Kat Thorne: Welcome back to the Positive Habits Podcast. I am joined by the inspiring Mike from Authentic Brew. Welcome today. Hello, Kat. Hello! Thank you for having me. Yes. And we've just ⁓ we just made a big bold decision that after two years of doing audio only, we're gonna release this episode into the wild of YouTube. Happy days. Yeah, we have. So I'm excited for that. And I'm honored and privileged to be a part of. Your podcast, but also the first one that's going out on video. The first one. So I'm trying to think how we met. So it was definitely, I saw a post, I think, on LinkedIn. You crept into my algorithm. And Yana, it's a dangerous place, isn't it? Better than sliding into the DMs, though obviously. But ⁓ you crept into the algorithm and I remember reading this post about your journey from being burnt out to creating authentic brew, which is without a doubt one of the best drinks I have ever tasted. It's really quite incredible what you have created. ⁓ thank you. Yeah, no, it's it's ⁓ it's pioneering in terms of the formulation. And we're just so happy that we're able to make it taste as good as it is. But yeah, it's been a bit of a journey to this point and ⁓ yeah, excited for what's ahead. It's funny. I imagine when you're a young kid, when you're young and people say, What do you want to do when you grow up? Did you say, I want to build the world's first natural energy drink? No. Yes, I wanted to be a speedboat driver. Have you ever driven a speedboat? I have. I have. ⁓ But yeah, it is it's funny because I've got a f ⁓ a five-year-old boy now and and it was when I was five I said that. I remember that. And ⁓ It's really weird because he wants to be the same. He wants to be a speedboat driver. And I've never mentioned that. So yeah, interesting one. But no, I had no I had no no aspirations to to go down this path at all. And I'm sure we'll get into it. But it was a yeah, give a a a situation that I didn't foresee totally changed my path in life. And now I'm I'm what I say walking my authentic path with authentic brew. And isn't that that's I think that's one of the most beautiful, coolest things about life. I think we go, we we're taught that we can map out our lives and we can control things and we've got to do things in a certain way. And then something happens to you in your life is so unexpected that changes the course. And I think these things are meant to be happening to change us because you were meant to become the founder of Authentic Brew and and and and help people with this incredible energy and it's much wider than just the drink. I know it's much also about community and a and lifestyle and everything. But where did tell us about how did you get to this point? Because this this wasn't ⁓ necessarily something that, as you say, it wasn't part of the the plan. So how did it how did it start? So it's a really good question. And I I think the the short the shorter version Is I I I've always wanted to be successful in my own right. And this I found all of this out during this journey of of of burnout to awakening, you can call it. But I was from a young age, at 11 years old, apparently it started. And I was the only boy in my ⁓ school who couldn't go on the school trip to France because we couldn't afford it. Couldn't afford to pay the pay the the trip fees. So I didn't go. So I had to go into school with the janitor and ⁓ do a week just writing the chalkboards, cleaning the mini buses, all of that stuff where everyone else was in France. So that fire was lit at a very young age and that realization of hang on, you actually need funds to go and do some adventuring. And finances give you that tool to go and experience some fun stuff. And because it wasn't coming from Family, I had to go and create that myself. So I went on this mission to have get financial freedom and yeah, went for a few things and to cut a long story short, got into technology and I worked for some of the biggest corporates in the world, running their sales teams and ⁓ Then came out of that and started my own tech thing with a few others and we grew it and and ended up selling it. And I stayed on with the buyer for a couple of years and finished my duties fully. And at the end of a two-year period, we shook hands, had lots of hugs, went home, had dinner with my wife. And it was that very next morning I couldn't get out of bed. I was unable to move. I was unable to. move the cover, couldn't scratch my head, couldn't feed myself, couldn't take myself to the toilet. Yeah, we thought that was the end of my life. And it was a really scary time. So Given my symptoms, I was getting like my heart was going a million miles an hour and stopping. I felt like I had barbed wire around my head. I was getting cramps like all over my body. I was getting really hot and really cold. And yeah, my my even my skin was a really like weird consistency of of like touch and colour. It was yeah, we thought that was the end. We called the emergency services maybe 30 times in in three months. Honestly, thinking that as the end, like that's that's finished. My life is over. And ⁓ so ⁓ I went the traditional medical route to to try and get healed. So I saw all these specialists