Aging Isn’t the End Game: Ariel Alicea on Reimagining Senior Wellness in Vegas

"I think having fun and enjoying your life do way more for the body than, like, the list of rules that they're going to get from their doctor."

In this episode of Pursue Vegas, we sit down with Ariel Alicea, founder of Peak Vitality Wellness, to talk about reimagining senior health. Ariel is on a mission to impact one million seniors by 2040, and she’s starting by transforming how Las Vegas thinks about aging, vitality, and community.

"I want to help our generation know how to better take care of their parents."

With a background in senior fitness and a heart for impact, Ariel shares how she went from hotel sales to launching a wellness company dedicated to giving seniors more joy, more connection, and more years truly lived—not just survived.

"Isolation’s not good for us. If there’s anything that 2020 showed us, it’s that none of us are meant to be isolated."

We explore what it means to create a city that supports the aging population, why Nevada ranks dead last for senior care (and how that can change), and how programs like the Forever Fun Senior Fair are putting wellness, joy, and human connection at the forefront of the aging conversation.

"The intention behind Peak Vitality is how much more can we just allow seniors to just enjoy those last 30, 40, 50 years."

Key Takeaways:

• Senior wellness requires more than medication—it demands joy, movement, and purpose.
• Las Vegas can become a blue zone for longevity with the right systems and support.
• Community and connection are antidotes to isolation and early decline.
• Holistic aging is rooted in fun, forgiveness, and presence.
• We need to prepare now to better care for the generations ahead.

Resources:

• Peak Vitality Wellness

This episode isn’t just about senior care—it’s about rethinking what it means to thrive at every age. Tune in and discover how Ariel is changing the game for wellness in Las Vegas and beyond.

"Every time I see someone light up from dance or laughter, it reminds me why I do this."

Thanks for tuning in to The Pursue Vegas Podcast!

Transcript

0:00:00 - (Ariel Alicea): My name is Ariel with Peak Vitality Wellness Company and this is the Pursue Vegas podcast.

0:00:08 - (Dave Burlin): The idea of Pursue Vegas was to really highlight the local people that really make Vegas Vegas.

0:00:14 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love that aspect of how these visionaries are actually bringing people together.

0:00:19 - (Dave Burlin): When we hit record, our responsibility is to connect the people of our city so we can show the world who we really are. Welcome back to the Pursue Vegas podcast. I'm your host, Dave Berlin.

0:00:30 - (Tawni Nguyen): And I'm your co host, Tawni Nguyen.

0:00:31 - (Dave Burlin): And should we talk about are we excited? Yes, we're always excited. But today we have an incredible friend and guest, Ariel, and she's going to tell us all about you. What are you excited about? Because we met last summer. Yeah, we met last summer and I have watched you just continue to kick all kinds of butt around this town. So that's why we wanted to have you on the show. But please tell us about you and all the things that you're excited about.

0:01:04 - (Ariel Alicea): About me. Let's start with what I'm most excited about. I am very excited about Peak Vitality Wellness Company, namely because I do believe that things have shifted continuously. It's like watching a baby grow and it's just so beautiful. And I have a three year old, so it's like in that toddler stage where I'm how things are starting to grow so fast and evolve so quickly. And there was a period where it felt like things were slowing down and I didn't know what was next for peak vitality.

0:01:35 - (Ariel Alicea): And something just clicked, I would say, in like the past week and a half where I'm like, okay, it's like a re signing up for the vision in a way where I have more clarity, more consistency.

0:01:45 - (Dave Burlin): So I love it.

0:01:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): You said my two favorite words, right?

0:01:48 - (Dave Burlin): Clarity and consistency or peak vitality. No. What's interesting is we've had a lot of different people on the show, different modalities or things when it comes to health and wellness. But what's fascinating about you is that you work with a very specific group of people. So could you tell us about why you're different? And this just isn't another. It's not just another trend or something like that where everyone's like, not that it's bad that we have so many yoga instructors or facilitators, but you're working. Yeah.

0:02:24 - (Tawni Nguyen): Right now, like looking directly at.

0:02:26 - (Dave Burlin): I'm immediately, I'm immediately thinking through like, I have a good lawyer. Right. I have a pretty good lawyer. You know? I do.

0:02:34 - (Ariel Alicea): It's funny. I mean, it is trendy but that's a good thing, right? Because that means more and more. More and more of us are realizing the importance of health and wellness.

0:02:42 - (Dave Burlin): Absolutely.

0:02:43 - (Ariel Alicea): So we're in a good place. Yeah. So where my niche is different is that we cater to seniors. So those over not in high school.

0:02:53 - (Dave Burlin): I love that. Not in high school. That should be across all your branding.

0:02:58 - (Ariel Alicea): To have yoga instructors.

0:03:01 - (Dave Burlin): It's like, who do it for seniors. And then like a whole, like the whole class of 20, 26 shows up and they're like, somebody said seniors. And you're like, oh, no, no, no, that's not what I meant.

0:03:11 - (Tawni Nguyen): So you're 17. We're looking for 70.

0:03:13 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah, 70. Exactly. Closer to 70. Yes.

0:03:16 - (Dave Burlin): So when you say seniors, what age range is that? Is. Because I immediately think 55 plus. Is that totally off?

0:03:23 - (Ariel Alicea): Okay, yeah. Even then, there's times where I meet someone that's 55 plus and they're like, oh, no, let me refer you my parents and my grandparents. The whole idea is there is like, our generation tends to very much understand why we need so many yoga instructors and why we need to make sure we're expanding our health and wellness. There's an entire generation that didn't have access to any of this information, and they're struggling to get access to it.

0:03:47 - (Ariel Alicea): And so the whole idea is to help them start finding those resources.

0:03:51 - (Dave Burlin): I may be way off on this, but I'm just going off of my generation. I know you're talking about generations before me, but, like, if they brought up like, oh, I'm thinking about this yoga thing, they probably got like struck with.

0:04:03 - (Ariel Alicea): A sandal across the room.

0:04:06 - (Tawni Nguyen): Just like what mental health is, not.

0:04:08 - (Dave Burlin): That they didn't have access. Even if they did have access, they.

0:04:10 - (Tawni Nguyen): Were not going to mentality around that and spreading awareness in terms of, like, the niche that you're under.

0:04:16 - (Ariel Alicea): And.

0:04:16 - (Tawni Nguyen): And it's kind of like, you know, everything's getting more gentrified and it's just getting more hip and young. And now the overflow of seniors or they gotta go somewhere else. That's just not like assisted livings. And then, you know, the kind of trends that go towards the after. After 55 care, it's a little different. It's a little harder to understand because don't get me started on the whole hospice fucking model, but don't get me started on that corruption. But anyways, that's for a different show or we can talk about it.

0:04:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): It's like, what really irks you? Like, why are you fighting battle? Because I what I'm hearing is that you have both a for profit and a nonprofit, but you're leaning hard into this season to lean into the clarity on taking this nonprofit further.

