Avoid These Popular 'Health Foods' Packed With Junk | Ross Franklin DSH #752

Summary

Digital Social Hour: Avoid These Popular 'Health Foods' Packed With Junk | Ross Franklin DSH #752

Release Date: September 24, 2024

In this insightful episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly engages in a compelling conversation with Ross Franklin, the founder of Pure Green. The discussion delves into the misconceptions surrounding popular health foods, the intricacies of the juice bar industry, and Ross's journey in establishing a brand committed to genuine nutrition. Below is a detailed summary capturing the essence of their dialogue.

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1. The Hidden Dangers of Popular Health Foods

Ross kicks off the conversation by shedding light on the deceptive practices prevalent in the health food industry, particularly focusing on acai bowls.

Ross Franklin [00:00]: "Some of these acai bowls have over 100 grams of sugar. It's like three Coca Colas, and it's not a health food."

Sean echoes Ross's concerns, emphasizing the misleading nature of marketing strategies that present unhealthy options as nutritious.

Sean Kelly [00:06]: "Jesus."

2. Founding Pure Green: A Commitment to True Nutrition

Ross narrates his transition from the fitness industry to establishing Pure Green, driven by his realization that nutrition accounts for 80% of achieving optimal health.

Ross Franklin [01:00]: "Optimal health really is nutrition. That became the foundation for starting Pure Green."

He highlights his background in fitness and consulting, detailing how his expertise enabled him to create a scalable and quality-focused juice bar model.

3. Industry Evolution and Influencer Impact

The conversation transitions to the evolving landscape of the fitness and health food industries. Ross discusses the rise and challenges of different fitness models, such as CrossFit and Peloton, and the significant shift towards boutique gyms and juice bars.

Sean Kelly [01:45]: "Are gyms still crushing it?"

Ross Franklin [01:46]: "Fitness is definitely still here to stay, but there was definitely a shift away from the big box."

Ross also touches upon the role of influencers like The Food Babe, who are instrumental in holding large brands accountable for their nutritional claims.

Ross Franklin [05:23]: "Influencers... are calling out these massive brands and making them change their practices."

4. Ensuring Quality: From Ingredients to Production

A significant portion of the discussion centers on Pure Green's dedication to quality ingredients and transparent practices. Ross critiques common practices in the industry, such as using additives and high sugar content in fruit-based products.

Ross Franklin [04:36]: "It's like three Coca Colas. It's not a health food."

He explains Pure Green's commitment to cold-pressing and High-Pressure Processing (HPP) to retain nutritional integrity without compromising shelf life.

Ross Franklin [09:05]: "We use hydraulic presses that retain all the vitamins, minerals, and live enzymes... then we use HPP to kill harmful microorganisms while locking in nutrition."

Ross emphasizes the importance of third-party testing to ensure products are free from contaminants like heavy metals, a prevalent issue in plant-based proteins.

Ross Franklin [07:57]: "9 out of 10 plant-based proteins have high amounts of heavy metals in them."

5. Business Growth and Franchising Strategy

Ross details Pure Green's impressive growth trajectory, currently operating 50 locations with plans for 100 by Q2 of 2025. This expansion is primarily driven by franchising, with passionate franchisees playing a pivotal role.

Ross Franklin [13:38]: "We'll have 100 locations open by Q2 of 2025."

He also mentions securing high-profile clients, including professional sports teams, college teams, and even SpaceX, underscoring the brand's credibility and commitment to athletic performance.

6. Personal Health Practices and Biohacking

Transitioning to personal anecdotes, both Sean and Ross share their health routines and experiences with biohacking. Ross discusses his meticulous approach to blood testing to monitor and optimize his nutrient levels.

Ross Franklin [18:20]: "I was really big into testing my blood. At one point, I would get my blood tested every six months."

Sean shares his transformative experience after addressing nutritional deficiencies, leading to significant improvements in his energy levels and overall well-being.

Sean Kelly [19:08]: "I used to wake up groggy and thought that was normal. Now I wake up pumped."

7. Addressing Controversies and Maintaining Brand Integrity

The duo touches upon the challenges of navigating the health space, where making bold claims can be risky due to conflicting studies. Ross explains his cautious approach in public communications to protect his franchisees and the brand's reputation.

Ross Franklin [22:17]: "I have to be very careful... if I say the wrong thing, it could hurt our franchise partners."

