Deluxe Version Magazine Issue No.9

NEIMAN MARCUS at Fashion Show Mall • THE ATRIUM at the Palazzo • TESORINI at the Bellagio Lobby Shops • RADIANCE at Aria Lobby Shops

#VegasStrong Our hearts, prayers and thoughts are with the families and victims of the tragic events that took place in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017. The city dimmed but did not embrace the dark thanks to the incredible first responders and courageous police support. We thank you for loving Las Vegas and for continuing to shine brightly for those who call this city home.

DELUXE VERSION MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY DLXVRSN MEDIA INC. FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.DLXVRSN.MEDIA

ANTHONY PHILLIPS PARTNER | REALTOR LUXURY REAL ESTATE ADVISORS OFFICE: 702-629-3481 EMAIL: ANTHONY@LVLRA.COM WEBSITE: WWW.LUXREALESTATEADVISORS.COM

Ready To

Wear Page. 68

Alice+Olivia

By Stacey Bendet

Oversized Sequin Blazer.

“Be The Change” T-shirt.

Sequined wide-leg pants.

Available at Saks Fifth Avenue Las Vegas

EDITORIAL

PUBLISHER: TIM HANCOCK MANAGING EDITOR: JEN CHASE CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: STACEY GUALANDI MEDIA DIRECTOR: DANI REEVES FASHION DIRECTOR: KRISTA WHITE MARKETING DIRECTOR: RESHAWNDA JONES CULINARY DIRECTOR: SCOTT COMMINGS ENTERTAINMENT DIRECTOR: ANDY GIL CONTRIBUTING PUBLICIST: TYRA BELL-HOLLAND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: JAMILLETTE GAXIOLA EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: JEFF RANKIN WRITERS: HAYLEY CLOVER, STACEY GUALANDI, CHRIS JAVIER, RICCI LOPEZ-HAMMARGREN, DANI REEVES, KATIE ROSE CREATIVE CONTRIBUTORS: EDEN SASSOON, RESHAWNDA JONES, KATHRYN MOSELEY, AMANDA LYNN

PUBLISHING & ADVERSTISING CONTACT: MEDIA@DLXVRSN.COM OFFICE: 424.354.3904

COVER CREDITS

PHOTOGRAPHER: TIM HANCOCK FEATURING: EDEN SASSOON MODELS: CHRIS SPANG STYLED BY SAKS FIFTH AVENUE LAS VEGAS HAIR: JUSTIN BARLOW MAKE UP: LINA MOUREY

MEDIA PRODUCTION

PHOTOGRAPHY: ROBERT MORALES, SUNNY DHILLON VIDEO PRODUCTION: MIGUEL DROZ

SPECIAL THANKS

MSD STUDIOS, FRESH WATA STUDIOS, CORY WOODS, LAKE LAS VEGAS, WYNN NIGHTLIFE, DR. NEVILLE CAMPBELL, SCORSETTI DESIGN ©2017 DLXVRSN MEDIA INC | WWW.DELUXE-VERSION.COM

ON THE COVER

EDEN SASSOON PG.44

THIS ISSUE ENTERTAINMENT

20 // HEART OF MAHSHEED 23 // JEWEL: LOST & FOUND IN AMERICA 44 // THE REAL EDEN SASSOON 56 // THE (RÖ)MANCE OF ELISABETH RÖHM 66 // BACHELOR STAR PROFILES

TALENT

27 // CHEF LISA DAHL 39 // PLASTIC SURGERY SUCCESS: DR. HAYLEY BROWN 41 // A FRESH FACE TO DOCTORS IN PAIN CARE 80 // FIND RECOVERY IN HEALING HANDS 81 // SYDNEY ARTICLE

FINER LIVING

65 // DESTINATION EDEN: CABO SAN LUCAS 73 // PUBLISHERS CHOICE: FINE COCKTAILS 76 // TAKE-OFF FOR HELIYOGA 83 // WANDER WHEREVER: OCEANIC RETREATS 87 // YOUR BEST ASSET IN BUSINESS

FASHION

30 // WHEN IN PARIS 68 // READY TO WEAR 72 // COMFORT IS THE NEW BLACK 89 // CUBA CALLING

ISSUE Nº09

TRAVEL 2017

WHEN IN PARIS

Part one of our Director of Internat’l Relations’ editorial journey leads her to Paris. In Part Two she whisks readers to Cuba, offering an intriguing look at the island’s flair.

20

PG.

WELLNESS IN CABO

Two bachelor stars; one island retreat designed to get back to the heart of how singles communicate. Read about Eden Sassoon’s wellness expedition to Cabo and learn how good food, yoga and the right people are the fixins for good health.

65

PG.

Note From The Publisher

Living life In appreciation. So many of our day-to-day lives are spent going through the motions wondering how time has passed us by, often met with lop-sided compromises of all work and no play; no travel; no leisure; and sadly, no appreciation for the little things that add up to a blessed reality we get to call life. That is, until life’s literally gone due to circumstances you could never have imagined. Is it your wake-up call to start living life to the fullest? (And yes: I’m talking to you.)

As you read this, our Travel 2017 issue, I want the stories we share to open your eyes to a new sense of appreciation.

Break whatever cycles you’re in and dive into our storytellings: jump in a helicopter for a day of Heliyoga; whisk yourself to Bali; or, simply explore your city’s charitable organizations with a group of loved ones. Whatever your choice, I invite you to live your life in appreciation. A life fully lived is our hope for anyone who turns these pages.

Also in this issue? A handful of bright professionals in medicine; two TV bachelors in Cabo San Lucas; one incredible singer lending her fame to help homless youth; and, as always, our stunning fashion features. And we could not be prouder to have a woman creating her own legacy on our cover: reality TV icon (and the great Vidal Sassoon’s daughter!)

Eden Sassoon.

To My Hometown My heart extends to the many courageous souls who saved lives and sacrificed to see a city recover from recent darkness. You did it. You proved to the world that a city can work together for the good of humanity and rescue victims to comfort and saftey. Thank you to all the the first responders, our brave police force and generous care givers. I am so proud to call Las Vegas my hometown and so proud of the people who make it so #VegasStrong.

Please enjoy!

Sincerely,

Tim Hancock

Meet The Team

Jen Chase EDITOR

Jamillette Gaxiola

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Tyra Bell-Holland

CONTRIBUTING PUBLICIST

Stacey Gualandi

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Scott Commings

CULINARY DIRECTOR

Reshawnda Jones

MARKETING DIRECTOR

MEDIA PARTNERS

Krista White

FASHION DIRECTOR

Dani Reeves

MEDIA DIRECTOR

Andy Gil

ENTERTAINMENT DIRECTOR

CONTRIBUTING

WRITERS

WANDERLUST

Because, Bali & Los Cabos are always a good idea. (Need we say more?)

Chelsea Abate

Hayley Clover

Mariah Walton

Chris Javier

Derek Sante

Urian Booze

83

PG.

LOST & FOUND

Jewel and fellow celebs lend their stardom to illuminate homelessness in America.

PG.

27

HELIYOGA

Grab your mat and take your practice to heights you’ve never experienced.

PG.

76

Heart of Mahsheed SAVING THE WORLD (IN PART) IS POSSIBLE, ONCE YOU SAVE YOUR INTEGRITY. – By Dani Reeves

The first time I ever met Mahsheed Barghisavar I knew

I wanted to interview her for Deluxe Version. We had been introduced at one of our Luxe News Live events and she was hard not to notice: This Persian beauty had the biggest and brightest smile in the room, was dressed to impress...and that hair! But aside from her beauty, Barghisavar had a personality so exciting and joyful, she was single-handedly responsible for the lively energy in the room that night. However, there was a story behind those eyes and I couldn’t wait to uncover it.

Barghisavar and I got together on one of the first days of fall of this year. We decided to meet at one of the restaurants next to her office. The weather was beautiful, so when I arrived I took a table outside. She arrived looking casual chic in a beautiful silk black tank top, light-colored denim, silver metallic sandals, and carrying a rare vintage Chanel bag. (Oh! And of course, that hair!)

solidified that she needed be the one in charge of things.

After graduating from SJSU, Barghisavar moved to Las Vegas where her father and brother owned a car business. At this time, Las Vegas was booming and buzzing and the money was flowing. Along with her father and brother, Barghisavar started to invest in properties here in the valley, restore them, and flip them. Barghisavar saw how lucrative the industry was so she decided to get her real estate license to take advantage of the economy.

After a few great years of investments and a new career, Barghisavar told me the heartbreaking story in which she would lose everything she had built due to a very unfortunate incident where another real estate broker stole her commissions, (and at the same time another business she was linked to but not an active participant in took her down as well). She admits being extremely naive at the time, doing anything to help others. Between 20062009 she had 3 lawsuits and had lost all of her properties and land she had owned. It was so bad that in order to pay rent, she slowly sold off her furniture. In 2009 the infamous economic crash only had made it worse for her.

However, during this time she would meet some of the greatest investors and clients who would help turn everything around.

After catching up on girl talk, we decided we should get into the interview. “Mash” (as her friends call her) surprised me when she told me she was born in Louisiana, however her family moved to San Jose, Calif., when she was a young girl.(However, when I mentioned her being a Southern belle, she did seem very proud of it.) After finishing high school, Barghisavar enrolled at San Jose State University where she would graduate with a double major in business marketing and management.

I asked her how she was able to pick herself up after such tragedy. Barghisavar straightened up in her chair as she When talking about school, she was straight forward as confidently began to speak about a motivational speaker she expressed that she wasn’t exactly positive what she she saw in a commercial. “I was at Walmart the next day, wanted to do after graduation, however she did know for in the book section, and turned around and there he was certain that she wanted to be her own boss. Mahsheed [on the shelf]!” blushed as she laughed about her history with employment as a young girl. She admitted that it was difficult for With no money in her checking account, she bought her to take orders from anyone. She shared a story about three other motivational and self-improvement books a time she asked for her prom night off and was denied along with it. She began reading more and more spiriby her boss. As she was telling me this, I couldn’t help tual books, hired a few spiritual life coaches and slowly but imagine what a 17-year-old girl’s reaction would be her life began to go up. She knew she had to build on a to her boss’s response. (“Well, I’m still not coming in!”) solid foundation based of integrity in order to last for a Barghisavar said it almost as if she was reliving that mo- lifetime and never go through the hurt and pain of losing ment all over again. Her boss called her the next day to everything she ever had. “Those 3 years were the hardest say she was replaced. She said all those experiences just times of my life. I had no idea how I was going to survive

20 | Deluxe Version Magazine

and how I would make it. I am proof for anyone going through tough times that you can make it, without having to use a soul. You don’t have to give your power away to make your dreams come true. By doing the right thing in life, all your dreams can become a reality.”

It took Barghisavar 3 years before things started to turn around. Through spirituality, meditation, and working on self love, she was able to manifest her current business in abundance. She really started to focus on building her own brand and creating a positive environment for her and her businesses growth. Planting the right seeds by heeding compassion and love, she has now become one of the leading real estate brokers in the valley and people are starting to notice. Barghisavar has been approached with several television possibilities and she is hoping for the right show to come her way. She has always wanted to be able to have her own show to not only help educate others in the industry but to use that kind of opportunity help on a much larger global scale.

