At Ground Level – what it actually means.

There’s a phrase I keep coming back to with Each One Wild…At ground level.

It ended up on the hoodies, the t-shirts, the designs

but for me, it actually means a few different things. All connected, and also not, at the same time.

When I think about it, it takes me straight back to Bali.

A lot of people go to Bali with money. They stay in beautiful villas, go to beach clubs, spend their days in what I call the “fancy places.” And don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that… but that just wasn’t my life there.

By the time I moved from Lombok to Bali, money was tight. Really tight. Every penny mattered.

So instead of choosing where I wanted to live, I had to figure out where I could live. I used local connections to find somewhere affordable for me and Emily… definitely not a villa by the way 😅

I actually ended up in Tampaksiring because that’s where Bali Monkey Rescue is based. It wasn’t some big planned decision… more just how things fell into place at the time.

But it worked out.

It’s quiet, non-touristy, still very natural and very Balinese. Not polished or built for Instagram but beautiful and natural in it's own lovely way. I will forever hold this place close to my heart. And at that time, being on a budget, it ended up being exactly what I needed.

Through Bali Monkey Rescue, I met local people, built friendships, and was even invited to ceremonies at Hindu temples. I wouldn’t say I fully “lived like a local” (I'll never be great at eating local food lol) … but I definitely had one foot in that world.

And that’s what “at ground level” started to mean for me.

Not just seeing a place… but actually being in it. Not just the highlights, but the everyday. It was living the day-to-day boring elements of life, in a world that was so different to my life in the UK.

But then it started to mean something else as well.

And this is where it gets a bit deeper.

“At ground level” also became about stripping everything back… not just in where I was, but in who I was.

Because the truth is, not many people supported what I did.

Leaving my career as a social worker… moving to Bali with my then six-year-old daughter… going to work with rescue monkeys… it didn’t exactly tick the “sensible life choices” box.

And I get it. From the outside, it probably looked chaotic at best.

But I had this feeling. A quiet one, but constant.

That little voice that just kept saying… this is the right thing to do.

And at some point, I realised I had to listen to that instead of everything else.

The expectations. The opinions. The “shoulds.”

All of it.

So in a way, “at ground level” became something internal as well.

It was like coming back to myself. Stripping everything back to what actually felt true. Getting quiet enough to hear my own direction again.

And that’s where the strength came from. Not from having everything figured out (because I definitely didn’t), but from being grounded enough in myself to trust it anyway. Even when it didn’t make sense to anyone else. That’s what sits behind this brand.

Not just Bali. Not just nature. Not just the lifestyle.

But that feeling of being connected to something real… externally and internally.

Because “at ground level” isn’t just a place or a cheesy catchphrase.

It’s a way of being, and can be something deeply personal.

If you’ve ever had that moment where something just felt right, even if it didn’t make sense on paper… then you probably already understand it.