Destin, FL January 2023

These could be your views!

Healthy New Year!

For many of us, this time of year is full of excitement. It presents us with a reset, new horizons and goals to pursue.

But for others, January can be a reminder of failed attempts from years past and the burden of expectation that this year will be different.

We approached this issue of City Lifestyle Destin from a mindset of not supplying quick fixes to check boxes in the short term but valuing what is sustainable over the long haul. We wanted to provide inspiration for making lasting, realistic, long-term improvements to your physical, emotional and mental health. When it comes to anything in life - business, finance, food, home and personal health – it’s not what you do some days that move the needle - it’s what you do MOST days. For better or worse!

For instance, taking a vacation every day would be financially and practically unfeasible, but taking a trip a few times a year is doable. Having a beautiful steak dinner with a few cocktails and creme brulee every night for dinner isn’t best for your health, but doing so once in a while might be fine!

It’s not the sometimes choices we make, it’s the most of the time choices.

So plan the vacation AND work to establish more regular rest in your work week. Join a fitness community, or a gym so you can enjoy your favorite dessert. I highly recommend the Raspberries Port Wine Gastrique by Alexander Robert Louis Naeger of The Tailored Chef in the Destin-Miramar Beach area! It’s not what you do some days - it’s what you do most days that will lead to a more peaceful, fulfilling and fabulous 2023.

Here’s to you! We’re rooting for you.

IONASCU, PUBLISHER @DESTINCITYLIFESTYLE

CARMEN

business monthly

A round-up of exciting news from local businesses.

Grand Opening AJ's Rocking L, Specialty Meats and Gourmet Market

AJ’s Rocking L, Specialty Meats and Gourmet Market celebrated it's grand opening on November 2022 with a ribbon cutting, attended by Destin Chamber Ambassadors and staff. The market features locally raised meats, deli meats and cheeses, freshly made desserts, daily lunch specials, beer, wine, vegetables and produce from Maples Market in Andalusia, AL. Visit the market in Destin’s Shoreline Village Mall at 872 U.S. Hwy. 98, Unit #19.

Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation Celebrates

10th Annual Wine Walkabout

Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation (MKAF) celebrated 10 years of good wine, good food and good community outreach with the 10th Annual Wine Walkabout at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Destin. Proceeds from Wine Walkabout benefit  ArtsReach , MKAF’s robust outreach series leverages the talents of artists, provides hands-on art, theatre and music education programs designed especially for K-12 students, children and adults with special needs, as well as veteran and active-duty military service members. MKAF.org

Business After Hours Sponsored and Hosted by Renovation Flooring

The November 16th Walton Area Chamber of Commerce business after hours event was hosted by Renovation Flooring in Miramar Beach showroom. Over fifty local business owners and representatives attended, enjoying complimentary beverages and hors d’oeuvres. Renovation Flooring’s extensive design showroom houses a variety of hardwood, marble, tile, mosaics, carpet, as well as numerous other commercial and residential options. Homeowners, contractors, interior designers, and industry professionals enjoy an unbeatable experience at any budget.

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Get in touch by heading over to our landing page to connect: CityLifestyle.com/Destin

Photography Destin City Lifestyle

Photography Zhalman Harris

Photography Kay Phelan

DINE IN WITH SUSHI HARUKO

Elite sushi chef caters delicious and healthful sushi

ARTICLE BY ALLISON TAYLOR | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT YOUNG

Locals who call Destin their home have fresh and healthy Gulf seafood yearround to enjoy. That's one of the many perks of the coastal lifestyle. On the finer side of Destin's food scene, you can find Haruko Shi, the Founder and Chef of Sushi Haruko, a catering company. Destin has been her home for the last decade. She shares her talent and sushi expertise by catering private, corporate, and special events. Every meal she prepares is an experience that's aesthetically pleasing and takes advantage of fresh, local seafood packed with flavor.

