Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais - Rethink What You Put in Your Body | Darin Olien

Episode Date: June 16, 2021

This week’s conversation is with Darin Olien, who you might be familiar with as the co-host of the widely popular Netflix docu-series “Down to Earth with Zac Efron”. Darin is a highly recognized exotic superfoods hunter, supplement formulator, and author of the New York Times bestselling book, “SuperLife: The five fixes that will keep you healthy, fit and eternally awesome.He’s worked with the fitness-company Beachbody to formulate one of the top superfood shakes in the USA a whole-food supplement called, “Shakeology”, as well as the plant-based, “Ultimate Reset 21-day” detoxification program. Darin is also one of the founders of Barukas™, a new super nut from the Savannah “Cerrado” of Brazil.  So you can probably imagine what this conversation is about - we dive into Darin’s passion for nutrition - what makes a great superfood, the importance of proper hydration, and so much more._________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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I'm Michael Gervais and by trade and training, I'm a sport and performance psychologist. Fortunate enough to work behind the scenes with some of the top performers across the planet. And the whole idea behind these conversations is to learn from extraordinary people, to pull back the curtain, to explore how they've committed themselves to both mastering their craft and their minds. And our minds are our greatest asset. And if you want to learn more about how you can train your mind, this is just a quick little reminder right here to check out the online psychological training course that I've created with the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks,

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by. If you're ready to start building stronger relationships that actually convert, try LinkedIn Sales Navigator for free for 60 days at linkedin.com slash deal. That's linkedin.com slash deal for two full months for free terms and conditions apply finding mastery is brought to you by david protein i'm pretty intentional about what i eat and the majority of my nutrition comes from whole foods and when i'm traveling or in between meals on a demanding day certainly i need something quick that will support the way that i feel and think and perform and that's why i've been leaning on David Protein Bars. And so has the team here at Finding Mastery.

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There's way more than that happening here. Don't tell. Okay. All right. Look, they're incredibly simple. They're effective. 28 grams of protein, just 150 calories and zero grams of sugar. It's rare to find something that fits so conveniently into a performance-based lifestyle and actually tastes good. Dr. Peter Attia, someone who's been on the show, it's a great episode by the way, is also their chief science officer. So I know they've done their due diligence in that category. My favorite flavor right now is the chocolate chip cookie dough. And a few of our teammates here at Finding Mastery have been loving the fudge brownie and peanut butter. I know, Stuart, you're still listening here.

So getting enough protein matters. And that can't be understated, not just for strength, but for energy and focus, recovery, for longevity. And I love that David is making that easier. So if you're trying to hit your daily protein goals with something seamless, I'd love for you to go check them out. Get a free variety pack, a $25 value,

and 10% off for life when you head to davidprotein.com slash finding mastery. That's David, D-A-V-I-D, protein, P-R-O-T-E-I-N.com slash finding mastery. Now, this week's conversation is with Darren Olin, who you might be familiar with as the co-host of the widely popular Netflix docuseries, Down to Earth with Zac Efron. Darren is a highly recognized exotic superfoods hunter. How about that? He's a supplement formulator and he's the author of the New York Times bestseller book, Super Life, the five fixes that will keep you

healthy, fit, and eternally awesome. So you know, if you're going to name your book that from a subtitle that you got something a little funny about you, he's worked with the fitness company Beachbody to formulate one of the top superfood shakes in the U.S., a whole food supplement that's called Shakeology, as well as the plant-based Ultimate Reset 21-Day Detoxification Program. Darren is also one of the founders of Barucas, a new super nut from the Savannah Serrano of Brazil. So you can probably imagine what this conversation is about. We dive into Darren's passion for nutrition,

what makes a great superfood, the importance of proper hydration, and so much more. He lives a wildlife. It is awesome. With that, let's jump right into this conversation with Darren O'Lean. Darren, how are you? Hey, man. I'm super stoked to be here and talk with you today. Oh, likewise. So we've got some mutual friends and I've admired your work from a distance. And so congrats on a big body of work that you bring into this conversation. Thank you. I feel like I'm just kind of warming up, actually. Do you? Wow, that's really cool. Okay, so how about this? Like, if your life was a book, and we don't know when the final chapters are written, where are you? Are you halfway through, quarter of the way through? Oh, quarter at most. quick hits to set the context to how you've done so much. You know, like you've got a couple

companies you're building, you've ripped around the world, you know, in a really fun show that we'll talk about. And you've got a deep passion around superfoods, which I do too, by the way. Cool. So I can't wait to talk to you about that part. Yeah, there's some fun stuff with a brain that's going on. That's great research that's happening. Okay. So let's jump into early life to set the frame. Early life, Minnesota, small town kid.

Father was an ag professor at the University of Minnesota. He actually taught business practices to farmers for the university. Wait a minute. It all makes sense already. Seriously, right? Like you've got multiple businesses that you've got going on. Dad was in farming. Like, okay, good. All right. Yeah. He was a 10 year old professor and taught business practices for farmers. Well, you know, largely, you know, it wasn't the great, it was kind of in that, that starting point in the sixt very real connection with with farmers and you know cousins still having cowboy hats on to this day um you know that was that was the innocence and i

think then career-ending football injury in college catapulted me into, okay, I just tore my sacral plexus, um, with which is hit. So this, yeah. So the sacral plexus is in the sacrum, a bunch of ligaments that are keeping the sacrum and the pelvis stable. Um, and I was a fullback and the linebacker and I just crunched. Usually you hear those types of injuries from car accidents. True. Full back. Okay. Makes sense. And probably the other side of it is I just loved hitting. I loved the act of being able to hit and just use that, you know, part of myself. Where does that come from? Where's that come from, Darren?

Because that's a particular mindset. Yeah. You know, it's interesting that you say that because it's brought up all these, you know, my father and my brother fought. There were, my brother was a little older and they really clashed. And I kind of just kind of stayed over here working on athletics, like just played, picked up basketball and just, I'm out. Like I can't be in this intense environment. And so I just kind of worked on that side of it and worked on skills and just

focused on myself. And I think when, so there's this kind of inner, I was never running around angry, but it just, this, this place where I could express, I don't know, it just comes deep. I love, I don't want to hurt people. Um, but there's just kind of some warrior aspect that I really, really, and I loved basketball. I played basketball too, and I'd get aggressive basketball, but, and I, and probably basketball was my love, but football just brought out that side. And so I'd beat out Michael. I would be like beat out guys that were a 50 pounds heavier than me in that position

because I would just take up, you know, be, be totally cool with, you know, crushing people. And, and so I think just, you know, as a sophomore kind of beating out all these guys, it was the first, first game. And I think it probably saved me from a lot of head and neck injuries and everything else. And that was a career ending injury. And then a little depression, switched colleges, said, listen, you know, then the light bulb went off. I was like, well, what am I going to do with my life? Because I picked some stupid major that I don't really care about. And so then the light bulb went off and said, well, why don't I study this very thing that I actually need to study about myself right now, because I can't play again, and I'm hurt.

