Welcome to The Life Stylist Podcast.
This is episode 1. The story of Luke Storey. My story.
It’s one of redemption, transformation, and hope. A story that sets the stage for this podcast and my message of lifestyle design based on health, spirituality.
From my early years as a troubled kid who found solace in nature and music, to my teen delinquency and subsequent trip to reform school, to many wild years living the rock n’ roll dream-turned-nightmare in Hollywood.
After almost burning my life to the ground in the abyss of the LA drug scene of the early ‘90’s I was able to start over at 26, and thus begin a 20-year process of intense personal rehabilitation on every level.
Following my hitting rock bottom and finding my path of salvation, I became a fashion stylist, and went on to work with countless of celebrities before starting my own fashion school, School of Style, in 2008.
This premier episode tells the tale of one man’s journey from the bottom to the top and shines a light on all of the tools and principles that have paved the way so that you, the listener, might be spared a few wasted years of trial and error.
Thank you for joining me on this sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, summary of a life beyond my wildest dreams. May it provide inspiration to anyone who is somewhere on the path that I have traveled.
Blessings to you and yours.
Luke Storey
EPISODE BREAKDOWN
- Born: Denver Oct 29 1970. Scorpio. Hippie mom, cowboy dad. First memories: rocky mountains in the summer, the sound of Eagles music and smell of incense. Wasp nest. First experience with natural medicine. Parent's divorce. Moved to California with mom.
- Mom: Liberal. Listened to Marvin Gaye. Not a lot of discipline at home. Lots of love, made sure I always had the best clothes. Fed me health foods and massive amounts of vitamins. Horse pills. San Francisco: opera, Concerts and museums. Thought me about art, kindness and human rights. My first drink at age 6. Experienced trauma & emotional problems. Kicked out of school on 1st grade for fighting. Raising hell, lighting fires, reading dirty magazines. Hated school. Nature escape for sanity. Meeting Muktananda.
- Dad: Summers in Colorado with dad. Marlboro man. Rugged. Hunter. Fisher. Rodeo star. Racer. Guns. Angry. Shot a horse in the head. Baby bear as pet. All terrifying for a skateboarder California kid. Entrepreneur. Workaholic. I was bored a lot, got dragged around the Southwest rodeo tours. Drank Coors cans left on truck bumpers on parking lot. Parent's tug of war: macho x emasculate. No such thing as can't. Loneliness. Suicidal thoughts. Alienation. Shooting guns.
- Teen: A lot of emotional problems. No friends. Rock'n'roll becomes religion. Idealized drug addict rock stars. Vowed to move to the city to become a rock star and... a drug addict. Age 14 and having legal issues. Robbing homes and arrested. Probation, 4-year term, left the State. Cult-like boarding school: Rocky Mountain Academy. Experimental therapies: sleep depravation, primal screaming, forced labor punishment, wilderness isolation campouts. Tim Brace mentor. Reformed, back to Colorado with dad. No social or coping skills, still feeling like alien. Reintegration to normal high school. Punk rock, rebel, trench coat mafia, drugs & alcohol. Piercing & eye liner. Fled to California. Still didn't fit in. Smoking weed, totaled car. Dumb, alone and frustrated. Age 18: dropped out of high school, 1988. Fuck, I hated school.
- Early Adult: 2 years later, in LA playing music with musicians I had worshiped and selling drugs to them. 1989 moved to Hollywood with $500, record collection, an once of weed and Razzle, the cat. Soon after: records stolen, weed smoked, money all spent, cat ran away. Age 19, found fake ID on the ground: thanks to Manuel Louis Cordova for my helping me become an alcoholic. Sharing a house with Les Riggs. Hanging out Finish guys from band called Smack: learned how to drink properly and play bass. Early 90s, strange time: Rodney King beating, the LA riots, Northridge quake, OJ trial, Tupak shooting. Keeping shady company and drug use increasing by day. Modeling, met a fashion stylist named Keki Mingus, the daughter of jazz legend Charles Mingus. Dating Keki Mingus. First band. Kim Nail. Jordie White (Twiggy). Howard, the keyboard player. Musical highlights: jamming with the guys from the Dolls. Recording with my all favorite drummer Hunt Sales. Living the dream which became a nightmare. Negotiating deals for dope and hookers. David Bowie's producer call. Hard drugs and addiction taking a toll. Hatred, anger, fear, self-loathing, drama, no sleep. Disguised as homeless. Getting clearer and healthier: juices & vitamins. India & Sai Baba.
