Today we’d like to introduce you to Lewis Dix.
Lewis, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California; South Central to be exact. I was living in a big and successful city leading two different lives; I went to Harvard Westlake high-school out in the valley to play sports, then I’d come back home to the inner city everyday to lay my head. After building relationships and taking in the different culture each had to offer, I was able to come out of high school ahead of most of my peers.
I got into Morehouse College where I graduated cum laude with a bachelors degree in Business Marketing. I didn’t plan to go to Morehouse but it was easily the best decision I’ve ever made. The friendships, the guidance, the knowledge and most importantly the love and acceptance of the black community is something I’ll take with me for life. Morehouse was a special place and time for my development.
After graduating, I found a well-paying technology job up north in Boston where I’d spend the next year and a half. Boston was as fun as you’d make it and New York was right next door, but I quickly noticed that wasn’t the place for me. My plan before I accepted the offer was to get a promotion and relocate back home to Los Angeles, in only a years time I was able to achieve that.
I’ve been living in Los Angeles ever since and it feels great being back home after almost seven years. At this point, Washed & Restless was something I had been ideating for a while and moving back home was my chance to turn those ideas into reality!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This road was far from smooth. When I think back on the struggles I had along the way, most of them date back to the time I was coming into my own independence. The time I left the house and my parents stopped holding my hand is the time I was forced to grow. When I applied to Morehouse, I was waitlisted at first. It wasn’t until I wrote a heartfelt letter to the school explaining how special it was to me and why I wanted to go there. Thankfully, they ended up accepting me but that was just the beginning of my struggles.
Throughout the beginning of college (especially my Freshman year), I struggled to focus and continue to put my academics first. There was a lot of new found independence in front of me which in turn came with a lot of distractions. I struggled with this a lot in college, it wasn’t until I was asked NOT to come back after the first semester of my sophomore year that I started to turn things around. I realized then that this wasn’t something I wanted to do, it was something I HAD to do. I finally realized the sole reason I was going there; to get an education.
After college, the struggles I had with my independence only grew. Things like relocating to new cities and paying rent for the first time took a major toll on me. My biggest hurdle didn’t come until I moved back home to Los Angeles. I was coming into a space where I wasn’t feeling challenged or valued at my job, I had almost no external hobbies to keep me motivated and most importantly, I wasn’t paying rent. Now not paying rent may seem like a blessing but it can also be a curse. You can get comfortable quickly and become stagnant. You have a cushion you know you can fall back on and I did it.
Much like the majority of LA, I sat back and relaxed on that cushion. This was the biggest struggle I had to overcome; I was searching for my purpose. In the process, I lost my confidence, I fought depression and I lost my job. As soon as my back was against the wall, I found Washed & Restless.
Finding Washed & Restless is what saved me. Just the confidence and drive it took to get that off the ground compelled me to revive the other areas of my life as well. I found a solid job helping people I love, I found someone to talk to and most importantly, I found my purpose. Washed & Restless was created simply to bring millennials of color together and I was able to do just that.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Washed & Restless – what should we know?
I’m the CEO and Co-Founder of Washed & Restless which is a bottomless day party series built for the Los Angeles community. Washed & Restless began around the simple goal of creating a space where like-minded multicultural millennials can come together in real life. Having lived and experienced the major hubs around the US, I quickly noticed that my home, Los Angeles, was the only one that lacked this unique experience. With that problem in mind, W&R was our solution.
Our initial goal was to open our own venue but our bank accounts had other plans. We switched gears and thought about doing what we could with what we had. Marketing is something I’ve studied my entire life so I was confident that with the right go-to-market strategies, we could take any idea we wanted and monetize it. We threw our networks together and aimed to create an online community for millennials of color to connect virtually while curating various offline experiences for them to meet and fellowship physically.
Washed & Restless is not your typical brunch. The term was coined specifically for the adulting millennial. It was created specifically for the millennials sharing the same struggles of coming into your adulthood. We provide an interactive platform for all but cater specifically to creatives, young professionals, ambitious entrepreneurs and culture influencers. At W&R we believe fellowship holds more value than networking and with bottomless mimosas, that’s easy even for the introvert.
We just had our Anniversary Brunch on June 1st and in only a years time, W&R has quickly grown to become more than an event but an experience people all over the city can anticipate. With so much competition amongst our market, we make sure to differentiate ourselves by having affordable tickets that include untimed bottomless champagne, all you can eat brunch and a full-blown day party – all of which is a staple at each of our events. We’re a one stop shop! Although our long term vision is to one day have our own venue, we take pride in knowing that wherever Washed & Restless shows up, the city shows love.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
W&R’s co-founder, Kendall Coleman deserves half the credit but Los Angeles deserves all the credit. They may credit us for piecing everything together, but the real credit goes to them for not only following and believing in us but for trusting us to give them a good time. The same community I grew up in is the same community that helped get Washed & Restless off the ground. The majority of our guests, partners and production team for each event come from Los Angeles. The biggest reason for our success thus far has been our local support.
Pricing:
- Prices range from $25 for entry and bottomless mimosas to $45 for entry, brunch and bottomless mimosas
Contact Info:
- Website: www.washedandrestless.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: washedandrestless
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/washedandrestless/
Image Credit:
Myron Rogan, Titi Oshinaya
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