8. Future Vision and Global Ambitions

Concluding the discussion, Ross shares Pure Green's ambitious plans to scale nationally and eventually globally, aiming to establish 1,000 units across the United States.

Ross Franklin [16:51]: "We believe the US can support 1,000 units. We're on a path to build healthier communities around the globe."

He also invites potential franchisees to explore opportunities through their website, emphasizing the brand's commitment to creating healthier communities.

Ross Franklin [23:36]: "The website for peergreenpigreenfranchise.com."

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Key Takeaways

• Beware of Hidden Sugars: Many seemingly healthy options like acai bowls contain excessive sugars and additives, undermining their nutritional value.

• Pure Green's Commitment: By adhering to cold-pressing and HPP, Pure Green ensures that their products retain maximum nutrition without harmful additives.

• Influencer Impact: Influencers play a crucial role in holding brands accountable, leading to healthier product offerings.

• Importance of Third-Party Testing: Ensuring products are free from contaminants like heavy metals is essential for genuine health benefits.

• Scalable Business Model: Pure Green's franchise-driven expansion underscores the viability of quality-focused health brands in the current market.

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Notable Quotes

• Ross Franklin [00:07]: "It's like three Coca Colas, and it's not a health food."

• Ross Franklin [04:37]: "We never cut corners. Everything is done the right way."

• Ross Franklin [09:37]: "There is a right way to [process juice]."

• Ross Franklin [07:58]: "We make sure it doesn't contain any heavy metals."

• Sean Kelly [19:04]: "I had some massive deficiencies... now I do it every year."

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This episode serves as a crucial reminder to scrutinize the nutritional content of popular health foods and highlights the importance of transparency and quality in the wellness industry. Ross Franklin's insights provide valuable guidance for both consumers seeking genuine health benefits and entrepreneurs aiming to make a positive impact in the food and beverage sector.

Transcript

[A]

A little research to uncover it. And the crazy thing is, some of these acai bowls, they have over 100 grams of sugar.

[B]

Jesus.

[A]

It's like three Coca Cola, and it's not a health food. So there's a lot of deception going on in the industry. And so the way we do it, we never cut corners. Everything is done the right way. It's handcrafted, it's blended. It takes longer, but it's a superior product.

[B]

I love that. All right, guys, got Ross Franklin here, founder of Pure Green, which we got right here. Thanks for coming on, man.

[A]

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

[B]

Yeah. I've been slamming these things.

[A]

Awesome.

[B]

Good flavor and good packaging, man, and good ingredients.

[A]

Thank you so much. I appreciate that.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. It's important. I'm on a big health journey now, so I'm very conscious of what I'm putting in my body. And you guys seem to have quality ingredients, so thank you.

[A]

Yeah, it's all about nutrition. That's what I found.

[B]

Yeah. Was that the goal when starting this? To have really good ingredients and.

[A]

Yeah, that was it. You know, I. My background's in fitness, and so I used to own my own gym, sold it, and then started a consulting company. And so I was known in the fitness industry as the fixer. So I would get the call when the gym owner was struggling, and I would go in and get them profitable. Launched many new gym chains. Yoga studios, Pilates studios, Finally juice bars. And I came to this realization, which is when you look at optimal health, 80% of getting results is nutrition. And so that became the foundation for starting Pure Green.

[B]

That's huge. So you were the Hormozi.

[A]

Before Hormozi existed, we were doing the same things.

[B]

Nice. Did you run into him when you were in that space?

[A]

Never. Never ran into him. I think timing was, like, a little off.

[B]

Okay. You were probably a little before him.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's crazy.

[A]

Back in the day.

[B]

Yeah. Look at the times now. Both of you guys taking off.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Starting off in gyms.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

Are gyms still crushing it?

[A]

So they are. You know, there's a big shift with. You had the big box gyms, which were 40,000, 50,000 square feet. And then you had the boom of the specialty boutique gyms, kind of like your orange theories and Pure bars. And so there. There was a big shift, and you had CrossFit. And so gyms are. Fitness is definitely still here to stay, but there was definitely a shift away from the big box. And, you know, with COVID everyone Got pelotons and some people working out at home. So it's definitely transformed.

[B]

CrossFit you couldn't avoid. A few years ago, everyone was talking about it. It was actually annoying.

[A]

At a certain point, it couldn't avoid injuries too.

[B]

Oh, my gosh.

[A]

Crazy.

[B]

Yeah. That stuff looks intense.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Peloton's really taken over, though. Shout out to them.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

That's some of the best marketing I've ever seen.

