January is a time of resolutions and new beginnings, when the promise of a new year drives us all to do better—especially for our minds and bodies. Blair Brown is no stranger to incorporating wellness for mind, body, and soul into her daily life. In 2023, Blair founded Monarch in Ketchum, a full-body wellness center with a variety of practitioners, devices, and treatments (like cold plunge, infrared sauna, lymphatic massage, etc.). After moving to Ketchum from Alaska when she was 11, Blair grew up skiing and playing in the mountains, instilling in her a lifelong love of both nature and this town. Before moving back to the Valley part time in 2016 (and full time in 2019), she lived in New York, working in the wellness space, with a particular focus on artisan cannabis and CBD apothecary products (her company Verté Essentials was featured in Forbes), even writing two books on CBD and hemp-derived wellness. The birth of her son, Rhodes, in 2019 spurred her move back to Ketchum full time, where she channeled her expertise in the intersection of wellness, beauty, and sustainability into creating Monarch.
Her and five-year-old Rhodes live in Elkhorn with their dog Biggie and love to spend time skiing, doing art and science projects, and just being outside. “What brings one back here and seems to be so consistent among all of us who grew up here, to some degree, is nature and the outdoors. We all have some drive or ambition to be back in nature and using our bodies,” explains Blair. We caught up with her to see how she spends her perfect January day in the Wood River Valley.
Images by Tessa Sheehan
How does your perfect morning start?
Blair: I wake up after a perfect eight hours of sleep, super well rested and using no alarm, and then do my little morning wellness routine: drinking 32 ounces of lime water, because hydration here is insanely hard to maintain and then either pilates at Fit Me or a class at The Mill.
What’s after your class?
Blair: Coffee at Maude’s. I get a standard latte, with real, organic cow milk. Maude’s is the best social hour. I’ve either dropped my child at school and end up at Maude’s because I can’t make a workout or I go after the workout because it’s really the only time I get to see everybody. And this town is so social. I prefer my social to be over coffee than booze.
Where’s the rest of your morning take you?
Blair: Then I come to Monarch and see clients, support my team, and try to get a sauna and cold plunge in at least once during the day, which is part of the recovery from the early morning workout.
What’s for lunch?
Blair: Rasberry’s. Rasberry’s feeds us. I’ve got so much going on that finding time to cook is challenging for me. Rasberry’s reminds me to eat—they’ll call and ask if I’ve been fed. I’m keto, so pretty much fats and protein, so I usually get a salad with whatever they’ve got going for the day, either chicken or pork.
What’s the afternoon look like?
Blair: Then I’m going skiing. I coach DIVAS, so sometimes I’m up in the morning, but I like to get a couple hours in. It depends on the conditions if I go in the morning or afternoon, in which case I just switch my workout around. When you grow up skiing, it’s in your blood.
What’s after the mountain?
Blair: At 4 or 5, I’m picking up my son. He goes to Hemingway and then he goes to the YMCA, so I pick him up sometime in that window and take him to Sun Valley and go swimming and order food by the pool—nothing like a heated pool. And at 5 o’clock it’s perfect, because no one’s there and we have it to ourselves. It’s just quiet and after a long day for all of us, less is more. Every time, I order a chicken ceasar and a Kettle martini with a twist and two olives and Rhodes gets a burger. They know us so well that they basically just walk over and give us the head nod: “The usual?” Sun Valley offers memberships for locals, even if you don’t live in Sun Valley. It’s a year-long membership that ends up being pretty similar to Zenergy, and you can use the gym, take classes, use their three pools.
What’s the evening like?
Blair: Head home, because Rhodes is in bed by 7:30, which means I am too! He’s a big reader, so we just read and cuddle. I’m definitely asleep shortly after him—never in my life did I think I’d be the person asleep at 7:30 or 8. I’ll do breathwork or meditation in bed, then to sleep.