Digital Social Hour – Episode Summary

Podcast: Digital Social Hour
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Samantha Skyring, Founder of Oryx Desert Salt
Episode: "This Desert Salt Could Supercharge Your Brain & Body" – DSH #1618
Date: November 14, 2025
Duration Noted: Approx. 47:18

Episode Overview

In this enlightening conversation, Sean Kelly welcomes South African entrepreneur Samantha Skyring, founder of Oryx Desert Salt. The episode dives deep into the world of salt—debunking myths, unpacking the differences between various types of salt, and exploring the health, environmental, and energetic implications of what we consume. Listeners are treated to Samantha's knowledge on mineral-rich desert salt, the story behind her business, and her perspective on holistic wellness, sustainability, and the vital role salt plays in our brain and body health.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Essential Role of Salt in Human Health

• Salt’s place in our biological hierarchy (00:04, 25:18):
  • "Salt is actually third most important to the body. Oxygen is obviously the first one, second one would be our water...and third would be salt." – Samantha [00:04, 25:18]
  • Without salt people experience headaches, nausea, dizziness, and eventually could die.
• Historical misconceptions led many, including Sean, to avoid salt due to fears about health risks (00:00, 04:01).

2. Dangers & Drawbacks of Table Salt & Sea Salt

• Table salt origins and industrialization (01:19, 04:06):
  • Table salt is highly processed, includes anti-caking agents, free-flow chemicals, and dextrose (sugar) to mask bitterness.
  • “Table salt...in a way, is fake salt. It looks like salt and it tastes like salt...but the body doesn’t recognize it as a whole food.” – Samantha [02:50]
  • Often stripped of minerals, bleached, and heavily processed.
• Microplastics and contamination (05:55):
  • 90–95% of sea salts reportedly test positive for microplastics due to ocean pollution.
  • "We're now eating our packaging, which is completely crazy." – Samantha [06:05]
  • Other contaminants in seafood include opioids and contraceptives (09:22), a direct result of pharmaceutical runoff.

3. Sustainability & Packaging Innovations

• Problems with plastic grinders:
  • Most salt grinders use plastic, which sheds microplastics into food over time (07:01).
  • Oryx Desert Salt uses a ceramic grinder, designed to last and prevent microplastic contamination.
  • Samantha’s team’s switch to ceramic grinders and cardboard travel shakers saved close to 818,000 bottles from landfill (07:06, 36:40).
• Corporate and social responsibility:
  • The business gives back to local Kalahari communities and funds Project Biome to support agroecology in South Africa (37:06, 37:43).

4. Samantha’s Journey: From the Namib Desert to Global Shelves

• Personal story of inspiration:
  • A transformative 75-mile, seven-day trek in the desert and a close encounter with oryx antelope informed Samantha’s brand identity (15:02–21:14).
  • Oryx are desert-adapted animals that rarely drink water—relying on salt licks and even hygro­scopic hair to stay hydrated.
  • “So they hydrate from, you know, what they’re eating.” – Samantha [21:14]
• Starting small and scaling up against the odds:
  • Samantha invested all she had, selling her house and buying 34 tons of salt to launch her business (23:22).
  • Oryx Desert Salt now employs a 50-person team, many from disadvantaged communities, providing wellness and self-development opportunities (24:25).

5. Salt as a Conduit for Energy, Taste, and Well-being

• Salt’s structure and frequency:
  • Salt forms "sacred geometry" crystals, which Samantha believes play a role in bioenergetic conductivity and hydration (05:55, 29:19).
• Musings on intention and energy:
  • Discusses experiments by Dr. Masaru Emoto and Veda Austin on “messages in water,” suggesting positive thoughts/intentions structurally change crystalline forms (29:19–33:29).
  • “Your thoughts are changing the crystalline structure of your body.” – Samantha [29:20]
  • Music and positive atmosphere in the workplace believed to infuse salt with 'better energy' (33:29).