So that's where it threw me into physiology and nutrition. And then it was just kind of like this, for me, it was kind of this science meets just absolutely blew my mind in terms of how miraculous the body is. Like, what do you mean you eat these foods? It converts to metabolism and use for energy. Like it just the concept of the body just kind of opened up this world. And then as I started looking at food and nutrition, I started getting lectured when I finished school, I got lectured by this functional medical doctor that wasn't even a term back then. He was just this retired doctor that would go to the medical library and dump off tons of research and come to my house and start talking to me about different

compounds and foods. And it was just like, holy cow. And then I just got fascinated. I started playing with formulas and herbs. And then I started seeing where companies were marketing something, but it just didn't line up. It doesn't line up in quality. It didn't line up in efficacy. And I'm like, and the more I dug, then to that point, I started formulating and playing with actual, like, I think I can bring this in the world. And I said, well, I can't do it. I got to go meet the farmer. And so that's where the Minnesota kids said, I don't care where they are. I just have to go meet them. And it just happens to be at 15,000 feet in the Andes or in the Amazon or, you know, in, in, in, in the middle of the South Pacific,

like it didn't matter. That was the, the, the innocence of the quote unquote superfood hunting came by way of, I have to know who's cultivating, who's growing. I want to know from an ethnobotany standpoint. And how are they doing it? What's the tradition? we bring that into the world that is efficacious, that is doing justice to the, to the, not only the folklore, but the actual real science of what these, these plants are. And so then, and then how can I make this better for those people, for those indigenous people? And so all of this is playing and the environment at the same time. So all of that's playing out. How old are you? You know, this was 2000 started 2003 or so. 2003. I'm listening to you right now. And I want to, I want to pull on each one of the kind of insights that you've pulled to create the superfoods and the concoctions that you're playing with now. But I just want to pause because I'm super inspired by the way you're thinking already. And I had, so I love what I do.

I love psychology and the application of good science in rugged, hostile, consequential, high stress environments. Like I really do enjoy it. And there's a beautiful calling right now to say, Hey, that stuff that you've been doing on the frontier, we actually need it in business and we need it in family rooms, you know, living rooms. So it's a really exciting time for psychology, but the inspired nature of what you're describing is that I had the same thing about nutrition, um, much around the same years, maybe a little bit later than, than yours, but this, I, I have a deep appreciation for nutrition and what it can do from a neurochemistry standpoint. So this is why I love speaking, you know, to folks like you that are deep in it, really understand it because the

power of nutrition is real and I'm inspired by how you went about it. I love to hear the detail that you go to actually source. So you're, you're getting past marketing fluff and getting down into the source. And so what have you come to find over your 20 years? You know, what are you finding right now that you didn't, maybe you knew at first, but are you finding right now that, that you didn't, maybe you knew at first, but now you've come full circle or maybe you're 180 degrees off when you first started, what are you coming to find now? Well, that's a big question because, because coming to find is also like re re refinding, if that's a term uh yeah because it's all it's already been found and and and then it's it's reapplying or applying better principles or sourcing or cultivation or organization or systems

in order for something there's been several situations where i've been in where where the culture itself was losing out on some of these these botanicals like I remember Sasha Inchi which is this incredibly perfectly human balanced omega-3, six and nine oil coming directly out of the Amazon jungle and and the Incas used it. It was so revered that they actually put it on their staffs of their kind of high priests and stuff. So it was just revered. And then I looked at the chemistry and like the, the, the perfect balance of omega-3, 6, and 9. And I was like, whoa, this just doesn't really exist. And then there was this complete protein side of it and this whole thing. But the people had been working on that for a long time, but, but they couldn't, there was some, there was a commercial aspect of it that, that needs to fuel the engine, the sustainability,

the wheel of a superfood comes by way of several factors. And obviously one factor is you have to have, it's not really, let's break down money a second. It's not just money. It's a demand and a reception of a customer that's receiving benefit over and over and over again, which then they'll put their money down on something that they care about, which is caring for them. So that itself has to have an engine there. And then if you can link it to fair trading, that is easily a fluff word too. But it's literally like understanding the culture to understand why is this not working? What needs to happen for it to work

and what needs to be there for these people to thrive? And, and then in, in us doing that, is it wild collected? Does it need to be grown? Does it, does it have water systems? What, what's the challenges and how do you process that in order for those essential omega-3, six and nine to not be destroyed in this whole process. So that's just an example of that was a naive thing I went into. I fell in love with the plant and then realized, oh, this culture is losing it. And this was in 2003. Like this was going away.

The people outside of the pods that were growing it, the cities, they didn't even know about sasho and she anymore and now it's it's out in the world and all of that stuff so i think on the one hand what was totally naive was thinking that uh all processing i mean the most shocking michael is that most products from all let's call it i mean there's regulatory bodies in the supplement world yes from a nutraceutical standpoint maybe a little more uh but from a functional food standpoint like camu camu or sasha inchi or shizandra or Chaga or Rishi or you name it, from a functional food standpoint, there's no real regulation as to what that compound, the strength of that compound, there's no real regulation in terms of like when that thing is either extracted or powdered, what is the efficacious compound concentrations in there you have no idea so all of these powders or extracts have the same name but they're different processing centers

different places around the world and listen I've been in hundreds of processing centers in places you would never think and the most shocking is that people can sell this. Like, so wait a minute, I'm looking on the boxes of companies that are buying this. And I know these companies like this is Russian roulette. This is number one, the safety standards, there's a bird right above that, you know, it's going to eventually poop in the cauldron of, you know, and then who's testing the efficacious side. So, I mean, that's a whole, there's a lot to unpack there. But I think when I was showing up, and that's kind of one of my biggest skills, I think, is I will show up to see, to open my eyes, to see what's going on, to have conversations, to learn. food world was so shocking to me that it just further continued my resolve of just going, whoa. And of course, you look at the cacao industry is criminal. Western Africa paying the

farmers barely enough to live themselves. And now as a commodity, they squeeze these guys so much that they don't have any other way of an income. They barely can provide enough food for their families. Some can't. And they're stuck in this loop of growing cacao in West Africa and under horrible conditions. And no one's doing anything about it. And so this is going on to this day. And so you have things that people want to glorify all of this stuff. But yet when you really look under the hood, it's shocking. And then it just goes, okay, well, I have to do this right. I can't change all of this stuff, but I have to do it right. And certainly with what we're doing at Barucas is a perfect example. This nut I found out of Brazil, and that is we're planting trees

in the environment that really needs it. We are testing all of our stuff. We've created supply chain that was never meant to be created in the wild of, of the Sahado, the Savannah of Brazil, that's 500 million acres. So can you imagine doing that coordinated effort? And so there's a lot of factors with, think about that now with every ingredient, there is a story, there is a journey, there is a farmer, there is a collector, there'sus. When it comes to high performance, whether you're leading a team, raising a family, pushing physical limits, or simply trying to be better today than you were yesterday,

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So you know exactly what you're getting. Personally, I'm anchored by what they call the Momentus 3. Protein, creatine, and omega-3. And together, these foundational nutrients support muscle recovery, brain function, and long-term energy. They're part of my daily routine. And if you're ready to fuel your brain and body with the best, Momentous has a great new offer just for our community right here. Use the code FINDINGMASTERY for 35% off your first subscription order at livemomentous.com. Again, that's L-I-V-E Momentous, M-O-M-E-N-T-O-U-S, livemomentous.com,

and use the code FINDINGMASMastery for 35% off your first subscription order. Finding Mastery is brought to you by Felix Grey. I spend a lot of time thinking about how we can create the conditions for high performance. How do we protect our ability to focus, to recover, to be present? And one of the biggest challenges we face today is our sheer amount of screen time. It messes with our sleep, our clarity, even our mood. And that's why I've been using Felix Grey glasses.

