Bio for Nell
Are you more left brain or right brain?
I studied Philosophy at the University of Colorado in Boulder and Literature at City College in San Francisco. I pair insight with intuition and on the ground experience from running businesses in the analog world - in a world that is increasingly online. I believe in deepening those ideas that sprout from the heart, even if they have digital applications.
Who else contributes to TNT?
I’m a natural pollinator who easily meets people and sees their natural gift or talent almost immediately. I have a network of friends and allies who cover a gamut of disciplines. One such person is the graphic designer, artist, and author Kate Prentiss. Kate currently works with me on the visual side of many projects.
What were you doing before this?
In 2005 - 2012 I fixed the bodies of leading luminaries all throughout San Francisco, CA. I also taught and led workshops for small groups.
In 2010 I began noodling on an idea to re-imagine what an urban bathhouse with a smarter and more environmental footprint could look like. It’s premise? What if investing in local urban enclaves defined a new approach to wellness that made it more accessible to everyone?
I successfully raised seed money to prototype the idea and spent the next five years negotiating contracts and managing stakeholders. I was prominently featured in magazine pieces across the country for my views on democratizing wellness. I sat in panel discussions with leaders from the NRDA, not always sure I should be in the same circle. But learning along the way. There wasn’t enough time or money and ingenuity to see this project across the finish line. And then lockdown happened.
Sidebar about creating Odysseys
I’ve collaborated with the experience design group Odyssey Works, its Creative Director, and many of its teams’ artists since 2005. The way I think through challenges and projects today is informed by my studies in somatics as a kinaesthetic listener, playing in creative worlds via odysseys that were intentionally decontextualized, and listening to people who are a lot smarter than me.
I am industry-agnostic as a creative strategist.
Creating a podcast
After the pandemic, I began to gather stories about storied places and I continued my research on the baths and bathing culture that I have admired for so long. In 2024 I launched the platform Sweat Temples, still in an emergent phase, to support and showcase rituals around the world dedicated to water + heat + people. I am the writer and producer of @thepodcastsoak which can be listened to on that site and found on Spotify and Apple.