A Kenyan's Experience – Détails, épisodes et analyse

From aspiring Olympic athlete to life coach and sports psychologist, Vanessa Akiwumi joins the podcast for an episode that’s all about purpose, well-being, and redefining success. 🧠🏃🏽‍♀️

In this powerful conversation, we explore:

🌿 Mental health in Kenya—navigating stigma and starting important conversations

🏃🏽‍♀️ Sports psychology meets life coaching—supporting athletes beyond the field

💬 Balancing ambition with social and emotional health

📈 Building a coaching business from scratch—and serving a diverse clientele

🌟 Advice for aspiring coaches—why personal growth never stops

Vanessa’s journey is a reminder that intentional living, mentorship, and self-awareness are key to thriving—on and off the track.

🎧 Now streaming on all platforms! Catch the full episode now!!

💬 What does intentional living mean to you? Let’s talk in the comments!

Remember to follow us on IG @akenyansexperience & tag us on your Instagram letting us know where you're listening from. You can also reach out to us on email at: akenyansexperience@gmail.com.

Music credits: Justin Vinylz and The Afrolution

This week, we’re joined by an absolute powerhouse—Vanessa Akiwumi, a life coach, sports psychologist, and mental health advocate who went from chasing Olympic dreams to coaching others toward intentional living.

In this episode, Denis, Eric and Gathoni chat with Vanessa about:

💬 Balancing athletic life with mental & social well-being

🌍 Mental health in the Kenyan context—and breaking cultural stigmas

🧩 Personalized life coaching—why one size doesn’t fit all

🚀 Starting a coaching business from her bedroom—and building something powerful

🧠 The five pillars of well-being and how they impact us all

Vanessa’s story is real, inspiring, and packed with takeaways for anyone looking to grow, heal, or simply understand themselves better.

🔜 Episode drops soon! Stay tuned for this uplifting and eye-opening conversation.

💬 What’s your definition of well-being? Let’s talk in the comments!

Remember to follow us on IG @akenyansexperience & tag us on your Instagram letting us know where you're listening from. You can also reach out to us on email at: akenyansexperience@gmail.com.

Music credits: Justin Vinylz and The Afrolution

Hey aKEx fam! We’re back after a much-needed break, and it feels so good to be recording again! In this episode, our co-hosts Gathoni and Cynthia share what they've been up to while we were on hiatus.

🌍 Gathoni’s New Chapter: She’s moved to a new city and is diving into new experiences—tune in to hear all about her adventures and the changes she’s embracing!

👩‍⚕️ Cynthia’s Journey Continues: Our resident doc is back at it, continuing her incredible work in the medical field. She talks about the challenges and triumphs of her ongoing journey—don’t miss it!

We took some time off to focus on our personal lives, but we’re back recharged and ready to bring you more inspiring, real, and raw stories from Kenyans making bold moves in their lives and careers.

🎧 Listen to the full episode now and catch up with us!

Remember to follow us on IG @akenyansexperience & tag us on your Instagram letting us know where you're listening from. You can also reach out to us on email at: akenyansexperience@gmail.com.

Music credits: Justin Vinylz and The Afrolution

🚀 We're BACK! After a much-needed hiatus, 'A Kenyan’s Experience' returns with fresh energy and new stories.

In this comeback episode, we catch up with co-hosts Gathoni and Cynthia! 🌍 Gathoni shares about her exciting move to a new location, while Cynthia takes us through her ongoing journey as a doctor.

Whether you're curious about what we've been up to or just need some inspiration, this episode has a little something for everyone.

Tune in, laugh with us, and catch up on all the life updates you missed. Don't forget to catch the full episode dropping out on Wednesday! 🎙️

Remember to follow us on IG @akenyansexperience & tag us on your Instagram letting us know where you're listening from. You can also reach out to us on email at: akenyansexperience@gmail.com.

Music credits: Justin Vinylz and The Afrolution

This week, Denis & Cynthia are joined by Shiro Wachira, an activist at heart, who candidly shares with us how her journey through her graduate program at the University of Stanford led her to unlearning the glorification of burnout.

Through her story, we learn how through mentorship, both giving and receiving, are important in creating sustainable personal wellbeing, and how this has led to Growing Acres, her apprentice-ship based program aimed at helping agricultural workers build profitable and environmentally sustainable businesses.

As always, as your hosts we took a lot from this conversation and we know you will too.

