Nicky Rennie writes about a friend making a massive life change to follow his passion. Photo / 123rf
Whanganui-based Nicky Rennie returned to her home town in 2018 while celebrating three decades in broadcasting. She has written a column for the Whanganui Chronicle since 2021.
OPINION
If you are a fan of Country Calendar or any lifestyle-type magazine, you will see a lot of people making drastic changes in their lifestyle.
Some people call it a “sea-change” - or a “tree-change” which basically means that people move from a city lifestyle to a regional or rural community to make hummus or grow organic vegetables and knit their own socks from wool that they have grown from their own sheep.
But what if you get to a certain age and just decide that, without having to move, you can make monumental change and completely alter the direction of your career and life? What’s that called? Some may call it a mid-life crisis, but others may call it profound wisdom based on circumstances right now.
Some people are happy to work for the same employer for 40 years, get a gold watch and happily retire to growing tomatoes and going to book club. Others, however, are not going to be content with this.
I’m going to tell you about such a creature here in Whanganui. I know him very well and have witnessed this major life change he has decided to make. To be honest, when I heard his reasoning, I was very proud of him for doing something to change his and others' existence rather than just sitting on his backside, moaning and doing nothing.
He has done a lot of things in his lifetime. He has been a chef, Jackaroo, commercial fisherman, excavator operator, drilling rig operator and a senior project manager for piling companies in Australia. For the past eight years, he has run a family finance business – which he still does. However, he has decided to go back to his musical roots. He has decided to live his passion. In the late 90s, he discovered the art of what it would take to be a DJ in London. He DJed professionally in Sydney in the early 2000s. Then, life got in the way.
One thing that must be said is that this man underestimates how good he is at everything he does, but he is throwing all he has now into eventually becoming a fulltime, well-respected DJ within his genre.
We are not talking chump change here. The gear he has bought is the top-of-the-line and the latest technology on the planet today. As well as learning piano, he is also taking tutorials so he can be the best at what he does and I have no doubt that he will be. The big question is why?
He answers: “There is a lot of negativity, both nationally and globally at the moment. Music is positive therapy for a lot of people, including me. I’m going back to the roots of what was started in 1998 to try and make people feel good again. People trying to survive with what’s happening globally is upsetting. A lot of people have lost hope. Sometimes a musical journey is therapeutic. It heals. I know I can make a difference.”
While he is under no illusions that he will be world-famous (only a small percentage of DJs make it to that level and you need to be a great producer of music for that to happen), he wants to continue this journey that made him and others feel good and be a better DJ than he ever was in Sydney.
If you think he’s crazy, this might help it make sense: “When it’s my time to leave this planet, I won’t have any regrets.”
His company trading name is Foundations – because that is where he is going back to so he can springboard forward from today.
At 52, he has also put himself under a lot of pressure to learn new technology and mentally challenge himself. A lofty goal for most but he is completely dedicated to it. He is very clear that this is a journey that is never going to end.
When I asked what others' response to his decision was, one of the best was “why can’t you just be normal?” His mates also told him that he was “too old and fat” to pull this off. There is nothing about this man that is normal and it makes perfect sense to me because I know how talented he is.
I have never been a cool kid and do not know the cool DJ terms like dirty, nudge, clean, vibe or mix-show but, having spent my career in the music industry, I do know an incredible musician and sound when I hear it and he has the goods. If I had half the talent, I’d jump in boots and all too.
When I asked if he had any trepidation about what was to come, he mentioned an author and book title he lives by. It is by Mark Burnett and the book is Jump in! Even If You Don’t Know How to Swim.
Well, this musician is about to take his floaties off and give it all he has. I wish him well and will do anything I can to help him because I think he has been very brave and I believe in his talent. He may not be wearing home-spun socks from his own sheep, but he’ll be spinning discs and making people happy (along with himself). Bravo to bravery.