
Loading summary
A
Ladies and gentlemen, if you're pushing your limits this year, your recovery has to keep up. Most people train hard but fall short on recovery. That's where therabody plus series comes in. The Jet Boots Pro plus are the first ever multi therapy recovery boots combining pneumatic compression, vibration and infrared LED light to help boost circulation and reduce soreness in less time. And they're completely wireless. No cords, no hoses, zero hassle. Perfect after long runs, heavy lifts or game days. They keep your legs feeling fresh even when the training load stays high. Because when your recovery delivers more, so can you. Right now, our listeners get 15% off your entire order. Use code determined at checkout. That's 15% off US only one time use valid until March 31, 2026. Take your recovery to the next level with the Thera Body plus series. Check out the Jet Boots Pro plus at the body.com code word determined.
B
You either survive or you don't. You either grow or you don't. You either figure out how to get through challenges or not. It's choice. Get out of your own way. That is the one thing that you get every single day, every moment, is you choose to handle your circumstances a certain way.
A
I love that.
B
I got a vaccine. Don't know why I did it. I really, I really can't answer the question. But shortly thereafter, I started having grand mal seizures.
A
Holy shit.
B
I've crashed into countertops. I've busted open my face. I woke up literally in a pool of blood like crime scene or I've woken up in an ambulance. On the way to the hospital, I would break down and cry in front of my dad. Why me?
A
It's horrible.
B
I do everything right.
A
The thing that I admire most about you is the fact that through all of the adversity, you fought your ass off. I need you to understand how special that is.
B
Yeah.
A
What's up everybody? We are back. I have Zoe Carley here. She's the president of Carly Health, she is the founder of Zeta Body and she has an amazing story that we're going to get to today. But just an incredible human being and I can't wait for her to share her journey with you guys. So without further ado, Zo, welcome to the show.
B
I just preface everybody, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited.
A
You're so sweet.
B
It was a. It was a pleasure and an honor to be welcomed. So I appreciate that. Everybody, I just want to say get your tissues out because if you cry when I cry, then we all cry together. So.
A
Oh, I love those ones. I love those ones. So you have a really cool background. You know, you. You left home at a very early age. How old were you?
B
Well, the first time, I think I was like 12 or 13. I went to go live. Actually, I was like 13 or 14. I went to go live with my. I'm in a divorced family, so I went to go live with my father and then moved from Virginia to Colorado. Family dynamics. Came back from Colorado to Virginia, got home, I don't know, two, three months later after starting in high school, got into a fight with my sister, got into a fight with my mother, my biological mother. And then I just thought to myself, you know what? This is just not good. The atmosphere is just not healthy. So I called my dad. My dad's youngest sister lived in Virginia beach at the time, and then she called me and said, are you by yourself? And I'm like, I'm in the closet upstairs. Pack a bag. Pack a really big bag. I'll be there in 20 minutes.
A
Holy shit.
B
So I was watching out of the window, and this is tough to talk about because you don't like to talk negatively about your family. And then walked out. I was told as I was walking out, you leave now, you're never allowed back. And bye. Wow. So she picked me up and I said, okay, let's go. And then, you know, carried on with my life. And I'm fortunate. I was really close with my aunt anyway, so I was kind of like a mother daughter relationship. So it didn't. It didn't hurt in a way where I didn't have anywhere to go. I was still welcomed and it was still family. And, you know, I'm proud of that.
A
That's really hard, though, because I'm. I'm sitting here thinking, you know, we all have our issues growing up, right? No matter if we're in home with our parents, there's always certain dynamics that kind of hurt us throughout life. But I always had my mom, you know, I always had my. My father. And I'm listening to this here. How did. Later on in life, how did. Did that affect you at all? Not having that. That closeness in your family and kind of being so, I mean, kind of transient somewhat?
B
I've thought about that multiple times, and I think to myself, should I be angrier? Should I be madder, if that's a word, or not? Should I be disappointed? Should I be stressed? Should I be emotionally challenged? I mean, is there a little bit. I'm sure, I'm sure everybody has emotional Challenges with hard things. But honestly, no. And people have asked me the other piece of that, which is, I'm a military brat, so we moved all over the place, and people will say, oh, my gosh, you know, you didn't grow up in one place and have the same friends or things like that. And I said, I don't know any different. So what it did for me is possibly gave me a different skill set that it didn't give you, which is, put me anywhere and I can figure it out. Put me in a different country where I don't speak the language and I can navigate. Put me in a new school and I can find friends. I can become a star on the sports team. I just. It's. You either adapt or you don't. That's kind of the way that I approached it. So from the family perspective, it was toxic. And you're right. Yes, you get into battles with your mother, you get into battles with your father. But my father was also captain in the Navy, so he was deployed a lot in my young. In my youth. But I was always close, and he was always a phone call away or, you know, he would send videotapes back from. He was a. He was in the Navy, flew planes, and so he'd send really cool videos home from wherever he was and great stories. And I just. You either survive or you don't. You either grow or you don't. You either figure out how to get through challenges or not. And maybe I was born an adult. I don't know. I don't know how I did it, but it was one of those things where you get stuck in the emotional downturn or you use it. And I guess there were skill sets that I kind of figured out how to utilize for the. Probably 10 years or so after. And just to preface, my older brother's 13 years older and my older sister is seven years older, so there was an age gap. So I think when we were fighting, we were just in very different places in life.
A
I can relate to that. I can relate to that. Yeah.
B
That, too, has its challenges. And I think there was challenge to the place I was in and me. Challenge. Challenging her to the place that she was in, and then my mother being kind of caught in it. So I understand their frustrations probably with me as well, for sure. So 10 years, you know, we had. We had our own ups and downs. And I went to college and you know what, kid? Well, I didn't stay connected to my parents. I was like, peace. And then went and enjoyed college. I mean, I loved my, my dad and my, my duo stepmom, my mom, but. And I talked to him whenever I needed to or whenever they were like, can you please check in? Yeah, but I think that's normal. So with my mother and my sister, you know, I stayed in touch or got disconnected because of life or stayed back in touch and disconnected. And then it's really hard for me to talk about it a little bit. And I talk maybe a close family about it, but I think right around the time I was 25, 6, 7, I, you know, I asked my biological mother a couple questions, and then she just has a very different personality than me, and she couldn't really answer them. And so I think at that point and I, I.