Haruko is from Shanghai, where she grew up. Her first experience with sushi was at a nightclub called Sparkle, where a Japanese sushi chef first taught her the ins and outs of culinary art. She was captivated by its presentation and its show-stopping designs. After five years of nightclub life, she needed a new challenge.

From 2002 to 2007 Haruko’s career as a sushi chef blossomed in Grand Cayman where she managed operations and profitability for sushi bars in several luxury hotels. She created exclusive sushi menus, mastering the art of sushi making.

A few years later, she moved to Sarasota, Florida where she fell in love with the beach and, within two years, decided to become an American citizen. She missed her life in the Cayman Islands and longed for the beauty of the tropics. The Emerald Coast's scenic view fits the bill and became her home a few years later. She continued to be a Sushi Chef at Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort, managed bars, made menus, and oversaw banquets. Her skills as a chef in the restaurant industry prepared her very well to set out on her own.

"People respected me and my work, and it took me many years to perfect my craft," Haruko said. "I knew I could do it better than where I was at the time, and that motivated me to start my own business."

In 2014 Sushi Haruko was established. Haruko first hosted an event with 35 people for a private party.

Today, she is an elite private sushi chef. She books parties for a miminum of 10 people and prepares a full sushi menu. She is perfect for corporate events, open houses, or a date night with your spouse. Sushi Haruko is unique because she believes in showing people exactly what they are eating and provides them with quality, hand-crafted, fresh sushi in the comfort of their own space.

Sushi is delicious, but it also has many health and wellness benefits. Most fish contain omega-3 fatty acids to help brain function, prevent chronic inflammation, and protect against heart disease. It is an excellent source of protein and minerals, and white rice provides carbs for added energy.

Chef Haruko provides the recipe for one of her highlighted specialties:

SPICY TUNA SASHIMI

• Chop 1 pound of tuna into square chunks

• Marinate with lemon and fresh limes

• Add Spicy Sauce

• Add Sesame Oil

• Add Eel Sauce

• Add Chopped Jalapeño, Red, and Yellow Peppers

• Garnish with Fresh Ginger

Visit sushiharuko.com for your next private event in Destin.

“People respected me and my work, and it took me many years to perfect my craft.”

ARTICLE BY CHERYL FORDE PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEAN MURPHY

Lessons From Lacrosse

MYLES JONES OFFERS MOTIVATION FOR THE NEW YEAR

Myles Jones is our neighbor here on the Emerald Coast, who is also a five time All Star and 2021 All Pro lacrosse player with the Premier Lacrosse League. And, he is a realtor with the Spears Group specializing in luxury real estate. He explains how lessons from lacrosse translate into how he runs his business. These lessons will help you to stay the course with your New Year’s goals, especially when progress seems slow.

Myles plays lacrosse in a different city every weekend from May to September, but he still runs four fast-growing camps for kids in Atlanta, Boston, Virginia, and Houston. Starting with about 50 kids each, camps now host nearly 200! For him, inspiring youth is a perk of the job. He loves ‘being able to talk and communicate with [kids]’. They are inspired to see him up close instead of on a TV or from the stands.

Regarding setting goals for the New Year, he cautions, ‘Goal setting is easy. It’s also easy to forget your goal.’

“I learned about motivation, hard work, determination, and daily deposits.”

“Shift your mindset to making daily deposits toward achieving that goal. Trust that your hard work will pay off!”

His first lesson counters this tendency. Write down your goal and read it before you start each task. Without this simple act, you may not remember why you’re calling extra leads, waking early, or attending training. If you read your goal before you start, you’ll be motivated to work harder.

Myles’ second lesson is to think of the tasks you do to meet your goal as making a daily deposit, just as you would into a bank account. The returns compound over time. He learned an important lesson at Duke University about this simple principle.

As a freshman player at Duke, Myles was excited to be named one of the Top 10 midfielders in the nation during a championship year. The next year, Duke won the championship again, but he wasn’t on the list! He wanted to get better.