- Hitting Bottom: Wanting to get sober, but terrified, no will power. Looking for a spiritual savior. "I Am That", the book. Moment of clarity while tripping my balls off. Bit on the face by Rottweiler. Hit bottom. Despair & hopelessness, blessing in disguise. Last drink. Rehab. Prayer & the miracle.
- Recovery: Out of treatment, back in LA. Couch tour. Realizing the bigger picture, I had major issues: brain damage and emotional retardation. Back in touch with fashion stylist friend Keki and becoming her assistant. Fashion stylist explained. Working with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Back to music and touring: Stewboss. Feeling the repercussion of earlier years of body mind abuse: more work had to be done. Quitting music career. Becoming obsessive with improving my life: practicing meditation, chanting mantras, learning NLP, taking three-week silent retreats in India, jumping on a rebounder, using a negative ion generator, soaking in hot springs, listening to subliminal brainwave tapes, taking anti-depressants, making raw goat milk kefir, getting ozone infused colonics for 12 days straight in Hawaii, being blessed by holy men and saints, practicing the power of now, psychotherapy, participating in a mock death and funeral for myself, taking smart drugs, getting an aura read, roasting in far infrared saunas, growing my own sprouts, wearing a zapper, receiving deeksha from gurus, getting injected with vitamins and minerals, dowsing myself with transdermal magnesium oil, learning semen-or chi- retention during sex, soaking my feet in ionic foot baths, auto urine therapy (you’ll have to google that one), Carrying crystals, injecting human growth hormone, having tantric sex, eating farm to table, joining anonymous groups, making my own alkaline water, wearing therapeutic sandals, electrically grounding my bed, computer, and car. Receiving pranic healing, doing A Course In Miracles, getting electro-acupuncture, vortexing my water, breathing through my chakras, shitting on a Squatty potty, tapping myself with EFT, sleeping on a cooling mat in a pitch-black room, doing the work by Byron Katie, studying the Kabbalah, Punching pillows, bathing in hyperbaric Oxygen chambers, forgiving evil perpetrators, getting my brain hemispheres synchronized, sleeping on powerful magnets, driving around with copper pyramids on my head, purifying my air, sleeping under a blanket developed by the Russian space program to shield myself from EMF’s, collecting my own spring water from mountaintops, watering my garden with ocean water and rock dust minerals, eating raw beef liver, blocking blue light, soaking in magnesium and baking soda baths, making bison bone broth, taking coffee, enzyme, and probiotic enemas, blocking my phone’s radiation, huffing essential oil diffusers, filtering my shower water, and floating in sensory deprivation chambers. Simple down to earth truths had the most impact. Embracing humility, honesty, integrity, acceptance, faith, prayer, meditation, forgiveness, service to others, courage, patience, compassion, open-mindedness, self-respect, kindness and unconditional love.
- Back to Styling: Styling career took off. Clients: Marilyn Manson, Kanye West,The Foo Fighters, No Doubt, Kim Kardashian. 45 music videos, 50 TV commercials, magazine shoots, award shows, red carpet.
- Now: 2008 epiphany to teach Style. School of Style is born. 2015 million dollars in sales. Moving on from Fashion Stylist to my new passion. The Life Stylist is born: teaching people how to design the ultimate lifestyle for health, happiness and peak performance through podcasts, videos, online classes and private coaching.