Barghisavar is very active in the community, as well. In fact, she has a very impressive philanthropy background (Make a Wish Foundation is her charity of choice). She has put on impressive events with celebrity artists and with her own merit even was able to make a wish to Japan come true.

That day, Barghisavar had shared some very heartwarming and inspirational stories with me.

I began to see how she became so strong and created her dream life on her own terms. I asked her how she maintains such a positive attitude through it all. She smiled and said she believes that you can have an abundance of everything you dream of without having to lose yourself.

“I choose to live a balanced life filled with an abundance of wealth, health, love, and freedom of self expression, and that’s what I will continue to create.

“If there is one thing I would tell anybody who wants more out of their life,” she continued, “it is to create your life exactly how you want no matter how anyone else does it. Self love. You have to learn to love and believe in yourself first!”

ONE TO WATCH

Mahsheed Barghisavar’s story is pure encouragement for anyone who is starting over.

Deluxe Version

EXCLUSIVE

LOST & FOUND IN AMERICA WITH JEWEL – By Stacey Gualandi

Jewel and fellow celebs lend stardom to illuminate the hurt of homelessness.

In June, the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Jewel spoke at the Las Vegas-based Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (www.nphy.org) to share her personal story of homelessness and survival, as well as answer questions from many of the young men and women who are currently struggling.

Jewel is also lending her voice to director Rotimi Rainwater’s documentary Lost in America to be released later this year. The film follows Rainwater—also a former homeless youth—as he and his team travel the country examining the realities of being a homeless youth in America today, and what is being done, or not being done, to help them. Leading up to the film’s release, the “WAKE UP! Campaign” is organizing a series of events to shed light on these issues, which have included a candlelight vigil; creating care packages for hundreds of homeless in Los Angeles; and partnership events with organizations around the country that work to help these youth. Also involved with the film is singer/ philanthropist Jon Bon Jovi and business mogul/philanthropist Russell Simmons.

Deluxe Version Magazine’s sister platform, Luxe News Live, covered the event and spoke with Jewel and Rainwater in an exclusive interview, which aired earlier in the summer.

For more information about this project please visit: www.LostInAmericaFilm.com.

“When people learn to convert pain into beauty—how to convert their lost innocence into wisdom—they become incredible contributors in society. And that’s what I’ve attempted to do with my life. ” ~Jewel

Deluxe Version Magazine | 23

IS KYLIE THE NEW FRONT-RUNNER?

26 | Deluxe Version Magazine

PHOTO BY STEVE YATES CLEVER MEDIA

“LIFE OF KYLIE“ PREMIERES THIS SUMMER ON THE SAME NETWORK THAT STARTED HER FAMILY’S TELEVISION EMPIRE.

Life As A Passionista

CHEF LISA DAHL –Stacey Gualandi

The day I met Chef Lisa Dahl, she went from walking a red carpet glammed out in Gaultier, to riding her road bike in spandex, to cooking in her signature silk charmeuse chef coat.

This quick-change artist comes by it naturally. Dahl is a former fashion designer-turned-self-taught chef, and now sits high atop a culinary empire in Sedona, the heart of Arizona’s vortex country, a tourist town more famous for red rocks than for fine dining. That is, until Dahl came to town.

Over 20 years ago, Dahl sought out Sedona for its healing powers after her son Justin, 23, was murdered trying to stop a thief in San Francisco. Inspired by their bond and love for cooking, she opened Dahl & Di Luca Ristorante Italiano, followed by Cucina Rustica, then Pisa Lisa 10 years later, and 2 years ago, Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill. Each new venture has brought accolades, awards, and now, self-reflection.

“This award had me reaching deep into the soul of my memory banks to see what we have really accomplished,” says Dahl.

In May, Dahl accepted the “Trailblazer” award from the Sedona Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. It was another in a long list of honors she has earned as the woman behind the Dahl Restaurant Group.

The author of The Elixir of Life now oversees 230 employees, and last year alone literally served over 350 thousand people in her top-ranked restaurants. She is already projecting a 20 percent growth for next year.

“It’s the food, the atmosphere, they way they feel, everything about it becomes a sensory experience,” says Dahl.

“You’re trying to bring that day-in, day-out to your guests so that they leave with something so memorable.”

I can attest. The Green Goddess Kale Salad is to die for, and after dining in not one but three Dahl restaurants, (Cucina Rustica, you’re next!) I had the James Beard-featured chef dish on her success (“I had to go in baby steps”), becoming a self-described “passionista,” and most importantly, making her son proud.

Deluxe Version: Was Dahl Restaurant Group always the game plan?

Lisa Dahl: No, no, no, no. One of my deepest hopes was always to be a chef restaurateur—that I make no bones about—but I had been in the fashion business, practically growing up in it. My mom and dad had beautiful women’s clothing stores when I was a kid. I was just following in my mother’s footsteps. She was always into dressing to the nines and designing store windows and I just fell into that as a natural progression.

But once my Justin lost his life in San Francisco, I decided to get out of that area. I hadn’t planned to get out of the fashion business, but as things progressed, I followed my dream to have a restaurant. I partnered up with a very good Italian chef and we put a lot of love into Dahl & Di Luca.

DV: Many would say you literally put Sedona on the map as a fine dining destination.

LD: Twenty years ago it was, respectfully, kind of a wasteland.

Coming from San Francisco and Marin, it was truly an adjustment. I joke when I say there was a void here you could drive a Mack truck through. I wasn’t bullish about anything only 2 years after Justin was killed, but I definitely knew that I needed to pursue something that was going to resonate with me on a soul level. That’s why my book The Elixir of Life is subtitled, “Finding Love and Joy in the Passionate Pursuit of Food.” That is about as clear as I can express that doing what I did basically saved my life.

And I was always a very good cook.

DV: But you don’t just cook! Your fashion and design background has certainly come in handy, right?

LD: Well, I designed the entire Cucina Rustica restaurant. I worked with my architect; I selected all these antique columns, ancient doors; I had a vision of the entire way I wanted it to be. I realized I love design and it fit so well with the cooking and the menu and the entire vision of the whole thing.

And I didn’t want to come to this [eastern] side of town with exactly the same cuisine as Dahl & Di Luca. I wanted to do something more apropos to the name “rustic kitchen” so the rustic aspect of the décor and the style of the food was more earthy and a little less refined. I fell in love with that process - the gorgeous patios and working with the landscapers and doing everything down to the wire.

DV: Why did you venture into casual dining?

LD I always wanted to have a wood-fired. In all my restaurants there was never any space and it couldn’t be done. So I wanted a pizzeria and when the location next to Dahl & Di Luca came about, we went in there and gutted it. We didn’t realize what we were getting ourselves into.

It was 10 full years between Cucina and Pisa Lisa…and I thought this could be so easy compared to the fine dining thing, but it kicked my you-knowwhat. It was no easier in any way. You abide by the same rules for good hospitality, but you’ve got to get that food out quicker and have it delivered in a certain way. We got beat up for the first 9 months. Now it is the number one pizzeria in all of Sedona and I want to expand that concept and have babies of Pisa Lisa.

DV: You could have stopped at three successful restaurants, but then 2 years ago, you opened a fourth!

LD: Yes: Mariposa, and it’s another fine dining experience and it has definitely taught me a lot of lessons. I’m just starting to think it was the hardest

Deluxe Version Magazine | 27

Deluxe Version

TOP TALENT thing I’ve ever done in my life—in my career, at least—and it’s still a work in progress. It’s now 2 years old and winning award after award…a lot of beautiful accolades. But [success] is not to be made light of: this is something [where] you just have to get every single duck [in a row] in order to perform on that level when you have a restaurant of that size.

DV: So how does it feel to now be known as the “Queen of Sedona?”

LD: The first time somebody ever said the “queen” I thought it was so derogatory. Now I laugh at it and hear it almost everyday and I take it as a compliment. I never planned to have this many multiple restaurants right here. I thought I would do something somewhere else and that was more my goal.

DV: What lessons have you learned?

LD: If you’re just a chef, then you have to fire on all cylinders with your kitchen crew; and if you’re a restaurant owner but not a chef, then you are dealing with all of the logistics of keeping it running. But being an executive owner and chef is really different. You have front and back of the house to constantly be fine-tuning and it can be very hard on your nerves, I’ll be honest.

In my speech [this morning] my opening line [was], “People say the restaurant business is the hardest business.” It really is; but I also said it has the most rewards. You have to become a ridiculous perfectionist. I am so fortunate that I can sleep at night but I go-go-go-go-go: it’s never done. Every year you want to make it better, and you have to have some boundaries. I don’t think I was ever at a tipping point with this until between restaurants three and four. I started to realize this is big…this be damn hard! I try to go every night to each restaurant. I’m like a little choo-choo. It takes so much gumption on so many different levels that most people probably burn out after 5 years if doing it consistently. But I look at this every day. It’s like a spiritual awakening. Instead of crying or just saying, ‘I’ve got to give up, I can’t do it!,’ you’ve got to laugh and look at it like it’s a reality TV show.

DV: Why do you call yourself a “passionista?”

LD: I’m a passionista because I get to do those things I love: food, cooking, eating, designing…all that is my lifestyle without a doubt. You’re not going to see me going into my restaurants not dressed up. I love dressing up (It’s my thing!) because it is another form of expressing. Passionistas are those who have a shared joie de vivre for life and all the good things of life and celebrating the good things.

DV: Why did you trademark the term?

LD: So, I’d like to create a fashion line one day, a “passionista chef wear” line for all I know. I want to create fun aprons and design one with “when you cook with love you feed the soul.” I still have that ‘thing’ when it comes to fashion and décor. I want to do more and more of it. I just have to find my niche [and] not feel that if I don’t run the restaurant, that I can’t partake in those elements. That would be a very big frustration for me.

DV: Does your son continue to inspire you?

LD: I believe that Justin has made the things come about that have been so significant. I dedicated Dahl & Di Luca to him and I still walk in to that restaurant, walk through the door, look at the room and gasp. It takes my breath away because I believe he is there. I feel thankful and grateful for what he brought. I feel that way with each [restaurant] but I really started to feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck with Mariposa.

So I believe he is right there, still doing this with me, and I refuse to say it’s not possible. I live in that belief system that keeps me elevated, and I believe when you have to mourn and realize you miss [someone] in the physical so much, there is a time you must do that, but I still feel that you are honoring them when you keep their legacy alive every day through the work that you do.

DV: What was Justin’s favorite dish?

LD: He loved chicken piccata. We would practice the dish before I became professional. I think he would order Sopa di Justina at Mariposa. It was named after him. It’s a magical soup that we created, a Mexican/Spanish influence with rice and chicken. It’s symbolic [of] life. As you’re making that soup, you’re always working to make it a little deeper; richer. It’s a metaphor for a cook to use a soup like that to always get better at making the simplest things better.

