Inspiring journal SoulKind, has broken new ground in creating a publication that is dedicated to sharing tales of human endeavor, exploration, and resilience. SoulKind was co-founded by Creative Director, Jamie Rudd and Photographer, Chris Boulton in 2019 with a clear purpose. To share stories from inspirational individuals and spread positivity.
Upon their meeting a few years ago, Jamie and Chris discovered they were kindred spirits and had a vision to create something outside of the commercial world that sparked real creativity. The idea of their independent magazine arose; however, the goal was finding a niche idea for the market.
Following on from Jamie’s accident, the idea of SoulKind was born, which shines a light on human experiences, providing individuals with a platform to discuss their extraordinary, raw, and inspirational stories. In a world where we often find ourselves in autopilot, SoulKind brings us back to reality. A chance to appreciate and learn from human resilience.
In 2018, Jamie had a life-changing car accident. Amongst a long list of injuries – he spent a lot of time recovering in both intensive care and then a hospital ward. As he began to gain strength back, Jamie’s brain turned to not knowing what his life was going to entail, whether he was going to walk again, or even keep his legs.
All he knew was that to get through it, he needed positivity and a strong support network. The idea of others sharing their stories of handling their traumas showed there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Through Jamie’s own recovery and journey to walking again, with Chris onboard, they began looking deeper into these inspirational stories.
The most interesting contribution to the magazine’s success are the people Jamie and Chris get to meet with a story to tell, providing a deep insight into their life experiences and what drives them forward. They aspire to engage with as many mindsets as they can, to listen and to learn about their stories. Working on a consistent cycle that allows them to share others’ stories; the more people they talk to, the more they get to listen to, and the more they get to learn.
Back from the brink
During Jamie’s recovery in intensive care, he recalls reading the first inspirational story of a New York-based firefighter, Matt Long. Whilst training for a triathlon and cycling to work, Matt was struck and then trapped under a 20-ton bus making an illegal turn. The injuries he sustained pushed him to the brink of death. After enduring the series of physical injuries, Matt also battled the psychological pain affiliated with being told his chances of walking again were slim. Matt was determined to overcome this and learn how to walk again. And so, he did, running in the Boston marathon just three years later. It was this story that gave Jamie hope to overcome his own injuries.
Finally returning home after two months, with a hospital bed placed in his lounge and with support from his wife, Jamie continued his recovery. A friend visited and shared of video of Aaron Baker, who had suffered with spinal cord injuries from a motor accident. Aaron was told he had a one in a million chance of walking or feeding himself again. Aaron took it upon himself to beat these odds, teaching himself how to walk again. Some 16 years later, he was walking across Death Valley, as showcased on an Amazon Prime documentary ‘Coming to my Senses’. This was a story that changed Jamie’s life, inspiring him to walk again. From toe to leg, the senses started returning. This really demonstrated the power of the mind, affirming his healing into a reality.
These powerful stories drove Chris and Jamie to begin reaching out to people to meet and discuss their stories, and to their surprise, people were very keen to get involved and the movement has continued ever since.
A new purpose
Another core story that helped to kickstart their exciting publication, was James Lawrence’s story. After watching The Iron Cowboy, a documentary that followed Lawrence running 50 Ironman races in a row, Jamie reached out. To his surprise, Lawrence had replied within the hour with his interest. By November they had flown out to America to meet both Aaron and James, before he knew it, Jamie was stood in the garage of the man who inspired him to walk again.
The SoulKind founders were absolutely blown away by the positive response they had from people wanting to be involved with their magazine, after gathering stories they stopped at 12 and there it was, the first edition. The more followers they generated, the more approaches they had from people wanting to be involved or coming forth with others’ stories. Finding it now increasingly difficult to include all the stories in each edition, they also created a blog to keep discussing the tales of human exploration and resilience.
SoulKind is the beginning of a movement, offering people a platform for storytelling. In the future, they have ambitions to grow the platform to provide a place for people to share their life stories.
The IPIA team connected with SoulKind through the celebration of Fujifilm’s Jet Press 750S 10-year anniversary. SoulKind has been printed by Emmerson Press on the JetPress 750S and Fujifilm is a key supporter of the journal. Jamie was keen to ensure that the magazine looked and felt beautiful, so choosing print technology and the right paper finish was critical to the overall impact of SoulKind – stimulating not only the readers intellect and emotions, but also their other senses.
Connecting with the print industry has been a key goal of SoulKind, as Chris himself has a strong background in the sector and they believe firmly in the transformative power that print has through making a physical connection with the reader. Jamie and Chris have just celebrated the launch of the journal’s second edition and you can find out more about their transformative story at the link given below and order your copy.
