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EYL #347: Cousins Turn Natural Spring Into the First Black-Owned Bottled Water Brand in Walmart - Earn Your Leisure | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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EYL #347: Cousins Turn Natural Spring Into the First Black-Owned Bottled Water Brand in Walmart

Earn Your Leisure

Thu Oct 30 2025

Summary

Podcast Summary: Earn Your Leisure #347

Episode Title: Cousins Turn Natural Spring Into the First Black-Owned Bottled Water Brand in Walmart
Hosts: Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings
Guests: Brad Simmons and Terence Walker of Live Alkaline Water
Date: October 30, 2025

Overview

In this episode of Earn Your Leisure, hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings sit down with Brad Simmons and Terence Walker, two entrepreneurs who—along with their extended family and community—transformed a generations-old natural spring in North Carolina into Live Alkaline Water, the first Black-owned bottled water brand to be sold in Walmart. The conversation uncovers the hustle and mission-minded approach that took them from grassroots bottling to disrupting an industry dominated by large corporations, and underscores their bigger vision of community, health, and generational wealth.

Main Topics & Key Insights

1. The Power and Necessity of Water

(02:01–08:04) The episode opens with the affirmation of water’s primary importance:
- “Man can’t survive without water… Your body needs water. The world needs water.” (Host, 02:12)
Importance of hydration, even in celebratory settings like Invest Fest, where alcohol consumption and high temperatures highlight water’s critical role.

2. Networking Through Value-Add

(08:05–09:09) Simmons recounts how approaching the EYL team with an offer to provide water—rather than just self-promotion—opened doors:
- “See where you can add value… Don't necessarily make it about you. The law of reciprocity—you’re going to get your blessings later.” (Host, 08:05)

3. Origins: From Soul Society to Natural Spring

(11:20–17:47) Deep dive into the backstory:
- Simmons and Walker began with a nonprofit, Soul Society, committed to youth and community empowerment.
- Pandemic urgency catalyzed the hunt for land, which led serendipitously to a spring owned by a Black Indigenous family for 400+ years.
“We weren’t looking for water—we were looking for land. The water appeared, and it was a whole new lane.” (Walker, 16:51)

4. Launching Live Alkaline: The Grassroots Grind

(17:47–21:42)
- The initial phase involved learning the business, direct action, and reinvesting all earnings.
- “I spent some of my last money on gas… I took some of that gas and went to the land to just give my labor... They gave me 20 gallons, and by the time I got home, 20 gallons were sold in like an hour.” (Simmons, 14:09)

5. Understanding and Educating on Water Quality

(21:50–26:23)
- Alkaline vs. spring water: “More important than it being alkaline water is the fact that it’s coming from a living source.” (Simmons, 22:08)
- Natural sources vs. artificially induced alkalinity.
- Ideal pH (7.5–8.0), water “life,” and the limits of high pH: “Batteries are alkaline… you can shock your body.” (Walker, 24:28)
Importance of glass bottling and avoiding plastics for purity and taste.

6. Production, Logistics & Barriers in the Water Business

(28:10–32:39)
- Major challenges include cost of bottling, distribution logistics, and the dominance of giant corporations.
- Locally-focused distribution was a strategic pivot: “Rather than spending time and energy going everywhere else, let’s double down right here.” (Simmons, 29:29)
- Shipping and regional expansion hurdles: “It’s 34 pounds per case… to ship to Cali, that’s $50 in shipping.” (Walker, 31:08)

7. Stewarding Generational Land & Heritage

(32:40–34:27)
- The spring sits on land owned by Black Indigenous families for centuries—originally 6,000 acres, now a few hundred after generations of loss and struggle.
- “It’s been different chunks taken out, but this thousand [acres] has been maintained… as far back as they know, over 400 years.” (Simmons, 32:52)

8. Walmart Entry & Brand Philosophy

(34:27–35:29)
- Live Alkaline’s Walmart partnership was designed for validation, but the true mission is direct-to-community impact.
- “His real goal was to keep it grassroots and deal directly with the people…” (Simmons, 33:38)
White-label opportunities for others: “We encourage it. We’re not in competition… If you want your own water, come holla at the plug.” (Walker, 40:50)

9. Production Process & Community Opportunity

(35:30–37:08)
- From spring to bottle: Involves both large-scale factory production and small-scale, labor-intensive bottling on the land, often with youth and entrepreneurs in training.

10. Equity, Ownership, and Community Reinforcement

(37:21–38:51)
- The founders’ personal investment led to equity in the company.
- “He actually gave us some stake in the company… more motivation to go even that much further.” (Simmons, 37:24)
- The land is increasingly being used for more than water: “We host festivals and retreats… the water, it bloomed into everything the water helps produce.” (Walker, 37:56)

11. Products, Pricing & Subscription Model

(38:51–40:26)
- Glass bottles: $4 each or $40/case; plastic bottles: $3 each or $45/case ($40 on subscription); gallons: $7 each or 4 for $20.
- Five-gallon container specials (“We Are The Gold"): $20, with local delivery.
- Subscription ambitions: “$20 monthly for five-gallon… 5,000 monthly subscribers for our million-dollar plan.” (Simmons, 47:07)

12. Social Impact, Education, and Expanding the Vision

(41:41–49:43)
- Water “crises” often rooted in resource monopolization, environmental pollution, and systemic neglect.
- Live Alkaline actively donates water to communities in crisis, supported by customer donations.
- Education is core: “It’s bigger than water. This is about a lifestyle… what you put in your body, how it's going to affect your body.” (Walker, 47:37)
- Larger vision includes agriculture, STEAM youth camps, farmers markets, festivals, and community programming: “It’s bigger than water—the water is the seed; the harvest is much more grand.” (Walker, 49:43)