[A]

Yeah. Covid was like, the best thing that. That happened to those guys.

[B]

And I think gamifying. Working out was brilliant because it's so like. Like treadmills or. I can't do treadmills, dude. But if you put me in a race with other people on a treadmill, I might do it.

[A]

That's right. People. People love it. They become obsessed.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It was great concept.

[B]

And after gyms, you got into acai bowls, right?

[A]

That's right into. Into the juice bars.

[B]

Yeah. And you were basically saying how most of those acai bowl places are actually unhealthy.

[A]

Yes. So that's. That's a. That's a big thing. It's. You know, for me, it's like when I realized that optimal health really is nutrition. You know, I realized that when you look at how do you create something scalable? You know, we're talking about these gyms. When I was doing these big box gyms, 40,000, 50,000 square feet. These gyms have massive infrastructure. What I love about the juice bar model is it's scalable. These are small models. Right. So 500 square feet to a thousand square feet, small footprint. It's really scalable. It's really duplicatable. But when you look at, like, all the players in the marketplace right now, not everyone's doing it the right way.

[B]

Right.

[A]

There are some out there that are really cutting corners. So when you look at kind of the industry as a whole, like, it is. It is booming. You know, the. When you look at kind of the healthy food sector, it's. It's a. Market size is about 270 billion. And then kind of dialing it in subcategories. Take acai, which you mentioned. So ACAI is about 6 billion, and it's growing at a CAGR compounded annual growth rate of 11%.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So it's really taken off. But here's the thing. There's a lot of deception going on that people don't even realize. If you go into a juice bar and you watch them make an acai bowl, you're gonna see One of two things you're gonna see one, that you're gonna scoop it out of a bucket. It's a sorbet. It's a compromised product, or you'll see it, see them do it on a frozen yogurt machine. And the problem with that is this full of additives, emulsifiers, gums, guar, and high amounts of sugar. A lot of these juice bars, they have their nutrition facts buried on their website. So you have to do a little research to uncover it. And the crazy thing is, some of these acai bowls, they have over 100 grams of sugar.

[B]

Jesus.

[A]

It's like three Coca Colas. It's not a health food. So there's a lot of deception going on in the industry. And so the way we do it, we never cut corners. Everything is done the right way. It's handcrafted, it's blended. It takes longer, but it's a superior product.

[B]

I love that, dude. I went to a froyo place the other day. They didn't even have the nutrition facts on any of the flavors because I want to see how much sugar I was eating. It was a little cheat meal, you know, And I couldn't even find it online. It was crazy. I can't believe they could do that.

[A]

It's crazy. I mean, a lot of when you reach a certain scale, they make you put the calories on the menu boards, and you have to have it somewhere, but you have to dig on these sites to find where they have nutrition, where they have the ingredients. And then what's happening right now, though, is you have, like, these influencers, like the Food babe. Have you heard of the Food?

[B]

Yeah, I've seen her.

[A]

She's calling out, like, these big brands, and big brands used to be able to get away with it because they spend so many dollars on marketing, and they're really educating the public on kind of their products.

[B]

Right?

[A]

And now you have just this boom of all of these influencers, like the food babe, who are calling out these massive brands like Subway, like Chipotle, and they're making them change their practices, which is. It's really remarkable. There's been no time in. In our nation's history where it's. It's like this, where you have single individuals just calling out these massive brands and making them change their practices.

[B]

I love it. A lot of people were calling out whole food top bar for the seed oils, and now they're starting to remove them.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

Which is incredible.

[A]

The people are really causing a change, which is remarkable.

[B]

Never happened before in the big food space.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

And now Brian Johnson is calling out athletic greens.

[A]

Oh, I saw that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, he was, he was kind of like. He kind of was. Up until recently, he didn't really talk about it, but now that he came out with his, his own products. I just ordered it, by the way.

[B]

I already been taking it.

[A]

How is it?

[B]

So I like it. Other than the fact that there's natural flavors in it, I wish he would just have the pure powder. Which one did you order?

[A]

I ordered like the whole kit because I want to try. Yeah, I got the whole one of them.

[B]

So in both powders there's natural flavors, which I'm not a fan of. I'd love to hear your opinion on natural flavors.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, no, I agree. It's like there's a lot of hidden junk in there. It could be, it could be anything.

[B]

So I was surprised someone like him would put that in his stuff. But maybe there's a reasoning.

