On this episode I sat down with Shaheen Sadeghi, former Quicksilver president and founder of Lab Holding, a conscious real estate investment firm based in Southern California.

If you’ve been to Orange County you’ve probably been to one of his developments. The Lab Anti-Mall, the Camp, or The Packing House. They’re kind of like little micro villages, bringing together craft food vendors, boutiques, art, and people of all types.

Now you might wonder why I asked Shaheen to be on this podcast. After all, this is a show about personal development not real estate, right?

Well it turns out the environments we live and work in play a huge role in shaping how we think, feel, and act. Those that inspire us, align with our energies, and bring out our best selves are the ones we want to be spending our time in.

Shaheen’s got a knack for understanding what people and culture need. As president of Quicksilver he spent the bulk of his time thinking about the future, trends, and what the surf culture and community needed to perform at their best.

As a developer he’s now helping cities an communities stay ahead of the curve, giving people centers to learn, connect, and work towards a better future.

It was a blast hanging out with Shaheen. He carved some time out of his busy schedule to walk me through the core principles of his company, some of the big cultural shifts he sees taking place in the us, and what he thinks it takes for people to stay authentically creative.

It’s a lot of high level stuff, but everything is super applicable on an individual level too. This said, we’re definitely going have to have another chat at some point to dive even deeper.

I hope you enjoy this show. And Next time you’re in so cal you’ll have to check out one of his spaces, he’s got 12 in the works so there’s a lot to look forward too.

Links to The LAB Holding & some of their sites:

www.labholding.com

www.thelab.com
www.thecampsite.com
www.seedpeoplesmarket.com
www.anaheimpackingdistrict.com

www.centerstreetanaheim.com

SHOW NOTES:

Shaheen’s projects are built to represent local subcultures
The LAB (Little American Business) weaves community, culture, commerce and consciousness into real estate innovation and place making.
Shaheen breaks down the 4 C’s of the LAB: Community, Consciousness, Commerce, & Culture
Places should be build to engage with the local community
Places should have consciousness in them, they should be intelligent
They should be self sustaining as a business and incubate local businesses
Most real estate developments are done based on past trends… but since the development cycle is long end products wind up being obsolete day 1
The mentality of most developers is of mass production and mass consumption
We (America) built the most powerful middle class of all time but we paid a price for it in terms of junk food, track housing, and mass consumption – but we’re starting to see a change in terms of what people want
At Shaheen’s places, people are able to learn about the past but also get a glimpse of the future – this is very different from the mass culture America’s been pumping out at malls
Shaheen was the president of Quicksilver, the world’s largest surf brand, and saw that there was room for more authenticity and localization, personalization, and customization in the marketplace
People are into discovery more than predictability today…
You can go anywhere in the country today and find cool stuff – doesn’t matter if you’re in Los Angeles or New York or the Mid West – it doesn’t matter where you live – everybody is cool
Local businesses are starting to get more and more supported everywhere
Shaheen doesn’t even define cool though… it’s about what touches people. Everybody is looking for better, healthier choices if they can afford it.
The next generation reads every label, there is an evolving culture and education levels amongst this generation – there is more access to information and education
Everybody is their own brand today – and people can tap into their own information and make their own decisions. Instagram has made everybody a brand.
More people in America today do yoga than play football – yoga has become one of the biggest practices around the country
Consumption seems to be moving to other parts of the world, while experiences are becoming in more demand today… other parts of the world want goods for identity, where people here want more experiences, we’re moving into a more spiritual mentality in the west today
Shaheen loved his jobs working with the largest surfing brands in the world, but things started to change when all the big retailers started going out of business, and big industry didn’t see the shift happening
Shaheen was coming back from a business trip from Asia over the pacific, hitting turbulence with smoky air and had an epiphany – he felt insignificant and realized he didn’t want his legacy to be making the most board shorts…
He realized he wasn’t doing anything significant… but he knew he loved working with small and upcoming businesses
The LAB was originally created as a little village for small businesses… so it was a way to bring people together
Craft makers today are successful if they build a community of like minded people… then those people will buy your product