13. Memorable Quotes & Moments

“When you see it, you don’t gotta try to believe it. You know it.” (Walker, 21:42)
“Sometimes people look at it and say, ‘it’s just water.’ We like, nah, it’s bigger than water. You better put premium water in your body.” (Walker, 47:37)
“He’s denying multi-million dollar deals to keep and protect this land… We see where the fruit of our labor is going.” (Simmons, 51:14)
“People are waiting for God to come down with a magical voice… Sometimes, he’s speaking in opportunity.” (Walker, 37:56)

Timestamps for Important Segments

02:01–08:04: The importance of water and hydration.
08:05–09:09: Networking tip—bring value, don’t just seek help.
11:20–17:47: Backstory—how searching for land led to a spring and a new model.
21:50–26:23: Alkaline vs. spring water—science and health.
28:10–32:39: Barriers in the independent water business.
32:40–34:27: The legacy of the land and its generational history.
35:30–37:08: The bottling process and youth entrepreneurship.
37:21–38:51: Equity, growing community involvement, and broader usage of the land.
38:51–40:26: Product pricing and subscription models.
41:41–49:43: Addressing water crises, education as empowerment, the “Bigger than Water” mission.
47:07 onward: Subscription plan and future vision.

The “Bigger Than Water” Ethos

Live Alkaline is not simply a water company. It’s a multidimensional community platform providing jobs, education, events, food, youth camps, and a vision of independent, Black-led land stewardship.
“The water is the seed; the harvest is much more grand than that. You have the food, you have a space where you can come and release, you have the festivals and things—but it all started with the water.” (Walker, 49:43)

Connect and Support

Website: heavyenergyuniversity.com/live-alkaline
Instagram: @livealkalineNC
Farmer’s Markets, events, and bulk order info online.

This episode is an inspiring case study on the intersection of entrepreneurship, community reinvestment, legacy, and health—delivered with candor, humor, and hustle.

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Transcript

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We in connection with the family, so. Foundation is 2015. Me and my brother started our organization, Soul Society. Initially, the idea was Soul Academy, because as I evolve, I realized the importance of the education system. When I left high school and went to college at A and T. And I was going for computer technology. But matter of fact, in high school, we'll do the career analysis test and they will spit out all your recommended jobs. I just scroll down to the end at the salary, so I see technology is a good bubbling field, and you can maybe get an entry at 100k or something like that. But I had that first semester in college, I had like three computer classes, and I realized I was not about to be at no computer desk for the next 20, 30 years. But I had this African American experience class, and it taught me all these deeper parts about our history and who we are, what we overcame, who we were before we were colonized, before we were enslaved. And I started to see more worth and value in myself during the time I was going through a depression, not seeing no worth and value in myself. So I realized how that empowered me. And then that second semester, I had a sociology class and another class that I had to read the Miseducation of a Negro. And at that point, I realized, this is by design. Our conditions are by design. And I can't just free myself of these conditions and not turn back, you know? And another part of that depression was wanting to go back, but I realized I can't go back in time, but I can reach back and put the younger kids on the information that I wish I would have had when I was younger. But so it started at Soul Academy as the organization, and that evolved to Soul Society. The deeper we learn about knowledge itself and the fact that we need our own community for these kids to dwell in. And then fast forward from 2015 to 2020 of us, five years, pushing the idea of one day we gonna have some land in 2020, it was like, we need that now. And I promise you, when the mentality shifted from one day to we need it now in like a month, we found ourselves on this land. Because I just started to reach out to my network, post on Facebook, who, the local farmers, all the essentials being brought off the shelves. You can have a million dollars at that point in time and might not be able to buy no good clean water at the time. So I just started to reach out to who, the local farmers. So it's not just about us getting our own one day. It was about who has it now that we can help and learn from. So we made the connection. I went to the land, we did the tour, I tried the water for the first time, and it was like, I promise you, this is.

Co-host or Guest 2 (47:37)

Yeah, well. Cause sometimes people look at, when they, when they like, it's just water, all water tastes the same. We like, nah, it's bigger than water. This is about a lifestyle. This is bigger than the taste. This is about what you putting in your body, you know, and how it's gonna affect your body. So what those other waters got going on is not what this has going on. So it's bigger than water. This is. You don't put the same type of gas in this car that you put in this type of car. You a premium car, ain't you? So you better put premium water in your body. But we also, like you said, we own a crystal mineral based body of land. So the minerals in the water is 100% natural pH balanced naturally. But think about what's happening with the crops that are also grown on that same that that water is coming from. So it's bigger than water. Which is why we have a situation called the Bigger than a Farmer's Market. Farmer's Market. Because it ain't just the farmer's market. You're gonna come there and get your mushrooms, you can pick out your collard greens. You're gonna see other type of vendors, but it's also gonna be workshops there. There's also we have a huge fire pit where we do a situation called Fire for Therapy. Where people come, do poetry, share stories and things like that. But the water, bring them there. It's bigger than water. We also have a festival that we do called the Alkaline Festival. It's three days and two nights of live music, yoga, meditation, camping, bonfire, food trucks, vendors and more. But it all started with the water. It's bigger than water, you know, so people come there for that and they get an entirely different holistic experience and all of the inspirational messages and things that we've heard from people that have come and experienced that. Because we build showers out there. Because people gonna be there for three days and two nights. So people need to wash, but they are showering in the alkaline water as well. So they not just drinking it, they showering in it. It's bigger than water. Your skin is your most exposed organ. So what are you putting on your skin as well? It's bigger. So people are starting to really understand what we say when we say that it ain't just a water company. It started there. That was the seed. But the harvest is much more grand than that. You have the food, you have a space where you can come and release. You know, you have the festivals and things. But it all started with the water facts.