Jamaican dancer Chad ‘Global Bob’ Torrington is identified for using dancehall moves all over the world, and now he’s using foreigners to experience the island by way of Relieve N Sekkle Yaad, a lodging and excursion support organization.
The brand name, named just after his preferred Simplicity N Sekkle dance, started in 2013 primarily based on his students’ interest in viewing the Mecca of dancehall.
“Every time I go into markets like South The united states, Europe and Asia, dancers would usually vacation back again to Jamaica and come straight to my home. So even when I was recommending hotels and other spots, they really don’t want to go to the inns, they want to just appear instantly to me,” he explained to The Gleaner. “This commenced when I was driving a Honda Suit, which you know is little, and then mi begin have 6 persons within of the In shape, which couldn’t perform, so mi get a Stream (seven-seater). That is when mi attach the ‘Yaad’ to the Simplicity N Sekkle branding, and seh mi a go do this officially.”
He in the end expanded a segment of his non-public Kingston-based residence to develop a studio that accommodates a greatest of 5 folks. Many thanks to his wife and co-operator Amanda, information like the Jamaican flag and reggae colors were added to improve the appeal of the space.
“We began out with dancers, but myself and my wife ventured out to tourists and cultural fans,” he explained.
With a promoting degree from the University of Technological innovation, he differentiates his organization from many others by deviating from the normal industrial tourist points of interest to supply what he describes as a community practical experience.
‘LIVE LIKE WE WOULD’
“They (tourists) want to stay like how we would reside,” he stated. “The excursions don’t imply the professional spots dem waan go in a some bush. Mi have dem in a some rivers weh not even have name, someplace up in a the hills, go up in a the Blue Mountain dem appear with me in the streets like all downtown, Half-Way Tree … . Most of the moments, even white people today who not even linked with me, people today immediately think they are my company and they get that sort of security, and that is the form of respect that comes right after many a long time of executing it. Because of that respect, mi equipped fi have dem go Trench Town and stroll via every single avenue … . Also, in my group, there is ‘Chinna’ Smith, who is Bob Marley’s guitarist, so mi have them around there every time, and these forms of activities are a must have.”
Company arrive generally from Europe, and the couple splits their time between their Swiss home and Jamaica to retain the small business working.
“It has been a humbling knowledge,” claimed Torrington. “With every organization, there’s superior year and reduced time, there is ups and downs, but in every little thing there’s constantly a lesson staying learnt, and I’m often bettering. It’s about teamwork, since occasionally mi just waan journey and tour out the 12 months, which impacts the enterprise, but thank God, mi have mi wife who balances issues fi me and seh, ‘Come, we a go back to Jamaica now for these months.’”
His vision is to expand the brand name devoid of compromising the top quality of his choices, when changing detrimental stereotypes some foreigners have about Jamaica.
“I just want to keep escalating and keep producing Brand Jamaica go on that optimistic frame, since most of the people, when they access, they’re like, ‘Whoa, my family members was contemplating I’m gonna die as I exit the airport,’ and I’m like, ‘No, Jamaica is not that kind of place.’ So my eyesight is to transform that perception that the media provides of Jamaica, and also to permit individuals understand the authenticity of not only dancehall, but the tradition.”