James McKinven
James McKinven
📓

Hobbies

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Hobbies

I've always fallen into the trap of monetising my hobbies, until recently I realised that if you try and turn everything into money it sometimes takes the fun away from them. So, I made a real effort to separate the things my hobbies from my work - which is still fun.

Tennis

  • I've played tennis since I was 13, but stopped for 5 years when I moved to London. When I moved back to my hometown, Canterbury, I rejoined my local tennis club.
  • Now I get coached twice per week and play another 2 or 3 times with friends. I get completely lost in the moment when I'm playing and it's incredibly good for my health.

Motorcycles

  • Motorbikes were never really my thing, they were my older sister's, but I've always wanted to copy her. It was always on my bucket list to learn, but in 2020 I went hard and did a week long intensive course. Now I'm obsessed.
  • I ride a 2021 Triumph Trident and a 2020 Honda Monkey.
  • Riding is incredible because you go into a complete meditative state. I'm rarely actively thinking about much because you have to focus on not crashing. One mistake and you're gone. It's pretty visceral.

Leatherwork

  • I've never been particularly good at doing anything with my hands. I'm pathetic at DIY. But that's not to say I've not wanted to. So when I wanted to start an ecommerce brand selling leather goods and figured out the cost of manufacturing them in the UK, I decided to make them myself.
  • I am actively monetising this, but it's definitely still very much a hobby. The feeling I get from handcrafting leather wallets is incredible. As most of the rest of my life is in front of a screen, getting away from it is pretty liberating. I like the feeling.
  • It also helps me learn a little bit of ecommerce for my brand, Whitstable Craft Co, and means I can experiment with a bunch of things I couldn't really do for actual work.

Tech

  • Have been addicted to consumer tech ever since my dad introduced me to computers when I was young. This may not be the tech most indie hackers are thinking of, but more laptops, iPads, speakers, TVs, smart home.
  • I spend a lot of my free time watching YouTubers such as Marques Brownlee, Patrick Tomasso, Canoopsy, The Verge - all who give me my tech fix.
  • The wonderful thing about this hobby is that I share it with my dad. We even have a very irregular podcast where we usually talk about everything we've bought since the last episode. I reckon this may even be the first ever podcast I made.

Cameras / Gear

  • Sort of an extension on tech, but I've always loved having the newest video and audio gear. First when I was making YouTube videos, then for client shoots, then for podcasting. I always want better and better quality.
  • So this is related to work but I see it as a genuine hobby. I spend hours researching the best cameras and gear, how best to use them, how to make the most out of budget gear etc.

Others

I'm always finding new hobbies and interests, so here's a few others that I'm not fully into right now but have interested me in the past.

  • Cycling
  • Bodybuilding
  • Cooking
  • Football
  • Drinking 😂
  • Setups