About

 
 
Bex, co-founder of Anteater and New Zealand edible insect entrepreneur, on a scorpion and tarantula hunting expedition in Cambodia


Authentic Storytelling is the one-woman band of fair-weather blonde and general hustler, Bex De Prospo.   

I've been a writer and a musician for the entirety of my life.  After an Honours MA in English from St Andrews University didn't get me that steady writing factory job I so hoped for, I went back and got an MSc in Sound Design from the University of Edinburgh.  I wasn't so keen on the grind of being a lifelong musician, but I thought I could at least make other people's music sound better.  After that, it was years of studio sound post-production and live sound engineering before a move to New Zealand revealed those jobs to be in pretty short supply, with negligible opportunities for career progression. 

 
Authentic Storytelling founder, Bex De Prospo, playing a grand piano at The Piano, a venue in Christchurch, New Zealand

I transitioned into running venues, LOVING the rock and roll life and, when necessary, paying the bills by keeping theatre and corporate gigs from going off the rails.  But the Christchurch earthquakes left a deficit of long-term venue management opportunities and I wanted to learn how to create new opportunities for myself.  So, in 2015, I went to Business School and got a Graduate Diploma in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (well, almost... If you want the full story watch my Ara graduation keynote speech HERE).  And then I somehow ended up doing the craziest thing so far: launching a sustainable food business with a guy I'd just met, selling edible insects to top chefs and restaurants all over the country.

 
 
 
Still of Bex appearing live on TV3's The Nation

In the years after I left the traditional career track, I had a bit of a professional identity crisis. Was I an entrepreneur? A rock and roll boss? A writer? An environmental advocate? Eventually, it hit me.  All of these jobs, all of this hustle, every bit of it falls under one umbrella.

Storytelling. 

I tell the stories of my entrepreneurial life on stages and media platforms all over the country.  I help writers and bands and theatre practitioners tell their stories in lectures and performances all over the world.  I pull audio gold from audio dirt, clean it up and make it shine.  In these post-pandemic days, I spend most of my time crafting strategic stories for clients who need compelling, tailored content that resonates deeply with their audience. 

And I hope that I can do the same for you. 

 

I work remotely from Christchurch with clients throughout New Zealand and the world. I welcome you to review a small selection of my writing in my current comms portfolio. If you would also like a CV or a show reel or to quiz me about any of these disparate lives of mine, please get in touch.    

I promise to spin you a very, very good yarn.
 
bex@authenticstorytelling.co.nz

For the most up-to-date offerings from my portfolio, follow Authentic Storytelling on LinkedIn and subscribe to my regular newsletter.

With the exception of the personal pictures on this page and the My Stories page, all imagery on the Authentic Storytelling site has been sourced from the generous open-source creators at Unsplash. A complete list of attributions can be found here.
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