Ciarans CV and other bits & Bobs

Hello, This is not a traditional CV as I have surpassed the age of 60 I thought I would add a bit of philosophy in with the facts and figures. This is also a CV about my future aims in regards the projects I am running.

I have just hit 60, well 63 I don’t feel 63ish. So I am thinking it is the time to spread my wings again and see where my skills can take me, both old and new. I want to research how age affects us as you get older especially in conjunction with how it works being Neurodivergent (on the autism spectrum). My CV tries explains why I am doing it and inform of where I am coming from. So this CV is not just about what I have done but also about what I am doing – So watch this space because this is an adaptable CV.

I am pivoting again taking my old skills and re learning them So I thought lets see what you can do and how it works after the age of 60. So I have set myself a sort of fun research project that has some very serious aspects to it. Here’s some of my aims.

My Current Study and Exploration Aims

Remaining Active and always Learning. I love Mountainbiking. In regards running I prefer taking up running the spirit of Parkor as this encorporates bit of bouldering and running. The term Parkour comes from the french meaningroute or path. Effectively I have been doing Parcours one way or an other all my life but not in the form that you. With Parkour I can intergrate different forms of activity that range from Running/Nordic Walking to Aerobic type movements in the woods, Meditation, Mountain biking and Bouldering both indoors and out.

The Commonground ReWilding is a space where I look to incorporate what I have learnt in my life and all of this is focused on creating a real meaningful attempt to explain how we can all create real benign change in respect of combatting both our Climate and Bio-Diversity issues. Which is all part of the website that my CV is now attached. I have learnt that things are all about finding a sort of balance around things you do and how you live.

Talking of Balance. I am having a high (well lowish relatively speaking) wire fitted in my Re-Wilded garden. I have quite a climbing hero’s is Phillipe Petite (He is famous for doing a high wire walk across the twin towers), Alain Robert, and Alex Honnold. I once taught myself hooping. I juggle badly but I am getting there. I also love Bouldering but have found the the older I get I tend to suffer a greater degree of vertigo. If Alain Robert who has vertigo and is 66% disabled with this then why can’t I. Although the past 20 years have been rather challenging in regards my disability and mental issues (see end of CV for more detail) now is the time to renew and get out there. PS if you meet me outside with my rucksac I can show you my Juggling balls, they will go everywhere with me if you ask me to demostrate but I am getting better. I find juggling helps me focus as well.

Oh Yes I have a new activity – Taiki Drumming – watch this space. I am interested as fitness coach how this works in terms of fun fitness. Its also fun to do and its all body. Click link above.

Cold Training with Wim Hof. I have always preferred the cold but not necessarily as cold as my cold water guru’s clan the Hofs can cope with but I am getting there. Mazny years ago our next door neighbour would only baby sit if she could have the heating on. So I thought how do I take this to the next level with Wim Hof and have some fun here as well by training in his method. Now is the time to take the plunge.

How can I describe myself or have I actually ………

…… gone to meet the squirrels, in other words am I nuts, bonzo, no longer in possession of ones faculties, three fries short of a Happy Meal, Wacko. Many people find me challenging manybe because I am different or that I can be intense or simply they have no idea how to engage with me.. After all I am after all wired differently from neurotypical people. I am neurodivergent and my brain is wired differently different from typical people. My Pitch and Tone clinical hearing disability and assocaited abuse all my life has also shaped how I am. I see all of this as both a “Gift & a Curse”.

What defines me – good question. Well try this “I tend to thrive around things that challenge me in a way where I get real enjoyment but also have an important effect and where no-one else challenges me “. That says alot and is seriously tied up with my autism. I just don’t like competing against others rather its an internal thing. I like finding out about things and using that to progress my abilities. Its about the execution of the problem not the winning that inspires me. This is one of the main reasons I stopped being a fitness instructor because of the sheer waste of time most people spent trying to get fit in a gym, then seeing them failed and finally they gave up. I once nearly got fired for pushing an old guy he leave the gym and take up dancing with like minded people of his own age rather than be perpetually be bored in the gym , wasting his money. I have many stories like this. I have basically turned myself into an very good fitness coach as a opposed to an average Fitness Instructor (which is a term I have never really understood).

