Robbie is the Co-Founder and CEO of Othership, an online and offline wellness company that provides on-demand breathwork classes guided by top facilitators in the field.
Prior to Othership, he led ecosystem development at Ethereum. Robbie sat down with us to riff on flexible routines, shifting your body and mind into relaxation mode, and more.
“The practices at Othership are all things that have generated lasting, positive change in my life. I just want to make that engine for health and growth way more accessible and approachable for the everyday person.”
The Kickoff
These days, Robbie is less likely to keep a strict morning routine because, in his words, when he has a jam-packed schedule for a project he’s amped about, habits fall on the backburner and excitement to get started takes over.
Otherwise, in terms of a usual wake-up routine, Robbie wakes up around 9 AM to his Philips SmartSleep and Eight Pod mattress, which eases you awake with heat tech.
He’ll make sure to resist picking up his phone for the dopamine hit from checking the news or crypto prices. Instead, he immediately blocks out 10m to turn up the gas pedal on his nervous system state with an energizing breathwork session using Othership.
Afterward, he heads to the backyard to get sunlight in his eyes and break a sweat on his AssaultBike for five minutes. Then it’s coffee and the start of the day.
“If I can set a good tone with 30 minutes to do breathwork, break a sweat and get my heart rate up, and drink some good coffee, I’ll be so productive for the rest of the day.”
Physical Methods for Emotional Health
For the overworked individual looking to unwind or enhance their mental performance, Robbie recommends two low-hanging fruits, which are also utilized by Othership as accessible, science-backed methods for the wellness newbie: ice baths and breathwork.
In their work as a physical space for wellness, the Othership team invites users to try guided ice bath classes, because the experience triples the brain’s norepinephrine, the neurotransmitter responsible for mood regulation, attention, and vigilance: the experience helps people feel alive.
Subsequently, being in the bath for just a couple minutes will almost physiologically force you into a state of presence and awareness, which teaches you how to take control of your nervous system. You can learn to shut off stress and anxiety and create space to process those emotions.
It’s an instant physiological change, one which can also be achieved by a breathwork session as brief as seven minutes.
“We found that people needed belonging in a physical, community space designed to improve their emotional state in a way that felt inspiring vs. traditional mental health practices like therapy. We approached it by building an epic space that feels like a Soho House for practices like group breathwork, intense ice baths, and saunas, and then a social gathering spot around a fire post class.”
Letting Routines Adapt with Time
In Robbie’s words, he’s been at both ends of the regimen spectrum, for both his schedule as a founder and his diet as a wellness practitioner.
He’s tried three-hour wake-up routines for a whole year, complete with gratitude journaling, a one-hour meditation, and a 30-minute breathwork exercise.
He’s also had years of practicing keto, counting calories on MyFitnessPal, and taking stacks of hundreds of supplements. For briefer periods, he’s practiced five-day fasts and intense blood glucose monitoring.
On the other end, Robbie has practiced morning routines like his most recent one, which entails simply waking up, grabbing coffee, and starting work. With food, after a decade in the wellness space, he allows himself to just not care and indulge when he wants to. And most importantly to be kind to himself no matter what routine he decides on.
Ultimately, Robbie found that both lifestyles and intensities of regimen produce similar results for overall happiness. And in his words, you can only prioritize so many things at once, everything is a tradeoff, so choose what works for the person you are right now.
At 37, his priorities have simply shifted from what they were a decade ago, and he’ll easily choose building Othership over counting macros.
“I’m still a healthy person. I exercise and keep a well-researched hydration and supplement routine. But these days, I care much more about being kind to myself and being able to enjoy what I’m drawn to.”
The Wind-Down
Work tends to run later, after which Robbie heads to the gym around 6 PM, goes home, and eats and works until 9:30.
He’ll spend a few hours with his wife, taking a walk, watching a movie, or stretching using Romwod, and then head to bed around midnight to get his nine hours.
Having a completely dark room helps shut his mind down before knocking out for a restful night, which Robbie tracks using his Ōura Ring.
He also loves keeping cool with his Eight Sleep mattress and will use the Othership app prior to sleeping to transition his nervous system into a parasympathetic, or “rest and digest,” state.
He mentioned he noticed increases in HRV the following morning when doing breathwork before bed.
“I don’t have an intense evening schedule. My nights are really just ideal for taking it easy with people I love with no interruptions.”