from neurology, cardiology, you know, hematology for blood, hormones, body parts, and it was just a blanket prescription of antidepressants, sleeping tablets, painkillers, blood thinners. mood enhancers, you name it. It was just prescription after prescription. And Call it intuition, but there was something in me that said, This path is not for you. Do not take any of these, which was quite hard to do because I've been brought up to trust these professionals. But there was something saying, Don't go down this road, don't take any of these prescriptions. So we looked holistically and we got introduced to some amazing people from a world that was totally new to me, like holistic healing. Where it wasn't traditional pharmaceutical solutions, it was more ancestral ways of healing before pharmaceuticals were a thing. It's like n nature-based. And yeah, simple things: massage, reflexology, sound therapy, deep breathing, walking outside with no shoes on, getting the sun on your back. doing like cold water swimming in in the local lakes, things like that. And I really started to come back to life. And then what took it to another level was the teams that were helping me went foraging on my behalf locally, and they were picking things like grasses, flowers, bark of trees, berries, roots, mushrooms. I know it sounds crazy, but even like stones from the ground. And we were just putting those in water, hot water, and then after about you know twenty minutes, just drinking that. as like a as a a tonic and doing that three about three times a day. And after a few weeks I had this next level of just vibrancy, vitality, I mean loads of things coming up. But I mean what an extraordinary journey. And it sort of reminds me of thing. That was really the the start of this journey to having no feeling in your body and authentic brew. Even then I remember myself just not even feeling that panicked about it, even though it was terrifying, just still thinking, ⁓ it's probably nothing. And and then all the kind of rebuilding that I did after that. And and just want to ask you about why do you think that why do you think that ⁓ things that seem so natural? Like even when you say like walking outside without shoes on, I kind of I still laugh to myself about that because it feels so alien and so strange, but yet so natural. Why is it, do you think, that most people or or a lot of people reject what what we what what is actually nature? What's actually the 101 of being a human being? Why do you think most people don't accept it as a form of supporting them or even healing? It's a good question. I I think it's we've just become you know in this modern world, we've evolved into modern human beings, which are not actual human beings, we're human doings. So I think, yeah, we're just living in this modern world on this hamster wheel that is just just nonstop. So we're really disconnected from Mother Nature like our ancestors were generations before. Who didn't have this modern way of living. It was very much about community and mother nature and you know being at one with the land and sea. But we're, we're, I think, as a as a group of modern beings, we're disconnected from that. So those types of ideas are quite alien to people because we're used to, ⁓ if you get a headache, here's a pill for that. If you're not feeling great, here's a pill for that. Quick fixes, and then you continue on the hamster wheel. And that was certainly what. happened in my case and I didn't know about that. I mentioned that eleven year old boy story, but that wasn't really a thought for me. It was only when I met somebody in an expert in Chinese medicine who showed me my body was she drew a picture on a bit of A3 paper and she showed where my body was on fire in six places and it was to do with my adrenals. And she did some regression work and she she pinpointed it to that time as an eleven year old where your your flight or fight turns on. And yeah, it didn't stop until I got to this top of the mountain. So yeah, my it's incredible, right? And this is what f led me down this this this path and and had to go down the rabbit hole, so to speak, because the way she explained it was my subconscious and central nervous system turned off my motor skills, so my ability to move. So I had no choice than to rest and recover. And when I came out my tech exit, So when I finished that role, I had a 12-month period of of non-compete, which is contractually you're not allowed to go and do other work for other companies. So I had a 12-month runway of yeah, no work. So my body knew that and it just decided the very next day when I finished to switch everything off. So I had to recover, which is odd because I didn't even think at the time that I was stressed or overworked or high pressure. I didn't feel any of that. But yeah, you become accustomed to a way of operating. And I I'd become accustomed to operating at real like high adrenaline, always on, never switch off. So yeah, the universe or Mother Nature had different plans and put me on my back for a bit. which yeah, was was was clearly needed. Yes. And and now you've developed this incredible drink, but there was there's Always been a part of me. I think