Wilma and Keri have known each other for almost fifteen years, since the days they were both PR girls in London — two women of colour in a profession that didn't always know what to do with them. Keri was running global comms for Nando's at the time, flying to Australia for forty-eight hours at a stretch and sleeping with her phone under her pillow in case of "chicken crisis." She was the woman behind the Nando's Black Card, the underground membership scheme that connected the brand to early-career artists like Stormzy, Little Simz and Ed Sheeran before any of them were household names.
Then she walked away. Eleven years in, she left for a yoga teacher training in Costa Rica that she says she didn't go on to become a yoga teacher. She just wanted to understand why this thing was changing her. She came home a teacher anyway.
This episode tracks the whole arc. From fashion to chicken to yoga to sound. From "I'm no Lauren Hill, I shouldn't be singing" to building Healing Sound System and co-founding Wykd, a free wellbeing project for the Notting Hill community after Grenfell. Wilma and Keri get into radical self-care as activism in a burning world, why "sound bath" isn't quite the right word, the difference between magic and bullshit, and what it costs to back yourself when no one else is convinced yet.
About the Guest:
Keri Perkins is a cultural strategist, speaker, sound practitioner and yoga teacher. She spent eleven years at Nando's, latterly as Global Head of Communications, where she created the Nando's Black Card. She's the founder of Healing Sound System, a movement, mindfulness and sound practice focused on nervous system regulation, and co-founder of Wykd, which delivers free wellbeing sessions in London communities. She still advises brands across art, music and culture, and has spoken at Tate Late, the House of Commons, International Music Summit, Brighton Music Conference and ADE. She sits on the board of Bridges for Music in South Africa.
Connect with Keri:
Instagram: @itskeriperkins
Instagram (Healing Sound System): @healingsoundsystem