6. Practical Considerations: Taste and Cooking

• Taste tests and flavor discussions:
  • Oryx Desert Salt consistently scores higher in taste tests at food shows (14:13).
  • “This beautiful desert salt...is like a fine wine. It’s just got a beautiful terroir. It seems to open up all the taste buds.” – Samantha [14:34]
  • On air, both host and guest try table salt vs. Oryx Desert Salt, noting a "bitter, sharp" flavor from standard sea salt and a superior, clean taste from Oryx (46:01).
  • “Yours, you could just eat it straight up and not even have any visceral reaction.” – Sean [46:44]

7. Getting into Whole Foods and the Power of Networking

• Whole Foods entry story:
  • The pandemic allowed Samantha to focus on strategic outreach (work on not in the business).
  • Perseverance and careful LinkedIn networking led to a Whole Foods listing after months of persistence (39:21–41:29).
  • Networked with health-minded communities (like Dave Asprey’s conference) to spread the message (41:30).

8. Salt and Everyday Wellness/Longevity Tips

• Daily practices:
  • Both Samantha and Sean discuss using Oryx in drinking water to enhance energy and prevent “cognitive slumps” (36:10).
  • Samantha’s electrolyte formulas and homeopathy travel kits for immune support (11:22).

9. Transparency and Labeling in the Food Industry

• Call for honesty in food labeling:
  • Oryx is required by law to state it does not contain iodine; Samantha argues table salt should be labeled for its stripped minerals and additives (45:02–45:39).
  • Exposes industry loopholes (e.g., olive oil “fraud”) and underlines the need for greater consumer vigilance (44:26–44:41).

Most Memorable Quotes

• “Table salt, in a way, is fake salt...the body doesn’t recognize it as a whole food.” – Samantha Skyring [02:50]
• “90 to 95% of sea salts have been tested with microplastic in them.” – Samantha Skyring [05:55]
• “Plastic’s so useful, and yet we’re now eating our packaging, which is completely crazy.” – Samantha Skyring [06:05]
• “I feel like I’ve outed myself here—you’re putting plastic into the world...so now we’ve switched over to the cardboard little travel shakers.” – Samantha Skyring [36:40]
• “Your thoughts are changing the crystalline structure of your body.” – Samantha Skyring [29:20]
• “The wrong white crystal got the bad rap.” – Samantha Skyring, referencing The Salt Fix [26:10]
• “If you were to cut your salt completely from your diet...eventually you will go into a coma and you’ll die.” – Samantha Skyring [25:18]
• “So we've kind of swapped from gossip to gospel.” – Samantha Skyring, on the workplace culture [33:44]

Highlighted Segments & Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |-------------|:-------------| | Debunking salt myths & health essentials | 00:00 – 04:01 | | How table salt is made and why it's problematic | 01:19 – 05:50 | | Microplastics & pharmaceutical contamination in sea salt/oceans | 05:50 – 10:00 | | Oryx Desert Salt's environmental innovations | 07:00 – 08:55, 36:40 | | Story of the brand & desert inspiration | 15:02 – 21:14 | | Formation of Oryx and its connection to nature & animals | 21:15 – 21:22 | | Scaling the business & community impact | 24:25 – 25:13, 37:43 | | Energy, frequency, and experiments with salt | 29:19 – 33:29 | | Whole Foods breakthrough & networking insight | 39:21 – 41:29 | | Taste test and direct comparison of salts | 46:01 – 46:49 | | Discussion on food industry transparency | 44:26 – 45:39 |

Notable Moments

• The dramatic switch from plastic to cardboard packaging, prompted by Samantha's commitment to environmental integrity (36:40).
• Realization and scientific-narrative about how energy and intention may infuse into the crystalline structure of water and salt (29:19).
• The taste test on air, with Sean’s genuine surprise at the difference between commercial sea salt and Oryx salt (46:01).

Tone of the Episode

The episode maintains an energetic, conversational, and educational tone, blending Sean’s curiosity and humor with Samantha's deep knowledge, passion for sustainability, and personal storytelling. There is a consistent thread of challenging the status quo and calling for greater transparency and mindful living.

Conclusion & Recommendations

• Sean signs off encouraging listeners to try Oryx Desert Salt and consider the source and quality of their food ingredients (46:51).
• Samantha reaffirms the vital role of salt in wellness, the importance of sustainability, and the potential for business to create positive change at every level—from nutrition to community development.

For more information or to purchase Oryx Desert Salt:

• Available at Whole Foods, Amazon, and via the brand’s Shopify shop.