Meet Laura Monk

We were lucky to catch up with Laura Monk recently and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

How I keep my creativity alive is actually less about trying to “be creative” and more about staying curious about life. Creativity dries up when everything becomes routine and transactional, so I try really hard to keep putting myself in new environments, meeting new people, traveling, moving my body in different ways, or even just changing up my daily rhythm.

Oddly enough, a big source of my creativity has come from having to constantly pivot and shift throughout my career. I’ve worked across a lot of different sectors including architecture, design, and event production, and each one taught me a different way of seeing the world. Architecture trained my eye for space and structure. Design sharpened my sense of aesthetics and storytelling. Event production taught me how to create experiences that bring people together in a meaningful way. All of those perspectives now feed into the work I do today.

A lot of my best ideas come when I’m not sitting down trying to force them. They show up when I’m hiking, in the ocean, on a long drive, or after a conversation with someone interesting. I’ve learned that creativity needs space. If my schedule gets too packed or everything starts feeling like work, that’s usually my cue to step back and go do something that fills me up again.

Movement is also a huge part of it for me. As a yoga teacher and event creator, I process a lot through my body. When I move, breathe, or get into a flow state, ideas start connecting in ways they wouldn’t if I were just sitting at my laptop.

I also pay attention to what inspires me. Music, art, nature, travel, even great conversations with friends. I treat those things as fuel. Creativity is really just the byproduct of a life that feels engaged and alive. When I’m living fully, the ideas tend to show up on their own.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

What I do really sits at the intersection of movement, community, and experience design. Through my company Solfish Events, I create wellness experiences that bring people together in meaningful ways. That can look like yoga on the ocean here in San Diego, retreats in beautiful places, or pop up events that blend movement, music, nature, and connection. My background in design and event production naturally led me into creating these types of spaces where people can step out of their routine and reconnect with themselves and with others.

Right now there are a lot of exciting things unfolding. One of the anchors of my year is my Joshua Tree women’s retreat, which I’m co hosting with my friend Kinsey, who is an exceptional sound healer and practitioner. It is a really special weekend that blends yoga, sound healing, nature, and that unique desert magic that Joshua Tree has. It always ends up feeling like a reset for everyone involved.

I’m also hosting a sailing adventure in Croatia, which is something I have dreamed about doing for a long time. For years I’ve led yoga experiences on the water in San Diego Bay, so this feels like a much bigger version of that idea. It combines movement, exploration, and adventure while sailing along the Croatian coast and visiting ancient seaside towns.

Beyond that, I’m continuing to expand internationally with opportunities in Costa Rica and even revisiting one of my favorite places, Nicaragua, which holds a really special place in my heart.

A big shift I’m creating right now is a new online platform that focuses on the concept of flowstate. The coursework is designed to help high capacity individuals move from constantly managing their lives into actually living them with more clarity, energy, and alignment. It brings together tools around mindset, movement, nervous system regulation, and lifestyle design. The idea is that the digital platform and the in person experiences work together, so people can engage with the practices from wherever they are and then deepen them through retreats and gatherings.

Locally in San Diego I’m also developing a new series called Move Like Water. It’s a movement based experience inspired by adaptability and fluidity, exploring how the body can move with more freedom, resilience, and curiosity. It blends somatic movement, mobility work, breath, and flow based practices in a way that helps people reconnect with their bodies and with the present moment.

At the heart of everything I do is community. A big focus for me right now is continuing to nurture the in person community here in San Diego while also expanding outward and connecting with people beyond this local circle. The goal is to build spaces where people feel supported, inspired, and part of something meaningful, whether that happens at a beach gathering in San Diego or on the other side of the world at a retreat.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The first is adaptability. My career has not followed a straight line at all. I’ve worked in architecture, design, event production, and now wellness and movement. At different points I’ve had to pivot, learn new skills, and step into spaces that were completely unfamiliar. What I’ve realized is that those shifts were actually an advantage. Every industry gave me a different lens that I now bring into the work I do today. My advice for people early in their journey is to not panic if your path looks nonlinear. Try things. Stay curious. The dots tend to connect later.

The second is community building. Almost everything meaningful that has happened in my work has come through relationships. The people who come to events, retreats, and classes are not just customers, they become a community. Learning how to create spaces where people feel welcome, seen, and excited to come back is a skill in itself. For anyone starting out, focus less on growing an audience and more on building real relationships. The strongest communities are built through consistency, care, and showing up over time.

The third is creative vision. A lot of what I do is about imagining experiences before they exist and then bringing them to life. Whether it’s a yoga class on the ocean, a retreat in the desert, or a sailing experience in Croatia, it starts as an idea and then becomes something people can actually step into. That ability came from my background in design and event production, but it’s also something you develop by paying attention to what inspires you and being willing to experiment.

For people early in their journey, I would say give yourself permission to evolve. Build skills across different areas, stay open to opportunities you didn’t expect, and trust that your unique combination of experiences will eventually become your strength. Very few people build something meaningful by following a perfectly straight path.

Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?

My work tends to attract two groups of people that actually overlap quite a bit.

The first are people who come to Soulfish Events. These are individuals who value experience and connection. They tend to be curious, adventurous, and open minded. Many are people who work hard in their careers and are looking for meaningful ways to unplug, move their bodies, and connect with others in real life. They might come to a yoga event on the ocean, a pop up gathering in San Diego, or join one of the retreats. What they’re really looking for is a sense of community, inspiration, and a chance to step outside their daily routine for a while.

The second group are people who are drawn to the flowstate work I’m developing. These are often high capacity individuals who are juggling a lot in life. They may be ambitious, creative, or in leadership roles, but they’re realizing that constantly pushing harder is not the answer. They’re interested in tools that help them find clarity, regulate their nervous system, and create a way of living that feels more sustainable and aligned.

Where the two groups overlap is in their desire to live more intentionally. Many people first connect through an event or retreat and then become curious about going deeper into the practices and ideas behind it. Others discover the mindset and lifestyle tools first and then want to experience them in a real world community setting.

At the end of the day, the common thread is people who want more out of life than just going through the motions. They’re looking for experiences, practices, and communities that help them feel more present, connected, and energized in how they move through the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.soulfishevents.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulfishevents/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soulfishmonk/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@soulfishlaura

Image Credits

Rachel Frank
Sydney Hickey
Liz Avery