Tiger Heart Chats: Episode 37 - Esen K Tütüncü

In the 37th episode of the Tiger Heart Chats podcast, our Sanj had the immense pleasure of speaking with Esen K. Tütüncü, a pioneering XR & Neuroscience Researcher, about her incredible transformation.

Recorded on Wednesday the 14th May 2025, Esen shared how the focus and mental resilience she developed as a long-distance cyclist became the foundation for her ground-breaking work in neuroscience and artificial intelligence. Her story is a powerful reminder that the path to innovation isn't always linear — sometimes it starts with the push of a pedal and ends with unlocking the mysteries of the mind.

It made us wonder:
How many of our personal passions are actually preparing us for something far greater than we can imagine?

🎧 Listen to the episode and let me know — what hidden skill or experience from your past is influencing your present in ways you never expected?

Some of the topics raised include:
Science
Documentaries
Long Distance Cycling
Covid
Interactive Arts
Virtual Reality
Artificial Intelligence
Neuroscience
Avatars
Agoraphobia
Public Speaking
Metaverse
Natallia Yaskevich - https://www.linkedin.com/in/natallia-yaskevich-5a9a7a5b/
Soliman Lopez - https://solimanlopez.com
Common AI Verse
Barbican - https://www.barbican.org.uk
Generative AI
Surrealism
Cubism
CHI - https://chi2025.acm.org
MCP – https://modelcontextprotocol.io/introduction
Blender - https://www.blender.org
Python - https://www.python.org
Sonar - https://sonar.es/en
Mutek - https://montreal.mutek.org
Mental health
How we feel - https://howwefeel.org

Places:
Istanbul
West Africa
Asia
Japan
Barcelona
Istanbul
San Francisco
Toronto
Sahara Desert
Casablanca
Lisbon
Ghana
Singapore
China
Taiwan

Advice:
Try not to use a headset for longer than an hour a day.
Don’t let AI dominate your creative journey.
Have critical thinking in everything you do.
Accept that we have these tools but don’t let them take away the nuances of who you are
Learning is a full body experience.
Seek people that cultivate you.
Use movement to elevate your mental health.
Sometimes you feel like you are running out of time. But thought and depth into your process can help you.
Have self-compassion in yourself.

Esen K. Tütüncü Links:
www.esenka.co

Sanj Surati & Tiger Heart:
https://www.twitter.com/tigerhearttech/
https://www.instagram.com/tigerhearttech/
https://www.twitter.com/sanjsurati/
https://www.instagram.com/artistryinsentiment/

You can listen to the Podcast on the following links:
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/9czdh6wa
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2rPxsLD7DAVv7PdyrNrZBP
Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/mr2e2ybw
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/show/1048492
Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/tiger-heart-chats
Castbox: https://castbox.fm/channel/id2779314
Podcast Addict: https://podplayer.net/?podId=2855948
Podchaser: https://tinyurl.com/k24bvvxy
Listen Notes: https://tinyurl.com/yaxbmc5x
Podcast App: https://podcast.app/tiger-heart-chats-p1122224

Don't forget to share:
#tigerheartchats
https://www.tigerheartlondon.com

Tiger Heart is an innovation agency that specialises in emerging technologies set up by Digital Atelier Sanj Surati. Sanj is an award winning multi-disciplined Digital Atelier with over twenty years of experience within the music, fashion and luxury industries. London-based Sanj has been working within digital and technology since 1998. He has seen the cultural shift in human habit and behaviour as we all evolve into digital consumers. Some of his successes have been burgeoning, ground breaking and, more importantly, culturally relevant.