Inside Out UK
- Jun 26, 2022
- 5 min read

Inside Out Well-being Awards 2022 - Review

Updated: Jun 28, 2022

Today marks 1 MONTH since we held the UK’s first award show honouring ethnically marginalised people working hard in the mental health field! There were many nominees from various backgrounds who have been putting in so much work over the years, and we wanted to show them that their efforts do not go unnoticed. Our Inside Out Well-being Award Show was an elegant, Black Tie event held on a boat in East London.

One of our amazing attendees, Kaffy, reviewed the evening for us below!

First of all, I just want to say a big congratulations to Vanessa & the whole Inside Out Well-being Team for pulling off such an amazing, inspiring night. Praying for greater heights for your team and I am excited to see how far you go. Wishing you all many more achievements in the future.

Now, let me walk you through this experience. I stepped onto the boat that day and I thought to myself wow… what a night it’s about to be.

Upon arrival, guests were offered a selection of complimentary drinks.

I joined the queue to have my tickets checked and then received a voucher for my food. I handed my belongings to the cloakroom attendant and made my way to the seating area. At this point I have to highlight that the staff working that night did a great job, they were so kind and helpful.

I entered the main seating area and sat at one of the tables. The décor was so luxurious and beautifully done. I was later joined by some lovely ladies who were so warm and welcoming, that they made me forget that I came alone. While we waited for the show to start, staff constantly came to tables to offer refreshments like samosas, spring rolls & breaded prawns. Some of the food choices for the night were jollof rice, rice & peas, jerk chicken, fried chicken and vegetable ratatouille with plantain.

I had jollof and jerk chicken which was delicious. The caterer come through with the flavours for sure. After my meal, I was readyyy for that sugar rush. My fellow sweet tooth people will know what I mean when I say I was on my last spoon of jollof thinking about dessert. Little did I know about an hour later, came the cupcakes. I just thought to myself, these guys really thought of everything.

There was an array of activities to keep the vibes going like the 360 photo booth, a billboard for those glam pictures, and the amazing Samuel King even graced us with a live spoken word performance which was very moving and touched us all. There were also raffle tickets for a selection of prizes from Herbybox, Eat Real Snacks, Moju and Topicals.

The show was hosted by the amazing Nissy Tee, who did a fantastic job. She kept the audience engaged and brought a lot of life to the room. Her witty and raw sense of humour had the laughs flowing and kept the audience involved.

The amazing nominees were announced by some familiar faces such as Azryah, Misha B and Deji. We saw nominees such as Juvenis Youth, To My Sisters Podcast and Frontline Therapist, to name a few.

Nissy Tee with Founder of Speak Black Man, Ontonio Dawson (pictured)

Juvenis Youth (pictured)

Congrats to the award winners such as Shocka, Wunmi Bello, Young Black Psych and Speak Black Man. I feel it is worth giving a huge congrats to ALL the nominees. Although you may not have walked away with an award, please accept that you are all winners. It was not just the award winners who inspired that night, it was all of you as a collective. What you all do for mental health and well-being for our community is so essential. As they say, not all hero’s wear capes and you are all just that.

Young Black Psych (pictured)

If I was to describe the night using one word, it would be ‘inspiring’. It filled me with so much self belief and determination. There were so many moments where my heart was so full with pride for what people had been achieving and dedicating their life to.

As someone who has goals of her own that has been sat on for so long, this event was just the right wake up call/kick up the bum that I needed. To be surrounded by so many people who had taken that first step regardless of how daunting it may have been was powerful. It was the most inspiring experience to have shared a room with so many ethnically diverse people who are doing amazing things for our community.

Inside Out Well-being Men's Focus Group

members with Founder, Vanessa and

Assistant Director, Nicola (pictured)

When Vanessa introduced her mum…Wow. What a moment that was. I could feel the pride radiating through the room. You could only imagine how a mother would feel to see her daughter pull off an event like that and to have accomplished so much over the last five years. This was a really special moment and a highlight of the night for me. Someone was cutting onions for sure!

At the end of the show, the Inside Out Well-being team were called up to the stage and they received the accolades that they deserved. A massive thank you to you all as the visionaries behind this event and for creating a space that allowed us to come together to appreciate and acknowledge each other in this way.

Inside Out Well-being Team (pictured)

All attendees were given goodie bags that were gifted by the Inside Out Well-being Award Show sponsors - Supermalt, Herbybox, Eat Real Snacks, Nobl water, Moju, Harry’s and Topicals.

For someone who essentially came by herself, I felt that the atmosphere was light and refreshing and I was surrounded by welcoming and accommodating people throughout. As I said at the start, I stepped onto that boat & I thought what a night it was about to be, & what a night it was. I felt as though the event was a perfect networking opportunity for mental health and well-being advocates in our community. It was great for people to network and connect but that didn’t stop us from shaking a leg at the end of the night. The after party was straight vibes. DJ Super Midz played banger after banger and the rest of us just danced the night away.

Once again, thank you all for that experience & thank you for the opportunity you have given me to share this review.

Written by Kaffy

A message from The Inside Out Well-being Team:

Congratulations to all the winners!

Mental Health Service of the Year: The Black, African and Asian Therapy Network - BAATN

Well-being Podcast of the Year: Dope Black Dads, Marvyn Harrison

Wellness Entrepreneur of the Year: Ama Amo-Agyei - Wellness Entrepreneur

Community Contribution Award: Juvenis Youth

Mental Health Advocate of the Year: Shy Bundy (BSc., MBPsS)Young Black Psych

Health & Fitness Advocate of the Year: Gina Obeng & Jermaine from Winners Fitness

Creative Movement Award: Ryan calais cameron & Shocka

Community Organisation of the Year: Prosperitys Trust CIC