Episode 3: How and why breathwork is changing lives with Robbie Bent

All right, so we're here at inward with Mr. Robbie Bent, the co founder and owner. Now, Robbie and I, I mean, we've probably known of each other for, I don't know, like what, nine, ten years from.

Maybe even longer.

Even longer. So this is actually our first chance, first time to actually sit down and get to know one another. Robbie and his partners, Miles. And is Brandon involved as well?

No, Miles. Harry and Amanda and my wife Emily.

Oh, cool. Yeah, five of us, all of you created Inward. And it's a innovative, progressive, I guess, cold plunge, ice bath concept. And correct me if I'm getting this wrong, but I thought it would be a great idea to sit down and hear about your story, your journey as to what brought you here, because I know a little bit about your past and some what you've been through. Because we know each other from back in the day of the clubs and stuff where you used to come, I guess, kind of as a client and enjoy my establishments. And then I saw you years later at Landmark and we had a couple of brief conversations at that time, but never really got a chance to drop in and chat. And then because of our mutual friends, I've been hearing about Inward and hearing about what you're doing and recently learned about the expansion, all the plans that you have. So, you know, I would love for you to share, you know, a bit about who you are, your journey, and how Inward came to be.

Absolutely. And so where we are now, just to kind of double click into what we're doing, it's really using peak experiences to provide people with meaning and belonging. And it all came from trying to get more people to be happy in their lives and finding that meditation and psychedelic medicines and some of these other things weren't accessible enough. And we had this conversation earlier. We said, hey, most of my clients, they don't even know how to they feel. Right. And so they're not even at a point where, hey, I'm looking for help, but the majority of people now addicted to their phones, like just overwhelmed Slack social media notifications all the time. Right. So you just feel in this fight or flight state almost your entire day. And so we wanted to create something using like fun, wonder, awe, these peak experiences that people can feel instantly, that then helps them connect with meaning over time. And so we'll get into that a little bit later. But that's kind of what Inward is. And it doesn't really matter what the peak experience is. So we use cold ice baths, saunas in a physical space. But then we also have an app with breathwork which we found is more attainable for many accessible than meditation. So if you've, you know, the common refrain I had from friends was like, oh, I'm using calm headspace. I've tried it. Nothing really happened. I quit. I felt guilty. I know I should do it, but it's just too hard. Like my thoughts just race. And so I found that over four years teaching meditation that it was really difficult to get friends on this path, but just to go backwards a little bit and we can kind of get to where inward came from. Had the kind of life where I was, you know, wanted to be a super high achiever, mostly to fill a gap. And you mentioned a lot of your clients are like high performance entrepreneurs. And so I went to Ivy Business school, I worked at a hedge fund ever since I was young. I just wanted to be successful, put my hand up in class. I wanted to go to the best university, I wanted to get the best job, I want to make money. And also that my parents would be proud of me, people would like me, girls would like me, I would have friends. And I equated that to being successful from a monetary standpoint, having nice things. And I was addicted to that for quite a long time. So I graduated, worked at a hedge fund, had a startup. At the startup we raised venture funding, grew to 100 employees. It was going quite well and then until it wasn't. And so around 28, my startup failed. I had to fire all 100 people, lost all the money. I had to move from this nice apartment in the Ritz Carlton back home with my parents living in their basement. And I also have adhd, so that's what was driving me to work really hard. And I get very interested in things that are stimulating. So being an entrepreneur, extreme sports, drugs and alcohol. And so during this time while I was running my business, I was struggling with drugs and alcohol. And it was something I was very functional. But it was something I was doing all the way from high school on until I was about 28. So I get to this point where I'm in my parents basement, my friends are going out for dinner and I can't afford to go out for a single dinner. I don't know what I'm gonna do. And because being successful was the only thing I cared about or was such a part of my identity, I just felt like a complete failure. And so I knew, okay, something in life isn't going right, so I need to change. And so you often hear you mentioned, I wish I found out about this stuff when I was younger and a lot of times in society it's becoming more mainstream. But people who were into plant medicines and meditation a lot of this stuff early it's because they dealt with some type of adversity. And so that was like a low for me. And that's kind of the first act. And so when I was in that low, I'd been interested in meditation since high school, listening to a lot of Tim Ferriss stuff. I read Four Hour Workweek was like, oh, if I could, you know, own my morning then at least that's a good start to my day. And so I got into that stuff and I knew I needed a change and so I moved to Israel. I had an opportunity to go out there for work so I went out there for a year and while I was in Israel I learned about vipassana meditation. And, and for those that don't know.