DV: Speaking of reality TV, you will be featured in an upcoming episode of Travel Channel’s “Food Paradise” later this year. If a TV show came your way, would you take it?

LD: I won’t say no to that but I will say there is not one that I watch that doesn’t make me sick because I think they sensationalize things that make people look stupid. But I have a signed a contract to be on a form of a reality TV show that is something I didn’t think I would ever do.

DV: Can you describe your perfect night? Who would you be wearing, what you be ordering?

LD: I wear a lot of Cavalli and Le Petit Robe. Cavalli is the sexiest. I can’t tell you exactly what I would be wearing but it would depend on who the man would be with me. Every night I do dress up, and every night I do fantasize that when I meet the next man, on my first date we would be at Dahl & Di Luca. I still feel it’s the ultimate date-night place.

I trust the production company, but will it come to fruition? I don’t know.

It would actually show me as a chef and restaurant owner but I would only be one part of a Sedona-based show.

I’ll be ordering the first time for him and turning him on to my Caprese d’Amore, which I named the “caprese of love.” It is served with tomatoes and mozzarella but with a meritage of baby tomatoes over the larger tomatoes and a grilled portobello. Then I would have arancini, crispy handmade risotto balls that we make like nowhere in the world. It comes over a molten and seductive red pool of marinara.

DV: Do you have any regrets about taking this path?

LD: Good question. I just buried a 13-year relationship that taught me a lot. His main argument about me, the dissatisfaction, he says, was that I was not around enough and didn’t give enough attention to the relationship. I got out of it that if that’s what he really felt, that’s what I need to be cautious of, so that if I have an opportunity to have a really wonderful “next” relationship, I’m not going to make them feel that they don’t count.

The regret is my not knowing how to make enough personal time for myself—to make sure that I really know how to do that—so that I can really say [my staff] can do [the restaurants] without me. That’s going to be a challenge. I really believe in my heart of hearts that someday, when the time is right, I’m going to meet a guy probably a lot like me—a restaurateur—who knows exactly what this is like. But right now, I’m focused on what I need to do. Everything that happens to you in business or in life are opportunities to grow. If you take all of that and redirect it back into the work, it will pay back in many ways. It’s about the people. You are in a service business. If your joy is not derived from serving people, this is not the right business for you and it could never work out.

28 | Deluxe Version Magazine

Then we would move onto the paper-thin Vitello Piccata. Our veal is like candy: gorgeous and delicate, with angel hair, sauce, and sautéed spinach most likely. And then maybe end with lavender cheesecake.

DV: Do you have any advice for someone who would like to follow your lead?

LD: I feel like I am so blessed to be in a business that allows me to be a self-expressive person in every way that I love. I love designing the food. I love to make it look like eye candy that’s equally exciting to me.

It’s when you find something that allows you to be everything that we are all capable of being, you’ve found the “passionista” in you. That’s in essence what I would give as advice. Follow your dreams no matter what they are.

DV: Does Sedona now have a “Lisa Dahl vortex?”

LD: Ha! When [people] ask, “Where are these vortexes?” I say this is the vortex of fine Italian dining! I love that. I do think that from what I can see, all of Sedona has many vortexes, but dining in my restaurants might be just one of them. (I’ve never said that to anybody else. If that goes to print, it will be cute.)

XENXEN NOW OPEN XENXENLV.COM

QUAND À

Paris FEATURING JAMILLETTE GAXIOLA

PHOTOGRAPHED BY SUNNY DHILLON

30 | Deluxe Version Magazine

Deluxe Version Magazine | 31

Deluxe Version Magazine | 33

Deluxe Version Magazine | 35

Deluxe Version

JET SETTER LOOK BACK AT IT

See Part Two of Jamillette’s international fashion photo story on page 89.

Deluxe Version Magazine | 37

Deluxe Version

LEADERS

A POWERFUL SUCCESS IN PLASTIC SURGERY

DR. HAYLEY BROWN – By Stacey Gualandi

I

“ ’m the ‘mom’ practice in town.” So says plastic surgeon Hayley Brown, MD, FACS, a mother of four and the matriarch of Desert Hills Plastic Surgery Center, located in Henderson, Nev. Since opening her practice in 2000, Brown has built a following-turned-family with the mommy set. Whether it’s a breast lift here or a tummy tuck there, Brown’s patients know she has their back (or should we say, breast?). And like any good mother, she isn’t afraid to say no to patients’ requests when she has to.

If she hadn’t pursued medicine, Brown says she’d be an artist. Her creative eye and a desire for natural, beautiful results, fuels her word-of-mouth praise and keeps her clientele happy. Says Brown, “I really take pride in my work.”

But raising four teenagers and running a successful practice isn’t a one-woman operation. Brown says that an experienced team approach—working for 11 years alongside her anesthesiologist husband Steve Brown, MD—is what sets her apart, and helps her maintain the balance she’s needed to become one of only three board-certified female surgeons in Las Vegas.

Brown is regularly of one Las Vegas’ top doctors, and while her operating table is full, her philanthropic dance card is, too. Year after year she gives back to the community by fighting hunger with the organization Three Square, and saving lives with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Brown also made time to sit down with Deluxe Version Magazine to talk about her medical journey; her advice to budding plastic surgeons; and what’s trending in her field (think “Mommy Makeovers,” of course!).

----DELUXE VERSION: When it came to choosing a medical field to practice, why did you choose plastic surgery?

DR. HAYLEY BROWN: I always wanted to do plastic surgery. When I went to medical school that was my intention.

And, I grew up in a family of physicians so I was always exposed to the medical field. I spent a lot of time in the hospital, and I was always very creative and artistic; even now art is kind of a second passion for me. So it was the

only field that really combined the two, where you can see and visually appreciate your work.

DV: What is the key to your success?

HB: I’m one of the few board-certified females here in Las Vegas. I’m also a mother of four. It’s a lot, but I have a really nice balance. I’m involved with the community, with the kids and charity work. I mostly have female patients and they tend to connect with me because we have a lot in common.

DV: There are so many choices of surgeons out there. What do you do differently that sets you apart?

HB: I’m really driven by meeting people and I enjoy bonding and connecting with people. I have a genuine concern for the patient.

It’s also rare to have two doctors as a team, side-by-side (my husband Steve works with me). That translates into patient comfort and patient safety.

DV: What services do you provide?

HB: I love operating, so mostly I’m surgical based. I do many things. I like facial rejuvenation, breast contouring, implants, lifts, and reductions. I also perform body contouring as well tummy tucks and liposuction. I love the variety: it keeps me stimulated and every patient is different. There is a huge trend right now in “mommy makeovers.” I love doing those.

DV: If I came to you as a new patient, what would you say if I had unrealistic expectations?

HB: I’m not someone who tells patients what they want to hear. I’m no sugar coater by any means. I’m very, very honest. If anything, I will under-promise and over-deliver because it’s so important to patient satisfaction. You have to work with what you have to work with. This isn’t magic.

DV: What kind of feedback do you get?

HB: What I’m hearing mostly (and if you go online and look at my patient’s reviews), they talk about how bluntly honest I am. They admire my work. I have a lot of before-and-after photos online; it’s like presenting your art out there. I get compliments on the photo galleries of breast lift and reduction patients and how good they look afterwards.

Deluxe Version Magazine | 39

Deluxe Version

LEADERS DV: What if a patient wants to do too much?

HB: I will tell them if it’s not appropriate. You have to be healthy, motivated, have a great attitude, and be realistic or it’s not going to go that well for that person.

DV: And they listen to you?

HB: Oh yes. They all come back.

DV: Have you accomplished all the goals you set when you began this journey?

HB: Yes! It’s been great. I don’t see myself going anywhere. The practice has blossomed and I love what I do and can control my hours. I have a great clientele; my patients have become close friends. It’s like a big family.

Working with my husband is unique and special and [we have] a great staff. We have fun and a lot of laughs in the office.

DV: Is it strange to work with your hubby?

HB: It’s good in that he does his job and I do my job, and in the operating room, we are separated by a curtain. I trust that he’s taking care of the patient and he knows what I’m doing.

DV: What trends do you see for the future?

HB: There’s more and more technology coming out for facial rejuvenation, and I do hope that at some point in the future, there will be some non-invasive treatment for skin tightening that is effective. Also I’m hoping one day they will have a longer-lasting Botox. As for fillers, we have so many, there are almost too many to use. Breast implants have gotten better and better so we have so many choices now, like with the “gummy bear” implants and different types of silicone implants. There’s a lot of variety to choose from and you can get beautiful and long-lasting results with many of the implants that are out there.

The great thing about practicing here is that we [surgeons] all get along; we are so close. I feel like I can count on any of my colleagues for backup, questions…for anything, and that is not common in a big city. So that’s one of the reasons I love practicing here. We support each other. That’s an amazing thing.

DV: Is it tougher for women?

HB: It’s always been male dominated. When I did my general surgery residency I was the only woman. That was a long time ago, but it is a long road to become a plastic surgeon. It’s a sacrifice, and to balance having a family as well? It takes a long time to get to this place.

I remember starting my practice and there were some rough days. I basically started on my own and then you have people saying, “You can’t do this. You’re never going to succeed.”

DV: But you didn’t quit….

HB: It’s scary; the responsibility is scary and stressful. When I started I worked … for 5 years on ER call every night.

For 5 years, it was hard. You question, “Am I going to get through this. Am I going to be successful?” Being on call 24/7 without being able to turn it off. Now, of course, it’s amazing, but it is a sacrifice at the beginning, no doubt.

DV: Do you pat yourself on the back now?

HB: Yes. I’m really proud of everything that I’ve accomplished. And I’m so happy to have been able to raise children at the same time.

DV: Any advice for someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

HB: People say, “I can’t do this,” or “I have to focus on my career.” I was pregnant the whole time while doing my fellowship for 2 years, back-to-back babies. You can do whatever you want to do. You just make it happen and that’s it. You will get there. Day to day, stay motivated and a positive attitude is really important. Just do it.

DV: Implants as well as explants?

HB: Yes; and actually, a national trend and [one] I’ve noticed in my practice is a shift toward smaller breasts. You have a lot of women who have had larger breasts for a long period of time and want to be smaller. So what I do very commonly is I take implants out, and then do a breast lift so they will have a fuller B or smaller C cup, and they can go around and look more like a model. They don’t have to wear a bra. People love that.

DV: You are one of only three board-certified women.

Why so few women?

HB: I don’t know. There are more in Beverly Hills; Scottsdale.

Watch this full interview with Dr. Hayley Brown on www.luxenewslive.com

40 | Deluxe Version Magazine

Deluxe Version

LEADERS FROM NEW YORK CITY TO THE WEST COAST

Annemarie Gallagher IS A FRESH FACE IN PAIN CARE – By Dani Reeves When was the last time you met someone whose story

was so moving it brought you to tears? I sat down with Annemarie Gallagher, one of the newest female pain and spine specialists on the West coast, and her story was one of those that will last forever in my memory.