For the entire next year, he trained five extra hours per week. To him, it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. In fact, toward the end of the season, he thought to put those hours back into his studies the next academic year. You’ll probably hit this wall too.

The turning point was a championship game against Virginia in which he played against the top midfielder in the country. Myles (and every sports commentator) expected Virginia’s midfielder to outplay him, but the extra work paid off. Myles literally had the best game of his career up to that point, earning 4 points and 2 assists.

“I learned about motivation, hard work, determination, and daily deposits.”

Although sports and luxury real estate are competitive, Myles competes with himself now. He leans into lacrosse, public appearances, youth camps, selling luxury real estate and fatherhood.

Remember these two lessons from lacrosse. First, write down your goal and read it before you take each step to succeed at that goal. And secondly, shift your mindset to making daily deposits toward achieving that goal. Trust that your hard work will pay off!

“Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”

Hormone Optimization Changes Lives

Dr. Richard Chern’s Hormone Restoration Center helps people “Look Healthy, Feel Alive”

ARTICLE BY CHERYL FORDE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT YOUNG

Before discovering a new way to look at hormone therapy, Dr. Richard Chern felt like he ‘had a rucksack on his back’, just pushing through every day. In fact, he thought ‘everyone got cranky and took naps’. He now treats people like him who want to improve energy and concentration.

Dr. Chern explains how reference levels, hormone delivery methods, and quality control lead to less than optimal management of hormone levels. Poor understanding of these factors leaves patients saddled with low energy levels, weight problems, suboptimal health trajectories, and confidence issues as they begin to see themselves as the problem.

One of Dr. Chern’s ‘a-ha’ moments came after reading about the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. After reviewing a great deal of research, a team of experts discussed the role of testosterone

in men’s health. They recommended further research on healthy levels of testosterone because higher levels were linked to lots of health benefits, chiefly reduced mortality.

Trained in and practicing traditional medicine for the military, Dr. Chern had to overcome his own idea that hormone replacement is “outside of the scope of real medicine”. However, he had many requests from patients for testosterone replacement and thought the Mayo Clinic conclusions were compelling.

He began to question reference levels from blood tests that he’d ordered many times himself. Why did patients exhibit symptoms although falling within reference levels? One thing to think about is that a reference level means within the normal range of adults of a similar profile. Normal is not the same as optimal!

He conducted additional research on testosterone levels. He settled on the company BioTE which produces bioidentical hormones and a line of supplements. He concluded that their quality level and the delivery method they used led to better results than many pharmacies.

He wondered about delivery methods. Creams, sublingual, and oral forms of estrogen have been linked to higher inflammation markers. Chronic inflammation is linked increasingly to cancer.

Just as troubling was what he learned about testosterone, especially shots that trap men into a cycle of high testosterone the day of injection that wanes over the next few days and diminishes long before the next shot is due. This also contributes to stroke, heart attack, and clots.

After attending three days of training packed with research, he decided that pellet therapy offered the most consistent delivery method and BioTE offered the best quality. As a traditional doctor he’d prescribed many creams and oral hormones. He could never truly conclude that the medicine was ineffective. It may have been a patient’s ability to use it exactly or the quality was poor and not delivering the dose he prescribed.

After trying BioTE on himself, he immediately decided to set himself on a trajectory to leave traditional medicine and to start his own clinic. He felt fantastic. With stress levels down, energy and concentration up, and libido improved, he knew he was on track. Higher testosterone levels resulted in lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol.

His success stories are many. One is a female patient who had been told year after year that her thyroid levels were normal. Normal, but not optimal! He saw her go gradually from 330 pounds to 260 pounds. Once well enough to incorporate diet and exercise, she got to what she called “Wonderland”, a place under 200 pounds!

A 78 year old male patient practices jiu jitsu and participates in Ironman challenges. Higher testosterone levels are balanced with estrogen levels to retain cardiovascular protection.

