An Organic Alternative to Dangerous Conventional Skincare Products

Hey, Andy. Welcome to the Keto camp podcast brother.

How's it going? Good to finally sit down with you. What's going on?

We finally made it happen after trying to plan this out. So thanks for being here today. We have a lot to cover, so I've got a whole set of bullet points here and notes. So let's start with the beginning, right? There's so much that went on in your backstory that led you to starting this company, Alitora, getting into the health and wellness space. There was a lot of moving parts. So I don't know where you want to start, but I'm going to put the ball in your court. And where do you want to start with that backstory?

Wow. So, to begin with, everything. I've been an athlete my entire life, really, into nutrition supplementation. Ever since I can remember, I wanted to gain weight. So that kind of putting weight on consisted of fat, calories, protein. So I began reading labels at an early age. I went to UC Berkeley on a baseball scholarship, and from that point, I, you know, I didn't care about dorm food, didn't care about any ingredients and products, and I paid for it. I had really, really embarrassingly bad back acne. I was putting on weight, I guarantee. Or I gained 23 pounds.

So you were dirty bulking, essentially.

Yeah, exactly. I mean, just dorm food, cheeseburgers, pizza, you name it. But I was like. I just was blowing bloated, you know, and so. But the back acne part of that was really crippling. Like, I was. Teammates can be the worst, too, you know. And so I just really started to put together, you know, a puzzle of how to, you know, cleanse my system. I. Ironically, I met with the Chinese herbalist on Shattuck Avenue, and I found my first. Remember the brand? Flora an F L O R A. Anyway, so I got my silica horsetail extract. Just this guy gave me this whole spiel on how it would build my blood and cleanse my blood. And so I was 18 years old, Shadick Avenue in Berkeley. This, like, it's some, you know, smaller hippie shop learning about Chinese herbs and the benefits of that. And so I got that first ever. Yeah. Silica aqueous silica horsetail extract from floor. So 18 years old. So that right there, I. I mean, it's not like I felt benefits from that, but I started to pay attention to what I was ingesting. My products, I would have these, like, little cystic acne, which can be the wor. Worse because they never come to an Infection point where you can remove it. They stick around with me at least for, you know, a couple weeks. And it's just one of those things, it's like a mosquito bite. And it was just bugging me because I get a few of those every day, popping up, you know, growing into your body, supplementation, all that and eating the wrong way. My body, you know, my skin is very reactive too. So I had such a hard time. I went from. That's when like the ingredient aspect of it really clicked for me though. I went from Neutrogena to Dove Bar Soap. Now, Dove Bar soap had five ingredients. A couple of them were coconut derived surfactants. And seriously, Even back then, 18, 19 years old, that kind of like just clicked for me. Like the natural element of that, seeing that coconut derived surfactant on the label. I mean just these little signs were pointing me in the direction where I currently am. But so I just have been interested in that. My skin cleared up. I was using Dove bar. So, you know, Dove soap head to toe and then something different from my hair. And ultimately down the road, just year after year I this, it just became, you know, an interest of mine to the point where a lot of my, you know, I was wearing sunscreen or whatever, little night cream before bed. I remember Dove had like a Coke 10 extract rose hip night cream. My teammates, you know, just wearing me out, you know, my early 20s wearing. But it's, it's been looking me, staring right at me. But like my per, like I'm interested in this stuff. You know, you look good, you feel good, you're going to create a better energy, you know, that ripple effect personally and professionally wherever you go. I just know when I leave the house, like I'm good. You know what I mean? It's just part of my prep routine. But you know, teach their own. But so I just, I like that. And then down the road. Yeah. March 20, 2011. I was crossing the street in Los Angeles, California and I got hit by a westbound hating Land Rover, lost consciousness into the eastbound lane and run over by a Toyota Tundra. Both clothes pulled over. Yeah, clothes cut off me in the middle of the street. I was coming in and out of consciousness at that point and I got rushed off to Cedars Sinai Hospital where I woke up at an ICU bed with my, a compound fracture of my jaw from like the middle of my chin to just beneath my left ear. Seven broken ribs, a collapsed lung, but the mandible fracture was really bad. The resident maxillofacial surgeon, Dr. Rosenberg couldn't do the surgery, so we had to find a private guy that he ended up assisting with. I got a titanium plate up top, one on bottom, that I got removed nine months later. Because, you know, being health freaks, we don't want the, you know, the metal.

Yeah, metal in your body.

Yeah. And that recovery was just as bad. I mean, getting those out, I mean, so that's another story. But during that process of, you know, coming home, jaw wired shut, teeth gone, you know, a little down and out, but not really down and out because I have my family with me in my little 660 square foot apartment in North Hollywood. And that's very rare that we're all together, you know, because my sisters have their families for holidays and it's just so there was a lot of love, you know, in, in that initial stage where everybody is just really grateful that I'm alive. People don't survive accidents like that. I, I just really had that mentality and mindset of just, you know, I had some weird fight or flight thing where I was just like, kind of like, huh, you know what I mean? Kind of like giddy or whatever, but just excited. But just like coming down from that traumatic incident, there was something there where it was just all gratitude and like just, you know, on edge. But I took that energy and started to. When they left and I put together a plan just to get circulation going. I mean, my ankles were intact, knees, refined shoulders so I could do little push ups and stuff like that. I was a health freak going into, I mean, when I got hit. So I was just, I was into it. But it definitely exponentially increased after the accident because I was just in a fall.

And how, how old were you at this time?

I was 29, about to be 30. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah, got it.

