COOL PLACES; HIIT KITCHEN, St. Alban's (x Zachary Ekpe Photography)

All photos are by moi.

Rob (left) & Kris (right)

5/6 weeks ago I was introduced to a new business in Hertfordshire's St. Alban's (25 mins by train from London - St Pancreas International). A funky, fitness bar/cafe called 'HIIT Kitchen' started by Rob Ashman and Kris Tyrell, specialising in healthy, snacks and juices for fitness fans and everyone else.

The lads are about the same age as myself which I love to see and they've succeeded in creating a cool looking place that appeals to everyone at the same time as a specific demographic.

They've since opened and have enjoyed a great start to business! They had me in again yesterday and here are some of the photos I took to help boost their online presence.

Like other locals businesses I've seen birthed in trendy parts of London and it's trendy suburbs this one has bags of potential and you should 100% pop in to try some of their amaaaazing products - you'll be welcomed by an awesome staff and vibe!

Contact

HIIT Kitchen Facebook Page

www.hiitkitchen.co.uk (coming soon)

HIIT Kitchen Insta (soon to be featuring a number of my shots)

Contacte-moi - Facebook - Zachary Ekpe - @zachekpe (Instagram) - zacharyekpe@gmail.com - for bookings & enquiries.

COOL MUSIC; Jeremih & Chance - Xmas Mixtape

So, I rarely blog on new music but Jeremih & Chance the Rapper have given me absolutely no choice.

On Wednesday night the rapper and r'n'b singer dropped a crazy Christmas mixtape to rival every other album release this year. Fans were given zero warning and woke up on Thursday to a welcomed, early Christmas present. The album features some awesome samples, including a funky spin on the Jackson 5's  hit 'I want you back', they've even collaborated with famous comedian Hannibal Buress, it's all mad.

 Each track is a perfect blend between Christmas and contemporary music and the way both artists compliment each other is sure to catch most listeners by surprise.

You'll find the tape on the right-hand toolbar, just there, it should actually start playing automatically.... ----------->

The end of 2016 has brought an abundance of impressive albums; Post Malone's Stoney, Childish Gambino's "Awaken, My Love!", J Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only to name a few.

Check them all out - they're all on Spotify, but not before giving this festive treat a listen.

Have a great Christmas and New Year pretty people X

COOL PEOPLE; ELIJAH MUSIC

"My goal in life is to be creative - with absolutely no limits."

The past few weeks have been hectic. I've taken on a number of projects (some of which I will be blogging about) and uni has resumed for the year. I am well and truly up to my neck in work but I've still managed to meet with and get to know some intriguing characters...

The second person I have for you is someone I met in London a few weeks ago now. His name is Elijah and he's a proud north Londoner. He actually approached me in need of a lighter but we soon began exchanging life stories. Elijah (Eli for short) is a second year Fine Art student who aspires to one day live off money made from his art as well as is other passion - music. After meeting we exchanged numbers and plan to stay in touch.

Oh yeah.. he also raps and has dreams of making it in the music industry.. Click here to find Eli's soundcloud and stay tuned he will be uploading some of his new music this week! I've been in a studio session or two with him and boy do I have the utmost confidence in his ability to do well.

I decided to include Elijah in this because he is doing a lot creatively and is letting absolutely nothing and no one tell him otherwise. This is the attitude that everyone should have, whatever you want to do, however it may look to friends, peers & contemporaries.

Your free time is YOURS and though you may not have as much 'leisure time' as a student you still have some so make the most of it.

Age - 19

Full Name - Elijah Brown

A.K.A - Eli

Favourite Colour - Gold.

Favourite Drink - Hennessy & Coke, Pineapple Fanta

Inspiration - His family, especially his dad. Rich The Kid (Eli recommends watching Rich The Kid's semi-recent 'Noisey' documentary - 'Rich The Kid is Rich Forever' for an insight into the rapper and his main inspiration.

Background - Part Brazillian, Part British

Occupation/Hobbies- Student, Model, Rapper, Photopraghy

Dream Job - Rapper, Artist & Model

Location - London

Instagam- @ej.brxwn

Cool Person - #1

Hey, if you didn't read my last post on my upcoming blog series (I forgive you).. and here it is!

Although constant updates on celebs and their lives is entertaining, it really isn't as beneficial as ordinary people connecting with ordinary people. If you know me well then you know I use the term 'cool' broadly - in my world it means 'interesting'. It certainly isn't defined or measured by someone's online presence, although that could be a genuine reflection of someone's 'coolness', I guess? Anyhow, these posts should ideally feature people who:

- have interesting things going on in their lives (could be anything..)

- have had unique, intriuging and thought-provoking life experiences.

As I say, it's important to for ordinary people to connect so that ideas can be shared, relations can be built and prejudice/stereotypes - broken down. Prejudice can be defined as "a preconceived opinion that is not based on actual personal experiences." - learning about others leads to a less judgmental world! Hopefully these posts can inspire different people in multiple ways (fashion, ambitions, work, lifestyle).