[A]

You know, when he had his. He listed all the ingredients, all the supplements he was taking. Yeah, I went through them all really carefully and I found that just a lot of the supplements he was taking, it wasn't the best. There was a lot of fillers in there. There were seed oils as fillers in a lot of those supplements, even the ones he was taking wasn't the best. I think his focus is he's prioritizing the science. You know, he has this whole team of dietitians and that are supporting his, his blueprint program. And so I think his focus just more on the clinical studies but less away from just the quality of the ingredients. And for me, like, the quality of the ingredients is one of the most important things.

[B]

Same. I think he's just moving so fast. I don't know if he was third party testing the supplements, but I don't buy any supplements unless a third party does it.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

Because of heavy metals, because of contaminants. Who knows what else is in them?

[A]

Oh, yeah, you'd be so surprised.

[B]

It's not regulated.

[A]

Not regulated at all. And when a lot of these independents have called out, especially when you look at like plant protein, a lot of these brands are contaminated with, with high amounts of heavy metals, cheese. And so that's why when, like with my company, Pure Green, like, we make them provide like third party testing, we scrutinize that.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

To make sure it doesn't contain any heavy metals.

[B]

That's huge.

[A]

But it's like read something where it's like 9 out of 10 plant based proteins have high amounts of heavy metals in it.

[B]

Dude, I'm not surprised. I just saw a pasta I used to eat, bonza. It's made out of chickpeas. Yeah. It has like PFAS in it.

[A]

Yeah. They just got called out.

[B]

That's crazy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's supposed to be healthy.

[A]

And I really feel just these, these influencers calling out these brands like it's really good for the benefit of everyone because they're causing them to change and do the right thing.

[B]

Right. I think margin gets, gets in the way and they, they don't want a third party test because it's expensive, right?

[A]

That's right. I think when you run a company, everyone's trying to just monetize. I mean it's a business. And so they're using inferior ingredients because it's a lot less expensive. So.

[B]

And it's a tough game because these have a shelf life. Right. So these companies want to extend that so they make more money. But the problem with the that is the ingredients. Right?

[A]

Exactly. Like I'll give you like the cold pressed juice that you're drinking. So if you look at previously like let's say a Tropicana, it's pasteurized so that juice is heated to the point where it's completely devoid of all nutrition.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

And so they have to infuse it with, with inferior nutrients to show the nutrition levels. And so what we do is when you cold press it, we use these hydraulic presses that retain all the vitamins, minerals and live enzymes from the fresh fruits and vegetables. Then we do this process called hpp, which is water pressure. And so we use equalized pressure, 87,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. And what it does is it kills the harmful microorganisms, locks in the nutrition and safely gives it an extended shelf life. So there is a right way to do it.

[B]

That's incredible. And I'm really upset about Tropicana. I drank that growing up.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Holy crap. I thought it was pure orange juice.

[A]

Right.

[B]

What, so why are they heating it up?

[A]

So the pasteurization, same thing with milk. It's. They heat it up. So like we're talking about before, just so the companies can, can make more money if they last longer. Yeah. If it's, if it's in its raw form, it's not going to last more than a couple of weeks.

[B]

Right.

[A]

If you know with juice it's not good for more than three days.

[B]

So this only lasts three days.

[A]

So when it's not hpp. So when I first started pure green, you know, we started cold pressing it and we'd had all the equipment machines in the back and when we were selling it, there was a couple, two problems. One problem is that when we sold it, we couldn't predict how many, how much was going to sell.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So wastage was 25, 30%, which is crazy for business. But my bigger issue was that when we clocked the nutrition. So right when it's made, we clock nutrition. Nutrition is amazing. But then on day three, we clock nutrition. It's a fraction of the level.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Because of oxidation, the nutrition degrades. And so I couldn't ethically sell that. I don't want to sell it on its third day. That's crazy. So I discovered this HPP process which locks in that nutrition, slows down the oxidation process and so the juice is good for 60 plus days.

[B]

Holy crap.

[A]

To the point it is manufactured 60 days. That's right.

[B]

That's incredible.

[A]

Yeah. So it was a real game changer for us and started. That's how we were able to start our wholesale business.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so now we work with over 80 professional sports teams, 30 college teams. Even SpaceX is a client.

[B]

Incredible. So this is in Elon's office right now.

[A]

That's. I can, I can't confirm or deny.

[B]

I love that. Are you, are you in retail like Whole Foods and stuff yet?