Gallagher was born and raised in fabulous New York City and she knew from the time she was 4 she would become a doctor. It was a long and emotional journey for her, but sitting there listening about how she got to where she is today, I not only feel we are lucky to have her in our community, but I couldn’t imagine her being anything else, either!

Gallagher was no stranger to the hospital as a young girl.

Her sister had been diagnosed with a rare heart defect, and on one visit to see her sister, little Annemarie brought a plush teddy bear hoping that she could personally give it to her. She remembers the doctor that morning coming out from a set of large double doors. The doctor approached her and her father and asked about the teddy in her hands. Gallagher went on to tell him that she brought it for her sister and couldn’t wait to be able to give it to her. Because her sister was in the ICU, the doctor said Gallagher was too young to be able to go back to see her. He offered to bring the stuffed animal, making sure she would get it, then proceeded to take her father through the same big double doors from where he came.

This was the last time Gallagher saw that doctor as her sister passed away later that day. All she could think about in that moment was, if she were an adult, she would have been able to visit her sister...and especially, if she was a doctor. From that day forward everything Gallagher would do would be focused on becoming just that.

Deluxe Version Magazine | 41

Deluxe Version

LEADERS In high school, Gallagher was very busy in and outside of the classroom. From the time she was old enough, she volunteered at a local hospital as a candy striper. She enjoyed reading to the patients and making sure they felt comfortable in a not-so-comfortable place. Her time there only continued to confirm her dream of helping others. Although she knew she wanted to be a doctor, she wasn’t quite sure what type of medicine she would later study.

It wasn’t until she was playing softball and shattered her ankle during a sliding drill that resulted in extensive rehabilitation that she would be introduced to her future.

After high school, Gallagher was accepted to Columbia University. On Fridays, she would again volunteer at the hospital...only this time she would be at St. Vincent’s Hospital. It was the same hospital where she and her sister were born. And it was on a beautiful fall morning in New York City that the future Dr. Gallagher was getting ready for class when she turned on her TV to see what would be one of the most devastating events in America’s history.

A plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center.

Frantic and determined to do something, Gallagher gathered her things and headed to the hospital. She remembered her father calling that morning reassuring her she was doing the right thing and wishing her luck. St. Vincent’s was the closest trauma center to the World Trade buildings and Gallagher was about to enter the heart of the scene.

Due to the events, the train had stopped at 42nd Street, forcing Gallagher to walk 30 blocks to the hospital. The streets were pandamonium. She was rushing in the opposite direction of everyone else. Terrified pedestrians were screaming at her to run the other way, but she knew what she was doing.

Immediately arriving at the hospital, Gallagher sprung into action and began prepping ambulances headed to the scene. That day she would work non-stop for 30 hours seeing victims fight for their lives. Most of the patients she saw that day were the brave New York City police officers and the firefighters. In that moment, she knew how important it was to be there as a New Yorker.

Lighting a fire under her and inspired by the events of Sept.

11, she continued to further her studies in Long Island at Stony Brook University where she received her medical degree. She then completed residency training in physical medicine and rehabilitation at a joint program at Columbia/Cornell. Gallagher explains that this type of medicine is a combination of non surgical orthopedics and function-

42 | Deluxe Version Magazine

al neurology with a little rheumatology. She stresses that this is not surgery but focuses more on orthopedics such as sports medicine, arthritic pain, spinal cord injuries, and other traumatic injuries.

Gallagher laughs as she tells me that you would think after all this time she would be ready to move forward with graduation, however she continued her studies and completed fellowship training to subspecialize in pain medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology at Cornell. Although at that time it was unusual for someone to study pain medicine, rehabilitation and anesthesiology, she says, she only wanted to become more well rounded in her studies.

After finally graduating, Gallagher was offered several academic positions at hospitals all over the country. However, in the end she always wanted to try private practice and one day open her own. She was aware that this dream would be a task in New York City, so she decided to go outside her comfort zone and look into other parts of the country. Because she would come to Las Vegas for conferences on a regular basis, she began to explore the possibilities in the valley. She really enjoyed the fact that Vegas was a big city but it also had the option of expanding. She had also fallen in love with the nature surrounding the desert...Red Rock being her favorite escape.

In 2014, Annemarie Gallagher moved to Las Vegas. She joined a private practice and due to all good things, on Valentine’s Day 2017 she was able to open her own practice, Epion Institute for Spine and Joint Pain, which is named for the Greek goddess for soothing pain.

Gallagher’s energy is calm, collected, and personable.

Throughout our entire interview I couldn’t help myself feel connected to her and her story. Earlier I had mentioned she had brought tears to my eyes as we were speaking.

In that moment, I didn’t want to seem like an over emotional pregnant woman, so I blamed my tears on allergies.

However, I am here to admit that she was beyond inspiring and I felt so lucky to have been interviewing her for Deluxe Version Magazine.

eden sassoon

Deluxe Version

COVER STORY

the real

–By Stacey Gualandi Photographed By Tim Hancock

When Eden Sassoon arrived for our cover photo shoot at

the Veer penthouse 37 floors above the Las Vegas Strip, wearing her famously blonde locks piled high, an adorable one-piece pink romper, and a smile from ear to ear, you would never know the Beverly Hills-based businesswoman had just survived season seven of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, relatively unscathed.

The experience she says was “just a moment in my journey.”

Now, the ex-reality housewife is on a mission to tame her TV image; shed the arguments, cat fights, name-calling, and hair-raising moments; and tease future plans that will embrace not embarrass the real Eden.

At the time of this interview, the 44-year-old mother of two was in Las Vegas to host NAHA, the North American Hairstyling Awards, an event near-and-dear to her heart.

“It’s kind of bittersweet,” says Sassoon, “because I get to represent what my father left and be a part of it. It’s such an honor.”

She comes by her talent for tresses easily. She is, of course, the daughter of legendary beauty mogul Vidal Sassoon and is cutting her own path in the industry with EDEN by Eden Sassoon Pilates, which she opened in 2007.

44 | Deluxe Version Magazine

And Sassoon continues to reinvent the family legacy: she created “Beauty Gives Back,” a charity that highlights the global water crisis (as seen on this magazine’s sister platform, LuxeNewsLive.com); and she opened two luxury Pilates studios in the heart of Los Angeles. Now a recovering alcoholic of 5 years, Sassoon is passionate about preaching a healthy lifestyle. In fact, her tireless work on behalf of those facing addiction will be recognized this fall as she accepts the “Woman of the Year” honor from the Peggy Albrecht Friendly House.

Her sober sermons may have ruffled a few feathers on RHOBH (we’re talking to you Kim Richards and Lisa Rinna!) but it’s been the source of inspiration for Sassoon’s next adventure. At the time of this writing she was about to depart for Cabo San Lucas for “Destination Eden”—a flirty and fitfilled journey of “health, love and intention” with two Bachelorette alums—which could quite possibly be a test run for her own reality show.

In between choosing the perfect Roberto Cavalli to grace our cover, Sassoon sat down for a candid chat about all those housewives, the perfect dating app, and getting your cougar on… all with a sense of humor.

Dress: Roberto Cavalli

Eden Sassoon ON THE COVER

DELUXE VERSION: Do you feel like a free woman now that you are no longer on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH)?

EDEN SASSOON: Hold on… I saw a [social media] post that they were in Las Vegas and I said, “Nooooooo!! I’m going to Las Vegas. This is my weekend!”

ES: Well you know, there is the editing process, and how much they show and what they didn’t show. I really was myself most of the time. I also realize it was a group of women that I would never surround myself with. I would never be treated or let someone treat me [like that]. There is a sense that they gave me more claws. They definitely have put more of a fight in me, which is a good thing.

DV: You are here to host NAHA? ES: Yes, I’m hosting this year, so if any of those [RHOBH] DV: It sounds like you are very okay with the Housewives women came in to my arena, it would just be…hmmmm… departure, with no plans to go back. not allowed!

ES: No. I have actually a lot of exciting things hopefully happening.

DV: It’s your space, right?

ES: Oh please! I welcome it.

DV: Has it opened new doors, maybe your own reality show?

DV: You would know how to prepare yourself and deal with ES: Yes. I think we will see just the beauty of what I think it if they showed up? reality can be, or maybe possibly should be. [These shows] ES: You just kind of smile and sit there. feed so much negativity and constant battle and commotion against women, and as a mother with a daughter, that’s DV: In some ways, do you think women of RHOBH are envi- not something that you want children to see. And it’s evous of you? Sometimes you don’t know what you’re getting erywhere, instead of just being open and maybe working into with those shows. through things.

ES: That’s not what I represent at all. I didn’t watch it [before]! A lot of friends and people around me were like, “this Granted you get a lot of people who don’t like you for whatdoesn’t make sense.” ever reasons. I want to show the side of owning all these businesses and really what that looks like, because no one DV: So no more coffee with Lisa Rinna? got to meet the real me.

ES: I’ll throw it in her face. Haha! Just kidding!!

Unfortunately, she really did hurt me. Like, I had tears. It was DV: And that’s exciting? To show the real Eden? a really emotional experience, and it took huge toll on me, ES: Yes … ahem. (HA!) even to where my stress levels…I would get these tiny bald spots. I mean it was a truly emotional thing. And even after DV: Well, within reason! the fact, no one besides Kyle reached out. No one cares. It ES: Never a dull moment. It’ll be fun. was like, “What are you guys, a bunch of animals?” We’re humans. I see them now and I can read their faces and see DV: Tell us about your idea. where they are. I really just feel kind of sad and sorry for ES: Next week, I’ll be in Cabo with two guys from The Bachthem. And now Eileen isn’t involved anymore, so Lisa Rinna elorette. I really love the concept of “everyone looking for is pretty much swimming with sharks on her own, which kind love” [shows], but when you’re 24, 25, 26, and you’re feedof excites me but I feel sorry that that is something that she ing yourself a lot of alcohol, there’s a selective amount of has to engage in because it takes a huge toll. [Ed. note: people to choose from. It’s very different when you’re 44 Since this interview, Sassoon and Rinna have made nice and and sober and things can come from a different playground. are once again friends. Phew.]

DV: Did you get to pick the bachelors alums?

DV: Do you see yourself growing and learning from going ES: Yes. A friend has a podcast and I co-host, and when back and watching RHOBH? the bachelor guys come on I’m like, [raises hand] “Mine all mine!” We just have this great back-and-forth. So I created

Deluxe Version Magazine | 47

Eden Sassoon ON THE COVER

this challenge and ended up hosting a week in Cabo with Chase McNary and Josh Murray.

[Deluxe Version Magazine joins them on page 65.]

DV: They are younger than you?

ES: Yeah, which I love. That is so good. Don’t try to pull anything over on me boys! I’m the older sister, mom…and then there is that side of me that says, “Don’t go there with me.”

DV: From watching these types of shows and your own personal knowledge, what are you looking for?

ES: I am better than all of them. Maybe I should have been a man in another life. For one, I think I could treat somebody else better than a lot of these guys do. So I think they need to learn a lesson or two from me.

And nowadays with the dating apps—which I’m a pro at— it’s hysterical what goes on. I just watch.

