My Latest Obsessions: Voodoo Floss, Pu-Erh Tea, Electronic Gypsy Music, and More

One video letter from my quarterly mailings.

Every three months, I ship out a box of wonderful physical products, along with a video “letter” explaining how I found them and how I use them.

One such video letter is above.

The theme of these quarterly mailings is obsession–the ideas and objects I can’t get out of my head.

Obsessions enter my life from odd places. Currently, my gadgets and gear recommendations are coming from Cirque du Soleil performers, chess prodigies, Fortune 500 CEOs, and military snipers. It’s the randomness that makes it fun.

More than 1,500 people subscribe to these boxes through Quarterly.co. They are making 130 more slots available for my next shipment, which is going to be killer. You can subscribe here. If you miss TIM05, you’ll be first in line for TIM06.

Below, I describe the goodies from the last two boxes, so you can explore them a la carte.

Enjoy!

[Note for those asking about the TFX TV show -- 13 episodes are coming soon, plus extras for iTunes season pass holders!]

Box TIM04

Scroll to below the photos for descriptions and links.

1. Vagabonding book — one of my all-time favorites — signed by author Rolf Potts - This is one of two books I took around the world with me for approximately 18 months. I love it so much that I bought the rights to the audiobook, worked with Rolf to add new case studies, and had him narrate an updated version. Listen to a free sample here.

2. Soma Water Filter - The water filter I use and show off to friends. More details in the video at the top of this post.

3. STX Lacrosse Ball - My all-around fix for muscular issues including foot ache (e.g. plantar fasciitis), tight chest (which can cause back pain), and more.

4. Rogue Fitness VooDoo Floss Band - This contraption is half torture and half miracle. Created by Kelly Starrett of SF CrossFit, it has helped me turn around nasty injuries in 24-48 hours.

5. Blue Bottle Coffee, 17ft. Ceiling - One of my favorite coffee beans from one of my favorite roasters on the planet. I like to hand grind and then brew using an AeroPress.

6. Red Blossom Pu-erh Tea - This is the tea I currently drink every morning, especially when experimenting with Intermittent Fasting (IF).

Box TIM03

This box was an experiment that included both physical and digital items, including one-of-a-kind remixes and welcome videos from band members and movie directors.

Even excluding the value of the 15 extra and remixed songs from Beats Antique, the People in Motion extras, and the Kumare extras, the box has a retail value of $209.25.

1. Clean Bottle, The Square, $45.00 — My favorite water bottle, bar none. Click the link to see how easy it is to clean. Genius.

2. The Five Minute Journal , $22.95. This is how I’ve been practicing gratitude and focus for months now. 2.5 minutes in the morning, another 2.5 minutes at night. Simple and effective.

3. Steve’s Grass-Fed Paleostix, $5.50. Need a slow-carb or Paleo snack? This one will do the trick.

4. CLEAR card, 4 months free trial, $60 value. This is how I skip airport security lines, saving my sanity and hundreds of hours a year.

5. Kumare, $21.73, including two albums of unreleased music, as well as behind-the-scenes photos. This is one of my favorite documentaries of the last 5 years. It blends reality and illusion into an amazing fabric. Check it out.

6. Beats Antique custom drive containing 7 (!) of their albums, as well as a special group of remixes and extras. I fell in love with Beats Antique at one of their live performances in SF. Their “electronic gypsy” music (as they’d describe it), combined with sensual dance, was mesmerizing.

To understand exactly what I mean, skip to 7:15 in the below video for one of my favorite songs (“Beauty Beats“). For the full sexy, play all 25+ minutes in the background while you work: