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"The Evolved Stylist" - the podcast hosted by Sarai & Rebecca two badass, experienced hairstylist vets in their 40's. Get ready for a wild ride as we bring you hilarious anecdotes, unfiltered conversations, and a no-hold-barred approach to life, recovery, and personal growth. We're not afraid to embrace the gnarly work and dive deep into the woo, as we explore the journey of evolving into our highest selves. Join us as we navigate the ups and downs, the twists and turns, and the wild adventures that come with embracing the hair industry, the healing process, and the relentless pursuit of our greatest good in this crazy thing called life. Get ready to rock your world and unleash your inner badass with "The Evolved Stylist".
Sarai & Rebecca combine personal narratives, expert interviews, and practical advice to create a podcast that encourages personal growth, professional development, and empowerment. By sharing authentic stories and valuable insights, we aim to inspire listeners to embrace their own journeys of evolution and transformation.
Hello, and welcome back to the Evolve Stylist podcast. I'm Rebecca Taylor.
sarai:And I'm Sarai fucking spear. Hey. Hey, Rebecca. Motherfucking spear. Just just in case anybody forgot, like, you needed the reminder.
rebecca:What's what the fuck? Hello. I this is just right off the top. I was telling Sarai before we started. I was like, my ADHD undiagnosed I diagnosed myself.
rebecca:I know enough about it to know I got it to not go to the doctor and try to get on meds. Anyway, it's in full if you didn't believe I had it, just that last statement.
sarai:Yeah. ADHD for you is raging today, which is really funny because I'm very Chinese squirrel today too. So this is gonna be a fun episode, RT. It's gonna be a ride. I feel like, yeah, it's just it's one of those days.
sarai:It's one
rebecca:of those days, and it's kind of, like, overcast outside. And I don't know about you. I'm very affected by the weather. And so between ADHD and the weather, I'm just like, okay.
sarai:Well, I'll be your ray of sunshine, Rebecca. How's that?
rebecca:You always are. You always are. And I'm I was, like, chomping at the bit to be recording podcasts even when you were on your retreat. I look forward to this day. I especially look forward that our podcast is freaking officially live.
rebecca:It went live last Monday. It's just cool to sit back and see it exist and hear the feedback and also be recording new ones because this is the train has left the station. We're doing this now. I love it.
sarai:Yeah. We we can't put it back in the station. It has thoroughly left. It is exciting, and we I don't know. It's just it's really cool to see this thing that you and I wanted to do, and and we talked about I mean, we've been talking about this for a year and to finally just be like, okay.
sarai:Fine. Fuck it. We'll figure it out as we go. And I just have to give props to miss Rebecca Taylor real quick because, Rebecca, much like myself, has been anti tech. And we're like, if we can't do it on our phone, we don't really wanna do it.
sarai:And last year, I got an Imac, and it changed my fucking life. And Rebecca Taylor finally upgraded to a big girl computer. She got her Imac, and it's, like, life changing. So congratulations on your big move, friend.
rebecca:Thanks. This isn't even sponsored by Apple. I wish it fucking was, and I know you do too, but, like, it is a big deal. Like, thank you for recognizing that because I was texting her right away. I'm like, I did it.
rebecca:I upgraded. I evolved. And okay. You can get shit done on the to at the very bare minimum on your phone. It's painstaking.
rebecca:Now this is what I know. You can even get shit done to your laptop. Little easier, but my god, this Imac. I'm, like, creating websites. I'm doing payment portals.
rebecca:I'm sending out automated shit. Like, it makes it so much easier that you wanna do it and you wanna learn if you don't know. Like, I'm I can call myself right now a self taught web designer because you should see this shit. It's pretty crazy. It's crazy.
sarai:Enough. I wish you guys could have been on the conversation with us before and actually seen miss Rebecca Taylor is creating a website for something really fucking cool that she is doing. And we both have a lot of balls in the air. We've got our education. We've got our tour.
sarai:We both have our retreats. So let's talk a little bit about that, Rebecca.
rebecca:Oh, you're going in. I love you.
sarai:I am. I am. Let's fucking go.
rebecca:You know me too well. You know what I wanna talk about. You know what I'm jazzed about. I also told you I was up at literally 255 AM shitting around. It's not shitting around now.
rebecca:I'm getting shit done. Working. I'm gonna reframe that.
sarai:Called working.
rebecca:Yeah. It's because I'll tell you why. Because I I had a dream, which okay. Anyway, I did have a dream. Sorry.
rebecca:I was gonna make some weird joke. It's not that's okay. Oh my god. So I did have a dream, and I woke up in the middle of, like, the night, 255, and I had a dream about the retreat. It was already happening, this retreat that I'm planning.
rebecca:I'm a tell you about the inception of it in, like, a second, but, like, it was so vivid. Like, the people are already there. We're already going through the motions. Like, it was such a good dream. It woke me right up out of my sleep, and I had to work.
