Pop that cherry!

Welcome to the weird yet wonderful world of Catch 22. We’re a social enterprise that has set itself the audacious challenge of revolutionizing the media industry and then the creative industries and then any other sectors we can penetrate within the UK with our mantra. A daunting task, but someone’s got to take on goliath, right?

Time and time again at team meetings the idea of a Catch 22 blog has piped up, so finally here it is. And as the founder of Catch 22 I’ve been coaxed into writing what happens to be, believe it or not, my first ever blog post entry… sad but very true.

The reasons are simple: 1) I’ve questioned how engaging the musings of a self-confessed workaholic social entrepreneur could be. 2) My to-do list is extensive as it is thank you. 3) I’m busy trying to make things happen, let alone write about them too.

Like the first time “knockin’ da boots”, the idea of writing a blog did fill me with slight anxiety; am I doing it right? How long do I go on for? Am I brave enough to bear all with the lights on? Then I realized as usual I was over thinking things. So instead I’ve decided to just write what pops into my head and conclude by hitting the post button.

Anyway back to the reason I’m here. Catch 22 is an interesting animal that over the last three and a half years has grown organically and consists of many segments all under one roof. Inspired by the likes of Dickie Branson and that Stelios bloke, I decided to do a number of things at the same time and house them all under the Catch 22 brand. What they all have in common within their fabric is quality and that special ingredient known as undiscovered young talent.

At this point it’s appropriate that I give a shout out to fellow social entrepreneur and east-end boy Jamie Oliver. His Fifteen concept reflected exactly the kind of thing I wanted to do in my industry being the media. If he could turn a “street doctor” into a chef at a Michelin star hotel, then I knew I could transform a disillusioned inner city youth into a media professional capable of holding their own at somewhere like The Economist.

Trading Places is a hilarious 80s classic that totally symbolizes the quest of Catch 22. Starring Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy (at his best) the film tackles the old nature versus nurture debate.

Today is a very special day for me, as it’s the anniversary of the day that I think changed my life forever. Ten years ago on November 1st I set off on an amazing adventure around the world. Along with three friends we explored what the globe had to show us. In Brazil we witnessed the dictionary definition of female beauty, in Miami we partied with rap stars, in Hong Kong I trained with renowned kung fu masters and in Thailand we rode on elephants and motorbike taxis through the fields and streets of Chang Mai and Bangkok.

That trip of a lifetime taught me that through my determination and tenacity I could supersede the prejudices, insecurities and pigeonholes that society had laid out for me. It inspired me to transform my potential into product, regardless of the fact that I am first generation African-British from a low-income single parent home. By hook or crook I was going to make things happen!

My narrative has always been that of the underdog, so really it probably comes as no surprise to those that know me that I ended up establishing something like Catch 22. It champions the underdog to excel and to smash all glass ceilings in their way…a bit like this dude has.

Via this blog you’ll get to hear about all that we’re up to at Catch 22 HQ. It may relate to our multimedia journalism training academy, or our youth culture magazine, or our communications agency or our new diversity recruitment service called LaunchPad. In addition we’ll also keep you posted on other new mini ventures we’ve got in the pipelines.

Ok, I’m starting to feel fatigued from the ramblings of my first post, so on that note like Bannatyne “I’m Out!”

Peace

Billy Ray Valentine aka Coach Carter aka Tokunbo (just in case you were wondering, it’s pronounced toh-koon-boh…simples!)