And just, you know, a zombie from the antibiotics, CT scan, X ray, monthly X rays to see how the bones growing back and just things that I didn't want in my system that I knew clouding my vitality. And so I would, I drove around LA with my jaw wired shut, no teeth, went into Dragon Herbs, met with the people over there at the tonic bar and just kind of clicked their brain. Tried to ask him how I could, you know, build my blood back and get, you know, just feeling back like myself. I met with Truth Calkins, Sage Dammers, Crosby Ware, George Lamoure from Jing Herbs. I mean, I just really, I wanted to find a way to get back and that's that, I mean, dramatically increased my passion of Ayurveda medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, just removing impurities, circulation from head to toe, you know, reducing inflammation, getting the scar tissue out with, you know, just the whole recovery process. I. I just became obsessed with, you know, all aspects of it. Getting sunlight, going on walks, you know, just everything, you know, getting my nutrition from a little straw with a smoothie that I would make in the morning. That was pretty intense. But it just, man, looking back, just extremely grateful to be alive, you know?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you got hit by two SUVs, Andy. That's what was happening. Like, were you not. Was it your. Were you at fault? Like, were you not paying attention? Like, how did that happen to begin with?

I was looking down at my phone to just capture a lift. It was just one of these, like, little streets on Melrose where they. You cut, a lot of pedestrians cross, but it's not a crosswalk. And I just kind of thought it's a bad habit that I thought that cars would adjust to me. And I just looked down and boom. And next thing I know, I'm like coming in and out.

Oh, my gosh. Well, it takes quite the human being to extract the gratitude from that because your jaw was wired shut, you were pretty banged up and you were looking for what's the blessing here? Or have you always been like that? Or was that something that started when you had the accident?

I've had perspective since I can remember, you know, I mean, I just, I really. I look at the big picture of things for the most part. You know, I mean, I'm not perfect, but. Yeah, just. I've had really, really deep perspective in a lens on gratitude, lens of gratitude since I can remember, 10, 11 years old, you know, praying for health and happiness for my family and friends and loved ones. I mean, just at that age, you know, I mean, I don't really know too many, but I was just so. I have so much love for my friends and family, number one. And I just, I. I just have such a deep, you know, I had a deep concern for their well being, which is, you know, beautiful. But I just. Yeah, back then I just was very, very spiritual. And I've always had that element to me.

Yeah, it's a beautiful quality because a lot of people have the, the victim mindset, right? Something happens to them and their thought process is, why is this happening to me? Why am I being punished? Where you went through some really tough times and you said, why is this happening for me? What is the lesson to be learned here? So there's a completely different perspective, and I would choose the Latter, I would choose your perspective because that there's growth and opportunity there and that led you down a path. And you're going to continue the story that led you down a path to starting your company. No.

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Yeah, I mean at that time it was just pure gratitude. Step by step, getting Back to who I was. I started to get back really quickly though because I started to feel better about what I saw in the mirror. You know, I had an existing clay mask that I, you know, kind of hid from everyone that I would do every Sunday night. I think at that time I just had a few clays, kelp powder, vitamin, vitamin C. And then I started to incorporate experimentation with certain ingredients that I would add into my morning tonic. Based on the particle size and how it affect the emulsion of the existing clay mass that I had, a lot of things didn't work. But the three things that did were American ginseng ground freshwater pearl powder and first flower milking grass fed colostrum. Like it's, they're all like silk and they actually kind of. I didn't know this at the time and I didn't have a chemistry background obviously, but like the, it, the elements of the pearl and colostrum kind of expand a little bit when they dry. So the four clays aren't quite as. They don't have the drying aspect of it and it's not so harsh on the skin. It's really leaves your skin softer. And yeah, it's just. I kind of got lucky with that one but, but that's a lot of people get lucky through, you know, experimentation. I just use self as my biggest science experiment. I couldn't afford the creams and serums that the doctors were recommending that I use for my, you know, to counter counteract my abrasions and scarring. And also I didn't really, I like the ingredient decks. I mean with this little speck of a decimal point of this active ingredient that's supposed to counteract my scarring. I just always have felt that, you know, ingredients and things from mother nature would serve my body best. I've always been that way with medication pills and I found that out the hard way. Long story. That's another thing is I didn't really want to take the painkillers.

Oh really? So you didn't do, you didn't do the painkillers when you were.