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Just good design, great science. And if you're ready to feel the difference for yourself, Felix Gray is offering all Finding Mastery listeners 20% off. Just head to FelixGray.com and use the code FINDINGMASTERY20 at checkout. Again, that's Felix Gray. You spell it F-E-L-I-X-G-R-A-Y.com and use the code FindingMastery20 at FelixGray.com for 20% off. Let's use Barucas as a jumping off. Talk about

why Barucas is fascinating to you and what you're trying to do with the company. Yeah. So what Barucas was like, I was looking over here and then someone approached me, a Brazilian told me about Barucas and I didn't know about it, which is always a wonderful thing because you can't know it all. And I saw this nut and they were claiming like it was more nutrient dense nut. I had all these studies. The tree was very powerful as a carbon sequester. So there's all these elements that was very fascinating. And so I tasted it. And so here's the interesting thing. As you can imagine, tannins, bitters, salty, pungent herbs exist and how to formulate that for a palate in an effective way if it's not in a capsule is tricky and so when I tasted this nut it tasted like a super peanut like super good

with no microtoxins no allergic reactions that we knew of and I was was like a first gone, Oh, there's no barrier to taste entry on this. So that got my attention. So then I tested it at these labs I use. And then I saw the nutritional profile match the data. And I was like, wow, this is blowing away any nut that we know of almost in every category. So more protein, complete protein, more lower in fat calories than any nut, higher in fiber. So two to three times more fiber and the antioxidants. So, you know, compared to like an almond, it was 450% more antioxidants than an almond. And then on top of it, it's a wild food. So there's no pesticides, no herbicides, no outside water. And then when you learn on the ground, the devastation that's going on in this area being destroyed faster than any landmass on the planet because of unsustainable

farming practices based in the beef cattle industry, you realize that, okay, it's an economic play. Well, why don't we create economics? If we create economics and again, create that demand that we can say, hey, there's value in this tree, then we'll pay you. And so going out to those people and coordinating those efforts. So again, this is right down my wheelhouse, incredible tasting food, delivering nutrients better than any nut, delivering on fiber and supporting the microbiome and all of these things connected to growing. And our goal is to plant 20 million trees of this nitrogen fixing tree that also gifts nitrogen to the flora and fauna around it. So helping the environment, helping the indigenous people,

and getting an incredibly tasting nut out to people. So that's always my approach. And this just lined up so perfectly that we just had to do it. And again, the environment is suffering in that area. And people are suffering from nutrient deficits. And this one, everyone loves the taste. And I virtually mean everyone loves the taste. I've never had it. I've never had a barucas nut.

Well, we're definitely sending them to you yeah let's go okay so i'm looking forward to it but you know like i'm wondering what it is about maybe certain regions of brazil because um like the brazilian nut has what's the official name for the brazilian nut oh the the Barucas. Is that what it's called? Wait, is the Brazil? Yeah. So they call it Baru nut and some Chiquitania, they call it. There's a few common names. There's a Brazil nut that is its own nut. So we trademarked Barucas because we kind of created a standard of, of efficacious, how we grow or how we collect it. Okay. So I think I was thinking of the Brazil nut, right? It's, it's, it's a little bit of a larger nut, right? Exactly. And, and the properties on that are really interesting from like a, um, supporting of testosterone. And like, there's some interesting stuff that came out about that.

Is that still, do you still check the mark on some of those properties for the Brazil nut? Yeah. I mean, Brazil nut, I mean, some of its high points, obviously the selenium content is super high in Brazil. It's not quite as high in, in Barucas, but we check magnesium, copper, calcium, manganese, iron, zinc, like pretty much on the top class in terms of micronutrients. Yeah. Okay. And then did you already have a supply chain and did you have a delivery mechanism as well? So that's all that we've had to work our butts off in order to create because again the context is wild food 500 million acres so consider how do you coordinate something that's two-thirds of the united states right so or at least some state two to three states of texas right so so you have to work in regions and then work with those groups, either co-ops, tribes, regional coordinators, and then collect them and then they collect a fruit. That's what we call the fruit. It's technically a droop with a seed. Right. So the droop has a fruit layer with one seed inside and it falls from the tree.

And it's very, very hard to crack open. It's very unique. You can't use any other mechanisms. They don't exist to bring from another nut, macadamia or whatever. It doesn't work. So you have to create new mechanisms to crack that open to get that one seed. And then we have to roast that seed. That's how they did it endogenous back in the day too. So they used to put all of the fruit after they'd collect around the fire. And then in the morning, it would roast the nut because there's tons of phytic acids and enzyme inhibitors when it's raw how did the natives how did the natives do it yeah so they would take when the fruit would fall from the tree it still had the nut inside they would place them around a fire at night and and so it would warm them up all throughout the night and basically roast it inside and then it was easier to crack it open they'd crack it open and consume the nut that way. And all of our testing was done after the roast. Yeah. Okay. After the roasting. So pre-roasting,

we don't know actually what's in there. Well, we, yeah, we definitely know that there's some enzyme inhibiting activity that if you keep eating eating those are going to hurt you pretty quickly. Good to know. Good to know. Okay. Okay. I'm, I'm jacked because when I first came across cat's claw or Chaga or, um, Rishi, yeah, I'm doing two mushrooms there right or uh even like something is like pedestrian as omega or coq10 like coenzyme when i first came across some of those things it was there were game changers like oh my how did i go without an omega supplement i was not eating i don't think anyone is but i'll defer to you enough of the right foods to get my omegas right and i don't think anyone is, but I'll defer to you enough of the right foods to get my omegas right. And I don't, would you say that that's a fair statement that most people can't get the omegas right on a modern diet? Uh, yeah. I mean, depending, depending on what you mean by

modern, uh, standard, certainly standard American, they're definitely not, uh, rancidity of omega-6 all of that stuff they're they're you know it's all about ratios right so it's all about which is why i was like the sasha inchi omega-3 6 and 9 naturally balanced for the human body by the way it was better ratios than i've ever seen in the world so it's all about the ratios so we're eating you know it's really about think of this for the people listening, it's about fresh. As soon as you start heating and cooking and all of this stuff, you lose potentially, most times, you lose the sensitive to heat, oxygen, and light, you lose the omega-3. So if you can unlock that in other ways, flax, chia seeds, great way to also keep those in the whole food form yeah krill you can do all those things and and those are those are

easy ways to get in there fresh there's actually a couple companies doing fresh frozen spirulina which has a great amount is, I'll turn you on to it. It will change your life. Pretty amazing. So it is about, in our modern day world, it is about consciously making sure that we're eating a balance and diversification. And we have to, you know, kind of spend some time making sure, you know, I eat algae oil sometimes, but I do lean on chia quite a bit and my levels stay fine and in the whole food form. So, and you know, what's interesting about this is, so my wife and I have a very similar diet and we'll get blood draws every so often, 12 months, 18 months, you know, to, to just kind of see what our nutrition

is doing. And I don't mean blood draw from our GP, but like a proper nutritional panel. And I'm- That's a different, that's a different- There's a whole different world, right? Yeah. And so my omegas come back lower unless I properly supplement. We're eating like, I'll share this with you.

