Christopher Baron is an Aspen-based researcher, author, speaker, executive consultant and founder of Magical Year Retreats (MYR). He is on a mission to improve health, longevity, contentment and happiness for his clients and readers, and is an advocate for human thriving - no matter one's zip code.
Baron began his career in journalism, founded successful, innovative companies in traditional and digital media, luxury services, product development, and commercial and residential real estate. As a researcher and writer he completed a multi-year, 20,000-mile circumnavigation of the United States during which he spoke with well over 1,000 Americans. His trip provided the material for his first book Perimeter, An Odyssey, an intimate and rare view of the post-9/11, Great Recession era in America (2026). As an outgrowth of what he witnessed he created More in Common Ventures, a foundation designed to provide low-friction loans to stabilize communities, and The More in Common Dinner Club, his answer to the divide he saw worseing each year he resumed his travels. It's slogan is, "Healing the Divide, One Meal at a Time. His interviews were the beginning of a podast, Baron’s America, More in Common.
He returned to Aspen just prior to the pandemic to recover from health issues, including pain that returned six months after an emergency c-spine fusion. His second book, My Magical Year, Healing, Rebirth and Redemption in Mountains, Oceans and Deserts describes his recovery during the pandemic, during which he dedicated himself to regaining his strength and health, and in doing so became a subject matter expert on American healthcare, resiliency, mindset, and the science and philosophy of fitness, longevity, and a life well-lived.
He speaks eloquently and passionately about human thriving and is dedicated to sharing the knowledge he gained from decades of personal experience, thousands of hours of research, and his life living in Blue Zones, where he found vibrant older athletes and a template for longevity and health. His work reflects a calling to help his readers and clients. He is an advocate for the critical roles that nature, wilderness, and solitude have historically played in our lives, and the necessity for healthy connection in a profoundly disrupted and lonely world. Christopher is an avid multi-sport and as founder of Magical Year Retreats leads retreats around the world.