The Lifestylist Approach: Building Your Ultimate Daily Operating System
When Luke Storey describes his mission as "translating complex ideas in spirituality and health to regular people," he's addressing something neuroscientists see daily: the gap between what we know works and what people actually implement. After two decades of personal experimentation and a year hosting The Lifestylist podcast, Storey has developed what amounts to a systematic approach for optimizing human performance through lifestyle design.
This isn't biohacking for its own sake. It's about building what I'd call a "daily operating system" – the collection of practices, environments, and mindsets that determine whether your brain runs like a high-performance machine or struggles through basic functions.
From Rock Bottom to Systematic Optimization
Storey's journey began with complete system failure. Twenty-one years ago, as a severe drug addict who had "burned his life to the ground," he faced the ultimate reset. This context matters because it demonstrates something we see in neurofeedback: the brain's remarkable capacity for reorganization when given the right conditions.
"The first needle mover for me was really learning about meditation and starting to study spiritual truths," Storey explains. This aligns with substantial neuroimaging research showing meditation's effects on attention networks, emotional regulation circuits, and default mode network activity (Brewer et al., 2011, PNAS).
But here's what's particularly interesting from a neuroscience perspective: Storey didn't stop with one intervention. He began systematically testing everything – cold exposure, infrared saunas, specific foods, lighting protocols, breathing techniques. This represents what we might call "n=1 research" – using yourself as the laboratory to determine what actually moves the needle.
The Integration Challenge: From Fashion to Function
Storey's background as a Hollywood fashion stylist for 17 years might seem unrelated, but it's actually perfect training for lifestyle optimization. Both require taking disparate elements and creating a coherent, functional whole. The difference is depth of impact.
"I would take these bits and pieces and put together a composite look for someone," he describes. "But all the while I was kind of doing that for my friends on an internal basis – hey try this superfood, try this herb, try neurofeedback, try ice baths."
This highlights a crucial point: external optimization (clothing, appearance) follows predictable aesthetic rules, but internal optimization (neurochemistry, hormone balance, cognitive function) requires understanding biological mechanisms and individual variation.
The transition from fashion styling to lifestyle design represents a shift from surface-level changes to system-level interventions that actually alter brain function.
The Methodology: Systematic Self-Experimentation
What makes Storey's approach scientifically interesting is the systematic nature. Rather than randomly trying interventions, he's developed a methodology:
- Identify the intervention (cold exposure, specific foods, meditation techniques)
- Test implementation (finding what actually works in daily life)
- Track effects (subjective and objective measures)
- Interview the experts (understanding mechanisms and optimization)
- Share refined protocols (translating complex ideas for practical use)
This mirrors good clinical research design, just applied to individual optimization rather than population studies.
The Environmental Foundation: Beyond Willpower
One key insight from Storey's work is that optimization starts with environment, not willpower. He mentions specifics: "the water in your home, the lighting in your home" as fundamental elements of lifestyle design.
This aligns with circadian neuroscience research. Light exposure patterns directly influence the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which coordinates circadian rhythms throughout the brain and body (Zeitzer et al., 2000, American Journal of Physiology). Water quality affects everything from cellular function to neurotransmitter synthesis.
These aren't minor tweaks – they're foundational inputs that determine whether other interventions can work effectively. You can't optimize a system running on poor inputs.
The Translation Problem: From Expert Knowledge to Daily Practice
Storey positions himself as "a bridge from great minds like you or Jack Kruse" to regular people who need practical applications. This addresses what I call the "translation problem" in neuroscience and health optimization.
Research shows us mechanisms – how specific interventions affect neural circuits, hormone pathways, and cellular function. But mechanisms don't automatically translate to sustainable daily practices. The gap between knowing meditation reduces amygdala reactivity and actually meditating consistently every day is enormous.
Storey's approach tackles this by focusing on extraction: "extracting the most core principles out of those teachings and from those teachers and using them to build the ultimate lifestyle."
The Spectrum Approach: Mind, Body, and Spirit Integration
What's particularly sophisticated about Storey's methodology is the recognition that optimization requires integration across multiple systems. "Mind body or spirit or hopefully a combination of all three," as he puts it.
