BEYOND THE FINAL ROSE:
Mike Johnson’s
The Gentleman’s Issue
June in Austin is when the city reminds us what living well really feels like—long mornings at Barton Springs, shaded patios, and that unmistakable creative pulse that turns good ideas into something you can step into, taste, or feel in your bones. This issue is packed with stories of people doing exactly that: taking ancient wisdom, personal pivots, and cutting-edge tools and making them distinctly, unapologetically Austin.
Corvas Brinkerhoff’s Submersive arrives this summer at 901 Barton Springs Road, transforming the oldest wellness ritual—hot, cold, rest—into an immersive art experience designed to create genuine, measurable state change. A few blocks away in Holly, Brendan Yancy and Chef Clark Costello have opened Austin Oyster Co., a love letter to East Coast oyster bars where every plate honors the farmers and fishermen behind it. Rotating selections, thoughtful twists like tom kha clams, and a genuine sense of community make it the kind of place that feels like home the first time you walk in.
On the health front, we’re shining a light on two leaders who refuse to wait for problems to show up. Dr. Clay Johnston, former dean of Dell Medical School and co-founder of Harbor Health, is redesigning how care and coverage work together so that better outcomes and lower costs finally align. And David Avery at Longhorn Imaging is giving Austin men a powerful new way to stay ahead of the curve. Through full-body MRIs, targeted prostate scans, AI-assisted detection, and genetic testing panels, Longhorn is turning reactive healthcare into proactive control—because catching something early isn’t just smart; it can be lifesaving.
Next, we’re proud to feature Mike Johnson—Bachelorette fan favorite turned founder— building Oshun on his own terms with transparency, faith, and quiet determination.
These stories share a common thread: the decision to stop accepting “good enough” and start building something better—whether it’s a bathhouse that shifts your nervous system, an oyster bar that honors its sources, a healthcare model that actually works, or the simple choice to get scanned before you need to.
We hope this issue inspires you to do the same. The water is coming. The oysters are fresh. Your health is worth getting ahead of. Dive in.
With gratitude,
JOE KERBY, PUBLISHER
June 2026
PUBLISHER
Joe Kerby | joe.kerby@citylifestyle.com
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR
Montannah Kerby | montannah.kerby@citylifestyle.com
Corporate Team
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Scan Early, Live Longer
Longhorn Imaging is helping Austin men take control of their health through full-body MRIs and cutting-edge genetic testing
Many men don’t think about their health until something goes wrong. By then, the window for effective treatment may have already closed. That’s the message David Avery, founder and CEO of Longhorn Imaging, has been delivering to Austin men since 2014 — and a growing number are finally listening.
The stakes are real. According to the American Cancer Society’s Prostate Cancer Statistics, 2025 report, prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis among men in the United States, accounting for 30% of all male cancers. This year, an estimated 313,780 new cases are projected, and late-stage diagnoses are rising as much as 4.8% annually. Yet the National Cancer Institute reports a 5-year survival rate of 100% for localized prostate cancer compared to just 38% once it has spread. Early detection isn’t just beneficial. It’s often the difference between life and death.
“It’s far easier to recover when something is caught in its earliest stage,” said Avery, who brings 25 years of imaging experience to Longhorn’s 14 Central Texas locations. “Most people don’t realize anything is wrong until they begin to feel
unwell — by then, they’re in a reactive state rather than a proactive one.”
Longhorn offers full-body MRI scans, covering head to knee and screening for pre-cancerous conditions, alongside targeted prostate MRIs that take roughly 30 minutes. Both are backed by AI-assisted detection software that flags concerns beyond what the radiologist’s eye alone might catch. Results are returned within 24 to 48 hours in plain-language reports, and full-body scans are followed up by a provider walkthrough.
Avery has experienced the value firsthand. His own scan flagged elevated markers on his prostate and liver. Nothing that was alarming, but enough to drive real lifestyle changes.
“It raises awareness,” he said. “It tells you something needs attention, and gives you the opportunity to reset.”
For men who want a fuller picture, Longhorn also offers genetic testing panels that map a patient’s complete profile, identifying deficiencies, inflammatory markers, and predispositions. Optional add-ons address Alzheimer’s and dementia risk, sleep optimization, and dietary compatibility.