rebecca:And we were talking about that before when inspiration strikes, and it's meant to be and it feels really good. You just do it. It doesn't feel like work. This does not feel like work. It feels like creation.
rebecca:It feels like gut instinct type stuff. And that's what this retreat is. It's, it's called play with purpose. It is taking place in Koh Samui, Thailand, February 2025, and it's nuts how quickly this happened. I got back from the retreat that the listeners heard me going on on about, like a yoga retreat.
rebecca:And within a week, I had called the retreat center. I put a deposit. I signed the contract. I've reached out to the homies. Sarai is one of those homies, so I'm so excited to you know, us to talk more about that.
rebecca:And and now I'm building a website and making, you know, the payment plan portal and just, like, where you can look at the rooms and break I mean, I've done everything. Like, plan the itinerary. You name it. I've done it. This all really took shape in a matter of a week, and now it's just evolving.
rebecca:It's not even gonna happen for another year. That's what and I have other shit going on between now and then, obviously. Can't just sit back and fucking whatever. Live it up for a year. Things are happening, but this is so oh, it feels so good.
rebecca:Anyway, I don't even know what else to say about it, but that's the gist, and I'm freaking stoked about it.
sarai:So what inspired this type of retreat versus, like, let's say, the the type of retreat I do, Balan style of society where there's hair, there's business, there's social media. What really inspired this sort of
rebecca:retreat? Well, even before I knew what, like, identifying my brand and my mission statement and my core values were, like, from the very beginning, just who I was as a human has always been leaning into play in my inner child. Like, I've loved to goof. Even in reverent situations, you know, going to all these healing retreats and healing modalities and in therapy, it's not like I would, laugh to mask stuff. Maybe sometimes that was a coping mechanism.
rebecca:But in general, like, I just have always loved Levity. And in even dark situations or whatever the case is, I goof. I do. I just goof. It's like a part of innately who I am.
rebecca:It's just playing and experiencing life even in my forties. I'm still gonna lean way the fuck in to my inner child and play. And it's not immaturity. It's just like this, like, love of life. And sometimes that was dim.
rebecca:Sometimes that was very magnified, but that's just who the fuck I am. I don't know if you could attest to that, but generally people that around me know that even in shitty darker situations, I'm gonna find
sarai:a way to goof. I just love it.
rebecca:Yeah. So that's where the play with purpose comes from. But this isn't just like a bunch of clowns going to to Thailand.
sarai:Please no clowns. I am deathly afraid of clowns. Okay.
rebecca:So is Jessica. So, and and I used I was like, hey. Come with me. We're gonna go watch it. I was such a shithead.
rebecca:You're a fuck off. Nope. I know. It's exposure therapy though. But, anyways, like, clowns in the literal or figurative sense.
rebecca:Like, we're not just, like, straight clowning. You know? That's what the purpose part is. And the purpose part is now I'm a freaking seasoned vet when it comes to retreats. I've been to trauma retreats, healing retreats, yoga retreats, wellness fucking retreats, you know, sensory deprivation, like, all these different retreats.
rebecca:And the thing that really is striking me as being a truth, not just for myself, but my collective of, like, amazing humans that I have in my life, mainly women. It's just, like, the community that is built up around me and that I've cultivated and all my friends and so many people I've talked to from, like, 2020 to now. And, like, it's different for everybody, but there's a common threat. It's so many people I know dove into their healing journey. You're one of those.
rebecca:Like, head on, I'm one of those. Like, a lot of dark stuff happened and we've been doing all of these, like, healing and kinda deep reverent things, it's time to celebrate all the hard work. It's time to live life. And for me, what better place it I mean, for me, like, Thailand is truly my home away from home. So between all the damn retreats, being a retreat fiend, knowing what I like, what I don't like, and I there are things I like about all of them.
rebecca:They were all necessary, but I just feel like there's this collective, like, let's live, let's celebrate, let's play, let's lean into just whoever the hell we are in this moment. And, like, all this hard work we've done, here's why. Here's why. Let's celebrate life. So that's the play with purpose and then this whole retreat is gonna be lots of, play.
rebecca:And the purpose part is, like, this is just something I am passionate about and I share with a lot of my coaching clients is, like, your what is your purpose? You know what I mean? Like and for me, that entails needing to show up online. I need to advertise myself. I need to advertise my business, but I do in a way that feels really good.
rebecca:I play there too. I play too much. Honestly, I play everywhere. So, like, how do you authentically, create content and pivot and find a way to share your message in a way that feels really, really good and not social media being this awful place you have to show up to, but, like, how do you make that fun? So we're doing content creation.
rebecca:We still have some good, feel good, soulful, spiritual modalities. Like, Sarai's gonna lead yoga and some meditation. I'm so fucking stoked. So I'm bringing, you know, people in on this with me. I've got one of my homies.
rebecca:She's like she does all kinds of stuff. She's a musician. She's, like, done her all types of, like, training and stuff, but she's gonna do somatic laughter therapy. Like Stop. Girl
sarai:I just got whole body chills.
