So much has changed over the last 12 months. Finding the motivation to get up and go has been a challenge since my father passed away.

After spending time reflecting, I started thinking about everything I was doing while he was alive and just how much he was part of it. When someone who played such a big role in your life is suddenly gone, it’s easy to lose direction. It becomes very easy to slow down, become comfortable, and lose the drive that once pushed you forward.

At the same time, other big changes have happened in my life. Earlier in the year I got married and have had to adjust to sharing my space and life with a partner. I’ve been incredibly lucky to meet an amazing human being in Cristina. Being married for the second time meant making changes and finding balance that maybe first time round I could of done better.

Looking back, I realised something about the old version of myself. I was so committed to my craft that I completely neglected many of the normal pleasures of life. For over 20 years I never took holidays or weekends away. I’d never been to a beach just for the sake of relaxing. My life was always about the work. If I travelled, it was to film or attend events. When I did take time off, I would go to New York… to film.

One place that brought me real enjoyment over the last five years was the Hockley Social Club. I was a regular DJ there and it became an outlet where I could share the music I truly love. Not just music I played as a DJ, but the records I genuinely enjoy digging for. It allowed me to develop my technical skills and meet a lot of new people.

That chapter ended on New Year’s Eve 2025 when the venue closed. In a short space of time, several places and people that were a big part of my life disappeared.

Now I often find myself sitting in my studio — a space I built a couple of years ago with my classmate Brett Knight. Around me are things my father gave me over the years. Photos of him. Equipment. Records I’ve collected since I was a child.

For years I used to say that I took my work seriously because of friends who once supported me but are no longer here. In some ways I felt like I was living out their dream by continuing the journey. But when my dad passed, I stopped thinking like that for a while.

Eventually I looked around and came to a simple conclusion.

I need to keep going.

But this time, I need to work smarter, not just harder. I have had to accept im not a young person anymore. I lived a life truly working 24-7 on the move and extremely dedicated. That took effort and a toll on me.

I want to finish the things I set out to do, and honour my father who supported me for so many years. At the same time I now have responsibilities — a wife and a mother who will need more support moving forward.

Back in mid-2025 I started a GoFundMe to help purchase some much-needed equipment. I didn’t quite reach the target, but I invested a third of the amount myself to make it happen. That allowed me to buy a high-spec machine capable of handling the huge volume of footage I’ve collected over the years.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported that.

I haven’t yet raised the money needed to cover the AI subscription I was planning to use, but honestly I’m not worried. AI technology is evolving so quickly that by the time I’m ready to use it properly, it will likely be capable of producing far better vintage scene reconstructions than what exists right now.

We’re already seeing people create entire films using these tools.

Which brings me to the next step.

I have a film to finish.

Thanks to my current day role working in education, I now have something I didn’t have before — time during half terms to focus and be productive. The role pays less than my previous work, which means I need to be careful with spending. But it also forces me to invest my time and energy wisely to create something meaningful.

The goal is simple: to build something sustainable and produce work with integrity — projects that genuinely represent the culture and the truth.

On the music side, over the years myself and 4Orce have built a strong relationship with a pressing plant. They now allow us to pay half upfront and the rest on delivery, which wasn’t always the case.

Looking ahead at the label, I think a realistic goal would be to aim for three releases a year.

If we could find around 300 dedicated supporters who buy and back each release, that income could go directly into funding new equipment and covering the production costs of the films.

Since Setting Standards 1 by 4Orce, we’ve made a conscious effort to make every release feel like a complete package. We want people to feel they are getting real value for their money — especially knowing that buying records isn’t everyone’s priority right now during difficult times.

My feeling is that we’re not always reaching the right audience.

There are a lot of people who claim they want to support artists but are really just looking for free records. In the long run that hurts artists far more than it helps them. So moving forward, we have to be more careful about who we work with and how those collaborations actually benefit the project.

We need to focus on finding and reaching our audience.

Over the last few months both myself and 4Orce have been working on improving our websites. He’s building a new one, while I’ve been fixing bugs and dealing with hacking issues I experienced last year.

And I want to say thanks to Igi for being someone I could talk through those issues with when things got frustrating.

Over the last few days I’ve taken some time to sit down and really think. Pen to paper. Setting out some goals, some targets — things that are realistic and achievable.

But there’s also a question I want to put out to the people who’ve been following our journey:

Are we wasting our time… or do we have something substantial here that’s worth building?