“Health shouldn’t dictate your life after the fact. You should be able to stay ahead of it.”
Longhorn Imaging's recently opened Leander location with state of the art equipment.
“Before all of this, you were just stuck in a bucket,” Avery said. “Now AI can cross-reference all of that data and give you a real, personalized picture of your health.”
Longhorn keeps access practical with online scheduling, competitive self-pay pricing, payment plans, and complimentary transportation through Uber Health and Lyft for those who need it. The American Cancer Society recommends men at average risk
discuss prostate screening with their doctor at age 50 for those with a family history. Preventative imaging and genetic testing can begin even earlier.
“People are becoming more mindful,” Avery added. “They’re realizing they can take control of their own health rather than waiting for their health to dictate terms to them.”
To schedule your preventative screening, visit longhornimaging.com.
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AN EXCERPT FROM EPISODE 6 OF SHARE THE LIFESTYLE, A CITY LIFESTYLE PODCAST
Photographer: Brittany Dawn Short
Creative Director: Jen Birn
Stylist: Stephanie Coultress O’Neill
Location: Hotel Saint Cecilia, Austin, TX
MIKE JOHNSON HAS BUILT HIS LIFE AROUND ONE QUIETLY RADICAL IDEA: THE STANDARD YOU SET PRIVATELY IS THE ONLY ONE THAT MATTERS.
After eight years in the Air Force, a celebrated run on national television, and a health crisis abroad that sent him deep into supply chains and ingredient certifications most founders never touch, the result is Oshun — a luxury ritual brand built on provenance you can trace and integrity you can verify. In an exclusive conversation for the Share the Lifestyle podcast, Mike shares what it actually takes to build something worth putting your name on. Read the highlights below, then scan the QR code for the full episode.
Q: YOU BECAME A FAN FAVORITE ON THE BACHELORETTE AND THEN LEFT THE SPOTLIGHT. YOU MOVED TO MEXICO, LEARNED SPANISH, THEN COSTA RICA, AND BUILT A COMPANY. WHAT DID THAT EXPERIENCE TEACH YOU ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR?
A: “If you’re a good person going in, that shows. If you’re not, that shows too. I also learned that people form this parasocial relationship with you — they assume things about you. When all actuality, different circumstances bring out different parts of who you are. I was on TV trying to find love. The kindness people were showing after felt a bit fake, because they wanted to be a part of something that isn’t who I am individually, but a part of what they saw on TV. And so I had to get away from everybody and everything and the noise.”
THE QUIET STANDARD:
MIKE JOHNSON
“Too many people have prayed for me. So I’ve got to get up and do the walking.”
— Mike Johnson
Q: YOU JOINED THE AIR FORCE RIGHT OUT OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE. WHAT WERE YOU ACTUALLY RUNNING TOWARD?
A: “There was something in me that was saying: I’m not living up to my full potential. I was being a follower. My uncle said, ‘What’s going to make you become an adult the fastest?’ I said, obviously, the military. The Air Force broadened my thought process more than anything. We’re so caught up in our own perception — when you learn to understand different people’s perspectives, it adds to you in so many ways.”
Q: WITH OSHUN, YOU OWN YOUR MANUFACTURING, YOU EMPLOY A CHEMIST, EVERY PRODUCT HAS A BATCH NUMBER TRACEABLE TO ITS ORIGIN DATE. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GO THAT DEEP WITH THE BRAND?
A: “The EU bans 1,100 ingredients in personal care products. The U.S. bans nine. That’s my starting point. Oftentimes, it might be the same ingredient, but it comes from a place where it doesn’t have the highest purity. And 60% of what we put on our skin is absorbed. Every product Oshun makes carries a batch number that goes back to the exact day it was created — I can show you every single supplier, the date, the origin. I own more than one part of the supply chain because that’s the only way I can stand behind what’s in the bottle.”
This conversation is just the beginning. Mike goes deeper into why he’s buying land up north, the family in the Philippines who prayed over his factory floor, and what he’d tell every person ready to stop performing and start building. Scan the QR code for the full, exclusive City Lifestyle interview on the Share the Lifestyle podcast.
