Flamingo Estate's Richard Christiansen On Building A Legacy Brand, Why Simplicity Sells, What Big Brands Are Getting Wrong

Summary

The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast
Episode: Flamingo Estate's Richard Christiansen On Building A Legacy Brand, Why Simplicity Sells, What Big Brands Are Getting Wrong
Release Date: February 20, 2025
Guests: Richard Christensen, Founder of Flamingo Estate

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1. Introduction to Richard Christensen and Flamingo Estate

The episode kicks off with Lauryn and Michael Bosstick introducing Richard Christensen, the visionary behind Flamingo Estate—a brand that has evolved from a modest orchard and pleasure garden in California into a globally recognized lifestyle brand. Richard shares his deep-rooted admiration for Flamingo Estate, recounting his early experiences with their farm boxes filled with fresh vegetables and later expanding his connection to their range of thoughtfully crafted candles, soaps, and shampoos.

Notable Quote:
Richard Christensen (00:25): “Flamingo Estate is truly become a global lifestyle brand.”

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2. Michael’s Journey Before Flamingo Estate

Michael delves into his personal history, painting a picture of his transition from a rural upbringing in Australia to bustling life in New York. He details his two-decade-long commitment to building a successful creative agency, highlighting the relentless work ethic that eventually led to burnout—physically, mentally, and emotionally. The pandemic-induced downturn forced him to pivot, setting the stage for the creation of Flamingo Estate as a means to rediscover joy and balance in his life.

Notable Quote:
Michael Bostic (02:16): “I built a creative agency that was vast and by maybe normal metrics, you know, how dare I complain? Because I was earning more money than my parents ever had… I felt like at some point in that process of working very hard, I lost the spark and was just depleted.”

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3. Discovering and Transforming Flamingo Estate

Michael narrates the serendipitous discovery of the Flamingo Estate property—a striking hillside garden in Los Angeles. Initially intrigued by its potential, he purchased the estate, overcoming its past as a prolific but private porn studio site. The transformation began with extensive gardening efforts, mirroring Michael's personal rebirth through reconnecting with nature, cooking wholesome meals, and embracing sensory experiences.

Notable Quote:
Michael Bostic (05:52): “We planted hundreds of trees and brought the house back to life. But there was also a bit of a Julia and Julia going on because I was also bringing myself back to life.”

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4. Building the Business During COVID-19

The pandemic served as a catalyst for Flamingo Estate's expansion. Michael recounts how helping a farmer sell her surplus vegetables turned into a booming business, rapidly scaling from selling a dozen boxes to hundreds within weeks. This grassroots approach fostered a strong community of regenerative farmers, leading to the diversification of products into beauty and wellness.

Notable Quote:
Michael Bostic (12:00): “We sold, I don't know, 300 and then 600 the next Friday… It was a bit of a viral hit.”

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5. Transition to Beauty Products

Flamingo Estate's foray into beauty products was both organic and necessity-driven. Michael explains how observing the detrimental effects of conventional body washes on his garden inspired the creation of their own line of soaps and shampoos. By leveraging locally sourced, regenerative ingredients like babassu oil, the brand emphasizes sustainability and ethical practices.

Notable Quote:
Michael Bostic (17:11): “Why would I use it on my skin if I can't use it on my plants?”

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6. Scaling the Brand with Integrity

Maintaining Flamingo Estate's core values amid rapid growth remains a priority for Michael. He emphasizes the importance of "acting small" despite business expansion, ensuring that product development remains hands-on and authentic. By avoiding traditional lab manufacturing and instead adhering to artisanal methods, the brand preserves its unique identity and quality.

Notable Quote:
Michael Bostic (18:13): “It's about acting small, not being small, but acting small. I think that's keeping that stuff close is the answer.”

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7. Personal Growth and Routines

Michael shares insights into his disciplined daily routines, which include early morning workouts and cycling, fostering a harmonious balance between personal well-being and business responsibilities. He highlights the significance of integrating nature and sensory experiences into daily life, reinforcing the brand's philosophy of living fully engaged.