0:04:59 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah, yeah. The biggest reason is so what irks me is that. And so you did kind of touch on it is there are. When I was studying to become a senior fitness specialist, so that's where I started was fitness for seniors. I was learning that by 2040 we will have like the largest number of people over the age of 70 and then our health care expenses are just going through the roof. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was like astronomical how bad it's getting and who's going to have to pay for it. And I know this is kind of getting on the practical side, there's more of that emotional side, but it's going to be our generation that's paying for all of this.

0:05:38 - (Ariel Alicea): And so even looking at that, knowing that our parents and our grandparents are suffering from the system that's just happened, you know, and so what it is, they just didn't have the tools, they didn't have the resources and so now they're getting put into facilities because our generation is really busy. I have so many stories of those that are in their 40s or even 50s where they're having to take care of their parents and they either can't afford to do so or they don't even have like the time to do so.

0:06:09 - (Ariel Alicea): And then now there's all this guilt around how do I take care of my parents if I go and take care of my parents, I don't have any more pto. I don't have anyone that's going to watch my kids. And so we're running into this really big problem where we don't know how to best take care of our parents. So it's a big one.

0:06:25 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. Cuz the healthc care system as a whole, it's archaic already. And you know, that's. I don't want to divulge into just the insurance side of things and the money side of things. But coming from a nonprofit and just taking a look at how quality of life is looked through the modern lens, I think that that's kind of like where you're leaning into it, right?

0:06:44 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:06:45 - (Tawni Nguyen): Because you know, it's been a while since when I was 16, so that's a while ago. That was almost two decades ago. I was a CNA. I was the one wiping asses, the EMT, the hospice nurse. And I wanted to take that route until I understood what that took. And the kind of heart that it took. And I was like, I don't think this is me. And it was nice during the year that I was exploring, you know, the medical fields and just understanding how to connect with older people, because that's kind of my soft spot because I didn't grow up with, you know, grandparents and all that stuff here in the States. And our medical system is completely out of whack currently.

0:07:19 - (Tawni Nguyen): So. Yeah. So I. I love hearing your take on where you want to lead into, like, how you're going to lead these people into a better quality of life. And when, you know, we joke about it, it's a whole mindset about, like, mental health. And these modalities are not really welcomed. And now we're kind of reintroducing them to, like, hey, like, it's okay.

0:07:37 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:07:38 - (Tawni Nguyen): You know.

0:07:38 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah, yeah. And I think so. For me, it did start with fitness. And so there was a lot of fear around the fact that, like, our health is declining and people are living longer, but they're getting sicker faster. And there was a lot of fear around it. And then what started to happen is I started to take better care of myself. And then from there, it went from, like, the surviving to thriving, where I noticed there was a lot of benefits to.

0:08:02 - (Ariel Alicea): To enjoying my life and having fun and having peace. And so what happened, naturally, as I was starting to improve, I noticed those are the things that actually help our parents even more. So even aside from fitness, that's where I started. We recently put on what's called the Forever Fun Senior Fair, and it was about bringing all types of resources to seniors aside from just fitness. So we had, like, Reiki, we had art classes, we had dance classes, we had salsa dancing. We had.

0:08:33 - (Ariel Alicea): We just wanted to provide so many different resources that are going to help seniors have fun and enjoy their life and kind of reignite that excitement that you're still here, you can still enjoy this one beautiful, precious life that you have. So I think having fun and enjoying your life do way more for the body than, like, the list of rules that they're going to get from their doctor and their nurses of, like, do this, do this, do that, don't do that, do this. You know, I think that adds so much stress.

0:08:59 - (Tawni Nguyen): Thank you for saying that. Because doctors are just legal drug dealers. I will say that proudly. And for me, leaning into, does your lawyer cover her?

0:09:07 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, same lawyer.

0:09:09 - (Ariel Alicea): It's actually.

0:09:10 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, we're both going to be in prison at the end of this conversation. Goodbye. Nice meeting you.

0:09:15 - (Ariel Alicea): So nice to meet you, I'll come visit.

0:09:19 - (Tawni Nguyen): But I think in terms of health and fitness for seniors, Dave, like, tell me, you know, it's kind of messed up, right? Like where the seniors are going and when you mentioned Reiki, because that's a more spiritual modality, there's yoga, there's things that are outside of their control, obviously, because for me, mobility is really important. And another thing that I got really obsessed with over the last 10 years is all the Sardinians, all the blue zones, and understanding their diet.

0:09:49 - (Tawni Nguyen): But even when you look at the blue zone and their diets, you look at their stats on that's reported, and then you find out that certain countries are now taking that tax side of things and not reporting when somebody else died because they get the money. So that's a different set of corruptions within the blue zone too, you know. So I think that's kind of where I'm leaning into it is people that have community built around them sustain a better quality of life. And I'm all about that. And it's not just what you eat and how, how movable you are. But yeah, like some of these people that I've talked to that are barely in their 50s and 60s, they're falling apart, they're stiff, they're not mobile. And they think, I think mentally their life is slowly declining and therefore it's kind of like they're manifesting it within themselves. They're like, well, it's all downhill from here. I'm like, yeah, if you say that it's a self fulfilling prophecy, like you are gonna go down if you're mentally going down, you know?

0:10:43 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. So it's so funny, this whole time I keep having this new Saturday Night Live skit go through my head. I don't know if you guys have seen it. It's called medcast. And it's like.

0:10:53 - (Tawni Nguyen): Is that what you try to say?

0:10:56 - (Dave Burlin): It's like we've learned that men age like 20 to 45 don't actually go to the doctor. And they're more likely to get their information from a podcast. And then so we've set up a doctor's office that feels like a podcast. But I think about that I'll have to like cut away to that or something. But for me, it's always been health to me. Very simply put. Right. There's all the very specific things that I can't speak to because I'm not a medical professional. But to me, if the head goes, the body goes with it and if the body goes the head can go with it.

0:11:31 - (Dave Burlin): So when you talk about mobility and stuff like that, like, sometimes if you have an injury, like, sometimes your head, Your head can kind of spiral with that and you could just go off in that direction, which only causes more stress, causes more inflammation or more. Whatever. The same thing the other way around, though, if your head and your heart are going in the right direction, then naturally you start to feel better and sometimes you start to make better decisions.

0:11:55 - (Dave Burlin): Community is a big piece of that. So that's what I love about what I've seen you create. Because even, like during Global Entrepreneurship Week in 2024, you hosted your first big wellness fair and got like a lot of people involved with that. And it's just seeing all your stuff from is. It's literally just. Just have fun. Like, they don't have to have information and all that stuff forced down their throats today.

0:12:23 - (Dave Burlin): They just. If they have fun, they're gonna be more likely to not be upset or in the worst case, bitter. Because if they're bitter, it doesn't matter what information you're giving them. They just don't. They're not gonna process it.