A
Do you remember being embarrassed?
B
I do. And I'll be embarrassed if my family watches this. But I, I asked her, I said, and it wasn't, I wasn't like, oh, my God, you never hugged me. It wasn't anything like that. It was more of, you never tell me. It was more of just a call out the problem, ask the question. You never tell me you love me. And it was just sort of a kind of a blank kind of just. I don't even. It wasn't even really an answer to the question. And I said, you don't even hug me. My mother is, Is very attractive, blonde, green eyes, was a model when she was younger kind of thing. So I'm. I'm very fortunate that she. True. That's my blood too. So I'm very, very thankful and fortunate. But. And I just remember looking at her. Can I say what I actually said?
A
Yeah, of course.
B
So I looked at her and said. Or she said, you know, I don't really like hugging people because, you know, I put my breasts on people. I looked at her and I said, mother. And I do call her mother. Both my sister and I do. It's just normal to us. I sucked on those things for like a year and a half. I'm not just people. I'm your daughter. And I think that I meant that when I said that because that was part of my frustration where I thought, I'm your daughter. But it was never. I never. I don't ever really remember when I was a kid growing up and thinking, she never tells me she loves me. It was more of just, hey, we're disconnected now. And one of the things I just thought of was, isn't that normal when parents tell their kids that they love them?
A
Dude, I can't go like 15 minutes sometimes without telling my three kids, I love them. I'm sure it's like annoying, but, you know, like, I, I'm hearing all this and that, you know, it's important to talk about these types of things because as a child and as a, you know, young adult, you always want to hear your parents say, hey, I love you. But the one thing that I'm hearing is through everything being, you know, like you said, a military brat, and the things that you went through, you know, even just sharing the things about your mom, you've had to build an extraordinary, extraordinary amount of determination and resilience at an early age.
B
A fun story, which I think is I, I, I'm very grateful I was born even though I was kind of an independent, only child kind of thing, because of the age differences. But I, I was very structured as a kid and I loved animals. So we always had dogs and cats and I was always outside playing with them. I was always stuck in a tree at like 9:30pm and my mother's like, can you please come inside? You have school tomorrow. Get out of the tree. So I was that tomboy, but also I had a very, very feminine mother. So I kind of was both. I was daddy's girl, mother's kind of prodigy. And like I said, I'm extremely fortunate. You don't get to pick your parents. So whether or not your parents are good or bad or tell you they love you or they don't use it, it is a power you can learn from it. You have choice in life. That is the one thing. There's a few things, but that is the one thing that you get every single day, every moment, is you choose to handle your circumstances a certain way.
A
I love that.
B
You choose to wake up, you choose to make your bed. My bed is made every single morning. Every morning. The only time it's not made is when it's clean sheet day. And so I pull it off and then, you know, I'll change the sheets or whatever when I get home or something like that. But every day, those little teeny things, people argue with me. They're like, why would you make it? You're going to get back in it later anyway.
A
I make my bed every day. Well, I mean, I, I will tell you this, last couple days, I haven't been making it because I've been, I've been not feeling where you're not feeling well at all. In fact, after this, I'm probably going to go home and pass out. So it's not made, but I just, I just, I truly believe in what you're saying, right? It's like you get to choose your mindset every single day. We all have problems in the audience, listening or watching. You know, they all have things going on. They have certain struggles. And a lot of times what I find is people just want to stay in the struggle because it feels so good to be miserable. But at the same time, it's like, yo, get the hell out of it. Like, really think about, is this really serving you? You know? And so making that conscious choice every day, like, I'm gonna be super upset or I'm gonna do something that makes me happy. I think people really need to dial into that a lot more.
B
I agree. And in the last five years or so, we've all had our struggles, and maybe more so than before. But again, too, I'm just one of those believers that positivity truly makes you feel better. But for whatever reason, maybe it's easier to get stuck because, one, you might not know how to get unstuck. Two, it truly probably is hard. Three, maybe you don't have the resources like other people have. But again, two, every single day, you have a choice. You can always smile. Makes you feel better. You can always. And I. I've been a big believer, and even when I was a kid, give someone a compliment. You like their shoes, you like their outfit, you like their ring, you like their new hair color. You like their smile. You can find something on everyone to at least say or catch your eye or identify it or something like that. Or even just a, hey, put a smile on your face today, or something like that. I can't tell you how many times in customer service where we've walked up to the counter and ordered something, and the girl's like, just taking your order kind of thing. And it's. I have called out a few people, don't hate me, but I'm like, you're too beautiful. Please smile. And whether it makes them smile or not, it's just one of those things where it was my way of just trying to give a compliment, to say, God, you are a beautiful woman. Smile, smile.
A
I love giving compliments. I make it. I make it my mission every day. You know, I really, truly believe in telling somebody something that is going to make them feel good. But also it makes me feel good to be so positive towards somebody, right? Because then it makes me forget about the things that I might be struggling with at that time. Kept.
B
Because we all have them, and it's a choice. And then if you can just give a little bit and it's easy. It really is easy. One, one story about being a kid and trying to figure out, being determined to get to the next step. My, my parents didn't have a lot of money. My, my father in the 80s was in the military and then my mother was entrepreneur, got in and out a lot of businesses, owned some rental properties, just lots of things like that. But always relied on self. And as any of us as entre know that, that, that is a struggle in itself too. But I remember we, we lived on a relatively large little piece of property and after a while she got tired of doing push lawnmower and so did the kids. But so we, I don't remember how we did it, but we invested in a riding lawnmower, just a small one. I convinced her that, listen, I'll pay for the tires, I'll take care of the gas, I'll take care of the oil. We bought a cart and I started a lawn service.
A
Oh wow.
