Nightlife impressario Brent Bolthouse has ruled the LA social landscape for the past few decades, helping to put such classic clubs as the Roxbury, the Opium Den, the Viper Room and Joseph’s on the map (the way it works is this: wherever Bolthouse backs, the coolest kids in town follow and lines out the door ensue). In 1999, he opened The Coffee House on Sunset Blvd., immediately attracting a celeb clientele (it was reportedly the first place Robert Downey, Jr. went post jail) but more importantly, creating a 24-hour-a-day gathering place for sober people when he started having open AA meetings in the back room. While The Coffee House closed in 2003, Bolthouse has gone on not only to open a slew of other successful clubs but also to play himself on The Hills, Entourage and a number of other hit shows. And he’s been clean since the age of 16, racking up an impressive 27 years of sobriety. His spirituality matters much more to him than all the celebs in his proximity (even the fact that Jay Z immortalized Bolthouse’s strict door policy in his hit song “I Just Wanna Love You,” when Bolthouse’s partner Jenifer Rosario wouldn’t let Jigga and his group past the velvet rope until he dropped some of the entourage). But this is a guy who signs his emails “Love & Light,” has “There is never a good reason not to help if you can” instead of a bio on his Twitter profile and raves about his Qi Gong master George Falcon. In this episode, he and I discuss his first jobs (gas station attendant, hairdresser), last days using (meth was his drug of choice), being an “anti-social social person” and how he maintains a spiritual connection in the hubbub of Hollywood.
Subscribe to the podcast on Itunes or listen to it on Soundcloud or Stitcher. Find Brent Bolthouse on Twitter and his own site. See a video from his Qi Gong master here and check out his latest club here.
Sponsored DISCLAIMER: This is a paid advertisement for California Behavioral Health, LLC, a CA licensed substance abuse treatment provider and not a service provided by The Fix. Calls to this number are answered by CBH, free and without obligation to the consumer. No one who answers the call receives a fee based upon the consumer’s choice to enter treatment. For additional info on other treatment providers and options visit www.samhsa.gov.
