Lokai Bracelets: Staying Hopeful in Low Times and Humble in High Times

Summary: Created by 23-year-old Steven Izen in 2013, Lokai bracelets feature Dead Sea mud in a black bead and Mount Everest water in a white bead as symbols of life.

Lokai creator Steven Izen with his paternal grandfather, Eliott Izen, known as "papa," whose Alzheimer diagnosis inspired the Dead Sea-Mount Everest bracelet: livelokai, via Instagram June 6, 2013

The journey to the creation of his own company began for Steven Izen, Founder and CEO of Lokai, after his freshman year in Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management in Ithaca, New York.

While enjoying a family vacation at the beach, Steven learned that his grandfather, who had taught him how to play golf and pool and who had inspired Steven’s entrepreneurial spirit, had been diagnosed with the chronic neurodegenerative disease of Alzheimer’s.

In contrasting the high of his beach vacation with the low of his sense of helplessness as his grandfather’s diagnosis, Steven felt an awareness of life’s cycles. As a collector of memorabilia from his travels, Steven thought about translating feelings into tangible objects.

Elements from the highest and lowest points on Earth, Mount Everest and the Dead Sea, appealed to him as symbols of life’s contrasts and as reminders of maintaining hope during saddening lows and cultivating humility during grateful highs. Steven latched onto a bracelet, for portability and wearability, as his product.

Four years later, in 2013, 23-year-old Steven launched Lokai, derived from the Hawaiian word lokahi, which means unity. Initial marketing was conducted through word-of-mouth via friends and friends of friends. The next strategy entailed grueling personal contacts with retail stores, which yielded 1 success out of every 30.

Perseverance has paid off, with Lokai bracelets featured in over 88 countries as well as in 300 boutiques across the United States.

Celebrity purchasers of Lokai bracelets include: singer-songwriter Justin Bieber (born March 1, 1994); actress and model Ashley Greene (born February 21, 1987), famous for portrayal of Alice Cullen in the Twilight film series; and actress and singer Emma Roberts (Feb. 10, 1991).

Lokai bracelets feature a black bead and a white bead at opposite ends of a string of clear beads.

The black bead, which contains mud from the Dead Sea, represents life’s lows.

The white bead, which shelters water from Mount Everest, symbolizes life’s highs.

The clear beads represent the clean slate which is available for finding balance amid life’s setbacks and successes.

Ten percent of net profits from bracelet sales are dedicated to charitable alliances within the communities where Lokai resources are collected.

Lokai’s contributions helped the Sherpa Family Fund to reach goals in the wake of the April 14, 2014 avalanche on Mount Everest which killed 16 Sherpa guides.

Lokai contact information
website: http://mylokai.com/
email: hello@mylokai.com
phone: 1-877-725-5747
phone hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. EST

lokai bracelet image "Thanks @_shantonio_": livelokai @livelokai, via Twitter Aug. 2, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Lokai creator Steven Izen with his paternal grandfather, Eliott Izen, known as "papa," whose Alzheimer diagnosis inspired the Dead Sea-Mount Everest bracelet: livelokai, via Instagram June 6, 2013, @ https://www.instagram.com/p/aOSWz5rVNw/

lokai bracelet image "Thanks @_shantonio_": livelokai @livelokai via Twitter Aug. 2, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/livelokai/status/627988170290917377

For further information:

live lokai. "For this #TBT I would like to share with everyone a picture of my papa and I. We were extremely close and he was the inspiration for the lokai bracelet. #livelokai." Instagram. June 6, 2013.
Available @ https://www.instagram.com/p/aOSWz5rVNw/

livelokai @livelokai. "Just in time for one last dip #livelokai. Thanks @_shantanio_." Instagram. Aug. 2, 2015.
Available @ https://www.instagram.com/p/55lkQYLVKe/?hl=en&taken-by=livelokai

livelokai @livelokai. "Just in time for one last dip #livelokai." Twitter. Aug. 2, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/livelokai/status/627988170290917377