Look, trust me: I’m engaged [in this] and I love that behavioral pattern [of] getting to know someone. I’m sober and I don’t want to meet someone like I did my first time, my husband, in a bar.

DV: What is your favorite dating app?

ES: Bumble!

DV: That’s the one where girls initiate?

ES: Yes: I have control issues. (Ha!) Today, I got off the plane, I started swiping and thought Vegas is not the place for me!

DV: Who is the perfect guy for you?

ES: If I knew, he’d be here!

46 | Deluxe Version Magazine

DV: Do you get hit on more now?

ES: I like younger guys. It’s never been a problem. (Ha!) DV: Do you have certain rules, like would you date a bald guy?

ES: How old is he and is going bald?

DV: Maybe in his 30s?

ES: Yes, sure; then I’d shave [the rest of his hair] right off.

DV: What does fashion mean to you?

ES: It’s an art. Clothes represent something deeper—creative—and that in any form, means something to me.

DV: We noticed you gravitated towards certain pieces today.

ES: My element is fire. But the yin fire in me is what I showed up in, my cute pink jumper. So for a 44 -year-old mom to be cute, that’s the side of me that I try to bring, but there is also that cougar—rawrrrrr-side—that you chose very well.

DV: What have you learned most about yourself this past year?

ES: I think, really, to represent who you are, and don’t sway from that because even though an opportunity arises, I could have jumped in [on RHOBH] and played anything, but you want to be true to who you are. Then at some point you can really create what that really is for the next opportunity.

Mens Briefs: Versace Dress: Roberto Cavalli

Eden Sassoon COVER STORY

Eden Sassoon ON THE COVER

“I think a lot of people’s ‘whys’ are different. So I learned to be truthful and represent myself. Which is really hard for people to get to know thyself. When I leave my legacy here—and coming from my father’s legacy—it [will] come from my heart and my gut. That’s who I am.”

– Eden Sassoon

Dress: Roberto Cavalli

A NEW LATIN RESTAURANT FEATURING CHEF LORENA GARCIA

A 50 EGGS CONCEPT

Please visit Venetian.com for reservations and information.

www.stephen-f.com

The Römance of

ELISABETH RÖHM – By Stacey Gualandi By the time the summer of ‘17 arrived earlier this year,

many people were set for a long, leisurely vacation. Not Elisabeth Röhm. This versatile actress couldn’t catch a break, but that was a good thing.

In May 2017, she played a cop-on-horseback for the longtime Mark Harmon crime series favorite NCIS; then in June, she was a recovering alcoholic alongside Will Arnett in Netflix’s second season of Flaked. Switching gears, she played Ryan Philippe’s wife in the big-screen thriller Wish Upon about a magical-yet-menacing box. Oh, and in August, Röhm wrapped her FBI agent role on Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s new Crackle’s series, The Oath in Puerto Rico.

Whew. And that’s just the summer.

Born in Germany and raised in New York City, the single mom may just be one of Hollywood’s busiest character actors on TV, film, and live streaming. But this Röhm wasn’t built in a day. Long after making her Hollywood mark as steely lesbian assistant DA Serena Southerlyn on NBC’s Law & Order, she spent a decade acting in lesser-known independent films…until director David O. Russell came calling.

Röhm played against type in Russell’s American Hustle and in Joy opposite Jennifer Lawrence, roles which gave way to her bountiful summer and allowed her to be more choosy about filming roles, literally in her backyard. “I chose Flaked specifically because I live in Venice, Calif. I love it.

We’ve lived here 10 years and I’m completely devoted to this community.”

On cool morning in June, the heart of Venice was just where we broke banana bread, at the Rose Café. Wearing her self-described beach chic style, and flanked by her trusty team—9-year-old daughter Easton (with a fresh new set of braces)—and their rescue pup Blue, Röhm fit right in.

It was a chance for her to reflect on the past year, and to catch her breath before competing with fellow TV lawyers on a nostalgic reboot of Battle of the Network Stars. “I felt like, particularly this year, I wanted to do lots of different things. I wanted to have fun and challenge myself,” says Röhm.

56 | Deluxe Version Magazine

But she’s not finished yet. Up next, this actor-with-a-cause will appear in Love is All You Need?, a movie that flips the script to show a world where heterosexuality is taboo, and Will Gardner, the story of a war veteran on a cross-country trek to find himself. She’ll wrap up a very good year by starring in The Tribes of Palos Verdes opposite Jennifer Garner.

Perhaps then Elisabeth Röhm can take a vacation.

----Deluxe Version Magazine: Are you able now to pick and choose which characters to play?

Elisabeth Röhm: Yes! It started with Joy. Joy was very much a David O. Russell invention and both characters I’ve played for him are physically very different from me, and I think that really set the tone of what was going to be a really exciting year. Then I did The Last Ship and played the villain—the chief of staff who believed in democracy as a luxury, not a reality by advocating a communist plot! Then I was off to do Hawaii 5-0 and played a crazy kind of Hannibal Lector-type therapist who choreographs murder…and then to be asked by Mark Harmon to do this character [a mounted police officer] on NCIS! DV: It definitely keeps life interesting!

RÖHM: I don’t think any of us can totally pick and choose everything. Obviously, we have to pay our bills and take care of our families and provide: Let’s not live in La La Land. But I think that it’s nice as I get older now and I’ve done this longer that I’m not typecast at all. When I left Law & Order I was very typecast: it was a really big obstacle and it was hard for me to overcome. I had to do a lot of independent films I think to change people’s opinions.

DV: Did that ultimately open more doors for you?

RÖHM: Having done so much independent film in the last 10 years led to getting to do American Hustle [in 2014]. I believe that a filmmaker could respond to me as not just a TV actor. It came from the risks of doing independent film and I’ve sort of stayed very loyal to doing [that].

DV: Do you still feel you have to audition?

RÖHM: You always have to audition; to perform. You always have to convince somebody that you’re not something that they think you are. There were some intense years while doing American Hustle and Joy and, for me, this has been a fun year. I’m going to do a cameo with John Goodman in Once Upon a Time in Venice and I did this great little love interest part in Flaked. I’m flitting around and being really creative because there were so many different characters but less long time commitments.

Elisabeth Rรถhm

Photographed By Brian To Photo

STAR PROFILE

Deluxe Version Magazine | 57

Photographed By Brian To Photo

DV: Do you miss being a TV series regular?

RÖHM: There is nothing better than building a family and having that support and sense of place. I remember when I left Law & Order I felt so displaced. Your identity is so wrapped up in it that I felt like that was the next great spiritual test: how to become re-acquainted with myself. But that kind of birthed going from one movie, taking time off, and then I became a mom. Being a mom even more so inspired me to just want to do movies for awhile.

DV: Do you still get recognized as Serena from Law & Order?

RÖHM: Oh yeah. You know what’s funny? I remember someone—who will remain nameless…a predecessor of mine on Law & Order— and their really not wanting anybody to think of them in regards to that show and really wanting to step aside and assert themselves. For me, I felt like when I got that part (it might be because I’m from New York) the show was a very big deal; it was the Mecca, and being a young actor coming out here [to LA] pursuing acting and getting to go home to NY with Law & Order…I really had gotten the best thing you could get on the planet.

I’m still very proud of it. And it might be the only thing David O. Russell has watched me in besides his films! Ha! DV: In the last couple of years, you’ve been able to work with so many different actors like Jennifer Lawrence, Ryan Phillippe, and Will Arnett. What do you think they learned from working with you?

RÖHM: Interesting! I don’t know! I just got a really nice email yesterday from an old colleague from a movie I did in 2008 and he said, “I know it sounds crazy to write you an email all these years later, but I just have to say your demeanor on set towards everyone has really stayed with me.”

It was really nice and out of the clear blue. It went on, “…just want you to know that I’m always happy for you when I see things going well.” Outside of a real looseness in the way I work, I think I’m very conscientious of the crew. I talk to everybody. I care about knowing everyone’s name. Even if I’m on set one day, I treat it like I’m going to be there for a year. I want to build relationships. I feel like half my career has been built on the grace of God and luck, and half has been built on really good relationships. People have had my back. I’ve worked with Russell and [TV producer] Dick Wolf each more than once. Many people I’ve worked with repeatedly. I think that life is all about your relationships more than anything else.

There is a great [Maya Angelou] quote: “People will forget what you said; people will forget what you did; but people will never forget how you made them feel.” You will see someone and it’s either a positive or a negative because they made you feel either insignificant or important. It’s that simple.

DV: Do you find that a lot in this business?

RÖHM: Everybody is fear-based…fearful getting close to people and then getting hurt in love and friendships. You try to protect your safe island of people, but it keeps you from connecting with other people. I’ve always felt this way: You have to be smart and cautious in life, but you always have to nurture your childlike wonder, which is a real hard balance because the wonder can always get you in trouble.

DV: Several years ago, you were a serious equestrienne but were injured while riding a horse. Do you still ride horses?

Elisabeth Röhm STAR PROFILE

RÖHM: Yes, I do but not that often. That’s why Mark Harmon reached out to me. We’ve talked about working together before but he knew I rode and they decided to do a character that was a mounted police officer. He said it would be fun “to ride with Röhm.” Ha! He can really ride like a cowboy. I’m more like posting in a ring.

DV: You’re not afraid to get back up on that horse?

RÖHM: I’ll put it this way: When I’ve fallen off a horse I’ve gotten up on another horse that day because fear can set it.

DV: You don’t have any fears do you?

RÖHM: Easton and I talk about it a lot. The art of living is how we react to stuff. You can figure out how not to be a reactive person or be dominated by your fears. We feel them every single day.

DV: Do you worry about what the future holds for your daughter?

RÖHM: Yes. We are in a difficult time, politically, but when I chose her school path, I wanted to encourage her to be multi-lingual because I felt like no matter what she did, she could be a “border crosser” if she could speak French, Spanish, Italian, and maybe Chinese.

DV: Are you a Hollywood diva or a working mom?

RÖHM: Working mom. (Easton can answer that too!) I know how to pull myself together but I’m definitely at drop-offs and pick-ups at school, and have a strong circle of friends with children who are all growing up together.

I was born in Dusseldorf, Germany. I’m not an LA girl. For me, the world is colorful and multicultural and a melting pot. I grew up exposed to so many religions and cultures. I didn’t want to raise a daughter who thought that Los Angeles was the center of the universe.

DV: Did you want to follow in your mother’s footsteps?

RÖHM: I went to Sarah Lawrence; I wanted to be a writer. It was a strong writing school. My mom [Lisa] went there, and she was a writer, and that felt like the path I was going to go on, but I started becoming friends with people in the acting world there and they seemed cooler, [and]more fun and dynamic than I was. I had a bit of a challenging childhood…acting ended up giving me such confidence. I feel like anybody who has experienced trauma or lack of self- confidence—or any kind of abuse at all—acting classes would be the most healing. It ended up sticking.

DV: You have written several books, including one about your struggles with infertility in your book Baby Steps. Would you like to write more?