rebecca:It is serious. And she's going to do, like, guided meditations, and she's an amazing musician too. I've known her for years. She's been my model. She's, like, this fixture in the LA, like, music and art scene or whatever.
rebecca:So she is going she's doing somatic laughter therapy. We're doing ziplining. We are doing elephant sanctuary, temple tours, night market, like and a lot a lot a lot of chilling too. A lot of chilling on top of it. Like, do whatever the hell you want.
rebecca:It's your experience. If you don't wanna go to a social media workshop on a Wednesday, fucking don't. Go walk on the beach. Go play with the the temple dogs that are running around. Go kayak.
rebecca:Go there's so much that's happening at this retreat that I experienced myself last like, couple weeks ago that was just like, I made this one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and that's without even me curating the shit. So imagine if this is
sarai:what what I wanna do to make it,
rebecca:like, the next level or more fun or whatever, I rented scooters. My homies and I rented scooters, parked them outside of our villas, scooted around the jungle every day. Like, this is gonna be the trip of a lifetime, and selfishly, I don't care if anybody goes. I'm going again. Goddamn it.
rebecca:I don't give a shit. No. I do care because I paid a half. Going.
sarai:I'm going. So You're going. Me and you. We we we do, monkey shit, dog shit, like, yoga shit. Like, it's fine.
rebecca:We'll have fun. Shit. Exactly. And and I take that back. I do care if people go, I at least wanna break even.
rebecca:I paid the deposit. There's a contract. 15 to 20 rooms, potentially more. But I this is very curated, like I said. So it's all the homies first, all the people that I know, like, that this is gonna resonate with.
rebecca:And I have I'm very lucky to say, like, a a big solid group of homies that would be interested in this. So then then it goes to the email list and then I venture, dare I say, I don't even think this is gonna have to go public. That's truly how I feel about it. So Yeah. It's gonna stay intimate.
rebecca:Anyway, I'm jazzed. You can tell. I went from, like, not being able to form a sentence to forming 20 paragraphs. Thank you for asking me about that. I'm just really grateful to be doing this with you in whatever capacity because I know I want you to chill too.
rebecca:I know that you've not gone to Southeast Asia. I tell you about it. This is, like, gonna be a big trip for everybody going. So I don't want even the people that are helping me like you to, like, feel like it's work. This is not gonna be work for me, for you, for fucking anybody.
rebecca:This is gonna be a fun trip, but I'm just stoked you're gonna be there.
sarai:I just I I am just When you asked me, I was like, full body yes. I don't I don't even think I listened to your full message, and I think I even said that to you. I was like, I think I listened to half of it, and the answer is yes. Whatever the fuck you need in any capacity, I don't give a fuck I'm in. Like and and I think that's so cool to have people like that in your life because that was you at my first retreat.
sarai:And even my second retreat, you're like, yep. Cool. Done. Deal. Let's go.
sarai:You know?
rebecca:I'm like When you know, you know. When you I just feel and then the people I don't know about you, but I feel like we have so many we've talked about this, is that the people currently in our lives, you don't have to second guess. You don't have to think about weird, ulterior anything or, like, you feel supported. You feel safe. You feel it's mutual.
rebecca:And I'm just really, really lucky to know with my whole ass gut and soul and heart the people that I fuck with, I fuck with for a reason now and it just feels good. So, of course, I'm gonna say yes to that. And just like you, of course, you were, like, immediately yes. And, like, I don't have time for, this I mean, I don't know how this is gonna sound, but I don't have time for has half assed or weird energetics with people now. It's like, my people are my people.
rebecca:And I'm not saying no new friends because I've made a lot of new friends, but I'm just very in tuned. Very in tune. You know? Like you said, full body, hell yeah. Full it's it's a yes or a no for me, I guess, right now.
rebecca:Yeah. Yeah.
sarai:I took
rebecca:that down on the path of just something else weird, but, yes, thank you for saying yes.
sarai:Yeah. Fuck. Thanks for asking me, dude.
rebecca:Dude. I look like a sloth.
sarai:No. You don't. You don't look like a sloth. Please hold on. Hold on.
sarai:Rebecca, you and I need to have a moment. Listeners,
rebecca:just give me
sarai:a second. Please repeat that.
rebecca:I oh, thank you for calling me out. Uh-huh. I've I'm looking at myself right now, and one eye looks little and one eye looks big. That's just the way the cookie crumbles. I'm not a sloth.
rebecca:I'm a beautiful human being. Thank you for making me catch myself. Thank you so much.
sarai:Okay. Now we can resume our conversation. The truth remains, I have one big eye and one little eye. But, anyway, so do I. So do I.
sarai:Honestly. Yep. I can even I can even see it now. Okay. We digress.
sarai:Yes. So what were we talking about? Oh, yeah. Retreats. Retreats and all the cool shit we're doing.
rebecca:And know about yours. We were Oh. This a good segue. I need to know about face first, I need to know about the retreat you just came back from because I had FOMO. Then let's talk about your whole, like, why retreats?