0:12:36 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah, yeah. And I love that you said that because I think it's very natural that that's how it works. So even with. At any age, right, at some point you notice there's issues with your health. So then usually you start to work out and eat better. Like, that's our natural first go to. So it's the physical body, right? And then we start to realize that we're like, yo yoing in that game. So then we realize, oh, it's a mental game. Like, there's something in my mindset that's keeping me here. And then I would argue that even like that next level is the spiritual side. So like, we can get stuck in our minds. And I think we've done that to our older generation is and even us, like, we're in that information age where we have access to.

0:13:15 - (Ariel Alicea): To so much information. Seniors, they have so many doctor's appointments, so they're constantly being told, do this, do that, don't do this, don't do that. And you know, I'm not 60, I'm not 70, but I do imagine, like, what is it that's constantly ruminating in their minds? Because I know where my mind can go when I'm up at like 2 in the morning, whatever. So to think about, like, and I know I hear this with some of the clients I worked with, one on one is they will go down that Rabbit hole of like kind of manifesting pains in their bodies because of an injury that they saw their friend go through. And they've been replaying that story in their head. That's something that they haven't yet experienced. But they're so afraid of experiencing a fall that their friend experienced 20 years ago. And then there's just so many other things that they just start to collect in their own mind.

0:14:02 - (Ariel Alicea): So then on the spiritual side, I think even if we take out like the woo woo side of spiritual, think of it as like being in good spirits. Like when you just feel good, when you feel when the sun's shining, when the sun's shining and like when you just remember to like stay in that feel good feels you naturally start to make better decisions for yourself. So it starts to take off that pressure from the mind.

0:14:24 - (Ariel Alicea): And so that's literally the intention behind Peak Vitality is how much more can we just allow seniors to just enjoy those last 30, 40, 50 years? Like get them to a dancing class, get them to an art class, get them to if they want like a part time job and something new. Like how can we get them into fulfilling work? How do we get them to volunteer? How do we get them to whatever is going to help them start to feel good, I think is what we need to start helping our seniors do.

0:14:53 - (Dave Burlin): That's great. I love that you're doing that. And like, literally when we're talking about this, when we start getting into like just how long people live, you know, people are living longer. But I saw a funny meme just the other day and it was like, cause I'm 44 and it was like, oh, for everybody in their 40s, like we're really starting to see like who took care of themselves and who didn't. Like, I already have a lot of people that I went to school with that have already died, like from like heart attacks.

0:15:22 - (Ariel Alicea): Oh, wow.

0:15:22 - (Dave Burlin): And I'm like, well, I also, I'm from Oklahoma, so it's like meat and potatoes, you know what I mean? And just people that did not take care of themselves. And I fit that for a long time. Like I smoked cigarettes for a long time. And then just something one day clicked and I'm like, I think I want to live longer.

0:15:39 - (Tawni Nguyen): Mortality kicks you in the face at 2am Exactly. What is the meaning of life? Yeah, it's like, am I going to be here long enough for it? I was in your head. I was planting those seeds. No thank you for taking care of a population that's unspoken for because Coming from the capitalism side. And I did want to invest in assisted livings before in the real estate side and just understanding the cycle. And then once I understood how much per bed and the churn and the burn and coming from somebody that used to want to be a nurse and that are friends with nurses, I'm like this like, what the hell?

0:16:13 - (Tawni Nguyen): And I was like, I don't care how good the money is, it's just not aligned to me. Like the, I'm not saying it's not the money, but it's always like there's always like a moral conduct that I feel like we have to obey by. And I'm like, I don't think I'm meant for these type of dollars. Even though I understand the business model.

0:16:28 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:16:29 - (Tawni Nguyen): Because I envision my parents the same way. Like my grandma was like by herself, you know, so I'm just like, kind of like how would I feel in, in their shoes if their kids are just putting them off to like a community of old people and they're just kind of sitting around waiting to die. And I think that's the greatest fear that older people in the hospice has told me or shared with me because I'm the one sitting with them and their family are not visiting them.

0:16:50 - (Tawni Nguyen): So I'm the kid that's pushing their wheelchair around. Read them. Cuz their family is like, like you said, too busy or they don't give up. Like they're like, oh, it's okay, like they'll take care of them. So it becomes like, kind of like the nurse's responsibility of taking care and keeping the mind alive. Because when I bartended, you know, there's a lot of senior guys, like 60s, 70s that come in during the day and they're like, you know, tawny. Like when you get to my age and you have friends, they're either all dead or we're just sitting around and you know, looking at bills, a medical bill on like a knee replacement or which one of us is going to get our hip replaced or the heart thing. It's just like, it's a total real like reality that I never understood from our kind of like perspective.

0:17:34 - (Ariel Alicea): Right.

0:17:35 - (Tawni Nguyen): But I was kind of immersed in like the everyday people and they're like, oh, like my hips going out today. And then their friend would be like, well, I got put on two new medical, you know, two new meds today. Like it's like some sort of like badge of honor. They're like, the older you get, the longer your medications list get, you know, and I'm like, I'm like, no, I don't want that. I want to be like the old people living life in the village. Like loofah, like living the loofah life, allegedly, you know, and they have such good spirit still.

0:18:05 - (Tawni Nguyen): And, you know, and I met some girl that was talking about, like, oh, seniors and sex, and people get grossed out. I'm like, no. Like, I'm gonna be waiting until, like, I'm in my 90s and my hip give out and then I, you know. But that's the kind of quality of life you want is like the things I can do in my 30s, I want to be able to do at 90. You know, we want to be those freaky old ladies that are like, just saying whatever they want, but like our living life and still drinking wine, eating pasta.

0:18:31 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:18:31 - (Tawni Nguyen): Because they're not afraid of, like, their medical bill or anything, you know, so systemically, like, I'm so glad you're taking the. The change to go into the initiatives of kind of leading them somewhere that's like, not more meds and not more surgeries.

0:18:44 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah. Thank you. You said so many important things too. Because, like, if we look at this big picture long term, because this goal, this dream, it took a long time to get here. But like I said, there's so much clarity and certainty because I have a goal of helping 1 million seniors by 2040. And as we're getting older, I do think about the fact of, like, what I'm creating with this nonprofit. Like, it goes so well that when we're older, it's easy for even us to.

0:19:14 - (Ariel Alicea): To have the resources we need to sustain our life when we're in our 90s. And then beyond that, I have a three year old, so when she's in her 90s, like, I just. The. The fact that it's just so normal to now live to 100. But those last 30, 40 years are suffering. Those last 30, 40 years are in a facility. The last 30, 40 years are alone in a wheelchair. Nobody's visiting you. You're watching all your friends die. You're comparing medical lists. Like, this is.

0:19:42 - (Ariel Alicea): It's not living, you know, and so that's the problem I want to solve. And then you shared a good point too, because I have a lot of nursing friends too. This system where you have to work like 14 hour days, you know, and we're learning that after eight hours, your brain's basically mush. So then we're not even giving good quality anymore, which is no fault. To the nurses, it's Just like the entire system. So think about it. If our seniors are not only living longer, but they're living better quality lives, it's also going to be better for all the workers involved that have to be taking care of these seniors.

