In this reflective video, the speaker recounts meeting Mike, a Canadian friend, at a 2012 dating workshop in New York while the speaker was living in San Francisco and working a corporate job. Mike encouraged the speaker to explore a location‑independent, digital‑nomad lifestyle, and over the next decade the two traveled together, built remote businesses, and served as each other’s sounding board through a practice the speaker calls “mate council.” Mike’s unwavering belief in the speaker’s potential inspired the creation of the speaker’s personal brand (VU‑IBE) and ventures such as House Manifest, both aimed at fostering genuine belonging and community. Around 2017 Mike stopped responding, later revealing he was in a relationship in Colombia, after which he vanished completely. The speaker reflects on the loss, the importance of recognizing and appreciating friends who reveal blind spots, and urges viewers to support friends in mental‑health struggles. The video ends with a heartfelt message to Mike and a call to “keep calm and vibe on.”
Chapters
Around the time I was in my early mid-20s, working at this corporate company, doing the same thing every day, really feeling a little bit dissatisfied with how my life was going. I was really trying a lot to be their friend, but I never felt like, oh, they could really understand me. But then Mike was someone who really saw in me what I didn't even know about myself. Yeah, I mean, when I first heard it, just kind of like, what are you talking about? Hey, Steven, sorry, like I've been off the grid because I've been feeling a little bit depressed. That was the last time I heard from him. Right, let's go. In 2012, I was living in San Francisco. I was just flown out to New York City to help coach a dating workshop organized by a couple of my friends from London. And I met this guy from Toronto, Canada named Mike. And initially started off as a teacher and student relationship because I coached him over that weekend and I had no idea that actually meeting him would change my life in the way that it actually did. So let me tell you what actually happened. Around the time I was in my, like, early mid-20s, and I really wanted to learn more about what it's like to live outside of the matrix that I was in, working at this corporate company, doing the same thing every day, but then really feeling a little bit dissatisfied with how my life was going. I was just coming out of this, like, year-long depression, I had this newfound skill set that I could use to actually empower other people to drastically transform their dating lives. So yeah, initially we met through this dating workshop and we just connected on first on just like what it's like to actually improve your dating life. He was also coming from the world of finance and we just did something very similar early on in our career. At the time, he was also wanting to experience or explore and experiment with another lifestyle other than just being in this corporate world. We started talking a lot about this lifestyle of location independence. What would it be like for us to actually build a business remotely? And like, what would it be like for us to like make American dollars but then live somewhere really cheap? What would it be like for us to not have a stable place but then we can just travel whenever we wanted? It's pretty crazy because I'm recording this video in Budapest. I first came to Budapest with my friend Mike almost 10 years ago. And now when you think about Airbnb and going to whatever place and working remotely, this world has become like so normal for a lot of people. And yeah, for people that want this lifestyle, they can do it. Back then we were just crazy people. Throughout the years, we actually ended up traveling the world together. We experimented with this location independent lifestyle or digital nomad lifestyle. I was going from a corporate world to like a startup world, and then I was still like navigating, okay, is this it? Should I always stay in the US or should I actually quit everything and move abroad and do something new? And through every step along the way, me actually quitting my corporate job, me actually helping out, me actually going completely independent, starting this freelance lifestyle or like starting my own business, like he was there to advise me on the next steps and he was there as a sounding board, and that was amazing. So many times we also had what we call like a mate council. Whenever we were going through some rough situation in life, we would call each other up and we would talk about it, and there was no judgment. There's only support and love and care. For me, Mike actually really taught me what it's like to be a real friend. Maybe because I moved around so many times growing up, I never really had a friend that I could really rely on. You know, I had a lot of different friends from all over the place. I was really trying a lot to be their friend, but I never felt like, oh, they could really understand me, right? But then Mike was someone who really saw in me what I didn't even know about myself. Now I'm all about the vibe, connecting with people, spreading my positive energy, spreading the optimism, spreading my journey. I'm in the process of actually really kind of breaking down, distilling down like everything that I've experienced and everything that I've learned so far in life, in business, career, relationships, and