Pulse : The principles of well-being and self-care are often associated with spa environments . How do they align with your own journey as an MMA fighter and humanitarian ? Justin Wren : Well , from the wrestling and MMA world , we always used saunas and ice baths and needed massage , so we always found ourselves in a spa environment . First , when we had no money , it was laying on the wrestling mats and our training partners rubbing out our shoulders , our hamstrings , our calves , our back and neck . Then when I got to the Olympic Training Center , we would have massage therapists once a week . We ’ d get in the ice baths , we ’ d always be in the sauna , especially before tournaments . And in the MMA world , whenever you ’ re fighting , you ’ re always finding the spa that had a gym , a sauna , a steam room , hopefully cold plunges , and then massage therapy that could really help you . I would say it changed from performance to taking care of myself later in my MMA career to now having four ice baths — or four cold plunges — and two saunas at home , and starting a podcast around the heat and the cold and the benefits those have for the body .

Pulse : What lessons have you learned from the Mbuti people that spa professionals might find valuable in fostering a sense of community and well-being ? JW : One of the greatest things the Mbuti taught me is the Swahili proverb : “ If you want to go fast , go alone ; if you want to go far , go together .” And they live and breathe that ! They are a community tribe , all about being present

with one another . And what I think the spa professionals could use in that is : Y ’ all are gifting people with so much , gifting them with self-care , so your profession is taking care of others , and I think that ’ s a great demonstration of community . And it ’ s important for anyone in this industry to remember that you must take care of yourself to take care of others .

Pulse : How do you believe the mind-body connection , often explored in spa practices , contributes to the holistic well-being for which you advocate through humanitarian initiatives ? JW : Sometimes I wasn ’ t the best at taking care of myself . As a fighter , you beat your body down . You think the more you beat your body down , the better chance you have in a fight — of the opponent not beating your body down because you did it before they had a chance to . Through my own journey , which involved depression and addiction , I wasn ’ t taking care of my mind , body , soul or spirit , and that is the only way you can truly find gratitude , love , self-care , purpose — all the great and meaningful things in life . Those can ’ t be disconnected and isolated and put in silos , but they must work in synchronicity with each other .

18 PULSE n MARCH 2024