our special sauce
Here’s how we build mental fitness better than anyone else – and have a great time doing it.
WHAT IS MENTAL FITNESS?
Physical fitness trains your biceps; mental fitness trains your brain.
By consistently flexing our cognitive and emotional systems using active mindfulness, we can learn to take the challenges of life and work in stride.
IMPROVE MENTAL FITNESS TO
DREAM TEAM IT
Learn to work together, seamlessly.
GO BOSS MODE
Level up your talent.
SHARE THE LOVE
Build trust and connect authentically.
MAKE YOUR MOMENT
Tell stories that engage.
WHY WE’RE DIFFERENT
Training your brain is tough. We make the work feel like play.
JOY
Our experiences are effective because they’re fun, not in spite of it—because building mental fitness through a sustained practice of active mindfulness only happens when we enjoy the process. And we’re not just in it for the laughs; research shows that play is one of the most effective ways to build “skilled, flexible, responsive and socially adept brains” and that playfulness itself is a learned adaptive skill. We center interactive play in our work to create more moments of spontaneous laughter, authentic connection, and lasting discovery in each experience.
SCIENCE
How does improvisational play change our brains for the better? We put jazz musicians, freestyle rappers, and improvisers in an fMRI to find out. Our co-founders have spent nearly five years partnering with UCSF researchers like neuroscientist Dr. Charles Limb to understand what happens to our brains when we improvise. Dr. Limb’s team found that when performers improvise, the activity in their brains mirrors patterns observed in “flow state”– a state of effortless focus. In short, improvising can train our brains to be more fully absorbed and responsive in the moment—even when we don’t know what’s coming next.
FREESTYLE
Our roots in hip-hop and freestyle make inclusivity and empowerment central to our experiences. Freestyling, the art of improvising stories over a beat, grew from a musical movement in the Bronx into a way for marginalized communities to share their stories with pride. This concept of “creating something from nothing” and giving rhythm and meaning to our lived experiences is at the heart of both comedic improv and freestyling. Everyone can create a beat. Every person can develop their own flow and everyone has a story to share.
Peer-reviewed studies have linked adult play with positive adaptive functions like increased learning speed, productivity, job satisfaction, and lower perceived stress.
50+
20min
Of improvisation increased “uncertainty tolerance, divergent thinking, and affective well-being” in research subjects. (Journal of Thinking Skills & Creativity, 2020).
83%
Of people felt more connected to their work and peers after participating in freestyle+ experiences.
SOME FOLKS WE PLAY WITH
CONTACT US
CONTACT US
CATCH THE MIC
In every live show, we throw a ‘catchbox’ mic to the crowd to incorporate audience stories into our show.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
Tell us what you’re interested in, and we’ll find transformative ways to meet your goals. We might even throw in a rhyme about YOU to sweeten the deal…