0:20:15 - (Ariel Alicea): It's going to be better for the nurses. It's going to be better for like the role that you had to play. The assisted living facilities would get better. So there's no way, it's not a win win for all of us to start taking better care of our seniors.

0:20:25 - (Dave Burlin): Well, that's a great point because you know when you talk about those 14 hour days, like that's going to cause more stress and therefore your head goes, the body goes with it. It's going to cause more disease, more, you know, challenges. Plus I've known people, it's, it's funny because there's a lot of similarities between people that are in the medical field and people that are in law enforcement. Like there's a lot of emotional trauma that goes with those, some of those different roles and that leads to lots of alcohol, smoking, just, you know, vaping, whatever, whatever. The thing is, like people do a lot of things to cope with what they're going through and all that does is just create, you know, create more stress and more disease.

0:21:10 - (Dave Burlin): I love everything that you shared and you actually said some magic words in there because you said that's the problem I'm trying to solve. And we always have to insert Mike Kim into every conversation. The three questions that he always asks is what pisses you off? What breaks your heart? What problem are you trying to solve? So was there something that got you emotionally charged to take on this responsibility? Like what is, what is your story in that? But also what, what made you want to do this here in Vegas? What brought you here?

0:21:44 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah. Well, let's start. So it was eight years ago. Eight years ago. I'm trying to condense it. So eight years ago I, well, so I was working in hotel sales. So I grew up in Vegas. So I was a traditional, got my degree in like hotel management, got into the hotel sales world and I ended up quitting without anything lined up because I was just done working in a basement, sitting in a chair like, and just, it was, it was not for me.

0:22:14 - (Ariel Alicea): So I quit that job. I didn't have anything lined up and just randomly applied for this job that I was under qualified for. But I was like, let's just shoot my shot, let's see what happens. And so that job was a company that was renovating senior communities and so they were renovating all the kitchen and the bathrooms and it was 644 units total. So. In three different communities in the Vegas Valley. And so they were hiring this new made up position of somebody that could be like a liaison between the construction team, the community managers, and the residents that were still living in those apartments. So we had to move them out, renovate their kitchen and bathrooms, and then move them back in safely because they're all over the age of 55. Okay, gotcha.

0:22:53 - (Ariel Alicea): So I had to sit with every single resident. So that was 600 people plus. And so I was sitting with people over the age of 55 telling them, hey, I'm going to move you out, we're going to renovate your kitchen, bathroom, you're going to love it, it's going to look great, and then we're going to move you back in. And the conversations I was having were just so amazing. I was meeting the most incredible people and I was learning so much just by being in their presence.

0:23:19 - (Ariel Alicea): And that's the other thing, like when we think our generation is so different and in ways it is because of the technology we have. But when you actually sit with someone that's over the age of 70, you realize you guys have, we have so much more in common than we don't. Yeah, yeah. And so I started to notice, like, this is like a social experiment in my own head of like, why was it that some seniors were so happy and fulfilled and then of course their health was better.

0:23:42 - (Ariel Alicea): And then you had some seniors that they were in their 70s and they're still ruminating over a problem that happened in their 30s, you know, they're still mad at somebody they worked with, you know, and they're holding on to a story of pain, a story of hurt, a story of anger.

0:23:56 - (Dave Burlin): And.

0:23:57 - (Ariel Alicea): And you could see that now playing out in their lives. And so they're alone. I met so many seniors that are in these apartment units and they're alone, they're isolated, their living conditions are terrible. You could be in the nicest senior community and they themselves are living in the worst conditions because nobody's checking on them. And so, yeah, I just, it broke my heart. It was pissing me off that like, how come some are living so great and some are not and our choices do play a huge role in it.

0:24:25 - (Ariel Alicea): And then on the flip side, having the tools and the resources to choose better, choose love, choose to forgive and let go, all of that having ways to still enjoy your life, knowing that people are still here for you all of that. It just all plays a role. Yeah. And then life just kept bringing me back to want to work with seniors. That job was incredible in so many ways. It got me transferred to the corporate office in Atlanta. So then I was overseeing renovation projects nationwide and.

0:24:57 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:24:59 - (Dave Burlin): So first of all, I have to say thank you, Mike Kim, for those killer questions, because it really does hit.

0:25:04 - (Tawni Nguyen): It has a nice layup for us.

0:25:05 - (Ariel Alicea): Right.

0:25:09 - (Dave Burlin): So now let's talk about the community, because it is a very unique community being here in Las Vegas. I know you said you grew up here, but what's really interesting is this is a retirement community. A lot of people come here from other places. Are you seeing a lot of that too? Because obviously this can't be like the same, like, hundred thousand people that just like started Vegas. Right.

0:25:33 - (Tawni Nguyen): I was like, they just like got old and here we are.

0:25:37 - (Dave Burlin): I think we'll just stay here. No, like, do you see like, a lot of people coming from other places? And what percentage would you say are coming here with. No one. And then are there a lot of people that do have family, close? Are you seeing kind of both?

0:25:54 - (Ariel Alicea): I mean, we see it in that senior communities are going up everywhere. And so the more you extend out in Vegas, there tends to be a 55 plus community that's being built. There's over 600 senior communities currently. That's either like assisted living, independent living, memory care, hospice care, all of that.

0:26:11 - (Dave Burlin): How many?

0:26:12 - (Ariel Alicea): Over 600.

0:26:13 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, I live by a few.

0:26:15 - (Ariel Alicea): So, yeah, they're popping up everywhere. And then, yeah, there's some of the private ones where you can turn your home into assisted living facility, all that. People do like to come to Vegas. Why not? It's fabulous.

0:26:26 - (Dave Burlin): Las Vegas.

0:26:27 - (Ariel Alicea): Why not? And so that is part of the vision is like, I do see Vegas being a blue zone, and I do see Vegas being, like, recognized for that. Yeah, this is like my big vision is people are moving here, they're over the age of 55. And we actually have the worst, Currently we have the worst healthcare system in the nation. Nevada does. And so it's not the best city to come and retire because we don't have the best doctors, nurses facility.

0:26:58 - (Ariel Alicea): It's. It's a known fact. Yeah. So what I envision is, wait, how is it that the state of Nevada has the worst healthcare system, the worst system for seniors, and yet somehow, some way seniors are getting better, they're getting healthier, they're starting to thrive, they're starting to take better care of themselves. It is becoming a blue zone city. How is this happening. And I like to believe that peak vitality is playing a role in that.

0:27:21 - (Dave Burlin): You are.

0:27:22 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. You are sitting at the slot machines. You know, I was gonna say Tuesday morning.

0:27:28 - (Dave Burlin): Is it the air quality that they're pumping into the Cosmo? Yeah.

0:27:33 - (Ariel Alicea): They spend more money.

0:27:34 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. Bingo. Like, bingo. It's. Yeah.

0:27:41 - (Tawni Nguyen): You got the dirt so good for.

0:27:42 - (Dave Burlin): Mobility.