The accident, I, it wore off and I didn't take the hydrocodone like that. This one I called my doctor at like 12:30 and luckily picked up. He's like, I gave you those pills for a reason. You got, you know, I thought I was gonna, I was about to call the 911. I thought I was gonna die. Seriously, my head was pulsating. I mean, oh my gosh. And yeah, I thought turmeric and Brahma Lane would help out. No chance. But yeah, that, that, that whole process of just step by step, I knew it was going to take a long time and I knew modeling and acting was probably, you know, everybody's telling me I never get back in that industry. I was just grateful to be alive. But step by step I started to get back to myself, you know what I mean? Staying extremely diligent and disciplined with my routine and recovery. The clay mask really helped. And then the paste and emulsion that I was making out of a cast iron pan, which is now our night cream, I mean I just started to see results. And when you're so disappointed with what you see in the mirror and then you incrementally starting to get back to yourself, it's a beautiful feeling, man. And yeah, I just, I started to slowly get it back and, and just having that gratitude of like, wow, I'm. I mean my do. I severed a nerve right here that controls all like function, facial function, like when you smile. And that was, it got re. It got they, they attached it back again and was just a smile and like this side would show up and this fuzzy. Over time it started to come back. It's still a little numb around this area. My, my bite was all off. I probably spent over $100,000 just dealing with bonding in tooth chips and things like that because my bite would come down, you know, at different places. Often I would have to cheat my bite, man, and smile and you know, not having, you know, my front three teeth from eight months, you know, or no, no, no, no, excuse me. I got those bonded in three months after when I got the wires out. But still. Yeah, it was just very humbling. But I mean, it's like you said, it just, it's all for me. I mean it got me, it's. But I don't want to say it's like for me, like, oh, see you do that. It's just like I'm surrendering to the process of what the universe has planned for me. And I've, I've really been that way, but I didn't know all about it, you know what I mean? Like the secret, you know, putting things in, speaking it into existence. And I've been doing that since, you know, 14, 15 years old. You know, visualization has been huge for me as an athlete. Like I would just, you know, pretend I was a left hand pitcher. Randy Johnson just going through games in my mind and then Greg Maddox as a right hander, just going through whole games as a little kid just that obsession led to something. It's there, but you know what I mean? Like, it's just, just. Yeah, the, the, you know, just solving of a, of a problem or finding, you know, a way to fix things or just honing a skill, it just, it takes repetition and repetition can lead to that mastery. But, and that's one of those things where I don't. I remember mixing up the clay mask and going, man, what am I going to do? You know, like, what am I going to be? You know, it was staring right at me. That's why, like, I'm so, like. I really want to emphasize to everyone out there, pay attention to the things you're excited about. You know what I mean? That you love, that you just do like, just like habits that you love, though, that you can't go without. I mean, who knows what that can lead to. Passion and genuine excitement. Dude, it's contagious, you know what I mean? Like, when other people talk about it in farmers markets, whatever, you hear someone's story about how they grew certain things and, you know, ask them certain questions and then they have good, good answers of how they, you know, do something without, you know, herbal herbicides or pesticides. I use cayenne pepper. Oh, this guy gets it. He's a little weirdo. Like. And I, I just, man, I get a kick out of people with passion and ultimately for a purpose and a genuine why behind it. And so that's really what led me to where I am sure it was painful. Man, I go through it all over again, you know, just to feel this way. I mean, it's, it's all part, you know, of, of our journey. You know, the valleys are important as well. I mean, they are peaks. Oh, the appreciation of the peaks so sweeter when you're going through it though. That's, that's where the bat. You battle tested.

And so yeah, for sure. 100. You're so right. If it wasn't for the valleys, we probably wouldn't appreciate the peaks as much. We take it for granted. So we. Everything has a polar opposite. It's a universal law. It's the law of polarity. Up, down, left, right, black, white, whatever is negative, there's also a positive to it. It's just that so many people get so fixated on all the negative, they're missing all the positive. Right. So you gave the example of like you getting into the accident and now you're experimenting with different clay masks and you're figuring out how to fix your appearance and focus on health and Then you're thinking, I wonder what I'm going to do for the rest of my life. And it's like right there in front of you, right, it's like that your pain turned into your promise and your purpose. And it's like light bulb moment. And this is what you do now. Like, you're known as the skincare guy, Ali Torah, et cetera. But it's like it came from all the pain, but you had the awareness, and I think a lot of people lack the awareness that this is what you should be doing. Like, this is your passion. This is what you have been put on planet Earth for. It's not to work that corporate job. It's not to do whatever this, your society or family members or friends say you should do. It's what lights you up. So the advice you gave Andy if, like, pay attention to what you're so excited about, what you study, that time flies by, that you feel like, oh, my gosh, I can't believe that's three hours already. That's the zone of genius. And that's where your life is going to be revolving around.

I completely agree. I completely.

You talked a lot about. You said the word obsession a few times. And if I asked a hundred people on the streets about that word obsession, I would estimate that 90, 90 of them, 90 out of 100 would say it's a bad thing. I, I don't see obsession as a bad thing. I see it as a wonderful, beautiful gift. Right. I always say your obsessions become your possessions. As long. As long as it's directed towards the right thing.

Right.

So before we get into Alutora and your products and all the cool things you're doing, and I want to ask you, I have a lot of questions for that, but I want to talk about your last. The last 12 months or so, I've seen a little bit of your journey from the outside in, but I know you've had quite the last 12 months. So if you don't mind sharing a little bit about those valleys and how you got out of those valleys in relation to addiction and that word obsession.

Yeah. It's important to touch on this specifically because, number one, I want to be accountable. And also I could help somebody else in a situation who may be familiar with what I went through. You know, it's just one of those things. For years, I just. A lot of people mentioned that I would get burnout doing too much. But I love what I do. It's just like when I wake up, I'm on it's Alatura and Internet doesn't sleep. There's a lot of work to do. So towards last year, I mean, or the beginning of last year, you know, I was the only employee on Alatura. I was working with an agency. It was a lot of work running a, you know, multimillion dollar business by myself and then onboarding several teams throughout the process. That team, that one team didn't work out, another team didn't. I mean, I'm telling you, that's a lot of work to onboard time and time again. And then also, you know, staying up until, I mean really you're not gonna. I mean I was working 18 hour days, getting very little sleep, relying on Adderall, getting very irritable with my, you know, the people that I was, you know, my loved ones, my friends, the people I was working with. And really the. I would balance it out with alcohol as well, but it wasn't balancing it out at all. I mean that is one of the worst recipes. And I mean looking back, man, it's, it's, it's not who I am now, but I mean I'm definitely aware and had to get shown, had to go through that, got into, you know, just a very dicey situations overseas. And just, you know, the collective opinion on Americans isn't that that wasn't that good in certain areas like Egypt. And I took a lot of offense to that with people who didn't know me. And this actually didn't have anything to do with the substance. I was just really just, just disappointed with people, you know, who wouldn't get to, who were taking advantage of me. There was a lot of betrayal. But you know, that's something I have to deal with differently and will next time. I'm glad I went through it and had to learn that. And so it's just, and then towards the end it really did. It turned into chaos, complete chaos. But I was also working, I mean I with that addiction. You know, I also know my have discipline as well. And obviously it's not like I was flying off the handles, but it was there and it was affecting me and I, you know, I went and got treatment and 95 days sober from alcohol right now. I just, but I really, and I really want to. Yeah, I can't, can't even.