in the last few years where I've been really on a big journey myself of growth and learning about what to what to put in your body, both from a kind of food point of view, but also from a like, you know, what brain food you feed yourself. And and all these things, of course, are linked to habits. And there's always been a part of me, I think, as I've I've looked into food more and more and how ultra-processed things are that. were skeptical that you could find things that are in a container of some kind that can be good for you. How did you manage to create a can of drink that is good for you? Because it is, it has stored in a can, it's kept a on a it has a shelf life. We've all seen the MS campaign now where you can have you can buy meatballs that just have meat and salt and pepper and olive oil in it, which is just revolutionary these days. But also what what we need more to see more of is not having anything processed in it. But how have you managed to do it with a drink? Yeah, it's it's ⁓ it was it was a real challenge for us to do that. So I think a couple of things on that. When I knew it was, you know, unsustainable to have this team of foragers, right, going out to get all these amazing ingredients from the from the earth. So I looked at the marketplace for Some really cool products to help my recovery. That was the the purpose of looking to the market. And what I found is there was all of these things on an individual basis. So you can get some really cool like lion's mane tincture over there, or you can get organic sea kelp from somebody else over there. You can get Reishi mushroom over there, or you can get ginseng over there. But it was all like individual supplies. You couldn't get something that's bringing all these amazing ingredients into one single format, which I've I found quite odd actually, because I was looking for something to help my recovery and I couldn't find it. You had to buy all these things individually. So we got a team in four other continents and we did a three month ⁓ project in each of those continents to look at the market and see what it what else was out there. And it was exactly the same. It was all individual supplements. So what was interesting is I knew what we wanted in the formulation. So we wanted like a mixture of land and sea, some of the things I mentioned. So, yeah, organic mushrooms, organic seaweeds, some really powerful and healing roots, some natural extracts from leaves. And yeah, it had to be 100% natural, like no compromise. So it was a real challenge to find a liquid development company that can produce this for us. And we went to the eight of the best. liquid development companies in the world and said, look, this is our what we want. Almost like a bit of a prescribed list, hit list. These are all the things that, you know, have healed me. And we've searched the world and there's nothing like this out there. And we want to bring all of this in a single format. But we don't want any compromise. We don't want any caffeine. We don't want any sugars. We don't want any synthetics. We don't want any additives. It's got to be gluten free and vegan friendly. And yeah. All eight of these world's best liquid development companies said, No, we can't do it. Cause they're used to working with like a synthetic backbone to all the drinks in the market, pretty much. But there was one company who said, Look, we'll take this on with you. We'll try and do a a proof of concept to see if we can deliver this without the compromise. And I was really strong on that. I said, if we're gonna compromise on anything, I don't wanna do it. Cause I I was on death's door, right? And I had to come off all these things, like I had to come off all the additives and synthetics and caffeine and alcohol and sugar. So I couldn't consume any of that stuff if we're gonna compromise. So it was r I was really strong on that. And the one company that developed authentic brew with us was the same company that developed Seedlip. I don't know if you know those guys, but they were the real the pioneers of of coming up with an alcohol-free gin alternative. This was like Yeah, ⁓ Amazing guy called Ben Branson developed that with them. And ⁓ yes, they they took the authentic brew project on and they came up with the concept and then we did sort of a a bit of a bigger pilot and yeah, we've we've we're in. So ⁓ authentic brew was born from that. And we chose a drink because it was the best form, like for stability-wise, to have all the ingredients in. And Also, it's best for absorp absorbing rates through the mouth and the tongue, quickest absorption of some of these amazing ingredients, rather than a supplement where has to go through a lot of different processes through your, you know, your internal workings to see some of the benefits. Plus, a drink is so easy to to carry around or have at home. It's it was just a a really good format to bring everything into. So yeah, and we're yeah, after 18 months of R and D, we we we launched and authentic brew is now six months in from Go Live. And yeah, it's great. It's going going well and we've got some amazing ingredients in our can and you know, people are loving the taste and