What vipassana is, it is a 10 day silent retreat where you're meditating most days at 4:30 in the morning and no devices, no books, no notepads, it's just 10 days going within.

Yeah, complete silence and about 10 hours of meditation per day. And so you think okay, I'm trying to learn this new skill. You know, if you pick up a basketball you're not going to expect to just shoot a three pointer. You know, you need to learn the foundations and it's the same with meditation. So you need to practice to actually feel the benefits and so, you know, stay consistent. Absolutely.

Some people, they tried meditating. I did it a few times for three minutes. I didn't feel anything. Meditating is not for me. I just can't do it.

That's a majority of people. It's not even, it's not even some. And so that's kind of the challenge. One of the things we're looking to solve or provide people with what is the on ramp to get into that state in a way that's maybe more accessible. And so in the Vipassana, you know it's funny because the actual, the best way to learn meditation is to go to one of these retreats because you're forced to, to really feel the change in your mind and body. And so you're doing two years of daily head space in 10 days. And so you come out of there feeling like wow, I understand what it means to have a thinking mind and that my thoughts are not controllable and they're coming at will and they don't define me and you. So if you're spending most of your day thinking, oh, I need to do this, I need to do that. Self judgment, anxiety. I'm worried about the future, I'm worried about the past. This is a tool for you to start to notice that your thoughts are wild and that's okay.

And that you're not. Your thoughts, you can be the observer.

Exactly, exactly. So I did that. And at that experience, I also learned about psychedelic medicines. My roommate was there and invited me to come and try LSD on a university campus at Sunrise in Israel. And the people I was with didn't really speak English. So it was a wild experience and kind of something that, well, maybe there's something here with psychedelic medicines. I'd learned about ayahuasca. About a year later, I flew from Israel to Peru and with my friend Ryan, who's the MC at my wedding, and we did four ayahuasca journeys. Like deep in the jungle, you know, kind of a kayak, like into the rainforest, into these, like, huts with, you know, stilted people. Yeah. And like netted huts with, like. And that was a.

You went in, you did, like, the real deal. Like.