B
I was a 13 year old, maybe I was 12. But I grew up. My, my dad was gone a lot, so I grew up with my mother. I learned how to paint, I learned how to scrub floors with your fingernails because she had two or three rental properties, we didn't pay people to come in and clean it after we did it. So that woman was super talented. So I can, I can with my whole heart thank both of my parents whatever the relationship is that I have from them. I learned work ethic from an early age. We didn't have a lot of money, so what do you do? You have to work and you gotta work really hard. And she made that choice. I mean, she wanted to have money too and be able to live. So cleaned, like I said, cleaned baseboards, scrubbed windows, ripped up carpet, put in new tile, changed toilets, learned how to use screwdrivers and knives and chainsaws and all kinds of stuff when I was young. And she would work through the entire night to where I had school the next day. So we would bring a lawn chair and we would put a lawn chair out in the middle of whatever room with blankets and I would have a change of clothes and a towel so we could take a shower and toothbrush and all that stuff. And she would have worked through the whole night, take me to school the next day and then pick me up. And I'm in like third, fourth, fifth grade at this point, by the way. So there was no complaining. And the other thing was her kids weren't allowed to be picky. She wasn't gonna make two dinners. Whatever was on that plate is what you ate. So I can. I can also gratefully say that none of us are picky kids. Now, I'm particular because I choose to have a very strict diet.
A
Yes.
B
But I'm not picky. Like, I would love to eat a lot of the things that I make a choice to not eat.
A
I hear you on that one.
B
But I'm pretty strict with it. So that's just another one of those determined things. They didn't have extra money.
A
Yeah.
B
Now, I never went clothes clothes lists. I never went house lists. I never went food lists. So I was very fortunate in that way. But I got the essentials. And if you wanted anything more than my parents were both. Both pretty much. Well, you're gonna have to figure out how to get it.
A
Yeah.
B
Because I'm not racking up credit card debt and all this stuff just so you can have a design or something.
A
And that served you later in life, though, because of everything that you've built. And you. You mentioned something about a strict diet. You've had a health journey right around, what, right before you were 30. So I'm gonna say 28, 29 years old, starting having grand mal seizures.
B
Yeah. Don't make me cry. Here it comes.
A
Hey, guys, we're gonna take a quick break and we're gonna slide into our recovery segment brought to you by therabody. What an amazing technology that therabody has, and it was founded on a really cool story by Dr. Jason Worsland. It was founded on pain. He got into an accident and had this extreme pain in his arm and found that percussive therapy really helped. So he created the very first version of the theragun with a makita drill just to pilot and test to see if his pain could be relieved by percussive therapy overall. And surely it was. So now birth to the theragun and now therabody, who has a multitude of products to help you recover emotionally and physically. And some of the products even help with stress, meditation, and better sleep and just overall better wellness. And when I had Dr. J on the show earlier in 2025, it really spoke to me because his platform was founded out of. Out of physical pain, and the determined society was founded out of emotional pain. And so it felt natural for us to partner up. So we are an official partnership with therabody and I want to talk to you about some of their products today that I've been enjoying that I think you need to understand and know more about so you could potentially implement them into your life. And I'm not going to get into a big deep dive of the actual science and everything like that. I'm just going to give you some anecdotal information based on the products that I'm using and that my wife is actually using, too. That is helping us out a great deal at home. Because the great thing about these products, guys, is you can use them anywhere. You can use them in the gym, you can use them at home, in your bed, in your living room. Hell, you can even drive with a Thera Theragun Pro plus in your car and use it on your quads, use it on your arms, whatever that is. The first thing I want to talk about is the Theragun Pro Plus. I bring that in my gym bag every day to the gym, and when I'm warming up, I use it to warm up, I put it on my arms. Whatever body part I'm using that day, I activate those muscles. And what I find is I'm able to move my body a lot quicker and I'm a lot stronger on those days that I do actually bring it and utilize it. I just think it's a great way to understand your body and the connection between your strength and your muscles and being warm and being able to perform. Because it's one thing to go work out, but it's another thing to perform while you're doing it. And the Theragun Pro plus helps me do that. Another thing that I really, truly enjoy is the jet boots Pro plus. These things are wire free. There's no hassle, there's no cords, there's infrared LED light, there's that compression therapy. And I've been having bad pains in my ankles, both of them, actually, for about a year. And I don't understand where it's coming from. But when I started using the boots religiously after a leg day or after a cardio session, I throw those boots on and I find myself a lot looser. Afterwards, I find myself lighter. And then the next day, there's no pain in my lower extremity like my feet. The other thing that I really enjoy is that product really helps me recover a lot quicker. And let's face it, that's the most important thing when we're trying to move our bodies or we're trying to succeed in life, is we want quick recovery emotionally and physically. And these products help me do that, and they can help you do that as well. One of the other things that I really want to go into, because it's helping my wife out a ton with Headaches and being able to distract from the noise in her mind. And honestly, it helps me with that too, is a Smart goggles. Whenever we feel a slight headache coming on or things are getting really heavy, just in our minds, just thinking about all the stressors, all the things out there that we can't control, we throw the goggles on, get in a quiet place, and there's different cycles on there and different intensities of vibrations and massaging that you can either turn it up or turn it down. And what I really enjoy is it allows me to focus on what's going on with just me and I think about things and the massaging with the Smart goggles relieves either headaches and it relaxes me and relaxes my wife to a point where we can fall asleep better. We are preparing to kind of downshift and shut down and slow down for the evening. So I heavily recommend them. The other thing it's really good for is just creating a peaceful time in your day. And what I found since using the Smart goggles and then the other products is it works for me and it works for my family and I know it can work for you too. So I want you guys to think about things that you are struggling with. If it's lower back pain or you wake up in the morning, your neck is tight, I'm going to tell you the Theragun Pro plus will help that out. They have cold therapy on it, hot therapy. I mean, think about that when I open that box and realize that I could have heat therapy and cold therapy and a Theragun changed everything for me and also really made the thing that I hate doing the most is warmup. Made that very easy for me just by applying it to the muscle group that I'm going to use before I do it and in between sets, which promotes quicker recovery between sets. So if you're looking to go high volume or to lift heavy weights, I strongly consider that all these products are there to help you move along in your day with less pain and recover quicker. So go check it out because now, like I said, the official partnership has begun. And from now until the end of March, in your first order, you get 15% off your first order, not every order. So if you're going to buy some stuff, load up there in that cart for that first time and you get 15% off, go to therabody.com and at checkout the code is determined. So let me know how you guys like it. Until then, stay determined.
B
So back up just a little bit. Yes. I was very particular. When I got out of high school and college, I was. I was an athlete. So I remember getting into sport. Soccer.
A
Oh, cool.
B
Track, softball.
A
Damn.