Notable Quote:
Michael Bostic (50:12): “I wake up very early… I cycle for an hour and then I get to the gym.”

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8. Michael’s Book and Lessons from Interviews

Transitioning from business to personal development, Michael discusses his book, which intertwines gardening metaphors with lessons learned from interviewing high-achieving individuals. Each chapter pairs a plant with a person, extracting actionable insights on resilience, discipline, and purposeful living. For instance, the "Prune Your Roses" chapter draws parallels between gardening and personal boundaries, inspired by Kelly Whistler's disciplined approach to life.

Notable Quote:
Michael Bostic (32:02): “The book is sort of an exploration of how to live a great life by standing up for your own happiness.”

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9. Sustainability and Ethical Practices

A core tenet of Flamingo Estate is sustainability. Michael elaborates on the use of babassu oil—a sustainable alternative to palm oil—and its role in protecting Amazonian ecosystems. By supporting local communities and encouraging regenerative farming, the brand not only produces high-quality products but also contributes to global environmental preservation.

Notable Quote:
Michael Bostic (56:17): “Babassu grows in the space between the forest and the grassland… If everyone was doing that, then there would be the inability to push the Amazon down because we would be protecting these trees.”

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10. Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Michael offers candid advice for listeners contemplating a similar entrepreneurial path. He underscores the importance of diversifying revenue streams beyond core offerings and stresses the necessity of aligning business practices with personal values. Acknowledging the hardships faced by farmers, he commends their resilience and encourages potential entrepreneurs to consider the multifaceted nature of sustainable business models.

Notable Quote:
Michael Bostic (31:10): “How do you monetize that business? Is there other ways outside just selling the produce or what are you doing?”

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11. Working with a Partner

Discussing the dynamics of running a business with a partner, Michael highlights both the rewards and challenges. Drawing parallels with other successful couples like Jane and Pete Horgan from Mecca, he emphasizes the importance of creating boundaries and maintaining individual spheres within the professional environment to sustain both personal and business relationships.

Notable Quote:
Michael Bostic (42:46): “We would not be sitting here today if it wasn't for Harvey. He is amazing. He's designed everything. He's pushed me harder.”

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12. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the conversation winds down, Richard Christensen expresses admiration for Flamingo Estate's products and business ethos. The podcasters reiterate their support, providing listeners with exclusive discount codes to engage with Flamingo Estate's offerings. Michael concludes with a heartfelt acknowledgment of the transformative journey, both personally and professionally, underscoring the brand's commitment to authenticity, sustainability, and purposeful living.

Notable Quote:
Michael Bostic (61:26): “Jane Goodall and everyone in the book, I think, are living their purpose, but they're just doing the thing that makes them happy.”

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Key Takeaways:

• Authenticity and Simplicity: Flamingo Estate thrives by maintaining an authentic connection with its roots, emphasizing simplicity in both product design and business operations.

• Sustainable Practices: The brand prioritizes sustainability through the use of ethical ingredients and support for regenerative farming, setting a benchmark in the lifestyle and beauty industries.

• Balancing Growth with Integrity: Michael advocates for scaling businesses while preserving core values, ensuring that growth does not compromise quality or authenticity.

• Personal Well-being: The importance of balancing professional pursuits with personal well-being is a recurring theme, highlighting the necessity of routines and self-care in achieving long-term success.

• Community Building: Flamingo Estate's success is deeply intertwined with building a supportive community of farmers and consumers who share similar values of sustainability and quality.

For those inspired by Flamingo Estate's journey, the episode offers a blueprint on building a legacy brand grounded in authenticity, sustainability, and purposeful living.

Transcript

[Lauren Everts]

The following podcast is a Dear Media Production.

[Michael Bostic]

She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. Fantastic. And he's a serial entrepreneur, a very smart cookie. And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bostic are bringing you along for the ride.

[Unknown]

Get ready for some major realness.

[Michael Bostic]

Welcome to the Skinny Confidential. Him and her.

