He closed the door on a 20-year teaching career while opening a window to dance, fun and enlightenment.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we spoke with Tyler Boyle, 41, host, artist and entertainer.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: In Meaford.
I went to Georgian Bay Secondary School.
Q: After you graduated high school, where did life take you?
A: After high school, I went to school in Montreal at Concordia University where I studied fine arts but specifically art education.
From there, I came home expecting to move back to Montreal. I went to teacher’s college to get my teaching degree in London, Ont. Once Bluewater District School Board where I was supply teaching found out I could speak French, I became a hot commodity.
I started my career very early as a school teacher. I taught Grade 4/5 French Immersion, but taught all grades K to 8. I did that for 20 years up until this past September.
I quit and walked away from that gig.
Now, I’m focusing on my entertainment business.
I’m the official hype guy of the Toronto Blue Jays for the Jr. Jays Sundays. That has been a complete riot.
I work for Blue Mountain Village doing entertainment for them, and the Town of Collingwood. I’ve worked for the past 12 years as a professional hype guy, so I show up to festivals and events, I put on some loud music and I start guiding people to dance with me until a bigger and bigger crowd shows up.
That, mixed with my passion for children’s mental health, led me to start another business on the side called Dreamwalkers Meditations. I bring meditation into schools to help kids with their emotional, social, mental and academic health.
Things have changed since COVID. The kids need all the help they can get. This is where a big part of my passion lies right now.
Q: When did you know arts education was something you were passionate about, and why?
A: In teacher’s college they ask you a lot why you want to become a teacher.
Although I had some amazing teachers, as a kid, I had a lot of junky teachers too who I watched bully kids, break their hearts and make them feel small.
Even as a kid, I said to myself I would never treat somebody that way.
I wanted to be a teacher because I thought I could do a better job.
Little me would be very proud because as a teacher in my career before I left, I won the 2020 Prime Minister’s Award of Teaching Excellence, and the EFTO Award for Local Humanitarianism in the same year.
Q: Why did you decide to leave teaching?
A: I love teaching and working with kids.
There were a lot of things I didn’t like about the education system as it is right now. It’s very broken.
I knew it was time to go.
I left to pursue something that I know works in the classroom, which is meditation.
It was a scary move.
I also left because something has changed since lockdowns and COVID. Anyone who knows kids and works with kids sees it. Something’s just different.
It was very exhausting to try to teach to a generation of kids who are unfortunately so behind and act so differently from generations before. That’s something we’re going to see the ripple effect of for years.
Q: What made you want to be a hype guy?
A: I’m a well-rounded artist; I’m a dancer, a painter, a sculptor. The only thing I can’t do is play an instrument.
I had gone to a conference for drama and someone lured me into their workshop about dance. In this workshop, I danced so hard I had to go outside and sit with my head between my knees because I had danced so hard and had so much fun.
Seeing the spark it created in me, I wanted to bring it to other people.
At that time I was still working as a teacher, and during the summers I worked in the info booth at Blue Mountain Resort.
I said to the event co-ordinator, you know, I can do this thing. Do you want me to do this thing?
Originally, they said maybe not.
The next year they took me out for lunch and said they’d love to see me do it.
I put on a microphone, put on my music and got the whole village dancing.
On my invoices, I use the title Tyler Boyle: Spirit Artist. I pride myself in making people smile and bringing people together.
So many people are afraid to step out of their comfort zone. I used to be one of those people.
I’ve had people come up to me after shows in tears saying they had no idea they could move their body like that or that they could have that much fun in public without the help of alcohol. (laughs)
It’s so beautiful.
If I won the lottery right now, it would give me security but I would not stop dancing.
Q: What does the future hold for you?
A: My biggest passion project right now is Dreamwalkers Meditations.
I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the Japanese term Ikigai. It’s basically finding the absolute passion and calling for your profession. It’s the idea of finding what the world needs, what you love and are passionate about, what makes money and what helps other people.
The centre where those all meet is your Ikigai.
I really feel like Dreamwalkers Meditations is my Ikigai.
World Meditation Day was on May 21, and I did that thing that some people do where I took a little bit of a gamble. I went on social media and said I had a dream to get 10,000 kids across the globe meditating with us on World Meditation Day. It had quite the reach. We had 23,415 students from across the globe join us.
It was incredible.
It was validation that I’m on the right path and the world needs it.
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: I am a painter and a sculptor. I work with naturally harvested animal skulls I find on my hikes. I adorn them with crystals or paints.
I’m an oil painter specializing in black, white and gold.
I hike. I’m obsessed with camping. It’s one of the only times I can really relax.
I love exploring local breweries.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we speak with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, letting them tell their own stories in their own words. This feature runs on CollingwoodToday every weekend. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].