We’re excited to have Shiro back on the podcast in the future to hear more about her journey.

Links:
Shiro Wachira on LinkedIn here

Remember to follow us on IG at @akenyansexperience & tag us on your instagram letting us know where you're listening in from.
You can also reach out to us on email at: akenyansexperience@gmail.com.

Music credits: Justin Vinylz and The Afrolution

Talk about an amazing comeback story!
On this weeks episode, we are joined by business owner, podcaster, father and fitness enthusiast, Shiv Simani. Shiv takes us through many of his origin stories as we discuss the importance of striving to make your dreams come true.
He shares with us the lifestyle challenges faced at an early age and how he navigated towards being one of the biggest fitness influencers in the country. We delve into the importance of setting strong boundaries and how making healthy lifestyle choices make a huge difference for oneself and for the people around us.
This is the first dad we've had on aKEx, so Shiv talks us through fatherhood in the midst of different career paths and choices.
Links:
Listen to Unit, the Podcast here
You can connect with Shiv here
Remember to follow us on IG at @akenyansexperience & tag us on your instagram letting us know where you're listening in from.
You can also reach out to us on email at: akenyansexperience@gmail.com.
Music credits: Justin Vinylz and The Afrolution

This is Part Two of our conversation with Wambui Wambugu and Jean-Marie Kamweru, whom you met on part one a few weeks ago.

In this episode, we dive into their individual journeys from high school into university and now, as working adults in Nairobi, Kenya. They also share with us what impact having older siblings abroad had on the decisions they made and also honestly share if Gathoni & Cynthia met their expectations as older siblings abroad.

We'd love to know what you took away from this episode and also what impact your siblings, younger or older, have had on your journey.

Links: Jean's LinkedIn here and Wambui's LinkedIn here. Remember to follow us on IG at @akenyansexperience & tag us on your instagram letting us know where you're listening in from. You can also reach out to us on email at: akenyansexperience@gmail.com. Music credits: Justin Vinylz and The Afrolution

“So what are your weaknesses?”

Probably the question we all either under or overprepare for as we think about the looming interview.

On this week’s episode, full-stack tech-recruiter and HR practitioner Fiona Maingi, shares with us how her journey from law grad to HR specialist has shaped who she is today. Fiona shares with us how her mindset of reframing failure has been essential in her personal growth. She also shares with us tips on branding yourself as you prepare for your next step in your career whether that be now or in the future.

We’re so excited to finally have Fiona on the podcast and we’re really looking forward to having her back on in the future.

Let us know what you took away from this episode by leaving a voicenote, we’d love to know.

Links:

Fiona's ⁠LinkedIn⁠, Upwork and Andela.

Red Cross runs a toll-free helpline that provides 24 hour free tele-counselling on: 1199
Befrienders in Kenya: +254722178177
Music credits: Justin Vinylz and The Afrolution

In this episode of aKEx, Denis and Gathoni talk to Walter Kuria, a Civil Engineering student and a Motocross racer and trainer. Walter shares stories about his university journey and the things he wished he knew before he started... and trust us, not only are they funny, but also very relateable.
He also talks us through his love and passion for motocross... from when he got into it as a young boy, to now, where he takes what he knows and has learnt over the years to train the future generation of motocross racers.
If you want to know more about Motocross - how to get started, where to watch races, and what the sport involves, you can reach out to Walter in the following ways:
Walter Kuria IG
WIP IG and TikTok.

As always, thank you for listening and remember to share this episode with someone you think would enjoy this.
Follow us on IG & tag us on your instagram letting us know where you're listening in from.
You can also reach out to us on email at: akenyansexperience@gmail.com

Meet Our Siblings, Jean-Marie Kamweru and Wambui Wambui and get to know us better on Part One of Two of this series with funny and quirky QnAs.
This episode leads us into part two where you get to know Jean's and Wambui's individual journeys and how having older siblings abroad impacted their lives, both positive and negative. We learnt a lot about each other and ourselves as individuals and friends who've known each other for over a decade. We hope you enjoy this episode and we'd love to know if you love these types of episodes - it's good to shake it up once in a while.
Links:
Jean's LinkedIn here and Wambui's LinkedIn here.
Remember to follow us on IG at @akenyansexperience & tag us on your instagram letting us know where you're listening in from.
You can also reach out to us on email at: akenyansexperience@gmail.com.
Music credits: Justin Vinylz and The Afrolution