Now whether you have been a long time spinner or just recently started taking it up, one name I’m sure most of you will have heard of by now is the fantastic Mr Nick Woolsey – if poi spinning had a poster boy nick would probably be it!

His videos along with the other guys over at play poi ( don’t worry we will be getting more on them later ) have done so much to promote this beautiful, elegant and loving lifestyle, their videos have taught and inspired thousands of people around the world and for these reason alone we have decided to feature nick as our second artist to appreciate here at Above & Below – Nick & the guys at play poi have released so many video’s it was hard to pick out a favorite but we gave it a go anyway.

We recently got in touch with nick and he agreed to do a short interview with us so here are the questions we asked and the responses given:

First of all can we ask what the meaning of flow is to you?

- It’s similar to what I see others expressing in the flow arts community: Entering into a state of effortless movement and oneness with the flow of energy and creative impulse.

What was your best spinning experience so far?

- Hmmmm. Interesting question. I can’t think of one in particular. I can think of many times when I would get deeply into the flow. But I haven’t been spinning much these past two years because I blew my shoulders out a bit. So I’m exploring other things in search for flow these days

At what age did you first enter into the world of poi and why?

- I was 27 and was looking for something to train in. I knew I wanted to do something with movement and art but I wasn’t sure what. When I saw poi at a party it looked like a “Jedi movement development tool” so I got hooked right away!

Who or what is your biggest inspiration for the things you have done?

- Winnie the Pooh for sure. And the Little Prince! Also Einstein. Oh oh oh, and Buddha and the Sufi mystics and John Lennon and Vincent Van Gogh and Bruce Lee and Tigger of course and a million other inspiring people and things!

How has spinning effected your life so far, both in a positive and negative way?

- For me that’s a tough question because poi became my career, which definitely opened up a can of worms. I.e. it’s difficult to separate the effect of practicing poi as an art form from the experience of trying to make a living with poi related activities.

Now I’m back on my feet financially (though not rich by any means!) and I’m being an artist again. It was all a big, tangled mess of great things and difficult things. Many of the difficult things were somewhat self-inflicted. Sometimes I have to learn things the hard way! Everything about my life has been affected by poi.

So it’s a bit like asking: “How has birth affected your life so far, both in a positive and negative way?” It’s somewhat unanswerable

What advice do you want to give to all the new spinners out there?

- Eat more vegetables! And don’t compare yourselves to others too much! Oh, and dudes, watch your nuts, those poi move fast!

Have you got any big plans for the next few years and is there anything else you want to achieve?

- I’ve got a couple poi related visions on the go. One is to re-write the beginner series, but as a kind of personal-empowerment-through-

movement modality. Another is to take on an in-depth choreography project. I think that’s the next big step, to get people spinning together and taking that to the next level. Poi is still so insular! I’d love to see what twelve spinners could do together if they had a few months to train full-time

Is there anything else you would like to say to our viewers?

- Love the world!

That’s it for this installment of our Artist Appreciation section we would like to thank nick for his time and hope our readers find this article worth a read! you can find out more of what nick and the guys from play poi are up to by visiting there website - Much love Kable