[A]

So we're in some of the, some of the bigger markets. You know, a thought process with the wholesale side of the business was to start with the most sought after and hard to get accounts. Didn't have some US military divisions drinking it.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

We developed a nutritional advisory board with four top tier dietitians, three from professional sports teams and one for the US military. And they back up everything that we do with peer reviewed scientific research. And so we're one of the only brands that do this. And so the professional sports teams, they will not like travel without it.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's that good.

[A]

Yeah. So the, the dietitians, the coaching staff, they notice a huge difference in the recovery of the players, huge difference in their performance and so they, they have it with them at all the time.

[B]

Holy crap. You might have to email Mark Cuban. That's nuts, man.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

That's incredible. 15% juice, filtered water, agave, ginger. Yeah, everything's all natural, right?

[A]

That's right. So we have some juices, most of it is just 100% juice. We have a few flavors that we developed just for the professional sports teams. We added Probiotics in there for gut health. Over 4 billion flora probiotics. We added a little lemon in there for electrolytes. And so we have some that are not 100% juice, but they're amazing for sports performance.

[B]

Love it. How do you feel about all this microplastic craze right now? Are you keeping an eye on that?

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah. It's a big issue for us. When we HPP the juice, you can't do it in glass bottles. It won't survive the HPP process. But our juice, it's in 100% recyclable PET bottles because the juice is in there for such a short time, just a couple of months, and it's kept cold all the way through, so it's constantly refrigerated. We've tested it for microplastics and it does not have any.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it must be when it gets too hot, then. That's.

[A]

It's more like when you deal with bottled water, for example.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know that. That in the transportation process that gets heated. It's going through states where it's a very hot climate.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And so that heat is melting the plastic into the water. That's where it really becomes a big issue.

[B]

I stopped drinking bottled water, dude.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I only drink glass.

[A]

I'm same. I do Mountain Valley glass bottles.

[B]

Good old Mountain Valley. You got the five gallon out.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I love it. You live out here?

[A]

So I live in. In Boca Raton, Florida.

[B]

Oh, nice.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

State tax there either, so. No, I love it. How many locations you got top now?

[A]

So right now we have 50 locations open, 50 in construction, 20 in site selection.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So we'll have 100 locations open by Q2 of 2025.

[B]

Holy crap. So you're growing quick.

[A]

We're growing very quickly.

[B]

And is that because of franchising?

[A]

It's all because of franchising.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

And so our franchisees, they're all so passionate for health and wellness, and they're all so great at embracing their local communities. So they really are driving force behind our growth.

[B]

Yeah. And you caused some great timing because there's a huge health craze right now.

[A]

That's right. It is really booming right now. And, you know, in the space right now, I don't know if you heard, but Tropical Smoothie Cafe was just bought out by Blackstone for $2 billion.

[B]

Holy crap.

[A]

And so they're watching all the trends as well. You know, in the venture world, a lot of people follow Blackstone. They're getting into the space For a reason.

[B]

Yeah. And those smoothie places, I'm not trying to call anyone out, but like, I would go to them and feel like shit after drinking them.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

I think they add sugar or something to their smoothies.

[A]

Yeah. There's a lot of low cost competitors out there and they don't place the same premium on ingredients that, that we do. So like for example, we don't just use whey protein. Our whey protein is sourced from pasture raised, grass fed cows.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

That's the level of curation that's reflective for all our ingredients.

[B]

I love that. Yeah. Because if you're using regular whey protein, those cows are injected with who knows what.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Yeah. I'm the same way with chickens. Like, I only eat pasteurized eggs.

[A]

That's awesome.

[B]

With beef only grass fed, Even grass finished, if I can.

[A]

I'm the same. I mean, we get our, our produce from a local farm.

[B]

Nice. That's how it should be.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Right. You said you visited Tylope as his farm recently.

[A]

That's right. Yeah.

[B]

Where was that?

[A]

So then he's got a farm out in Virginia. So he took me all around there and he has some animals on there and. Yeah, good, good experience.

[B]

That's a life goal of mine, to have a little farm animal sanctuary.

[A]

That's. That's awesome.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

When you're, when you're like, when you know exactly where your food comes from and by growing it yourself, I mean that's, that's the next level.

[B]

Can't beat that.

[A]

That's unbelievable.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, I look at what I ate growing up and it's disgusting. Looking back at it, same thing for me. It's like, wow, I ate bacon and like eggs that weren't pasteurized and chicken that wasn't organic.