[Unknown]

If you are on the pulse and you are a creative person, you know all about Flamingo Estate. You've probably seen it on Instagram. It's truly become a global lifestyle brand. Basically, it started as a lush orchard and a pleasure garden on a California hillside overlooking Los Angeles. And it transformed into Flamingo Estates. I have been a fan of this brand since it launched. I actually started buying their farm boxes where I would get, like, fresh vegetables and fresh fruit in the mail from them. This is like, years ago. And then I tried their candles and their soaps and their shampoos, and everything is just made with such integrity and such care. So I'm very excited to introduce you to the man behind Flamingo Estate, Richard. We are going kind of all over the place in this episode. On that note, Richard Christensen, welcome to the show.

[Michael Bostic]

This is the Skinny Confidential. Him and her.

[Richard Christensen]

So you conceptualize your content while you're in the shower. So where is the phone in the shower? Is it just sitting on something and you're just voice noting?

[Michael Bostic]

No, I built a. Well, Flamingo Estate is my home, as you know, and I built a shower with a big window outside so I could see the garden and sits on the ledge or on my. I ride my bike. I don't have a car. I ride my bike everywhere. So also, if I'm just like, on my bicycle, I'll just. I'll think and I'll. I think it's important people can sniff out if something's overly marketed. So for me, the. It all. Everything's about sort of the, you know, why we made this and why I love it. And so I'm always just dictating to my phone, those things. And so the Instagram, the emails, the website, it's largely just stuff that I've dictated to myself.

[Richard Christensen]

I think why I'm personally so inspired by you and your brand is it's. Yes, it's beautiful. Yes, the packaging is amazing. Your storytelling is amazing. But there's something, an undertone that you have created your own life on your own terms and it's attractive because not a lot of people do that. Can you talk to us pre Flamingo Estates?

[Unknown]

Tell us what the Richard was like.

[Richard Christensen]

Before you were doing things the way you wanted.

[Unknown]

To do so.

[Michael Bostic]

I grew up in very rural Australia and my mom and dad are farmers and couldn't wait to get away from that. Just ran as fast as I could from dirty Australia and lived in Europe and then moved to New York, and I opened my agency when I was 28 and then spent the next, you know, almost 20 years just building a business, working every weekend, working every night till 11 o'clock, just working, working. And I built a creative agency that was vast and by maybe normal metrics, you know, how. How dare I complain? Because I was earning more money than my parents ever had and I was, you know, working with friends I loved. I was so exhausted and I was so out of alignment. I was so tired, I was so overweight. I have. Was so, like, lonely, to be honest, and. And just was praying that my business would get sold or that I would find a way out. And ultimately, I write about this in my book. Ultimately, Covid demolished that business and I sort of had to start again. And so Flamingo started as a way to bring myself back to life, for I was just sleepwalking and I was so lonely and I hadn't had sex and I hadn't had and tasted things and smelled things and enjoyed things. I'd lost the thrill of life. So, not that it wasn't great. There was some amazing times. Amazing times. But I felt like at some point in that process of working very hard, I lost the spark and was just depleted.

[Richard Christensen]

So how does one find this estate? Is this something that someone sends you over? Zillow? Like, how do you find maybe to.

[Unknown]

Take a step back for people that are not familiar with the estate, like, high level. How would you describe it to. People have never conceptualized it or seen.

[Michael Bostic]

It's my home. It's a weird property in Los Angeles. I found it through a friend and came to put bees in this man's garden. Who lived there? This guy had lived there 65 years. And this funny little strange man. And I walked into the house, into the garden, and I was like, oh, my God, Holy shit, this place is. It was in terrible shape. But you could see at one point someone really loved it. And you can see that once someone loved the garden. And the garden is my thing. And I was like, wow. And so. And I made it my screensaver. I was like, one day I will live in that house. And I looked at it every day. And then, you know, some years went by and I ended up buying it. And it's, you know, sort of well documented now. The. I wasn't really allowed to see inside the house before I had bought it was one of the conditions why. I now know why. It's because it was a prolific porn studio for a number of years. 60, 60 years. And pointless films there. And, you know, it was. It's a very long story.

