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@ Beau Winn
2025-01-05 17:32:27My name is Beau and I spent 6.5 years playing live poker professionally in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Poker was something I was drawn to at a young age through my love of puzzles, math, and game shows. Later in my life, when I decided to start my professional career, I was committed to becoming the best poker player I could possibly be. The side effect of this, which I didn’t consider at the time, was that my health and wellness would drastically decline over the years. I had spent my childhood playing baseball and was always athletic with exceptional hand eye coordination skills, but my journey playing cards led me to feeling dull and lifeless.
During the pandemic, I was following a few content creators journeys, many of whom were tired of the lockdowns and the suppression of human freedom. These creators were posting about health, family, and living an alternative lifestyle that piqued my interest. When I saw an ad about a retreat in Costa Rica, a place I had been on vacation three times already and loved, I was immediately interested. My fellow coworker poker friends were great, but I was craving deeper connection. I wanted to meet other people who were also interested in living more of an alternative lifestyle, and of course, spend time in nature relaxing — just truly letting go of the daily grind the poker lifestyle brought me.
At the retreat, I was pretty shy (most poker players are), but I was having so much fun doing the activities at the retreat which included mediation, breathwork, yoga, cacao ceremonies, sharing circles, waterfall adventures, beach bbq & bonfires, and workshops around business, sovereignty, and content creation. I was connecting in a really deep way with a few of the guys from the retreat and having an incredible time.
On one of the last days, we were listening to a live concert by one of the locals who was playing introspective Costa Rican vibey music, and I had an epiphany. I realized that my time on Earth is truly limited and life really is too short to not be doing something that I really love. It was in this moment, that I knew my poker career was over. A game that I once loved many years ago was no longer something I wanted to dedicate time to. I had grown old of feeling unhealthy, the late nights under artificial lighting, the toxic environment a casino brings, and how disconnected from my emotions I became (the best poker players are robotic).
I shared some of my story with the other retreat guests about how I feel I needed to change my life in a drastic way. I knew I wanted to move out of Southern California and continue my journey of traveling and meeting new people. I was considering traveling all around Asia and going to multiple countries over five months, but luckily, two friends of mine from the retreat invited me to come live with them in a Mexican beach town.
I knew instantly this was a great place to start for my new journey. I ended up trying many brazilian jiu jitsu classes, dove deeper into my yoga practice, and spent a lot of time outdoors in the sun near the beach. I was focused on my journey of self development as a man.
In the next several months, I had gone to two more retreats that were similar to the first one I had gone to — one in Mexico and one more in Costa Rica. I continued to meet new people, share my story, and I developed a passion and joy for life that was attracting all kinds of wonderful people to me. I was amazed how going to that first retreat had given me the opportunity to become friends with all these people, open my eyes to a new life, and discover what it felt like to be healthy.
At this point, I was feeling called to move on from Mexico, so I went to Europe and Bali that summer, really putting myself out into the unknown. It was great because I knew that I was truly living on my edge and having a great time. In Bali, I connected with my new girlfriend in a deeper way, someone I met as friends during the very first retreat.
Fast forward a few months later to now, and I am living in the jungle of Costa Rica, a place that I have now been to seven times, and a place that is obviously very special to me. I am still continuing my journey of rapid personal development, exploring further ways to feel strong & healthy, and am committed to being a source of light and inspiration for the community I live in.
Throughout this journey, I have wondered what it is I will do next. How do you follow up a poker career? I wasn’t sure, but I was patient with myself. A few weeks ago, I feel it hit me square in the head and became incredibly obvious. I desire to create a retreat that gives people a similar experience that I felt. I want people to experience what it feels like to be healthy again, to allow them opportunities to meet new and creative people, and to create a safe place for people to let go of the day to day worries they currently have. I want to help create new leaders, give people the opportunity to meet lifelong brothers and sisters, and build a special community of like-minded and driven people.
Right now, I am in the early stages of building this, but I am focused on delivering the best possible experience while cultivating a unique and special group of people.
If you feel called to get exclusive updates on this journey, you can sign up for the email list at https://thebeauwinn.com.
Thanks everyone. Much love and pura vida,
Beau
