Meet Nicholas DiMattina - a meditation teach and a self-mastery coach. It is no coincidence that Nicholas is a fan of ours: we can clearly see how much his values align with those of our brand, which is why we thought we’d give you a peek into his world. Nick DiMattina is not your regular motivational speaker. He packs years of experience in meditation into his own approach towards triggering people’s inner potential. We sit down with Nicholas - tho from far - to talk about life, balance and the impact meditation has had on him.

Describe yourself in one sentence.

I am wired for positivity and authenticity; determined to live life on this planet joyfully with as many laughs and smiles and dancing as possible and in doing so inspire others to do the same! #goodvibes

Could you speak a little bit on the importance of applying conscious awareness in each and every aspect of our lives: from the clothing that we wear to the food that we consume, the way we communicate and the way we use our free time, the way we approach our practice?

How we do one thing is how we do everything. My default way of playing the game of life has been super fast; I would walk/run fast, think fast, talk fast, eat fast, breathe fast, and as a result my mind would race super fast which caused a lot anxiety and ill health and an inability to connect deeply with my body, feelings, emotions, and behaviors. How can one stop and smell the roses if you are moving too quick and unaware that there is an alternative way of living/being? I was missing the point of life.

It was only when I began meditating 6 years ago that I started to experience the importance of slowing down with an upgraded level of energy, calm and clarity that had previously been foreign to me. As a result of this slowing down I began to see very clearly the habitual patterns of my negative self talk and behaviors, and I consciously began choosing they way I wanted to be moving forward.

My daily meditation practice helped in building my self-control and my ability to focus so I could stay committed to my goals in changing my behaviors to more positive habits.

With continued meditation my awareness was constantly expanding. Bit by bit, I started becoming more aware of my mind, body and soul and began bringing my system into harmony through aligning my life by asking the right questions:

Who am I?

How do I feel/want to feel?

What are my unique talents?

What is my purpose?

As my mind began to be more calm and clear, all of these questions were answered and I realized that giving our gifts is the secret to living!

I began to be more conscious about my energy levels and footprint in this world which resulted in looking at more sustainable approaches the food and drinks I was consuming, the way I was communicating, the quality of my relationships, the clothes I was wearing, and what brought me joy.

In summary, my approach to slowing down, calming my mind and expanding my awareness in my daily meditation practice has had such a profound and positive effect on every aspect of my life that it enables me to live more effortlessly and consciously, hence why I chose to teach meditation as I want everyone to experience what I’m experiencing!

What steps do you take to ensure that you carry a positive attitude through the day and not compromise your balance in unpleasant situations?

For me, it starts with a daily morning routine of hydrating, moving my body, doing breathing exercises, meditating, giving thanks with a gratitude exercise, and setting my intentions. This awakens and energizes my system, it grounds and centers me, connects me back to who I am and what I’m here to do, so that whatever life throws at me I am centered and can handle it with love and composure rather than a fear-based reaction. This is being UNF*CKWITHABLE!! Ha ha :)

Also, when life gets a little overwhelming and you are struggling to keep your balance in unpleasant situations - just come back to the breath and breathe deeply! A phrase that I love which has helped me on my journey is knowing that ‘life is not happening to me, it is happening for me’. This will help you deal with any situation as it gets you out of the ‘victim mentality’ and into a ‘growth mindset’ as you begin to understand that whatever you are experiencing is a valuable lesson for you assisting with your growth and evolution. Thank you universe for the divine challenge!

What makes you instantly connect to another being upon first interaction?

Solid eye contact, a warm smile, and openness to share their story and ask questions about you and your life which shows they are genuinely interested in learning about you. I innately feel a sense of warmth with the above which is an indication that a person is connected to love/their hearts and is not living from a place of fear or insecurity.

Do you feel like today’s young generation is steering off down the wrong path or are they more aware than the ones before them? How do you see the average, societal mindset change with the consistent evolution of technology and more?

That's a super intriguing question because I would say the younger generation are doing both —> steering off down an undesirable path as well as being more aware than generations before.

I see the younger generation, much more aware than my generation due to many factors; one of them being the Internet and the access to instant information globally. This means the younger generation are being exposed to sooooo much more knowledge at an early age, and through social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram, people can follow their favorite people and be influenced from their messages online (sometimes this is a great thing and sometimes not so good).

However, at the same time, social media is keeping us locked into our digital devices for extended periods of time which is having a disastrous affect on the physical and mental health of our humanity in my humble opinion.

The more time we spend in our phones and on computers, the less time we're spending connecting deeply with ourselves and our feelings and emotions and also the less time we are connecting in person with our family and friends.

So naturally, we're struggling to connect more, not only with ourselves, but to each other. And anything that is uncomfortable for us humans, we tend to not want to do it. So if interacting with a fellow human is uncomfortable, what's going to happen. We're not going to interact and as a result we might feel detached from society and like we don’t belong.