everything. Now I'm just coming around to it. And Mike, 10 years ago, he saw, he literally told me what I'm doing right now is what I should be doing back then, which was actually like a really insane thought. He would tell me things like, "Hey, Steven, I'm not just saying this because I'm your really close friend. I'm saying this because I really see in you what I don't see in other people, and a lot of other people. You are a really special person. Like, you are a gift to the world." And I'm not saying this to really boost your ego or anything like this, but recognize what it should be. Recognize greatness for what it is and really use it for greater good of the world. Yeah, I mean, when I first heard it, it just kind of like, I'm like, what are you talking about? But now when I think about it, I'm just deeply thankful for everything that he told me back in the day. There's been a lot of ups and downs, and a couple of times he would disappear. And he would come back and he would hit me up and say, "Hey Steven, sorry, like I've been off the grid because I've been feeling a little bit depressed," and stuff like that. And yeah, I mean, I was very sad to hear about it. I was like, "I'm here for you. You know, if you want to talk about it, I'm here to have a conversation with you. I would love to know what actually is going on in your life because I consider myself one of your closest friends and I want to stay that way." Yeah, this pattern would repeat. And then about 6 years ago in 2017, we chatted about how I just moved to London and I was telling him that like, yeah, like it's crazy that London was one of the first places that we visited together and then I just moved here. And then he was in Colombia and he just told me that he had found a girl that he really likes and he's in a relationship with that person and You know, he's really happy about it. And that was the last time I heard from him, and that was the last time we had a conversation. Since then, I haven't been able to find him. He literally disappeared, and I don't know where he is in the world. Once I've really internalized that maybe he's gone forever, I was very deeply saddened because he was the first friend that really helped me realize, okay, like, I have this possibility. I I can live my life the way I want, and he showed me what's possible, and then I started doing it. He was the guide for me in a way. A lot of people ask me, hey, why do you spell VIBE that way? V-U-I-B-E. Why can't it just be vibe? It's meant to be like a really fun concept. Actually, when Mike and I, we first got to know each other, our mutual friend, this guy, dating coach, he would always say things like, mate, it's all about the vibe, you know? He's from London, UK, but Still like, why can't you just say vibe? Like he's like, no mate, it's about the vibe, you know? So we were like, Mike and I, we'd make fun of him by saying like, yeah, it's spelled like the way he says it is like V-U-Y-B-E, like vibe. So it just became the thing. And you know, it was like we'd always like go around asking people, mate, how's the vibe? I actually named my first venture and even my personal brand in homage to him and in homage to our beautiful friendship and our beautiful connection. The vision that I'm creating, the mission that I'm executing is actually building a truly connected world, a place where people feel this genuine sense of belonging. And, you know, Mike, in a lot of ways, he's the first person that really taught me how to generate this feeling of genuine sense of belonging and closeness, connection. I named the whole brand in this way, right? If he's ever alive, or even if he's not alive, like, he knows that he did something really amazing for the world. So that's my story with, uh, one of my closest friends that I still hold dear to my heart. And yeah, the message is clear. If you ever have anyone in your life who actually helps you see a part of yourself that you don't even see a part of yourself, like you have a blind spot, and like they really tell you something, acknowledge that and really appreciate that you have someone like that in your life. And then, uh, tell them how deeply thankful you are for them. If you have one of those friends, you're really, really lucky. Try to build like a community around you with these people. A lot of what I do with House Manifest and everything, it also has to do with actually helping people build this genuine support network, this genuine sense of belonging. People like Mike, they give you this hope. They have this greater message about helping people achieve this, like, next level of potential. And last thing, like, just because they have something great to teach you, so just because they're there to, like, share their vibe and love, doesn't mean that they're in a good place in life. Because I have no idea what actually happened to Mike. Like, I have no information. But before the last time we actually communicated, I knew that he was going through a lot of ups and downs. I think I could have stepped in there a little bit more to really learn more about what what he was actually going through. So if you sense that one of your closest friends is going through a rough time or rough period, give them a call. Just be there for them. Mike, if you're alive, hope you can see this message. If you're not alive, that's fine as well. Yeah, as always, keep calm and vibe on. Love.
