Set the Setting: June 2025
Meme drop, EDC Recap + Integration, A big gay Tahoe weekend, Catch me IRL at Psychedelic Science 2025 (Denver, June 15-25th), Photo drop
Meme drop
Every June is essentially “EDC afterglow” month where I watch my favorite sets on youtube over and over and over. I can close my eyes and imagine that I’m still there! I’m shaking my booty with my best friends, looking fine and flirty, trading kandi with fellow ravers, and creating a whole set of core memories that will make me remember that my life was worth living.
Over 13 years of EDC, I’ve amassed a huge bank of memories, accessible at any time, available whenever I’m feeling down, tired or lonely. I just need to take a deep breath, close my eyes, and remember that I’m never alone ✨
It harkens back to psychedelic ceremony, where you respect people’s experience by not talking or touching them. Some even say you should avoid eye contact. However, in some instances where you might want to signal your support, you simply whisper “yana” which stands for “you are not alone.”
I bookmarked the exact moment I melted: at 5AM when Gorgon City played their remix of John Summit’s Where You Are — YOU ARE NEVER ALONE! **beat drop**
EDC Recap + Integration
Squad Goals
Look, raving isn’t a contest. But if it was… I’m pretty sure we’d be winning! I’m simply obsessed with my rave fam. Anybody with a rave fam knows that your squad is as close to real family as it gets. If I had to pick a single thing about EDC that I love the most, hands down, it’s my squad.
It’s bursting with people so beautiful inside and out that it couldn’t be contained by a single bus — I had to rent two this year! I was a little nervous about having 60 people... Would everybody vibe? Would anybody get lost?
The anxiety of being my group’s bus daddy faded quickly; everybody brought such positive energy that I felt like I was in a warm embrace the whole weekend.
Looking at these photos and recognizing that I met most of these people on the dance floor over the past decade-and-change… I… I… how do I even begin to explain? Being surrounded by the purest love and vibration while the serotonin faucet is on full blast… I’m speechless!
But working in psychedelic research, I can tell you there is actually a term for this feeling of interconnectedness and transcendence: awe.
Awe, in a psychedelic context, is the profound emotion arising from encountering an experience so vast, it expands beyond the bounds of your existing worldview. A central hypothesis in psychedelic research is that the intensity and transformative nature of these experiences can create opportunities for individuals to reframe their perspectives, challenge limiting beliefs, and adopt more adaptive coping mechanisms.
I am in awe of my rave fam. They continuously expand my life in ways beyond my the bounds of my wildest imagination.
Silly moments & core memories
Not all memories are captured on camera… nor should they be! I can’t believe I’m sharing this picture 🥴 The one on the left was a candid that Ryan snapped at this EDC Orlando afterparty the night Brian ordered 100 bottles of champagne to the table (don’t be impressed, we were in Orlando).
If you really knew me, you’d know I’m sort of in my own world sometimes. I’m happy to buck a trend, like how everybody was wearing black / club gear but I was in my “whose jizz is this” shirt and purple shorts. Classic #sanfrancisco. Everybody was lit but I don’t drink so I was gnawing on some pizza when Ryan took this devastating photo.
It’s one of the objectively worst pictures of me and I love it! I mean, I hate it, but it was a core memory of that festival so much that I decided to recreate it with the pic on the right! One of my favorite joys of EDC is creating these silly moments and inside jokes that re-surfaces years later.
Falling in love with love
If you’ve known me in my 30’s or even if you’ve just followed this blog, you know I’m a perpetually disillusioned with dating in SF. I’m not shy about the cycle of getting hopeful and then feeling disappointed. But EDC is where I get a boost of faith to put myself in the dating arena again.
Dallas and Ryan celebrated their 5 year anniversary by renewing their vows at EDC in a touchingly cheesy ceremony with the entire rave fam surrounding them with love:
We have so many strong, resilient, raver power couples in the squad. Being in the orbit of rave love fosters my inner knowing that there’s someone great out there who is going to be an awesome love story for me. Maybe he’s right around the corner? Or maybe he’s already in my life and I don’t even realize it yet!? I might not know who or where, but I am confident that he’s out there!
