25/11/2025
Robbie said they’re trying to build community, trying to settle in, trying to write a book about their world-record attempt… and also trying not to pressure themselves into knowing exactly what comes next.
Living off a bike and writing a memoir require completely different environments, Robbie shared. One demands constant motion. The other asks you to sit still, sift through memories, and figure out how to tell the truth without flattening anyone else who was part of it.
“It’s mentally and emotionally taxing. You’re not just telling a story. You’re deciding how to present people’s lives. And you have to motivate yourself. There’s no boss asking when it's due.”
There will be a book. Someday.
And the purpose question? Robbie treats it less like a destination and more like a shape-shifting companion.
They told me that for a lot of trans people, reinvention is familiar. Purpose doesn’t need to stay fixed. It’s okay if it evolves every few years. It’s okay if you don’t know your “final answer.”
And then, in the most Robbie way, they anchored it back to community and activism:
“A good way to find purpose is to find causes or organisations you can support. It helps you understand what you value and helps you find meaning even when other things don’t feel meaningful.”
They also laughed about the reality of being new in a city - attending events, meeting strangers, figuring out “what’s on,” and remembering that everyone else is secretly worried no one wants to talk to them either.
“So basically… just say hi.”
It was such an unpretentious way to end a story this big. A reminder that bold lives aren’t always loud, and purpose isn’t always poetic. Sometimes it’s small, practical, and lived one decision at a time.
Robbie didn’t give a grand thesis on meaning. They simply showed me that purpose isn’t something you find once. It’s something you keep reshaping, renegotiating, and rediscovering as you go.
Final note: Robbie’s full episode is live now on What’s Your LAYON? And I’m grateful they told it to me.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0VZsAhwdC1ASpBU9O5k6Lv?si=dEj9A0G7QG-7WO6Bt078qg