Congratulations, man. I'm so happy for you, bro. That's amazing. 95 days. That's incredible, dude. Congrats.

And it keeps getting easier and better and I, and I realize this is, this is just me for the rest of my life. And it's also, it's, it's. It's congruent now with my messaging of radiating health and just, And I'm, I just, you know, I feel awful that I put my friends and loved ones through that because I was just, you know, just howling at the moon, man. You know, I was frustrated, I was worn out, felt disrespected. And then boom, moving to Sedona and just really sitting with myself, you know what I mean? And just going, just finding out a lot about myself, you know, by myself. Sitting literally right there and just. But not touching. It was very. I had a physical little dependency that I was, I was a tough part. But man, day after day, then finally getting back in the gym and then the spirituality aspect of it. I cannot begin to tell you how important something outside of me is affecting me right now currently. And I'm just. I've always been spiritual. Something is different out here in Sedona. The native element. I don't know what it is. The red rocks speak to me, man. And I just. This is. I'm right where I'm supposed to be. I came out here for a three day vacation just to clear my mind from Vegas. Climb Bellrock Saturday Saturday, Saturday night. I'm messing around on Zillow. Found this place. I've never seen a home before. I was all right, so I get to just see. Walked in first thing. I said, no, I'll take it. You know what I mean? Just like that. In like 10 seconds. And then put an offer that saw it Sunday, put an offer Monday. Except the Tuesday. Just like that, four days. You know what I mean? I'm right where I'm putting in like I don't even know what it took to buy a house. All the complications. It's amazing how I literally was picked up and put right where I'm supposed to be. I had no intention of moving here. So I just. I just want to be number one, like I said, accountable of. You know, and just who knows if there's someone out there, man, that if it can help just one person that being relatable, like. Yeah, I went through it last year. I want to, you know and I, I just. That valley was. It was the lowest low of my life, including the accident because I was doing it to myself. And I just really, you know, it's. You know, I feel bad, but it's important to get that just so you have that reminder to never go forward in that way, you know, ever again. And I just. Yeah, it's, it's Led me to. To a headspace that I just. It's the same thing with the accident. I would do it all again just to get this clarity, but I wouldn't want to do that to my friends and loved ones. But you know what I mean, it's just.

Yeah, well, you know, it. Thank you for being transparent and sharing that, because you're right. It's going to help many people who are listening or watching who have. Maybe they have a substance abuse issue right now. Maybe they have addictions to bad behaviors. And it could be drugs, it could be sugar, it could be food, it could be whatever their vices. And it reminds me of a quote from Robert Heinlein. And here's the quote. In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.

Wow.

Daily trivia for a lot of people are substance abuse, it's alcohol, it's drugs. For me, it was video games and sugar, and there was drugs involved. But I was telling you offline, I had a lot of addictive issues growing up in my late teens, early 20s, because I wasn't. I didn't. I didn't have any goals. I didn't have any clearly defined goals. So I was filling that void with these addictive properties. But I'm like you in the sense that when I become obsessed with something, I become the best at it. So back then, when I was 22 years old and obese, I was obsessed with video games. And I was one of the top video game players in the world. I was going to tournaments and crushing it. Like, I would put so much dedication into that. Right. But then I got clear on my goals, so I transferred all of that bandwidth and energy and the obsessive component of video games and food addiction, and I transferred it to studying health and nutrition and educating. And now I'm unstoppable because I see it as a superpower. Like, as long as I'm harnessing that addictive behavior into something that's positive for me and humanity, it's a superpower. And I kind of shared that with you offline, and you agreed, but I wanted to share it again and get your thoughts again. Hey, I want to take a minute.

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Oh, I would have to completely agree. And as I mentioned to you, you know, before, it's just, that's the first time I've heard and obviously I think it, I think to myself, you know, when we're going through things, it's like, man, who am I? What, what's this like? You know, everybody thinks like, you know, I work a lot and I definitely am obsessed with alator. But bringing that back and just letting go to let grow. Sure, I understand that. It's just, it's very hard. But you develop mechanisms and transfer that energy into what is, is, I believe, leading to serious greatness and also helping A lot of people, you know, I mean, that. Just the testimonials and the transformations and emails that we get daily, it's just. It's all just a. A beautiful, you know, circular effect that we can. And we can reach so many people worldwide. But I mean, I, I just. Yeah, it's just trans. Transferring that energy into, like you said, setting goals and having a purpose towards, you know, in. In this case, my, My. Why. Which is help, luckily, helping others. It's just finding that thing that really. That you can just transfer that energy into. And I'm. I'm lucky that I. That I did. It's just being curious. I mean, I have a lot of other things too. I'd love to. Yeah. I mean, there's just. It's just. I'm sure you're similar. I mean, there's just. I'm voraciously just seeking knowledge and just of so many different areas and who knows? Skincare may not be it for me, only it for me. It's just.

