About Me — Riane Tyler
Born in Detroit, and raised in South Florida.
An integral part of my storytelling is my actual story. While there are quite a few ways I can do that, I’ll start here. I can’t remember when the desire to be a writer began with me. I’ve found old journals as early as my mid-teens, but I am sure I left notes everywhere earlier than that. Writing on Medium isn’t the time I’ve attempted to be somewhat organized about it. I’ve written stories on Livejournal (remember that?) and WordPress. I have extra long posts on Facebook and before that, Myspace, I am sure.
I’m a 90s baby, and proud of it.
I remember ring pops, dial-up, “You’ve Got Mail”, two-ways, Titanic (the movie), and the Spice Girls. I came to planet Earth at the jump of the decade and grew up wearing overalls and playing outside until the street lights turned on. I remember listening to RnB and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I remember the orange Nickelodeon blimp and had an obsession with seeing people covered in green slime. “Groove is in the heart,” is a mantra I still sing to myself.
I’ve always had a thirst for adventure. I’ve found myself in a tree unable to get down without jumping and possibly landing a broken limb one day. Only to finally chip a bone in my foot because I jumped off of a trampoline and landed directly on a pair of brand new rollerblades, another day.
I’m an adult now, equipped with experiences that have shaped me to become the person I am today.
I’m an Adventurer. I love to travel and see new sights. I’ve lived in 3 different countries and traveled to 13 states. My most recent adventure was the solo cross-country road trip I took in my brand new Subaru Crosstrek. My earliest solo adventure was becoming an exchange student and living in Japan for a year when I was 16 years old.
I thrive on experiencing places as the locals would and I strive to create relationships around that intention wherever I go. When I make friends, I want them to show me their hood because getting to know someone is synonymous with getting to know where they are local. Taiye Selasi expresses this concept beautifully in my favorite TEDx talk on the subject of being a global citizen.
I discovered my spirituality while being outside and connecting to my breath.
As self-identified Earth Angel, I love to love and love the planet I call home. I care about climate change and enjoy being in nature. The natural world is incredibly awe-inspiring to me and I can’t imagine not being able to spend time outside whenever I choose to.
Like 300 million others worldwide, I practice Yoga. I began my journey back in 2001 when I was still a kid. I still carry the impression that experience has left on me since then. I practice meditation and mindfulness regularly and have trained as a practitioner of the different disciplines that I practice. I consider myself to be intuitive and empathic and somehow embedded in all of that there is room to be analytical. I love to know how stuff works.
Nothing has brought me closer to the divine than being in and around the Ocean though.
Call me a Cyborg mermaid because I use technology to breathe underwater. I became a Scuba instructor in 2015 and an Aquatic Performer in 2018. The decade that followed my 21st birthday has been dedicated to being in, around, and studying the ocean, exploring as many aspects of the Scuba Diving Industry, and honing swimming as an act of performance. At first, I got in the water to conquer fear, but then that drive evolved into exploring the gems of the hidden aquatic world of wonder and operating my own business for the last 6 years. I talk about my experience in the podcast show Dreams In Drive.
I’m an Entrepreneur to a fault. I can’t work anywhere for anyone for too long before I decide I’m going to tend to my own business and make my opportunities. I’m learning to embrace my decision through the realization that I don’t want to work for anyone else’s company. I’d prefer to help and support people in the best ways that I know how, with my skills, on my own time, and in my way. It’s taken me 7 years and the development of several skills to figure that out.
Now, I’m someone’s Mom…
At the time of writing this I am pregnant with a little human and in the last 90 days of pregnancy until my due date. I couldn’t be more excited to greet the little human incubating inside of me. In this journey, preparing for motherhood is positioning me to pivot my way of life in ways I hadn’t known I’d been preparing for. I’ve been gifted the opportunity to be more creative than I’ve ever been and more mindful and intentional of myself and the world around me. Now I get to share past stories that got me to this point and make new stories in the journey ahead.
Stay tuned and I’ll tell you about the time when:
- I lived abroad as an exchange student in Japan when I was 16 years old.
- I worked as a bartender for the famous Coyote Ugly saloon in Key West.
- I took a yellow submarine deep than 1000 feet (300 + meters) in the search for lionfish.
- I held a sloth and went zip-lining for my 27th birthday (not on the same day).
- I dived a sunken WWII transport ship, the USNS Vandenburg, more than once.
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