Tom Hayton

25/08/2022

“Yoga is a martial art you do against yourself”.

This pose is “flawed”. I’m not a yoga expert but I can see all kinds of things that I want to improve. I’m a competitive type, so I can’t help it.

But it doesn’t matter. Yoga isn’t competitive. What matters is self improvement. What matters is that 18 months or so ago when I first started practising yoga, what you see here would have been impossible.

My body had handed me notice that I better start taking better care of it. I’d been beating myself up with judo, running and jiu-jitsu for years, and paying little or no attention to flexibility or general maintenance.

Plus, my workouts were all HARD, as I was operating under the mistaken belief that that’s what I needed to do to make progress. I’d tried yoga so many times before but I found it unbelievably painful and excruciatingly boring.

An Achilles injury during lockdown had me out of action.

A doctor told me the injury was chronic. I decided to take that with a pinch of salt, so in addition to my physio, I decided to try yoga again, and stick to it this time.

It was awful. I hated every second of it. I could only do a few minutes. But I decided that was enough. A few minutes each day.

Slowly, it got less awful. My body and mind started to open, like a rusty old treasure chest. I found things in there I had no idea existed.

Yoga strengthens my body and my mind. It calms me down. It gives me a practice I can do anywhere. And it’s opened up possibilities in my jiu-jitsu practice through the extra body awareness, presence of mind, and calmness under pressure. The added flexibility means I get injured less, and it’s improved my “guard game” (defensive offence) no end.

And that “chronic” Achilles problem? Gone.

I dedicate this post to my wonderful teachers at . Thank you 🙏

📸

26/09/2021

It’s Election Day in Germany 🇩🇪 and politicians are hungry for influence and votes 🗳

How do they get them?

One route to power is through advertising…

So I took a walk around the Kreuzberg district of Berlin to analyse and critique some campaign posters.

How are they designed?

How do they use and manipulate language?

How do they use colours, visual styles and cultural references to influence voters?

Check out the video and let me know what you think!

26/09/2021

It’s Election Day in Germany 🇩🇪 and politicians are hungry for influence and votes 🗳

How do they get them? One route to power is through …

…So I took a walk through the Kreuzberg district of Berlin to analyse and critique some campaign posters.

How are they designed?

How do they use and manipulate language?

How do they use colours, visual styles and cultural references to influence voters?

Check out the video and let me know what you think!

26/09/2021

It’s Election Day in Germany 🇩🇪 and politicians are hungry for influence and votes 🗳 How do they get them? One route to power is through advertising…

So I took a walk around the Kreuzberg district of Berlin to analyse and critique some campaign posters.

How are they designed?

How do they use and manipulate language?

How do they use colours, visual styles and cultural references to influence voters?

Check out the video and let me know what you think!

26/09/2021

How do political ad campaigns influence people?

It’s Election Day here in Germany and there are campaign posters everywhere. I took a walk around the Kreuzberg district to critique some of the campaigns from a creative director’s perspective.

02/09/2021

I made this short guide to making WAY more effective presentations! Your audiences will love you 😍

Questions? Comments? Hit me up below ⬇️

01/09/2021

I made this short guide to making WAY more effective presentations! Your audiences will love you 😍

Questions? Comments? Hit me up below ⬇️

20/03/2021

Goggins 4x4x48 Challenge 2021: Why I Did It, What It Was Like, and 14 Tips to Succeed

On the weekend of the 4th/5th/6th March, I completed the David Goggins 4x4x48 Challenge. Starting at 8pm Pacific Standard Time, I ran 4 miles, every 4 hours, for 48 hours. That means a total of 48 miles and 12 runs.

This video is aimed at intermediate to experienced runners, so I have tried to focus on aspects of the 4x4x48 which I confronted as an experienced runner. Beginners might also find some useful nuggets in here, or get inspired!

I'd like to thank everyone who sponsored me on this challenge to raise money for Mind, the mental health charity.

A bit about my running background: I've been running for 30 years. I competed in middle distance cross country and trail races in high school and university before switching my focus to judo, in which I've competed at a national and international level. Over the last year I've got back into running much more seriously and I'm currently training for my first ultramarathon.

This is a deep dive into why I did the challenge, my experience, and my tips for anyone who wants to do anything similar.

Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cant-Hurt-Me-Master-Your/dp/1544512279

CONTENT:

00:00​ Intro: What is the 4x4x48 and why did I do it?
05:41​ What was it like?
09:27​ Tips
22:00​ Bloopers!

14/02/2020

My latest article, on How to Do a TEDx talk, published on Better Humans:

A practical guide on getting accepted, preparing, and delivering your talk

13/11/2018

A few weeks ago we shot an interview with MEP Kay Swinburne for Derivsource. It's a bit technical in places, but covers topics such as Brexit's impact on financial markets, blockchain/ decentralisation, and more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5Tee-YRd0s

It's been 10 years since the financial crisis, and since then the industry has undergone radical change with the introduction of new financial regulation imp...

26/10/2018

Great catchup over pain au chocolat with the brilliant .brllnt Ben is a film maker, photographer, triathlete, runner, skater, dj, father and general badass. We had a very interesting chat about health and fitness, diet and nutrition, competition and maintaining/optimising your health when you lead a busy life. Ben is a very inspirational guy. A la prochaine! 😊 ☕ 🥐 (and yes, you can eat pain au chocolat when you're an athlete 😉)

19/10/2018

Some thoughts on conferences, logistics and Blockchain.

31/12/2017

Bladerunner selfie

01/09/2017

PROUD MOMENT: I recently went to Georgia on a dream project: to film the national judo team preparing for the World Championships for Adidas. It was an incredible and inspiring experience. Here's the first video. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilIWDvMNKKA 😁🥋💯✌️

The Georgian Team is ready for the combat. Looking for a distributor in your country? Click here ► https://www.combat-sports.net/en/locator/ ...

03/07/2017

Some of my thoughts on the future of professional photography appear in this New Straits Times article today by Oon Yeoh. Spoiler alert: if you're just shooting stills your days could be numbered! https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/sunday-vibes/2017/07/253865/video-future-photographers

LAST week, I wrote about professions that will become obsolete in the near future. Some professions may not become obsolete but will instead evolve to include a wider spectrum of skills.

31/01/2017

Latest blog post: how to shoot protests and protestors! http://blog.tomhayton.com/2017/01/downing-street-protest/

WHY I LIKE SHOOTING PROTESTORS (!) Shooting protests is a great way to practise taking pictures under pressure. You have: -Large crowds to deal with -Constantly changing conditions (light, movement, amount of space available, atmosphere) -The challenge of picking out interesting details from a very…