Yeah.

Especially with this clear head and mindset and just curiosity and definitely energy. It's just following your interests and, you know, putting them into practice and then, who knows, repetition. Who knows, maybe you'll create something that can solve a problem for a lot of.

That's it. You know, Frequency creates the genius, my friend. Frequency creates the genius. That's it. Repetition.

I love it.

How important is it to do an audit on your environment and to make some changes if your environment is not serving those new goals?

That's. I would. Number one, I'm living that currently, right now. I can't. It. Sure. It's completely different. The environment, who you surround yourself with, their habits, are they similar to yours, really? Taking a look at that, your community, the resources that you have around you, it's very important. It's very important. You know, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, obviously that was completely different than Sedona, but that's where it comes into, you know, just really having that discipline and now having the discipline and then honing that in, learning from my past experiences and then being where I am right now, I'm extremely excited to just see what this leads to and who can help.

Yeah, yeah. And you're right. It is everything because your environment determines your thoughts and your thoughts determine your actions, and your actions determine your results. So you're right. It starts with your environment. If you're. If your environment is telling you to go out and go drink, go party, whatever it is, they're pulling you towards a direction you don't want to be down, it's going to be hard to pursue your goals. So you got to clean up the environment. Like you said, you're going through it right now. Every year, I kind of do an audit on my environment, and I put people into two different buckets. Like either their chargers, I call them, where they're charging me up, they support me, they're actually pushing me to pursue my goals, or they're drainers and they're just gossiping, talking about the world coming to an end, and they have small thinking. And I spend less time with the drainers and more time with the chargers. So environment is crucial. But let's go back to your journey here, because you started to make all these face masks, you started to explore skincare and health and nutrition, and what point did it click? That man, I want to start my own company. And then that company turned into Alitora. So how did that. How did that go about.

So about. Yeah, 2013, I'm kind of like, you know, getting back. I'm back in the industry, you know, modeling and acting, actually a lot more than I was before. And I was. So just, you know, I got my zest back and I wanted to work for Dave Asprey. Like, his attention to detail, his precision obsession with, you know, single heirloom cacao pods. I mean, I just loved it because, you know, the same way my mom actually went to the Silicon Valley Health Institute to hear him speak. She met him before I did, and she put it in his ear like, my son's working on this mask. And I was like. I think Dave was like, oh, tell 80 good luck. And, you know, back then, I was just peppering him on Twitter, like, you know, really want to thank you. You know, never a response. I think he may have liked it one time or something, but I troubleshooted his email address, right? So it was info at Bulletproof Exec. Back then, it was just like the contact form. And so like, D. Asprey Dave Asprey. Asprey Dave. David. You name 10 different combinations or whatever it was with the same email with the before picture being the ICU and like an after picture of me modeling. Like, dude, you got me back in my career. What I love, man, using your products. I never drank coffee before. It was like hopping right into a Ferrari Testarossa with bulletproof coffee. I mean, which is true. It really motivated me on my recovery. Anyway, one of those emails went through. They brought me on board as an ambassador. So just taking pictures with the products, getting it for free, which is Great. Because I was broke at the time. And anyway, so like, a couple months into it, Jackie, his podcast assistant.

Yeah.

Reached out and said they won't have me on Bulletproof radio. And so, yeah, February 1, 2014, is where it all went down. So, like. But the first, if you watch it. Yeah, yeah, that's a trip. Number one is just really cool because, you know, I idolized Dave. And then for the first 30 minutes, we're just talking about how, you know a lot of the bulletproof products. And then he asked what I did for my skin, and I, we. Because we hadn't talked about that, and I just kind of just split second, luckily went into what I did for my skin because I was kind of, you know, just, you know, it was the number one podcast on iTunes, I think, or at least one, like one of the top ones with Jillian Michaels at that time. So luckily, I just shared what I. What and why I was doing in using for my. To counteract, you know, all my scarring and abrasions and swelling and scar tissue. And went in, just started flowing on. On the ingredients and what I put into his product. And he got such a response, and so did I, I think I put out my personal email address and, like, when it finally aired, it was just like a new 25 or whatever it was on Yahoo. Of like, people saying beautiful things, but also people wanting to know where they could purchase this map. Another podcast. Podcast. By this time, I mean, I was working a lot with Oakley people. Some people who were living in Southern California, Dan Lyman, Frank Haro just would drive up and help me bottle. I had a deadline to hit for the clay mask. Dave and I at this time had come together on a deal. Here I am partnering with Dave and June 26, 2014 is when we launched. Launched the Alex, or clay mask man. And.

Wow.