Well, it was when I was looking at this. This is before how to Change youe Mind. Before, like, Tim Ferriss is talking about this stuff. It wasn't super well known. And so people were like, what are you talking about? You know, and then. And I had found that for addict. And this was kind of like the number one thing recommended on the Internet. And so even after the vipassana, I was still drinking occasionally. And when I would, I'd end up staying out late. I wasn't happy with my behavior. This is something I want to stop. And it was difficult living in Toronto because the environment is like, very. At least my environment was focused around partying at the time, going out, being social. And it was hard for me to stay away from drinking drugs in those environments. And so heard about ayahuasca, went. Did it. And after those four periods, when I came back, it felt on fire, like, just amazing. There was, like, things came up about being bullied as a child, about why I thought drug use was even cool in the first place, and, like, a lot of internal feelings and it was really challenging, but I felt just like I had let go of a ton of emotional weight. And a lot of the stuff about, like, needing material goods and success to feel love wasn't something I was even aware of. If you'd asked me like, seven years ago, I'm like, why don't friends have fun? You know, who Cares. And those realizations started to come up. Why did I even need to do this? And I really started to change. And so I came back from, you know, the Ayahuasca meditation, had a really strong routine. So it was the daily meditation and every few months I would use psychedelic medicines, like with an intention and sort of the way I was taught there. And, and I met my now wife who's really into health and wellness. And so we started going to bath houses together. And so that was like our third date was sauna and ice bath and we're like, wow. We'd been listening to Ben Greenfield and Rhonda Patrick and some of these biohacker health podcasts. And so a lot of our relationship is based around healthy activity. And so between the daily meditation, the psychedelic medicine use and these healthy activities at night, my entire life started to change. So I got the opportunity early to join the cryptocurrency ecosystem, moved to San Francisco, I joined Ethereum, which is now the largest smart contract platform in the world, like really, really early on. And I went from maybe a year prior, like completely broke, living in my parents basement to all of a sudden I'm working at Ethereum, I'm working with a bunch of people and feeling successful financially. I luckily did super well there. I was kind of hanging out with all my tech heroes in San Francisco and then my wife was like traveling with me and all that was built around these practices. And so I was trying to teach people I was working with like daily meditation. I would teach them about psychedelics, I would give talks on it, I would recommend retreats. And I found over a four year period those things weren't working. And with meditation it's hard, as we mentioned, and with psychedelics, huge stigma, it's illegal. Where do I do it? If I go and do it on retreat, it's costly, it's not necessarily accessible. And then when I come back, a lot of my friends, you know, probably sent 50 friends on retreat and when they would come back, the behavioral change wouldn't stick and where it would be an amazing experience. And they definitely like everyone comes back and says, wow, I feel changed and I feel loved for the first time. And I got rid of these emotions. But then the daily grind of life like weighs you down, pulls you back into your old habits. And so I started seeing that and being like, wow, okay, why is this stuff? Has it worked for me? And I realized that like the person who is here, who's just like struggling, overwhelmed, never really been exposed to any of this stuff. And then person who's here with maybe like the daily mindfulness practice community, that's inspiring, loving relationships. There's like a lot of steps to get there. And so just in my mind was thinking, like, wow, could we build something that can help people get on this journey? And so I traveled around the world for a number of years with Ethereum. And then my partner Miles invited me to come back, said, hey, do you want to build a bathhouse? And I'd maybe been to 70 bathhouses. So every time I was living in Berlin, like social, we would go to bathhouse because there's no drinking. And every time I feel amazing, you know, 30 people in like a dingy Russian, traditionally Russian spot, like not clean. And everyone would have a great time. You'd wake up, you'd feel amazing. Well, this is really cool. And so that got me introduced to Wim hof. So I did like the Wim Hof training and then built a ice bath in my backyard with my partners. And every night for a summer, we just had people through to do an ice bath and a fire pit. And so what started as an ice bath became an ice bath with sound bowls, essential oils, guided subconscious reprogramming. And we saw, you know, lawyers, bankers, people who don't care about spirituality would come and for the first time their mind would stop. Because the ice bath increases norepinephrine in the brain, which is responsible for mood, attention, vigilance, your mind saying, be aware. And as a result, it's kind of a hack, an unknown hack to get into a meditative state.

I'm glad to explain that because I didn't actually know the biology or the biochemistry as to why that works. I just thought you're just freezing your balls off in the moment. So you're just like.

You're just.

You don't think about anything else because you're just there in the moment.

Yeah. No. So your brain, it's a physiological state that your body and brain put you in. And then to deal with that fight or flight state, like the gas pedal in the nervous system, you need to learn to use your breathing to surrender the and move your mind back into the rest and digest nervous system state. So what that trains you to do, it's fantastic for longevity, which we can get into, but what it really is, which most people don't know, is it's a mental resilience practice. And you're training yourself when the gas pedal is pushed. So fight or flight is like anger, embarrassment, fear, rejection, failure. All of these things are Triggering emotion. And so what you're doing in the ice bath is learning when emotion is triggered. How do I use my breath to let go? And so what that means exactly when you come into your life and like you're in a traffic jam and you're flipping out or anger's coming, you can feel it and use your breath to let go. And so it's really something we realized is a mental training aspect. And that's why we started combining in that state, flow state visualizations, subconscious reprogramming and new beliefs. Gratitude, practice. A lot of stuff people were doing in apps or at home or in therapy, making it like fun and class based. So that was the starting point. And I knew we had something when we had a WhatsApp group and people were just dropping in midday. So I'd be having a coffee and look outside and people would be using the ice bath. Whoa, this is cool. So then the space we have now, we made it as an event space. And my sister owns some gyms and she said you could use a booking platform. So we put it out just kind of for the neighborhood. And with no marketing, it grew to like 30 people coming a day. Wow. Yeah, right? And it's just a garage in like the middle of a residential street. And what we learned from this experience, we'd have five or six people at once. And we realized there could be classes. So most of the stuff is done like a float studio. It's done single player. So like, yeah, I go to my float or my cryo or my infrared sauna, but I'm doing it alone. And so what we realized is this can actually be a social experience, like a bar, you know. And so people come in berries or berries. SoulCycle. Yeah. So one thing we like to talk about is before SoulCycle, fitness was like good life or if you're in the U.S. gold's Gym. And it was for professional athletes and bodybuilders. And SoulCycle came along about 2006, completely changed the game. Made fitness community driven, fun entertainment. Like an experience for those who don't.