This is one of my, my son is 12 and he and I eat this on a regular basis for breakfast. So it's a, oh gosh, Ezekiel bread. Okay. So we're making a choice on that. And then like a cashew butter or usually it's a cashew butter and then avocado and then chia. And then we'll throw either a hard boiled or some sort of egg on top of it with a little bit of spice on it, you know, for like a paprika or something. And so, so I'm getting chia in, I'm getting, my point is, is like, I'm, I'm, I value superfoods. And so, but my stuff and my wife, the way that I process and the way she processed totally different, she's fine on omegas. And I'm always like, I need to properly supplement. I don't know where the leak is for us. We haven't quite figured that

out yet. Um, you know, and I'm talking about going through the Krebs cycle and figuring out like, what are the right things? And maybe you can talk about the Krebs cycle for folks because, um, it, to me, it's like awesome, you know, like kind of figuring out, oh, if you're low on B this, you're probably not going to ever get to testosterone making properties. Like that Krebs cycle is a game changer for me. But before you jump in on Krebs cycle and give a masterclass on it, like, I just want to say that when I come across these things, like Baruchas nut or cat's claw or whatever, I go, oh, I can't wait. What is the unlock that I'm going to get? So what is the unlock that you might think I get from Barucas? Yeah, it's a good question. I mean, there's so much chemistry that's going on, and especially, I mean, what you're also getting to is the individuality, the biochemical individuality,

which is super, super important, but really exciting in terms of the science around this and and god the more kind of unpacking of the microbiome and the conversion and the chemistry that's going on in there because that's that's really where it's you know the concept that some people may have heard is that it's not necessarily what you eat it's what you're able to convert convert yeah same with hydration it's not how much you you drink but like if you chug for example 64 ounces at one sitting you know or like whatever like you're not going to process it same with the the micronutrients well and water is a whole nother incredible rabbit hole that I just find the most fascinating. I've been to some serious research workshops because it's around, of course, what's not in the water, which we need to be aware of, but it's also the structure of the water because there's receptivity i started to call bs on this on not on your stuff i didn't

know that you guys were down the path and i had but and i hadn't public i haven't publicly talked about it but there was this whole infusion of like oxygen water and you know and i don't know like coach me up on water really quickly like obviously you're you're you're in it right now so like am i right to be a bit skeptical when it comes to some of these, I don't know, tempered waters where it's like oxygen infused and that's the one actually threw me for a loop. This is going to be fun for you. Okay, good.

I think, I mean, a right amount of skepticism on everything because we're being, number one, most things that you're, I'm probably guessing that you're getting hit with is spins of marketing. It's my marketing mind is always up. Even when I'm talking to people nowadays, like this was not true, Darren, as much as it is now, 10 years ago, like the marketing mind in a general conversation with somebody, how are you? And I see it pop up like, oh, they're selling me that their life is pretty damn good. And it's like, fuck, like, let's get real again. You know, so, you know, it's okay. You know, it's, it's okay to be a mess, especially

2020, 2021. Like it's okay. Thank God for that, Darren, because it's relieving this need for people to shine their armor and carry it around in a heavy way. We can say, you know, you got something over there that might help me. That'd be nice. Baruchas. Yeah, there you go. I'm joking. Yeah. No, but you're right. And it's a whole nother layer of our conversation that, again, I think even before we started, you know, turning on the video and starting the podcast, it's really about the underpinning of all of this for me is so that people can thrive. Because when you're out of limitation, if you're out of the limitations that sometimes through pain, suffering, points of view, whatever, you're creating your own suffering and you're creating

your own limitations in terms of who and what you can truly be and what you can accomplish. I don't need to preach that to you for sure. And so for me, all of the water, the nutrition, the superfoods, it's really to give them tools and their tool belt so that they can unlock more and more potential. Because for me, it comes down, it's really simple. If I want to go run up this mountain that I'm staring at right now, I want to do it. I don't want to go, I can't because this and that, and my body doesn't work and all of these things. If, if some emergency happens, if my dog gets attacked by a mountain lion, I want to be able to sprint after that mountain lion, get it away from my dog. Like, like that, aside from adrenaline, I'm just saying, like, I want to, those are extreme examples of reacting to life. I want to be able to, if someone's listening and they want to play with their kids, but

their lower back's killing them and they don't have the energy because they're not eating great. The whole point is to unlock so that people can live. And when you have less, when you have less limitation and your body is thriving, you have more ability to dream and pursue and go after purpose. So for me, that's informs everything. Finding Mastery is brought to you by Cozy Earth. Over the years, I've learned that recovery doesn't just happen when we sleep.

It starts with how we transition and wind down. And that's why I've built intentional routines into the way that I close my day. And Cozy Earth has become a new part of that. Their bedding, it's incredibly soft, like next level soft. And what surprised me the most is how much it actually helps regulate temperature. I tend to run warm at night and these sheets have helped me sleep cooler and more consistently, which has made a meaningful difference in how I show up the next day for myself, my family, and our team here at Finding Mastery. It's become part of my nightly routine. Throw on their lounge

pants or pajamas, crawl into bed under their sheets, and my nervous system starts to settle. They also offer a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty on all of their bedding, which tells me, tells you, that they believe in the long-term value of what they're creating. If you're ready to upgrade your rest and turn your bed into a better recovery zone, use the code FINDINGMASTERY for 40% off at CozyEarth.com. That's a great discount for our community. Again, the code is FINDINGMASTERY for 40% off at CozyEarth.com. Finding Mastery is brought to you by Caldera Lab. I believe that the way we do small things in life is how we do all things.