Looking at it I think I have learnt that to succeed it is down ultimately find the enjoyment in anything you have to do and then expand to the other less enjoyable aspects in the execution of solving any problem we face. I think Mary Poppins was right – well with me it is.

Keyskills & Qualifications

Master Degree – Interactive Design Media 2007. Ravensbourne Art & Design College.
Thesis in Developing Cognitive Creativity through Storytelling in Kids. (I am continuing the study in this field for MY Ph.D Nature Based Lerning Skills with Cognitive Creative Thinking). Its about how we are held back & how to develop progressive mindsets. There is more in my website if you want to know more.
BA(hons) Visual Communication & Product Design – Grad 1988, Ravensbourne Art & Design College.
Main area of study – Typography, Photography and Dissertation on Special Effects in Film which I still have 40 years later

DESIGN SOFTWARE SKILLS – Blender, Illustrator, Final Cut Pro, Dragonframe stop motion software. and Stop Motion – Self study 2020 to current. I have taught myself Blender open source 3d software for all forms of design and animation. Its an ongoing learning curve.

FITNESS
BSc(hons) Science specialising in Fitness – Greenwich University 2002
YMCA – Weight & Circuits 92 – Exercise, Fitness Testing – 94 Spin, Keiser Spin, Box Fit, 95, Nutreitional Advice 96.
Premier – Nutrition, Boxercise,

ASSOCIATED COACHING Qualifications & Skills – 23 years Fitness Coach – 15 years running Children’s sports and fitness programs – Coach 10 years as Sports Speed, and Agility Conditioning – 5 years as a PTR(UK) Tennis and Athletics Coach – PTR(UK) Tennis Coach.
Black belt Aikido. I have won titles at county, national and European level and have fought for England (although only once). I have practiced many other styles as part of my Martial Arts as part of my all round training includes Taekwondo 7 years, Gracy Jujitsu 3 years and Bo Staff type training.
L2 UK Athletics Running Coach and UKA Strength Conditioning Coach 2000
British Nordic Walking Coach* 2014
Kettlebell Instructor* 2005
SAQ Speed, Agility and Quickness* – Diploma NVQ 3 2002

ADDITIONAL SKILLS LEARNING OLD & NEW

Wood-working Improving my woodworking skills from many years ago. I am currently building tables and chairs as part of our repurposing business at FROG. Self Taught.
Forest Gardening / Food Forests course. Agroforestry Trust 2020 to 2021 Ongoing.
Topics Covered: Topics Covered: l The design process l Hedge and edge design l Fruiting Trees and Shrubs l Species choice, soils and climate change l Trees and Shrubs for Nuts and Seeds l Trees and Shrubs for other Edible Uses l Canopy and shrub layer design l Nitrogen Fixing Trees and Shrubs l Fertility in forest gardens l Planting Trees and Shrubs l Forest Garden Fungi l Plant Propagation
Investing in Living Walls: Greenwich University April 2018 – Topics Covered: The benefits of living walls (ecosystems services) l Differing system types and their relative sustainability l Plant selection (basic) l Maintenance requirements Plus l Practical study tour of selected living walls, t first-hand issues relating to their installation and maintenance.

Screen Printing – Thames Side Print Studio – relearning past skills – Welding, London Blacksmithing school. from all of this I do alot of self study adapting things Woodwork skills – From Wood Turning and Re-Making using discarded bit of word. Electrics– Very very basic, I can wired lamps well enough to pass a PAT test by my electrician. **Blender – Animation an important part of my learning I would go so far as saying vital because its at the core of developing our message that Commonground works toward

MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation – Kew and Queen Mary University of London TBA. To get up to speed on our biodiversity study and Conservation skills. The reason for doing this is so that we can export the knowledge to kids who are interested in possibly taking up careers in bio-diversity or conservation and also for ourselves so we can better manage the ecological projects that we undertake at Commonground Re-Wilding. In Discussion.
Cold Water Training with Wim Hof -I have always enjoyed the cold but not to this extreme. I enjoy cold showere being our in cold weather (below 3 degrees). I just enjoy it but that does not mean I am adverse to heat I like hot weather but I just prefer cold (although cold rainly weather depresses me – See end of CV for reason).
Wood Working and Renovation – This a self study project. I have converted my rather long garage into a woodshop and Zugunruhe Cognitive Creative space where I can renovate disused items and then sell them. See our Vintage ReMaking Collective page on this website site for more detail.