0:27:44 - (Ariel Alicea): The testimony that are coming from the 70 year old.

0:27:46 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:27:47 - (Ariel Alicea): She's like, I added five years to my life because of my bingo board.

0:27:52 - (Tawni Nguyen): Well, because they have friends and they got something to do. And it's kind of funny.

0:27:55 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:27:55 - (Tawni Nguyen): Because I like, my parents come here next week and they would never think to come here because they think it's just sex, drugs and rock and roll. My mom thinks it's like a mob city still. And I'm like, maybe 100 years ago. I'm like, but business is blooming here and we're barely in the infancy. And like real estate, it's so much better here than California, you know, so direct hate to the real estate market. But it's just like, I just feel you said something with longevity and how we're going to turn into a town that focuses on longevity. And that's like my. My secret love letter or something. Like, that's my love language. It's like, like the reason why we're doing anything. It's because you want to enjoy the rest of your time.

0:28:29 - (Tawni Nguyen): Because the meaning of life for me is to enjoy the passage of time. And I don't want to be a, like hurting everywhere. And it's just kind of like calling Dave. Yo, my shoulder just gave out. What kind of pain? You know, my knees are. Let me one up you. You know, let me push you down the stairs. So you're in more pain than I am.

0:28:48 - (Dave Burlin): My knees are still jacked up from the Marine Corps, but that's a different story. Just a side note, when your mom comes, you should totally hire somebody to dress up like somebody from the mob and like show up at your house. But it's a male stripper.

0:29:02 - (Ariel Alicea): Oh.

0:29:02 - (Dave Burlin): And all of her fears come true.

0:29:07 - (Tawni Nguyen): Well, my stepdad is also here. Yeah, he had a stroke. Five years. So I don't. I don't think that's gonna go. He might shoot. I don't know. He can go play bingo. He might be the mobster.

0:29:16 - (Dave Burlin): He can go play bingo.

0:29:19 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:29:20 - (Dave Burlin): So what? That's an amazing vision. So thank you for sharing that. And you are doing it. And I see it all the time through everything that you share, all of your posts, like you're just always lit up with the most positive energy, and it resonates for. I can only imagine, like, how that comes to the senior community. What do you see is, like. I mean, obviously the healthcare part, what do you see as the biggest challenge for the community itself, aside from healthcare?

0:29:52 - (Ariel Alicea): Okay. So on a small scale, when I'm sitting with someone one on one, typically what I do one on one is I will train on the fitness side. We'll do mobility, stretching, small movement, and then I end with a guided gratitude meditation session. And I do that in senior communities. I do that one on one in different sessions around town, all that. And usually there's, like, this hesitation around the meditation portion of, like, I can't sit still for more than two minutes. And however that ends up being the most beautiful time, and that tends to be the most transformational time for them is that time to just sit and to actually practice gratitude. When we live in a world that practices stress and they've been programmed to practice what's not working in their body. So to sit and actually practice, like, thank you for my cells. Thank you for the breath in my lungs. Thank you. Like, just taking that time is so transformational.

0:30:43 - (Ariel Alicea): And so I think the struggle that I'm foreseeing is, well, two things. It's. There's certain seniors that will come to these events. Like, whoever showed up to that Forever Fun senior fair, they're the ones that are gonna go to the dance class already. They're already the one that's living life, you know, to the fullest. The struggle is reaching those seniors that are alone and isolated, and they've kind of already chosen that, and that's okay. Like, there is truth to. Like, we can't help everyone.

0:31:13 - (Ariel Alicea): Right. However, my mission and my goal is to, like, how do we reach those seniors, the ones that I did have to sit with in that job I was working at years ago, where what I envision is that we would have caseworkers and social managers that will actually go into those homes, and we have a system in place where we start getting them back into society and we get them back into community, and it's through something that they would enjoy. So if it's not fitness, I'm not offended.

0:31:42 - (Ariel Alicea): You know, if it's not meditation, that's okay. Like, what is it for you that's gonna help you want to be back into community? Because we're learning that isolation's not good for us. If there's anything that 2020 showed us, it's that none of us are Meant to be isolated. We need community. So to me, that's, like, the biggest piece that I want to look at.

0:32:01 - (Dave Burlin): I know the answer. And it's not pretty, and it's not cheap, and this is kind of horrible. It's literally TV advertising, like, in the middle of the day, like, whenever Price is Right is on, and it's whenever Wheel of Fortune is on. Okay, I know that sounds super cheesy, but it's like. I know that sounds cheesy, but, like, that's. They're. They're not.

0:32:25 - (Tawni Nguyen): Because they're not.

0:32:25 - (Dave Burlin): They're not watching podcasts. Yeah.

0:32:27 - (Ariel Alicea): They're not.

0:32:27 - (Dave Burlin): Probably not on social media and stuff like that. It's like, literally, it's television ads where it's, like, so true. I never thought of that until right when you said it. I'm just like, where does my marketing brain go?

0:32:38 - (Tawni Nguyen): It's like, what are these people doing?

0:32:40 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, they're watching.

0:32:41 - (Ariel Alicea): How much are TV ads now?

0:32:42 - (Tawni Nguyen): I'm like, that's what I'm saying for you.

0:32:45 - (Ariel Alicea): You do? Okay. I'm like, who's ever watching this Mission is real. Like the tv.

0:32:51 - (Dave Burlin): But. Yeah. I mean, but then you also, like, now watch the next time you watch TV during the middle of the day. Watch the ads that come on.

0:32:57 - (Ariel Alicea): I don't even have tv.

0:32:58 - (Dave Burlin): I know you have tv.

0:32:59 - (Ariel Alicea): Who has tv?

0:33:00 - (Dave Burlin): I kind of do. I watch. I watch.

0:33:02 - (Tawni Nguyen): Well, my parents are the bracket Nicely dipper.

0:33:07 - (Ariel Alicea): Wait, like, cable?

0:33:09 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, cable tv. I know it sounds good.

0:33:11 - (Tawni Nguyen): Do you have a landline, too?

0:33:13 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, it's cable tv. Yeah. No, I. And again. But if you really, like, put yourself in their position, in their role, like, they're probably not. They're probably not watching Netflix. And again, I know this is talking to a much older demographic. I know everyone watches some level of all those things, but a lot of them are still getting their news from the place they got their news from for the last 40 years, 50 years, and they're watching it on cable television.

0:33:37 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:33:37 - (Dave Burlin): So it's like those little thank you for that. Those little ads and stuff like that, so.

0:33:40 - (Tawni Nguyen): Or just make a good old pile of newspaper and throw it at their door.

0:33:44 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, right.

0:33:45 - (Ariel Alicea): Newspaper.

0:33:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): You know, like a Sunday morning route or something.

0:33:48 - (Dave Burlin): You know what's funny about that? Like, that's actually. That's kind of a nice little trigger, like marketing.

0:33:53 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:33:53 - (Dave Burlin): Like, if you threw a newspaper and it hit somebody's door, like, what the hell is that? And it's like, it's a newspaper, and then they open it up, but it's really Just a big flyer.