RÖHM: Easton and I wrote a children’s book together, and we would like to publish it. My mom wrote the first draft, but we rewrote it and finished it. She died [of heart disease] at 60. There are some things that my mom wrote that I would have loved for her to accomplish in her life. She died so young. I would like to focus on that at some point.

DV: You have said your mom is a huge part of your advocacy work. If you had not become an actress, would you be a full-time

Deluxe Version Magazine | 61

Elisabeth Röhm STAR PROFILE

film—I feel its message is necessary… and creates awareness.

The thing that is great about Will Gardner is that 30 percent of the film’s earnings will go to veterans. Living here in Venice where the homeless issue is out of control, and where I’ve spent time with wounded warriors at Walter Reed, I just don’t feel like we have enough support for them. I’m seeing way too many people on the streets. I’m really proud of doing that film.

So a lot of people came together to support the film I think because of that issue. Similarly with ‘Love…’, really good people came together to make something artistic that we hope creates change.

DV: Is there one thing people would be surprised to know about you? I read somewhere that you and Hulk Hogan are related?

RÖHM: OMG. I don’t speak of that. It’s funny that you found that out. It is true. But no one knows it. So, basically, it’s never ever come up in an interview of any kind.

Photographed By Brian To Photo

activist?

RÖHM: I think so. Definitely. Right before [Easton] was born, I was so inundated with the Red Cross. At one point my manager was like, “Why don’t you work for them full time because you seem to care more about that?” At that moment that might have been true. But things shifted. I was in Cambodia and Vietnam doing relief work, and at that time, I was like, ‘When I’m not in the chapter of being a parent, I definitely want to be able to devote some time to relief work for some years.’ I think when you are doing things like that, you can’t help but have a really strong opinion, politically, because you just see the difference between right and wrong….I’ve never been very comfortable to speak out politically in general, but I think as you get older and get clearer on what is right and wrong, if you don’t speak out on what’s wrong and don’t advocate for what’s right, then you’re basically contributing to the problem.

DV: It is scary sometimes to express your opinion.

RÖHM: I’m very impassioned about what I see happening in the world right now because people are speaking up. And I feel that a lot of people were asleep, and sometimes when something jolts the human consciousness like what’s happening politically, people begin to wake up again. That’s a good thing.

DV: Two of your upcoming films deal with hot-button issues. Love is All You Need? tackles prejudice, bullying and human rights, while Will Gardner follows a war veteran trying to pick up the pieces of his life lost post-Iraq.

RÖHM: None of us made money, but we all did [the films] because we believed in the message. Whether it ends up playing at film festivals, or colleges, or at the U.N.—if it never is some splashy

It’s funny to me because I’ve always wondered when are people going to put that together? For me, I don’t know him; I’ve never spent a day with him. My grandmother and his father were brother and sister, so he and my mother are first cousins. It’s actually a close family relationship. But I don’t know him and I’ve never known him.

When I first started acting (and in my naïveté at 22), I wrote him a letter and asked him if he could help me get an agent and he never responded. So I’ve gone on my way and done my thing.

DV: So what is your best acting part ever?

RÖHM: I think the best role I every played and I enjoyed the most was probably Dolly Polito in American Hustle. It was a small part, but she was such a great character. She only wears prints and patterns. A classic.

DV: What do you hope people will say about your body of work?

RÖHM: I remember back when I first started acting and someone asked me, “Where do I want to be in 10 years?” I said, “working.”

And they thought what a strange thing for a 26-year-old to say.

But I knew then that I really wanted to have a long career and what I really hope is that by the end of it all, that they say, “What a career!”

DV: Do you feel you have you reached your goals?

RÖHM: I think there is always something that you are reaching for. I’m only going to be done when I get to heaven. Like that song lyric, “…keep on using me until you use me up.” I don’t mind burning the candle at both ends. The burning desire gets bigger.

Ultimately, after 10, 20 years, if you don’t love it more, then you kind of have to change your path. I feel like this is just what I do.

But I do love it. I love it more now than I did when I first started.

Photographed By Tim Hancock

Villa Penasco LUXURY RETREAT

Deluxe Version

GETAWAY

Destination Eden

A WELLNESS AFFAIR IN CABO SAN LUCAS Is it a travel show reality TV or social media experiment? If they did their jobs right it shouldn’t take more than a few episodes to see that the new series Destination Eden: Cabo San Lucas aims to explore health, love, and intention between multi-generational friends through a pop culture lens, and a backdrop you won’t want to look away from.

Eden Sassoon, daughter of hair icon Vidal Sassoon and former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member, created the trip to show fans via social media the importance of living a healthy life and creating deep, honest relationships with new and old friends. Among those friends were Chase Brody McNary and Josh Murray—two men who found fame on ABC’s hit television show, The Bachelorette. Sassoon was drawn to their journeys to find love and knew their similar desires to find someone special would create a fun, understanding friendship.

Filmed in July 2017, the group arrived at Villa Penasco, an exclusive property located in the luxurious community of Pedregal. Situated high on a cliff overlooking “Land’s End” where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean, the group started each day with meditative yoga and Pilates taught by Dani Cooney and Lexi Pacella, two instructors at Sassoon’s Los Angeles Pilates studio, Eden by Eden Sassoon Pilates.

Following their morning ritual, the group enjoyed a well-balanced meal (think amaranth oats-covered sea bass over oven-roasted sweet potato fries, topped with fresh mango pico de gallo), prepared by Chef Carmen Ugarte.

On the third day of the trip, the unit drove to Wild Canyon Adventures for zip lining. Knowing that a few of her friends were heights averse, Sassoon thought it would be the perfect way for the group to bond…and she was right, as feelings of accomplishment radiated from the van on the way back to Pedregal.

In addition to going live on Instagram and Facebook, the group videotaped many of their dinner and game night conversations to share with fans. Cards Against Humanity was a huge hit, and led to many laugh-til-you-cry moments. Footage will be made available on YouTube, and fans can expect to see real emotions and conversations about life’s greatest moments and hardest struggles.

Destination Eden is looking to travel to Anguilla in the fall for more exploration of life between this diverse group of friends. Follow the journey by visiting @DestinationEden_ Official Instagram page.

Deluxe Version Magazine | 65

DELUXE VERSION PROFILES

Josh Murray IN FULL SWING –By Hayley Clover What do you get when you put an ex-MLB player, a reality star and a female heartthrob together? Why, Josh Murray of course! Most people know know him as the winner of Andi Dorfman’s season of The Bachelorette, but there are so many more interesting things about this Atlanta, Georgia native, and Deluxe Version Magazine was thrilled to get to hear about some of them during his Destination Eden: Cabo trip.

If you follow Murray on Instagram, you’ll that every morning he reads Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling, a book of devotions for every day of the year. It’s a ritual that allows him to start his days with positivity and purpose instead of negativity from headlines in the media.

“The ups and downs of my career and relationships have put me in a place where I focus on my spiritual core to balance my emotions and any negativity and scrutiny that comes with being a public figure,” says Murray.

Villa Penasco FEATURING SCENIC VIEWS FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOP

Murray continued his morning ritual at breakfast with the Destination Eden group in Cabo, and many (including Sassoon), Amazon Prime’d the book right away!

Although the group was staying at a villa that had what Murray called “the best view in Mexico,” he loved getting out for a night on the town as well.

“What a blast hanging out and conversing with like-minded people who are so genuine,” he shared. (A little dancing— okay, a lot of dancing!—didn’t hurt either!) What did hurt, however, was the yoga Murray practiced every morning at the hotel. Like his trip-mate Chase Brody McNary, Murray couldn’t believe how tough it was, “Man, I never knew how intense yoga was,” said Murray. “Kudos to those who do it all the time.”

So what’s next up for Murray? He will be showcasing his athletic talents while competing in physical and mental challenges against other celebrities, on a new show this coming fall where he will be competing for ESP (Extra Special People), an Georgia charity close to his heart.

THE SCENE: Stoke Park’s gardens are the perfect playground for a girl and her game. Ramey’s smile and passion for her racket lend levity to the image ofsports-playing girl playing dress-up.

THE BACK(HAND) STORY: “Tennis is what brought me to London, starting this love affair. I’ve played my entire life, and tennis has also shaped my career. I wanted to incorporate that into this fashion story, and when I tried on this G. Hasanova gown, I immediately thought of Victorian lawn tennis attire.

Women in the late 19th century would actually play in floor-length dresses, and while not ideal sportswear, the silhouette was very elegant. I wanted to capture that, while nodding to Monet’s painting “Woman With A Parasol.” We swapped out the parasol for a vintage tennis racquet, while running through the gardens and this image was born.

Juxtaposition at its finest.

Photographed By Tim Hancock

Deluxe Version Magazine | 67

DELUXE VERSION PROFILES

Chase McNary ROARING TO NEW HEIGHTS –By Hayley Clover Life’s greatest adventure is finding your place in the circle of life.

Sound familiar? If you’re anything like ABC’s The Bachelorette alum Chase Brody McNary, your obsession with Disney’s The Lion King has shaped the way you live, too…but perhaps not quite to McNary’s extent.

With the constant reminder of a lion tattooed on his left side, McNary has launched a new chapter of his life as a health and wellness entrepreneur with his new fitness company, Left Side Lion Fitness. The crux of his company is a 30- day “Sweat Every Day” challenge that aims to get everyone sweating regardless of athletic ability, by using easy-to-handle body weight routines. It’s a program he believes is meant to help others.

“Finally, I have found a path and a direction I am ultimately passionate [about],” says McNary. “Showing people that they are greater than just the human that they see walking this earth.”

When his business was launching, the last thing McNary thought he had time for was a trip to Cabo. But he quickly realized that everything was happening for a reason. “I was able to open up to [people] who days before were complete strangers,” he says. “I [expressed] personal issues and talked them out with the group. It helped me realize that everyone is fighting a battle. Sometimes it may be similar to the one you are fighting, so seek advice when you don’t think you need it.”

The pre-trip stress he was feeling was quickly eased by the morning Pilates and yoga sessions. “The foundation of both of these styles is something everyone should incorporate into their daily lives,” he says. The meditation allowed him to relax and enjoy company.

And if you missed the group’s live Instagram videos, you may have missed McNary’s other daily ritual… eating giant spoonfuls of peanut butter whenever he gets the chance.

McNary and Left Side Lion Fitness continues to inspire people on their health and wellness journeys, both physically and mentally.

“Down the road I will be offering personal training, life coaching and health and wellness teaching…but for now, you can visit my site and sign up for the 30 day challenges.”

Photographed By Tim Hancock

Deluxe Version Magazine | 69

READY TO WEAR

Fall Lip Colors By YSL. Available at Saks Fifth Avenue Las Vegas

MUST HAVE! The all new GABRIELLE

by Chanel.

THE FOUNDATION Our favorite secret to flawless skin.

READY WITH KIEHL’S! A perfect skin care line up for beauty on the go!

68 | Deluxe Version Magazine

Deluxe Version

Ready To Wear Star worthy styles

Available at Saks Fifth Avenue Las Vegas

Chanel

Tweed jacket.

