Step into a story where purpose meets permanence: a journey shaped by artistic instinct, discipline, and the quiet alchemy of becoming.

In this episode, hosts Bobby Forssman and Rehema Isa sit with Gareth Miller, founder of Circle of Ikigai Tattoo Studio, to explore how tattooing became more than a craft, it became a philosophy of life. With no formal training and limited resources, Gareth taught himself through curiosity, repetition, and embodied learning, using his own body as a canvas and commitment to mastery as his guide.

Together, they explore:
• Losing direction and rediscovering purpose
• Ikigai as a lived philosophy, not a concept
• Tattooing as permanent storytelling and responsibility
• Learning through embodiment, discipline, and trial
• Cultural stigma, ancestral roots, and reclamation
• Choosing purpose without permission

Through honesty, humour, reflection, and lived wisdom, this conversation reveals what it truly means to align what you love, what you do, and who you are, and to allow purpose to leave a permanent mark.

The Spirit of Alchemy

A space of transformation and truth-telling, The Spirit of Alchemy invites you into the stories behind the makers — where wisdom, courage, and creativity come together to form something new, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Hosted by Bobby Forssman and Rehema Isa.

Stay Connected to the Journey✨

The Spirit of Alchemy

Instagram: @thespiritofalchemy_
TikTok: @thespiritofalchemy
YouTube: The Spirit of Alchemy Podcast
Website: www.thespiritofalchemy.com

Bobby Forssman

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyforssman/

Rehema Isa

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/rehema-isa-6372681

TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@rehema.world

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/rehema.isa

X : https://x.com/RehemaIsa

For all enquiries:
tanna@thespiritofalchemy.co.za

Remember: you don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review — it really helps us grow our community.

Step into a story where ancestral wisdom meets modern innovation: a journey shaped in the soil of Thembisa and refined through the quiet alchemy of becoming.

In this episode, hosts Bobby and Rehema sit with Zama Shabalala, biotechnologist, entrepreneur, founder of Earthling Emily, and a son of herbalists who transformed lineage into legacy. Together, they explore:

• The influence of growing up with traditional herbal medicine and herbal healing
• How biotechnology opened the doorway to plant medicine and cannabis research
• The courage to challenge norms, including stopping a national brewery beer line
• Building Earthling Emily and pioneering accessible cannabis wellness
• The deeper mission: community upliftment, spiritual wellness, and surrendering to purpose

Through raw honesty, laughter, reflection, and the wisdom of lived experience, this conversation reveals what it truly means to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, and why surrendering to the unfolding often leads us exactly where we’re meant to be.

Connect with Zama:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zama_shabbaranks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zama.shabalala.5/

Earthling Emily:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthling_emily_/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earthling_emily

Website: https://earthlingemily.com/

The Spirit of Alchemy

A space of transformation and truth-telling, The Spirit of Alchemy invites you into the stories behind the makers — where wisdom, courage, and creativity come together to form something new, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Hosted by Bobby Forssman and Rehema Isa.

Stay Connected to the Journey✨

The Spirit of Alchemy

Instagram: @thespiritofalchemy_
TikTok: @thespiritofalchemy
YouTube: The Spirit of Alchemy Podcast
Website: www.thespiritofalchemy.com

Bobby Forssman

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyforssman/

Rehema Isa

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/rehema-isa-6372681

TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@rehema.world

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/rehema.isa

X : https://x.com/RehemaIsa

For all enquiries:
tanna@thespiritofalchemy.co.za

Remember: you don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review — it really helps us grow our community.

Step into the fragrant world of Conza’s Biscuits, a story rooted in Soweto kitchens long before sunrise, where a mother’s love, a timeless recipe, and the unbreakable bond of sisterhood shaped a legacy that continues to rise.

In this inaugural episode of The Spirit of Alchemy, hosts Bobby and Rehema sit with sisters Rhulani and Randzu, whose journey uncovers the poetic truth of entrepreneurship: that the most powerful stories begin in ordinary moments, carried forward by extraordinary women.

Together, they explore:

• The matriarchal foundation that gave life to Conza’s Biscuits
• Growing up in the rhythm of early-morning baking and informal trade
• How sisterhood became their greatest business strength
• Fires that forged resilience: financial loss, displacement, sabotage, and rebuilding
• The creation of a reseller network empowering more than 50 families
• Their mother’s enduring influence and the legacy she passed on
• Dreams of taking Soweto’s vanilla biscuit to the world

Through laughter, truth, and deeply personal reflection, the sisters share how a single product can hold memory, meaning, and possibility. Their story is a testament to turning adversity into abundance, and transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Connect with Conza’s Biscuits:
Website: https://conzasbiscuits.co.za/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biscuits_insoweto
TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@conzas_in
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1863746717218744

The Spirit of Alchemy

A space of transformation and truth-telling, The Spirit of Alchemy invites you into the stories behind the makers — where wisdom, courage, and creativity come together to form something new, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Hosted by Bobby Forssman and Rehema Isa.

Stay Connected to the Journey✨

The Spirit of Alchemy

Instagram: @thespiritofalchemy_
TikTok: @thespiritofalchemy
YouTube: The Spirit of Alchemy Podcast
Website: www.thespiritofalchemy.com

Bobby Forssman

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyforssman/

Rehema Isa

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/rehema-isa-6372681

TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@rehema.world

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/rehema.isa

X : https://x.com/RehemaIsa

For all enquiries:
tanna@thespiritofalchemy.co.za

Remember: you don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review — it really helps us grow our community.