[Unknown]

So they didn't want you to see that work.

[Richard Christensen]

If you peaked in the window, you might have seen me performing, Michael.

[Lauren Everts]

They might have seen me performing.

[Michael Bostic]

Probably more you. Yeah, I think he was self conscious about his house's history and had lived. Was a man that was living in a different. Maybe in a different era and was very private about it. And I skipped in and he's like, I think you won't be. You won't be too shocked. And so, you know. And then began what became years of planting hundreds of trees and bringing the house back to life. But, you know, there was a bit of a Julia and Julia going on because I was also bringing myself back to life very much in that time. You know, I was cooking and I was eating real food. I've worked in fashion marketing my whole life, so I always thought I was too fat. I never enjoyed meals. And I ate and drank and had showers and just wanted desperately to wake myself up. And a long time before that became a brand or a long time before we started selling that stuff, I just wanted to wake myself up again. And. And that happened from drinking and eating and smelling and touching. And just like I think now my definition of success is life with all of your senses fully engaged. And that. And that's something that's harder than ever today. We're living our lives through a little telephone screen. We're not engaging in the world. We're not breathing it and feeling it in a way that maybe people did, our grandparents did or people pull that. So, you know, that was the start of this whole adventure was that I'm.

[Richard Christensen]

So interested in the process of taking what it was to what it is. And maybe you could really talk to us about the beginning stages. You mentioned planting trees, but there's obviously a lot of work that went into it.

[Unknown]

Did you.

[Richard Christensen]

Have you mentioned you have a small team, but did you have help around you every day?

[Unknown]

Did you start alone?

[Richard Christensen]

What was. What's been the evolution of what it is to now?

[Michael Bostic]

I mean, the main. Maybe the main contribution came from a duo called Studio Co, who are French architects who designed Chiltern Firehouse in London and Yves St Laurent's Marrakesh Museum and a bunch of iconic video.

[Unknown]

That museum's amazing.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah, they're Remarkable guys. I met them, I said, I have just bought this crazy porn palace. And they, their eyes sort of lit up and they were like, oh, we're in Los Angeles working on a project. Could we work on it with you? And I, you know, I couldn't really afford them, to be honest. And we sort of worked it out and one of the agreements was that we didn't put anything in the house, not even a teaspoon that they didn't. We didn't talk about. And we traveled.

[Richard Christensen]

What a dream.

[Michael Bostic]

No, it was amazing. And I really, really edited and we got down to. We went to India, we went to Japan, we went to Morocco, we traveled everywhere and we gathered up just the, the most wonderful collection of stuff. And I. The New York Times said that the house feels a bit like Epcot center in the sense that it's best places of the world kind of crushed together in one. And I think that's very true. We really, we tried hard to make this really special. I don't think this sort of house could exist anywhere except Los Angeles. And it, it's just a really beautiful, It's a beautiful place. It's not large, but it's beautiful.

[Richard Christensen]

Let me ask you this. When you approached this house, was there a business undertone? Like.

[Michael Bostic]

No, no, no, no. I.

[Richard Christensen]

So you had, you weren't content marketing to launch products?

[Michael Bostic]

Oh my God. It was quite the opposite. I really wanted. I really had spent my whole life in the four walls of my office in New York. I had not left that building. I wanted to do the complete opposite. I really did. It was a very selfish moment on my part. I really wanted to just focus. I also spent years sucking up to people and kissing the ass of people. I was the head creative director and I was the owner and I was always out networking services.

[Unknown]

Businesses are hard.

[Michael Bostic]

It's hard. It's the hardest. It's a real hustle. And I was the quarterback in that business. And so I was like, God, that's tough. And it's weird because you own your.

[Unknown]

Own thing, but you're also having to work for so many other people consistently. So it's almost like you're an entrepreneur and you set out to kind of control your own destiny, but at the same time you are contracted to work.

[Michael Bostic]

Under other people and really enjoyed it and built a big business. But also my, because of that, my whole self esteem was tied to that business. My entire identity was that job. And so when that stopped, very suddenly when Covid hit, it was my worst nightmare. My worst nightmare. Was not being able to pay the rent on our beautiful penthouse in New York of the office. And that happened in two weeks. The business just sort of started to buckle under the weight of a big payroll.