Want to go to the club. They get the socialization, they get the music, the pump, and they're not leaving drunk.

Exactly. But you can't really do SoulCycle post 8pm, 7pm, right. It's not a nighttime event. And so we thought, well, what about mental health? And the mental health side, on one hand you have, you know, headspace and calm and meditation. You have five minute journals. Gratitude. You have a bunch of these, like sort of embodiment practices. You do at home alone or, like, you know, the float studio stuff, like I mentioned. Or you have therapy, and therapy is such a huge barrier to entry because you have to say, you know, I'm broken or I'm hurting, or you have to be vulnerable. You have to find a stranger and explain yourself. And it's expensive. And so to do all that, it's not. It's an amazing tool, but it's not the first tool. And so for most of my friends, they're like, I don't care. What do I need therapy for? I'm just gonna suck it up. And like, you know, that's what life is. And so we were wondering if we could build something like a soul cycle for mental health where you would come into the space because it was cool and fun, like, amazing smells, there's cool music, it looks cool. But then in the sauna, all of a sudden, the lights go off, you know, when it's hot, and there's like, essential oils over the stove. Crazy smell. And so you're just kind of. Your mind starts thinking, like, what's happening? And then there's someone playing a drum, and they're saying, like, bring to mind a moment of anger or shame. Feel it, let it go through your sweat, you know, and then. And then have everybody share. And so it's fun, it's entertaining, it's awe inspiring, but it's also deep down, you know, getting into the emotions. And so I've never seen that anywhere in North America. And then what's cool about it is, like, it's accessible. So you can come on a Thursday night, have your mind blown. You don't have to take psychedelic medicine. You don't have to do something that's, like, maybe foreign or scary. And we're kind of appealing more to making something that's, like, inspiring and cool. And so in wellness, there was never. It's always like, kind of, I'm broken. Like, where are the cool wellness brands? And, you know, like, the supreme of wellness, right? Where it's like, whoa, I want to be associated with that. I want to, like, I want that to be part of my identity. So that was the goal, was to kind of really open wellness to the 80% of people that aren't spiritual. They hear spirituality. They're like, not for me. It's kind of more like, let's use science. Exactly. So let's use science and, like, beautiful design. Bring people in and let the experiences speak for themselves. And so a lot of the stuff we do, instead of talking about energies which I'm totally cool with, I'm totally into. But we just, we use. This is what's happening in the body, this is what's happening in the mind. Here's a set of emotions you might be feeling. This is how they work. And everybody understands, you know, gratitude, compassion, forgiveness, all these different things. So that's kind of how it started. We had this garage and it just grew to thousands of members and people like becoming friends, dating, like just whoa, these experiences are crazy. And then Covid hit and we're like, fuck, what are we gonna do? Like, super, super scared. And so we just started doing breathwork online and getting 20 people, 50 people, just on Zoom, 100 people, 200 people. And then kind of like, well, what's happening here? And you know, people are doing it every week and they're like, oh, I want recordings. Like, can you put them on YouTube? Like, yeah, sure. Then they're like, could you do one for fear? Can you do one for morning routine? You know, I'm struggling to get to sleep, can you do one for that? So we start doing all these breathworks and we bootstrap a course platform Kajabi. And so it's like, you know, the ability to build a landing page, put up your content, charge for it. So we start doing that and people are paying for it and they're asking for more and more and more. Soon enough, my partner's a DJ and musician and so soon enough he's made 200 breathwork sessions. And so like all kinds of stuff, you know, psychedelic, light stuff, stuff for fear, you know, stuff for building gratitude, stuff for like energy in the afternoon. And turns out we have the biggest breathwork library in the world. And it's just something like we're doing and then, and then, you know, we get to over a thousand subscribers and it's like a decent business. And people are saying, hey, like this web platform sucks. Can you build an app? And so, you know, kind of fast forward to where we are now. What we see is we're building a new physical space. We signed the lease in Covid, got a really good deal. And the physical Space is a 45 person sauna, like crazy sound system, huge stove, four ice baths and a tea room. And the idea is like, you know, 5 to 8pm it's classes, so self hypnosis in the sauna, sound bath in the sauna, breathwork in the sauna. And then 8 to 1am It's a bar or nightclub substitute. So you kind of come in, you hang out, but there's no alcohol. It's all based on using the hot and cold to change your state, make you feel good and have that encouraged conversation. And that's sort of been around in every society since the beginning of time has had some type of hot cold experience. The onsen in Japan, the hamam in Turkey and Russian fiddling, the sauna, the temazcal in Mexico.