benefits. Yeah, it's got a it's for me, it's got a little ⁓ bit of kombucha vibes going on. It's ⁓ it's and actually someone ⁓ someone came round to fix my boiler recently, like a typical, I'd say a typical tradesperson from Pompey, right? And I I I only have in my fridge like water and oat milk and that's about it. And of course, now authentic brew. So you can find these three things in my in my fridge. And I said to him, ⁓ do you want me to make you a coffee? And he Yeah. And I Well, I haven't got any normal milk. And he was like, ⁓ no, no, no, I don't want any of that oat milk stuff. So I was like, okay. And ⁓ I said, Do you want to try some authentic brew? And he took a sip and he was like, What is that? And I said, Honestly, it's so good. And he he sort of He definitely was not accustomed to that kind of taste. Whereas I've been drinking a lot of we I think when we met the other week, I told you about ⁓ the ginger brand ⁓ that I've been drinking. It's I've forgotten the name now off the top of my head. Mother Roo. Mother Roo and some of the other brands of drinks. Like I love kombucha and so so for me, like I love those flavours that you have an authentic brew. But I think if you have been used to drinking like Pepsi Max or hardcore coffee or whatever your palate, it might be a different, quite a different taste for you. But then I he he sort of started fixing the boiler and he had the can next to him. And then after a a few minutes, he had another sip and he goes, Do you know what I really like that? And I loved that. I loved that. And I think that's really cool because it's really nice to see somebody actually try something that looks quite different for them, but then actually really enjoy it. Yeah, totally. Yeah, it's really cool. Good to hear. And we were big on that. So when we before we launched, we did two and a half thousand consumer tests across the different sort of varieties of of of profile. So we we've got the flavor of how it tastes to a really, really sort of gr great place just by using a hundred percent natural ingredients. So typically people love the taste of authentic brew. It is a slightly different to what's out there in the market because we we like we said it's just a hundred percent natural ingredients. And to make mushrooms and seaweed and roots and tree tastes good. It takes a bit of work, and that's why we use some more recognizable stuff. So we use a bit of lemon grass, we use grape juice, and we use ⁓ lemon peel as well, because they're more familiar tones and it really goes well with some of the Other more funky ingredients like our lion's main, Reishi and our fermented rhodiola. ⁓ but it's interesting what you say about the kombucha, because we do use some of that and that helps with carbonation, like natural carbonation. So we use an organic kombucha in in our drinks as well, which again provides some familiarity. And what what's your position in terms of obviously there are some big players in the market? Red Bull has been a big player for a long time. You see ⁓ you know, monster, huge I mean, often see people with big cans of monster. In fact, I was actually at a fitness event on Saturday last week and one of the people who are from the gym that we were doing this fitness event with walks up with this massive can of monster in it. ⁓ it sort of does something to me now, having come out the other side of a quite a heavy Red Bull addiction. So how do you how do you sort of see your place in in what is a really popular, crowded market. It is. It's a a a really crowded market. The good thing for us is we're hugely differentiating ourselves. And our mission is to redefine an industry that's full of compromise. So some of the brands that you mentioned, they've done so well. Well I think the human consciousness is waking up. They're a bit more cognizant of what's going inside of them. They are checking labels and they're going, hang on a minute. Is this much caffeine good for me? Is this much taurine good for me? There's stuff on the ingredients list I can't even pronounce. We've got high sugar in here. There's additives. There's synthetic. There's there's things in here that maybe I shouldn't be consuming. So people are really waking up to that. An authentic brew is not going to be for everyone, but it's going to be for the people who wanna live a ⁓ a more healthy and sort of wellness-focused lifestyle and who are almost a bit of fed up. Of the the mainstream narrative. And like you were saying there, you know, like MS doing their their meatballs with only five ingredients. But I would say, where are the five ingredients coming from? What what's the quality of that? Where's the provenance? Because that's so important. And I think we're one of the only drinks in the market that that old like farm to table expression in food, you can, you know, track where each of the ingredients come from. We can do that with authentic brew. Like our mushrooms, for example, organic mushrooms come from a specific. farmer in Bristol. Organic seaweeds come from a seven generations of seaweed farming north coast of the UK. You know, each of our our ingredients we can we can track and trace, which is really cool. And I just don't think