[Unknown]

And how many people did you have at the full.

[Michael Bostic]

At the height of it, we probably had, like, somewhere near a hundred.

[Unknown]

Wow.

[Michael Bostic]

And it's still going now. I'm not involved anymore. But the team that was there took it. But the. And they're doing really well. But the. But the. It was a long, long. So, you know, to answer your question, directly, finding this house in this giant garden, it was the complete opposite. Energy, it's all I wanted. And we just started making things that we wanted to use. And. And then, you know, the real start of the business, let's call it happened when a farmer walked into. I also owned a bookshop in Los Angeles, and a farmer walked into my bookshop, and she was going to lose her farm because her vegetables went to restaurants and the restaurants had closed. You remember that? During COVID and I had said, no, no, don't let. My parents had lost their farm when I was a kid. So I was like, no, no, that. We won't let that happen. We'll sell your vegetables. And I know how to sell things. And so that first Friday of COVID you know, I think she thought we could sell a dozen boxes. We sold, I don't know, 300 and then 600 the next Friday.

[Richard Christensen]

Well, 200 of them were mine to my house, because I remember those boxes. And I was just gonna say, what.

[Unknown]

Is the first product I bought?

[Richard Christensen]

It was one of your boxes. I forgot about that.

[Michael Bostic]

And really, no real knowledge. I mean, isn't that the wonderful thing? No knowledge of where this would end up. We just started helping her out. Harvey, my partner, designed the big out of box, which people Instagrammed at a time when no one had anything to Instagram. We were very lucky that that became a bit of a viral hit.

[Unknown]

Yep.

[Michael Bostic]

And then, you know, we had to get a warehouse in Glendale and a warehouse in Burbank, and the operations got bigger and bigger. At the height of it, we had to pick and pack vegetables out of Universal Studios because it was the only place big enough for all these farms to drop off their vegetables so we could sort them and put them into boxes. But you remember at a time when no one was shopping, and this was like a really different time, and it was such a funny boomerang moment because I used to work at Universal when I was filming TV commercials, and now here I am sorting Vegetables and so, so funny and wonderful. And then just all these people came out of the woodwork who were not working. And we built such a fast, amazing, wonderful community. And one farm became two, became five, became 10. Now we're 128 farms. And I just met these amazing people. And so before I even had the sense to think this is a business, it had become a really big business. And then in the most chaotic way and then, but also under this sort of protective bubble of COVID where we had, I think, the ability to take some risks, to work in non traditional ways. Most importantly, I wasn't looking left or right, up or down over my shoulder to see who else was doing something or how I was keeping up with them, or was I doing something better or was I doing something worse. I just put my head down and went to work. And I think that piece of information was the thing that kept us growing, was like, you know, I often say comparison is a thief of joy. I really understood that in that moment that the thing I couldn't do was try to emulate someone else's business or do something else. It was just like we were just running too fast. And then. And this wonderful guy came in about halfway through this journey and he said, I hear you're helping farmers out. Would you, would you sell my olive oil? And I said, I'd love to, but I already have a couple of olive oil farms. We don't need any more. And he was walking out and I thought, oh wait, maybe we can make soap from his olive oil. And that's how we got into the beauty industry. And now we're 90% beauty in terms of revenue and started to think, well, and also before that, the bath water from the house ran into the garden and my roses were dying from the very expensive body wash I was using from a brand we all know. And I thought, and my, my roses are turning brown. I was like, wait, oh, maybe it's all that body wash. And I thought, why would I use it on. And it was. And I was like, why would I use it on my skin if I can't use on my skin if I can't use it on my plants? And so before we thought of selling it, we sort of learned how to make soap. And then some of my colleagues made it better and better. And. And so by the time that farmer had walked in, I was like, okay, how hard can that be? And then maybe we can take the sage from the farmers or the lavender from the farmers. These regenerative farmers we met who are growing sort of food grade ingredients. I thought, why don't we make products from them? And so then, you know, skip forward today and people are like, oh my God, why aren't you using palm oil? Or why aren't you using this? Or why aren't using that? Why aren't you doing. Why? We were never making it in the lab, but we were never using contract manufacturers because we never knew how to do that. We just naively did it the old fashioned way. And so which sort of saved us not to say, especially now. No, no, totally. And now it's such a point of differentiation. And you know, we're at, yeah, we're, we're in Australia, we're here, we're about to go to Japan, we're in Europe. It's, it's just sort of. It was shocking to me when, as with fresh eyes, how much shit is in the beauty industry and how much of it is not made very well and how, you know, I say to people now that want to work with us, please do not come here if you're looking for innovation. There is nothing innovative going on here. We're just doing stuff the old fashioned way. And maybe now that is the most innovative thing to do.