This was actually the inspiration for us creating Hamam Spa because we were in. We were on the island of Ischia for my business partner's wedding and there was eight guys sitting in his natural grotto and we were just having this conversation about life, about him getting married and children. And we left that experience thinking, wow, that was really cool. Where could a bunch of guys do that downtown without having to drive out to Richmond Hill or Markham? And it didn't exist then. So we thought how cool would it be to create like a hammam experience downtown? And that's why we created the largest steam room. And ultimately it had to be a co ed spa because of the size and the market at that time. This was 15 years ago. But you know, you sharing that and the inspiration as to creating this communal space where people can have the shared experience was the originating idea behind Hamam Spa.

Absolutely. I love Hamam Spa. The hamam is awesome. Yeah. What's really cool is now, you know, there's been this growth in like entrepreneurs, biohackers, plant medicine, psychedelic medicine enthusiasts, meditators. All of those were fringe. People are into crypto and they've kind of become. Each one has grown to enough where now it's becoming mainstream that you can build a community around those things. Sober living, another huge one. And so that's the goal and what's kind of come up now is there's this physical space that we want to have in every city that's like the hub where after you've come back from your psychedelic medicine retreat, this is your tribe. You listen to Tim Ferriss and you want to be around people like this. Here's your tribe. So that's the hub and then there's the app where you can go deeper. And so both are going to launch in the next two months. We're extremely excited. And what we've seen happen is people make lasting behavioral change. And so we're calling ourselves like a company for transformation, like house of Transformation. Here's a place that in a cool way is going to help you make lasting behavioral change. And so whatever you want to do, it's going to encourage you. And so what we saw was people come in, they try the ice bath. Whoa, what's this? I feel great. I feel amazing. This is cool. Then where can I go deeper? And so then you do the breath work and it's like, whoa. And then it's like, okay, now I'm in a community of people who are doing this now. Maybe I'm interested in psychedelic medicines or meditation. And so it's that funnel to get people from not really knowing all the way to, like, making this part of their life. And we've seen it work. Like, I've had five, six friends come in that were struggling with drug addictions, that had been sober for over a year, you know, calling me, messaging me like, hey, man, this changed my life. Like, this community. So that's where we're at. That's kind of the story. That's. That's how we. We got here and what we're excited to build. Happy to dive into any.

Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you so much for sharing all of that and being so open and vulnerable about your own journey. You know, they say our pain has a purpose, you know, and we have to go through ups and downs and when we hit rock bottom, you know, that's. Those are the moments where we do some real soul searching. And at the bottom, our perspective is very different. And, you know, it's. It's great to hear that you were not only be able. You weren't. You were not only able to pick yourself back up, but you have been able to take yourself to new heights and. And in your experience, you're now sharing what helped you heal and thrive with other people. And I think that's so important. And that's why I want to sit down and speak with you. Because knowing a bit about your journey and what you've been through and now seeing where you're at and what you're creating, I was just super curious to know, like, okay, what are these guys doing? Because a lot of people are talking about it. I had no idea your community had grown to that size. So congratulations for that. And I'm super stoked to see the space. I see it being built across from Impact Kitchen. Hearing about your new concept and the platform and even the programs that you're offering, I'm super excited to experience them and also to share them. Because, you know, as you mentioned, someone can start with Ice bath breath work. They start tapping into those higher realms of consciousness. They start having more existential conversations, and they're now peeling back the layers, and now they're diving deeper and I'm not saying plant medicine is a solution. And you know, I'm sure you get asked all the time. Many people are going directly to ayahuasca, directly to psilocybin, without doing the pre work, without having that morning routine, without having that practice set up. Because as you know, you do the medicine and it, it goes through your body and it pulls shit up. And if you don't have a practice, if you don't have the ability and the support to be grounded, to process what's coming up, you can be in a worse place than where you started. And I would suggest, which I think would be very beneficial and popular, is a post medicine ceremony integration program through your venue, through your facility and your app. Because people coming back from these ceremonies, they need to support, you know, they need that guidance and most importantly, they need the community. So if you haven't thought of it yet, suggest that one there. You know, post plant medicine integration programs. And I know this from my own experience of people coming on my retreats and coming home. And even though they learned new modalities, new workshops, if they come home with all this inspiration within a few weeks, they go back to their former version of themselves because they just don't have the system, the format or the accountability. So I think, you know, what you're sharing sounds super valuable and is very much needed at a time like this. You know, as we all know, mental health crisis is probably the worst it's ever been. And the fallout from everything we're experiencing right now is going to last for a very long time. So, you know, it's, it's an amazing concept. You know, it sounds like an incredible platform and you know, I'm definitely excited to experience it and learn more about it. So when is the new. And before we start shooting, you mentioned there's going to be a change in name and concept. You want to share a bit about that and when the new concept's launching?

Yeah. So we spent two years like working on this, finding the exact right container that's going to be like really effective. And the container initially was a giant bathhouse, kind of like Soho House with like spa and treatment rooms and restaurant. Then we realized during COVID in this small space, we could actually be way more intimate and do these like guided classes. And that's what makes it different and not a spa is that there's like a trained facilitator who's walking you through, you know, subconscious reprogramming or self hypnosis or gratitude exercise, whatever it is, as part of, of these. And so we're like, wow, that's brilliant. Like that's where the magic is. And then also, you know, or you could come to that space and like kind of hang out. So when we did that, we realized like inward everything we bootstrapped. So if you're an entrepreneur listening, like this is legitimately a business in a garage, like, that's, it's a garage, you know. Then the app was like zoom calls. And so we had no money. And so we've recently raised venture funding, which we're pretty excited about. And okay, well, inward how it came up, we just put out a Google sheet and said to our community, hey, what should we call this? Should we have a website? What should it be? And someone was like, inward, like, oh, that's cool, let's make it that. And so we're opening now, we're spending money, let's put some effort into what should it be called. And so the thing with inward, it's cool, but it's only one direction. It's like, why am I even going inward? For what? It's kind of like calm as a meditation. Okay, it's calm, but that's not really what's happening with meditation, you know. And so we were like, also what we're doing, we're providing these peak experiences to encourage belonging and awe. And so half the experience is like 45 person sauna, somebody dancing, waving a towel like it's a performance. It's not inward at all. And so we're like, we want something bigger. And so the idea was all these experiences take you on a journey. Breathwork, intense sauna, sweat lodge, ice bath, right? And this journey, it might be wellness journey, longevity journey, it could be an emotional journey. Whatever it is, it's you going somewhere, changing. And so like, well, what do you journey on? You journey on a ship? We're like, well, we don't really want it. Like ship, what kind of ship? And we're like, well, it's kind of like this other ship. And so it's just like something completely out there and new. And it sounded funky and like the logo for it is amazing, which I'll share. And the other cool thing we thought is not only are you journeying, but you're working on something. And so it may be relationship, partnership, companionship, apprenticeship, mentorship, all these different styles of ship. So it's kind of like where are. It's like the container that you're traveling on and we're all on it together. And when you come in the space like it's all wood and brick. It feels like you're inside like this ship together. And so we thought that was really cool. We worked with a brand partner and she spent like two years going to our spaces doing our experiences. And I came up with this and we think it's something that can stand in New York or LA or you know, in the US and some of these big cities. And that's kind of the goal is that this should be everywhere. So as exactly what you said, like most of my friends came back from retreats or psychedelics and were like, what do I do? You know. And so the idea is like huge space, super cool. And one thing that we didn't talk about was just using fun. So people haven't gotten to this stuff. It's super fun. So like you come back from retreat, you're inviting someone, you're not like, you know, I went to Landmark, I love Landmark, but it's like, hey, come to Landmark with me. There's like some serious resistance of like, what is this thing? You know, and so if I'm like, yo, come to this like Soho House looking place to watch this performance, you're like, fuck yeah. You know, so that's kind of, I think we've cracked the code of like the entry level into a lot of this, this stuff.

