The African Alchemist (Blog)
Welcome to an African story that follows the journey of an individual from Zimbabwe who has been on a lifelong quest that forced him to go his own way, in order to discover and live out his own personal legend. If you are looking for a true underdog story about going against the odds whilst breaking through barriers and cultural clichés, then you are in the right place.
Ryan Koriya has been, what he calls ‘building a house with no land’ for over two decades. From any early age, he grappled with his highly sensitive personality (high empathy), complex racial identity, generational trauma and money trauma.
This far down the road of self development, he says…
“I’ve ended up having to metaphorically build an entire airport, when all I wanted to be was a pilot”...
After finishing high school, it initially took Ryan 4.5 years just to break free from the collapsed nation he was born in, when he finally got a VISA to travel overseas. Ryan has since been taking the necessary steps to create a successful career in the arts, whilst having to navigate through many global shifts and the recent pandemic!
Feeling his way through the untrodden jungle of becoming an international artist and entrepreneur, by living out of a suitcase for most of his adult life, Ryan’s drive has never waned. From learning how to produce his own music, booking his own shows, making his own videos, building his own websites (including this one), designing his own album covers and so much more, he reluctantly became a nomadic one-man corporation, with dreams to one day have a fully functional team of people to really put what he’s built to good use.
Between 2013 and 2018, Ryan was operating out of 12 to 13 countries a year, spanning 4 continents, usually on a budget that was smaller than $5 000 a year in total!
How I Carried My Office/Studio Around WIth Me (2013 - 2018)
This is a video from early on in my global adventures, where I carried around my home and studio like a tortoise and his shell. This time lapse demonstrates how I packed it all.
Fast forward to 2:55 in the video for images of me meeting people in different countries….
Currently based in Ibiza Spain, Ryan founded his own record label in 2018 called Runway Vertical, through which he will be developing and releasing at least four different solo projects and also works as a music industry/marketing/business consultant under the label. As if that wasn’t enough, Ryan also built and founded his own culture fashion brand called ZimXcite, selling not just a range of high quality branded clothing, but also promoting a fun spirit of inclusion and global diversity, baked in an aroma of African optimism.
Through this African Astronauts multimedia project, Ryan is now opening up his process to those who are interested in his story and who wish to collaborate. For those as well, who will find value in the knowledge and experience he has to share.
The African Alchemist is a blog and podcast which will likely develop its way into a book and a film project.
”If you don’t tell your own story, someone else will tell if for you!”
Listen to the intimate and open discussions on the African Alchemist podcast covering topics, such as Self Development, Mental Health Awareness, Racial/Gender Equality, Entrepreneurship, Relationships, Building Resilience and more
Listen to the podcast now on
Subscribe to our African Astronauts website to follow his ongoing journey.
Ryan is open to appearing as a guest in relevant articles, interviews, films and podcasts.
