Meet Bass Bridgforth | Conscious Creator of COLO Inc

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bass Bridgforth and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bass, do you have a budget?
My answer begins with abundance, but before we get there. I’ll tell what I’ve learned from homelessness and how it shaped my relationship to money. I have never been richer than I was at 19. At 19 I had multiple businesses. Businesses not registered with the Secretary of State. One of which was brokering fake IDs to Hogh School and College kids. While I was in high school and college. In those times I spent lavishly- becoming a connoisseur of kicks and cannabis, a collector of rare whiskeys, and an afficionado on all live sports and concerts. I spent as fast as it came until one day it didn’t come so fast. That’s a story for another time… Fast forward to me 7 weeks out of rehab and back home in colorado. Coming back with on a scooter with a Grade 3 ankle sprain (looking like I had a softball for an ankle bone), coming back to face possession charges in court, and freshly having broken it off with my 8 year college girlfriend (a true sweetheart). I ended up sleeping in my car and camping in the summer of 2018 as I struggled to keep gas in my car and food in my belly. In that situation I knew I needed this. The air of desperation to fuel my fire and give me the hunger to make the neces changes. It was in a moment, at a gas station when I was contemplating stealing a protein bar to go with my gas I had to buy. My last 37 bucks. And a guy came in attempting to.buy his gas with quarters and not having nearly enough to.even get a tank. As he went out to pump I walked up to the counter and told the cashier to put 20 on his and 17 on mine. As I walked out he looked past me to the cashier from the pump with surprise. And I just said looks like you got lucky. Based on the car this stranger was driving it didn’t appear that he was hard pressed for money but I left feeling light and liberated. I came back to my campsite at the Reservoir to find my tent stolen. I slept in my car brimming with gratitude and awoke renewed. For I saw now that money is everywhere it is in all but the air we breath and the light of the sun. But it’s in the electricity that powers the device your reading this on, the A/C or heat in your room, the clothes on your back. Money is everywhere and it’s all important. My Rules for Saving: Do I need or Do I want this? Will I still want/need this tomorrow? Built a cart or wish list and wait a week. Always have something you’re saving for. Ideally it’s in an account with compounded interest. But most of all #1 Rule invest in yourself. You are your greatest return and when it comes down to it. The experiences you have the memories you hold, the legacy you leave behind that is of the greatest value. “The greatest currency is the effect you have on other people” Jim Carrey

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Build yourself then build your business. In August 2018, I finished my 30 day Yoga Teacher Training and in that time, I committed to a sponsor that would see me successfully through the 12 steps. I got into sober living from sleeping in my car. As well as saw my day in court and made peace with my past errors. The sobriety I began on my mat in this training holds true to the man I am today. I found the backbone to my recovery. My mission since has been through the lens of addiction. How I can learn from it, grow through it, and lend a hand to others in the struggle. All of this through the yoga daily. I was unstable. Yoga connected me – to myself and to community. I see recovery as a means of changing what you consume. Mentally, physically, and spiritually. And the changed behavior from there is a direct output of that input. We at COLO recognize what a yoga, meditation, and mindfulness journey can do for someone in recovery. Recovery: a return to normal state of health, mind, finances or strength. Based on that definition we all are in recovery.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d pick them up at Union Station. We’re we’d have tapas at Ultreia. They serve immaculate Spanish food. We’d then grab some cards at the gift shop and either play a bit by the fireplace or roll.over to Central Market for some exquisite rare chocolate. Only to find ourselves at Confluence Park because it’s right next to REI and you just have to live that gearhead life like a true Coloradoan. And why not mosey on over to Tattered Cover or the Sie Film Center cinema across the alley. We’d have to hit Turtle Boat And that night if they ate meat. I’d show them right across the street to Posts Chicken for the best Gluten Free fried chicken in the land. Normally I’d take them to Rhythm Sanctuary for an Ecstatic Dance gathering on Thursday night at Sons of Italy (a dance hall). Which we’d recover from on Friday with a Boulder Creek float and some Pearl Street shopping. Saturday we’d go to Red Rocks for a show.i don’t care who’s playing after a 14ner hike. The mountain… Depends on their fitness level and hope that they’ve acclimated. If we had the time and the season was right we’d go cliff diving at Guthies also known as Paradise Cove. Perhaps on our way to Crested Butte. Sprinkle a yoga class in there at the River and everybody is happy.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family. Through thick and thin they always wanted to see me win. My father. For in his death he gave me the greatest gift. My teachers. For seeing me. Dearest Jacie. For reminding me of the power of play and how Love is the way.    

Website: GuruPad.co

Instagram: instagram.com/consciouslovecolorado/

Facebook: facebook.com/COLO-Makers-of-the-GuruPad-115208336865967

Youtube: Youtube.com/channel/UCa1Pkq1dyu6yUhIR1Twd7nw

Other: Coloyoga.com

Image Credits
Nick Monahan