Yeah. And you know, to your point about that, it's, you know, those who are resistant to spirituality or ceremony or even like a sound bath if you've never experienced one, you're like, I'm gonna lay around and someone's gonna bang on bulls. Like, what's the point of that? When you can have someone curious and excited and open minded to experience a unique event, performance, a gathering, it's having them choose to be a part of it and having them feel excited to be a part of something as opposed to, you know, with some of these courses or forums or modalities. You know, often people are resistant because they don't want to change or they don't want them to try to change them. But when they come to an experience that's immersive and it's interesting and unique for them, that stirs up those emotions within that within them, that has them curious and intrigued and wanting to learn more. So I think with introducing people to a new concept or something that is going to stir some things up, it's very important to meet them where they're at and not try to, to. I guess I don't say force anything on them, but kind of push anything on them. You Got to let them step into.

It.

To the level that they feel comfortable. And from what you've shared, I mean, it sounds like an awesome space that when you walk in, you're like, oh, wow, I feel like I'm in a spa, but I also feel like I'm in a cool lounge, you know, and, and. And the container set and setting, it's so important to having a deep, immersive experience, for sure. You know, you've got me super excited and stoked to experience other ship. When is it launching? When can people experience it?

What's. Yeah, so the, the. As I mentioned, you know, so some, like the founders of Soul Cycle have. Are backing us along with a bunch of like, you know, a bunch of angels from the wellness space in the US and so the idea is to get this out as fast as possible. Get to the US as fast as possible. So the app will be ready in about three weeks, the beta. So I'll send it to you to test. And what's cool about our app is instead of using traditional meditation and meditation music, it's electronic music like DJ Blondish and awesome Burning man dj. So when you're listening, you're following along to the beat and you're like, whoa, this sounds awesome. It's more like a fitness class for the mind than traditional meditation. And so again, it's like, if you struggle, it's more exciting and fun and cool. And we're really playful. We're not trying to say, hey, you need to do this. Come to the space, have a good time, maybe work on your emotions a bit. That's gonna be fun. You know, that's kind of the. The brand ethos. So app is in three weeks, and then the space December 1st is the. Is the goal for opening. Okay.

Amazing. Damn, I'm gonna miss it. I'm going back to Costa Rica November 1st.

But. Well, when you're back. Well, you're experience it right now.

Yeah. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. So we're actually at Inward now. And how this kind of came about was I was meeting up with our buddy Jason Brown. We were supposed to have dinner. He's like, change of plans. Want to do an ice cream bath at Inward? I'm like, yeah, I want to do.

You know, we should do is. I don't know if, you know, set the stuff up after and have me interview you about what was your experience like and you can explain live. So people are like, you know, like, post ice bath, you can just say.

Like, hey, this is what happened. Yeah. And we could even do that just with him. Talk to camera kind of point and chatting, whatever. But yeah, yeah, absolutely. I'm excited for. And I'm excited to experience it, how you lead it, because as I understand, they'll be some breath work, there'll be some tension setting, and then in we go.

Absolutely amazing. Cool.

Well, I appreciate you taking the time. I appreciate you, you know, sharing your journey and for creating this. You know, it's.

It's.

As I said before, it's. It's very much needed right now. You know, the world needs healing. Men need healing. You know, and we talked about this earlier like, you know, men, right now, we're all dealing with a lot of challenges, a lot of pressure, and to stop. Slow down the mind, go inward to work on what's there so that we can hop on the other ship and journey to places beyond our limitations. Places beyond what we can actually even fathom right now is super important. So, you know, I'm grateful for you for creating this. I can't wait to experience the ice bath journey with you tonight. And yeah, man, just wishing you great success. And however. However I can support, you know, love to share the app with people viewing and yeah, man, just. I'm excited for you.

Absolutely. Thank you. Well, grateful that you just made the time, so it's nice to. I always love telling the story.

Yeah, amazing. It's a beautiful story. So we're gonna spread it far and wide.