B
Yes. And I. Even my husband, still. Today, I'm a gazelle. Somehow or another, I was born with long legs that carry me really fast. And I was a really good runner. I ran the 800, and I don't remember how fast I was, but I wasn't slow. And. But then I started running triathlons. And I was really good, really good runner. Had never cycled before when I started. And my best girlfriend was like, ah, you know, our Navy SEAL friends, they're big cyclers. So what. What we'll do is we'll retrofit one of their old bikes. I'm like, oh, okay, great. And then I was a good swimmer. I grew up in beach towns, so. So that was part of that. And then literally, I just. I liked being particular and structured. Remember, I was a structured person. I like checklists.
A
That's a military background.
B
And, you know, I don't know because I. Yes, I grew up in a military household, but even at a young age, I was born with a little bit of ocd, like, organized closet. My husband knows, friends know, like, my shoes are toe to heel. They're color coordinated. They're arranged in. Okay, These are heels for a particular kind of event. These are tennis shoes, sneakers for a certain kind of event. My closet is organized on particular colored clothes hangers to match what kind of outfit. They're organized in shirts versus pants. Okay. So I think you get the gist.
A
But I got it.
B
So from my 20s, the same thing. So I got out of college and went into the Navy. Got out of the Navy on a very short stint. That's another story, too. And then when I got out, I thought, oh, my gosh, I was ROTC scholarship, so I don't have a resume. I knew what I was doing after my scholarship going into the Navy. I'm like, oh, God, how do I put that thing together? Got into sales, business and development. So that's kind of mid-20s. Started my career, and that helped me become a better entrepreneur and grow that way. So pharmaceutical. Pharmaceutical sales first. Yep. And then I got into orthopedic medical device sales in the operating room, working with neuro and orthopedic surgeons, which also taught me a lot, to trust me. And then I fast forward again, ventured into my husband's companies, too. So to go back to the seizures, and it's controversial a little bit. I went and got A vaccine. And at the time, I was 28, 29, something like that. So I wasn't in a relationship and, you know, sexually active, female and such. And it was a big deal to get the HPV vaccine.
A
Right.
B
Apparently it decreases the risk of cervical cancer, which, by the way, in females is a low kind of cancer risk anyway, so. And I. I've never even had the flu shot, so I don't put. I barely even take Advil, if ever. My whole life. Very, very, very few times. So I've never really been a sick kid. And I don't know why I did it. I really. I really can't answer the question. But shortly thereafter, I started having grand mal seizures. Holy. I mean, like, full on. And when I say grandma, it's tonic clonic seizure. So I'm out. I've crashed into countertops, I've busted open my face. I have 12 sutures in the side of my head. I woke up literally in a pool of blood, like, crime scene. And had my hand like this, totally startled, stumbling down the hallway. Call my best girlfriend. And she's like, get off of the phone with me and call 91 1. What are you doing? When you come out, you kind of don't know what just happened. It happened many times because I was uncontrolled for a while. And so my husband always gets on me about correlation and causation, but I didn't know. Went through blood tests, went through varying different kinds of epileptic testing, which is light. Does light start your seizure? Do you have sleep issues? Are you going in and out of rem? I mean, I went through all of those. Nothing. They found a small tumor behind my right eye and in my temporal lobe. It's the size of a pencil eraser. We thought, oh, maybe that's contributing. Well, science says that temporal lobes don't cause tonic clonic seizures. So I had to get brain scans twice a year and never changed, never grew, never shrunk. Size was perfectly round, which is not typical for a tumor. So we kind of ruled out. Okay, none of that causes her seizures. Well, then it took me a year to find a medication that would work. And then I found I got on a great medication. I am one of those few that doesn't respond well to generic because of. You are allowed to have a very small percentage difference than the brand name. That's how it's able to become generic. So the pharmacist filled for about six months, filled my medication with generic instead of what the doctor wrote, which is dispense as written. D8. What is that? Whatever it is, write it on the script. They're supposed. The pharmacy is supposed to fill it that way. He made me bring in my meds, said, are you taking them? Yes, I'm taking them. Can I be honest with you? No. For the first two months, I was in denial. So I was kind of on and off and on and off. I didn't know why this was happening. So I brought him in. He poured it out, and he looked at it and said, these are generic. So I had to go through a whole heap appeal process through Anthem. I had to talk to the director of pharmacy, and that was not a pretty conversation. When you stand in my way, you might want to get out before you actually have to battle me at that point. And I said, listen, I have a history of being uncontrolled and having seizures. So what I'll tell you is that if I get in a car accident or if something happens and somebody else dies by the fact that I have an uncontrolled history of not being on the appropriate dose or the appropriate medication, then this is going to be an issue for Anthem. And trust me, I will make sure that Anthem acknowledges that. Approved. I said, okay. So what happens in a year when, you know, the script runs out or whatever? Am I going to have to go through this whole thing again? No, it'll be documented. Okay, great. So finally got on a medication, but I was on an extremely high dose, and I'm not a very large woman, so I. I struggled with fatigue for about six years because it was great medication. It controlled me. So because I was controlled, I was able to get my license back. I was able to work. I was able to drive. I was able to be a part of my family again. I was able to do my life, which I missed over a year of not being able to have that level of freedom. Do you know what a car does for you?
A
A lot.
B
Freedom.
A
A lot.
B
Anytime.
A
Anytime you can get up and go.
B
So that was taken away from me. That's a big deal. I had to battle and be determined to get through that. I can't tell you how many times I woke up on the floor, my eyeballs swollen, or I've woken up in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, freaked out. Nothing like white, bright light to wake up into. And if anybody's ever told you about dying, that's usually what they say they see. So at first, one or two times, you're. It's this weird. You can't experience that in life unless you go through that. There is nothing like that. So it. It was approximately a decade. And then I found out fast forward, getting through all of that on a medication, that fatigue, if you've never struggled with real fatigue, I mean, I would look at you and say, that would be a great place to lay on the floor right there and take a nap, really, every day. Do you know what mental fortuity that you have to have?
A
That's insane.
B
No, you're not. I'm tired. No, you're not.
A
Exhausting. That's like even just decision fatigue.
B
That is exhausting.
A
Yeah.
B
But I was still happy. I knew every day I can have a chance to smile now. Let's not be. Let's be real here. I had my days. I bet I would break down and cry in front of my dad. Why me?
A
It's horrible.
