MY JOURNEY SO FAR
Born and raised on a farm in Scotland my connection to the natural world was inevitable.
From nature walks with my family, to being a human sheep dog in the local hills, I was always on the move. I think I was on every sports team at school.
Unsurprisingly that passion to explore finally saw me move to Melbourne, Australia where my other life passion was really born.
My love of creativity.
Trained at the school of audio engineering
I received my BA in recording arts in 2006, where I taught the diploma then subsequently the BA of audio engineering for 5 years.
As an educator I finally understood the reward of assisting others find their own creative potential.
It was also in those years I was first introduced to meditation.
Soon the pull back home was too much and after near 20 years I packed my bag and headed north again.
By this time, not only had I gained experience working at a dynamic startup Quadlock, which is now a world leading powerhouse in the active tech world. (then it was just four lads in a warehouse) but I too had taken a life long passion as a runner to the next level.
I was obsessed with trail running.
ON THE MOVE
Swapping my faders for trainers I laced up to many of the worlds most exciting trail and mountain races. Competing in gnarly sky races to epic mountain ultra marathons.
I paid my way by filming and helped tell the story of the people and events that inspired me.
When you work in wild places and big landscapes you cannot help but become aware of its fragility and this knowledge lay heavy on me.
I needed a new purpose more than ever, but what?
FINDING STILLNESS
With a passion to keep learning I trained as a qigong instructor. Which combines my love of meditation with movement and for the first time in many years the noise of the world outside softened.
And then like us all, in early 2020 the world stopped.
I won’t lie to you, they were hard years but ultimately some of the most enlightening.
I couldn’t run away so I sat and pondered my life.
And so here we are stepping onto the line of a new adventure.
One that combines all of my passion and experience together.
It is time for a creative outdoor education revolution .. lets go
— Douglas Dec 2022
THE NEXT STEP
DEC 2022 - This is stage 1 - a rebranding - from fullcoursetrails to just me - Douglas Simpson - it has always been just me at FCT and over the years I’ve progressed past just being a trail running blog and drone pilot.
Still / Moving has a double meaning , as it relates to my love for still photography and moving images.
As well as still for stilling the mind through meditation and qigong
and moving as I will always love to run and explore wild places.
March 2023 - My education fact finding mission begins!
I am planing a big research trip to find out the facts so I can make an informed decision.
Nov 2023 - Consolidate and Create
After my big trip I am now working on developing an outdoor curriculum to launch in Spring 2024 and have launched my first Qigong workshop series.
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