Today we’d like to introduce you to Danny Trifone.
Hi Danny, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started Blue Door Media almost 4 years ago with my childhood friend Jake. We had both previously worked in a more corporate setting, and we wanted to try something different. The original idea behind Blue Door was to create a positive news outlet; we researched and found stories from around the world that shed a positive light on the human experience, contrary to the chaos and negativity that perpetrates the modern-day media at large.
Shortly after we got rolling, the pandemic hit. The need for positive news suddenly skyrocketed, and our following started to grow exponentially. During this time, we started to publish articles on self-help techniques and modalities. Anything that folks at home could use to find a little happiness and peace in such a tumultuous time. We published one article on the science-backed benefits of meditation, and it went viral. We got so many hits to our website that it crashed. That was a significant turning point for us.
Until that point, neither one of us really knew much about meditation, let alone practiced it. But it was clear that our audience was interested in it, and the science-backed benefits were unmistakable. So, we started an in-house practice, meditating for at least 10 minutes a day under the instruction of both Eastern and Western teachers that we found online. We read every book we could get our hands on and tried every technique we came across. Along the way, we also discovered pranayama, or breathwork, and began incorporating that into our routine. We found the benefits of these practices to be so profound and far-reaching that we completely changed our business to focus on meditation, breathwork, and the concept of mental fitness.
Through a rigorous period of trial and error, we discovered a way to spread the knowledge we had obtained in an exciting and entertaining way. We built up a social media following of over 350,000 relatively quickly; it was quite clear that folks around the world were actively looking for ways to improve their mental health. Our focus since then has been on developing effective and applicable daily exercises that anyone can do to improve the overall quality of their mind.
Today we operate across a variety of social media platforms including Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, and more. We have a Podcast called ‘Breathe and Think Better’ that just entered its second season. We also recently created a Substack Subscription that hosts all of our materials in one place. It’s been a very exciting journey for us, and we’re just getting started.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s impossible to start a business from scratch without hitting some bumps along the way. Luckily, because of the nature of our business, the techniques and exercises we practice every day help immensely with stress management and decision-making. Looking back now, I think one of the biggest struggles we faced was knowing who we were as a company and what our mission was. Today it’s well-defined, but it took a long time to find our niche.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
A significant part of our business is a project called The1MinuteMeditation. Getting people to start practicing meditation or breathwork is not easy, especially when it’s not in person. We found that folks were much more likely to do an exercise if it was short, but it also had to be effective. Our “1-Minute Meditations” help us get people’s feet in the door of this world of mental fitness. We’re quite proud of the success these have had; hundreds of thousands of people around the world have practiced our short-form meditations, and many have gone on to adopt a long-lasting meditation practice. That is our goal!
Alright, so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The best way to support us is by joining our Substack Community. There is a completely free version and two paid tiers. All of our content, including videos, articles, podcasts, and more, gets uploaded there. You can sign up yourself right here: https://breatheandthinkbetter.substack.com/
We also welcome folks who are interested in collaborating with us to send us an email: Team@bluedoormedia.co
Contact Info:
- Website: https://breatheandthinkbetter.substack.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the1minutemeditation/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC389q9BBrdHyDOZpas_p9NQ
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@breathebluedoor?lang=en
