We live in the land of the beautiful. Our world is a bubble of gyms, yoga studios, waxers, trainers, nutritionists, life coaches, publicists, managers and agents. There are stylists and hairdressers to tell us what to wear and how to style our hair. We are surrounded by images and messages that tell us how we should look, dress and behave.
I have friends who only eat vegan, others are on the paleo diet, which is different from the primal diet I understand. There are those of us who are avid triathletes, and others who prefer to workout with hunks of iron in the park in a “boot camp” style group exercise.
Santa Monica is ground zero in self-improvement and becoming the best you can be. I like that for the most part. We are a society that is incredibly rich in our abilities to improve our lives.
This past weekend I was blessed to spend the morning at the Annenberg Community Beach House, the historically significant location where William R. Hearst and his “lady friend” Marion Davies entertained. The reason for my good fortune was the launch of BetterYou.com.
BetterYou.com is a website dedicated to the latest trends in health, fitness and beauty. I was invited by Hope Horner, who I’ve known for a few years now, to come out and explore the latest trends and newest information about health and beauty.
The day was gorgeous and as the bustling concierges of BetterYou.com were scurrying about in the last minute throes of event production I was able to wander amongst private chefs, private trainers and make-up sales ladies from Mary Kay.
The folks at ChefsDiet.com were there talking about how convenient and easy it is to have a private chef today. I wanted to sample some of their food which looked great in the brochure, but alas they weren’t cooking. I was able to sample some of the goodies from Garden of Eating (www.goecatering.com), who had some tasty treats in the form of various healthy-ish breads and those little quiches that are so tasty but probably not very low-fat and heart-healthy.
The BetterYou event gave me an opportunity to have an interesting conversation with Lisa from Sugar Me, www.lasugaring.com, who grabbed my attention with a picture of a half naked man. She has this picture of a client of hers that is a mixed martial arts athlete and it draws a lot of oohs and ahhs. I’ve wondered for years what sugaring is, and it turns out that it is hair removal using melted sugar.
She got my attention quickly, because I know that sugar burns are brutally painful, and I could not imagine what this was all about. Lisa has this very comforting demeanor, which I imagine you would need if you are going to put something hot on someone and then rip out their hair by the root. As we chatted, a pair of ladies were asking her questions and as she explains the process, I give in and let her do a small section of my wrist. It wasn’t too painful, and there was just a bit of redness for a few hours afterwards.
I don’t know that I’ll be having large, or even small, portions of my body sugared, but it was good to learn something new, which is why I love going to events like this one. Seeing people start new businesses and finding new ways to improve myself is a very rewarding experience. I love trying new things, and this weekend I also tried out the latest trend in hydration, coconut water.
Vita Coco’s an all-natural, super-hydrating, fat-free, cholesterol-free, nutrient-packed, potassium-stacked, mega-electrolyte coconut water that doesn’t have a very strong coconut flavor actually. The one that I tried was peach/mango flavor that was mild and smooth. I’d wondered about it, because I see so many people drinking it around town, and now I know what all the hubbub is about.
There was a selection of physical trainers, but I think my favorite was Sonki Fitness, (www.sonkifitness.com) founded by Sonki Hong, who must be a living Energizer Bunny. He is a West Point grad, who won more awards that I can name. Definitely a superstar in the fitness arena and his bootcamps are quite popular.
Overall the BetterYou.com launch event was a great success and a wonderful opportunity to showcase the Annenberg Beach House in all its glory. I learned a ton this weekend, and I’m sure that if you to go betteryou.com, you’ll find some great resources to keep yourself in shape and looking your best.
David Pisarra is a family law attorney focusing on father’s rights and men’s Issues in the Santa Monica firm of Pisarra & Grist. He can be reached at dpisarra@pisarra.com or (310) 664-9969.
