Written by Source Co-Creator Rachel Elnaugh 27 January 2020
Stephen Russell – aka Barefoot Doctor – was an alchemical, elemental being who lived on the edges of the Matrix.
A highly intuitive, articulate spiritual and social narrator who never got too seduced by the ‘delusion’ of reality.
(Barefoot was also instrumental in the creation of SourceTV – although he may not have fully realised it!)
I first met Stephen when he was doing a one man show in Soho. I was one of a gaggle of women waiting to meet him after the event. I later invited him to be one of the interviewers for the pilot filming of ‘ImagoPeopleTV’ in 2011 (here’s the pilot video of him interviewing the passion coach Vena Ramphal – on a bed at the Park Plaza Hotel), the project out of which SourceTV was eventually born.
There was an instant chemistry between us (and like so many other women before & after me, a brief affair) – which evolved into Stephen inviting me to be his personal manager.
I brought together a team to re-design, professionally edit and re-publish his book ‘The Message’ and we then launched this new ‘Imago’ edition at another Barefoot one man show at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, during February 2012.
It was during this time that Stephen shared with me his long term vision to create a giant sound healing event called ‘The Big Om’. We decided to schedule this for 12.12.12 (my 48th birthday!) – in the run up to the pivotal 21.12.12 ‘ending of the Mayan calendar’ (a date which we considered might be too close to Christmas to be workable).
Despite numerous music industry meetings and many weeks pouring energy into attempting to raise funding for this ambitious event, to be staged at Wembley Arena – including commissioning Moog Gravett to create the superb animated promo video at the top of this page – nothing quite manifested.
And so Barefoot and I went our separate ways in July 2012.
The 12.12.12 event eventually DID happen – an event in London called OneWorld London (which I co-produced, featuring Stewart Pearce, Nikki Slade, Chloe Goodchild, Jason Chan and a host of other artists in a 5 hour ceremony for an audience of 1,200) – and a separate event hosted by Barefoot at Zu studios in Brighton on the same night, which he dubbed ‘The Little Om’.
Barefoot was the inspiration and ignition for both amazing events.
I never saw Barefoot again but continued to follow him from afar. He was also voted to be one of the 144 UK’s Leading Evolutionaries in the Source poll of 2016.
Stephen was one of the first great writers of the New Age movement with his 1998 book ‘Handbook for the Urban Warrior’ yet he was an enigma who never fully capitalised on his pole position as one of the pioneers of the industry . The reason for this was, I believe, that he never fully fitted the money-making mould of capitalism.
Yet he was a master-manifester rolling stone who seemed to have friends in every city/town, and who ended up living/staying in THE most stunning places.
It was a shock to hear of his unexpected passing this weekend – but also entirely fitting for him to have quietly slipped out of the door manifesting himself into another dimension.
A unique man who is one of the great narrators of this era.
Love
Rachel x
RIP Stephen Russell aka Barefoot Doctor
Born 13 September 1954, died 26 January 2020