0:34:01 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:34:03 - (Tawni Nguyen): Are you lonely?

0:34:04 - (Dave Burlin): This just in.

0:34:06 - (Tawni Nguyen): How would that be? Sunday.

0:34:07 - (Dave Burlin): Sunday.

0:34:08 - (Tawni Nguyen): And then just make sure you put Bing bong session. Yeah. Like, come out for. Yeah, I'm already kind of thinking of.

0:34:14 - (Ariel Alicea): Okay, please. They're going into the marketing strategy here. May this also serve you well. But, yeah, give me the tips.

0:34:20 - (Dave Burlin): We do this a lot, though. Like, we'll just randomly get on phone calls, and we've got to hang out a lot. Yeah, we'll catch a phone call. Sometimes it's like, we won't talk for days, and then we'll, like, get on a phone call and talk for, like, an hour and a half and, like, probably both be doing something. It's like, I don't care, like, what's up?

0:34:34 - (Tawni Nguyen): We'll just nerd out.

0:34:35 - (Ariel Alicea): And it's usually a bunch of, like, strategy tips and tricks that he gives me. And I'm like, okay, now I can go another, you know, two months on this mission, right? Yeah, it's perfect. Yeah.

0:34:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): No, I love that mission, too, because you brought up something. Even with the healthcare workers I know, like, 12, 14, 16 hours. And the reason why they check out and they're so. I would call it numb to a lot of the things that they see here because Vegas is known for car accidents and DUIs more than old people falling over. You know what I mean? So I think to disassociate emotionally from that leads you from working in your 20s, 30s, and 40s. It just starts compounding where you're used to seeing people go. It's kind of like the chain, because America, even the healthcare system runs kind of like on a manufacturing chain. It's just kind of like, this is where you go next, and this is where you go next, and everything is kind of like, like, structured out for you, Which I hate to say that because I hate systems in place like that. It's kind of like once you're in this box, you're hurt. You stay in Big Pharma and we feed you the meds, you know, so they kind of move from one box to another and they don't know anything else. And then anything outside of that feels very alienating because it's not like you can put out an ad that's like, are you lonely? And you know, but if you're saying, like, hey, tired of your friends? Like, bitching about their medical condition?

0:35:52 - (Tawni Nguyen): Like, something a lot more aggressive, that kind of like, not just addresses the pain, but it's kind of like, do you still want that kind of lifestyle? You know?

0:36:00 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:36:00 - (Tawni Nguyen): And that's kind of important to understand, like, what are old people doing these days?

0:36:05 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that's a good one. And I think that's the biggest thing is so a little bit more if I could share about, like, the vision. So, like, there's basically three buckets. And so I want to keep having forever fund senior fairs, which is where we gather all the different resources within the city that want to be a part of this. Like, how do we get seniors to. So providing, like, the art classes, the dance classes, the programs through ali, which are amazing and different things that seniors can do to enjoy their life. So we're not looking for life insurance, funeral homes, memory care, hospice care. Like, there's plenty of those. They have the resources for those we're looking for.

0:36:43 - (Ariel Alicea): What can they do to enjoy their life?

0:36:45 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, enjoy their life, not prepare to die.

0:36:46 - (Ariel Alicea): Yes, exactly. Exactly. And then so bucket number two is reaching those seniors that are isolated and alone. And so I want programs that are gonna include, like, those that are in their 20s and 30s to go sit like a companion. Like, go sit with them for an hour. It's a total win, win. Because you're gonna learn so much from that 70, 80 year old. And then they have somebody that's visiting them that's not gonna be their niece or their daughter, unfortunately.

0:37:13 - (Ariel Alicea): So it's creating that gap or filling that gap. And then the last part, the third bucket would be how to help our generation know how to best take care of their parents. Because that conversation is so difficult to have with your own parents. Like, they. My parents won't listen to me. Right. Your parents probably won't listen to you. Right.

0:37:32 - (Tawni Nguyen): Try bringing up a trust.

0:37:33 - (Ariel Alicea): Right.

0:37:34 - (Tawni Nguyen): Kind of like just a reminder that you're gonna die. But what's gonna happen?

0:37:37 - (Ariel Alicea): What's gonna happen? Yeah, no, they don't want to hear that from you. Yeah. And so. And a lot of the clients I do have are because somebody around my age referred their parents, and they were like, my mom's not listening to me. Like, can you go talk to her? You know, my. My dad's not listening to me, you know, and it makes sense. And so I want to help our generation know how to better take care of their parents. So those are the three buckets.

0:37:58 - (Tawni Nguyen): And it's easier to sit with somebody else's set of emotions than kind of like, to face your own. And I feel like that's where our parents have an issue of not addressing their own emotional unavailability that they've had most of Their life. So all of a sudden, like, let's just call it 65. And they have to face mortality. If they haven't already, they're gonna be like, oh, shit. Yeah. And it's just to sit with that. And it's kind of uncomfortable if, like, someone's kid's sitting there and they've never sat in an emotional space together.

0:38:27 - (Tawni Nguyen): It's kind, like, it's. It's heavy, you know? So I think I love the buckets on how you broke it up. Cause I'm like, I'm in. Like, sign me up. I'll be the first one. Because I love sitting with seniors. And hospice is where I learned the most. Before turning 18, it wasn't even about anything else. It was like, I just come there, and I used to volunteer just to, like, read to people and talk to them because I felt, like, safe with them, and they always had something to say. And I was like, you know, 16. And there was so many, like, funny stories that came out of the older seniors that I got to hang out with before they passed that, like, I still remember it better than, like, someone I talked to last week here that was my age.

0:39:03 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:39:03 - (Tawni Nguyen): You know, because the wisdom and it's just their energy is so authentic and, you know, and it's. There's just something about people that's already kind of knowing where they're going, that they have no fucks left, and they're just, like, giving you, like, yeah, here's life, kid. That kind of thing, you know? Like, I imagine, like, if my uncle can. He was sit there with a shotgun, and then like, a. Hey. And just like, let me tell you what's up.

0:39:24 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:39:24 - (Tawni Nguyen): You know, like, those are the people I want to talk to.

0:39:26 - (Dave Burlin): Yes.

0:39:27 - (Ariel Alicea): The wisdom. And I know, like, we do have those stories. There's so many times where I was sitting with someone or working with someone that's 70 or 80, and without them knowing what's going on in my life, they're speaking into my life, like, literally, to the T of like, oh, when I was 31, dah, dah, dah, dah. And I'm like, are you looking into my life right now? Like, how do you know this? And I think that's what's so beautiful, is that when our generation sits with that generation, the amount of times where you start to realize, like, oh, maybe I do care too much about things I shouldn't, you know, or maybe I need to chill out a little bit. Maybe I need to get careless about Susan and H.R.

0:40:02 - (Tawni Nguyen): You know?

0:40:02 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah. Susan and H.R.

0:40:05 - (Dave Burlin): Well, I don't know if I just, like, suppressed this memory, but when you mentioned working in a hospice at 18. I worked in a funeral home when I was 18.

