showcase amazing fresh organic produce and how diverse and interesting vegan food can be. Our passion for food, the ethics of food; local, organic produce that is seasonal and super fresh is our main focus. Food brings people together and we can celebrate this basic human need without harming animals or the earth.

Anthea

This last year has shown me how hard intimate relationships are; constantly challenged by each other but committed to being a family. I find in my marriage I am constantly reaching the capacity of what I can handle and then finding the other side, certain that all I can be sure of is my feet on my path. Here is a piece from a book I’m reading and rereading Intimacy and Solitude by Stephanie Dowrick ‘we need in love to practice only this, letting go. For holding on comes easily, we do not need to learn it.’

April

There is no doubt that Byron Bay has an effect on you in some intrinsic way. Whether you are here for a reason, a season, or a lifetime, there is something about this special place that doesn't let go. It has an energy of its own. Souls of Byron Bay is a photographic series capturing our folk and the essence of our unique place. We invite you to take this journey and connect with the heart and soul of our community.

Samantha and Elie

Motherhood is a constant lesson. It really makes you know yourself and become aware of who you really are and what's important to you. I think I've learnt to just trust in myself and know that I've got this. No matter what you read or what people tell you, the person that knows what's best in that moment for you and your kids is you.

Mia and Hana

We had our first public meeting in 2006. After that it took us around two years to get things finalised with council and we finally got the lease in April 2009. From there, the Mullumbimby Community Gardens has gone from strength to strength. It is completely run by volunteers and it is very much based on the permaculture principles of building strong systems and working together. People just wanted to grow an abundance of food to share and that is where our Food for All Program came from. We have communal gardens where volunteers come and work and anyone can come and pick from them. You can leave a donation or you can participate in the gardening. Sometimes people take more than their fair share, sometimes people take things before they are ready - there are quite a few challenges that come with having a communal garden. But it is a wonderful exercise in letting go and just accepting what is. We all say we want world peace, well how about we go for peace in the community garden to start.

Jeanette

I have been married 77 years, we met on the beach at Brunswick heads. I sat on the beach, Gordon came and sat beside me and has sat there ever since.

Colleen and Gordon

Take it easy, don’t stress about too much.

Luke

Growing up in Byron was amazing. I guess as a kid you don't realize how good you have things until you get older and are aware of the changes around you. It was a very local town with very few tourists back in the 80s and early 90s, so you could walk down the street and know pretty much everyone. That’s probably the biggest change these days but the vibe is still there and the beaches are still pristine so that’s the main thing! I believe I was about 2 years old when I started and I could catch my own waves by the age of 5. I started surfing the pass as all of us kids did because the long right handers were so good for learning and improving your skills. My career really started when I won the under 13s Australian titles at age 11 and then starred in a movie with Tom Carroll at age 13. From there it was full steam ahead and that’s all I really thought about, day in day out, was to be a professional surfer. I was 22 when I had Jayden and 25 when I had Symone, so yeah, a very young father that’s for sure. The 10 years traveling with my wife and kids was the best time of my life. Yes, the juggle was hard but it was so very rewarding. Kirstie my wife is the strongest woman I know and takes it all in her stride and we just did it. I paved the way for what was possible as a professional surfer I think. Surfing has given me everything. It’s given me a career that I loved and it was never a drag to go to work - if you can even call it work! It gave me a chance to travel and see the world with my family for 10 to 12 years. What more could I ask for? It’s like a religion for me and without it I would be lost, it’s my chance to escape reality and just be me. That’s what surfing is to me, it allows me to be me.

Danny

Reputation is what man thinks you are, character is what God knows you are.

Frankie

I've been with Paul since I was 17. I saw him across a crowded room and it was love at first sight. We have been inseparable ever since! We left our corporate city lives behind and moved here in 2007. In Sydney I worked for Gucci in the head office buying department and Paul worked in construction and sales. We wanted to move and start a simpler life so we bought an organic fruit and veggie store in Mullumbimby. We were sick of buying health foods in plastic packaging, so we started selling a small selection of bulk foods in our fruit and veggie shop. We realised there were no specialised bulk food stores around, so we started The Source Bulk Foods. We now have stores all across the country and overseas. It’s crazy to think about how far we've come. During this time we also had 3 kids so it’s been a wild and hectic few years. All 3 of our kids were born here; it’s a fantastic life for kids and the best place to raise a family. We love that our kids roam free in the paddocks and creek on our property after school and we call them back for dinner time. We feel grateful every single day.

Emma and Paul

To date, I have caught over 12,000 Snakes. That includes over 4000 brown snakes and I've had to apply snake bite first aid to 32 victims.

