#TheRetreatAustin

The Health & Wellness Platform, The Retreat by FUNKSHION, Kicked Off its Multi-city Event during SXSW in Austin on March 10th at South Congress Hotel 

The Retreat by FUNKSHION is a health & wellness experience that first launched in Miami in 2017 and took over Austin’s South Congress Hotel on Sunday, March 10th during the renown week of SXSW. Prominent fitness experts, wellness leaders, and industry shifters hosted classes, workshops and sat on riveting panels discussing topics like the founding of woman-for-woman, wellness company, Love Wellness, culinary delivery service Splendid Spoon, the use of natural medicine through medical marijuana with Surterra Wellness and the be.come project, by Bethany C. Meyers. 

The Retreat by FUNKSHION’s goal was to create awareness about relevant topics related to the ever-growing world of wellness. The morning of Sunday the 10th started with a VIP Editor & Influencer Breakfast with Lo Bosworth for her brand, Love Wellness, a curated, personal care, online shop for women, ranging in products from PMS care to vitamins. 

The Retreat Austin then kicked with the right foot forward, or some would say, in warrior I position; Outdoor Voices teamed up with Wanderlust for a yoga class led by Neuroscientist and mindfulness expert, Nkechi Njaka. 

A panel discussion in partnership with Bloom, dubbed, The Business of Wellness was moderated by its founder, Lindsey Martin and panelists, Bethany C. Meyers,Lo Bosworth, Co- founder of Love Wellness, Gigi Vogel of De la Heart and former NFL player, Dr. Mark McBath ofSurterra Wellness then dove deep to discuss stigmas of their individual facets of the industry, trials & tribulations and building their community through digital and face-to-face interaction. 

Alumni of the The Retreat, Ron “Boss” Everline together with best selling, pre-workout brand, C4, hosted an exclusive mental training workshop. “My business is called Just-Train, because that’s my motto: just train your mind and your body will follow. I’ve seen it with my clients and have experienced it myself. It’s all about building mental toughness, staying positive through challenges, and taking motivational action.” says Everline on his workshop at The Retreat Austin. 

The uplifting event was perfectly timed alongside the launch C4® Energy Natural Zero, a beverage that provides natural energy and boosts mental focus in a zero-calorie, sugar-free, naturally flavored package. Attendees worked with boss on achieving goals of all sorts from running a hundred-mile-trail-race to finding more time in the day to focus on personal wellness. 

In the afternoon, Rosie Newberry of NBC Austin-local affiliate, KXAN, moderated Women Empowered, a powerful panel with three leading women of the industry. The panelists included, Nicole Centeno, founder of Splendid Spoon, Audrey Yang, Director of Operations at Milk+Honey, Christina Powter, co-founders of Blank Label Active on developing their companies to fill a void in the market, spending years of research to create the best in skincare and finding life/work balance while running multi-million dollar businesses. 

Fitness Influencers and dynamic couple, Katie and Ryan Dunlop @lovesweatfitness hosted an inspiring workshop on “Setting & Crushing Your Goals” together with her husband and business partner, Ryan. The duo lead The Retreat attendees through their philosophy of building micro goals to set your life up for success and create obtainable targets, referencing Katie’s weight- loss transformation and building their platform to having over 1M subscribers across YouTube and Instagram. 

Throughout the day, a mini-pop up shop with activations like an Essie Nail Station and Hair Braid Bar was available to guests of The Retreat. Along with the opportunity to shop through the latest collection ofBlank Label, Milk + Honey products and discover Surterra Wellness with Dr. Mark McBath sharing info and tips on the enthralling use of natural medicine and medical marijuana.

Last but certainly not least, the final class of the day commenced at 5PM with Bethany C. Meyers, who’s movement class, the be.come project, channeled strength, positivity and mental will, incorporating a vigorous yoga-like routine with the power of pilates and the movement of dance. In the music-driven routines, strength-training movements were reinvented using the body as the primary piece of equipment. 

In true SXSW fashion, DJ MAAD spun tracks for The Retreat Austin’s closing, social hour with a special performance by ballet dancers styled in Blank Label Active. Guests enjoyed beverages by Pura Still, and discussed the day’s fulfilling tips and tricks for navigating life, health and wellness. 

“We wanted to create an inspiring and interactive event that will cover every angle of this widely-grown lifestyle, and connect the industry on both a national and regional level,” commented FUNKSHION’s Creative Director, Natalija Dedic Stojanovic. “It was a logical move to take The RETREAT to SXSW in our third year of the event. Austin’s market truly celebrates the health and wellness lifestyle like a religion. We match-made Austin founded companies like Outdoor Voices, Milk + Honey and C4 with industry tastemakers like Ron Boss, Bethany C. Meyers and Lo Bosworth. The result was an extraordinary success. All the panel discussions offered riveting commentary and advice on battling everything from common stigmas to eating disorders; and discovering ways to stay fit and mindful in the most difficult moments” mentioned Stojanovic. 

The Retreat Austin partners included FIJI Water, Essie, Surterra, C4, Love Wellness, Bloom, Outdoor Voices, Wanderlust, Splendid Spoon, Pura Still, Fit Joy, Chameleon Cold Brew, Fresh Fronks and several others. 

The Retreat will continue to host its annual May event in the Miami Design District and is planning to host its first-ever New York edition in mid-September. 

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