B
I do everything right.
A
And you're so. You're so young. You're like 28, 29 years old, going through these episodes.
B
And by the way, just to close up that. Because it's very hard. But 38. Let's say 38, 20, 22 or so. I go to a longevity medicine specialist. She helped me with medication. I had an amazing neurologist. He helped me get off of the one I was on. And I was very, very scared to change meds, by the way. So we titrated it. We did it super slow. I had family come out and drive with me. He. He said, look, we're gonna do it. It's. It'll be fine. And then I got on a high dose of that other medication. Oh, my God. The fatigue, relief itself. I felt like the Energizer bunny, which I'm already naturally like that. Oh, my God. I was like, ah, this is amazing. This is so great.
A
Oh, my gosh. I'm so excited.
B
Oh, my God. This is amazing. For the first couple of months.
A
Wow.
B
And so when that happened, it was amazing. It was a huge relief. So I go to this longevity medicine specialist. She's amazing. She no longer practices, which is heartbreaking. But she said we were going through intake, going through all the meds. She said, explain to me why you're on that medication. I went through it with her, and I had told her no one could ever find. Then, mind you, this is 10 years approximately. No one could ever tell me why. So I just have these seizures. I guess that's what, you know, that's what I have to bear for the rest of my life. I'm still gonna be an example to people. And she said, wait a Second, she knew I had gotten the HPV vaccine. She knew the supplements that I was on. She knew my diet. She knew everything. Dexoscan, you name it, top to bottom. She pulled out several studies that had said there's a history of females taking this medication and then having seizures.
A
Wow.
B
This is where my husband, as a. As a exceptional physician, said, you have to be careful with causation and correlation. They are two very different things. So, you know, I. It's the only. I guess it's a way of me having some peace to say I took it. This happened. It's my life. I'll never be off of Medicare. We already know that If I don't take my meds, everybody has denial episodes, that I will have breakthrough seizures. So I. As of right now in my life, I'm on seizure medication for the rest of it.
A
How long has it been since you've had one?
B
A while. I mean, yeah, but I know. But I know for sure. It's approximately two to three full days of being off the meds, and then.
A
And then you'll. Then you'll have one.
B
Yep. So. Wow. And I'm very fortunate that I'm married to a doctor, just in general, because. What's wrong with me? Oh, this hurts. Oh. It's a. I guess it's a safety net for me, too, since I've struggled with that medical issue. But my dad, he just said, look, you know, God has given you this. That choice, it was made. What are you gonna do? Can't do anything about it now. So he's right. And I think it's strength in that. Finally, I did like I said. I made a decision that, hey, this is my life. I can't stop. Life isn't gonna stop because I'm struggling. The world doesn't care. There's what, billions of people in the world, it's still spinning every single day. Sun comes up, goes down, Moon comes up, goes down. Ocean tides in and out. All of that stuff doesn't stop because I had a bad day or I'm having seizures or I can't drive. And then I think one day I just said, you know what? I'm not a paraplegic. Something like that didn't happen to me. I'm fortunate, and I need to make sure that I remember that every day.
A
The thing that I admire most about you is the fact that through all of the adversity, right, through all of the down times, you fought your ass off to. To do stuff, to even just exist. And those types of people like you are the reason why big things happen. And here's what I mean. There are so many people that roll over, get kicked in the stomach, and just let life keep kicking them. And they don't make that conscious choice to move forward, be determined, and still make a great life. You did that. I need you to understand how special that is.
B
Yeah.
A
Because everybody goes through things. I've gone through blood clots. I've gone through a lot, you know, a lot of different things. And those aren't the important parts. The important part is, is who we become in that process. And so when I'm. When I look at you, you chose to become great in those moments. And that's why where you're at today. And it's a beautiful story and, you know, leaves me almost speechless, which doesn't happen very often, but we're talking about a condition that, like, literally has you. It has you. If you stop taking your medication, day two or three, you're going to start having seizures again. And coming from somebody that doesn't even like to take Advil, that must be, like, a tough, like, no pun intended, pill to swallow here.
B
That's. That's really good. I like that. I'm gonna start using that. Dang. Yeah. Tough, tough pill to swallow. Let me explain. Yeah, yeah. No, it. It's. I. That's. If you're close to me, you kind of get parts and pieces of that story, and people have always said so. That's so powerful. Share that with more. It's embarrassing. It's so embarrassing. And it shouldn't be, but, you know.
A
It may be embarrassing for you, but I think it's inspirational to other people. Yeah.
B
Well. And also, let's be realistic. Here I am crying. It's also tough for me to want to make a choice to say, let me tell you about this challenge. And then, do you have Kleenex? I mean, it's just one of those things. And it'll come up. Sometimes when I'm in the boardroom meeting with large hospital administrators and something triggers some. Not the seizure, but something triggers based off of what I could or couldn't do. And I'm thinking to myself, don't blink, because then a tear will roll, because your eyes are literally starting to fill with tears, and you can't do that because they're going to think you're weak. Whether that's it. Let's just be humans for a second.
A
Yeah.
B
People see a woman crying, and they're like, oh, my God, what's wrong? Like, what did I say? What did I do? And then all of a sudden, it's distracting from the business contract that's being negotiated on the table. And so for me, I've had to. That's also kind of like that fatigue wall where you're like, how do you stop yourself from crying? It's very hard. It's very hard. So. And I'm not. I'm not. I do not battle a successful rate. Sometimes it is definitely like, oh, my gosh. I'll pretend I'm like, oh, my God, man, my left eye. I'm so sorry. It's watering. Like, must be something in the air. So I have to be careful. And then, you know, my one, not my one, support system. I am so fortunate. I have the most amazing father. He's on the only girl, and I do only have half siblings, so I will give everybody a. Well, now, I've already given you the answer to it, but it's. It's one of those trivia questions. I'm the oldest and the youngest at the same time. How is that?
A
I'm not smart enough to figure that out.
B
My father's oldest, okay. Oh, no. Excuse me. Sorry. I'm my mother's youngest. Okay, okay. So she has two kids from previous marriages, and I'm my father's oldest child.
A
That's crazy.
B
I have a stepmother, and they have two children together, so I only have half siblings. So biologically, I am my dad's oldest, and I'm my mother's youngest.
A
Wow, that's crazy.
