My Favorite Room: Hayden Slater’s loft space offers a healthy blend of work and play
Hayden Slater, co-founder and chief executive of Pressed Juicery, goes to the living room of his Venice loft when he wants to get the creative juices flowing.
It was there, sitting in his grandfather’s chair, that he came up with the idea for the Santa Monica-based juice chain, which today has 45 stores — 16 in Los Angeles.
The 33-year-old wasn’t always a health nut. As a film student at New York University, Slater, then a professed junk-food junkie, took a yoga class with an instructor who contended she had outlived a terminal-cancer diagnosis by changing her lifestyle and juicing.
“She always came to class with a bottle of green juice in her hand,” Slater said. Intrigued, he finished school, returned home to L.A. and eventually traveled to Southeast Asia, where he started a five-day juice cleanse that extended to 30 days. “I felt incredible,” he said.
Afterward, Slater and two childhood friends rented a 22-square-foot Brentwood “broom closet” and opened the first Pressed Juicery in November 2010.
When he’s not working, Slater relaxes in a rented 1,400-square-foot, four-story loft he shares with Finley, a 5-year-old Rottweiler rescue.
Why is the living room your favorite?
It’s a combination space that allows me to entertain and work. I’ve never lived in an open space before, but I love the idea of taking a floor and making it multifunctional.
So it’s a creative space, an office and a place for friends to hang out. Anything else?
I play backgammon in a portion of it. I’ve designed it in a way where I can work and play music and dance or entertain people. So it’s this cool space. I entertain all the time.
You have a lot of unique pieces in the room. Any favorites?
I have an Ed Ruscha print. It is the first piece of art that I ever bought. I have an Eames chair I got from my grandfather that’s really meaningful. Pressed Juicery came to life in my grandfather’s magical Eames chair. I came up with the concept of Freeze, which is when we essentially decided to take our juice and turn it into a frozen [vegan treat] without using any dairy or binders. And that idea literally took [shape] in that Eames chair.
How often do you drink juice in this room?
I drink a green juice every single morning, usually at my desk in this room, while I check my emails. Lately, I’ve been on a Greens 5 kick.
How many juicers do you have in your loft?
Three. Wow, that’s kind of embarrassing.
Does Finley like juice?
Every now and then I’ll share whatever juice I’m drinking with Finley. She prefers the sweeter ones and is not a fan of ginger.
Say there’s a fire. What are two things in your favorite room that you would grab?
My dog and a small Alison Van Pelt painting that has significant meaning to me.
Funniest thing that’s happened in this room?
I was trying to show off by doing pullups off an exposed beam that runs across the room and completely ate [it] and fell, not only just to the ground — I tumbled down half a flight of stairs.
Now you’re thinking of moving away?
Yes. I am currently building a Danish-modern-inspired beach bungalow in Venice and hope to have it finished within about six to eight months.
What is the single most essential trait to succeeding as an entrepreneur?
It’s crucial for entrepreneurs to bring their personal beliefs into their professional world and stay true to those beliefs. And take risks. All great entrepreneurs take risks.