[Richard Christensen]

A perfect advertisement for your products is my husband, who has the best, best hairline I've ever seen in my life, uses your shampoo, your conditioner, your body wash.

[Unknown]

He uses all your products.

[Richard Christensen]

We use your peppermint soap.

[Michael Bostic]

Oh, the best. Do you know someone tried to. We make 100 bars of that peppermint soap at a time. And I made it because I'm not a morning person. I like a good sip on the face in the morning.

[Richard Christensen]

Yeah, it does.

[Michael Bostic]

And it's a big, big brick. And this woman, someone bought all hundred in one go. I put it on Instagram. Someone said, oh, I'm. She bought all of them. So I got her number of shop people have been reselling that soap on ebay. So I got her number from Shopify and I called her and I said, hey, my name is Richard. I know you don't know me, but I own Flamingo State and I want to buy them back from you. I know you're reselling them and I'm happy for you to make money, but I, I want a controlled experience. So, you know, I'll give you some extra cash, but I want them back.

[Unknown]

What did she say?

[Michael Bostic]

She said in her funny Texas accent, she's like, honey, I'm not selling your soap. And I was like, what? Oh my God. Here. Oh, hold on, wait. You gotta get going.

[Unknown]

Keep going.

[Michael Bostic]

That was a good idea. And I was, you're not. And she's saying, no, honey, I smell so good. I'm using them as door stops. And I'm like, door stops? You have a hundred doors in your house. She's like, yeah, honey, I'm from Texas. And I was like, God bless America. This is everything we need.

[Unknown]

There's some big estates out there.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Richard Christensen]

This is what is also so intriguing to me from a business standpoint, is how. How will you continue? And how are you continuing to keep the integrity of Flamingo Estates while also strategically scaling? It's because it's a seesaw. How do you do it?

[Michael Bostic]

It's the number one thing.

[Richard Christensen]

It's hard.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah. And I think that, you know, people used to come to the agency all the time. All these big businesses would come to us, and they'd all have different briefs, they'd all have a different ask. But the one thing that they were all asking me was, help us act small again. They were too big to take risks. They were too big to be vulnerable. They were too big to be personal. They were too big to be fast. And I think the same thing happens with people as it does with businesses. And so, for me, it's about acting small, not being small, but acting small. Business has been doubling year on year, every year. We're getting to a point now where we are getting bigger, which I'm very grateful for. But we're very small acting small. You know, I write the copy. Harvey does all the design work. We have a very small team. So I think it's keeping that stuff close. I think that's the answer. And it's also. It's my home, and we don't make anything we don't use in my home. Everything we make, I use.

[Unknown]

You might be the perfect person to talk about this because, you know, we talk to a lot of entrepreneurs in the show and in our private life, and I think there's this idea that everyone just wants to scale, scale, scale big, big, big. And I always, like, get down the point, like, why?

[Michael Bostic]

Why? It's why, why, why? Also, like, I think, and we. This is a whole other episode. Once you take someone else's money, once you get investment, the. The pressure to grow is obviously just a very real thing. And that becomes a question about margins. It becomes, how cheap is cheap? I have said this before. I went to a meeting with someone for investment, and they said, you know, what's your margin on your hand? Soap? And I gave them the number. It's a totally respectable number. And. And she said. She kind of laughed and said, don't come back here until it's 90%. It can never be 90% on hand soap because we'd fuck the farmers we work with. We have to.

