You Shouldn't Feel Guilty
for Living Well
A cognitive scientist, a SAG-AFTRA actor, a Deloitte consultant who watched AI reshape corporations from the inside — and someone who watched closely enough to know the difference between abundance and performance.
"I watched people at Cannes who had everything — and the ones who were actually happy were the ones giving something back. That gap is what this is for."
— Shafik Bahou, Founder
Two Worlds. One Clear Thesis.
Shafik Bahou spent his twenties living two lives simultaneously. While enrolled at Teachers College, Columbia University studying Cognitive Sciences, he was also studying acting — and he kept performing long after earning his M.A. in 2013. SAG-AFTRA status, A-list sets, red carpets at Cannes. Two disciplines, both asking the same question: what actually moves people?
What he saw backstage — at festivals, at private dinners, in greenrooms — was three distinct archetypes of wealth. The quietly generous, who'd built real legacies and gave with humility. The performers, who needed an audience for every expense. And then the ones in the middle: people who genuinely loved the high life, played hard, worked harder, and also wanted to leave the world better than they found it.
Then came a deliberate detour into corporate. Working within Deloitte's Cognitive Analytics team, he embedded with large enterprises navigating the early wave of AI — automating processes, rethinking workflows, watching billion-dollar organizations scramble to make machines feel human. What it confirmed: the technology was accelerating, but people were still the variable. The ones who understood both — the emotional intelligence of the stage and the operational logic of enterprise — were the ones who'd shape what came next.
That third group still had no real home. No media voice that said "enjoy this, and also be a good human — you don't have to choose." Lifestyles Club is that voice — and it's being built the right way: content first, then community.
Columbia & the Stage — At the Same Time
Enrolled at Teachers College, Columbia University to study Cognitive Sciences in Education — and simultaneously began studying acting. Two very different disciplines, running in parallel, both asking the same question: what actually moves people?
M.A. in Hand, Still on Set
Graduated Columbia with his M.A. — and kept acting. SAG-AFTRA status, A-list sets, red carpets in Cannes. The academic chapter closed, but the performing one didn't. Both shaped how he reads a room.
The Thesis Forms
Three types of people kept appearing: those building humble, altruistic legacies. Those performing wealth for an audience. And the ones in between — who liked the high life, played hard, but genuinely wanted to do good. That middle ground became the mission.
Inside the Machine — Deloitte & the AI Shift
Joined Deloitte's Cognitive Analytics team as a consultant, working on process automation at the enterprise level. It was a front-row seat to how the world's largest organizations were wiring AI into their operations — and an unfiltered look at the gap between corporate ambition and human experience.
Building the Content, Curating the Voice
Before publishing a single word publicly, the work starts internally — researching, writing, and curating content that actually reflects what this community deserves. No filler. No vanity metrics. Just substance, ready to be worth sharing.
The Club Builds its Doors
Founding membership launches. The network built over two decades becomes a room you can actually join soon — and the content, once ready, will move the way trusted things move: person to person, network to network.
Enjoy It. Own It.
Make It Mean Something.
Lifestyles Club was built for the people Shafik kept meeting backstage at life — the ones who could hold a glass of champagne in one hand and a charitable cause in the other without any contradiction. The ones who work hard, play unapologetically, and invest in a world worth living in.
Abundance Without Guilt
The world convinced people they have to choose between enjoying life and being a good person. We reject that. You can live exceptionally well and still — maybe especially — do good in the world.
Legacy Over Performance
Shafik saw both up close in Cannes: the ones who had to be seen and the ones who were too busy building something real to care. This club is for the latter — and for people still growing into it.
Cognitive Intentionality
The cognitive science training never left. Everything here — the content, the curation, the community — is designed to help people think about their lives more clearly, not just live them more expensively.
Share the Wealth — Literally
Not just as a slogan. Warm introductions, curated access, and visible generosity are baked into how this club operates. Doing well and doing good aren't opposites.
The Three Types Shafik Observed Up Close
The Legacy Builders
Quietly wealthy. Humble. More focused on what they're leaving behind than what anyone sees today. The most interesting people in any room.
Core Lifestyles Club MemberThe Performers
Need the audience. The wealth is the point. The flex is the product. Every experience exists to be documented. Not who this is for.
Not Who This Is ForThe Balanced Ones
Love the high life and aren't apologetic about it. Work hard, play hard, and have a genuine compass. Want to enjoy abundance AND do good — don't see a conflict.
This Club Was Built For ThemThis is a world where we don't feel bad for having fun — but we share the wealth by doing good and well at the same time.
Shafik Bahou — Founder, Lifestyles Club
Building in Public.
No Overpromising.
This is a one-person operation with a clear, staged plan. Here's exactly where things stand — no vaporware, no "coming soon" smoke screen, no promises we can't keep on day one.
Every brand we bring in, every member we accept, and every partnership we form is one we can actually deliver on right now. The roadmap below is honest.
Phase 1 — Foundation
Site, logo, brand voice — done.
38K subscribers, weekly sends.
9 active partners, 3 slots open.
Rate card published, inquiry form live.
Early access waitlist open.
Phase 2 — Monetization
Opening to waitlist first — no public launch yet.
Actively having conversations.
Elevated Assets, Peak Fitness coming.
Curated products, honest commissions.
Phase 3 — Scale
Gated benefits, locked content, profiles.
Premium tier, quarterly events, introductions.
Evergreen revenue, passive income layer.
When audience density in a city makes it real.