While in business school, Sauvage directed Carissa, a documentary about Carissa Phelps who overcame abandonment and prostitution as a child to attend UCLA.[8][6][9] The film received multiple awards and was licensed to Current TV.[7] Sauvage produced Soundcheck, a film about musician Bill Laswell.[7] He worked as a director for commercials, including Bon Appetit. In 2011, he joined the Occupy Wall Street movement, where he sought to communicate some of the protesters' demands and raise additional funds.[6] He co-founded Occupy.com, which served as a news aggregator about the movement's developments.[10]
Life as an empath
In 2015, during a period of depression, Sauvage had a transformative experience with the hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca.[11][5] The episode encouraged him to follow his "authentic self" and taught him that emotion was rooted in the body.[5] Subsequently, he cultivated an ability to feel the emotions that others are experiencing.[5][11] According to Sauvage, the basis for empathy is emotional self awareness, which is not cultivated in current culture.[12]
In 2018, Sauvage presented EMPATH, a one-man show at TheatreLab, where he gave live presentations of his ability to feel others' emotions.[13][14] The performance started by Sauvage explaining how he acquired the ability.[15] Next, when reading an audience member, would begin by releasing any pre-existing emotions before physically responding to the emotions he was sensing.[11] Sauvage says his read of the other person is instantaneous, and 75% of those he interacts with say his reading was meaningful and non-generic.[11]
In 2019, Sauvage launched the Empath shop, a pop-up store in the East Village. Visitors received free counseling, discussion sessions, and learned about empathy.[16]
Sauvage serves as a consultant to businesses and philanthropists who want to align their strategies with their feelings.[5] Sauvage works with individuals and approximately 80% of his clients are female.[5] He teaches fellow empaths through a class called School for Empaths.[3][11][17]
Sauvage has led group meditation sessions to accompany the publication of his companion book, The Simplest Meditation in the World.[2]