Chris
Brewer
Anthropologist turned compliance operator. Both fields are about understanding how systems of power affect vulnerable people, and what happens when accountability breaks down. Best Retreats exists at that intersection. Forrest builds the infrastructure.
Best Retreats is an independent safety intelligence platform for the ayahuasca retreat industry: no bookings, no operator payments, no incentive to look the other way. Built on the same principles as consumer protection and compliance infrastructure: screening standards, incident transparency, and accountability for operators who hold significant power over vulnerable participants.
The anthropological lens matters here. Ayahuasca ceremonies exist within complex cultural systems: indigenous traditions, power hierarchies, altered states, and deep participant vulnerability. Understanding those dynamics isn't background noise; it's the core of what makes retreat safety research credible. Most directories treat retreats like hotels. Best Retreats treats them like the high-stakes, culturally complex environments they actually are.
The Retreat Safety Project, Inc. is the incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit behind the platform, focused on harm reduction, facilitator accountability, and honest research in a category where polished marketing regularly outpaces basic safety standards.
Purpose-built compliance infrastructure for fintech programs. Transaction monitoring, case management, SAR pipelines, sanctions screening, KYC/KYB lifecycle, multi-tenant architecture. Plus the program layer: BSA/AML policies, risk assessment methodologies, training frameworks, and board reporting packages.
Built by operators who filed the SARs, sat in the exams, and scaled the infrastructure through hypergrowth. Not advisors who studied the regulations. You get the source code, the deployment runbook, the documentation. No subscription. No lock-in. When we're done, your team runs it without us.
Open to conversations about compliance infrastructure, AI governance in regulated environments, consumer protection in high-risk wellness categories, or fintech program builds.