Sesame Summit 2026 – application open

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Renske van Kollenburg

I had the absolute honor and privilege to sit down with an international DJ, music journalist, radio host, event host, mentor, moderator, film producer, and keynote speaker Renske van Kollenburg.

This week we’ve seen quite a lot happen. From global lockdowns coming into force again to the U.S. Presidential Election, to a possible light at the end of the tunnel via Pfizer’s promissing results for a vaccine to end the pandemic.

That’s a lot for us all to process, not to even mention everything that we’ve all been experiencing on a personal and mental level.

I wanted to address this, and as luck(?) would have it, the timing couldn’t have been better(?) to sit down with Renske, as she’s been leading her own personal crusade to make sure that we’re all doing our best and taking our own mental temperature from time to time.

Selected – The Sesamers Podcast – Episode 002 Show Notes

1:48 – Renske joins the conversation

1:59 – “Not nailing it and trying is good enough”. Just listen, you’ll understand. Dan and Renske discuss what’s up, what’s happening, where they are, and Renske’s two day trip to Greece to get as much of a suntan as possible.

4:33 – “The other”. A running feature on Selected, we find out about Renske’s other, and how she found her purpose.

6:00 – Setting the stage. Quite literally. Renske has presented to audiences of up to 35,000 people at one time. Going from center stage to no stage, Dan digs into how presenters and creatives, people who normally draw energy from a live audience are faring now with an audience, but far removed.

9:40 – Renske outlines how her burnout as well as the death of colleague Tim Bergling (Avicci) led her to her mentorship role, and how these skills prepared her for the outreach, education, and support that she’s doing today.

12:30 – Break. … with another amazing voiceover.

14:00 – Dan and Renske discuss what and how the pandemic has effected artists and creatives, as well as themselves personally.

18:30 – Are we headed towards a skill loss? Gain? Somewhere in between? How do influences other than our main creative effect us?

21:30 – Shoutout to Paul Papadimitriou. Again.

THIS IS THE SECTION YOU DO NOT WANT TO GLOSS OVER.

21:53 – Warnings/Indications that your mental health is suffering.

24:57 – How Renske is helping and her advice on what steps to take if you’re noticing some signs that she discussed in the prior section.

37:14 – Keep an eye on your social media usage. Dan recommends uninstalling some apps, AND turning your devices off, not do no disturb, but OFF at bedtime.

38:47 – The professional journalist turns the tables on your host and asks what is one good habit that he does on a daily basis.

40:23 – And volley’d back – Renske’s one good habit.

42:00 – Renske takes us out with where to find her on the web.

Find Renske at:

Renske van Kollenburg
Dance music journalist, (radio)host, DJ, and public speaker Renske van Kollenburg.
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instagram.com/sairenmusic/

facebook.com/renskevankollenburg

Find Dan at:

Dan Taylor
Dan Taylor is a professional event, portrait, and live music photographer based in London, UK.

instagram.com/dantaylorphotography/

twitter.com/sensorpunk

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