there's anyone else out there currently doing that. No, I love that. And I think that's that's what's making you really special. Do you have a good understanding of what is wrong? Not wrong, that's not the right way to express it, when someone's drinking a can of regular energy drink, because there's a reason why people are taking these energy drinks, right? So we've got a very fast-paced society. We are the expectation to keep performing, even though if you look at studies, we're sleeping one to two hours less than we were in 1960. So people are consuming more information, the expectations are higher. The pace of life is much faster, so much information. So it's no wonder drinks, these energy drinks are very apparent in our lives. But I think one of the problems when you drink one of these regular energy drinks is that you do feel more energy, you do feel better. So you feel like you're getting what it says it's going to deliver. And what you don't necessarily feel is the ingredients that aren't so good for you. But what are the long term effects of consuming kind of those more synthetic products? Yes, it's a it's a really interesting topic. And I don't want to get too much into the science, but I think the the more traditional energy drinks, like we said, are high in caffeine and high in sugars to give you that quick hit. And they do do that. They wreak havoc on your central nervous system, your endocrine system, your biology, your neurology because of those ingredients. So you do feel a bit ⁓ a lift. And it's more of a it's more of a nervous energy. like a forced energy. And then from that, your body tries to get rid of all that stuff that's now in your system. And as a result of that, you you get the crash. And then, yeah, perhaps by design, but when you're in the crash state, you you want another pick me up. So you might reach for another one. It's a bit like the caffeine. And then you're in that you're in that cycle. I think what's so great about authentic brew is you you you we we don't get the ups and the downs. It's more like sustained, you know, functional. energy you get lift but it's a bit more more more smooth you just feel better better mood more focus more balance more calm you you feel more yourself and that's the whole point of authentic brew we're saying you don't need these these veneers you don't need the mask you don't need the synthetic energy when you strip all that back and you just have you know mother nature s essentially what's natural that's when your authentic self can really shine And that's the whole the whole premise behind authentic brewer. It's it's transforming your energy to reveal your authentic self. So it's not masked by any of these synthetic ingredients or ingredients as well, as a bit of a metaphor. It's not it's you don't have any of this fakery around you. It's all stripped back and you just let your authentic self shine. That's the the real premise of authentic brew. I love that. And I think that's so lovely because it's just it's so many layers of A concept that is which is much greater than just a drink. So, how do you recommend people drink authentic brew? Because I think that's also quite interesting. And where are you, where where does it fit in the market? Like where are people buying it? So, how are people consuming it? Yeah, it's ⁓ it it varies. So everyone's biology, their chemistry, their neurology, their circadian rhythms, everyone's is slightly different. So there's no prescribed you must drink. Authentic brew now. But what we do say is we want authentic brew to fit into your lifestyle. And again, with all the tests that we've done, what we found is the majority of people enjoy authentic brew like at eleven o'clock and again at like two o'clock. So it's a bit like 11s is coffee that people would reach for. Instead of reaching for a coffee, a lot of people are going for authentic brew and seeing such vast benefits. That they just stay on that track. And then again, like when you typically reach for another coffee to get you through the afternoon at like two or three, that's the the ⁓ the second time to have an authentic brew. But again, that's just the majority. People love it in the morning, like early doors, you know, five o'clock. If they're up, they're on it, they're ⁓ out the door, because it just gives them that that constant stamina and and focus and energy throughout the day. And then some people are using it as a as a sleep aid. Because we've got some incredible ingredients from there, like hawthorn bark and berries of trees and L-Tanine, which is natural extract from leaves. They're really good for central nervous system calming. And people who are struggling with sleep have it like an hour before sleep. And they're just having the best quality sleep that they've had in well, forever. And we did a lot of testing with biometrics. Yeah, we we we tested all that before we went live and we saw 89% of the people that we trialed had improved sleep. With biometric. And the great thing about it is is that you don't get these ingredients from a natural diet. So things like you know, raishi chaga and lion's main mushrooms, you know, sea kelp, fermented rhodiola, tianine, hawthorn, these