In summary, I think the younger generation is more evolved when it comes to assessing their level of knowledge. However, this knowledge has not necessarily transcended into embodied wisdom, as the knowledge is piling up in our heads as information in a more intellectual pursuit rather than actually FEELING or EMBODYING the knowledge (in our bodies and hearts) by living life more connected and intuitive. This is what society is lacking at the moment.

*Be The Change*

you wish to see in the world

Do you think there is a chance that one day slow, conscious living will become the norm?

The short answer is YES, there is always a chance!!

I love the phrase “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. So if every individual has an intention to be slower and more conscious with their living, we quickly begin to realize how much we rely on nature, and a natural result will be that we will start to look after ourselves more and make better sustainable decisions that look after the planet long term.

Therefore, yes, I think this will become the norm and more of the way that we will live in years to come. Slow conscious living will bring us back to living in smaller communities in nature again and away from the hustle & bustle and grind of the big concrete city lifestyle.

However, I think we're still a long way off. And there's still far too much greed and unconscious living going on which is largely due to big global companies not being socially conscious and operating to maximize shareholders profits rather than maximizing value and sustainable health and prosperity for all humans and the planet.

If we as the consumer are not purchasing these not-so-socially-conscious company’s products then they will either go out of business or be forced to produce more ethically and sustainable products. So we vote through our dollar who we want to support. It’s important to remember this as it may very well impact where we choose to spend our money.

You’ve dedicated yourself to a lifestyle of motivating people. Is there anything that demotivates you?

Yes, but very very rarely. When I watch documentaries such as Zeitgeist, Sicko, a Plastic Ocean, Prescription Thugs, Holy Cow etc that are showcasing the atrocities happening in the world such as the wars, greed, poverty, hunger, sickness, racism, inequality, committing harm to the planet/humans/animals - these definitely demotivate me and make me sad. However, shortly after I get even more motivated to do my bit in making the world a better place for the current and future generations.

In today’s day and age, with digital apps aiming at the ability to “help you take time off, beat anxiety and centre yourself”, what is your go-to advice for people who are looking to turn to spiritual practices for self-improvement and balance?

The first bit of advice that I would suggest is if possible to to learn from a fellow human in person. This human connection is very special and we're all deeply seeking it, even though we might not know it yet. We're all deeply wanting to connect with ourselves and each other for sense of growth and belonging.

Learning from digital apps is good for knowledge and information. However, we as a society have become addicted to acquiring things (knowledge included) where we are experiencing an overload of information in our minds and struggling to just BE ourselves in the present moment. Knowledge doesn't often translate to deep connection and experiential learning.

Think about the friendships you made from school, college, a live course you took - the feeling of a shared experience together with your group creates this special bond and often long-lasting friendships. This is priceless and what I think society is seeking more of.

With our current and younger generations moving away from organized religion, we are calling out for more community activities that are bringing us together.

And yes, you can have online courses and online group forums and communities, which is great. However I don’t believe that it ever gets close to the feeling that you have when you experience a deep connection of a live shared experience in the present moment with yourself and a fellow human.

So my advice would be to turn to daily spiritual practices and self improvement teachers in their local areas and devote themselves to their heart’s desires, be in devotion to love and their highest self. If you have this is your North Star and wanting to be the best version of yourself and living the best life possible to your fullest potential, You will start seeing how everything in your life exponentially gets better, more fulfilling, better outcomes, stronger relationships and improved health, greater wealth and happiness = winning!

Where do you draw inspiration from?

I draw inspiration from people including my teachers and their teachers, all the living masters and ascended masters and gurus such as Buddha, Jesus, Dalai Lama, Oprah, Tony Robbins, Mother Teresa.

And nature inspires me deeply. The power and harmony is spectacular and are our teachers!

How did you hear about OOH? What drew you to us?

I initially saw an Instagram ad come up on my, my thread. And I was immediately drawn to how comfortable the clothing seemed (silk), how connected to nature, it seemed the designs were very tribal and incorporating nature! And once I clicked on the Instagram ad and found that the garments were all sustainably made. They looked super comfortable and silky and I've been really big on wearing things that feel good, and also being socially conscious for the planet by being sustainable - I was initially drawn to all of those things and the colors and the design was just so good so you could tell how high quality it was and so awesome.

If you could choose one thing about our brand that connects to yours - what would it be?

Sustainability. Let's make decisions for ourselves, that are not for short term gratification, but are for our long term sustainability. This is going to enable us to keep on building and living the best life possible for ourselves and the planet.

Are there any special projects you are currently working on? Where can we find you and your work in the upcoming year?

I am currently working on writing my first book which is about mastering our minds through meditation, raising our vibes and unleashing our super power which is our most authentically expressed self = funnnn!!

Also in the new year, I will be creating an online self-mastery course. So if you're not in the area where I'm living, you'll be able to access my teachings online = winning!!

And finally I will be starting my YouTube channel so lots of fun and exciting projects ahead. Let the games begin!!

Learn more about Nicholas here (www.nickdimattina.com) and give him a follow here (@nichloas.dimattina) to keep up with him and his work.