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Joelle Simone Powe / Contributor

There is an incredible story about a man from humble beginnings who grew up in Jamaica and built a global brand. 

The man is Chad Torrington. He is most well-known as Global Bob.  He is one of the most sought-after Jamaican dancers in the world. This year, he will teach Dancehall in Norway, Switzerland, Columbia, Germany, and many other places. He also runs a local tour company that centres on Jamaica’s vibrant Dancehall culture. In the last nine years, he hosted over 1000 international guests. Above all, what makes this story worth reading is the remarkable way in which Global Bob is expanding Brand Jamaica. 

It all began with Global Bob’s love for dance and Jamaican culture. The palpable passion and skill he honed as a young man propelled him to more than 30 countries to teach Dancehall dance. During his tours, he teaches up to 600 people at a time. Following each dance class, he invites students to Jamaica. Whenever his students came to Jamaica, they wanted to stay with Global Bob rather than in a hotel. Thus, he answered the call and transformed an extra room in his house into a stylish Reggae themed nook. Eventually, he established his rootsy tour company, Ease N Sekkle Yaad, which provides guests with accommodation, nature expeditions, and cultural experiences. 

One of Ease N Sekkle’s popular offerings is a 10-day cultural camp where guests visit almost every parish. The backbone is dance classes with the crème de la crème of Dancehall dancers. Featured dancers include Energy, Shelly Xpressionz, Lookalike, Ecko, Ovaload Skankaz, Omar Cleanstep, Rudy Legacy, and Global Bob.  Each dance class is held inside the dancer’s community. 

I had the opportunity to join the 10-day expedition for one day, and I was amazed at what I saw. One of the dance classes took place in a lane in an open-air setting where community activities such as men hanging by the outdoor bar and playing dominoes and women’s hair braiding were ongoing. Chickens were running around in the background. It was in the heart of Kingston’s streets.  

What came across from the community was a strong sense of hospitality.  During one dance session, a local man appointed himself as the security guard. On arrival of the guests, he cleared a bar table for all belongings to rest and watched over them during the dance session. A patron by the bar took drink orders from the guests. Additionally, local children filled in as assistant dance teachers. Global Bob enveloped his guests in the recesses of the Jamaican inner city and allowed them to experience the community’s heart. One guest said, “There is so much energy! I love Jamaican people!” 

For Global Bob, bringing his guests to see different communities, creates a ripple effect.  “I ensure all the local food shops and bars in the area get supported. The dancers are compensated very well, and many times the guests tell other people in Europe about the Jamaican dancers, and the dancers get booked to go on tours afterward,” said Bob. 

At first, the women were a little concerned about coming to Jamaica based on what they read in the international news regarding violence in the country. Global Bob even had to persuade their parents. However,  on their trip with Global Bob, they walked through and danced in communities in Portmore, Tivoli, Half Way Tree, and Bog Walk. These community immersions have opened up their minds about Jamaica. When asked how Global Bob has helped to shape how they see Jamaica, one guest said, “We are so lucky to be in Jamaica with Global Bob; we feel so safe. We have never felt this safe in our life.” Another commented that their ideas about Jamaica were reforming themselves daily. 

Global Bob sets out to impact what people think and feel about Jamaica. He often facilitates discussions about what his guests have observed throughout the day between activities. He wants them to leave the island with a deeper understanding. He exposes them to the hierarchies of Jamaican class structure by taking them to “uptown” and “downtown” parties. He wants them to see it all. This approach to entertaining his guests is very different from the typical commercial tour. He wants to educate and deepen his understanding of the country on an intellectual level.  

Another noteworthy aspect of Global Bob’s local tour operation is that everything runs on time. Global Bob has put in place operational measures to ensure punctuality on all fronts. The dancers are there waiting on location to greet the guests as soon they arrive. Lunch is served promptly on arrival. He works with the dancers’ schedules and avoids planning classes in the morning to accommodate the fact that the dancers mostly work on the night shift. Additionally, leading up to a dance lesson, he calls and reminds them the day before and several times on the day of the class. 

Global Bob is all about maintaining the high quality of the experience. After all, in his former years, he studied business, marketing, and operations. He combines this knowledge with his virtuosity and creativity. His wife, Amanda Torrington who is a fashion designer, also plays a key role in shaping the guests’ experience. She can translate into Spanish, Italian, and French. Together their profound understanding of the intricacies of Jamaican and European sensibilities allows for a seamless welcome to visitors from all over the world. 

In the early stages of the operation, guests would sometimes question the price of his package. However, over time, Global Bob established the value of his program. Now nobody questions the value anymore. As a leader in the Dancehall community, Global Bob also encourages other dancers to know the value of their art and keep up the pricing standard across the community for dance classes. 

Theft of intellectual property is another notorious concern, but Global Bob has developed an ingenious way to safeguard his creativity. Dancers from abroad sometimes want to start cultural tours to Jamaica. They do one experience with a Jamaican and then create their own tour. To mitigate the risk of guests coming to appropriate his offerings, Bob actively screens interested guests by checking their social media. From their profiles, he can distinguish genuine culture lovers from people who want to exploit his ideas. 

Jamaica has a lot to learn from somebody like Global Bob. He is redefining Brand Jamaica. Sun and sea are not the only things we have to offer the world. What Global Bob has created, with local community experiences at the heart of his itinerary, shows us all the potential of Jamaican culture, that many of us have yet to explore ourselves. His success exemplifies the power of the entrepreneurial mindset. He did not wait on a loan or a small business grant. He is a self-starter, and his success shows that with determination, discipline, and thoroughness, we can build something world-class from our god given talents and resources that can also generate community wealth. 

This article is an excerpt from a book in progress called National Pride which highlights people and projects which are succeeding despite great odds. Too often, we have great ideas which fail in the implementation. It is hoped that when published, this book forms part of a core curriculum on Operationalizing Projects in the Caribbean by providing real-life case studies of successful implementation.

Joelle Simone Powe is a cultural anthropologist, writer, and documentary filmmaker based in Jamaica.

Visit her website at http://www.joellesimonepowe.com/ 

Follow her on IG at http://www.instagram.com/joellesimonepowe

Global Bob IG www.instagram.com/greatglobalbob