SHANNON RYAN’S NEW PATH ‘YOU CAN’T TELL ME HOW TO BE ANY MORE’

The former Block NZ host is relishing a 'witchy' new phase of life

- Carmen Lichi

The last time Shannon Ryan was on our screens in Celebrity Treasure Island 2019, she proved herself a force to be reckoned with – a cool, calm, kick-arse competitor whose love of fitness, meditation and yoga stood her in good stead in the wilderness.

So it’s fitting that embracing Mother Nature is a path the 34-year-old former The Block NZ host has been treading with increasing dedication since her move to the States in 2015.

It started with a permaculture course in Northern California under the guidance of a renowned neo-paganist, eco-feminist author and activist named Starhawk. Then a stint in LA during the pandemic led to a new passion for herbalism – the use of plants as medicine.

“There were riots and protests with the murder of George Floyd,” tells Shannon, chatting with Woman’s Day during a recent visit home.

“Everything was shut down and I was in a city of millions – more people than in this whole country. A lot of people were forced to live in their cars, supply chains were interrupted and people didn’t have access to what they needed.

“That definitely made the cogs in my mind start whirring with my new direction. What can people use when they need it? What did our grandparents turn to?”

Keen to learn – and do – more, Shannon moved to the mountainous desert terrain of Taos, New Mexico, to study herbalism, with classes taking place at the base of the towering Rocky Mountains.

‘I was a baby deer in the headlights’