On the streets of London, spontaneous conversations sometimes open the door to stories of immense resilience, profound survival, and the radical joy of self-expression. In this feature, we connect with Maur Valance to talk about colour therapy, navigating devastating loss, and what brings true vitality to his days.
For Maur Valance, feeling alive is inextricably linked to brightness, visual expression, and human connection:
"Color, I suppose, and brightness and beautiful people. That's what makes me feel alive... Wearing color is good for you and it lifts your spirits. It gives you that sort of dopamine buzz. And also, it brightens up a very gray, otherwise gray world."
Opening up with remarkable honesty, Maur Valance shares the heavy hurdles and compounding tragedies he has navigated, from redundancy and family illness to the sudden loss of her partner of 20 years and the isolation of COVID:
"I've had a lot of struggles, being made redundant three times, my dad having a heart attack. My partner of 20 years dying suddenly of a brain aneurysm, COVID. All these things nearly tipped me over the edge and I was very suicidal for about six years. And then I found the color walk. It just changed my life. These people are so lovely, they lift my spirits. They make me feel wonderful. And so now I realize life is worth living. And I'm glad I didn't end my life, because life is a precious thing. Once you've got life, you need to appreciate it. Enjoy every single day like it's your last one."
Closing our conversation, Maur Valance shares a powerful, hard-earned message for the world on empathy and choosing light over judgment:
"Kindness. Thing is people sometimes laugh at me the way I look. But we all take our clothes off, we're all the same people underneath. Clothes don't make the person, they just enhance how I want to, you know, how I feel inside. If they're cruel to you, just be kind back to them. You have a choice in the morning when you wake up. Be kind or be a horrible person. Choose kindness, always."