And for me, that includes how I take care of my body. I've been using Caldera Lab for years now. And what keeps me coming back, it's really simple. Their products are simple. And they reflect the kind of intentional living that I want to build into every part of my day. And they make my morning routine really easy. They've got some great new products I think you'll be interested in. A shampoo, conditioner, and a hair serum. With Caldera Lab, it's not about adding more. It's about choosing better. And when your day demands clarity and energy and presence, the way you prepare for it matters. If you're looking for high quality personal care products

that elevate your routine without complicating it, I'd love for you to check them out. Head to calderalab.com slash finding mastery and use the code Mastery at checkout for 20% off your first order. That's calderalab, C-A-L-D-E-R-L-A-B.com slash Finding Mastery. I think it's a little bit like the Panama Canal. And maybe you can upgrade this analogy, but there's lots of things that have to fall into place in just the right way, in the right timing for it to unlock the delivery of the the ship or the vessel across the land you know and so for example like if you don't get sleep in and if you don't get some basic nutrition some nutritional information on board then you know what ends up happening and this happened for years is people would say, ah, you know, I'm just kind of weak or I'm scared, or I get so fatigued so early or,

or I get a knickknack injury and I can't kind of continue it. I mean, we've got to get that basic stuff in place. And I love how you map that onto purpose and map that onto capacity and map that onto expression of both of those. So hot damn, go back to water. Yeah. So, so, so from a basic perspective, water, there's several, and then I want to unpack the marketing side. Cause I get hit is probably a, you know, one of the favorite questions. All right. So people says, well, what about pH water? What about this? What about that? And so there's several different from a from a kind of a mechanics point of view. So we have a convenience of turning on our tap and water comes out.

They've done a hell of a do from a chlorine perspective to allow for the water to fly through pipes and potentially collect other stagnant microbiological contaminants. And they need a level of chlorine in the water to kill off because they haven't figured out maybe if they can oxygenate, maybe they can UV, but they haven't figured out maybe if they can oxygenate, maybe they can UV, but they haven't figured out that whole infrastructure. So the point is that there's now more and more junk in the water and it's also reacting to other volatile compounds. So the first thing I believe people need to do, if you don't have your own natural spring that is what nature has provided it water vortates it chelates off the minerals it gets energized from the earth and the sun it naturally

has energy in it and we can unpack whatever that means and and that is obviously the number one kind of water we want to drink but most of us don't have access to that clean of water we want to drink. But most of us don't have access to that clean of water. Unfortunately, we've infiltrated way too much of the earth. So therefore, we need to kind of deconstruct the water, the kind of dead water going through our pipes, and we need to clean it. So a reverse osmosis or a RO system doesn't allow for those contaminants to exist. So distillation obviously is vaporization and recondensing into clean water. However, now you're getting into a little bit of the pH side of it. Well, that's a neutral water.

If it's actually done right, RO and distillation, you're getting a neutral pH 7.0 water, but it has nothing in it. You need electrolytes in order for osmotic activity of cellular hydration to happen. So an easy thing to do from a size perspective of the electrolytes is grab an unrefined crystal salt. I love Himalayan crystal salt. You add a pinch to your glass of water, a half a teaspoon per gallon. Now you've created an electric or a voltage regulator, essentially. So I'm taking, let me shift off from alkalinization or pH water. And it's really about voltage. Whole body is based in voltage, right? So all the cells, voltage, voltage, voltage. And so you've allowed now the water to have electrolytes that are small enough to go in and out of the cell. Now, one of the marketing things is try this new electrolyte.

It's going to help hydration. Most of that is bullshit, right? So most of it is calcium carbonate, potassium phosphate. Those molecules that were created in a lab are infinitely bigger than the cell membrane needs for the actual electrolytes to pull in and out of the cell. So it's actually a little stressful on the body and, and the body does break it down and utilizes it to some degree, but I just go back to the unrefined and there's some other forms of really angstrom sized, uh, electrolytes that you can use, but Himalayan salt, really cheap, easy to use after you've distilled and reversed osmosis. Now you've just created a clean water. And now I'm not even getting into, so people say, well, what about high pH water? What about this activization of, I can manipulate pH, I can put calcium carbonate in that water right now and I can jack that pH up to what 10 12 pH and

that's a high amount of activity but the problem is from the from most part from from what the cell from the what the body needs it needs a 7.365, slightly alkaline water to use. So if you're taking in high amounts of alkaline water, it's actually your body needs to buffer it, or in this case, bring it down in order for the body to actually use it. The same with acidic water. So most of the tap, I've tested hundreds of tap waters. Most of the tap water is slightly acidic. So from a overall perspective, you're taking in an acidic liquid over a long period of time. It's going to create some problems. Now it's not going to change. People get a little messed up around. Well, people talk about blood pH, but you know, this, the, the body's not,

you're not talking about blood pH, blood pH. You, the, the body's not, you're not talking about blood pH, blood pH, you can't move at all, barely can move at all, you'll be dead. So the body uses everything it can to keep those systems locked in, but the rest of the body can suffer. So that's a little bit on pH. And then you're also talking, I talked a little bit about the junk in the water, that's total dissolved solids, TDS. That's where you need to bring that number down because most of it shows up in the way of pesticides, herbicides, fifth folates, pharmaceutical drugs. It shows up in regular tap water all over the place.

So you want to, again, that's what's going to happen when you distill the water or reverse osmosis. So now, so now in terms of, so when people try to manipulate you through pH, the bottom line is you don't have to swing all of these different ways. You just have to try to get in basically a neutral water with the right kind of electrolytes and not be, there's nutraceutical applications to water without a doubt. There's natural forms of high amount of mineral water that you can use from a therapeutic standpoint for sure. But from a normal drinking standpoint, that will uh problems down the down the line do you have any brands or products that you whether you're associated with them or not that you really like yeah i mean there's a lot of number one on amazon to get a distillation unit you can you know 100

150 200 bucks boom you've got a clean water creating device aqua true is a countertop unit it's a really well you pour it in the back it filters it they sponsored yeah they they sponsored us for a while which was really cool like i thought that was a good product great product right so that's an easy way but again add your your crystal salt or your electrolytes to it before you drink it. So those are, those are wonderful applications. Now, the science around water is pretty intense. Yo, open me back up to water. How about that? And I thought you were going to say, ah, you know, pH and oxygenated water, there's something there. Just kind of put your marketing mind on a little bit, like some, you know, trust your trusted companies or something but you you took us you took us into

it okay so when but are there some companies that you you you trust when it comes to ph water or o2 or o3 i think it is called o3 water oxygenated yeah yeah o3 and there's also some o4 more stabilized because o3 is very volatile because it's looking for that electron. Right. So, okay. So that's really, yeah. So really Oh three is really hydrogen peroxide. I mean, I mean, what have I done to myself? So, I mean, technically speaking, that's that it's looking for, that's why it's so effective when you pour it on a cut and it bubbles and stuff, it's grabbing the electron like crazy so um but again i don't go for the shiny object of of just okay well

you're claiming oxygen but is it stable is it is it there okay is it what's the half-life most of this stuff even they did some stuff and we did even did it in the in the episode we went to lourdes in france in one of the episodes and down to earth and we looked at uh some of the water structure and we didn't make it in the episode because there was too much of a rabbit as you can probably imagine and and it turns out that talking with Lee Lorenzen, we realized the exclusion zone and the structure of Lourdes water, the half-life is about 30 minutes. Yeah. So if you're looking to test it, I sent literally knows what, and the half-life of whatever that structure was that helped to regenerate mitochondrial disease and kind of that

