questions answered by Tacai Dryden
holistic health coach & author
What do you create?
“I create art. My art is created through my teaching of meditation & yoga. My purpose on this earth is to live, breathe & teach health while also being an inspiration to those that don’t realize their worth. I exist to remind them. I feel like im a source of light, which is received by people who are in dark place.”
Tacai, his colleague Caleb Edgehill, and our Head of Literary Arts Nadia Starbinski published a book recently, sold on Amazon.
“Mingy Zingy Volume One. We’ve sold more copies than I’ve ever imagined. I don’t see myself as an author but to do it and have a response is amazing. I have a lot of gratitude. People’s positivity is exactly what I needed right now and it’s changed my life. I can’t wait to continue. It was written as a guide to help people actualize themselves and I’m so happy about the response it’s gotten.”
We could all really use some self-actualization. Tacai studied Psychology in college, to which he can attribute to his knowledge of the human psyche.
”It’s the thing that I live by. People wake up every day and look in the mirror and have no idea what they and their brains can do. Incorporating psychology into body and mind really helps people self actualize.The book is true to what I believe in. Currently, I’m working on Mingy Zingy volume two and opening a juice bar. I want Mingy Zingy to be a set service and a go-to for health and wellness.”
I asked Tacai how he goes about branding himself as a holistic health coast and meditative entity.
Being dope and doing dope things. My Instagram showcases those things because I want to share them with everybody and inspire them.
I just want to be the epitome of health. I want to be paid to teach being healthy. That’s all I want. I live by being healthy and living healthy, which is true to the brand. That’s what I want to be known for. Someone who is natural and true and honest, who has the ability to be healthy, and will brand himself as always putting his health first. I want people to understand that without you and your health, you can’t get anywhere. There’s no you. If you don’t understand you, don’t understand how to fuel you, there’s no reason to continue, because later on your body will react to that influence you put in it. [I definitely think it’s important for the artist community to stay healthy while we’re all on our grind, because stereotypically, we’re always starving and tired.] I think that it’s in our best interest to take care of our bodies because food is medicine, fuel, and creativity. Your body speaks to you. If you’re eating things that fuel your body, you’ll get the knowledge and inspiration to create better.
As for Mingy Zingy, we’re going to go for everything that embodies health, going beyond mediation and yoga. Tai chi, herbs, sustainability, all types of things are going to be in the mix. I just know that I have the resources and the knowledge and people to help me with that. Being very natural and organic with everything I use, like for the future juice bar.
My favorite question: what do you do in your isolation? It was really interesting to hear this from Tacai.
I look at myself in the mirror and affirm myself of who I am. I reflect on my day, my abilities and my future success. I’m positive, optimistic, about who I am and what I know. I think that’s the best thing that you can do for yourself. People like to be realistic and realistic can be negative, and then negative turns into failure, and failure becomes depression. It’s a big cycle. So, I try to be very optimistic and true, and I follow those feelings to a brighter path, as opposed to going somewhere that’s realistic. There’s so much to do in a realistic lifestyle. I don't want to do all that. I want to live like it and think like it. [And so you meditate, exercise, how do you take care of yourself in your free time?] All that. I treat my body like when you’re having guests over and you want to make sure your room is clean, your bathroom is clean… you want people to see that and feel comfortable in your space. That’s how I perceive my body and my mind. When I’m meeting people, I don’t want to come to them with a dirty room. I want to make sure that my room is clean, my mind, and my body are clean, and I do that by working out, by meditating, and eating the right things. I want people to walk in and think “wow, this is cool” as opposed to “I dont even want to be here.” I make sure I take care of my space, cross my t’s and dot my i’s. [Does Mingy Zingy have its own space?] Not yet, besides my apartment, but we do have a team office. [Is that one of your next steps?] 100%. [I’m looking forward to finding collection five’s space. I love how a space can effect how people feel.] I agree.
What are your tips for creators?
Find a way to make what you do quality. Think as if you are going to get discovered TODAY - be in there here and now with that very creation. Meditate into that creation.
Just continue to create, but just as you do with your body, your mind, and your room, clean it up. You want things to be attractive. You want it to be something that people want to walk up to and feel connected to. You want it to be clean. So, make things that are universal and not only appeal to one crowd, but that appeal to anybody at any age. That’s something I like to pride myself for. Personally, that’s what I like to do for myself. One guy told me, “if Jay Z or Oprah picked up your book, how would they know what it embodied? You only have 10 seconds. How can you draw them to it?” You have to think like that: what if someone that is beyond my sphere picked this up and looked at it, what is going to make them think it’s dope?