MIKE JOHNSON
BRINGING the East COAST TO EAST Austin
Austin Oyster Co. sets down roots, the former raw bar pop-up finds home in Holly
ARTICLE BY KERRY BRUNELLE
BRINGING THE EAST COAST TO EAST AUSTIN
Austin Oyster Co. sets down roots, the former raw bar pop-up finds home in Holly
Many restaurants serve oysters. Austin Oyster Co. gets their hands dirty with the people who pull them from the water.
Inspired by visits to Maine with his wife, who grew up in that corner of the country, Brendan Yancy started a mobile raw bar business in 2020, with the intention of making oysters from New England more accessible in Austin. Since then, the Austin Oyster Co. founder has spent years building relationships with oyster farmers and distributors across New England and Texas — visiting farms, getting out on the water, and establishing connections to bring more east coast oysters to our land-locked city.
Those relationships are the inspiration behind Austin Oyster Co.’s new oyster bar in East Austin.
“We’re inspired by our favorite east coast oyster bars, as well as by the oyster farmers and fishermen we’ve met as we’ve grown our business,” says Brendan. “There is an unseen amount of hard work that goes into bringing great seafood to the plate, and we want to celebrate that tradition and the people behind it.”
The opening of the restaurant is a full circle moment for Brendan: the oyster farms he first visited years ago now supply oysters for their raw bar. The selection of oysters will rotate weekly, and guests can rest assured that they are pulled from the water days before they reach your plate. In certain cases, diners will be able to try oysters at the restaurant that you can’t get anywhere else in Texas, including, when available, Lone Pine Pearls from Austin Oyster Co.’s own oyster farm in Brunswick, Maine.
PUTTING
A TWIST ON
THE CLASSICS
But great oysters are just the beginning. Brendan brought on Chef de Cuisine Clark Costello, formerly of Austin favorites Este and Suerte, to build a menu that gives the same care and intention to everything else on the plate. The result feels like a love letter to the oyster bars that inspired the whole venture. You’ll find classics done well like lobster rolls, smoked fish dip, and swordfish steak frites, alongside a raw bar stocked with dressed clams, fish tartare, and caviar. Chef Costello’s influence also comes through in unexpected touches: tom kha clams come in
a coconut-galangal broth, shrimp cocktail is served with guajillo chile cocktail sauce, and a banana banoffee pudding dessert is doused in white shoyu caramel.
“I like to borrow from different traditions to bring out the best in ingredients. The hope is that our menu feels familiar, while also piqueing your curiosity about a new flavor or ingredient,” says Clark.
The beverage program is designed to complement these flavors, without overshadowing them. Think thoughtful cocktails and house martinis, which are served with a sidecar, ensuring your last sip is always ice cold. Wine, beer, and non-alcoholic options are also available.
Diners can expect the menu to shift based on seasonality and ingredient availability.
FROM BACKYARD TO OYSTER BAR
Six years ago, Brendan was shucking oysters in backyards around Austin, one private appointment at a time. Now, he’s overseeing an oyster farm in Maine, a new restaurant in Austin, and a team that shares his conviction that great food starts long before it reaches the plate.
“The community has always been at the heart of what we do — from the farms in Maine to the guests in Austin. Now, we’re excited to be able to bring all of that together under one roof,” says Brendan.
If the last six years are any indication, Austin Oyster Co. is just getting started.
Austin Oyster Co. is located at the corner of East Cesar Chavez and Pedernales Streets in East Austin and is open Tuesday through Sunday.
Favorite dish on your menu:
Brendan: The johnnycake, inspired by a great meal we had in Boston.
Clark: The tom kha clams, some of my favorite flavors, built on beautiful chocolate clams from the Sinaloa coast.
Where you go to dinner in town:
Brendan: Este and Pecan Square Cafe
Clark: Canje, Bufalina, and Justine’s
Something that inspired you recently:
Brendan: Eating and drinking all over New York City last fall
Clark: Eating our way through Mexico City’s seafood restaurants last October: Contramar, Mi Compa Chava, La Docena, Ultramarinos, each unique in their take on seafood.
Favorite drink on a hot Austin day:
Brendan: Mezcal margarita with Tajin
Clark: Michelada with Modelo Negra from Este
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ANCIENT BATHING, Reinvented for Wonder
INSIDE SUBMERSIVE, THE IMMERSIVE ART BATHHOUSE REDEFINING WELLNESS IN AUSTIN.