chronic fatigue kind of area that, and other issues seemed to go away. So they couldn't find it then, but Lorenzen, like dr lee lorenzen did studies there and saw that that and found out that the half-life was 30 minutes which means you can't bottle it you know right unless unless you know what you're doing and so i don't even know if i can say anything but there's we can we can maybe, I don't know. But yeah, no, you know, it's just you and me and, and, and the other million listening. So I'm joking. There was a company that came up, um, uh, pitched me at a club that I was with, uh, on, they thought they had cracked it. And so I was a Guinea. Yeah. And I, and I was a Guinea pig and I took it,

uh, the water, it was the heaviest bottle of water I had ever carried around. First of all, it sounds like what is actually in this? It's a plastic bottle, just like a normal plastic bottle. And I was like, what could possibly, and he's like, dude, drink it slowly. And I don't know. I don't know if I could have climbed Everest or not right after it, but there was an extra molecule. There was extra molecules. There was something going on to it. the delivery system of water. So its ability for the biological system to receive pharmaceutical and or compounds is huge. And this is, again, I don't know what I don't think I can say anything, but I do know of a water. And if we could put it in the show notes, we will. I do know of a water that has a the only fda uh label on it that says that basically the warning is if you take this water with other pharmaceuticals then this will create this effect and some of the biological effect and the assimilation of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals goes up the absorbability

and the bioavailability goes up by 600 percent does that make some of those uh pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals more dangerous because of the unpredicted you know level of now toxin or not toxins but um chemicals That potentially chemicals. What am I saying? Active. Yeah. Active ingredients. Yeah. It potentially could.

So, so on the one hand you need very little of it, but at the same time, you can also, there's also, you can infuse, there's also ways that you can fuse that frequency into there too. So there's all kinds of different ways, but yeah, from that perspective, you have to be aware of, of, you know, and just think of that. Like if you're not testing that regular water is doing some sort of action that we don't even know about. So, so then how do you make it pedestrian, you know, water consumption and like, how do you make it where somebody does not have a double PhD in molecular

science to say, oh, well, this is what I should be drinking? I go back to clean it the way I said. RO, distillation, get the electrolytes. So now you have a balanced pH that your body receives very well. You've got electrolytes that you absolutely need, right? For cellular hydration. And all we're talking about is your cells need the, need the hydration for your body to be hydrated. And then if you want, then you can put it in healthier containers. I use a blue bottle that's got love and gratitude, you know, etched into the glass. And there's no downside. There's no downside. Even the placebo of me looking at that glass going,

oh, love. Then, hey, that's a good feeling. And so you don't even have to buy into it all, but you're also putting in a glass and you're getting rid of the horrible petroleum container of plastic. Our tribe knows that like get be done with the plastics, you know, like, please, do you have any ways that you think about getting the right type of volume? And I know it's so individual specific. I hate to even think about suggesting people ask me all the time. Well, how much I say,

well, just start your day with some hydration. And if you sweat a lot, you know, you just kind of get ahead of it. And well, how do I know? Well, if you take your hat off or your, some clothing off and there's a white ring around it, you're probably not doing, you know, like you got some salt that's leaving your body. You probably need to get a little bit more, uh, salt in your diet or a little hydration. I mean, I mean, I'm playing in a very dangerous way with a very serious thing. So I just, how do you make it more pedestrian for the get after it community? Yeah, that's a good question. I think, I think the habit of getting more water in is very necessary. So like you just kind of hit it. So if you reach for your water first in the morning and start there in the kind of clean water that we're talking about, reach for that. And try, like, if you don't consume, I mean, 7% of all Americans, it's a huge number, don't even drink an ounce of water a day.

So we're really tough. You better be eating a lot of grapes or something. What are you eating to get some hydration in? You're kind of not. And, and, you know, those people are really severely, and we know that the root of most degenerative diseases is a form of dehydration. So, so it really is. And, you know, energy, think of, think of that now that you know about exclusion zones and you know, a little bit about that chemistry and the energy that's produced by that. And the number one downside of dehydration is fatigue, but what, instead of reaching for the water, we reach for coffee and stimulants and all of that

stuff. And, and so yeah, wake up, wake up from a good night's sleep, reach for your clean water, drink that water, go for at least a half a liter, if not a liter before you consume any other beverage, get that, get the body used to receiving water again, because you kind of put it in a desert. If you haven't been, your body will is so amazing. If it knows that you're living in a desert because you've created it so that you're not drinking enough, then it shuts down those mechanisms of screaming at you that it's dehydrated. That's the insidiousness of it. It will just get used to being dehydrated. So you have to kind of wake up those mechanisms again. And so just by starting every day and like, listen, if you're 150 pounds to 200 pounds, you know, three to four liters of water a day body will start to go, okay. You know, the internal organs, the blood, the brain, the central nervous system, all of these things, necessary digestion. But then once you actually start getting hydrated

and women are going to love what I'm about to say is then your, your skin, your hair, your nails, your eyes start lighting up because now it hasn't sacrificed those lower level organs for the most important ones. So you literally, you can, you know, basically have a hydrative facelift if you're severely dehydrated just by getting into the habit of drinking enough water a day. It's crazy. My wife has genetically, you know, has great skin. And people ask her all the time, how do you have such great skin? And she goes, well, first, I think it's genetics. Second, sleep.

I don't drink alcohol and I hydrate often and I eat really well. You know, it's like, oh, okay. So you didn't buy the most expensive cream well you know there are creams evolved but no it's all it's the big rocks in the container first yeah so there you go and i'll notice i don't i don't know how much you fly it sounds like you've got plenty of air travel but when i fly a bunch like my skin changes and we were looking at it with one it was a kind of a black ops if you will high performance program and we were looking at it with one, it was a kind of a black ops, if you will, high performance program. And we were looking at what it would be like, or a real business

proposition to change the oxygen levels in planes. So to really fit out for high performance club, the proper planes. But then we started to realize that it was actually quite dangerous to play with the oxygenation levels at 30,000 feet. So, but like I'm, I get off planes when I'm back to back to backs and I can't get enough hydration and it's, it's crazy making. Yeah. Okay. Um, awesome. Okay. So let's talk about whole food supplements for just a minute. You built Shakeology. And so I think that I hear your level of expertise and then I also see your entrepreneurial side. I think you probably got four or five ventures that you're part of. And so why partner with Beachbody and then tell us about Shakeology and the ultimate reset challenge that you put together, you know, it's a detox program, I think. Yeah. Uh, basically a plant-based, um, but, uh, are you, are you, are you vegan, Darren? Yeah. I've been plant-based for, um, for a better part of 15 years. Yeah.

Yeah. I, um, I haven't, I was vegan for about six years, but I didn't do it right. This was back in like 1989. And it was really hard. 89 was a different time to do that. Yeah, there was no such thing as a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. No. So it wasn't great. But then for the last probably 12 months now, I cut out all meat except for fish and chicken. And so I want to make the jump on chicken, but I just don't think I've got the right systems in place for it. So we can talk about that later. We can dive into that at some point.