rebecca:Why are you planning them? Why did you plan them? But, anyway, first things first. How did it go into
sarai:first. This retreat that I just got back from was a I've never done this before. It was a retreat for my educators, for Balanced Stylist Society. And I brought in, my coach, Andrew Carruthers, which love him. He's so amazing.
sarai:And we he facilitated, a full day workshop that was I mean, we were in tears. We were dancing. We were doing a aikido. We were taking I mean, like, every range of emotions and conversations came up that day. And so it's really cool because all of my humans are from different areas of life.
sarai:They've been doing hair for, you know, varying amounts of years. They have varying amounts of followers, and so, like, nobody's the fucking same. And you would think to get 8, 9 people under one roof. And by one roof, I do mean it was a 16 bedroom cabin. It was 4 stories.
sarai:It had a theater, so, like, you know, we we had our space. But to just bring people together from different walks of life, different experiences, different education experiences for the purpose of connecting with each other, for the purpose of getting to know one another, and for the purpose of bettering our skills. And I'll be totally transparent with you. I thought for sure I wouldn't learn shit at Andrew's workshop. Not that it was like, I thought it was gonna be bad or anything, but I was like, dude, I've been educating for 8 years.
sarai:Like, I fucking know my shit. Like, you know, look at me. I'm a bad bitch. I learned so much. And I also got to experience watching my educators, watching them have these moments, these breakthroughs, these breakdowns.
sarai:And it was 4 days of the the first day was really intense. It was a 10 hour workshop with Andrew, and then we did a little connection. We did the Delft deck that night. And then the next day, we did, we did a lot of, like, bonding exercises, and I led them in blindfold yoga. And I know there were a lot of scaredy cats when we first started, And the the purpose of the blindfold yoga was to not give a fuck about anything that's going on around you, not pay attention to what others are thinking or saying or doing, and to just be free to be in yourself, to be in that moment, and to be present and to be connected with yourself because we're so busy taking care of other people all the time.
sarai:Whether it's in our chair, whether it's online, whether it's in our home life, we're always so fucking busy. And so I wanted them to be able to just connect with themselves. And I have to tell you, it was so hard to keep my shit together and lead them in this because people are, like, scared to move, and then they'd move and then these big movements and people are turning around. And I'm like, oh god. Somebody's gonna hit their head on their fucking table.
sarai:I'm like so the experience for me was very different than the experience for them. And then we had a group photo shoot that day. We all took turns cooking. So we had people cook for breakfast, people cook for dinner. We got to share our love and communicate through food.
sarai:And then the last day, which is really funny because I have I'm a planner. I'm a Virgo. I am a type a. I'm a fucking control freak. And I had everything planned down to the minute and every last detail.
sarai:And the week before, I kinda have a little a little breakdown. And, my one of my friends was like, bro, loosen up the schedule. Like, let us have some fun. And I'm like, oh, no. Fun time is scheduled in there.
sarai:And she said, repeat that sentence back to yourself. And I was like, okay. Fine. So Wednesday, we kind of, like, flew by the seat of our pants, and I was like, people are gonna be mad because I don't have content for them. And can I tell you, we had the best motherfucking day, I think maybe ever?
sarai:We had breakfast. We got to, like, chill out for a bit. We all made a group plan. We ended up playing putt putt mini golf, mini bowling. We did this, top jump, which is a trampoline park, and we rock climbed.
sarai:I'm still fucking sore 5 days later. We went to this cute little town and walked around in all these shops. The amount of pure unadulterated laughter that we had with each other. And then the piece de resistance was we put pantyhose over our head at night and pulled on each other's pantyhose and made reels. Like, I can't tell you the amount of joy that I left with and feeling so connected with those humans.
sarai:And over 3 days, watching them have their barriers broken down, watching them sort of give up control or feel the need to be a certain way with each other. Like, we're showing up in our pajamas, and I'm farting. And I'm like, guys, this is me. Like, you know I love you because I fart around you. You know, just being able to fucking be present, to be us, to have fun, to fart around as RT says And be safe.
sarai:Just be a kid, you know, to it was it was so fucking fun, and we we all share, an album. There's, like, 9 100 videos and photos in it. And I'm telling you, if I ever get depressing again, the videos that I will go back to are the ones of us laughing so hard. You can literally hear everybody say, like, oh my god. I just peed a little.
sarai:Oh my god. I just I pissed my pants. Oh my god. I just farted. Like, we can't catch our breath.
sarai:We're laughing so hard. We're excreting all over ourself. Like, those are those moments that for me, you you can't take back. No matter what happens in your life, you've always got this moment in time where you were laughing so hard. You were so connected with another human in that moment of joy and connecting with your inner child and not giving a fuck what anybody thinks.
sarai:And the whole experience was fucking incredible. It sounds like it. That sounds right
rebecca:up my alley. You un understood the assignment just like I've understood the assignment that, like, that energy definitely breeds connection. Like, at your retreat last year, the one in Utah, we were all laughing our asses off because of that. I don't know if it was a TikTok trend or whatever where we all had to sing the songs. Like, I I peed a couple of times in a moment.