We’ve been back from EDC for a few weeks now, but the magic of the group text continues since we’ve already bought our tickets for next year, reserved two shuttles, starting planning outfit themes, and changed the name of the group chat from EDC 25 to EDC 26! Start the EDC 2026 countdown - let’s gooo!!!
A big gay Tahoe weekend
After a quick EDC recovery, it was off to Lake Tahoe to celebrate Taylor’s 36th 33rd birthday!
Even though I’m living my best gay life in the best gay city, many of my close friendships are with straight people. I’ve been consciously trying to expand my gay circle of friends so I developed a “Steven-make-gay-friends” strategy. It’s simple: find a super cool gay friend and then infiltrate his friend group!
Taylor is someone I connected with during covid when we realized we loved the same music and were better off as friends vs. dating. We collaborate on a bass Spotify playlist called “bass wubs” that we’ve been building since we met. Every few weeks we send a text, like “hey, added a few tracks to bass wubs - check em out.” If you’re into the wubs, let us know what you think:
Taylor, your friendship means so much to me! Thank you for supporting me through hard times, inviting me to the coolest spas, bringing me to Dreamstate, Comfort and Joy parties, and celebrating who I am at my core. I am beyond excited to see Chime go public in a few days and watch you reap the rewards of your dedication and perseverance for as long as I’ve known you. Calling in “relaxed growth” for your next year!
Not pictured: an intention-setting ceremony (in a hot tub) followed by a night of howling laughter with a group of handsome, genuine, loving, queer men. Did I say handsome?! Now - press play here:
And press play here — and remember that every once in a while, you should do something that scares you!:
Catch me IRL at Psychedelic Science 2025 (Denver, June 15-25th)
The entire MAPS team is heads down planning the final aspects of our bi-annual Psychedelic Science Conference in Denver. If you’d like to attend, please reach out. If you’re planning on attending, let me know which parties you’ll be at! I’m committed to the Reggie Watts / Flying Lotus party on Tuesday, the Queer Magic Sequel at X-Bar, and the LSZEE concert on Thursday.
While I am always fascinated by the talks on policy and clinical trials, most enthusiasts love the more “pop culture” sessions that feature celebrity musicians and athletes. Aaron Rodgers made headlines after speaking openly at Psychedelic Science 2023 about how ayahuasca “unlocked a whole new world of healing” for him. His willingness to go public inspired a wave of athletes to explore—and share—their own journeys.
Jordan Poyer (Free agent, former Buffalo Bills), Jon Feliciano (San Francisco 49ers), and Robert Gallery (retired Raiders All-Pro) will share raw, first-person accounts of that journey. A growing number of sports icons are turning to psychedelic-assisted therapy to rediscover purpose, resilience, and healing beyond the game.
For most of my life, I thought toughness meant hiding pain. But psychedelics showed me something different, they helped me face what I’ve been carrying for years and start to truly heal. This journey isn’t just for athletes. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt like they had to fight their battles alone.
— Jordan Poyer
There is still space in some of the workshops, June 16-17! Personally, I’ll be busy with staff obligations but if I were free, I’d be hopping into one of these:
Manesh Girn is on the Microdosing Facilitator Training faculty with me and I’ve learned so much from him on the basics of how psychedelics work in the brain. Dr. Anne Wagner is leading the way in MDMA-Assisted Couples Therapy, and Bessel van der Kolk shot to fame after his book, The Body Keeps the Score, became a NYT Bestseller as society became fascinated with how trauma is stored in our bodies.
My job is hard. Please don’t make it any harder:
Many attendees are planning on consuming psychedelics at PS2025 because Colorado allows individuals 21 and over to cultivate, possess, share, and consume psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, and mescaline — except from peyote, (collectively referred to as “Natural Medicine”) without a license.
However, regardless of local law, attendees of PS2025 should not:
Provide Natural Medicine in connection with any promotional or advertising activity;
Sell Natural Medicine or connect it to any commercial activity;
Provide Natural Medicine to persons under 21;
Consume or display Natural Medicine in public
Photo drop
Love reading about the rave fam and the description of awe! Love the light fixture, too!
YANA! 🫶🏽