Fair-weather blonde and general hustler, Bex Boom (a moniker that's followed me ever since I changed my very unique surname on social media to avoid uncomfortable messages from guys I went to high school with) is admittedly a Jane-of-most-trades these days.
I've been a writer and a musician for the entirety of my life. After an Honours MA in English from St Andrews University didn't get me that steady writing factory job I so hoped for, I went back and got an MSc in Sound Design from the University of Edinburgh. I wasn't so keen on the grind of being a lifelong musician but, I thought, I could at least make other people's music sound better. After that, it was years of studio sound post-production and live sound engineering before a move to New Zealand revealed those jobs to be in pretty short supply, with negligible opportunities for career progression.
I transitioned into running venues, LOVING the rock and roll life and, when necessary, paying the bills by keeping theatre and corporate gigs from going off the rails. But the Christchurch earthquakes left a deficit of long-term venue management opportunities. So, in 2015, I went to Business School and got a Graduate Diploma in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (well, almost... If you want the full story, watch the Ara Graduation Speech in the "Perfect Pitch" section of this site). And then I somehow ended up doing the craziest thing so far: launching a sustainable food business with a guy I'd just met, selling edible insects to top chefs and restaurants all over the country.
If I'm honest, this page was borne of a conversation with a bank manager as my partner and I opened a joint bank account (how's that for adulting?) last year.
"So what do you do for a living, Bex?"
"Well, Leonie, that's a bloody good question..."
See, these last couple of years have caused something of an identity crisis. And then it hit me. All of these jobs, all of this hustle, every bit of it all falls under one umbrella - storytelling. That has always been the thing I do best. I tell the stories of my entrepreneurial life on stages and media platforms all over the country. I help writers and bands and theatre practitioners tell their stories in lectures and performances all over the world. I pull audio gold from audio dirt, clean it up and make it shine. I write business and strategic plans for social enterprises to help get their vision across to stakeholders. I create new stories for clients who need content to get out to their audience. And I hope that I can do the same for you.
If you want a CV or a show reel or to quiz me about any of these disparate lives of mine, please give me a bell.
I promise to spin you a very, very good yarn.
And for the small print... My rates start at $60/hr, but the hugely varied nature of my portfolio requires all quotes to be tailored to your organisation and the type and complexity of the work that you require. I can confidently guarantee you value for your money, and am happy to discuss fixed contract fees for larger jobs.
Please get in touch to discuss a quote.