Step into a story where purpose meets permanence: a journey shaped by artistic instinct, discipline, and the quiet alchemy of becoming.

In this episode, hosts Bobby Forssman and Rehema Isa sit with Gareth Miller, founder of Circle of Ikigai Tattoo Studio, to explore how tattooing became more than a craft, it became a philosophy of life. With no formal training and limited resources, Gareth taught himself through curiosity, repetition, and embodied learning, using his own body as a canvas and commitment to mastery as his guide.

Together, they explore:
• Losing direction and rediscovering purpose
• Ikigai as a lived philosophy, not a concept
• Tattooing as permanent storytelling and responsibility
• Learning through embodiment, discipline, and trial
• Cultural stigma, ancestral roots, and reclamation
• Choosing purpose without permission

Through honesty, humour, reflection, and lived wisdom, this conversation reveals what it truly means to align what you love, what you do, and who you are, and to allow purpose to leave a permanent mark.

The Spirit of Alchemy

A space of transformation and truth-telling, The Spirit of Alchemy invites you into the stories behind the makers — where wisdom, courage, and creativity come together to form something new, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Hosted by Bobby Forssman and Rehema Isa.

Stay Connected to the Journey✨

The Spirit of Alchemy

Instagram: @thespiritofalchemy_
TikTok: @thespiritofalchemy
YouTube: The Spirit of Alchemy Podcast
Website: www.thespiritofalchemy.com

Bobby Forssman

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyforssman/

Rehema Isa

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/rehema-isa-6372681

TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@rehema.world

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/rehema.isa

X : https://x.com/RehemaIsa

For all enquiries:
tanna@thespiritofalchemy.co.za

Remember: you don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.

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