The Edinburgh founder of a social enterprise that helps some of the most vulnerable in society through music has been named in the Forbes 30 under 30 European list for social impact.
Robbie Tolson, 29, from Gorgie, set up Turn The Tables (TTT) in 2020 with an eye at helping those experiencing homelessness, unemployment, youth crime or mental health issues grow their confidence and express themselves through DJing.
The charity offers sessions for beginners and those who are more advanced so that they can learn skills to produce music or to perform live. Robbie was motivated to set up TTT by the loss of a close friend to suicide.
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He says that DJing offered him an escape and a way to process the loss. He hopes that the organisation can do the same for those that have found themselves down on their luck.
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On how the charity came to be, he said: “I started running workshops as a volunteer at the Social Bite village in 2018 whilst I was working as a full time DJ. From there it grew arms and legs and we were able to launch TTT in 2020.
“TTT has grown from being a volunteer initiative working in the homelessness community to now helping a mixture of people from different socially disadvantaged groups. For instance we help young offenders through action for children.
“These programmes are based around mental health which uses music to give people a creative output. We tend to do beat making at these sessions with a focus on drill music.
“They get to create their own music as an art form that allows them to express themselves. A lot of the young people have had bad life experiences and have not had anyone really listen to and value them.
“We also help patients at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital by having music sessions that are accompanied by occupational therapists who survey the project. Their activity in the programmes allows for them to have a creative outlet whilst the therapists are able to better understand the patients by watching them express themselves.
“But our unique selling point is getting to provide live performance opportunities for those who have experienced homelessness, unemployment or poor mental health. We have DJ mentors who help deliver the sessions alongside myself.
“We find one of the main issues that we see with those using TTT is social isolation. As ultimately if you are homeless you have run out of help and it can be very isolating.
“The main impact that we have is creating a weekly session for people to come to a space where they are treated as equals. With social isolation you can start to become inward looking and lose all of your self confidence.
“So by learning new skills you can rebuild that. At the end of the programme we then try to get those taking part to perform at live gigs or festivals under the TTT label.
“A lot of those who have gone through our courses have gone on to become mentors or volunteers or even onto further education. One guy was able to come off benefits and then worked as a semi-professional DJ earning a living.”
One former participant has spoken of how they benefited from TTT. The 57-year-old student, John Macmillan, was experiencing homelessness and a loss of confidence as well as direction in life.
On how he was helped, he said: “Two years ago my life was lacking direction. I had just gained a permanent tenancy after a period of homelessness and wasn't sure what the next step would be.
“I was always interested in DJing but the opportunity in learning was limited due to limited options in my area and how expensive courses were.
“I got word that Robbie was doing classes and after initially meeting him I decided to sign up for a 12 week course. Since doing this I have progressed into DJing at some prestigious venues, and have even started to get paid for some gigs.
“I performed alongside Robbie at a prominent awards event for a large drinks company in a converted church. Recently I have also become a full time student at the age of 57 (studying audio visual production) and hopefully will progress to a digital journalism course in the next college term.
“I had isolation issues and had periods of depression, so Turn The Tables has helped me with that while also improving my confidence.”
Robbie was recognised for his efforts in providing DJing sessions to a variety of underserved communities by the international Forbes magazine. Being named in the 30 under 30 list for social impact in Europe has meant that TTT are now on the map and should be able to access further funding alongside their already long list of supportive donors.
On being named in the list, he said: “It is pretty surreal and is good to get the recognition as launching a live music initiative during 2020 was not without its complications. It is also hard to run social enterprises - especially with the cost of living crisis.
“This gives us that stamp of approval and helps us get a seat at the table with influential people to secure funding and a higher standing. Forbes is internationally recognised and something we would love to do is send our DJs abroad at the end of their programmes to perform.
“As a youth I was a classically trained violinist but got into electronic music as a teenager. When I got to uni I got into going out and the clubbing scene and got some DJ sets and it just grew from there.
“My degree is in town planning and surveying. I obviously didn’t do that but I became a full time DJ.
“A massive influence for setting up TT was when a friend took his own life. It was a lightbulb moment as DJing helped me to overcome that and deal with the loss and that motivated me to set up TTT so that others could benefit in the same way.”
You can learn more about TTT through their Facebook here.
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