The Answer To Australia's Getting-Wasted Party Culture?

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Having been in the party scene for years (as I love to dance) I have seen the wasted party culture first hand. It’s part habit, part escapism but fundamentally it’s a culture. Alcohol and drugs are readily accessible and its normal and acceptable to get wasted. And of course it’s fun, otherwise people would not do it.

The problem is excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol leaves you feeling down and has a negative impact on your mental health.  A few drinks can help ease your anxiety but ultimately you will end up feeling more anxious the next day. Drugs like MDMA can pump your serotonin supplies from your brain to make you feel amazing, but then you fall off a cliff and your left feeling half arsed into the week. Getting wasted also inhibits the ability to have good conversation and make genuine connections. Memory loss is normal. It's easy to become a habit craving the same high, needing to take more as your body gets used to it.

On the flip side, partying sober can be really good for your physical and mental health. You can actually get high naturally from dancing to great music, expressing yourself and connecting with others. The happy brain chemicals including serotonin, dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin can be released naturally when you dance for an extended period of time on an energised dance floor. And its sustainable without the nasty drop. Plus when you're sober you can have better quality conversations to make genuine lasting connections. Partying can be really healthy! It just needs to be sober.

But how do you make partying sober fun, attractive and cool? 

I realised we just need really awesome sober dance parties!  

Introducing the vision for Xstatic Sunsets - parties so great you don’t need anything but your natural energy. Launching with what is going to be Australia’s largest sober dance party on Shark Island on the 6th April, we are curating the ultimate dance party experience to enable people to dance, express and connect. Replacing booze with healthy drinks and running a day into sunset party that finishes in time for a good night's sleep so you can do what you love on Sunday morning. And to help people lose their inhibitions to fully express and connect there is a fancy dress theme - dress up as your favourite decade or pop idol! Check out our promo video.

I got the vision for Xstatic Sunsets when I was at the Bali Spirit Festival last March. After a day of yoga and workshop experiences I danced for hours every night at the main stage which had great bands and DJ’s. It was a sober environment with great people from around the world and I simply lost myself in the music and let my body flow. What I experienced surprised me. I got into an elevated state which made me feel like I was flying and it was sustainable! I would go to bed at 1am and get up at 7am feeling great ready to do it all again.

I knew there was something in this natural high. Speaking to more and more people in the spiritual community, where dancing sober is normal, I continued to learn of stories where people had elevated themselves to ecstatic highs. Even to a state of orgasm in one woman's story! I continued to experiment with sober dance going to many of the more spiritual inclined weekly dance events around Sydney such as 5RhythmsKundi ClubRainbow Tribe and BuddhaBar. And some which are just great fun, like ‘No Lights, No Lycra’, Retro Sweat and Doofercise.

I consistently felt elevated through these dance experiences and witnessed how the combined energy of a vibing dance floor can become electrifying and uplifting! I always left feeling great from these sober dance events, with a clear head and ready for a good night’s sleep.

The sober dance movement has been growing for years and it’s on the verge of a revolution as more people are realising the benefits, attending weekly sober dance events. Only in the last month I have heard of two new sober dance parties starting up in Australia. Including Daybreaker a successful US concept for morning yoga and dance parties which is launching with their first morning party at the Sydney Aquarium next Wednesday. Yes you can dance before work (alongside sea creatures)! And Awake which is launching this month with a purpose to create dance events and experiences to grow consciousness.

But I realised the movement needed a bigger event to get cut through and one which had general appeal with less of the spiritual elements as they can often be confronting for some people. Having organised successful parties for years (I will save that for another post) my mission was set in front of me to create the ultimate dance party experience, and go big!

We are bringing together Sydney’s dance and entertainment community together on beautiful Shark Island on the 6th April to show Australia you can have an amazing party sober! Capturing video footage of our spectacular sunset party and interviewing people on their experience to provide inspiration. Imagine 800 people dressed up as their favourite decade, dancing to the best dance classics through the 60’s to the 80’s, then 90’s house music and more current deep house music into sunset. Along with dance facilitators, performers and fun surprises we have a dance spectacle planned!

Our mission is to inspire a more healthy party culture and improve mental health. We are giving away 10% of our profits to help mental health charities. But we hope we can address the mental health problem by encouraging moderation and providing more options for healthy dance parties to make people happier and healthier. We want to introduce people to the world of sober dance and promote the weekly events where you can let loose, connect with others and release that pent up anxiety. Fundamentally dancing to great music lifts your vibration and is great exercise, the perfect antidote for depression.

How we are partying is not serving us - it’s time for change. It’s time for being smarter about what we choose to put in out bodies to raise our vibration, in life. 

I would love to hear what you think on this subject - please comment below.

Watch this space for an interview series talking to experts on the natural high and to those that have left their drug taking behind to enjoy the natural Xstatic high!