DIGITAL DETOX
Flava radio host Astley Nathan is digital detoxing in a bid to simplify life and quieten his mind.
Nathan has cut social media, television and is meditating three times a day. He’s even cut himself off from music outside work hours — tough for a radio host and a source of fascination for his friends.
“The biggest question I get asked is how am I providing content for work if I’m not posting on social,” Nathan tells Spy.
“The crazy thing is I have so much more content to create and share because of this journey, because it’s so much more about actually connecting with people in person, and finding out what they are up to in a much more meaningful way.”
Nathan’s 60-day detox is part of Flava’s winding back the clock to old-school hip-hip and R’n’B from the late 90s early 2000s.
There’s huge appetite for 90s’ nostalgia, as shown by popular Facebook pages, “The lost nightlife of inner-city Auckland” and “Auckland Nightlife Year 2000+” — but this is a first for a mainstream radio station.
“What was going on in the world, even a couple of decades ago — which doesn’t seem that long ago — things must have been a whole lot simpler in the world than what they are right now,” Nathan said. “And that’s what the detox is helping me get to as well, simplifying things.
Nathan grew up listening to R’n’B and hip-hop and says the nostalgic connections people are making through the old-school Facebook pages are about reflecting on good times.
“The great thing about playing those hits is that we’ll immediately transport our listeners back to those moments in time, those amazing nights with friends, having an awesome time and making people feel good,” he says.
“There’s a bit of tough stuff going on in the world right now. Flava and its oldschool sound will definitely give them a break from all of that.”