[Unknown]

Well, it could be. It would just be what all those other products are.

[Michael Bostic]

It'll be made in.

[Unknown]

Yep.

[Michael Bostic]

Not somewhere that's not here and not with regenerative ingredients. So the. I think there has to be a big sea change with the way we shop and this. And it's. I talk about this a lot in the book, this race to the bottom. You know what, what gets me so angry. Angry, angry, angry is the amount of people that complain about the price of things, of our things. And you know that. That a big box of regenerative vegetables is $120. And then the mockup we're making on that is minuscule. It's tiny. It's a shaving of the top. And yet the markup on a Tom Ford fragrance or on your chanel bag is 500%. And no one complains about that. We don't complain about the cost of luxury goods. We don't complain that there's a $1 million bag at Louis Vuitton. And there is one. We don't think about the markup on that, but yet we would raise our fists up and get angry because there's a 15% markup on a box of vegetables that your family eats. So there's this real interesting double standard with the way we prioritize the things we put in our bodies and the way we grow them. And I think vegetables and food in this country have to get more expensive, not less expensive. I think that we have to stop flying stuff in from the other side of the world. We have to eat locally. We have to grow locally. There's a great. There's a great interview in the book with Alice Waters, the chef who says the things that. When I say what you put in your mouth is what you put into the world. And what she means by that is the. In the 50s, when processed food and cheap so fast food became readily available, we digested the values of that food. Cheaper, cheaper, cheaper, faster, faster, faster, more for less in the rest of our lives as well. And so I think they have words to live by, which is sort of trickles down to everything else that we make that's not food related, that's beauty related or anything else.

[Unknown]

We had a dentist on recently that told us all about smart Mouth Smart Mouth is the only mouthwash that's scientifically proven to eliminate and prevent bad breath for 24 hours. All you need is just two rinses a day. So basically they designed this product to Prevent bad breath 12 times longer, longer than the leading brand. It's essentially confidence in a bottle, which is great. You'll feel very minty fresh and you won't have to worry about bad breath. So they use this certain technology. It's a zinc ion activation and it's the key to eliminating and preventing sulfur gas, which is actually known also as bad breath. This is the secret to all day fresh breath. A dentist told me this, so it shouldn't surprise you that Smart Mouth was developed by a dentist and his dentist recommended. The one that I tried is the original. They also have other ones. I just like it because it's mint. I'm a simple kind of gal when it comes to flavor and I like mint. So you guys have to check out Smart Mouth. If you're looking for a mouthwash, never have bad breath again. Find Smart Mouth at Walgreens, Walmart, Amazon or visit smartmouth.com skinny and you can snag a special discount on your next Smart mouth purchase. That's www.s m a r t m o u t h.com skinny don't miss out on 24 hour fresh breath. Your mouth will. Thank you. I am telling you I am going on vacation and I went on this site and screenshotted the chicest handbags. I was like I need this, I need this, I need this. So the one that I got for my trip is like a sparkly upside down triangle. It's by Prada, it's baby blue and it's so vacation esque. I also renewed the bag that I have which is a striped little Celine drawstring bag. It's perfect for vacation, it's perfect for travel. I'm very excited about these two bags. If you're unfamiliar with Vivril, it's the first of its kind luxury accessories members only club providing members access to borrowed designer handbags, jewelry, watches and diamonds. I love this site, especially when I go on vacation because I can go on as a member and treat my closet like my own. I can borrow anything within my tier and there's no return date. So you can go on, you can get the handbag of your dreams and members can then swap items out once a month or you can keep your item for as long as you like. The membership starts at 45. There are so many good handbags you guys have to go check it out. Go to vi.com and apply for membership today. Using code skinny, you get 30% off four months of membership. The code will also allow you to skip the Virrel waitlist. That's V I V R e l l e.com use code skinny, you get 30% off four months of membership.

