Absolutely meets Eloise Skinner to discuss an eclectic career that takes in modelling and mentoring, via yoga and Pilates
Eloise Skinner is an author, existential therapist, teacher, model, and the founder of two businesses: The Purpose Workshop and One Typical Day. A burning passion to learn new things was sparked at school in Hertfordshire, and she went on to work in corporate law, spent a year in a monastic community, and now focus on existentialism, education and social mobility. Here, she tells Absolutely all about it.
Balancing Passion and Purpose: Eloise Skinner’s Multidimensional Career
When you were at school in Hertfordshire, were you always a student who took an interest in different things?
Yes, I think I’ve always had a wide range of interests! My parents really encouraged me (and my brother) to try a bit of everything, so I grew up trying different sports, dance, music, theatre and other activities.
When you started working in corporate law, were you already dabbling in other areas too?
The pattern definitely continued during my corporate law years. When I first started training as a lawyer, I was fully focused on law – but after a while, I started to really enjoy teaching and writing as part of my legal career. That led to hosting podcasts and writing articles for industry publications – and, eventually, led to my first book! I also did my yoga teacher training during annual leave from my work as a lawyer.
Have you always been aware of fitness and mindfulness, or did a particular moment in your life inspire you to learn more about them?
Fitness has definitely been a part of my life since I can remember – when living in Hertfordshire, I swam for the local team (in Letchworth) and took dance classes in Hitchin. But the meditation / mindfulness element wasn’t something I discovered until I was working in corporate law in London. I was interested in ways to find focus and balance in the context of a busy career, and meditation practice was a really interesting path for me. I’ve continued to have some elements of mindfulness and meditation throughout my career change, and I still practice meditation today.
What are you now qualified to teach when it comes to fitness?
Yoga and Pilates are my main qualifications, although I’m also qualified in some other disciplines like contortion (deep stretching!), ballet technique and mindfulness.
How has the modelling side to your career fitted in with this?
Modelling has been something I’ve done occasionally over the years – as a side career and a personal interest. Now that I’m self-employed, I’ve been able to lean more into this career (it really requires a high degree of flexibility and late-notice scheduling!), and now I see it as an important part of my working life. I find that modelling allows for a degree of artistic and creative freedom that I don’t always find in other elements of my work.
Why have you become involved in teaching and mentoring too?
I’ve been involved in teaching for decades – my parents are both teachers, and I think the passion was passed down. At school in Hertfordshire, I was involved in teaching piano to younger students, and in corporate law, I was involved in running training sessions for junior lawyers. Mentoring is so important as well – I think a lot of people find a sense of meaning and purpose through mentoring others, and the person being mentored benefits hugely. It’s so important to have role models to aspire to in any career, and mentoring can really help in building this kind of network.
When did you launch One Typical Day and The Purpose Workshop, and what do you offer with both?
The Purpose Workshop was launched in 2021, and this is where I do much of my psychotherapy work, as well as providing meaning-driven consultancy services to businesses. The Purpose Workshop also offers purpose-finding workshops to schools and charities, working on a social enterprise model. One Typical Day began in 2022, as a way to help young people find their first careers. This project is still in development, but works closely alongside organisations like the Careers & Enterprise Company to build up a range of resources (which will eventually be accessible to schools and young people directly).
How on earth do you juggle all these different facets of your career?!
I try to take one step at a time, and focus on the task at hand. Staying organised is really important – to know what needs to be done in the moment, and to try not to get distracted by other things. The other thing that helps is just to keep going(!), which sounds obvious, but I think it’s easy to underestimate how much you can really achieve if you stay consistent working towards goals over time. Nearly all of my current projects are things I’ve been working on over many years.
As we head into 2025, what kind of fitness trends are you expecting to see?
I think community fitness is a growing trend – we know from research that community ties are fundamental to our mental health, and community fitness brings an opportunity to combine this with our mental and physical health as well. I’d say we’ll see more run clubs, local sports teams, group fitness challenges and fitness-based events happening in 2025.
Mental health is a particularly hot topic right now, so what tips would you offer to anyone who is feeling the strain right now?
I’d recommend taking some time to reflect on your life – on how you feel, on how things are going in your career, relationships, finances, and so on. This kind of processing time – possibly using a tool like journaling, meditation, therapy or chatting with friends and family – can help you to find some clarity around your goals, motivations and emotions. Sometimes a feeling of burnout, exhaustion or stress can arise from an inability to identify the factors at play, so taking some time to really assess those – as truthfully as possible! – can give us a great foundation to make lasting, beneficial changes to our lives.
Do you see your own career heading in a certain direction in 2025?
It’s hard to know – self-employment is always exciting, since you can take new opportunities you never would have imagined. I hope to be doing some of the same – therapy, writing, podcasting, modelling, teaching – but I’m also open to some unexpected things.