B
I exist, and I'm the oldest and youngest child at the same time. I'll never forget. I was in calculus class. It's the one thing that I'm relatively smart at is math. And the calculus teacher came in and said, okay, welcome to this class. I'm a really tough teacher. Be here on time, do your homework, study for your tests. Otherwise, you're gone. Here it is. That's who I am. I was like, wow, structure. I like that. And he said, okay, here's how you're going to introduce yourself. Trivia. And I'm sitting there, and I remember. I. I don't remember what kid I was at what desk or whatever. And I'm thinking, I am not good at trivia. I have no idea. I'm that terrible person that it makes sense, but I can't recall it. I'm terrible at trivia. It came to me and I thought, wow, that's really cool. Let me see. And no one knew.
A
Wow.
B
No one in that class. Now, granted, we were all probably 14 or 15 in 10th grade or something. So you're.
A
Yeah.
B
Anyway, so that's kind of how that started.
A
And it's really cool. I never, I've never. I've never heard that before.
B
So.
A
Interesting. Yeah, interesting. Let's talk about Zeta body.
B
Oh, well, it's. It's actually a really. Okay, so I told you I'm not a picky eater. I'm a particular eater for some reason. And I guess maybe in my early 20s, I was like, I gotta be one of those females that's got a rockin six pack. Yeah, that's amazing. So just like I said, athlete my whole life. Liked investing in that. So I did. I committed to taking supplements when I was young. Actually, another thing I learned from my mother, that woman literally had a drawer that was bottles everything you could imagine it was in there and sounds like my cabinet. Mine as well. Trust me, I don't know that we want to get into a battle who has more, but I kind of grew up with that. Take care of your body. It starts inside. So whatever you put in, somehow or another comes out. Yeah, some way. Some. I guess, no pun intended there either, but it happens. And so you. Through my 20s, I went through the whole seizure thing. Not before seizures, but. And then through my 30s, I even struggled with it. Two, three. I'm 42, so, two, three, four years ago. What's my purpose? I don't know. Yeah, I'm good at these things. That's great, but that's certainly not my purpose. I'm not a paid athlete, so that wasn't my purpose. I mean, I'm good at it. It makes me feel good and it's great. And I could never really answer the question. And as you go through business and entrepreneurship and you go to these masterminds and classes and how do you get better at this stuff? That's one of the questions that they always ask. Let's get through it. What's your purpose? And I'm the kid that. I'm the kid in the back that was like, please don't ask me that, please. I don't have a good answer. At least I never had a good answer for me. And I think once supplements was always kind of a passion project. How can I help more people? And yes, I can be a part of companies and so on and so forth, and I can help my husband's business and whatnot, but I couldn't touch millions of people. And I. For whatever reason, I guess that was one of those looming little things in the background. So in like 2019, I invested a lot of time with my husband. He became the fit body doc. And it was great because as you've seen, he went through his own challenge too where dad bod.
A
Yeah.
B
You become secondary tertiary 10th place to everything else, including your kids, which I've always been a big proponent and parents don't like me sometimes, which is fine. And this is the kind of parent I am. I do have a stepson and you come first.
A
You have to.
B
You can't be a great example, a great leader, somebody that can truly help guide your children if you don't take care of yourself.
A
Firmly agree with you.
B
So. And I know it's the hardest thing for a lot of parents and I.
A
Worked with, I think moms struggle with it most.
B
I was just going to say I worked with a lot of moms because I got into cosmetics and I got into. That was kind of a side business that I had where I would, I had opportunities to sell varying different lines and bring it into my distributorship. I'd watch moms over a year, 2, 3, 4, 5 and this. Please do not misconstrue my. Misconstrue my words. This is not calling out moms and telling them they're bad, they're terrible moms. It's more of just we all have choices, right? Every single day you have a choice to not eat or feed your kids bad chicken nuggets. Something like that. I know you're tired. Yeah, I get it. So there's things like that to where I just noticed and said if you don't take care of yourself first, you can't take care of them. It's inarguable. You can't. And so I also thought, shoot, all of those women should be on supplements. Their vitamin D levels should be improved, their energy, varying different kinds of methylated bees, varying different kinds of fish oils for inflammation. There was just so much stuff and the science was coming out and I do love science and I love reading white papers and better understanding how these molecules help your body and how they don't and what works and what doesn't and why and. And so in like 2019, the fit body Doc, we worked on varying different kinds of platforms for excuse me for men, for women to go through. It was online, it was accessible. And then my husband and I, but for me for sure was going on the little ticker was maybe I can, maybe I can touch more people.
A
So cool.
B
And then Covid hit. So I mean massive billion dollar supplement and drug like companies couldn't get bottles. So how was I going to be a startup, Little teeny, you know, spit in the ocean to be able to get bottles. They were stuck out on cargo ships in the ocean for a month or whatever. So it just sort of died at that point we got really busy. The biotech company was starting to grow. My husband was now starting to transition out of his very well known practice that he had built in Vail. We were thinking about moving. It was all that life stuff got in the way that I had to prioritize. It just was life. That's what life made me do, was prioritize that. 2023, I finally launched Zeta Body and the purpose kind of became. I can touch millions of people this way.
A
That's beautiful.
B
And my flagship product is a nootropic. So it works on the brain. Well, what is one of my most and biggest concerns?
A
The brain.
B
I've had seizures, I've had concussions. I am on a medication. Who the Heck knows in 40 years what that's going to have done to my brain. So I was super fortunate. I got to work with one of the best and most well known. Too smart. I won't even tell you what he is. He's a nutritional biochemist but he is the founder, as we know, of creatine.
A
Oh really?
B
Yep. Did all tons of research, tons of publications. It has neuroprotective qualities. That's important. So I think everybody needs to be on creatine.
A
Oh yeah. I take two. I take two scoops a day.
B
Yeah. So morning and night, huge deal. Women, men don't listen to any of the things that you might have heard. How it's bad. I'm glad that it's made a resurgence. It makes me proud. Well he helped me formulate our nootropic.
A
No way.