Yeah, just like that. Yeah. And then just keeping it extremely. Oh, man. That adrenaline. Are you kidding me? Like, just every order that came in, it was just like, you know, it's a total. Like a. Talk about a stimulating effect. I mean, I couldn't believe people mean hit taking it. Yeah. A chance on something. And then it just turned into a beautiful. Yeah. Inferno of just keeping it simple. It was one product. Right. My buddy was working for Netgear at the time, and he, like, helped me put together a little Shopify store. I went from Golden Glow to Alatura, which is a lot better than a bronzer sounding like product. And we just started paying attention. Oh. A little inquiry. And then. Oh. I learned about our yacht Review system, clicked on that, embedded that app. 28 out of 28, five star reviews. Like, I'm just learning literally on the go of what to do and how to run a business, and then taking the extra money, which is, oh, lo and behold, the profit. And then going in and making my moisturizer. I'm telling you, man, because Dave was writing his book. He was very busy during that time. Carissa Bodnar was a godsend. Is a godsend. She's the founder of Thrive Cosmetics. She was working for Dave. She basically gave the Alex her clay mask thumbs up because she had worked with Clinique and a lot of other big brands in the past. And so bless her heart. Thank you so much, Carissa. And I just, you know how it is. It's just like you're given an opportunity, like, especially with Dave, and just like somebody who I idolize, I just. There was the amount of energy and adrenaline that I had at that time and still do. It's just like you're given a chance to really be something, you know, and the work ethic and drive was def. It was definitely there. And I just loved that people, you know, it's like making a meal. You just. Well, for me, and I just wanted people to love and feel the same, you know, way that I felt about it and saw what I saw, because to me, it's magic, you know, it's the best. I wouldn't go without that clay. It's just. It's an internal feeling as well, just like with the purification and just releasing that congestion around.

Yeah, explain that. So let's talk. I would imagine that's probably like your. Your best product, like most popular product is the clay mask. It was one of your first ones. So what exactly is it doing? How often should you use it and how. What is it doing? You mentioned it's clearing some things out. Explain the process.

Yeah, I mean, clay has an amazing. First off, the mineral density of clays is incredible. So you're getting that nourishment. As we age, we were drained of our, you know, mineral density. So it's important to replenish that and just keep our, you know, collagen nice and supple through mineralization. On top of that, our skin is our largest detox organ. So the bentonite just really clears out a lot of the impurities as well as dirt and oil from your pores. But the cleansing aspect, there's something internally, the therapeutic element of that also, when combined, if you want to add in essential oils, lemongrass, clary, sage, Sea buckthorn. Ylang ylang. You can, it's just you know the pulling action of the clays and the detoxifying properties of it as well as the cleansing and renewal that you get is just. And also a, a strong exfoliating aspect to it as well. It's a full on spa treatment just basically out of the comfort of your own home. And we have hundreds of med spas using it as a back bar treatment. Just pretty much it's, it's like a, I mean it's a food. I mean your skin being your largest organ. We're also introducing antioxidant. I mean the capacity of vitamin a, vitamin K, B12, sodium alginate and organic kelp powder is amazing. Pearl powder, really rich. I mean just the particle size it, it does something when it's sitting. It's the main ingredient obviously in our pearl cleanser as well. It, there's just, you know through the curiosity I found out the elements and the benefits of ingredients that I've never seen used topically like cloth like pearl powder and ginseng. But I mean it's just, it, yeah, it's a super, super food meal for your skin that just, I mean it just energizes you as well. It does something at like an ATP level. I'm telling you. Like my Budd had one some, I don't know, it's like some heart rate monitor machine. I have to ask him exactly what it was but he just kept telling me about the difference that it, that he had when he was wearing the mask and when he didn't but.

Oh, interesting.

Aside from that. Yeah, it's just, it's, it's one of those things whether it's once a week that you want to do, it's self care time for yourself and I, it's just something that I do. I mean because I have a lot, you know, things that I'm preparing for. So I'll do it. I mean if I'm being yeah four or five times a week. But I would recommend working your way up to that. Maybe one to three times a week. But it's just, it's a sacred ceremony of self care and I mean I, I love it. So yeah, that, that's our, our Alotura clay mask. I'd love to follow that up with our gold serum which is basically like the, the best of cutting edge anti aging skin science. With ingredients of plant derived vitamin A, CoQ10, astaxanthin and marine collagen and then in a base of organic Botanicals like sandalwood, frankincense. It's just. It's a really in a bee product base as well with propolis beeswax honey Royal jelly. It's that. That's a very good. It's like. Yeah, it's very rare that you see organic holistic plant plant derived formulas with cutting edge science. But we were able to find that echo cert approved organic actually like a plant derived vitamin A, a retinol alternative that has similar benefits without the side effects, without the harsh sun sensitivity, unpredictable on time that that can give you. So I mean I really that was something I wanted to see if we could hopefully provide some type of retinol alternative. And man that's. That is our most popular product right now is our.

Oh interesting. That's my. That's the one I use most often is the gold syrup. So it's interesting. That's the most popular one. But me and my fiance we'll do the, the mask a couple times per week. We'll put it on, just sit on the couch for a little bit. But you're right. When I wash it off I feel. Feel really good every time I wash it off my face.

Yeah. And so we have our meteorite scrub. I'm gonna send you that. It's just that you know how it is like anything when you gain experience you get better. But that is our chemist makes products for the biggest lines. I think I can say that that image. Yeah. I mean it's true anyway. I mean they. The team of chemists say that's the best skincare product they have ever made. Susan Rafi has been around for.

Wow.

And the fun thing is those are my ingredients. I mean with all due respect they put it together but yeah, that's cool how it is like it feels, you know, a little victory. I mean that, that's. That's going to be a statement product that's going to be talked about about long after I'm gone. I mean we're using meteorite powder from a meteor that landed in Morocco. 15k for a half kilo. Like when that's out of stuffing who knows when another meteor. Anyway, it's an aspect of it you.

Have on your website. There's a couple. I'm looking at it now. There's a couple of things that I've never used. I'm curious how this works and why you have it on here. So you have something called the micro needle Derma roller and the double edged razor. How do you use those? I've never used Those before, before the.

