🫠 Psychonaut POV

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As a fashion model, Mia Cosco never dreamed she’d be consulting psychedelics companies on their creative vision. Yet here we are, and she’s killing it.

We asked Mia about her decidedly non-linear professional journey, and she shared takeaways on how psychedelics influence creative output, balancing hustle and rest, and words of wisdom for aspiring entrepreneurs in the psychedelic space.

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Tell us about your psychedelic awakening. How did you go from fashion model to creative director and branding consultant for psychedelic entrepreneurs?

I've always been curious about the human experience. Way before I was a model, I wanted to understand people and what makes them do what they do. My goal from an early age was to become a psychologist, which is kind of a weird goal when your peers want to be princesses or astronauts.

Once I discovered psychedelics at university, I approached the whole experience like a scientist, like a researcher, like a psychologist. I even started the UBC Psychedelic Society. After graduation, I wanted to see how to fund psychedelic research and therapeutics, so I worked in venture capital for three years, which led to a lot of burnout.

I realized then that I was good at combining psychology and business, which made marketing a natural fit. I was still not fully on the psychedelic path yet, but when COVID hit, I decided to shift my focus to work with psychedelic brands. I launched Psychedelic Salons as a way to create safe spaces for people to explore these transformative experiences and as a platform to help promote the growth of this emerging industry.

Do your personal experiences with psychedelics inform your creative process or output?

100%. My experiences with psychedelic medicine have definitely informed my creative processes. Without them, I would probably be on a very basic, linear path and may not have been able to unlock my creativity in a healthy and integrated way.

But it’s a bigger question than creativity, really. Psychedelics have helped me develop my morals, virtues, and ethics. The spiritual and mystical experiences I’ve had through psychedelics have shaped me as a person. These deeper values do tend to come through in our creative expressions, so it’s definitely fair to say they’ve had a fundamental effect on my work.

You mentioned your time in venture capital. What were some of the lessons you took away from VC that have been helpful for you and your clients?

Working in venture capital taught me a lot about hustling and getting things done. However, I also learned the importance of rest and reflection. I had a tendency to keep running on the hamster wheel without knowing when to take a break. Something I discovered about myself during that period was that I didn’t know how to rest. Through my experience, I learned to advise clients to take a step back and understand that there's no need to rush everything.

That hustle culture also forced me to manage and execute projects effectively. I was trained to break down any project into manageable steps, no matter how big or ambitious the goal was. By the time I left venture capital, I was confident in my ability to figure out how to achieve any goal of any magnitude set by a leader.

What are the most common mistakes you see health and wellness brands make when it comes to marketing?

One common mistake I see is simply trying to copy what successful companies are doing. This 'just model it' culture is not only inauthentic; it also ignores the fact that every company has its own unique audience, leadership, and way of doing things.

Instead, it's important to do the deep digging on yourself and your brand to figure out your own authentic voice and unique offering. If you know that what you’re doing is actually benefiting people, then that should give you the confidence to stay true to your vision.

On that note, if your product or service isn't selling, it's not necessarily a reflection of the value you're providing. It's not that you shouldn't be putting that product or service out there. You might just need to focus more on communicating better to your target customer. At the end of the day, it's important to equip yourself with hardcore business school knowledge and real-world business experience, along with the faith, spirituality, and manifestation principles that are often regurgitated in the industry.

Any words of advice to someone considering taking the leap of faith to work in the emerging psychedelic industry?

I recently had a call with a gentleman who had his first psychedelic experience just six months ago and was gung ho about working in the industry. While I encouraged him, I also cautioned that he may face setbacks in onboarding people to his cause because he hasn't been in this industry long enough.

For better or worse, there’s an unspoken rule in the psychedelics community that people who have been advocating for five to ten years or more deserve the respect and attention. It's not my rule; it’s something older and wiser people told me. Many people are attracted to the psychedelic industry as a lucrative opportunity, even though the reality is that these medicines are not expensive and are meant to help people heal. That’s why it takes time for people in this space to trust, and respect shouldn't be demanded.

For example, plenty of industry vets were upset about Michael Pollan getting so much publicity. He wasn't in the trenches advocating for psychedelics when it was severely uncool and got you ostracized by your family and workplace. He jumped onto the bandwagon when psychedelics became socially accepted.

So to answer your question, if you want to work in the psychedelic industry, make sure you’re willing to play the long game and that your heart is in the right place. Be patient and work to gain credibility by advocating for the medicine, even when it's unpopular.

Want more from Mia? Follow Psychedelic Salons to get invited to upcoming events, or apply to work with her branding agency, Regen Media.

That’s all for today. Before you head off, don’t forget to share, rate, and review Tricycle Day below. Catch ya next time, Cyclists! ✌️

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DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. The use, possession, and distribution of psychedelic drugs are illegal in most countries and may result in criminal prosecution.