B
Yep. And so there's really cool. It's very simple, three ingredients and I thought everybody needs this. It decreases brain fog. There's a level of mood enhancement that happens from it. I think everybody in this day and age needs to feel a little happier. So. So there was Zeta Body and then the product is called Z83 which has a funny meaning. Dr. Carley, Physician, Biotech entrepreneur has developed varying different ways of being able to harness stem cells do so obviously science and that is in our both of our backgrounds but lot numbers. Right. So drugs and supplements and everything has a lot number. So we couldn't come up with anything. And I wasn't really thinking about. I should have been but I wasn't really thinking about the Name of the product, what it would be called. I was just really excited that. Oh, my God, I feel amazing. And this is awesome. And it's so simple. It's three ingredients. And listen to me, I've got all this synergy and this brain fog, and the name probably should have been coming out of all of that, but it wasn't. So we were in. Dr. Carly. We were in his office, and he's sitting in his office, and I'm walking down the hallway and I'm kind of yakking a little bit, chirping, bitching the name, and I don't know what to put on the label or the logo and how am I going to launch this and all this stuff. And he yells down the hallway and he's like, just call it Z83. Kind of referencing, okay, you know, lot is usually like FP 1927 or something. And that's the lot number Z for my name, Zoe. And I was born in 1983. So that's kind of how it came across. It just stuck.
A
I never was kind of cool.
B
I never thought about it again. I was like, okay, product Z83. Whether the name changes or not, I have no idea. But for now, that's what it is. And then we went through the same name game and the. The company before Zeta Body was called Self Renew. And it was also one of those things, stem cells, being able to help rejuvenate, being able to help renew, those kinds of aspects, supplementation, putting something in your body that's going to help you. And so it was great. And then he didn't like it. Although he's not the name guy, but he's the one that was like, I don't like it. So then we did the whole, okay, we got to come up with something. So anyway, Zeta Body came, and it is really just sort of referenced as Zeta.
A
That's really cool.
B
Yeah. So short, sweet, simple, Z, hard, easy to remember. And then again, if I can touch people's brains, whether they know who I am or whether I know who, Whether I do or don't know who they are, that I think was part of my purpose was, you know, touch people, make them better.
A
I can relate to that whole story. Because you're talking about purpose, right? I mean, I was 42 when I found mine. 42.
B
Hey, we have something coming.
A
47 now. And I remember being in sales and doing really well and not being happy. It just. Nothing was ever enough. Like, it didn't matter how much money I was making, I could always do Better, Right. And when I found this, it was my way to touch millions of people. And I think that what's important, what I want the audience to really take home from this, is that everybody has a purpose. And if you think that you don't or you think you don't have any abilities, it is not true. Because it's a higher power. Gave you some. You need to leverage them.
B
Yes.
A
Because that's how you feel fulfilled. I mean, and trust me, my bank account does not look like what it used to be, but I am extraordinarily happier now. That money will come later. I know it will. But the mission behind the show is what my purpose is. And so when you're telling this, two completely different industries, but the story's the same. And now you're helping people with their brains. And, you know, it's crazy, because there's so many things out there and you don't know. You know, you can go anywhere and say, oh, this is supposed to help you with your brain. This is supposed to help you with this. You just don't know what's in it. Right. And so it's always nice when I meet someone that has an actual product that is backed by science, because these things, like, I go through a lot doing this. It's an energy suck all the time. So there's times where I'll wake up in the morning, you know, and be like, man, I'm just foggy, you know, And. And actually, here's a funny story.
B
Oh, good.
A
So I went to this biohacking thing in Fort Lauderdale, and, you know, it was my first experience with nootropics. And this one lady says, you know, it was like, the vendor booths and like, hey, we have this coffee. I'm like, all right, cool. Kyle, he was with me. I think he's upstairs. But we had this coffee. I was so up. I was, like, shaking, and I had cold sweats. I had to sit down. I had to sit down. I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is crazy. I don't know what it was, but, I mean, you might be able to answer that question. But I drank coffee, and it was like a cup this big, and I was just like, in 10 minutes, my lights were on. And then I was just like. I was so. It was bad.
B
Well, interestingly, it's really cool. So to learn a little bit about it is. And I try not to use big words because I learned from Anthony, and I'm like, wow, I feel so small. You're so smart. But it's Fantastic. I'm super fortunate. But it has a synergy to it. So. Like what you just said, that amped up feeling. And by the way, caffeine is. It's a drug, but it is the. It's the number one most researched drug. It is disseminated all across the world. It's legal. It has to do a lot with the molecular structure and the binding. And I won't get into all of that stuff, but there's a lot of great health benefits that come from it. So with Z83, there's a natural caffeine substance from green coffee bean extract. And it's organic. I get it from an amazing raw material supplier. And then there's two other plant extracts that are in it. And to not go into all of the science behind that, but one acts as an ssri, so it is a depressive manager in the way that it bonds and the. What it does in your bloodstream. It's been used for ADHD for decades and young children, so they don't have to go on medication. So there's a time this. Well, guess what? You know the owner.
A
I do.
B
Does that mean I have to give you a free bottle?
A
I don't know.
B
Can I just give you a discount?
A
Whatever you want to do.
B
Okay. So it's. It's awesome because the other one has really cool science studies published, actually, which is great, where it enhances mood. So now people are probably thinking, well, wait a second. Why are you trying to depress things and then express certain things? But what's really interesting about it is it's. It's synergy. So the way that it works together makes you feel good. That is the number one, actually two things. But the number one thing that people tell me is I'm really energized, but I feel good and I'm calm, so there's no sweats and no one's sitting there. Like this kind of thing.
A
Yeah.
B
It's a way to control that energy, which I thought was genius to be able to work with Anthony to make that help your brain. There's nothing like feeling energized. Right?
A
Yeah.
B
But holy cow, when you want to come out of your skin, that's a little too much.
A
Yeah. I love when my lights are on because you. Because you. I could be so creative in those moments, but the moment I started shaking and sweating, I'm like, yeah, I'm not touching that again.
B
I need to take a seat. I gotta sit down.
A
I need to sit down. I had to, like, eat something. I was I was in a bad way, but yeah. What's your website?
B
It's zetabody.coM-E-T-A b o d y spelled as normal dot com.
A
Love it. Love it. Well, thank you so much for coming on. It's a great pleasure to finally meet you in person and grateful that you came over and, you know, you've shouted out, you know, your hubby many times, and he's an amazing human being. He's one of my favorite people. I've had the pleasure of meeting him, obviously, through Matt, and such a nice guy. I just. I love him to death. And me too. I was. I was secretly hoping you were bringing him today, but now just Matt just met. Well, I love Matt, too. I mean, Matt's always enough for me. Have the funnest time with him.