Everything we do comes from a genuine love for the culture. That’s the foundation. Documenting it, preserving it, and creating new pieces of our own within it.

As many of you know, manufacturing vinyl isn’t cheap. Hip Hop culture has shifted over the years. Vinyl sales were once heavily supported by a strong DJ culture — DJs needed the records, they played them, they broke them. Collectors existed, of course, but today the majority of buyers seem to be collectors rather than DJs actively using the music.

At the same time, there are far fewer magazines, journalists, and platforms actively pushing and supporting the scene. Artists now have to make their own noise. I thought we were doing a decent job of that, but clearly there’s more we need to rethink. We need to find better ways to reach people and communicate what we’re doing.

One project that really disappointed me in terms of response was the Shaw Theatre Project. Here was a record with real cultural significance — carefully packaged with a book, poster, and original artwork from the Artful Dodger. A product with real integrity and historical value. Yet the sales didn’t reflect what I genuinely believe is an important document in UK Hip Hop history.

So with all that in mind, I’ve mapped out a rough plan and vision moving forward. One thing is clear: we need to improve our communication and marketing. We need to engage more, connect more, and build stronger relationships with the community.

Here’s where my head is at:

1. Absolute Hip Hop at BBE
4orce has started the Absolute Hip Hop night at BBE — a prestigious spot in London. The aim is to build a community space where people can not only support what we do but also share their own creations and their love for the culture. We’ve already seen some great artists and DJs come through just to hang out and enjoy the vibe. That’s a good sign. The question now is: can we grow this further? And maybe even find a home for it in Birmingham?

2. Three releases per year on the label
This is the biggest financial commitment. Ideally, we need to build a dedicated audience of around 300 people who consistently support the releases. Could that look like some form of subscription? In the past I chose to handle distribution ourselves and keep things direct. Now I’m considering working with distributors to improve placement and reach. Manufacturing is something we’ve got locked down — but pricing is another conversation. I’ve always tried to keep prices fair while competing with labels that have much larger buying power. I’d genuinely like to hear people’s thoughts on that.

3. Events and collaborations
I’d like to be in a position where we can present releases properly and tie them into small events — especially if artists featured on the records happen to be touring the UK. I mentioned previously about putting on an event, and that idea partly came from last year’s B.Sides Festival. One long-term goal would also be to sit down and have a meeting with Mass Appeal.

4. Completing the photography book
In 2025 Brim offered me the opportunity to publish a photography-led book. I started it and was really active with it, but everything stopped when my father became sick and sadly passed away. I need to get back to it. It’s important to me that it gets finished.

• 

• 

5. Growing the Diggers Clothing brand
The custom pieces we were doing became very time consuming, so I want to streamline things and focus on what the brand actually represents. No matter the genre, the Diggers symbol stands for those who have a passion for searching, discovering, and preserving music.

6. Using photography and film to support the projects
If I can monetise some of my photography and film work by helping others with their projects, it could generate funds that can be reinvested back into everything we’re building.

At the end of the day, I truly believe in what we’re doing. We’re far from culture vultures. Everyone involved in this journey has deep roots in this culture — decades of experience and a lifetime of love for it.

I want this to grow into something meaningful. Not just a platform for ourselves, but a platform and community that supports others too — whether they’re artists, DJs, or simply people who share the same passion for the culture.

I can only wish that those close to me understand that to be successful and achieve these goals  requires hardwork a lot of effort and dedication.  I fully understand that I need to manage my time and also give time to my wife and family.  Years before I met Crisitna I started the studio build to build that space to have some separation in my home.  I only hope and wish that my wife as supportive as she has been can maintain support when the work really needs to start. 

I do hope to leave somewhat of a legacy and have for the last 30 years been working diligently towards that.

For me to succeed and truly achieve the goals I’ve set, it takes more than just ambition. It requires hard work, persistence, and an immense amount of dedication. I can only hope that those closest to me understand the depth of that commitment.

• 

• 

At the same time, I’m fully aware of the importance of balance. My time and energy cannot belong solely to my work—I must also give meaningful time to my wife and my family. Long before I met Cristina, I began building the studio as a way to create some separation within my home, a space where I could focus while still keeping that balance.

My hope is that the support my wife has always shown continues, especially as the real work begins and the demands grow greater. Her belief in me has meant a great deal, and I know how important that support will be moving forward.

For more than thirty years, I’ve been working diligently toward something meaningful. In the end, I hope that effor