Employment History

CURRENT WORK

Launching Commonground ReWilding June 2026 at the Knockholt Festival Kent (website launched Sept 25)
Bring back our Cafe which closed due to Covid but we have renamed it “The Commonground reWilding Cafe. It is a cafe that takes sustainability and promoting the Biodiversity Decline (which includes tackling climate change) to a new level. We are currently looking to build and create our Re-Wilding Cafe at the moment. You can find out more about this from our manifesto which is available on request. Our Cafe supports an ever-growing list of projects and businesses you can see below

Re-Wilding Gardeners (June 2026) – As a Designer is many areas I am currently building a Re-Wilding business. The concept is to encourage people to develop there own gardens based on Agroforestry, Biodiverse concepts. The idea is work work without customers to develop and build there gardens over a much longer period as opposed to the convention garden build of a week or two. Much in keeping with the Commonground Re-Wilding. The concept creates community as we encourages our customers to get involved in nature and how it works.

Get Active in Nature – GAiN Fitness (June 2026)
This is an Outdoor Fitness business has been develop from 20 years being active, in Martial arts. Using my fitness, running and years spent coaching we have set up this outdoor active fitness business. We run a range of classes – Nordic Walking, Wild Running , Out door 3 on 3 basketball circuits, Bike-joring and Cani Cross basically cycling and running with your dog. We also run Pilates in Nature but sometimes indoors depending on the weather. We want to also create a Wim Hof Cold training and Parkour in Nature soon. In some sessions we incorporated Forest Bathing, (Shinrin-Yoku) relaxation, mediation breathing practise based on my martial Arts training) Breathing session are also included in our running training.

September 2025 – Modified Zugunruhe.Creative to work with Commonground creating there projects
Over the years has become less and less an imdependent project and more and more a part of the Commonground ReWilding project. Instead of just being a design business, it now creates and manages projects with in Commonground. This could be a design project, blender project or a real world like our bio-composter, building a straw bale building for our shop and work shop (which includes a shipping container). It could also be any of the creative mediums we have highlighted in our Manifesto.

– The Commonground Vintage Re-Making Collective
Over the years we have been collective usable items reprocessed them and sold them. in 2025 we have taken them and at the same started building stock to create our Vintage ReMaking shop, whose aim is to show people that you should not every buy new and if you have to buy new make sure its authentically sustinable. Its this combination that you can see in our Creating a Sustainable Open Source house on our website. This business is also intrecately linked with the Zugunruhe Collective.

We re-make old dis-used items as well as reburbishing antique/vintage items that can look good in modern houses. The main aim of this is to encourage that there is a need to re-use old and never to buy new (except in small important instances). The Vintage Re-Making Collective message is “Fixing & Repairing stuff are Radical acts”** and it sort of sums up the what we do in this area.

• ** the term above we have adapted from from the Patagonia Clothing store is Berlin (Repair is a Radical Act), in fact it’s also on there Website.

April 2022 to Sept 25 – Zugunruhe Creativ Collective – Art Director
While Zugunruhe has been around for some time, it changed radically in 2022 to meet the needs on Commonground ReWilding. Within Zugunruhe we work with animation, Graphics, Music, and different forms of Film, well nearly any creative format that serves our need which have the aim of promoting the messages we send out to get people to understand what the issues are. I start adapting Zugunruhe in April 22 with a mind to seeing how design and innoivation can be adapted to serve the problem of – 1. Getting more involve in the serious climate and bio-diversity issue and 2. Creating a real practical messages around the changes that are needed. What you see at the beginning of this section about is the solution we have found to creating our Creative Concept.

PAST WORK

April 2019 to 2020 CommonGround – CEO Mobile Crepe and Galette Food Van
It started as a way of having an income while FROG was being developed. Now it is developing into an entity all of its own and is a fundamental part of FROG’s plans to develop its own centre. Basically this is a small mobile Street Food business selling Crepes, Galettes, German Sausages, plus fresh teas like oolongs, ginseng jasmine and English Ciders, artisan breads & cakes , original Kentish and Cornish cider. We operate out of an 1968 iconic H Van. However we have recently moth balled the crepe van because of COVID . During that time we developed the concept the Re-Wilding Cafe Hub.