[A]

Same thing for me. Even worse. Like all the processed foods I grew up on, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Puffs, all that stuff. Right. What a three.

[B]

Now there's heavy metals in those. You see? You saw that new study?

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Crazy.

[A]

It's. It's insane.

[B]

Yeah. And that was normal. You know, it was taught growing up. Breakfast, most important meal of the day, Eat cereal with dairy milk. Now I only drink raw dairy milk if I can. That's crazy.

[A]

Yeah. But that's banned in a lot of states. It is, yeah.

[B]

Crazy, right?

[A]

Yeah. And even like in the way they get around it in places like sprouts, they have like, like raw kefir and. But they market it for pets, not for human consumption. So that's kind of a workaround. But it's really kind of like if.

[B]

You know, you know.

[A]

Yeah, it's for you.

[B]

It's good to know though, because I try to find it at Whole Foods and Sprouts, cuz I shop there and I can never find it.

[A]

Yeah, most states, like, they won't let you do it.

[B]

Damn. Other than Cali though, when. When I go to Erwan, they have raw milk there.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

So that's the one good thing about Cali, that.

[A]

Yes, it is.

[B]

Can't name any other good things, but maybe the weather.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Dude, what's next for this? I know you're scaling. Any other plans?

[A]

So for us, like, we believe that when you look at the United States, that for pure green, we believe the US can support 1,000 units. So we're just on our. On a path to build healthier communities around the globe. Wow.

[B]

A thousand units. That's like 40 in every state. That's incredible, man.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Going international after that.

[A]

And so eventually that's. That's the goal. We would love, we'd love to be a global company.

[B]

Is it just you running this? You got partners?

[A]

So just me on the franchise side of it, and I have a partner on the. On the wholesale side of it. Wow.

[B]

You're running the whole franchising by yourself, Dude.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

That's impressive.

[A]

We have a great team. I really believe that any successful company, like it's a team sport and so our goal is just to hire A plus players for every single position.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

And so we have a lean team right now, but it's growing fast.

[B]

Any other health things, biohacking things you're into?

[A]

I mean, I've been, you know, back in the day, you know, I have to be careful now because we have this nutritional. Nutritional advisory board and they're not fond of the word biohacker.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

But you know, in the past, I know on personal level a lot of the OG biohackers and we've done some business together and I've done a lot of, you know, experimenting with it myself. And it's fun.

[B]

It works, right?

[A]

For sure.

[B]

I feel amazing. Infrared. I'm doing PMF mats right now. I'm doing oxygen chambers.

[A]

What do you find the most successful out of all the modalities? What's the most successful one?

[B]

I'd say sauna.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah, that. That to me is just. I feel amazing. What about you?

[A]

For me, I would say I was really big into testing my blood.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So at one point I would get my blood tested every six months.

[B]

Holy crap.

[A]

To the point where my doctor, he was like, ross, you have the cleanest blood I've ever seen. He's like, you do not need to do this. Yeah, but I want to make sure. Not quite the level that Brian Johnson is doing it, but I want to try to get in the optimal zone for every single nutrient, every single vitamin, every single mineral. But it becomes obsessive.

[B]

I feel that I do it once a year, and it's definitely important. I used to, like, be scared of it. I didn't do one for maybe seven years. But it's so important because I had some massive deficiencies when I got mine from Gary Brea last year, and now I do it every year since.

[A]

Have you noticed a difference in your performance just through correcting those deficiencies?

[B]

Oh, so massive. Night and day. I used to wake up groggy and I thought that was normal. Now I wake up pumped. I jump out of bed now.

[A]

That's awesome. And what do you attribute that to? Like, which nutritional deficiencies did you.

[B]

I fixed magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin C. Testosterone was a bit low, so I say those four were the big ones. And then I had some other minuscule ones, though.

[A]

It's so interesting. Those are like the. The basics.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's so interesting. By just correcting the basics, you notice such a substantial boost in your performance.

[B]

Yeah, but a lot of people are deficient in those.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Especially vitamin D. That's what I've heard.

[A]

I've heard some percentages, like 70 of people are division rates. That's insane.

[B]

I just saw a stat 91 of people have digestive issues or something, which is insane.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Because of all the processed food, 70 of the diet's not processed in America.

[A]

It's. It's so crazy.

[B]

It's disturbing.

[A]

And the obesity epidemic in this country is. Is nuts.