Offline or online, offline, sideline, whatever. I think, yeah, so Shakeology was, you know, I was, I was boogieing. So 2003, 2004, 2005, I was in these countries, I was looking at stuff I had created, I was creating formulas, I had hired some people. And I was like, wow, no one knows about this, this, this and this. Let me put these together, let's get them, get them out there. And then I was approached by Beachbody. And I believed everything that they said. And listen, I had turned, I'm not going to name the name, but a massive company ahead. And they said, hey, can you make a bar for us? I said, what's your price point? And they were like 15 cents. And I'm like, one of my ingredients will just destroy that whole concept. So I was not looking to formulate for anybody because I kind of saw the writing on the wall. And so when I was formulating a bunch of stuff for myself, uh, Beachbody, uh, uh, Isabel reached

out to me who is now the wife of carl who's a brilliant formulator herself and she says we're looking to do something and i saw some of the formulas you're doing and we sat down we instantly gelled i met with carl and carl the owner of beach body was like you know i want to affect the lives of millions of people. And don't worry about cost. Just do it right. And I'll worry about selling it. And I'm like, what? Like, really?

And he backed it up. He's backed it up ever since. I started formulating in 2006. So I started running around all my connections I had had. I'd start playing and jumping in and out of the lab, just a huge amount of time. And then they launched it and then came in with this amazing quality assurance program and research and development to get their own,

because they realized that most companies were just selling stuff off the shelves. And when you really realize, especially with someone like me, when you start talking about what and where and how with products and ingredients people had never heard of, you're like, there's only one way to do this. You have to actually develop the system of quality and of how to process it and how to get it here effectively. And so that relationship really just took off and they took a chance of a very high-end product with a lot of stuff and a lot of ingredients in there that people really hadn't heard of at that time. And they put their marketing muscle behind it. And, you know, I think, I think I can say it, but they, you know, since 2008,

it's done like $4 billion in sales, which is crazy. And so, so the cool thing is that, you know, sitting behind all of this stuff and, and having a company putting the dollars behind it, uh, and doing all the unsexy stuff, you could have easily taken profits, but all the unsexy stuff of doing the quality control that, that was really just showed me like oh these these guys are are doing it right so um super proud of that and and that are you still part of that are you still part of that business yeah so i mean i'm you know i basically now we've got a massive team i still have to be consulted on anything changes in the formula but i don't have to go in the lab anymore we've got who knows how many people that are able to do that so isabel and i are really the main you but I don't have to go in the lab anymore. We've got, who knows how many people that are able to do that. So Isabel and I are really the main, you know, and then we have

our R&D team, but, you know, endorsing the product, making sure it's going the right way, making sure that, you know, if we need to make changes, let's do it as a, as a collective team and the places that we're, it's an evolving formula it's always evolving like it's that's the cool thing so um we're always making sure that the processing is better the quality assurance is on par and uh making sure that people's lives are better as a result of it in every way so yeah it's a pretty been a hell of a ride that, oh, I can stay in my lane and do what I'm good at and let this company do what they're good at. And it's been a good, very, very good. And I'm super proud of all of that situation.

That's awesome. So when you wake up in the morning, tell me about your fasting, your restriction or your fasting? Like, how do you, how are you doing this on a seven day program? Yeah. I mean, I probably I'm done eating at about usually between four 30 and five every day PM. And then I go to sleep around eight, eight 30. I wake up around three.30 and 4.30 every day. Is that because that's your natural biorhythm or you feel like you want to create some sort of advantage by working before other people get up?

It's been my advantage and my desire and my love since I was a junior in college, actually. So I realized that that precious time when silent and it's like just me and my inner world and my trajectory and my path, it's just epically clear and at least a space of cultivation. I started doing that and it wakes me, the excitement of the morning wakes me up. Um, so yeah, so then I, I, you know, I get, get my water down. I create some sort of elixir, uh, some sort of adaptogenic, uh, tonic of some kind, uhacao and schizandra and chaga and reishi and rhodiola,

whatever it is. And then my restriction usually, I'll start, I'll work out and then I'll usually, you know, a flintstone bowl of fruit and barucas and maybe a little shakeology and greens and whatever. But that's my first meal. So the elixir is pre-workout, but you don't consider that breaking your fast? It's pretty light. I mean, technically, if you want to get into it, I might bump out of a traditional fast. If I want to get into ketones and stuff, then I like just the other day, I didn't have anything. Right. So I'll just like everyone. So I'll just cycle it because I don't want to be dependent on stimulants or caffeine or matcha or anything. So, so I'll cycle that stuff and I'll just completely not sometimes. Um, and then, and then then so i'll jump into that post-workout it's usually around 10 10 30

and then and then you know work the rest of the day and then usually around 3 34 i'm starting to plan my meal it's usually a massive salad with some and I'm not afraid at all of carbohydrates. Like that whole thing is not something I'm afraid of. So I'll, you know, yam, sweet potatoes, potatoes, tempeh, big salads like that. That's soups. Soups is a great time right now during the year. So that's usually, and that's like two meals, two meals a day is, is really something that feels good for me. So like a four 12 to 14 hour restricted window on average. Yeah. I do about 14 on a regular basis. And, um, I, you know, all the longevity studies are really interesting around the restrict, not all of them, but many of them are. And then, okay. So then it doesn't sound like

there's a lot of proteins and I get, I think I've got an old model where I'm thinking like when I was doing a lot of work, like two point, what was it? 2.2 grams of lean tissue or 2.2 grams of protein per lean tissue. I was like, I gotta get out of, I know that it's not right anymore, but I think that you're, I've seen your pictures. You're like, you look like you're 6% body fat, you know, 225 or something. I don't know what your frame is nowadays, but how are you getting your proteins in? Yeah, that's a great, it's a great question. And then my easy answer is I eat a diversification of plants and you get, it's funny that all

the research shows that when you're actually eating a diversification of plants and you get it's funny that all the research shows that when you're actually eating a diversification of plants and when you say nuts seeds legumes uh vegetables fruits keep in mind that every plant every plant every fruit every vegetable has protein in it even grapes i know i said grapes earlier like everything has a protein but there's not enough protein in a grape exactly well if i'm just eating grapes, I'm going to have a problem, right? But if I'm literally eating a rainbow of food and a diversification in my, in my soups and my salads and my legumes and my nuts and my seeds and my chia's and my spirulina's and all that stuff, I have like, I have pushed that limit to the max.