To find out how Dr. Chern can help you optimize your hormone levels, contact his office to schedule a consultation.

Website: richardchernmd.com

Phone: 850-837-1271

Location: Miramar Beach next to Sushimoto & Clinic in Chipley, FL

After trying BioTE on himself, he immediately decided to set himself on a trajectory to leave traditional medicine and to start his own clinic.

CRYO850 PERFORMANCE AND RECOVERY

ARTICLE BY CHERYL FORDE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT YOUNG

With another busy year behind us, you owe it to yourself to take a breath, a break, and reset your physical, mental and emotional being. Enjoy this relaxing and rejuvenating local experience to get you set for the year ahead.

Cryo850 is a locally-owned health spot offering unique ways to reap amazing health and beauty benefits. This includes body contouring, athletic recovery, detoxifying, and boosting overall wellness. They offer a New Client Day Pass for clients try the six services in their Wellness Circuit. Our publisher, Carmen Ionascu, tried on Cryo850 for size!

The Cryo850 staff is fully focused on a client’s experience and needs. Online self-registration through their website helps their staff match you to services that meet your specific needs. Cryo850 has something for people of all ages and health goals.

Editor: What drew you to Cryo850?

Carmen: I was drawn to Cryo850 because I lived in Japan for almost a decade. I used to visit hot springs, then go into the cold to tighten the skin. I know these things are beneficial.

Moving down here to Florida was quite challenging for me to not have access to these benefits. Discovering Cryo850 has made it less challenging. I was happy to find a place where I could be nostalgic about my time in Japan.

Editor: The services at Cryo850 are very unique - extreme cold, red light therapy, targeted freezing. Were you nervous? How did the staff help you?

Carmen: I was a little nervous. I hadn’t exposed my body to such a low temperature before. Kelly helped me to relax. I asked a lot of questions during the introductory tour.

The cryotherapy “Igloo” chamber looked like a massive freezer to me. But, when you go in, they give you a hat, boots, gloves. That makes it cute and approachable!

Editor: The benefits of cryotherapy, heat therapy, etc. are well-documented, but how did you feel after your experience there?

Carmen: This is a cool experience. I felt refreshed like a full day, working out feeling. Your muscles are still working after you go through extreme hot and cold.

CRYO850 is located in City Market Bayside, one mile east of Destin Commons at 4495 Furling Lane, Unit 10, Destin. Pre-register online at cryo850.com. Walk-ins welcome. Appointments recommended for new clients. Service options: a la carte, packages, passes (day/week/2-4 week packages) & memberships. Contact them on Facebook, Instagram, or 850.279.4145.

Editor: Do you intend to make Cryo850 a part of your regular wellness routine?

Carmen: Yes! Absolutely. I’ll recommend this to everybody. I will try the Cocoon Fitness Pod next.

Services at Cryo850

NEW! Cocoon Fitness Pod - This combines three important therapies in one device.

Red Light Therapy - Takes advantage of FDA approved photobiomodulation , the science of how certain wave lengths restore the body at a cellular level.  Red light stimulates collagen. Skin tone is visibly improved while skin problems are diminished. Near infrared lights (NIR) help to manage pain, improve auto immune disease, brain health and even testosterone for men.

Infrared Light - Far infrared light delivers a sauna experience and promotes full body detoxification.

Full Body Vibration - The cocoon finishes with a full body vibration to activate lymphatic and circulatory systems.

Cryotherapy - Up to three minutes of exposure to -140°air. Increases metabolic rate and elicits vasoconstriction. After leaving the Igloo chamber, the body responds with vasodilation and a natural rush of dopamine like a runner’s high.

The Esthetics Department can provide a WILD ICE® Collagen Enhancement Treatment and a Detox/ Fat Freezing Session .

Experience a wonderful head to toe reset, an education on drug-free technologies, and an introduction to a health-based community of lovely local people. Schedule a visit to start the new year prioritizing your health. We’ll see you there!