After 12 years in the corporate world, Sarah Blush was laid
off and at a turning point. “It was a do or die moment,” she says. She was
seriously overweight, miserable and desperate to start her own business.
After much contemplation—and time at Crunch Fitness, Blush
lost 70 pounds and decided to launch Blush Monkey, a service for Brooklyn
singles.
“I can’t cure cancer but I decided that
love is a valid way to help the world," Blush told me. “How many people would be much
happier if they had someone to hold hands with?”
So what is this dating service with the funny name?
Blush organizes events for Brooklyn singles—straight and gay—and offers a different and less stressful of way of meeting. “Dating should be better,
easier and more fun,” she writes on the Blush Monkey website.
Blush Monkey events run from the “the highly targeted to
super inventive.” Designed to create an environment conducive to love, or like,
singles pay a fee to attend an event at a Brooklyn bar.
Blush tries to create a fun, friendly environment conducive
to low key communication. “I want people to open their hearts and talk to
everyone in the room,” she tells me. She comes up with fun questions that she gives everyone on
arrival. “What makes you laugh so hard it hurts?” might be one. In this way,
she gives people a conversation starter other than: “So what do you do for a
living?”
The goal is to take the awkward out of dating. "We
want to endear people to each other, make them laugh, and show off all
the brains! Welcome to dating that doesn't suck!
On November 27th Blush Monkey is sponsoring an event with NPR for Geeks and Freaks. This event is pre-paid only and the location for this event will be sent by email once your RSVP is
completed.
Blush writes: "Wear what you feel comfortable in. Be yourself, although unless
otherwise noted, shirts and shoes are required in most venues. We also
suggest you don't come right from the gym or as a total wreck."
If this approach turns you on,
check out the Blush Monkey website. Blush will be thrilled to hear from you. “We love love,” she
writes. “So consider yourself invited. Take the bull by the horns and join us
for dating that includes targeted events and secrets at every corner.”