“I wish I’d grew up in a household… in a world... that would have allowed me to live a softer life and be kinder to myself. To be more open. More trusting. But unfortunately, that’s just not how it was for me. And for many people.”

This is just part of my conversation with my guest for this week’s episode of ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ as they reflect on their experience of growing up in an environment that didn’t allow much room for autonomy, freedom or individuality. Yes in their home life but as we also cover, more widely with societal expectations.

Benjy Kusi (he/him) is a wellbeing & inclusion consultant who is well-known for producing social media content that promotes kindness, justice & critical thinking. He’s also an author, public speaker & all round grafter who loves a side quest/ hustle/ mission. As a regular consumer of what Benjy puts out there, I was delighted he said yes to being a guest on the podcast. As shared above, we explore what life was like for ‘Little Benjy’ and how he learned to embrace his loudness & confidence as a form of protection, & later defiance, as a Black, queer kid.

He excitedly talks about finding freedom at university and explains how his early career in sales resulted in him being fired but that a detour into marketing & setting up an ERG, which he admits he didn’t quite appreciate the significance of to start with, has led to the Benjy we know & love now.

Benjy is all about creating the content, representation & visibility he needed. And still needs for himself & others. Especially as an out & proud Ghanaian. His drive & passion shine through and he likes to think that somehow, he’s creating an alternate universe where things could have been different without need to consider barriers around identity & race.

We also chat about our shared love of being active, the crucial difference between kindness & being nice, those who have shaped him along the way, his journey of self actualisation and lots more. Enjoy!

Find Benjy on Substack, Instagram, Tiktok & LinkedIn for regular, brilliant content!

Hope This Helps - How To Be Kinder To Yourself & Others is a must read. Grab it from an independent & queer book retailer if you can!