Unfiltered: Week in Review

It's 6PM on a Saturday.  I've already been up for 12 hours and I need some air. I tie on my trail runners, head toward the hills, hustle up Fuller drive and make my way into Runyon Canyon State Park. Headphones in, I beeline straight for the ridge sending a dust storm into the air. I pass a few couples, some unassuming celebrity types, and a dog walker as I finally reach the peak. Beneath me lies LA, soaked in a thick sheet of late summer smog that colors the sky a deep red. The Hollywood sign is just within reach, it's eerily quiet and before I know it, the city lights start coming to life. It feels like a scene from a movie.

That being said, my life is nothing like a Hollywood film.  But if it were, here's an unfiltered backstage to week 5 in LA.

Week 5 

Laurel Digs Morning

The Commute

Laurel Hardware

Manhattan Beach

The Greek Theater

Coyote Sightings in the Hills

So Fresh it hurts

LA on Two Wheels

In a span of three weeks, I've gone from no wheels to four wheels, to finally, just two. In a city where only 0.9% of the population commutes by bike, I find myself for the first time in my life apart of the 1%. And really, I don't get why.  For a lot of reasons, LA is a the perfect place to ride.  It's sunny, warm, and there are countless bike friendly side-streets along all the major routes.

Full transparency: I never owned a bike in any of my former cities.  Not even Vancouver, where bike lanes are starting to outnumber roads. But here, I find myself compelled to break old habits, and for $100 last week, I bought my first bike since I was 17.

My door to door commute is now just 20 minutes.  Not bad, considering it takes about the same amount of time by car.  Want to go to the beach? No problem, it's a breezy 20km ride from West Hollywood, so just about an hour including stops for wheatgrass and quick REI pop-ins.

In short, I did something I never thought I would do. And it's already opening my mind up to other things that I didn't think were possible. When I first moved here, a friend said to me, "I'm excited for you to find your LA" - and in a city this big, with my mind wide open, I finally feel like I'm starting to do just that.

Quote of the Week 

"Faith is where it begins. Acting on your faith is how it happens."

Safety First in the Office Elevator - Beverly Hills, CA

Follow along on Instagram - @thedavecoast.

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Week Two - Life is groovy.

Week two. Wake-up, make a green tea, do some physio, and meditate on the patio. Blend fruits and veggies, drink, shower and go. Get in my car, turn on 102.7 and race down La Cienega Blvd to the office. Walk up 5 flights of stairs, set-up, chat with the CEO and start working. E-mails, meetings, snacks, lunch, more e-mails, meetings, snacks, and boom, it's the evening. So, what comes next?

This is the start of a new routine - or in many ways -> my life.

As someone that doesn't believe in luck, there's an expression I stand by, "what you do today is actually creating your future.  The words you speak, the thoughts you think, the food you eat and the actions you take are defining your destiny."

I won't go into the details of what comes next, but I'll tell you that it's all laddering up to something. In a small way, everyone of these small daily actions is:

• Developing a better me. 
• Developing those around me. 
• Developing the place I call home. 

And if it isn't - I try it and move on.

Track of the week

Young Summer, Waves that Rolled You Under - LISTEN

Quote of the week

"It is the greatest privilege of our lifetime to become who we truly are." 

Abbot Kinney Blvd - Venice, CA

Follow along on Instagram - @thedavecoast.

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Week 1 in LA

Beads of sweat are rushing down my face.  The music is blaring and I can barely hear my own thoughts, let alone the words coming out of the man at the front of the room.  The woman beside me keeps correcting my posture and my Lululemon tank weighs about 5lbs from all the bodily fluid it’s holding in.  It’s in this moment, with my feet locked into the bike below me at SoulCycle that I realize; I have never felt so alive during a workout.

This is day 7.

As some of you may already know, last Sunday, I packed up my belongings and said goodbye to my life in Vancouver.  Today, like another 12.8 million other people, I call the city of Los Angeles home.

The most common question I get asked, is why did I move here?  In short, I saw an opportunity, focused my attention and went for it.  The 330 annual days of sunshine had nothing to do with it...

But really, I’ve come to Los Angeles, to start the next chapter of my life.  To help grow a young company, break bread with smart, passionate people and to continue to become the best possible me that I can be.  And if I happen to inspire a few others along the way, then even better.

Moving to a new city is TOUGH and couple that with starting a new job at the same time, and I can tell you, I was nervous.  But at the same time, I was really excited.

Excited > nervous.

So here I am, 7 days later. Living in a friend’s apartment until I find more permanent digs – and for all of you back home wondering, I can honestly say, life is good.

Shout-out: thank you to the people of LA for the extra warm welcome. You are awesome.

Week 1 - the numbers.

• 82 miles travelled in my rental car
• 48 hours clocked in the office over 4 days
• 16 miles of running
• 9 visits to Wholefoods
• 3 Mexican dinners
• 2 family reunions
• 1 mountain climbed
• 1 day at the beach
• 1 yoga class 
• 1 Soul Cycle and
• 0 celebrity sightings

Wilshire & La Cienega Blvd - Beverly Hills, CA

Follow along on Instagram - @thedavecoast.
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