rebecca:Not in the toilet, in my pants because I was laughing so hard. Like, that, I love that. And sometimes I wondered in different spaces, like, when I show up like that. Like, I went to the love retreat, and it's in Tulum, and it was very, like I said, very reverent. People are walking slowly with rose petals, and I'm just like, I'm me.
rebecca:You know? So I wonder Yeah. Yeah. Like, I wonder like, I respect everything. I respect, like, different people's situations, but and, you know, I I know when to be chill or whatever.
rebecca:But, like, I always wonder. I'm like, am I coming in too hot or too goofy in these certain spaces? And I didn't feel like that when we went to when I went to your retreat, and it was welcome. And I just I love that that is the energy. Again, that's why we're people.
rebecca:It's like you we we don't have to be so, you know, rigid and uptight and serious and and structured and all of this. And I love that was your experience for your educator retreat too. And I saw the videos. I saw fucking all the the pantyhose on the head. I saw I saw.
rebecca:And that's why I had FOMO. I'm like, that looks like a joyful time, like, really joyful. And and y'all get shit done too. Yeah. Andrew was there.
rebecca:He had workshops. Like, it was about growth and, you know, team building and all the things, but 0 corporate bullshit. Like, it doesn't have to be, like, trust falls and which Yeah. Could be cool. You can make those fun too, but it didn't have to be telecorporate.
rebecca:You know?
sarai:Yeah. You know, and it's the the last night we were sitting around after we had pissed ourselves, and we were all still sitting in our dirty pee pants. And we just started talking about all these ideas for, you know, 20 20 fives retreat. And, honestly, I was like, this cabin to me is very special. And so I I really think the 2025 retreat is gonna be something like that where we all share a fucking house in the mountains.
sarai:We fucking have a day of just bullshit and goofing, and we do the the seminars in the house, and we do the presentations. But, like, I it was just such a different vibe where it was super chill. We all get to hang out and really truly be our selves. So, you know, I've I've 2024 retreat is coming up, but I'm already like, oh, shit. 2025, I'm looking at booking in the fucking Smoky Mountains, you know, a couple giant fucking cabins so we can just run around and run amuck amuck amuck amuck amuck and still learn and grow.
rebecca:I love it. Already inspired. Like, you're in and you're already inspired for the next one. Well, let me ask you. What is your what is your like, why a retreat?
rebecca:Why did you plan your first retreat? Why the retreat you planned? What's your experience with retreats? Why are we why apparently is this whole fucking episode retreats right now? Why for you?
rebecca:And then I'll answer after that.
sarai:So I was teaching classes and had created Balanced Style Society, this this online community. And so I kind of took both of those things, and I was like, you know what I wanna do is I really want to thank this community for being part of my life, for being here, for growing, for learning. And so, honestly, the first retreat was more like a 2 day workshop. It wasn't really like a retreat retreat. It was basically a thank you to my Balance Style Society members.
sarai:And I wanted to make it so huge, and I wanted, like, a 150 people. I ended up with a 120 people. I have done enough classes. I've done enough workshops. I've been to enough, of these sort of things that I was like, oh, I I fucking got this.
sarai:And, you know, you learn as you grow. And I I learned a lot, but but I really wanted a space where people could come together exactly as they are. If you wanna dress to the nines and get funky, do it. If you wanna show up in a fucking onesie and bring a Snuggie, bitch, fucking do it. We drop our bullshit.
sarai:There's there's no preconceived notions. I wanted a space where we could hang out, where we could network, where we could get to know each other, and we could use it as a business write off. So we're gonna learn together. And so a lot of the retreats or, like, workshops that I'd been to were 1 or the other. So it's like a business or hair, and I'm like, I want I want everything.
sarai:I fucking want everything. And the most important piece to me was not just the inspiration because what I found is inspiration and motivation dies. I want that empowerment piece. I want that piece that people go, fuck, dude. So and so got on stage and did it, and they were scared shitless.
sarai:I can fucking do this. I wanted people to walk away from this experience completely fucking different than when they showed up. And not only that, but now they have a community of people to support them as they grow through life. So I I swear I would never do another one after the first one because, you know, all the backstage shit, people fighting, or people not getting off stage on time, just all the all the backdoor bullshit. I was like, fuck this shit.
sarai:I'm never doing it again. Never. And then I was like, okay. So maybe I will. And I decided to do it again.
sarai:And this year's was again, the more you do things, the more you learn, the more you grow. It was even fucking better. And I'm that's why I'm so excited for this next year. This will be my my 3rd retreat, and they just keep getting I won't say bigger because they actually keep getting smaller in attendees. But they get more intimate.
sarai:They get more vulnerable. They get more real. And I love to see the same faces come, but I also love to see new faces get to experience this this community. And, you know, these are treats. Like, you hang out with the educators.
