The Stash - by Adam Lewis

Your guide to the best in vital living in Toronto and beyond. Sharing news, insights, events and more.

Episode 1: Welcome to The Stash - Watch This Video For a Walkthrough from Me

Table of Contents

1. The Stash - by Adam Lewis

2. 🔍️ Interview Findings

3. 🥳 Healthy Fun At Home

4. ❤️‍🔥 Products I’m Enjoying

5. 📆 My Event Picks for the Week (Jan 20)

Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Stash. To start, a little behind the name, as it’s defined:

I’ve also been sporting a pretty epic moustache the past couple of years and many in my inner circle refer to me as “Stache Adams” aka Stache - so the naming has felt appropriate.

I have found myself intertwined with many amazing communities in Toronto, all of which have their own events and offerings spinning out of them that aren’t necessarily accessible to those on the outskirts. In this societal landscape we live in, they are in a way, hidden - not intentionally, of course, but seem to sometimes be privy to those who have already had a peek. So please enjoy, and take a look at The Stash of gems I am collecting along my journey through this thriving landscape in Toronto. They come in the form of experiences, information, events and other findings found in this wacky world of well-being in the 21st century.

Wellness seems to be a wonderfully vague term, and part of what this project serves to do is create some definition around it for this collective.

Fortunately, I’ve spent the last week conducting non-stop 1:1 interviews with people in my community asking a series of questions about their lifestyles as it pertains to health and wellness - based on the interviews conducted so far, here’s what people have to say and how we’re choosing to define it for now.

Wellness is a holistic state of well-being that encompasses physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions, emphasizing their interconnectedness. It involves feeling good, functioning optimally, living authentically, fostering meaningful connections, and pursuing personal growth with balance, mindfulness, and intentionality.

Would you agree? Let me know!

Below are some more consolidated findings from these interviews I’d like to share too.

🔍️ Interview Findings

🤗 Community and Connection 🤗 This is a dominant theme, appearing in almost every interview when inquiring about well-being. There is a consistent emphasis on the importance of community in their wellness journeys, highlighting its role in:

• Support and Accountability: Having a community provides a sense of belonging, shared experience, and mutual support, particularly during challenging times. It also helps with accountability and motivation for maintaining wellness practices.

• Combating Loneliness: Many interviewees expressed concerns of loneliness or isolation, even those with existing social networks. They see community as a way to combat this and create deeper, more meaningful connections.

• Shared Experiences: Participating in wellness activities with others amplifies the benefits and creates a stronger sense of camaraderie.

• Learning and Growth: Community provides opportunities for learning, knowledge sharing, and expanding one's perspective on wellness. It offers a space for vulnerability.

Community is a bit of a nebulous word - in interviewing, the aggregated definition based on everyone’s responses comes up as:

 A dynamic and multifaceted concept that transcends mere association, embodying shared values, mutual support, and meaningful connection. It is a space where individuals find belonging, accountability, and safety to be authentic and vulnerable. Through collective learning, inspiration, and reciprocal energy exchange, a true community fosters personal and collective growth, creating a foundation for deeper relationships and transformational change beyond transactional interactions.

I will share more comprehensive findings from which this definition is derived. If you’re eager to learn more - just reply here and I’ll share them personally. Otherwise I’ll keep dripping out the findings in this newsletter, there’s a lot of juicy stuff to unpack. For example, it’s reported to be critical to each person’s sense of well-being, yet unlike physical or mental wellness, there don’t seem to be any clear measures and procedures for ameliorating it. Funny huh?

The loneliness stuff really hits and this to me is and this push for social health is an evident response to the issue illustrated in the graphs below, showcasing what happens when there is a lack of connection. People aren’t to blame but the society we live in is one that’s produced such levels of isolation. While these trends represent the US - I would expect similarities represented here in Canada.

Social Fitness is also an emerging trend in the wellness industry, a counter-narrative to the graphs above. Alcohol is falling out of favour, and demand for healthier events and alternatives is increasing. I’m not surprised, chances are if you’re reading this neither are you. Authentic connecting is the shit and in my personal experience has had some of the greatest impacts on my overall sense of well-being in the last 3 years across all domains. How we do that is where the fun comes in, I’ll speak to more of that in future editions of this newsletter 😉 I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of Return on Community (ROC) instead of ROI in the process of new venture creation. I first learned about this concept from the book Make No Small Plans, a story about the guys who started the Summit Series. A highly recommended read for anyone building or aspiring to.

🥳 Healthy Fun At Home

Exercising my social fitness ranges widely. Lately, I’ve found my socializing in the winter to be more intimate and spent with smaller groups of friends at a time. The other weekend with some loved ones, we plugged my phone into the big speaker at home and threw on a 15-minute breathwork track from Othership led by my dear friend Harry. I highly recommend trying. It’s called Feel Good Now, and you can try it out here. 🫁 

Lie down, get comfortable, toss an eye mask on and go deep. Bonus points if you come out of the session and share anything that came up that the altered states of breath may have induced. This one is short and light-hearted. For deeper journeys you can check out something like the Self Love Session on their Youtube Channel or subscribe to the app.

