I've changed my name!

Say hello to Caring is Cool everybody!

Sometimes, you can noodle and noodle on something for ages, and never quite come to the solution.

And then when you finally admit defeat, shrug your shoulders and practice nonchalance for the first time in your life — sagely saying “it shall be what it shall be” and “it isssss what it isssss” at whatever life throws at you — that’s often when it solves itself.

I’ve been quietly musing on the new direction of The Enthusiast & Co for a while now — after I closed the shop and prolonged illness last year, I knew something needed to evolve. Part of this natural evolution is more posting on Substack, but the name Pep Talk was holding me back too, somehow. Last night whilst in the shower, I suddenly realised that I could and should rename my Substack Caring is Cool, because that’s what it’s all about, really; caring about things, and knowing that that is not only ‘cool’, but entirely, incredibly courageous and necessary.

(Apparently we have so many brainwaves in the shower because the hot water on our head means our blood vessels dilate, allowing more blood to go to our brain.)

(I’d also just come back from holiday, which is often when good ideas come to you.)

I’m so excited about this name change, because it just feels right. Not only is it the entire mission of The Enthusiast, but it also feels like a representation of the journey so far, paying homage to the Caring Is Cool t-shirt that was by far and away my bestseller during the years that the shop was open.

My favourite thing about Substack is finding new people who care about stuff: like, really care. (It’s no coincidence that both the most popular and my favourite posts on here so far have been my roundups of the publications I subscribe to: you can find them here, here and here. If I could write lists all the time, I would. I LOVE THEM.)

So here we are: Caring Is Cool. A statement, a motto, a declaration, a new era. I’m excited; I hope you are too.