ARTICLE BY CARA CAULKINS
The first thing Corvas Brinkerhoff remembers about the Japanese-style bathhouse he visited in Santa Fe is the silence after the cold plunge. Not the absence of sound, but a specific quality of stillness that arrived in the body before it registered in the mind. He was in his twenties. He didn’t have a name for what had happened to him, but he knew it was something he wanted to chase.
“Ritual bathing is one of the oldest technologies humans have ever had for shifting state,” Brinkerhoff says, sitting in his Austin warehouse studio, surrounded by inspiration art pieces and the particular organized chaos of someone building something large. “I kept asking myself: what happens when you surround that ancient rhythm with genuine awe?”
The answer — his answer — is Submersive. This spring, after years of quietly assembling artists, neuroscientists, and collaborators in a nondescript Austin warehouse, Brinkerhoff is ready to tell Austin where it’s going to live.
The flagship will open at 901 Barton Springs Road — steps from Zilker Park, steps from Barton Springs Pool, in a corridor the city has already consecrated as a place of restoration. Doors are expected to open Summer 2027. A Founding Membership waitlist is live now at submersive.com.
The announcement is the first public confirmation of both the address and the timeline.
For a project that has moved with the deliberate pace of someone who knows exactly what they’re building — and refuses to rush it — it marks a distinct turning point.
Corvas Brinkerhoff, Founder & CEO, Submersive
Brinkerhoff is not easy to categorize, which is perhaps why everything he touches tends to resist categorization too. He is a co-founder of Meow Wolf, the Santa Fe-born art collective that turned the immersive experience industry inside out and proved that the most transformative ideas often live at the edge of what seems commercially viable. He is also a painter, a musician, an investor — someone who moves between disciplines the way a good sentence moves between clauses.
Submersive, he is quick to clarify, is not Meow Wolf with water. It is something genuinely different: a convergence of hydrotherapy, neuroaesthetics, and largescale immersive art designed to produce what he calls measurable state change. Each environment inside the bathhouse will be fully realized — its own composition of temperature, light, sound, and water — layered over the ancient structural rhythm of hot, cold, and rest.
Working alongside world-class artists and engineers in their Austin prototyping space, the team is building functional environments. Not renderings, not mood boards, but rooms you move through, places that do something to you. The result, Brinkerhoff believes, is a first-of-its-kind experience that is ready to be delivered rather than a first-draft version of one.
“I kept asking myself: what happens when you surround that ancient rhythm with genuine awe?”
Our goal is to develop the world’s deepest understanding of how immersive environments impact us in measurable, repeatable ways.” We’re curious about what actually produces awe in the nervous system, not just what looks impressive, but what shifts something. That’s a very different question.”
The two years since Submersive’s initial announcement have been spent answering it.
What guests will encounter is a sequence designed to unfold rather than impress. A visit moves through curated environments of different temperatures, lighting and sound each tuned to elicit a specific physiological response. Lighting shifts with breath. Sound gathers in the chest. Water temperature is calibrated not only for comfort but for its measurable effect on the body. The team has been working alongside artists and researchers to study which combinations consistently produce awe, calm, or clarity, and the flagships environments are the first public expression of that work.
For Austinites reading this now, the most immediate action is simple: get on the waitlist. Founding Members, limited by design, will receive priority reservations, charter pricing, and an early stake in shaping what the flagship becomes before it opens its doors. The water is coming. It just wants to be extraordinary first.
submersive.com
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Running Towards a Healthier Future
Dr. Clay Johnston builds a system where care and coverage align in the health journey.
Most mornings, as the sun rises, Dr. Clay Johnston is already miles into a long run. It is a daily habit of physical discipline and a mental clearinghouse, but the ritual offers time to focus on a rebuilding project far more complex than any marathon.
As the inaugural dean of the University of Texas Dell Medical School, Johnston became known in Austin for building a world-class institution from the ground up. Today, he has swapped the classrooms for the front lines of care, serving as the Co-Founder of Harbor Health. He is on a mission to redesign the entire healthcare system to actually keep people healthy while saving everyone money.
A DESIGN JOURNEY TO BETTER HEALTH
Johnston’s path to medicine was not a straight line. Despite coming from a long lineage of physicians, he initially rebelled against the family career to study architecture. Though he eventually followed his love for science to Harvard Medical School and a neurology residency at the University of California, San Francisco, that “design” talent never left him.
