We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joshua Lucas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Joshua, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
Creativity for me is like a cocktail that’s equal parts technique, history, chaos, and whatever questionable decisions led me there in the first place. I can’t just cut and paste and expect fireworks. That’s amateur hour. No, you’ve gotta throw yourself into the unknown, shake things up (literally)… there’s also late nights you embrace innovative ideas as Jim Croce would do, post-3 am.
I pull inspiration from everywhere: history, costume shops, bar stool theologians… Look at Salvador Dalí. The man didn’t just paint; he melted time, wore lobsters as hats, and probably hallucinated half his career into existence. He once sold a blade of grass for $10K to Yoko Ono, when it was supposed to be hair from his mustache. Dali said “I don’t do drugs. I am drugs.” that’s creativity at its purest. You don’t sit around hoping for a great idea to show up; you become the idea.
And when the well runs dry? Change the ingredients. Travel. Read something that rattles your skull. Have a conversation with a kooky soul at a dive bar at 2 AM—trust me, you’ll learn more there than in any boardroom. Because in the end, the best ideas—like the best cocktails and events —are unpredictable, and meant to be shared. And if all else fails, just add good absinthe and a pinch of salt. Works every time.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
What do I do? I create experiences. Something a guest will feel before they even realize what’s happening. It’s not just about entertainment; it’s about engagement, control, and persuasion. The best experiences don’t ask for your attention, they take it. One of my favorite events was called Edgar Allen Pernod. Characters from his stories looming around a contoured environment, all having a tipple based on their narrative.
What’s exciting about it? The unpredictability. Flavor is a living thing, it evolves, surprises, and serenades the subconscious. There’s something magical about watching someone take that leap into breaking from the mundane and agreeing to pretend. Eyes widening as they witness something they never saw coming. It’s a fleeting moment, but in that moment, you’ve got them… and they end up having a new favorite story to tell at a bar.
As for my brand? It’s about pushing boundaries, about taking what you think you know and twisting it. It doesn’t just entertain it triggers. It forces you to react, adapt, and engage in a way that sticks with you long after you’ve left. Whether it’s a cocktail experience, a hidden narrative woven into the environment, or a moment of pure, orchestrated chaos, I create experiences that don’t just tell a story, they make you part of it. One of my events I teamed with a Japanese shadow master, a Ballerina, and a thespian to tell the story of Salvador Dali going into Wonderland to have champagne with Alice. Guests would be pulled into the narrative and be shadows on a screen 20ft X 15ft. Best glass of champagne Soho house has ever served.
The key? Tension and unpredictability. People crave the unknown, as long as they feel safe enough to explore it. That’s why I craft environments where every detail; the lighting, the scents, the sounds, the way a drink is placed in your hand. It is designed to bypass logic and speak directly to the senses. Every interaction is a negotiation between what you expect and what actually happens.
…and if I’ve done my job right, you won’t even realize you’ve been led there.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
First, psychological acuity. Understanding how people think, what triggers them emotionally, and how to guide their attention is the foundation of immersive design. If you don’t know how to read people, you can’t control their experience. The best way to develop this? Study negotiation, interrogation tactics, even con artistry. I’m a magician so I’m trained to direct focus, disarm difficulty, and ease to a crescendo.
Second, environmental storytelling. People don’t want to be told a story, they want to discover it. Every object, shadow, and scent in an immersive experience should be a clue, pulling them deeper. To sharpen this skill, study set design, game mechanics, and how Disney imagineers manipulate perception on their rides. Learn to create spaces that don’t just exist, they speak.
Third, adaptability under pressure. Live, immersive experiences are controlled chaos. No plan survives first contact with the audience, and if you can’t pivot on the fly, you’ll lose them. The fastest way to develop this? Put yourself in high-pressure, unscripted situations. Work in a busy kitchen, do improv, bartend in a packed nightclub, anything that forces you to think three steps ahead while staying in the moment. I hardly get a chance to have a dress rehearsal, and most times I only have a few hours to setup my event.
The advice? Don’t just study your industry, go where others aren’t looking. The best immersive designers borrow from hostage negotiators, illusionists, and street performers. Learn to read a room, craft an environment that controls perception, and always be ready to adjust. If you can master those three things, you won’t just create experiences—you’ll own them.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I’m always happy to partner with someone. Anyone with a broom closet or a warehouse that wants to add an immersive element to a dinner party, or a regular night of service at a bar or a wedding, I can conjure a whole world in any size space.
I recently brought to life Orwell’s 1984 in a cocktail convention. Serving cocktails from metal pots with ladles, chocolate rations, room 101 experience, fun cocktail propaganda posters, even the cocktail legend Eric Alperin took character of big brother. And it wouldn’t of happened if I hadn’t collaborated with the brand ambassador of Amaro Montenegro, Eliott Montero, to help share the work load and keep the creative drive.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thejoshualucas.my.canva.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonkaer/