sarai:You have fucking breakfast with them. You fucking go grab coffee with them. You talk to them. You pick their brains. It's like nobody's better than anybody else at these.
sarai:There's no fucking man behind the curtain. We're all 1. We're all humans, and we're all getting to to connect with each other. So my my whole point of this was just to empower fucking people. If you wanna do something, do it.
sarai:You know? And, like, last year at the retreat, I'll never forget. Pin up Jordan, we had a conversation, and she was like, I I wanted to do this for so long for the industry. And I'm like, then fucking do it, bitch. Like, what the fuck is stopping you?
sarai:You know? And then I see she's like, congratulations to your grandma because I broke the baby at your retreat. And I'm like, oh my god. This is the this is the shit. This is the ripple effect, and that is what I want.
sarai:I wanna create that community, that space of empowerment, not just inspiration and motivation, but, actually, you feel so empowered to take these things, put them into your own life, and create what the fuck you want out of it. And that's my that's my favorite part of these retreats is just that connection piece and that empowerment piece.
rebecca:I love it. And I'm so glad you mentioned Jordan because, like, her and I spoke a lot at that retreat. Jordan and I go way, way, way back, like, 2013 or some something something like that, like, when she came to one of my classes. But to see what she's created with the rainbow connection, and it just, like, I bet you she could attest to exactly what we're talking about when you know you know. And, like, you can get mad shit done in a short amount of time if the fire is there and the passion is there, because you're just, like, idea after inspiration after idea after connection with someone else.
rebecca:And it's, like, it just is a baby. Like you said, you are the grandmother, you know, of this idea that she ran by you, but then it's like, wow. My baby's walking. My baby's running. You know?
rebecca:My baby ain't a baby anymore. It's happening. This shit's real life, and it's just really cool to see it all take place. I know. I've made connections at at the 2 retreats that you've done that I went to.
rebecca:Like, I knew of Dawn. We actually, ironically, met first time physically, at some other retreat, the hair love retreat ages ago, 2018, 19, something like that. But, like, we didn't know each other, know each other. And because of the space that you created, like, we just laughed and played. We're each other's road dogs.
rebecca:The very last one in Utah, I, like, I rented a convertible because I figured why the fuck not. I'm in Utah. It's beautiful. Just put the top stuck in
sarai:the back seat of that, guys. I'm the tallest one. I'm 6 foot tall, and these fucking tiny munch cans made me sit in the back. Okay? Anyway, I digress.
sarai:Listen.
rebecca:I was driving, so that's a bone to pick with Dawn. I was Dawn?
sarai:You hear this? Yeah. But, you
rebecca:know, just but point is I love that bitch now. It's because it's like this potent, like, immersive time with people at retreats, and I've made so many connections. Like, oh my god, Misty. We were across the hall from each other. Her and I are, like, you know, like, getting on so well.
rebecca:She's probably come most likely coming to Thailand. Like, so many so many people, and it's that's the beauty and the power of retreats. And when you were talking about, like, why your first retreat, I had to think back, and you were like, okay. I've built a community. It says a thank you to give back.
rebecca:Shit. I've done a couple before what I think of, for me, as modern retreats. I did the Hef Gives Back 1 ages ago. Same thing, like, full immersion. And this was small potatoes, but we went to, like, Dave and Buster's, and it wasn't just hair education.
rebecca:You know? And then, fuck, I was thinking too. I'm, like, we did 2 Trail Tribe retreats in Finland. And I'm like, shit. I've been doing this a minute.
rebecca:But the difference is it's not for me about, like, hair anymore. Like, I mean, yes, day to day, I love being behind the chair. I love creating. I love educating. But as far as these retreats go, for me, I want this to be more about what we are in addition to hairstylists.
rebecca:And, hell, if you're not a hairstylist, come to this shit. This is just it's a lane I'm in. I'm in a couple different lanes that feel very very good right now and it's educating my peers technically in the hair industry. Separate thing going on for that, a whole tour. Now this retreat, one of my passions lies with travel, like, just everything I talked about.
rebecca:So I'm like, that lane's going strong. I'm still behind the chair. I still create hearing clients. That lane feels good. But that's the same reason I love retreats.
rebecca:Full immersion. You've built this community of like minded people. You don't know who you're gonna talk to with that retreat. It could be your business partner. It could be I know 2 people to have become involved.
rebecca:2 of my female friends because a lot of the retreats I go to are all female. So you could meet the love of your life. You could meet you don't know who you're meeting at retreats because it's you're fully immersed. And, I don't want that to scare people away either with retreats because the ones that I've either went to and made happen for myself, I'll never forget the very first one I went to besides the ones I was talking about before that I didn't know were retreats. The first real actual one beginning at 2021, I was told, this is your experience.
rebecca:You paid good money for this experience. Sure. It's gonna be curated. You have a schedule. You have an itinerary.
rebecca:These are optional, though. If you don't wanna do this shit, you don't have to do this shit. If you don't mesh well with somebody, you don't have to fuck with them. You know? It's my experience just like it's a retreater's experience.