0:40:14 - (Ariel Alicea): Oh, you did say that.

0:40:15 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. So it's like, that's. It's interesting to look at mortality and look at life in that direction. You mentioned a bucket, though. That got me fired up. And again, I don't have all the answers, but I don't have any parents left. I don't have any grandparents left. Like, all my family's passed. One way that you could start to help your parents is if your parents are still alive, just call them. Like, call your mom.

0:40:39 - (Tawni Nguyen): Called her yesterday. We FaceTime.

0:40:42 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. Like, I'm in that whole season this year. It's been very heavy. We're not very far into the year, but it's that. See something, say something, or if, like, if you think about somebody, just don't think and ruminate on why you haven't talked to them in a long time. Like, that was in a book or podcast. I was just listening to, too. It's like, you know, a lot of times, like, they haven't went anywhere.

0:41:07 - (Dave Burlin): Like, just text them. And like, statistically, like, if you reach out to somebody that you haven't talked to in a long time, they're like. They get really excited. So it goes with, like, family, too. So, like, check yourself. When's the last time you called your grandma or your grandpa if they're still alive or, you know, any of that stuff? Because life is short, and I say that life is getting longer.

0:41:29 - (Ariel Alicea): But.

0:41:30 - (Dave Burlin): But with that, if it's. If there's this gap or if this thing that people are kind of sitting with that they haven't solved or resolved, it's not helping anything. So just.

0:41:40 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, like, don't be buried at 90 and, like, died at, like, 35 mentally.

0:41:46 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah, yeah, yeah.

0:41:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): You know, and there's also.

0:41:48 - (Ariel Alicea): This is. This is so true. And so there is. There's even some of us that may have, like, weird tensions with our parents or our grandparents or. And so we want to reach out, but it's like, oh, I know how it's going to go. I think one thing that does help is, have you guys seen, like, that meme on Instagram? I guess it's like, pebbling, where, like, you could send them just, like, a funny meme and you could send them, like, sometimes that just helps, like, lighten the mood.

0:42:14 - (Tawni Nguyen): My mom sends me way too many GIFs a day. Once I taught her that I'm Like, I shouldn't have. Now I'm like, scrolling through, looking for something important. They're all just like cat memes and stuff. And I'm like, oh my God. Yeah, it's like, I love you, like hearts. And I'm like, oh my goodness, where's the important insurance that I'm supposed to read for her? And it's like, sandwiched by like a bunch of other stuff.

0:42:39 - (Dave Burlin): Where's the trust information?

0:42:40 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah, but that's probably like, why don't want to speak into your story. But I know for me, like, that's a way to keep the relationship light.

0:42:48 - (Tawni Nguyen): And fun, have boundaries, but also kind of like have a system going so that it's like you feel kind of connected.

0:42:56 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:42:57 - (Tawni Nguyen): Good night. Text. You know, we communicate through GIFs.

0:43:00 - (Ariel Alicea): And it works.

0:43:01 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. Because I'm like, memes, you know. But if I send her anything crazy, she'll be like, what does it say? You know, like, it was too many words. So if it's just like three words, it's cool. She'd be like, hahaha. You know? But I think that's. That's kind of funny, like, where it's leading into the having the hard conversations. For me, like, for you, it's see something, say something. Right. Keep it simple. And for me it's just like, have more hard conversations. Because that's how I was with my parents too.

0:43:23 - (Tawni Nguyen): And a decade ago, I didn't execute until five years ago. I'm like, what's the hardest thing I can do today that will make tomorrow better? You know? So growing back the relationship I didn't have with my parents are like the hardest thing ever. Because your ego, your pride, like all of it, like the teenager comes out of me, and I also get all angry and I'm like, ooh, maybe like, this is good for me, like a healthy dose of anger.

0:43:46 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:43:47 - (Tawni Nguyen): And I started going through memories with, like, my mom. And we're sitting there, you know, and we're learning how to cry together, which is like, really fucking awkward. By the way.

0:43:55 - (Dave Burlin): Did you bust out your CDs just to get the soundtrack too?

0:44:00 - (Tawni Nguyen): I'm like, I don't know about you, but I'm quite an ugly crier once I get into it. It's like, I'm like, I would like to be alone. Yeah, it's awful. Like, it's so ugly, but it's the best. And it feels so liberated. And I think sometimes, like, us and our parents can just sit down and really just be humans together instead of seeing them as an authority figure or as somebody that's supposed to lead you.

0:44:22 - (Tawni Nguyen): And I think a lot of that angst and resentment is just us holding on to things that you look up to them as. You know, when you were younger and now you're not. You're both fully capable adults, and maybe maturity on your side is more on emotions, emotional side, and you can, like, share that back with them instead of being like, you were supposed to take care of me, you know? So that's. That's something that kind of came on the last couple years, and that's something I try to refine, like, every week. I'm like, what's the hard conversation I can have with somebody today that builds better accountability so that we can have a deeper, better relationship rather than just going and getting old over the span of years, but having no depth in the relationship whatsoever?

0:45:00 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah. Yeah, that's really good. That's really beautiful.

0:45:04 - (Dave Burlin): I think that's important in your experience then, because you've sat with a lot of people, and then you're also. The thing I love about you is that you're also very conscious and aware of just your own growth and all those things. But in the role that you've done in your vocation, sitting with all these different people, what's the lessons, I guess, or what's kind of the truth that you've came up with in your life? Actually, I'm gonna steal questions from another great podcast person.

0:45:35 - (Tawni Nguyen): Is it Louis Howe?

0:45:36 - (Dave Burlin): It is. Yeah. That's exactly it.

0:45:38 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:45:39 - (Dave Burlin): I just thought that actually, that was one of the first podcast that ever got me, like, jacked about podcasts.

0:45:44 - (Tawni Nguyen): And he asked me, Dave Burling, I mean, your mind.

0:45:46 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, right.

0:45:48 - (Ariel Alicea): Maybe you'll see this. You were the start for me, too, Lewis Howe's personal development world, like, eight years ago.

0:45:54 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, I can pull some strings. I kind of know somebody who needs.

0:45:58 - (Tawni Nguyen): To stay on track, keep it.

0:45:59 - (Dave Burlin): But. Yeah. So, like, what are the three things that today, here and now? Like, what are the three things that you know to be true as it pertains to, like, what you do with your life?

0:46:11 - (Ariel Alicea): Like, as far as, since working with seniors, what have I learned? I think most importantly is that, yeah, what first comes to mind is forgiveness, because I see so many seniors that their source of pain or bitterness or anger is literally from a story they're holding onto from, like, 20 years ago, 30 years ago. Sometimes it's an intense story. Sometimes it's a very small story that has blown up in their own mind for 20, 30 years.

0:46:42 - (Ariel Alicea): And, yeah, it's made me very curious as to why we choose to hold on to certain things that maybe. And sometimes it's that. Right. Like when we tell somebody the story, the outsider looking at it is like, that is so small, and yet that's the one you held onto for 30 years, you know, but in their mind, it has become the biggest.