The Derma roller is a secret weapon for sure. So it has 600 titanium micro needles. You know like the micro needling is becoming huge. You go in and hearing about the vampire facials with the prp. Now it's not exactly to that level, but you can get similar results. We have a.025, 0.5 and 1 millimeter, 1 millimeter length titanium needles that when rolled diagonally an up and down on the face, forehead, neck decollete. It opens up tiny pathways for the ingredients of the products to sink in further past the epidermis of the skin, effectively getting the most benefits out of the products that you're putting on top afterwards. Now that, I mean the whole idea is pro cleanser, cleanse with the pro cleanser, then roll with the Derma roller clay mask. So basically cleanse, exfoliate, hydrate repair. So pro cleanser, want to use cleanse.

Exfoliate, hydrate repair is what you said.

Oh yeah, that's, that's the system right there. And we're putting together a nice little kit. I mean with either the. Probably with the meteorite scrub just to keep it nice and you know, in one just a four step simple skincare routine that. But the Derma Roller one to three times a week, flat out game changer. What it does also is it creates these tiny little micro tears signaling to your body to repair itself, effectively creating a thicker collagen layer over time. As long as you're not overly doing using the Derma roller and allowing full cell turnover cell full cell turnover and collagen synthesis to occur. Yeah, I mean that's something I've definitely noticed is, is a game changer. It's just a really good instrument to use in your skincare routine. Now the razor, that was a passion project turned product. I mean I love a good shave. Can't stand razor burner, ingrown hairs. Sure.

Yeah.

I mean and so the thing is I, I would, I just found this out. Well, I, what was I using? Merkur M E R K U R A Merkur straight single edge safety razor and that I just, just basically I got, I just went back to the drawing board and made one bet. I think they use stainless steel. Ours is brass, a little heavier for more control.

And I like badass too, bro. I like the way it looks.

Thank you. Yeah, I mean that's a, I get a lot of, I mean our polo too. I, I mean these are just passion projects. They have a lot of meaning behind them to me. And, and I mean they're great. It's just we're more mostly known for our skincare products. But that razor is insane. And when I was first making it, seriously, I thought about. This is back when, like, Dollar Shave Club was huge. And, yeah, I was like, let's find a way to compete with Dollar Shave Club and make it better on the environment. Which is, I think, true. One, one brass razor. Right. And you're just replacing the blades. You can't, you know, and it's 100 blades for 10 bucks at 9, but on Amazon, I don't know. So I thought about, like, really making this big, like, shaving campaign. But who knows? Maybe down the road, a good, solid shave. I mean, that's the thing, though. It just wipes the hair off. I mean, no, I mean, you have to obviously get the. You know, that. Just a nice, loose wrist. I mean, because it's a very, you know, but they have a safety edge in there too, to protect your skin. So, yeah, it's a. Just a fun project that turned into a product.

I love it. Yeah. So for those who are watching on YouTube or listening on the podcast, we're gonna put a link down below for all the Alatora products. And there's a lot more that we didn't mention. And Andy hooked you all up with a Coupon code for 20 off. It's pretty. Pretty big deal. Pretty big coupon code. So thank you for that. So it's keto camp at checkout. Go to the link down below to get that. I'm gonna. As soon as we hop off here, I'm gonna. I'm gonna stock up. I need a whole bunch of more products. So I'm gonna talk to you about that. But I have a question for you. I have a few more before we land the plane here.

Yeah.

What are the. Maybe the top three skincare myths out there that you've seen being an industry? Top three. Or the biggest one or anyone that comes to mind.

Myths.

Yeah, Maybe, like, I could reword that and say maybe what. You see other skin care companies promoting that isn't necessarily the case. Like the biggest pitfalls or myths or flaw or red flags, if you will.

I mean, I just. Number one would be the heavily toxic sunscreen and then going out and having that baked into your skin. Sometimes if they're wearing makeup with carcinogens underneath that, like, it's that. That. That's. That's something that is just completely. Yeah. Counterproductive for the skin and so commonly promoted is using sunscreen.

What do you do for that what do you use for instead of sunscreen?

Personally for me, I, I'm, I'm big on pre and post just healing. You know what I mean? Like I'll put body lotion a thicker emulsion on my face if I'm gonna be out. I'm talking for all, all day and then post I'll do talking like a day in Belize out in the tropical sun, body lotion all over and then post. But it's, it just, it's extremely healing. That, that's just what I do. And then throughout just if I'm getting half hour or an hour, I'll put the gold serum on now that's me. Now I understand some people have sun sensitivity and skin skin issues and I want to be respectful to that. I, I don't know if I've like built up that like callousness to my, to the sun from on my skin like.

Well you know what it is you, you don't you avoid. I know that you avoid vegetable oils and seed oil. So the more you avoid those, the less likely you're gonna burn your skin and see some of the issues with the sun.

Right. I mean I do eat very clean. I've heard that there's you know, something to that. You know, your subcutaneous fat layer getting really good healthy fats. In as far as far as the myths, here's my thing on the myth on the skincare industry. The truth is it's extremely dishonest. Thousands of ingredients in Europe are not allowed in the United States, are not allowed overseas. Why is that? I highly recommend that people start to really get to know their ingredients. Look up what phenoxy ethanol is. Look up the D or the potential damages damaging components of potassium sorbate. I mean there, you know think 30 is a good app where you can scan the UPC barcode and get a, a reading of the cleanliness of your products. 1 to 10 Rate a 1 to 10 rating on the cleanliness of your products. But I mean really getting in tune and, and start you know, for yourself, you know, just doing your own research and finding out what you're rubbing into your largest organ every day. You know, I mean combined with environmental pollutants and say if you're not showering with a shower filter, I mean these things that you're doing daily. I mean the things to really there's a study that you know women leave on average women leave the house with over a hover 100 government recognize Carcinogens daily between you know, lipstick, makeup, hairspray, I mean, so just these things over time are damaging your endocrine system, your hormones, and accelerate your aging process.