[B]

It's nuts. You ever done a juice fast or water fast?

[A]

Oh, yeah, We. We sell juice cleanses.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

So, yeah, Big advocate of that.

[B]

How many days? What's the most you've done most?

[A]

I've done a five day.

[B]

Okay. That's pretty.

[A]

Yeah. For us, we usually recommend one to three days.

[B]

I've done one.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

No, two. Maybe two days is my max.

[A]

Two days.

[B]

I want to hit three because that's when I heard you start killing off bad stuff.

[A]

Have you done water or juice?

[B]

Just water.

[A]

Okay. You should try a juice cleanse because you're getting more calories with it just from. From the juice. But what you're also doing is you're flooding your body with vitamins minerals and live enzymes. And so kind of the difference there, you know, we're talking about just correcting deficiencies. When you have a cold pressed juice, you know, it's so rich in so many nutrients, a lot of times it just corrects nutritional deficiencies and that's where that burst of energy comes from. So when you do a juice cleanse, it's a little different than a water cleanse. So maybe something to check out.

[B]

Yeah, I'm sure if it was juice, I could probably do three days because water was tough and I had a basketball game and I felt terrible during it.

[A]

Oh, yeah, you got to be careful with sports when you're in your cleansing.

[B]

Do you see that video of Gary Bracker talking about juices? Orange juice?

[A]

I don't know if I saw that particular one. I've seen a lot of his videos.

[B]

What he said drinking orange juice was worse for you than eating an orange.

[A]

You know, I, I heard something like that where he's, he's hating on. Also like when you blend up the fruits.

[B]

When you blend it.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I did. I did hear that.

[B]

What was your opinion on that?

[A]

A lot of the, the guys who are really respected in the scientific community are kind of debunking that.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

It's. What's interesting is he really doesn't provide any science for, for saying that. He just kind of like spit it out and didn't back it up with, with anything. It doesn't make any sense.

[B]

Yeah. That to me scared me, honestly. But then I saw people debunking it. I actually gave up smoothies because of that video. But then really, I think Lane debunked it and a couple other guys.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I'm going to start drinking them again.

[A]

Yeah. That makes zero sense.

[B]

Yeah, well, it's. When you see someone like that say it, you know, for the common person, that holds a lot of weight.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. I have a lot of respect for, for what he's doing. I mean, he's really. And what he did with Dana White is remarkable.

[B]

Dana White. So many other people to Stephen A. Smith.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Steve Harvey.

[A]

Change.

[B]

Change people's lives.

[A]

So I have a lot of respect for. For what he's doing and how he's getting the word out. But there are certain things that he says that a lot of people are pushing back on.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. The health space is a tricky one to make bold claims and. Because there's always a study for and against everything.

[A]

That's right. And you're going to. If you say the wrong Thing like everyone's going to call.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. I'm happy I'm not in your space, man. Is that why you're kind of quiet on your Instagram?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I notice you're pretty low key.

[A]

I have to be very careful just because also when you're in the franchise world, it's like I can't say anything controversial because we have people that put their life savings into. Into Pure Green.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

And so if I go on a public platform and I say the wrong thing, it could affect. It could affect the brand and it could hurt our franchise partners.

[B]

That makes sense.

[A]

And they're the lifeblood of our company.

[B]

Is it public how much you charge for a franchise?

[A]

It is. So we have in the franchise world what's called an FDD Franchise Disclosure document. So we're only able to say certain things, but for us, we can give a range. We can give ranges.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And averages depends on the state and.

[B]

The cost of the building and everything. So that makes sense.

[A]

Exactly. A lot of variable factors.

[B]

Okay. What's like the range, though, if someone wants to start one watching this.

[A]

Yeah. So all in capital to open a peer green franchise can range from 177,000 all the way to 443,000. Given how big the store is, where it is, a lot of times the landlord is contributing to part of the build. So a lot of different factors there.

[B]

Got it. That makes sense, man. Where could people find out more about this and find out more about you?

[A]

Yeah. So the website for peergreenpigreenfranchise.com and I'm most active on Instagram, but as you mentioned, not too active. I need to. I need to do a better job of that, but on Instagram. I'm Ross Franklin.

[B]

Awesome. We'll link below. Thanks for coming on, man.

[A]

Thank you so much for having me.

[B]

Yeah. Thanks for watching, guys. Check out Pure Green. If there's one near you, definitely try them. See you guys tomorrow.