0:47:03 - (Tawni Nguyen): They're waiting for it to be validated for the amount of pain that they're holding onto or something.

0:47:08 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah, yeah. And then, like, on a deeper level that I probably don't have answers for is the ones that tend to be the most stuck in some of these pain and bitter stories is because there's something deeper, and it's usually like ptsd. And so, like, when I have clients that are veterans, I believe that it could be that they're holding on to this smaller hurt because they don't want to look at the bigger stuff that's down there.

0:47:37 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah. And do they need to look at that now that they're 70 or 80? I don't know. I don't have the answer. But can we help them find more joy and peace and fun in the now? Does that mean they have to unpack it? I don't know. Does it mean that we could just provide them more fun through forgetting about the stories? I think so. Sometimes. Sometimes it does help to forget. Right. Like, if you're 80 and you've been carrying this story for, you know, some of the stuff that these gentlemen have had to see because they were in battle and they were in very traumatic situations at a very young age, I don't think they need to go back. I don't think they need to relive it to heal it.

0:48:23 - (Ariel Alicea): I think helping that generation learn to enjoy and learning to. And so what's that lesson for me is, I mean, sometimes I still get hung up on stupid stuff. You know, like, why is my mind hung up on this one? I don't know. How can I let it go? Right. And so I've. I love exploring the different modalities. I love breath work, I love meditation. I love all the different rabbit holes that we can go down on for healing.

0:48:50 - (Ariel Alicea): But I've been noticing I've been on this trend in my own mind, my own thought process of, like, I think we're done with this whole healing journey, that now it's time to just, like, keep growing and expanding and enjoy the growth and expansion. Like, I think we've done a lot of the healing work for myself and collectively that, like, we can actually step into that side of like more grace, more fun, more ease, more joy.

0:49:13 - (Ariel Alicea): And I think that's what I want to bring for our seniors, but then also in my own life, like, keep enjoying the journey, you know, I love that.

0:49:21 - (Dave Burlin): That's beautiful. Thank you for sharing all that because yeah, like a lot of people don't understand that when they get into this healing journey. Like, and collectively we are a lot more aware than we've ever been. There's so much information out there that more and more people are getting exposed to and they're joining that collective. The challenge with that is that some people feel like it's, it's not that it's always going to be work, but you can actually get past most of your hard work and your hard trauma.

0:49:50 - (Dave Burlin): Then you gotta learn how to just live.

0:49:52 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:49:52 - (Dave Burlin): Like, then it's just like, it's like creating new memories. How do we create new memories and how do we create them as adults? But the same way that we did when we were kids. Like, I got to experience one of the best things ever and it was right here in the heart of this city. I got to go roller skating. And you were there too. And you were there too.

0:50:14 - (Tawni Nguyen): Roller skating is crazy.

0:50:16 - (Ariel Alicea): I know. Crazy.

0:50:18 - (Tawni Nguyen): Like if anyone hasn't seen it, like, he makes me look like a 70 year old woman. That's like buckling.

0:50:25 - (Ariel Alicea): And that was me. That's probably why I didn't go back. There was a part of me that was like, I am.

0:50:30 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. Like the first day. Like, I don't think this is where I'm gonna try to work on these skills. Like, but I, I'm afraid of getting hurt.

0:50:41 - (Dave Burlin): And not everybody can go back to what that thing was when they were kids that helped them just be a kid. But for me that worked because like I wasn't thinking about anything that day except for. And it was great because my son showed up too and I was just like, oh wow. Like, you know, all that stuff matters and like you can find that in new stuff. So I love, I love everything that you're doing. How can people, how can people find you?

0:51:08 - (Dave Burlin): Where do they go and what's next?

0:51:13 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah. So peak vitality, wellness or I think it's peakvitalitywellness or Ariella Saya on socials and what's next? Just more fun for all of us and for the seniors and you said something really good too of there's things that do come from our past that start to remind us of that joy. And you had also said, and also figuring out how to find it in New ways. And I think that's what's supposed to make life so fun, is that we keep rediscovering ways to keep enjoying this life.

0:51:46 - (Ariel Alicea): That's what's important.

0:51:47 - (Tawni Nguyen): It's like, oh, I felt this feeling before.

0:51:49 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, it's been a long time.

0:51:52 - (Ariel Alicea): Beautiful.

0:51:53 - (Dave Burlin): I love it. Well, thank you so much. You've been incredible. And we're probably gonna have to. We're gonna have to bring you back. Gotta bring everybody back.

0:52:01 - (Tawni Nguyen): Dave's like, this conversation is not long enough. No, I love conversations like these. Thank you so much for acknowledging kind of like the unseen of the world.

0:52:09 - (Ariel Alicea): Thank you.

0:52:10 - (Tawni Nguyen): Thank you. Not before they're forgotten.

0:52:12 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:52:12 - (Tawni Nguyen): I don't know. I somehow thought it was a cool line. It didn't come. It didn't come out how I sounded in my head.

0:52:19 - (Ariel Alicea): Now I'm like, wait, what did you say?

0:52:21 - (Tawni Nguyen): I, like, almost tapped into almost like a Batman vibe, but I wasn't that cool, so I'm like, fuck.

0:52:28 - (Ariel Alicea): What was the line?

0:52:30 - (Tawni Nguyen): I don't know anymore.

0:52:31 - (Ariel Alicea): What's it supposed to be?

0:52:31 - (Dave Burlin): I'm going to have to roll it back.

0:52:32 - (Ariel Alicea): You need your Batman line.

0:52:34 - (Tawni Nguyen): What is my Batman line? What?

0:52:39 - (Ariel Alicea): Oh, now I'm trying to think of something.

0:52:40 - (Tawni Nguyen): No, the Riddler has a cool line. It's like, what gets harder to find with time and eats anyways. No, I that up. Jesus Christ. I'm gonna get a cease and desist from, like, the studio.

0:52:54 - (Ariel Alicea): That's okay. You could just clip in a really good Batman line. It's out there and it'll fit whatever you're doing.

0:53:00 - (Tawni Nguyen): You it up, pull up. This is the original clip that she did not get anywhere close to. Well, guys, thank you so much for joining us today. Please reach out to Dave and I on Pursue Vegas. Slide into our DMs on social media, mostly Dave's, maybe ours.

0:53:20 - (Dave Burlin): And that's it.

0:53:20 - (Tawni Nguyen): I thought you were. Because you were, like, nodding. You're like, yeah, like the genie. Like, my turn.

0:53:27 - (Ariel Alicea): Yeah.

0:53:29 - (Tawni Nguyen): And cut and break.

0:53:34 - (Dave Burlin): The idea of Pursue Vegas was to really highlight the local people that really make Vegas Vegas.

0:53:40 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love that aspect of how these visionaries are actually bringing people together.

0:53:45 - (Dave Burlin): When we hit record, our responsibility is to connect the people of our city so we can show the world who we really are.