Yeah, well, so important. The same we always preach on the show, reading the ingredients in the food we eat. And to your point, it's the same thing with what you're putting on your skin, because what goes on your skin is going to go inside of your bloodstream, inside of your body. So Think Dirty is the app that you mentioned. I've heard good things about that app. But you're so right. Like, look up the ingredients just like you would if you're buying food. Food, because essentially it's still going to go inside of your body. And it's worth it because all of these are stressors that fill up your stress bucket. The ladies that are putting on all these toxic chemicals, makeup, et cetera, showering without a shower filter. As the stress bucket gets full and full and full, then symptoms manifest. We have issues with health, but we want to stop that right now. So. I love that you mentioned that. Andy, I have one final question for you, bro. You ready?

Hey, I just got. I got one. I got the one thing, the biggest is the most important one everybody loves. Oh, it smells so good. Fragrance is the number one.

That's true.

Number one culprit as a carcinogen. You know, I had to get some value, dude, it's. And that's the thing, though. It's the most sensory evoking, right?

Yeah.

Oh, it smells so good. It's like you can get. And it takes longer and it's more expensive. You can get the most beautiful aroma from organic essential cold press oils, you know, from here rather than, you know, something made in the lab. So I mean, natural fragrance is a government recognized. Okay. Carcinic. Like you can say natural fragrance and then have a complete. That's okay. It's to. It's a. To put a lab made fragrance and label it as natural fragrance. I mean, look into the labels, but there it is. I would say just be very, you know, aware of your ingredients and fragrance being the biggest culprit. All right.

Yeah. No, I'm glad you added that. You're so right. When I was younger, in my early 20s, I used to just spray cologne, go to the gym, spray cologne, go to the mall, spray cologne. And then I became aware of the. The dangers of these chemicals. So I know I don't wear cologne. I use essential oils, to your point. But from time to time, I live in a building here in Miami, so from time to time, I'll walk into the elevator. And somebody will be in their elevator just loaded with perfume and cologne. I'm just like holding my breath, like, oh my gosh. Or getting into like an Uber or a, a Lyft car ride. And you know, they have the air fresheners. I'm like, oh my gosh, open the windows, please. They think it's totally fine because it smells good, but that is so toxic for us. So I'm glad you.

Gives me a headache. Yeah.

Sometimes I have to choose another Uber driver because it's that bad. Last question for you. You mentioned it earlier. You talked about gratitude several times. I call it vitamin G. My shirt. I don't know. My shirt actually says vitamin G. You see that?

Nice.

Yeah. So I'm all about getting. I'll get you a shirt. I'm all about getting a daily dose of vitamin G. So my question to you, Andy, is what are you grateful for right now? What's your vitamin G today?

Oh man, I just. Well, I'm, I'm a, I'm a pretty grateful human being. I mean, so, I mean I get down on my knees and I probably had a five minute prayer of gratitude. We're doing a two day sale right now and I just really brought it in and, and consciously reminded myself to be grateful for the team that I have that's working their ass off right now and to be grateful for the position that I'm in. All those sale days can be stressful and that, sure, there's always problems, but like having that mantra of gratitude this morning at 5:30 in the morning or whatever it was on my knees right over there in my living room, oops. It's it that sets the tone for my day. I'm grateful to wake up. I'm grateful to chew, to smile, to be able to breathe, to have a family that's still alive, that cares about me. Like there are unlimited blessings to, to count and I count them day all day long. I'm a very, very. Yeah. Grateful human being. But I am.

Yeah. That's beautiful, bro. Yeah. What you, what you appreciate, appreciates. I'm grateful that the last 12 months have been a learning growth opportunity for you and I'm grateful that you're filtering now your, your, we'll call it addictive personality. People like to say. I don't like that word, but let's say you're filtering this obsession and this energy into something great. Your company educating people. So I'm grateful that you're doing that and I'm grateful that we finally made this podcast happen. We've been trying to do it for a while. So other than your website, which we'll put a link down below, where else do you want the keto campers to follow you?

I'm on Instagram at Andy Nilo. My last name's H N I L O A N D Y H N I L o and then Alatura naturals at a L I T U R A N A T U R A R S And yeah, I'm here if you have any questions. I eat, breathe and sleep, everything that I do. And yeah, I'm really glad that we finally made this happen. Are you going to the upgrade?

Yes, I'll be there in Orlando. Yep, you'll be there.

I'm thinking about it. I'm thinking about it. So be good to meet you in person.

Yeah, I would love that. I think we. We. We met in person. Really? Now that I'm remembering, at the last Orlando Dave Asprey conference, we met for like 10 seconds and I remember you spilling my coffee.

Do you remember that?

Oh, man, I had.

No, it was an accident. I had coffee in my hand and you hugged me and it was such a, like, strong hug that it spilled on me, but that was like a very short interaction because I think you were headed somewhere. But yeah, we'll hang out again in Orlando. I would love to see you person, bro.

Yeah, I would love that, man. And thanks again for having me on and digging deep with me, man. I appreciate it.

Of course, brother. I'll have you back. And thank you for what you do. Talk to you soon, bro.