are things that you're not getting from ⁓ even the best diets. So it's it's it's natural healing ingredients that really supports your human function. So when people are fitting authentic brew into their daily routines, they're going, Wow, like I need to keep going with this 'cause I'm seeing such a improved benefit to everything. How they show up at home with their husbands and wives, how they are as a parent managing the kids, going on the school runs, what they're like performing at at work in their spare time. Like we've got a lot of people who are we said it's really improved their paddle tennis. Seriously, people who are having a Yeah. P PBs in like the the ten K's or their five K's or when they're doing their half marathons. And yeah, it's all a real cross section of people from everyday heroes, which we call them the authentic legends. There's just your your everyday people going about their business to best sports stars in the world, some of the world's, you know, most renowned chefs and DJs and all sorts of people are are are waking up to actually I I don't think I want to drink these caffeinated sugary drinks or I want have a break from alcohol because it's not serving me anymore. And there's still not much on the market that's a hundred percent natural. So authentic brew's got a real place there where people just want something different to drink that that they love the taste, but also love the benefits. And they can thrive as their authentic self. They don't have to try and mask it with something else. It's really cool. Yeah. I like it. It's really amazing. It feels like a positive habit in a can. 'Cause it's it's it's having this ripple effect in all these areas, just like all the other things that I talk about. Wow, Mike, I love this so much. I hope well, we'll put all the details of authentic brew in the in the show notes. So a couple final quick things before we close the episode. What does the next sort of twelve to twenty-four months look like for authentic brew? Where's your vision for this going? Good question. So for us it was very much let's release something to the market that's really pioneering and we've done that. And we want to focus certainly the first 12 months on building our community. So that's the authentic brew crew. So if you're listening to this and you're not a part of the authentic brew crew, just head to our website, which is www.authenticbrew.com. You can join the crew and then you're part of the family. So you'll get all the inside track on the ingredients, the team, what we're up to. There's ⁓ you know, in-person events, there's live events, there's invites to things that you sort of money can't buy type thing. So we're really building that community. That's the the the first and foremost. So that's really the heartbeat of authentic brew is our community. So that's what we're focusing on for the the next 12 months. But also something that I haven't mentioned yet, but is we've set up a the Authentic Brew Foundation. So 25% of our profits. Go to the authentic Bruce Foundation. And that then feeds biodiversity and restoration projects around the world. So that's very much the driving force for us is to build a really cool community, a brand that is recognized firstly in the UK and then feeding our foundation so we can really make positive change in the world. And we call that rewilding people and places. So that's backing projects that. enable people and places to naturally thrive. I love that. I love that. It's very inspiring. That's the focus for us. So yeah, UK. And then we've got we've got lots of opportunities further afield in the in the Middle East. We've got all all around Europe. We've got South America, North America. And yeah, we've got lot lots of lots of things happening. But like we say from the start, we call it brick by brick. So we're just very focused on on solid foundations and not not going too fast too quickly. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Commu just keep it simple. Well, community is the heartbeat, so that's our focus. And then feeding the foundation. Very exciting. I know we've got to jump off. What is your number one positive habit that keeps you mentally and physically sustainably high performing, would you say, that you can share with everyone listening to this episode? Yeah, I think the the things I've I've kept, you know, from my my recovery. So my I I the daily habit for me is ⁓ I do a lot of deep breathing in the morning and evening. I stick to my cold plunge. My journaling is goes every single night before bed I do that. And of course my two cans of authentic brew. Love it. Eleven o'clock and ⁓ three o'clock for me. And ⁓ yeah, just keep me healthy, keep me pure, and ⁓ yeah, I recommend it to everybody. You are incredible, Mike. You are so inspiring, and I feel very grateful that you're in my universe. And ⁓ I'm very excited to see where you take this now. Thank you so much for being on the podcast today. Likewise, and thanks for having me on. Everything you're doing is ultra inspiring and like I said at the start, you know, it's an honor and a privilege to be a part of your podcast and yeah, excited to what we get up to next. Thank you.