rebecca:And I think what might intimidate some people is like, wow. I am fully immersed. I am, you know, in this this, tight knit community. What if I don't fit in, or what if this happens? I I haven't had any experience of not fitting in, for 1, because it's like minded people that are investing in themselves, showing up to this place for a reason.
rebecca:And for 2, if you don't wanna do this stuff, don't do this stuff. You don't have to do every single thing that's laid out on the itinerary, which is great. And that's why me and my buddy were off scooting in the jungle when they were doing yoga one day. It's my experience. And it's just that's how it is for other people.
rebecca:It's your experience. Come and go as you please, whatever. Yeah. So I think both of our reasons for being so into retreats are very similar because they're good. And we've we've, like our lives have changed whether it's specifically or inadvertently because of, like, the connections and the way we've changed by going to retreats.
rebecca:And I'm I'm geeking. Another reason why I chose Thailand, I'm retiring there in 7 years, so this is what I want my future to be. I'm not shitting. Like, I'm speaking it out loud. It is currently being manifested.
rebecca:I got a tattoo in Thailand that says 50 in Thai. I'm retiring when I'm 50. I'm not fucking around. And the same reason I got this LA tattoo on my hand, I did this a year before I moved to LA. Guess where bitch lives?
rebecca:Well, just outside of LA now, but I moved because of that. I'm speaking this to into existence. This is the first of many retreats in Thailand that are that are it's gonna pop off. Whether it pops off or not, it's gonna feel amazing in my soul, and this is what I wanna do in addition to being a hairstylist. We're more than that.
rebecca:We're more than that. That's how I feel. So
sarai:much more.
rebecca:Man, sorry. Let me step off my box.
sarai:No. I love it. You don't have to get you don't have to get off your box. You know, I I just wanna chime in with what you've said about you know, if you're if you've never been to a retreat, I wanna encourage you find one that resonates with you. There's there's a million out there, but that's one of the things that I believe firmly in.
sarai:And I I said this last year at the start of of my retreat is this is for you. If you need to step out, if you need to go take a nap, if you need to go to a restaurant and eat, if you need to walk around, you get to do whatever the fuck you want. Like, this is your time, your experience. And it's so awesome because I got to see, like, people make connections and, you know, like, a little pod of people went and got fucking tattoos, and a little pod of people went in for a really long lunch and came back, and they were giddy and had the most beautiful conversations and connections. And it's, like, awesome.
sarai:That's your experience, and I'm so grateful that, you know, people take that. They they are able to know that they're not gonna be fucking made fun of. They're not gonna be, like, fucking you know, like, where were you? We started. You missed this class.
sarai:Bitch, if you wanna come to the beginning and the end of the retreat, you wanna go fuck off all week, oh my god. Please do it. Please have the experience that you want to have. This is what you paid for. And when we allow people that freedom, that space, that permission, it's like all these walls come down, and they're like, wait.
sarai:You mean I don't have to sit at this business thing that I don't give a fuck about? Oh my god. Cool. I'm gonna go walk around or whatever it might be. So, you know, that's that's very much how my retreats are because there is nothing worse as a as a host than looking out and seeing a bunch of bored faces or tired or people who are just like, oh, I'm so disinterested.
sarai:And not everything is gonna resonate with you. I mean, fuck. It shouldn't. You know, we're not all in the same spaces in our life. So, you know, I know your retreat.
sarai:I know the retreats you've been to are the ones that I host. Like, you have full permission to do whatever the fuck you wanna do. Like, I do not give a damn. Find your people. Go off with your people.
sarai:Hermit by yourself. However, if I do see you by yourself a lot, I am gonna come up, and I'm gonna hug you, and I'm gonna, like, shower you with love and affection. But, you know, just allowing people that permission to just fucking do what they want. Be themselves. Truly.
sarai:Come as you are. Do what the fuck you want.
rebecca:I love it. That feels that's that's why I'm a fiend. That's why I'm a retreat fiend. I can't even tell you. Like, well, we're we're going to Spain on our own retreat just just to consume it.
rebecca:Not facilitating in no way involved. I'm that's, like, what, 37 days? I'm jacked about that. It's gonna be
sarai:6 days. Actually looking at train tickets for all of us this morning for the the bullet train, the fast speed train. You know what? Like, let's talk about that real quick because I I saw the last one. I think that, like, Misty and Kelly went to it.
sarai:It was in Italy. And I was like, wait. What the fuck is this? And so I saw that Jody Brown had another one coming up, and it was to Spain. And I was like, cool.
sarai:I'm jumping on it. I didn't know it came with a mastermind. Like, I just straight up bought the fucking trip to Spain because I was like, shit. That's fucking really affordable for what you get unless you get a photo shoot. And then I was like, oh, cool.
sarai:It comes with a mastermind. Cool. Cool. That's awesome. And then I got Tabitha to do it and you to do it, and I think Kelly is doing it, Kelly Kayehan.
