Genki Cupboard
Editor, December 2013- Present
Journalism, Podcasts
After moving on from Northumbria University, I was still very much interested in providing a service for fans of Japanese culture, particularly for those in the North East of England. To that end I established Genki Cupboard, a website that provides reviews of anime and Japanese video games, and features on Japanese music and other aspects of Japanese popular culture.
Along with the website, I maintain the former Genki Up North radio show as a monthly podcast, broadcasting Japanese music and my opinions on Japanese culture to the world.
The site has been going since December 2013 and can be viewed here: http://genkicupboard.co.uk
Genki Up North
Presenter, October 2012 – February 2013
Radio Presenting, DJ, Audio Editing, Podcasts
Thanks to my interest in Japanese music and the partnership between Northumbria Student’s Union and Newcastle Student Radio, I hosted this Japanese music radio show between October 2012 and February 2013. Many hours of work went into planning the content and track list for each show, and I used my contacts within the UK Japanese culture fandom to help advertise it.
It was a success in bringing in a different range of Japanese music from what was offered on radio at the time, and attracted a small, dedicated listener base. I also developed good connections with Peter Shillito, who presents Neko Desu; and Peff Soulsby, who presented We Must Warn Tokyo, both well-respected Japanese music radio shows within the UK.
Along with the radio show, I expanded into hosting a cosplay clubnight, where Japanese culture fans could attend dressed as their favourite characters and experience a great social atmosphere with some great Japanese music. The event was part of Northumbria Students’ Union’s Japanese culture, Animation and Comics Society’s activities, having been a major society event since 2010.
Archived shows can be found through the links on Genki Cupboard.
Northumbria Students’ Union’s Japanese culture, Animation and Comics Society
Member, September 2010 – Present
President, 1st June 2012 – 31st May 2013
Graduate Adviser to the Committee, June 2013 – June 2015
Leadership, Community, Volunteering, Video Editing, Advertising
I began to assist with the running of Northumbria Students’ Union’s Japanese culture, Animation and Comics Society in January 2012, when the pressures of the final year were proving too much for the set to graduate committee. After helping run the meetings, I was elected president in May 2012, stepping into office on the 1st June.
From there it was full steam ahead in preparing for the beginning of the next academic year and the upcoming society fair held in fresher’s week, creating a brand new website and forum as well as setting up promotional material such as videos, leaflets and banners.
Despite a bad position at the fair, we managed to bring in around 20 new members which saw us getting around 12 – 15 regulars over the year. As a small, niche society this was right on the expectations.
Particular highlights of the year include setting up the radio show (see above), the Christmas meal and karaoke night, the cosplay clubnight, anime from our screening nights, such as MM! and Puella Magi Madoka Magica, as well as other events and presentations.
So that’s what we put on but there’s a lot of stuff that went on behind the scenes from planning meetings, managing communication with members, meetings with our assigned member of the societies leadership committee, managing finances and applying for grants for the big events and buying resources for the society.
It was hard work and good fun, and I got to use my head and muscles in leadership, management, teamwork, decision making, event planning and staging, and public speaking and kept developing in areas like finance and managing the online community.
While there were no awards for the society during my time on the committee, I believe that success isn’t measured in the physical but in member satisfaction, and our members were more than happy with what we put on during the year. I myself have a volunteering award that was presented for volunteering for over 30 hours with the Students’ Union and submitting a report on how I’d fulfilled certain criteria. The award is credited as an additional achievement on my Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR).
I additionally acted as an adviser for around two years after graduating, offering help and advice on running meetings and events where necessary.
I do still attend meetings but I do not take an active role in running the society.
Northumbria Students’ Union’s Computer and Video Games Society
Treasurer, 1st June 2011 – 31st May 2012
Finance, Community, Volunteering, Video Editing, YouTube, Forum Moderation, Tournament Organisation, Live Commentary
Northumbria Students’ Union’s Computer and Video Games Society, or CVGS, was the first society I joined and after gaming it out casually and competitively I was elected onto the 2011/2012 committee as treasurer. My official role was to look after the society’s accounts, draw up budgets and get the society the money it needed from the Students’ Union grant system. While the treasurer is often the role looked upon as the underling to the president and secretary, I made the position my own and went far above what was expected.
For the society fair at the beginning of the year I made a promotional game footage compilation (available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq-wkDwsO6E), a promotional video for our website and forum (available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NY0k3YYdzs) as well as designing the banner that would hang above the table at the fair.
I also aided with the running of meetings, offering support to the Tournaments and Events Organiser and providing game commentary for tournaments. Tournament videos were subsequently uploaded to the society’s YouTube channel, which I managed with the Tournaments and Events Organiser.
I developed massively in confidence over the course of the year and my hard work and development was rewarded with the award of Best Treasurer at the 2011/2012 Northumbria Students’ Union’s Society and Activities Awards.
Official Nintendo Magazine Forum Community Radio
Presenter, 2010, 2011
Radio Presenting, Shoutcast
I am a long-time member of the Official Nintendo Magazine forum, joining about a month after the forum began, and I have been involved in a variety of community projects over the years, from the annual Christmas song lip-sync, to things like Pokémon tournaments, but one of my greatest contributions that would go on to influence me is the occasional shows I did for the forum community radio station. I done this in both of the station’s two guises, ONM:FM and ONM:Live, and presented mainly Japanese music. I got quite a few listeners and began to learn how to handle things like requests and listener communication, which would be invaluable for my later work at Newcastle Student Radio. The station was operated by forum member The Captain and used Shoutcast via the WinAmp plugin.