And it's funny that I used to, like all of us athletes, I think, subscribe to – I was from Minnesota. Of course, I subscribed to it too. Then I realized that one thing that kind of tipped me over, not to mention I love animals. I can't even kill a fly. I see where you went, tipping over cows to i see where you just went yeah speaking to a shrink we look we always yeah no i'm with you on the compassionate eating piece i really yeah yeah so then i realized like oh wow so when the body has autophagy when the body has to recycle and get rid of the cells that are dead, it actually

is very smart. Because all of the cells, all of our flesh, all of our mechanisms are a protein base, of course. And so when that starts breaking down, the body's like, wait a minute, if we can recycle some of the amino acids, let's do that so then i realized oh wow i didn't see that in the physiology class upon first glance and then i was like huh well that's interesting and and i'm kind of getting some serious acidosis from my 20s and eating way too much protein and flesh from another being and the digestion, the hydrochloric acids and protease enzymes, all has to be dialed in or else you're going to have problem. And so I just started going, huh, I don't think I need as much. And so I just eliminated the rest. I started cranking up my workouts and yeah,

I don't mess around with my workouts. I, I still train like I'm going to get on the football field again. Not really. It's more functional. It's not necessarily needing to gain a bunch of weight and stuff, but, but I love to throw around, you know, iron and boulders and stuff. It's still fun for me. So, so I just got to a point where I'm like, Oh, I actually don't require it. And when you look at the research, and T. Colin Campbell, check this book out, if you want to take it over the edge, you got a new book. So the China study, of course, 65 years of research, and he edge you got a new book so the china study of course 65 years of research and he came out with a new one um uh future of nutrition where he really dug back really dug back 100 years of research around animal-based proteins and uh realized that oh you're playing there there is a

bit of russian roulette as you're consuming animal-based proteins as it turns on certain cancer genes over 10% to 15% protein. It's funny that every time I've done caloric look at my calories, if I'm eating a diversification, I'm not going out to eat protein. I get enough, and it's literally in that 15% range all the time. And then you go back into the work of Dr. Walter Longo, who, who's a buddy and actually showed up in our longevity episode in, um, in the, in the Sardinia episode in, in, in down to earth, his research from a longevity perspective saying the same thing so it's like over 15 you start creating some some problems and so i'm like this whole thing it's like i would love to flip the script like just eat a bunch of plants eat a bunch of it you're getting a lot of upside focus on your fiber for god's sakes the the the the research around fiber and the microbiome the the prebiotic fiber uh the diversification of fiber the support around your immune system brain health serotonin

that's where i want people to focus it's not about where you get your proteins where you get your fiber uh that's what scares me the most when people talk about overconsumption of animal protein and stuff. I'm more concerned about their own longevity as it relates to obviously eating way too much animal flesh, but also not getting enough of the diversification and also the fiber content., that's really where I kind of sit. And I'm not that person. I don't want, I'm not that guy that's going to beat this over someone's head. It's not my job to convince anybody. Uh, it's their own journey. It's been my journey and, uh, and I've thrived as a result of it. Um, my focus is the highest quality foods ever. And I like

thriving off functional foods, superfoods, biodynamic foods, locally grown foods, like I celebrate food, and then being able to tweak with some nutraceuticals and all of that stuff. And it really comes down to the same thing because I just want to kick some ass and live a great life. What a legend. So good. You know, Darren, thank you for your time.

I just want to honor our commitment to be here for an hour plus. And so I just want to say thank you. And your brilliance is on display. And I hope that you got to share the things that you're passionate about because it certainly seems like it came through. I don't know if we missed anything here, but I want to encourage people to go check out Baruchas.

And I think it's B-A-R-U-K-A-S.com. Is that right? That's right. Yeah. And so Baruchas.com. And then where else would you want to send people? Well, I'm, you know, it's all over Darren O'Lean. You can find me on all the social blah, blah, blahs and the, the, the my website, DarrenOLean.com for any future stuff,

sign up for my newsletter. I got some interesting stuff coming out. And that's D-A-R-I-N-O-L-I-E-N, Darren Olin. And then how do you hook up with Zac Efron to do a show? Like, how does that come? It doesn't seem like that would be a natural fit. Yeah, it's funny. You're right. The one caveat is I had no desire to work with a celebrity in the area that I love,

in the areas that I love in the areas that I love environment health. And this was a serendipitous thing. He actually heard me on a podcast, rich roles podcast years ago. Rich is the reason you and I were talking by the way, rich was the first person that I was ever on a podcast. And, um, I said, dude, I get to actually talk about things in depth, the things that i care most about and he goes dude you should have your own podcast and so like four months later here we go you know and so that but that was like four years later no i think we've been doing this for about five years that's amazing rich yeah what a catalyst i love that guy so yeah so so so i was on there and and something touched uh

zach and he had reached out through connor dwyer who was an olympian swimmer at the time who rich knew connor i know well yeah so connor who's a amazing lovely human He knew Zach because he was Zach's buddy and he knew Rich as they swam. And so Zach reached out to Connor, Connor reached out to Rich, Rich reached out to me, is it cool that I give you some Zach's number? And I was like, you know, you've been in this space. How many celebrities reach out to you? How many athletes and say, hey, I want just a little tweak so I can be better. most times they don't do it so you're kind of like okay another celebrity wants a superfood that's going to help them whatever so I kind of didn't think much about it until a few months later he texted me and he just

very sweet and we ended up having like I don don't know, two or three hour lunch. And just he asked about me, what I'm doing about health, about superfoods, about life. And we just connected. And it just so happens I had written down a show idea that I wanted to do expanding from a superfood concept that people were trying to get me to do for so long. And I just expanded it because I exposed myself to so much in the world and environment and clean energy and just indigenous people. And I was more infinitely more about superfoods than it was in the past. So I wanted to. So I brought that up.

As he said, he asked me, what else are you doing? He was like, he got so stoked about it. He was like, he called me later and he said, I have a standing deal with Netflix. And I talked to my team, but we can change the concept to this one and I'll go with you. And I was like, what? And, and, you know, you have a lot of deal points to get through and we did it. Oh, congrats. Yeah. Congrats. Yeah. So it was very, very serendipitous and, and yeah, it was really fun. And, uh, you know, hopefully, hopefully negotiations go right and we can,

we can do it again. So it was a good success for you personally. It was great. Yeah. And listen, you know, when you're, when you're clear and you're clear about your mission, about trying to help people in the environment and the world, it's, it's, it's certainly added some fuel to that. And so whether there's a show or not for me, I'm not going to stop. I don't have any intention to, I'm just going to keep going. And so, yeah, it created some strength to the mission that I've been committed to. What a legend. Darren, thank you. And it's been a joy to see your work in our mutual client who happens to be right now the best in the world in his sport. And it's just been a joy to see your work being

flourished in that way too. So, um, thank you, brother. Well, dude, uh, I'm grateful and we got to do a podcast cause I'm equally stoked about what you're doing. I want to dig into your brain next time. So let's go, let's go. All right, Darren, all the best to you. Thank you. All right, man. Thanks brother. Cheers. All right. Thank you so the best to you. Thank you. All right, man. Thanks, brother. Cheers. All right. Thank you so much for diving into another episode of Finding Mastery with us. Our team loves creating this podcast and sharing these conversations with you. We really appreciate you being part of this community. And if you're enjoying the show, the easiest no-cost way to support is to hit the subscribe

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