❤️‍🔥 Products I’m Enjoying

Paradigm Nutrition Methylene Blue - This particular one is ultra-pure, lab-certified, and the founder is a beauty. Those who know me are aware that my health practices press against both boundaries of empirical research and kooky. Some would say my methods are a little…unconventional.

Methylene Blue (MB) seems to be one of those products that satisfies both and is increasing in acceptance. It was originally formulated as a synthetic textile dye. It was then adapted for use for surgeons for enhancing visibility during procedures and for mapping the body - 18,000 studies and counting later, realizing it also had several health such as containing antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties. Which in lay terms suggests its benefit for minimizing infections, supporting neurological health and other mental conditions and cellular health on a mitochondrial level which is what excited me the most. Mitochondria (THE POWERHOUSE OF THE CELL 💪 ) are responsible for generating energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Dysfunction of mitochondria is common in most neurodegenerative diseases 😢. Fortunately, MB has shown remarkable effects as an electron carrier in the electron transport chain in the mitochondria, repairing and enhancing ATP production, optimizing mitochondrial function and improving cellular energy production.

TLDR: METHYLENE BLUE = MORE ENERGY

I love energy and always want more of it to keep living this epic life. Where I resource it from and getting it right on a cellular level is important to me. I find myself reaching for stimulants like coffee/caffeine far less when my baseline energy is already dialled in from things like this. Side note, I stack this with creatine which is also optimal for cellular energy and ATP production. I’ll be going deep on this one next newsletter.

You can see what I mean by it being kind of kooky yet effective in terms of it being a miraculous accident of a health product coming to be - I also forgot to mention if taken on its own will stain your mouth blue so you look like an alien for a bit so if you decide to try it out, take it in a shot of water. I drink mine back with warm lemon water and salt first thing in the AM.

You can use the code ‘STASH’ at checkout on the link above for a discount if you too choose to join me in the Blue World *queue Eiffel 65

📆 My Event Picks for the Week (Jan 20)

Life, Death & Legacy: A Visionary Symposium

Date & Time: January 25, 2025 1:00 PM → 5:00 PM

Location: 60 Lowther Avenue Toronto, ON M5R 1C7 Canada

Ticket Price: From Advance CA$43.93

Description: A thought-provoking experience in collaboration with the 10th Toronto Visionary Art Exhibit and a panel of expert speakers. This unique afternoon symposium will feature a Visionary Art Gallery and Wisdom Talks by Expert Speakers anchoring in spiritual insights into Life, Death & Legacy.

The Invisible Tide: Awakening Unseen Forces

Date & Time (multiple times available): January 25, 2025 6:00 PM → 7:15 PM, January 25, 2025 7:30 PM → 8:45 PM, January 26, 2025 6:00 PM → 7:15 PM, January 26, 2025 7:30 PM → 8:45 PM

Location: 91 Pelham Avenue Toronto, ON M6N 1A5 Canada

Ticket Price: FREE

Description: An immersive sensory installation that reimagines the boundaries of perception through light, sound, scent, and touch.

REUNION: 400 WOMEN ALCOHOL-FREE DANCE PARTY (TORONTO) ft. DJ RAE & KAGE

Date & Time: January 25, 2025 7:30 PM → 10:30 PM

Location: Church of the Holy Trinity, 10 Trinity Square, Toronto, ON M5G 1B1, Canada

Ticket Price: From CA$64.41 | Tier 4 Tickets (Available till Jan 23) Bundles Available Too

Description: The biggest alcohol-free all-women's dance party of the year where we will dance as a collective to our remembering with 400 women, your fellow sisters.

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⭐️ I’ll be reading each one personally, so please introduce yourself. I’d love to hear your goals, desires and anything else that can help me help you on your journey. ⭐️

👋 How to get involved:

• Looking to attend more events? See upcoming events here.

• Are you a facilitator hosting an event or experience? Get your event featured in front of thousands of locals. Share your details here.

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• Are you hiring? Reply to me directly here with what you’re looking for.

Book a private 1:1 with me by replying here with the subject “Request 1:1” and a short description of why in the body.

Connect and Share:
Stay tuned for next week’s list and learnings, and don’t forget to share this newsletter with friends who might enjoy the journey too. Follow me on Instagram and LinkedIn for more updates and what else is Stash’d away.

🙏 Special Thanks This Week:

To my dear friends Matteo and Wes, thank you for the inspiration for the initial name of The Stash. And Nicolle for the suggestion to loom my newsletter (This will likely be a regular installation). And to all of you who have been taking calls with me, subscribed to this newsletter, replied and supported along the way.

Thank you, I love you all ❤️ 

Adam