Ex-male stripper reveals why he gave up his “party” lifestyle to join a monastery in Thailand

A former male stripper shares how he abandoned his drug party lifestyle in a way that was dedicated to peace and meditation.

Ashley Edelman said he left Australia’s homeland and worked as a male stripper in Cornwell, southwest England, and he was struggling to find himself.

He then eventually joined the monastery in Thailand.

“I’ve been in the military since I was 17 and I’m always confident, but then drinking smeared my social anxiety.” narrated in Newsweek.

“So, when I had the chance to strip, I thought, “I used to laugh in the army for free—I might as well pay for it.” ”

Edelman quickly said that he performed on one of the largest tours in the UK – even impressed his parents through routine choreographed behavior.

But as Edelman became more successful, he said he started bodybuilding — and took steroids and other medications.

“It’s part of the lifestyle,” he explained. ‘Cocaine, weeds, party – everything blurred. But this is not sustainable.

“I eventually burned it,” Edman said.

Ashley Edelman shares how he abandoned his drug party lifestyle as a male stripper to devote himself to a meditative lifestyle

At that time, Edelman decided to quit the stripper business.

But when his marriage ended four years later, he returned to the adult industry “quietly” but something was wrong.

“I feel like I’m selling my soul,” he said, noting that he doesn’t regret his time in the adult industry.

He admits that it has achieved its purpose-but over time, I began pushing my boundaries for money. ”

“That’s when everything starts to change.

Edelman shared: “I started to explore breathing, personal development and spirituality.

He woke up at 4 a.m. every day, shouted, did housework and took part in Buddhist lessons.

“I have profound spiritual experiences, including vision – or what I call “download” – to tell me that I was going to move to Dubai and become the foundation for others,” Edelman wrote.

The former stripper is now talking about peace and meditation with his followers

After reaching the bottom of the rock in 2018, he said he visited Imonastery in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spent a month living like a monk without a phone or music

Two days after he left the monastery, he learned that he had to make his house, which eventually became Kismet.

He said it was all effortless. ”

Edelman, who now lives in the Middle East, says he meditates every day, presides over breathing training, coaches clients, helps people regulate their nervous system and “eliminate limiting beliefs.”

“I live in zero resistance,” Edman wrote. “I feel calm, rooted and self-aware in ways I never imagined.”

To maintain his new care lifestyle, the former stripper said he stayed on social media for six months—not back until April 2024, when he said he promised himself that he would post only if he really aligns with who I am today.

Now, Edelman has over 147,000 followers on Instagram, and he says his story inspired others.

“So many people are silent. They consider themselves alone. But we can all do the same thing differently,” he wrote.

“I used to live the life that most men dream of – fast pace, wild, seductive. Now, I live a life that is rooted in service,” Edelman concluded.

He said he wanted to go back to a monastery in Thailand every year, but I knew I wasn’t going to live there full time.

“My mission is not to serve myself, but to serve others.

“Everything I went through – every show, every mistake, every revelation – led me here.”