B
Yes.
A
It's fun doing life with.
B
Yes. So likewise, the. Unfortunately, the whole MD thing. He's still practicing medicine, so he's with patients.
A
Son of a gun.
B
I know. Correct.
A
Oh, wait, one more question.
B
Yes.
A
Since we've been talking about determination the whole show, because that's the premise of the show. What is your actual definition of determination?
B
Oh, my gosh. Why? I was like, oh, no, here comes the whole, like, trivia question thing. What's your purpose? What's the trivia question? Oh, I think it's more simple. It's simple and it's easy, but I think too many people challenge it is just get out of your own way.
A
I love it.
B
Get out of your own way. You make the excuse for the choice or you make that determined. But is, hey, I'm out of my own way and I'm gonna make this choice. It's gonna be really hard. I have no idea where the money's gonna come from. All of it. Take every excuse. And to explain something as far as being determined, which I know you can relate to, but hey, listen, we all have our struggles. So while I've had a lot of successes, I've had a lot of failures, both with health. You can consider that not a failure, but I do. There's a piece of it that, yeah, that's a failure for me, but I overcame it because I made a choice and was determined. But also, look in David, Dr. Carley and I's businesses, I've come in to help him. We've had tons of failures. Wasn't growing fast enough. Had to take on more investment. You have that constant battle of, hey, science and research doesn't make money. Only sales makes money. Well, we don't have enough sales. So we need more investment. And you just feel like, God, I can't break through. Where is it? And you can't find that light. And you keep running into the same wall. Well, guess what? At some point, that wall has ends. And you gotta find that end to get around it. And that might hurt. Cause you've already ran into it multiple times. And no pun intended, to. I've hit the wall, literally. And it's. You just. It's choice. Get out of your own way.
A
I. I love that definition.
B
Palm the wall if you have to. Bring it down.
A
That's the thing. It's. It's determination to me. I used to think it was noisy. It's very quiet. It's a conscious decision every single step. Like, that's it.
B
Wow.
A
Like, you may be able to only move an inch one day, but you can't stay the same and you can't go backwards. You still have to move.
B
Yep.
A
And in. In the past, I thought it was just this loud. Like, look at me. No, no, no, no, no. It's done. It's done in the background. Because nobody knows what you're thinking. No one knows how much you're struggling. And so there's days where if you. If you don't want to get up and do something, you don't want to get up and go to the gym, you don't want to eat healthy. That. And you do. That's true determination.
B
Yeah.
A
Because you're staying in line with your standard. So.
B
Yeah.
A
Thank you again, my friend.
B
Can I ask you two quick questions?
A
Oh, sure.
B
They're easy, but they're going to be trivia, like stump you. Oh, I know, sorry. What's the one kind of quirky thing that you do that people are like?
A
Oh, God, the quirky. That.
B
Name one. I'm sure there's. All of us have like 50 things, but one.
A
I smell everything.
B
That's awesome. That's so good. So when you were giving me a hug to welcome me, were you smelling me?
A
No, I mean.
B
By the way, I do smell good. It's an excellent. It's an excellent perfume.
A
What's your next one?
B
Okay. A thing or the thing that if somebody met you or saw you or could quickly identify something about you or compliment you on or. What is it about the identification of Sean that someone can always say, you have to know. You have to know that about you because it's your personality. It's something that's key to you.
A
I'm warm.
B
You're warm. Okay, so you didn't like the cold sweats when you took that nootropic.
A
No, no. I'm just a warm. I'm just a warm human. I just. I love people. I genuinely feel, you know, I just. I'm just a warm human being. Yeah. Yeah.
B
So. Yeah. Good.
A
I can't believe I said on air that I smell everything. Oh, this is so crazy.
B
Good and bad. Good and bad.
A
Good and bad. Well, guys, thank you so much. Zoe. Carly did not disappoint. Go Visit her website, zetabody.com, check out her Z83. Check out all the supplements. And if something resonated today with some of the things that she spoke about with her supplements, pick some up, guys. And until next time, stay determined.
Podcast: The Determined Society with Shawn French
Guest: Zoe Karli (President, Karli Health; Founder, Zeta Body)
Title: How Zoe Karli Built Zeta Body After a Life-Changing Diagnosis
Date: February 13, 2026
Theme:
This episode dives deep into Zoe Karli’s remarkable journey of overcoming adversity—from a turbulent childhood and family dynamics to a life-changing medical diagnosis. Shawn and Zoe explore the themes of determination, resilience, and the drive to help others. Together, they trace how Zoe’s life experiences fueled her relentless ambition and culminated in the creation of Zeta Body, a supplement company focused on brain health and well-being.
Navigating a Divided Family
Skills from Adversity
On Expressing Love in Her Family
Early Responsibility
Mindset and Daily Choices
Onset of Seizures
Resilience Through the Ordeal
Finding Medical Insight and Acceptance
Origins of Zeta Body
Flagship Product: Z83
Empowering Others
Discovering Her “Why”
Shawn’s Perspective
On Agency & Adversity
On Choice
On Medical Battles
On Fatigue and Invisible Struggles
On Entrepreneurship
Shawn:
"Determination…is a conscious decision every single step.…You may be able to only move an inch one day, but you can’t stay the same and you can’t go backwards. You still have to move." (59:56, Shawn)
Zoe:
"It’s simple and it’s easy…but I think too many people challenge it: it’s just get out of your own way." (57:50, Zoe)
"You make the excuse for the choice, or you make that determined, ‘Hey, I’m out of my own way and I’m going to make this choice.’" (58:06, Zoe)
[60:46] Zoe: "What’s the one quirky thing that you do?"
Shawn: "I smell everything." (60:55, Shawn)
[61:31] On warmth:
Shawn: "I’m just a warm human being. I just…love people. I genuinely feel, you know, I just. I’m just a warm human being." (61:31, Shawn)
This powerful episode traces Zoe Karli’s journey from overcoming personal and family hardship, through a borderless battle with chronic health challenges, to founding a company built on purpose, science, and heart. Her story is a living example of determination—choice over circumstance, and the belief that resilience and service can turn even the darkest turns into a path for others' light.