It’s a funny old story really! I’m Nikki mum to The Phenix Family where there is also my hubby Ian, my 11 year old daughter Laanii and our tornado boy Raif who is 5 years old! We have been travelling since Sept 2021 when we left the UK with our caravan Suzy and our van Vinny all around Europe having some amazing adventures and connecting with so many incredible families.
Whilst we have and continue to have the best time travelling as a family, one of our biggest challenges and priorities has always been to ensure that our kids are happy and that they get to regularly connect with other kids for play, and fun and friendship. Sometimes our social life has been jammed packed with play dates and other times it’s been more of a challenge.
One of the reasons we wanted to travel was, like many people that desire for a sense of adventure and freedom and to embrace new experiences and cultures, but also because we wanted our kids to see the world, to embrace meeting new people, learning new languages and having opportunities that were not available to them on the small island we lived on in the UK.
On that small island however, was where Laanii had attend Cub Scouts, having first started as a Beaver and then progressing through the full Cub Scout Program. If we had stayed there she would of been moving up to Scouts. Over the years she attended she LOVED working towards her badges, and completing activities gaining every badge that was available. In doing so she learnt so many new skills and grew as a person both in knowledge and confidence.
She also loved being part of a club, and hanging out with friends who loved the same things as she did! She missed being part of a club.
Once we left the UK she missed it a lot and it made me realise how much I wished there was something similar available online. I also realised that there were many young people who don’t have these kinds of clubs local to them, or like us now fully embracing our world schooling journey, we are often moving around and so utilising the online space is a big part of our connection with the rest of the world.
Then one day in 2022, I was actually feeling a bit ill and decided to step back from my work and just have a bit of a duvet day. It was then, whilst in Fethiye, Turkey whilst feeling meh in my bed that I had my Global Trailblazing epiphany!
I wanted to create something that could give Laanii all the excitement she used to have back at cub scout when she worked towards her badges, all whilst still being able to travel, make new global friends and STAY connected to them!
I wanted her to feel part of a club wherever she was in the world, breaking down any geographical boundaries.
I sat with her that evening and told her about this really cool new online club I had found called Global Trailblazing. I told her all about the quests and the social network and her eyes lit up.
‘Mum this is amazing, I NEED to join this club right now!’
It was then I realised I had to take this idea out of my head and make it a reality. It was also then that I had to break the news to her that the club didn’t actually exist YET, but that thanks to her super positive reaction her mum was going to bring it to life!
Hi I’m Nikki and I am the founder of Global Trailblazing and I am so excited to welcome you to our website and hopefully to welcome your family to our club!
Ever since I was a kid, I have loved to learn, I have been so lucky to be surrounded by great friends and I love to give back. So Global Trailblazing brings together some of the things I love to do the most, plus I get to do it with my family!
I also love to travel and some of my happiest times are when we are in our caravan Suzy somewhere in the world usually with a glass of wine!
When I am not with my family on some kind of adventure, you will likely find me working on my projects in Uganda, supporting women and children living in the slums and this is work that has been part of my soul for over 15 years.
In 2016 I was awarded the UK National Venus Women In Business Award for Influential Woman Of The Year for my work in Uganda, and whilst I do not do any of my work for praise or commendation it was lovely to have my work showcased so that I could impact more people.
My background is corporate finance and health, having been a therapist/chiropractor (both human and veterinary) for over 20 years and a business mentor in the health, wellness and fitness space for the last 5 years, an Amazon best selling author and a top business ranked podcast host.
Hi I’m Ian, Nikki’s husband and the braun that balances the brain of Nikki’s amazing ideas. When she first told me about Global Trailblazing I just knew we had to make this happen and to now see it in action is just amazing!
I’ve done so many things in my life, being born in the UK but raised in South Africa and if I was to pick my 2 main things is that I am really good with wood (before we left the UK, I had my own business making loads of cool stuff with wood!) and I love to run (I am a distance running coach!) that loves ultra running and completing ironman events.
I’m qualified to teach and coach in so many areas that I am excited to bring my skills and experience to Global Trailblazing and to play my part in supporting out Global Trailblazers!
So now as we travel I coach runners all around the world to fulfil their distance running aspirations and particularly love helping people to run their first marathon!
Outside of that I love all things music and I am a die hard Depeche Mode fan!
I’m qualified to teach and coach in so many areas that I am excited to bring my skills and experience to Global Trailblazing and to play my part in supporting out Global Trailblazers!
Hi I’m Laanii (Lah-Nee!)and I’m 11 years old and my hobbies are horse riding and football and I LOVE reading Rick Riordans books, I’m currently on book 16! I love to prance and dance around the house! My goals right now are to one day run a marathon, complete a triathlon and do the splits! People say I am a bit crazy and I love to make my friends laugh! I loved being a cub scout and earnt my Silver Chief Scout Award which is the highest award you can get at cub scouts. Since leaving the UK I have missed it so much so I am so excited that my mum created Global Trailblazing!
Mum asked me what role I wanted to play as a member of the GT Team and I said I wanted to be the Chief Buddy Trailblazer so that means my main role is to support our new members and help them find their way around and make them feel welcome.
Hi I’m Raif, the tornado of the family! I am 6 years old and I keep everyone on their toes! I am a chatterbox with a cheeky smile and I love hugs and climbing and Minecraft! I love working through the badges and learning lots of new things and making friends here too. On our travels I’ve made lots of new friends and I enjoy being on my scooter and I am learning to rollerblade. When I grow up I want to be a world famous architect, have a wife who I will give lots of hugs to and take her on date nights and we will have 100 children.
Hi I’m Abigail and my I am all about support! I am the person you will likely chat to for all things ‘member support’ and I also help Nikki behind the scenes! I When I was a kid, I used to play with sand, (dirty sand!), and small animals such as spiders, turtles, and fish, climb trees, and even take home a stray dog! I love the outdoors when I was a young kid! But now I am a mom of 2 wonderful kids, and I would love my children to explore and do adventure as well. Given a chance, we will too explore and travel together!
I believe I am a true trailblazer, defying the traditional 9-to-5 work model and creating my own schedule that allows me to be there for my kids while still excelling in my remote job. I believe so much in Global Blazing and I am excited for both my own kids and yours as they begin their trailblazing adventure! I look forward to welcoming you1
3 FUN FACTS: 1. I love to cook 2. I love supporting women with business grahics 3. I love all sports especially volley ball!
Kirsty is a home educating mum of 2, wife and hypnotherapist. She is passionate about mental health and wellbeing and teaching how to manage anxiety and to feel more calm and confident.
She loves to cook, and a dance party in the kitchen simply must have glow sticks!
Kirsty take our amazing CHILL ZONE session every Thursday!
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