sarai:I think there's a girl, Sherry Nelson, who is one of my BSS members. Like, it's so crazy how this shit happens, and we and my one of my educators, Meg, is coming. And it's like, dude, this is gonna be so cool for us to get to learn. Yes. 100%.
sarai:We don't have to facilitate shit. We get to show up exactly as we are. I know there's gonna be a fuck ton of goofing and belly laughs and, like, hurt cheeks because we've been laughing for 6 hours. There's gonna be a lot of pee expended, and there's also gonna be learning and growth and bonding and all of those things. So I can't fucking wait to go to Spain with you.
rebecca:I know. I'm so freaking excited. I I just I love a retreat. And what's better is, like, I'm down to go to, like, random ones. I went to that random one where I didn't know anybody in Thailand, but this is even better because we we're going with your homies.
rebecca:You're flying across the world with your homies doing things. I have not taken a train from Barcelona to Malaga. I've never done that. Like, it's really cool to feel the safety of, like, we're doing this together. You know?
rebecca:Like, I will and have traveled all over the fucking world by myself. And it's cool when you feel empowered, but there's something about traveling with your buddies that just feels really, really good and having the same experience and making memories with your buddies. And I've not ever taken a train, so that's gonna be a first thing, and I'm really, really excited about that. So I'm glad you said you're you're, peeping how to do it because I'm I kinda
sarai:I got it. I got it. Okay. Don't worry about it. Got you.
rebecca:So excited. Well, shit. I feel like we could go on and on about I think we did go on and on about retreats. Why don't we we are going to have all of our information about retreats, like our links. I know, Sarai's got one coming up.
rebecca:It's in Tampa in October. October. Uh-huh. Okay. So you got yours coming up.
rebecca:Mine is gonna is gonna be available shit the way I'm working on my Imac. It's gonna be available in a couple weeks. So I'm going to we're gonna put that in the show notes, and, we just we just love them. And I think it speaks, to why we love them because we I keep evolving as a person. I know you do.
rebecca:I know after every time you come back from 1, it's just like, that was amazing. And so we're picking the right one, so that's good.
sarai:Yeah. This is such a good conversation. Such good conversation. So this is your sign. Find a retreat.
sarai:Go to in person classes. Go to in person retreats. Go to these events. Make these connections. Go by yourself.
sarai:Grab a friend. It doesn't fucking matter because this shit will change you. And it's such an incredible experience that truly can't be put into words until you go, you experience it for yourself. So whatever type of retreat resonates with you, whether it's an all play or it's a yoga or it's a breath work or it's a learning and fuck off, retreat, go. I really encourage you to fucking go.
sarai:Invest in yourself. And I know a lot of times, you know, they're 1,000 of dollars. And that's like, oh, I don't know if I could spend that on me. Dude, do it. It's an experience that you will get to have for yourself, and that's something that nobody can ever take away.
sarai:Nobody can take away those memories, those experiences that you have, and you come back with information. Whether it's personal, it's business, you come back a fucking different person. So this is your sign to invest in yourself and go to a fucking retreat this year. I challenge you. In 2024, 2025, find a fucking retreat, find multiple retreats, and just fucking go.
sarai:Go by yourself or grab a friend.
rebecca:We double dare you. She challenged you. I double dare you. And last thing I'm gonna say anyway, you can say whatever you wanna say. But the last thing I'm gonna say is I'm really glad you brought up the investment because I was showing Sarai before we got started.
rebecca:I'm like, look at my taxes. I'm all done. The fucking amount in my face of retreats. Okay. I I'm not gonna give you a dollar amount, but it was probably my biggest expense last year.
rebecca:And do you know how much regret I have? 0. 0. And I already got multiple on the docket for this year and next. It is something I will time and time and time again spend money on without batting an eye.
rebecca:I don't give a damn. I really don't, at this point, give a damn. I work for retreats. We all work for retreats if they are so much fun. And, I mean, I was more pissed off at all the the Starbucks, decaf Starbucks.
rebecca:What kind of bullshit is that? But how much money I spent on Starbucks than I was all of the because
sarai:that's probably a retreat right there. It was. Yeah. I will give
rebecca:you some numbers. Annual last year for 2023, I spent $3,560 on Starbucks. That's one retreat. I'm cutting the shit out because I'm gonna allocate my money to something that's more beneficial. And like I said, the stupid, stupid irony of it is that I get Starbucks decaf.
rebecca:I mean, it is what it is, but, it is what it is. But, yeah, that I I kinda like sometimes doing my taxes, not the act of it. But when you see what you spent your money on, I'm like, oh, okay. I need to adjust that. I need to be okay with that.
rebecca:And, I'm gonna put a pin in the shit I'm talking anyway and say retreats are an investment. I will make time and time again on myself. Anyway, are you gonna circle back, or are you putting a pin in it too?
sarai:No. I'm gonna I'm gonna put a pin in it, and, we will circle back to this probably in a couple months as my retreat gets closer and as your retreat gets closer. So for now, put a pin in it and circle back around. Bye.