April 1995 to 2020 The Active Space CIC – CEO Health and Activity Company – Personal Training
Personal training business since 1995. In recent years has expanded to more than the basis fitness concept. The Active Space CIC has been adapted into the FROG concept. We ran a range of outdoor classes as well as offering free advice in regards fitness and being active**. That included Nordic Walking & Nordic Running and Running Development Training for all types of runners. The Business was closed for a number of reason, Covid and our wish to deflect the business towards developing an upgraded outdoors active business “Get Animated In Nature’ or GAIN within Commonground.

This was closed down to develop and start Commonground ReWilding and GAiN Fitness – a completely new concept

Jan 1994 to 2022 Zugunruhe.Creativ Design Consultancy – Art Director
I have always run a small design business. Over the years I have worked mainly in the fitness industry designing promotional and branding needs of clients within Active Fitness Industry. This closed down to start Zugunruhe which you have read about previously.

1996 to 2006 David Lloyd Fitness Clubs – Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer
Manager ‘FitKids’ self set up by me and was very successful programme – Manager and Developer of an ‘Healthy Eating’
food management programme – Running development programme for athletes – Self developed In house plus promotional, marketing and design for Club – Fitness Instructor.

1995 to 1996 White Oaks Leisure Centre GYM – Fitness Instructor – Gym inductions and fitness advice to clients including coronary risk patients from local hospital l Gym management
1993 to 1995 Hodder and Stoughton Books, London – Art Director
1989 to 1994 Bicycle Magazine, Docklands, London – Art Director
1988 to 1989 Quadrant Designs, West Wickham – Designer and Layout Artist
1987 to 1988 Thumb Design, Soho, London – Layout Artist

A Little Bit About My Hearing Disability, My Aspergers Neurodivergent Struggles + mixing in the abuse from childhood & continuing + how these combinations seriously affects me.

I have to admit I have few hobbies outside of what I do at FROG and Commonground. My passions are my work. I firmly believe that what I work on has to have real meaning.

Hearing Loss and Aspergers + a sprinkling of regular abuse (Starting early childhood up to today but in different guises) – To understand me you need to know one thing. I lost my hearing when I was two due to measles – twice. My parents felt it was not something that was acceptable and it was ignored. It was not until I was 27 did I actually get any form or support like hearing aids etc. I left school with one O Level – ironically in Divinity, I am sure there is a joke in there somewhere. I mention this not because I am not looking for sympathy but purely as a statement that defines illustrates that my skills and success have been achieved through having to learning in a radically different environment and learning what is important to me, in a different way. My qualifications and skills are as a result of this and also my Aspergers.

Hearing Abuse, Aspergers and Daily Anxiety Issues – This manifesto is about how I learnt and my philosophy has come about because of my childhood and early adult not hearing and the abuse I have had to go though as a result. When I talk about it people’s eyebrows always go up. In fact a few friends have said I should do a stand up comedy sketch because its so out there and could be seen as comical because its so outlandish. You would then understand how I suffer from Aspergers and bad anxiety every day because ongoing abuse. I call it Clinical Frustration. To add to that my mothers German so I have also inherited a sort of Germanic directness which does not help at certain times.

I am currently creating a document that covers all of this because the abuse I recieve through malious ingorance (ie once people know about it but insist on not learning and remaining blissfully ignorant about the effect they are having on) is frankly breathtaking. The document will outline what the Aspergers/Autism/Neurodivergenty is and then how it all affects me. Here I use some of the worse stories to make my point. If you click the link below when it is done you can get a better idea of what my issues are and what your responsibilities are under the 2010 Equality and Discrimination Act.

I hope this CV helps you understand me, my issues, what I have achieved. However the best way to understand me is to meet me. This CV is just a mere snap shot and open to mis-interruptation. I am always up for a chat, some tea and a bit of cake or something healthy instead depending on my mood and food intake.

Thanks for you time – Ciaran