The internet offers many ways to get to know a new city, but traveler Nick Watts believes he has the ultimate visitor hack: the “Lululemon strategy,” where you find Lululemon stores in a city and spend your time in those areas because they are “nice.” While most people found Watts’ post to be humorous and entertaining, some found it controversial—promoting gentrification and, by extension, celebrating predominantly white neighborhood experiences.
On March 4, 2025, user @nickwattsx posted a video to his TikTok with the caption, “The Lululemon strategy never fails.” In it, Watts explains that he has a “foolproof way of finding where the nice neighborhood is.”
@nickwattsx The lululemon strategy never fails #greenscreen #lululemon #wholefoods #travel #foryou ♬ original sound – Nick Watts
“Every time I go to a new city, I look up Lululemons in the area on Google maps, and use a process of elimination to find the neighborhood with great walkability and 10-dollar matcha,” the user continued. “What we’re looking for are those storefront Lululemons…that’s where you’re going to find the bars, restaurants and a bakery dedicated to f*cking brookies.”
Watts laughed as he explained his “strategy,” almost mocking its success (10-dollar matcha, bakery dedicated to f*cking brookies). Superimposed over a Google Maps view of Montreal, Watts pointed out various Lululemons scattered around the city.
“Now if none of the Lululemons meet the criteria, I have a backup,” he said, laughing. “It’s called the Whole Foods Method.” As the map changed from Montreal to New Orleans, Whole Foods was then showcased on a specific area of the map. The user explained that he is going to New Orleans the week after Montreal, and—zooming in on a specific area of New Orleans—said, “Boom: we know that Magazine Street is going to be a nice place to walk around and hang out.”
“Now listen, I’m not saying the Lululemon Strategy and the Whole Foods Method are the way that you should travel.” Watts added. “But I will say it’s a great way to get the lay of the land before you go somewhere, because they don’t just build Lululemons anywhere.”
The post garnered over 153,000 views, 21,000 likes, and nearly 400 comments, humorously agreeing with Watt’s theory. “This might be the smartest thing I’ve heard a man say in a while,” one comment read. “Processs of lemonation if I may,” read another.
An hour after it was posted to TikTok, Watts shared the video to Instagram and X. While successful on Instagram—collecting over 13,000 likes—it was particularly popular on X, where the video garnered over 2.1 million views, 24,000 likes and hundreds of comments, mostly with people agreeing with Watts. “This sh*t absolutely works in Vancouver,” read one comment. “Have been doing this for years,” read another. “Better if you find the area with both a Lulu and a Wholefoods.”
‘That’s a safe way of saying The White People strategy’
Others called out Watts’ video as not being overt in what it was trying to point out: that areas of cities with Lululemons and Whole Foods are predominantly white, so white areas are the “best” places to enjoy cities. “Why take the long way to say you prefer being around white people?” one comment read.
Another read, “That’s a safe way of saying the white people strategy.”
Similar to other videos Watts posted on his social media accounts, the user’s ambiguous, tongue-in-cheek delivery of the “Lululemon Method” and the “Whole Foods Strategy” made the videos seem like both a recommendation and a joke. It’s unclear whether Watts believed what he said, or if he made the videos in jest, or as a means to make a point about gentrification and the corporate whitewashing of cities—a common criticism of the prevalence of both Lululemons and Whole Foods.
If they’re looking for an authentic and diverse urban experience, some commenters encouraged doing the opposite of Watt’s advice. One comment read, “That’s the area you prob want to avoid. Highly gentrified, all monotone, no culture or flavor and expensive.” Another comment read “If you want real fun you’ll avoid areas that have any of this stuff. Otherwise you’re just begging to hang with white people who have the same preferences.”
An X comment under the video reads from @postapoccanada reads, “That’s a safe way of saying The White People strategy.”
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