Tweed skirt.

Spherique minaudiĂŠre.

Deluxe Version Magazine | 69

Deluxe Version

Ready To Wear Diesel Black Gold Leather jacket. Shirt. Denim.

Available at Saks Fifth Avenue Las Vegas

70 | Deluxe Version Magazine

READY TO WEAR

A Man’s Best Step Foward!

BALLY

Velvet High Top Sneakers

Deluxe Version Magazine | 71

Comfort Is the New Black – By Ricci Lopez-Hammargren

WHETHER ABROAD OR AT HOME, MEN ARE KEEPING CHIC BY KEEPING COMFORT IN THE FOREFRONT Times have changed, and life seems to have evolved into a very rushed and fast-paced environment. Attire and fashion continue to evolve rapidly as well, causing brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Saint Laurent to revamp their vision. How? In essence, young and nouveau designers have re-branded these iconic fashion houses by jumping on the luxury streetwear trend (in addition to offering colorful, logo-driven collections). These decisions have undeniably given them new life, a new audience, and a younger client profile…making Karl Lagerfeld’s infamous quote, “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat,” no longer necessarily the case.

In addition to this luxury streetwear trend, we are seeing a shift in menswear that is leaning more toward functionality. Men want to look stylish and exude professionalism…but with ease in mind.

Luckily, there are a plethora of designers to choose from when a guy wants to look “buttoned up” but comfortable at the same time. Perhaps this conjures the question, “Why?”

narrow kinetic line. J Brand® has a luxe French terry five-pocket that has the look of solid-color twill or yarn-dyed denim. The luxurious soft hand is a cut above the rest.

The underwear: A man also should never forget about wearing the appropriate underwear. The Saxx brand has reinvented the wheel when it comes to undergarments: It has patented technology for the ultimate in fit and comfort. The ballpark pouch keeps everything in place with mesh panels that prevent skin-againstskin friction. Saxx also has flat out seams. The softer side of the seam is sewn inward for comfort.

The shoes: Throw on some trainers when traveling but put on a proper dress shoe for business.

At the end of the day, it is all about finding the right balance.

Your closet should give you options. Everyone wants to feel comfortable while looking sartorially savvy. By keeping well-fitting key pieces in your closet, this is easily achievable no matter where you’re traveling. (Your wardrobe stylist is also at your beck and call…always ready to help!)

Any fast-paced, wanderlust type of lifestyle means lots of plane rides, driving, and globetrotting. The hustle and bustle of today’s society is why men would rather be comfortable without sacrificing being presentable and appropriately dressed. Men are also really taking care of themselves in terms of health and fitness: they have become a lot like women in terms of wanting their physique to be enhanced by the clothes they are wearing. This can be accomplished with these performance and flexible textiles.

There are key pieces to a comfortably chic ensemble that every man needs to add to his wardrobe: The dress shirt: Mizzen+Main has developed a performance fabric dress shirt that is zero-percent cotton, four-way stretch, moisture wicking, machine washable, and resists wrinkles. These dress shirts still pair perfectly with a necktie and they come in an array of prints and solids.

The knit blazer: Imagine wearing a sport coat comprising a French terry cloth—very soft to the touch—that allows for 100 percent mobility and is still appropriate for business. Good Man Brand has several options that would certainly be considered staple pieces for most men.

The pants: The fit is of the utmost importance. In order for this look to pulled off in the right way, you must consider a trimmer-fitting style. This can either be a five-pocket style pant or a chino. Brands like Joe’s® Jeans and J Brand® have luxurious and comfortable fabrics that complete this smart outfit. Joe’s® have a straight and

72 | Deluxe Version Magazine

Cotton sweatshirt with panther courtesy of Gucci.com.

Ricci Lopez-Hammargren is vice president of sales and general manager of STITCHED Lifestyle at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Find the brand at stitchedlifestyle.com; follow it on Instagram and Twitter at @STITCHEDlife; and on Facebook at @STITCHEDlife.

TRAVEL+ COCKTAILS IN STYLE

Publisher’s Choice

HAVE YOUR RESORT BARTENDER GET CREATIVE WITH THESE FINE COCKTAILS

You’re about to embark on your seasonal travels in style, so why not tailor a few cocktails to your fancy. Plan the outfit, pick the bar setting, and request one of these mixes where Casamigos Tequila is available! Before you know it you’ll be snapping dapper photos for an envious social media story. You’re welcome.

PINEAPPLE SMOKE

2 oz. Casamigos Reposado Tequila 1 oz. Fresh Pineapple Juice .5 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice .5 oz. Agave Nectar 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters 1 Pinch Cinnamon Mezcal Rinse Garnish with 2 grilled pineapple cubes on skewer and cinnamon line across cocktail.

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a tin shaker. Add ice. Shake vigorously for 8-10 seconds. Fine strain cocktail into coupe glass. Garnish.

BLACKBERRY GINGER SMASH

1.5 oz. Casamigos Blanco 2 oz. Casamigos Blanco Tequila 1 oz. Fresh Lime Juice .5 oz. Sugarcane Syrup .5 oz. Elixir G Ginger Syrup 4 Blackberries Garnish with 2 blackberries and candied ginger through skewer with thyme sprig Directions: Combine all ingredients into tin shaker. Muddle blackberries. Add ice.

Shake vigorously for 8-10 seconds. Fine strain into rocks glass. Add fresh ice. Garnish.

For more incredible cocktail recipies visit www.casamigostequila.com

Deluxe Version Magazine | 73

New Homes

Championship Golf

New Sports Club

REGATTA POINTE

by CalAtlantic Homes

REGATTA HEIGHTS

by CalAtlantic Homes

THE PEAKS

by William Lyon Homes

MONTE LUCCA

by Century Communities

LAGO VISTA

CUSTOM LOTS

Award-Winning, One & Two-Story Designs Approx. 3,733-5,032 Sq. Ft. From the High $700,000s

One-acre waterfront lots within a gated enclave in NorthShore.

Double gate-guarded half-acre lots with views of the lake in SouthShore.

Coming Soon

by Pulte

Coming Soon

by Lennar

One & Two - Story Homes with Rooftop Decks in Select Plans.

Approx. 2,5153 - 2,856 Sq. Ft. From the Mid $300,000s

by William Lyon Signature Homes

Single-Story Homes with Desirable Outdoor Living Spaces.

Approx. 2,642 - 3,100 Sq. Ft. From the Mid $400,000s

by Lake Las Vegas Realty Services

Contemporary Architecture with Spectacular Views.

Approx. 2,977 - 3,399 Sq. Ft. From the High $400,000s

Single Story Homes in a Gated Community.

Sophisticated Single-Story Neighborhood of Tiered Homesites.

Approx. 2,537 - 4,187 Sq. Ft. From the High $500,000s

Single Story Homes in a Gated Community.

Visit the Lake Las Vegas Sports Club

Tours Available Everyday See Our Virtual Tour at:

www.iLoveLakeLasVegas.com

Fall Festivities, Hidden Gems

Lake Las Vegas – By Katie Rose

Summer at Lake Las Vegas was great with over 100,000 people enjoying our Lake Las Vegas watersports, summer festivals, and fireworks, but just because summer is over doesn’t mean Lake Las Vegas is done having fun. From fall festivities to new golf events to new homes, Lake Las Vegas isn’t slowing down this autumn.

Lake Las Vegas Fall Happenings

The Fall season is here, and Lake Las Vegas is celebrating.

We’ve got a pumpkin patch, hay maze, cornpile and Halloween carnival, but the spooky side of the season is only the beginning. Starting October first, expect to see family-friendly events and other seasonal fun, concerts, and cruises through November.

Lake Las Vegas Golf

Not only has the Fall Festival arrived in Lake Las Vegas, but the golfing community is back for good. We’ve got two award-winning golf courses, including Reflection Bay Golf Course, which is green, gorgeous, and hosting golf tournaments regularly. Now is your chance to see celebrities and pro-golfers play at your local neighborhood golf course.

The latest Golf tournament featured a guest appearance

by Butch Harmon and the Audi Henderson Lake Las Vegas Classic coming up is a non-profit event that will feature 1,500 of Las Vegas’ finest, 17 local chefs, 12 wineries, a silent auction, and a Grammy Award-winning artist to dance the night away.

Lake Las Vegas Homes

Why staycation at Lake Las Vegas when you can make it your home? Everyone knows about our postcard lake views and waterfront golf, but it’s our stunning new homes that get all the attention. Lake Las Vegas has six new-home communities already selling single and two-story houses across the lake. Pulte and Lennar Homes will now also be joining our 3,600-acre community. Expect to see single-story home plans pop up near Reflection Bay Golf course and the Lake Las Vegas Sports Club, giving people of all ages a chance to enjoy a luxury lifestyle in Southern Nevada.

At Lake Las Vegas, we are building homes and creating a community in this desert oasis. With high-end family homes, mansions, luxury hotels, and prestigious golfing, Lake Las Vegas is more than a lake; it’ a lifestyle. Now that you can access everything from our Sports Club to our lakeside grocery store and events, it’s time to stop visiting and start living in Lake Las Vegas. Learn more at ilovelakelasvegas.com.

Deluxe Version Magazine | 75

TAKE-OFF FOR HELIYOGA TURNING PRACTICE INTO LUXURY, ONE MAT AT A TIME

–By Stacey Gualandi

I’ve certainly had my share of unique life adventures: I bun-

gee jumped out of a hot air balloon in the Arizona desert; I piloted a small plane with only 15 minutes of instruction; I even climbed the Oakland Bridge to change light bulbs!

But my most recent excursion blows all of those out of the water.

It began on an early April morning. I joined about a dozen Las Vegans on the airport tarmac where we boarded a Maverick helicopter for a private round-trip charter flight. Within seconds, we were up-up-and-away, with the Las Vegas Strip to the west and our destination to the east…a mere 20 minutes away. We had just embarked on what is called the “world’s most exclusive yoga experience.”

The stunning views of the red rocks—one mountain range after another—were breathtaking as we flew closer to our remote landing spot. I didn’t know if my stomach butterflies were from the flight or the anticipation of practicing yoga on one of the highest peaks in the Mohave Desert.

I will never forget that 360-degree vista as we slowly lowered onto the red Aztec sandstone, located in Valley of Fire State Park and only accessible by helicopter. This would be our yoga studio for the next 75-minutes. I couldn’t wait to hit the mat.

It’s called “Heliyoga-Limitless,” an exclusive luxury tour offered by Silent Savasana—a growing yoga movement with a twist—and the award-winning charter service Maverick Helicopters. The entire experience is the brainchild of renowned yoga instructor Dray Gardner and Kyle Markman, a veteran Las Vegas event planner.

First, a little about Silent Savasana. Markman says he was looking for a fitness expert to partner with on a new concept: large-scale yoga events using headphones. When he and Gardner were introduced in 2015, they immediately hit it off. “We started two weeks later, in a park on Dray’s birthday,” says Markman. “We had about a dozen people [doing yoga]; a week later, 30; then 50. Now there are about 600 people at some events.”