He brought that talent to Austin in 2014 as the architect of Dell Medical School. He pushed back against old models of care and prioritized positive patient outcomes over the sheer volume of doctor visits and services.
“The U.S. spends nearly $15,000 per person each year on healthcare,” said Johnston. “That’s significantly more than any other high-income nation, yet no one is concentrating on improving health outcomes. We need a system that removes wasteful spending and focuses on true wellness.”
His team at Dell Med successfully improved patient outcomes by rethinking care delivery. However, they hit a wall when they could not get insurance companies to pay for the new, more efficient models. So Johnston left academia and transitioned from building a medical institution to building a clinical model that would eventually integrate health insurance plans.
REBUILDING THE HEALTH SYSTEM WILL REQUIRE ENDURANCE
To fix the system, he had to fix the way we pay for it. Alongside insurance entrepreneur Tony Miller, Johnston co-founded Harbor
ARTICLE BY LESLIE RHODE PHOTOGRAPHY BY HOLLY DAWSON PORTRAITS
Health in the fall of 2022 as a primary and specialty clinic group in Austin. The company quickly expanded into Dallas, San Antonio, and El Paso and started offering doctor-designed health insurance plans to employers and individuals. Having more control over the payment side along with care delivery is vital in Johnston’s vision of healthcare transformation.
“By offering care and coverage together, our model allows clinicians to take better care of people through every step of their journey,” explained Johnston. “We integrate AI technology we developed that helps us align insurance benefits with what people truly need, not just what generates a bill.”
Johnston is quick to dismiss accolades about his most recent “design” work at Harbor, crediting the clinicians,
staff, and investors who share his vision. From the moment he decided to follow in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps in medicine, he knew there were challenges to overcome in the system. He also knew it would take continuous innovation and endurance to get the system better aligned with what people truly need. Better health. He remains committed to this journey for the long run.
“I don’t want it to be about me,” said Johnston. “But leaders will need to keep stepping up, taking risks, and being accountable for their actions. Rebuilding the system will take time and perseverance, but the health of all people depends on it.”
harborhealth.com
Where Beauty Meets Precision
BODYBAR Pilates
Dr Sahar Talebloo DDS
ARTICLE BY PAULI REEP
PICKLE-BRINED CHICKEN WINGS SOAR TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH ALABAMA WHITE SAUCE.
Pickle In A
I’ve spent years searching for the perfect wing flavor, never quite satisfied, until I heard a podcast suggestion: brining chicken wings in pickle juice. It sounded strange at first, but it yields incredibly tender and flavorful wings! Since then, I save pickle juice from every jar I buy just to recreate these beloved wings. If I run out of pickle juice, olive juice works too. I air fry mine, but if you don’t have an air fryer, cook them as you normally would. Don’t forget to toss them in a buttery dill sauce and try the Alabama white BBQ sauce for an extra layer of goodness!
Pickle Juice Brined Wings
INGREDIENTS
• 2 pounds chicken wings (flats and drummettes)
• Pickle juice - enough to cover wings
• 1 – 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 6 tablespoons butter
• A few dashes of hot sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place chicken wings in a non-reactive container and pour pickle juice over chicken wings until completely covered.
2. Place it in the fridge and let it marinate, covered, for at least 8 hours.
3. Drain wings, discard pickle juice, and completely pat wings dry.
4. Put dried wings in a bowl and sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Mix well.
5. Place wings in an air fryer basket, being careful not to crowd. Cook at 400 degrees for 28 minutes, turning every 8 minutes until crispy. If you don’t have an air fryer, bake them in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes at 400 degrees, flipping halfway through.
6. Melt the butter and add a few splashes of hot sauce of your choice and mix in a bowl. Add wings and completely cover with butter mixture. Sprinkle with fresh dill and toss a few times, and serve with my white barbeque sauce.
Alabama White BBQ Sauce
INGREDIENTS
• 1 ½ cups mayonnaise (I prefer Duke’s)
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon pepper, coarsely ground
• 1 tablespoon Creole mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
INSTRUCTIONS
Whisk all ingredients together until blended. Dip your pickle juice-brined wings in this sauce and taste the joy! Store in the refrigerator for 1 - 2 weeks.
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