Hungry by Eve Turow-Paul

Author:Eve Turow-Paul
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781950665167
Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.
Published: 2020-04-06T16:00:00+00:00

Collective Effervescence

Many of the most successful experience economy concepts—in and outside the fitness world—are those that conjure collective effervescence by placing people in situations that are unique and thrilling. In dining, some seek out shared experiences that push them far past their comfort zones by stripping away elements like gravity, light, or clothing. At various Dinner in the Sky locations worldwide, up to twenty-two diners are strapped into their seats and hoisted 150 feet in the air for a culinary afternoon during which they are served a meal by chefs who balance on a center platform. At Dinner in the Dark events, which also run in locations around the globe, patrons are forced to forgo their sense of sight and rely solely on smell, sound, taste, and touch to experience their meals and absorb their surroundings (not to mention find their forks). In London, a naked dinner pop-up commanded a waitlist of forty-six thousand people who wished to eat in the nude.

“I’m in a candlelit London restaurant, sitting opposite a total stranger on a workday afternoon, and we’re both completely naked,” writes Barry Neild for CNN of his experience at the nudist pop-up.15 “But what should be an awkward moment, getting unclothed with a complete stranger, proves to be anything but. Unable to resort to looking at our phones, we chat unreservedly.”

One can imagine that dining with people in the air, in the dark, or in the nude may be more memorable, and create more immediate connections between us, than a kitchen table meal. Right away, you feel a shared energy linking you with those around you, as you each throw yourselves into a shared experience in a novel environment.

Meanwhile, as several of the most popular fitness fads do, dozens of unique business concepts are tapping into friendly competition as a means of forging collective effervescence. Some of these establishments hark back to the “good ol’ days” of our pre-digital childhoods and require that groups work together, thereby expediting bonding. Friends, co-workers, or even strangers gather for Escape the Room challenges where they have to work as a team to find clues and de-riddle codes to MacGyver their grand release from a locked room. In recent years, an axe-throwing bar, rock-climbing gym, skate board park, fencing gym, bocce court, indoor shuffleboard court, and karaoke bar all opened up shop around my home in Brooklyn—business concepts that require some digital detachment and are targeted at my neighborhood’s twenty- and thirtysomething matcha latte–drinking, man-bunned, Uber-taking residents.

Many of these modish enterprises aim to bring out the kid inside each of us. Some fitness trends capitalized on obstacle courses that borrow from gym class classics like climbing rope. Various social clubs require dressing up in themed costumes, completing scavenger hunts, or taking part in truth-or-dare challenges. Some twenty- and thirtysomethings are even attending weekend-long adult camps where they can indulge their inner “kidult” with tug-of-war, archery, and lanyard weaving.

Board games are also making a comeback.16 In 2017, games and puzzles represented over 40 percent of total toy industry gains, with adult games leading the growth.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.