What makes Silent Savasana so unique is that not only do you hear a well-produced play-list, but you also hear Gard-

76 | Deluxe Version Magazine

Photos courtesy of Stacey Guandi, Ross Kyker, Kyle Markman, & Maverick Helicopters; not in any specific order pages 76-78.

ner directing your down-dogs on LED headsets provided in the class. “I think that’s part of what has made this so successful,” says Markman. “You get the energy of hundreds of people around you and a one-on-one connective-ness with Dray.”

“Heliyoga-Limitless” evolved as a more intimate offshoot of the larger events, and fortunately for my small group, Gardner was our guide on the mountaintop. While I planked right alongside my fellow yogis, it did feel like he was speaking directly to me. The former DJ says his ultimate goal is to elevate our consciousness, and then return us to normal life “recharged, refreshed, rebooted and ready to reconnect.”

Says Gardner, “I feel really at peace when I’m teaching. I’m really trying to tap people into their own power… and do some inside work so they leave a little lighter. We all carry

Ultimate Views

Deluxe Version Magazine | 77

these pains of our past around so I hope that when they go back off the mountain, it’s almost like a rebirth.”

this guy and this movement has had on people? THAT has changed my life,” says Markman.

Yoga was also a rebirth of sorts for Gardner. In 2007, after suffering a back injury, he opted to take up yoga instead of surgery. But 2 years later, he says a seizure while driving uncovered a cyst that forced a disc to sever his spinal cord.

Doctors told him he’d never walk again. But after a spinal procedure, he picked up his mat once again.

The plan is to keep these large public events at places like the Red Rock Hotel or the Palms totally free, while luxury “experiences” like “Yoga in the Sky” on the High Roller—the world’s largest observation wheel located on the Las Vegas Strip—will have a price tag. “Heliyoga-Limitless” will set you back $3500, and more variations on the luxury experience are on the way. But Gardner says you can’t put a price on your health and happiness. “That’s the thing…we spend extravagant amounts of money on material things, but when it comes to … our well being, ‘we have no money.’ And that has to change.”

“During my darkest moments, it became quite clear that yoga was something I was supposed to do, and it’s my calling,” says Gardner. “Be receptive to whatever happens so you can have those teachable moments, to just learn something new about yourself. Every day that we’re open, we will learn.”

Heliyoga participant Ally Ojeda says that’s what happened to her in the year since she started doing these yoga events. “Before, I was very close-minded, judgmental, and I had controlling personality traits. I was struggling and [Kyle and Dray] brought that to light…I’ve been able to work through those struggles and have grown so much.”

In the 10 years he’s been producing events, Markman says he’s never heard from so many people who insist Silent Savasana has changed their lives. “Having all these people come up to us, and whether they’ve stopped drinking, or were going to kill themselves and stopped, the effect

78 | Deluxe Version Magazine

Of course, all good things must come to an end, but not without a Champagne toast, new friendships and a beautiful flyover of downtown Las Vegas and the Strip. Words really don’t do this trip to the mountaintop justice. I felt like I accomplished something so empowering: I realized I was taking the beauty of the outdoors for granted; and, I learned the importance of those moments where you just breathe. It certainly was an experience I won’t soon forget.

As for the men behind this movement, Markman says they will continue to do what they love most: spreading yoga to the masses. “If I get to say one thing, just show up. It will change your life.”

Finding Recovery

IN HEALING HANDS WHEN FACED WITH INJURY

– By Dani Reeves

Dr. Sim finds that it is extremely important for his patients to tell him every detail of the car accident. From the area of the car that was impacted to how you were seated and how you were positioned after the accident. All of this information helps him recreate the scenario and treat all the areas that may be affected.

If you find yourself being an unlucky victim of a car accident, Dr. Sim suggests taking action and seek chiropractic help immediately. Dr. Sim and his team will help put together a personalized plan to help you achieve a full and healthy recovery.

There is no doubt that the streets of our cities have become more

congested over the past few years. Unfortunately, more traffic means more car accidents. Studies show that many injuries take place in accidents under 20 miles per hour. In these cases we hope to walk away unscathed and with no worries. What the human body is feeling after an initial car accident though, is a surge of adrenaline known as fight or flight, which blocks us from feeling pain. All car accidents jolt the body in a unnatural way, somehow.

So because you are not feeling the pain initially doesn’t mean you didn’t hurt yourself. This is why it is very important to see a chiropractor to make sure your spine has not become misaligned or your body has not sustained any other injuries unknown to you.

Dr. Ted Sim is one of the leading personal injury chiropractors on the West coast. His knowledge about how the body and spine react during and after an accident makes him one of the most respected doctors amongst his peers, as well. *In the event of an emergency always call 911 first.

Watch this full interview with Dr. Ted Sim on www.luxenewslive.com

80 | Deluxe Version Magazine

PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Moving Forward

PRESENTED BY LUXE NEWS LIVE LA’S TOP NEIGBORHOODS ON PG. 71

AFTER THE FUN REALLY STOPS – By Dani Reeves Everyone knows Las Vegas has the reputation of not always being

a good influence. Between gambling and other vices that draw the world’s attention, Vegas has acquired the infamous nickname “Sin City” for a reason…which is why it may not be a surprise that our city has the highest rate of gambling addiction in the United States.

Thankfully, RISE Center for Recovery is right here in our community, helping people suffering from gambling addiction along with other addictions, as well. And not only does it provide excellent service for patients but for family members and friends who are also affected by addiction.

Since addiction is a touchy subject for most, I wanted to sit down to talk with Sydney Smith, founder of RISE, to learn more on how the organization is making impacting our city.

Smith graduated from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., and has been a highly successful therapist for over 17 years.

She is a National Board Certified Counselor, specializing in drug, alcohol, and gambling addiction. Smith’s education lead her to study all over the country and although she didn’t always want to focus on gambling addiction, her career would continue to point her in that direction. Looking back now, it only prepared her to become one of the best therapists in the state.

With a heavy heart, Smith openly spoke about how she witnessed firsthand what it was like to be affected by problem gamblers. She saw friends and family struggle with addiction and because of the controversy behind gambling addiction, they were not receiving the treatment they needed to recover. It was difficult for her to see her loved ones try to overcome such pain; however, she was able to take those experiences to help them along with so many others who battle the same fight.

Smith talks about how there is such lack of knowledge and awareness about the addiction. Ironically, she says, most people would say that because it is not something you are ingesting (like a drug), “the severity of the addiction is very underestimated.” Gambling is not only going to the casino and sitting down at tables, but it can come in many forms such as lotto tickets, sports betting and even bingo.

her staff at RISE as well, saying that they are all committed to provide compassionate services to all their patients and family members. When I asked her about their techniques to recovery I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they focus on a holistic approach such as Cognitive Behavioral, Person Centered Therapy, mindfulness, meditation and other alternative treatments.

Although successful in her field, she was very modest when I asked her about other exciting accomplishments such as a book she is currently working on and a TV career, as well. Her book is to be released this fall in hopes that it can be used as a daily tool and guide for those who can’t afford to come into the center for her services. As for her TV career, Smith has been interviewed on the exciting and popular TV show The Doctors on CBS and hopefully we will see her there more often in the future, as well.

I asked Smith if she had any advice for someone who is afraid to seek help, and naturally, they can find it at risehelp.com. The organization offers consultations for those with questions. Even just one session can be a tremendous help for someone who is suffering.

While talking with Smith, it was easy to tell she was passionate about the responsibility she feels to help people. Smith credits

Deluxe Version Magazine | 81

WANDER WHEREVER OCEAN FRONT RETREATS IN STUNNING DESTINATIONS

Written & Photographed By Tim Hancock

Alila Villas ULUWATU, BALI

A tropical must-see. We visited this other worldy resort that acts as a living sculpture for guests who stay in its heavenly rooms. Every corner is chisled perfection, or complemented by smooth water features reflecting the ocean and skies. The jewel of this resort is a nested balcony structure that hangs over the cliffs to reveal the shoreline below.

“Alila is perched on limestone cliffs 100 metres above the Indian Ocean, the view is nothing less than picture-perfect – aquamarine ocean vistas and glorious golden sunsets.”

www.alilahotels.com

WALK ON WATER (ALMOST) Not quite the casual Mexico your parents once visited, Mar Adentro is structural art that you experience from space to space across the resort perimeters. Nearly every room is designed to have a view of the ocean and the night lights as the water and buildings change colors. “A series of plain, concrete walls raised by local craftsmanship and fitted with innovative, easy-to-use designs and individually tailored details, where the horizon is the only limit to the constant, linear view; the mood may change, but never the form.�

www.maradentrocabos.com

Deluxe Version

WANDER WHEREVER

Mar Adentro LOS CABOS, MEXICO

Cu ba CALLING FEATURING JAMILLETTE GAXIOLA PHOTOGRAPHED BY SUNNY DHILLON

Deluxe Version Magazine | 89

Deluxe Version Magazine | 91

Deluxe Version Magazine | 93

Deluxe Version Magazine | 95

FINAL WORD

Smart Entrepreneurs

In The Competition of Business,

Your Best Asset Is You – By Chris Javier

Competition. It’s 2017, and in the business world and

world at large, information is being exchanged faster than any time in history.

From the vastness of the Internet to increasing social media platforms, I sometimes get bogged down by the deluge of information that is out there…and that’s to say nothing of hearing friends, family, and business colleagues struggling to find their competitive edge in the market: What can make them stand out? What can elevate their precedence in the marketplace?

Having been in business for 11 years across various industries—and having experienced many different situations, dynamics, and interactions—I‘ve learned that your most powerful and effective advantage is to not study and replicate others, but to present yourself from a place of authenticity in your own beliefs and values.

In other words, be yourself.

Your unique edge comes from you and only you, which is what makes it competitive. No one else can be you; and although they can attempt to replicate you, people automatically turn from proactive to reactive as soon as they build their persona on the back of someone else.

That said, authenticity is a two-way street: If you’re following businesses and organizations, whether through traditional

print media or social media in the digital space, are you following to inspire your creative thoughts or are you following to replicate? There’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from other businesses and people, but you shouldn’t try to adopt them on the whole as your own, because then, you’re no longer congruent with your own true values. And that will almost certainly lead to an imbalance within the work place or to an internal psychological struggle. (Besides: Who wants that? Entrepreneurship is hard enough!)

My recommendation? Follow your heart, and stay aligned with it. By doing this, you’ll not only create for yourself a competitive edge, but you will create the most difficult edge anyone else can try to replicate. We are all uniquely different, which means we all have our strengths and weaknesses; but that’s the true beauty of authenticity.

And consider this: If we all were to follow our innate, deepdown compulsions of what we wanted to pursue in business, as long as we were following it for altruistic reasons, how much better—as a whole—would the world be? How much more fulfilled would we be as individuals? How much better of a community would we all have together as business owners?

Do you want to stand out? Do you want to elevate your position in your marketplace? Choose to be yourself. It’s an authentic place to start.

Deluxe Version Magazine | 97