The first cool person I'd like to introduce you all too is someone that I've now met on a couple of occasions - both times at fashion-related events and boy does she have style!

 Her name is Emily, she moved to London from Italy and she's determined to make it in the fashion industry as a 'streetwear influencer' (which is pretty self-explanatory), not saying "no" to any modelling opportunities on the way. She strikes a mean pose on her Instagram but in actual fact she is really soft spoken and has an cool Italian twang to her voice. She currently works in and studies fashion in London.

Age - 19

Full Name - Emily O'Donnell

A.K.A - Queen Skally

Favourite Colour - 'Plant Green'

Inspiration - I.D Magazine

Background - Part Italiana, Part Irish

Occupation- Student, Model
Dream Job - Streetwear Influencer

Location - London

Instagam - @emily.j.odonnell

A lot of people like the idea of getting into fashion but it can seem intimidating and opportunities sometimes look out of their reach, but there are loads of routes into the fashion world. Start looking at courses and the requirements of your local college, speak to a teacher or someone you know in the industry. Also.. Check out the ever popular 'Fashion Retail Academy(FRA)' -- who offer LOADS in the way of courses and fashion qualifications.

Thanks for reading  - look out for the next cool person!

COOL PEOPLE

You may have read in my prior post that I am launching a blog series that I hope I stick with forever.. here it is!! After spending an eternity in the brainstorming process I have gone for the name 'cool people' (lol, I know it's rubbish). Cool People will feature a few standard photos of a random individual, some information on them and what they are doing, how I met them and my positive opinion on them and finally.. how to connect with them!

I decided to do this for a number of reasons, I managed to come up with 8 exactly - here they are;

1 - Cool People - I meet so many cool, inspiring people everyday (cool and inspiring in a number of ways..) and I am tired of keeping them a secret. A person doesn't gaq

2 - Consistency - I want to be blogging on a much more regular basis and have been saying so for a long time and have decided that there is no better way of kick-starting this by completely chucking myself in the deep end.

3 - Bye bye poor traits, hellooo portraits - I have formally divorced myself from my old friend 'Laziness' especially in my photography life. I want to be taking a wide range of shots from no onwards, especially portraits!

4 - Life is confusing. - So confusing that it would be good to get some inspiration or reassurance (whatever you need!) from a total stranger.

5 - Similar to '4' - See what people are doing with their lives, how they got to where they are and where they want to end up.

6 - Improved connectivity - I think that something like this on a big scale will improve connectivity and the sharing of ideas among our generation, people who may have never bumped into each other could get in touch with one an other as a result of seeing them on 'cool people' - this isn't a new thing though at all, social networks are kind of already supposed to do this.

7 - Meeting New People - A lot of people worriy about this, maybe learning more about people and realising that they're all fab will help you ease those fears.

8 - Difference - Difference is good, learn about people's difference, understand and love them for their differences (a bit soppy but it's true).

The first of my series will be posted tomorrow at 8pm. Thanks for reading!

COOL POINTERS; 19.08.16 - The 24-Hour Tube Arrives!

This time two years ago Londoners were eagerly anticipating the arrival of London's first ever 'Night Tube' however due to TFL strikes over pay and potential working condition concerns the start date had to be delayed.

The new all night system scheduled to perform a 'pratcice run' this weekend, in preparation for the actual start date - August 19th. This practice run will be a passenger-less service and will be tested this weeked on the 12th and 13th of August - a week before it's scheduled to fully go live. Trains will be trialled on the Victoria and Central lines and will test the operational capability of the proposed system (basically, the aim is to see how well it runs).

As stated already the Night Tube will be aired on the Central and Victoria lines. This is great news as they covered a fairly large part of the city from North, to East, to West, to South. From a financial stand-point the changes are set to boost London's economy by £360m and ideally we should see improvements in our country, in different areas - infrastructure and jobs being a couple of them. 

TFL Cheif, Mike Brown said: "It is good news for London. More than half a million people use the Tube after 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and the introduction of the Night Tube, which will support London’s businesses and jobs, is a historic step in our modernisation of the Underground and our work to support London’s economic growth.”

The lines that are being tested this weekend (Victoria and Central) are the ones that will go live next weekend. The autumn period will see three more lines added to the Night Tube map, the Central line (between Ealing Broadway - Loughton/Hainault), the Piccadilly line (between Cockfosters - Heathrow Terminal 5) FYI! The 24-hour service will boast an impressive schedule of six train per hour between the hours of 00:30am and 5:30am though this number may vary from line to line.. The northern line will see an even better eight trains per hour!

Obviously this all sounds amazing and I am positive that many of you will utilise this service at some stage, some more than others, but how much of the money made will be re-invested and what differences will be made? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.