From a neuroscience perspective, this makes sense. The brain doesn't exist in isolation – it's intimately connected to immune function, hormonal systems, gut microbiome, and social connections. Interventions that address multiple systems simultaneously often produce more robust effects than isolated approaches.
Consider cold exposure, one of Storey's regular practices. The physiological effects include:
- Norepinephrine release, affecting attention and mood (Shevchuk, 2008, Medical Hypotheses)
- Activation of brown adipose tissue, improving metabolic function
- Potential immune system modulation through hormetic stress responses
- Psychological resilience building through voluntary stress exposure
This exemplifies the kind of multi-system intervention that produces compound benefits rather than isolated effects.
The Podcast as Research Tool
The Lifestylist podcast has reached 600,000 downloads in its first year with no advertising – pure word-of-mouth growth. This suggests Storey has identified and addressed a real need in the optimization community.
But the podcast serves another function: it's essentially a research tool. By interviewing experts in specific domains, Storey gains direct access to cutting-edge knowledge and can test new protocols immediately. This creates a feedback loop between learning and application that accelerates optimization.
"I noticed immediately I was able to get interviews with people that either normally would never talk to me or I'd have to pay them enormous amounts of money to sit down and be my therapist," he notes. This access allows for rapid iteration and refinement of protocols.
The Business Model: Teaching While Transitioning
Storey's current situation is fascinating from a career transition perspective. He maintains School of Style, his fashion education business, while building influence in the health optimization space. This provides financial stability while allowing exploration of a more personally meaningful direction.
"I still do that, it's a great way to give back and help younger people get into that industry as I sort of phase out of it," he explains. This gradual transition model might be instructive for others looking to shift from established careers into emerging fields like biohacking or health optimization.
The business continues to be successful – taking students "literally a day after class" and placing them on major productions like Beyoncé videos or Vogue shoots. This success provides the freedom to explore deeper interests without financial pressure.
The Core Insight: Daily Practices Shape Neural Patterns
The fundamental insight behind Storey's work aligns with what we know about neuroplasticity: the brain adapts to whatever you repeatedly do. Your daily practices literally shape your neural patterns over time.
"What you do with your day to day life from the moment that you wake up in terms of mindset" – this recognition that morning patterns set neural tone for the entire day is supported by research on cortisol rhythms, circadian biology, and attention networks.
The choice between "checking politics on Twitter when you roll out of bed" versus "writing a gratitude list and meditating" isn't just about mood – it's about priming different neural networks and stress response patterns that cascade throughout the day.
The Systematic Personal Laboratory
What makes Storey's approach particularly valuable is the systematic nature of his self-experimentation. Rather than trying random interventions, he's created what amounts to a personal laboratory with specific protocols:
- Identify promising interventions through expert interviews
- Implement with attention to practical constraints
- Track subjective and objective effects
- Refine protocols based on results
- Share refined versions with others
This methodology could be applied by anyone serious about optimization, regardless of their specific goals or constraints.
Looking Forward: The Lifestyle Design Movement
Storey's work represents part of a broader movement toward intentional lifestyle design rather than passive acceptance of default patterns. As our understanding of neuroscience, circadian biology, and human optimization advances, the ability to consciously design optimal daily operating systems becomes increasingly sophisticated.
The key insight is that optimization is a practice, not a destination. It requires ongoing attention, experimentation, and refinement based on changing life circumstances and advancing knowledge.
For anyone interested in applied neuroscience and human optimization, Storey's systematic approach to lifestyle design offers a practical framework for moving beyond theory into consistent daily practice. The brain you have is largely the result of what you've repeatedly done. The brain you want requires intentional design of what you'll repeatedly do going forward.
That's the essence of lifestyle optimization: conscious design of the daily patterns that shape neural function, and ultimately, the quality of your life experience.
References:
- Brewer, J.A., et al. (2011). Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity. PNAS, 108(50), 20254-20259.
- Shevchuk, N.A. (2008). Adapted cold shower as a potential treatment for depression. Medical Hypotheses, 70(5), 995-1001.
- Zeitzer, J.M., et al. (2000). Sensitivity of the human circadian pacemaker to nocturnal light. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 279(2), R374-R379.