George 'The Snakeman'

My favourite thing to do is surf with my kids.

Craig

Oh to flower from within, of self- blessing.

Dave

I had my first two boys when I was 35 and 37. When I was about 43 I was feeling like a tired old mum, so I went to see a professor of nutritional medicine. He checked everything and worked out what I should be eating and then he put me on what’s now, the trendy paleo diet. As well as that, he said I should eat 50 grams of 85% cacao chocolate a day. I couldn't find a chocolate that met my needs though, as I wanted something that was organic and raw but also tasted delicious. So, I decided to make my own instead. A few months later I went back to my doctor to have another check and he said that my fertility had doubled and in fact, I had the fertility of a 28yo. Three months later I was pregnant - all because of the chocolate!

Sarah

Growing up in the Byron Shire was incredible but in saying that I don't know any different. I felt free and safe and part of a community that cared. Everyone knew everyone or at the least they knew someone who you knew. It was quiet and alternative which I was made incredibly aware of when we would visit the Gold Coast or Brisbane for the day. My childhood memories are filled with bike rides and waterholes in Main Arm, selling tadpoles and bush lemons to random QLD tourists in shiny 4WDrives, morning till sundown days at the pass with All the families from the hills, Sunday afternoons at the Bruns pub making frangipani garlands in the grass before it was paved, bridge jumps, mum renting an apartment in Brunswick Heads or New Brighton for summer holidays because it cost less than fuel from Main Arm every day for the beach and searching for jewellery and coins at Blues Fest at red devil park. There were many hall parties and sleeping in the pop top roof of our kombi at the hall parties. As I got older there were Doof parties in the bush and on the beach. I remember jumping on the country rail train in Mullum and riding it to Byron to hang at Top Park, underage disco nights at Cheeky Monkeys, hitchhiking around the shire and sunbaking summer away with my friends. I think it has made me open to experiences and accepting of people who are considered ‘different.’ I grew up surrounded by colourful and interesting people. I think also I was a little sheltered in the Byron bubble - when I moved to Melbourne to go to university I had a moment in the supermarket when I couldn't find NORCO milk. It was the first time I realised that there were other brands of milk! Being here as an adult with Michael and raising our 4 beautiful kids, I have a love/hate relationship. I love that the kids are being raised in my childhood home, but it makes me sad that it is so busy and overused now and the core values of what made it so special are being lost in a world of image hungry people who don't believe or live what they are selling. To me the Byron shire is about being yourself, being unique and accepting the uniqueness of everyone else. It’s a diverse mix of farmers, original hippies, surfers, bohos and hipsters. It’s not about selling a lifestyle or all wearing the same thing; it’s not about judging each other and caring if your kid is wearing the right brand or how many Instagram followers you have. I feel like some of the magic has been lost, but this shire and this land holds my memories and my life and it’s my birthplace and the birthplace of my children and I love it, regardless.

Jade

At first sight it felt like home.... That was 19 years ago, after many years of travelling the world. I found a place here to love, grow and explore without and within, connecting with all the beauty and magic of both this land and the people that live here. I felt very blessed by the Mana of this land and the creativity it inspired. In turn I was led to travel and live in New Zealand and French Polynesia, where the Universe opened my heart, mind and soul to the Polynesian culture and art. In divine time, I met on my path some incredible souls, friends and Masters from these islands who initiated me into their culture and their healing art forms of Sacred Marking - imprinting the life stories through their skins and souls. I give thanks to all that is, the past, the present, the future. It’s not the destination that really matter, but the journey within... “Daily I fill my heart with thoughts of joy, gratitude and hope. I have faith in life and life respond in kind”. (Koretoshi-Maruyama, Aïkido).

Lolito M

Fun and Fantasy.

Lamaya

When three continents somehow meet and decide to walk El Camino de la Vida together -there’s love sparkles, there’s fiery thunders and there’s everything in between. Growing and learning every day to love bigger and wider, to unveil my own limitations, to open to my vulnerabilities with humbleness and empathy, accepting the fact that I actually don't know much and there’s no map to follow (ohh shit). The more I explore this Mystery of Life, the more mysterious it becomes. The canvas is blank for us to paint on, the page virgin for us to write in, reinvent, undo the rules and erase the conditioning’s. Free to create our own story and be who we want to be. Let’s do it my love.

Milene and Rodrigo

There is nothing as tender as the space you hold for a child, except perhaps the space they hold for you.

Sarah and Leila

I am a great believer that "Pain travels through family lineage, until someone is brave enough to feel it.

Troy