Today we’d like to introduce you to Asher Luzzatto.
Hyperslow, like most places, started as a dream. Asher wanted to build a mindful space that would inspire creativity and interconnection.
He had seen how commercialized and impersonal many yoga and cafe spaces had become and he wanted to provide an alternative. Emily wanted to build community. She had come from a small town in Michigan where commercial space was also social space and she wanted to create that for herself in Los Angeles where too many people spend too little time-sharing space in a healthy way. Asher spoke about his Hyperslow dream in the first conversation he ever had with Emily. Nearly three years after their first conversation and a year and a half after they opened Hyperslow, the two of them are life partners and business partners. Asher’s art and books, most of which were collected during his travels over the years, adorn the cafe walls and bookcases. Emily’s gentle and well-studied yoga instruction fills the studio with a warmness that is unique to Hyperslow. They spend their days teaching and practicing in the yoga studio, drinking coffee, tea and juice with their clients and patrons, and conceiving events and workshops to deepen the relationships between the members of their incredibly diverse community that includes artists, writers, directors, doctors, teachers, community activists, attorneys, and everything in between.
Such diversity is a testament to the culturally rich Miracle Mile area and also the kind, welcoming environment at Hyperslow.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road from concept to reality has been smooth in most of the important ways, but has been bumpy in many ways too. We found the perfect location for our concept on a portion of Fairfax that is very green, quiet and beautiful and we were able to complete our design, permitting and buildout in incredible time. We began attracting clients to the studio and patrons to the cafe almost immediately and with no money spent on marketing or PR and doing most of the dirty work ourselves. We learned by doing. But along the way, our inexperience in this business has made the daily operation difficult at times. We weren’t used to customer complaints, the long hours and little sleep, the changing tastes of our members with respect to the teachers and the kinds of classes we’ve offered. We have had to make a lot of changes. We’ve reconfigured our space many times. We’ve brought on new teachers, we’ve changed our class schedule, we changed coffee roasters, we took food away and brought it back, we added tonics and elixirs, we reduced the number of dairy products on our menu and then went totally vegan (aside from milk for the coffee and honey), we painted a mural, changed it, and might again add another, we changed pricing for the studio, we changed pricing for the cafe (in some cases reducing prices and in other cases increasing prices) and we’ve changed or modified so much more along the way as a result of certain struggles or inadequacies we’ve encountered. Ultimately, however, we’ve grown through this process and we are better for having been open to change and feedback. We want to be the very best version of ourselves and we want to inspire those in our community to be the same.
Hyperslow – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
At its core, Hyperslow is a mindful community space made up of a beautiful yoga and meditation studio, a tranquil cafe and a zen collaborative workspace. As a result of the synergy between the three spaces, many in our community visit Hyperslow for everything it has to offer. Most days you can find members of the studio drinking coffee or tea and working on laptops before or after class. We are really proud to have built a physical space that fuels healthy interaction. Our community is close. Our baristas know their regulars by name. Our teachers know their students by name. And many of our cafe regulars know our studio regulars by name. These are not simply “hello, goodbye” relationships. These are deep connections. Ultimately, the community at Hyperslow is the most powerful thing we could have ever hoped to build.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
For both Emily and Asher, success is living a purpose-driven and inspired life. Of course, we have to make enough money to evolve our business, improve our space and expand our offerings (including a future home in Joshua Tree), but we believe that money is just another form of energy and it tends to follow other kinds of success (in our case, promoting, maintaining and fostering mindfulness, creativity and community). We’ve been lucky to succeed on all levels in our first year.
Pricing:
- Monthly Studio Membership $120
- Single Class $22
- Organic Drip Coffee $3
- Organic Loose Leaf Tea $3
Contact Info:
- Address: 487 South Fairfax, Los Angeles, California 90036
- Website: www.hyperslow.com
- Phone: 3107755962
- Email: contact@hyperslow.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hyperslow/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HyperslowLA/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hyperslow-los-angeles
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.