[Lauren Everts]

Virel.com one of the things that upsets me so much is when people are not able to keep their hard earned money. Everybody works so hard to generate an income. It's so stressful. Managing money can be such a point of stress for couples and individuals. I know personally that before I had financial literacy, I stress all the time about money. This is why I love talking about YNAB so much on this show. Ynab, spelled Y N A B is a life changing app that helps you do what you want with the money you have. You'll create flexible plans for your money through a simple practice of giving every dollar a job, keeping you focused on the life that you want. So whether you want to cover your mortgage or your rent, or fund your 401k without sacrificing dinners with friends or that long awaited trip abroad, Ynab will help you stop wondering where your money goes and help you start deciding where it'll take you instead. Like I said earlier, so many people are stressed about money. 92% of users report feeling less money stress. Since using YNAB, the average YNAB user saves $600 in their first two months and $6,000 in their first year. Imagine what else you could do with an extra $6,000 in your pocket right now. Life is short. Spend it with ynab. Of course we have an incredible offer for our listeners and viewers. TSC him and her show listeners can claim an exclusive three month free trial with no credit card required at www.ynab.com skinny. Again, that's Y N A B.com TSC him and her show listeners can claim an exclusive three month free trial with no credit card required at www.YNAB.com skinny. Again, that'S Y-N-A B.com skinny Check it out.

[Unknown]

But I think people are starting to wrap their heads around the idea of getting a better quality product, the safer ingredients that are more organic in order to protect the most important thing which is your health and longevity and your time on this planet.

[Lauren Everts]

And they're willing.

[Unknown]

I think the people that learn this and are starting to take a greater interest in this topic are starting to make that investment also who cares what.

[Richard Christensen]

Handbag you're wearing if your whole entire house is filled with chemicals and you lay your head down on the pillow and you're breathing in something that rhymes with schmide? Nine hours a night and you're eating like shit.

[Michael Bostic]

We say that here in comfortable Los Angeles, but there's a lot of people who don't agree with that.

[Richard Christensen]

Yeah.

[Michael Bostic]

And vote with their wallets and we'll happily pick up the poorly made thing at Walmart. And I so understand that. And we're very privileged and we're sitting here on high saying this stuff. I just think there needs to be a real sea change in the way that we buy products, we need to buy less stuff and we need to buy better stuff. We all know that. And I think there has to be a sea change in the way the brands are funded because the headwinds on making stuff the right way get very strong once you take on someone's money and you need to make your margins. I know that with my full heart. And we say that all the time.

[Unknown]

I said for founders that listen to this show and they're thinking about taking on capital, just know that there's someone with a completely different incentive than you. Maybe, maybe there's an aligned incentive, but that exercise is an exercise in numbers and margins and multiples.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah. And I will build a billion dollar brand. I know that. I'm very sure of it. But not because I'm greedy, because I want to source and make things the right way in the beauty industry. Because no one else has really done that. And then turn around to L'Oreal or whoever else and say, look, someone else can do it too. And no one else has. And so let's build a very profitable big business with really high standards and let's do that properly. And that excites me. And that's sort of now that now I'm happy with you. Sort of the porn talk and the house talk with that stuff. Because really my focus now is on how do we achieve that and how do we. How do we build and scale in a different way?

[Unknown]

What is the.

[Richard Christensen]

The Richard Flamingo estate experience? And maybe you could talk about, is it the same as it was four years ago when someone comes to Flamingo Estate? Because you can't just go, right?

[Michael Bostic]

No, no, you can't.

[Richard Christensen]

Okay. So can you.

[Michael Bostic]

It's my home.

[Richard Christensen]

Yeah, it's your home. So people try it. Can I show up at the door? You can't just go.

[Michael Bostic]

People do.

[Richard Christensen]

They do.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Richard Christensen]

Oh, wow. You got Some stalkers, Richard, a lot.

[Michael Bostic]

Of people have come to just get their Instagram photo, and we get that a lot. But what's your question? Sorry.

[Richard Christensen]

My question is, what's the curated experience for a friend of yours that's coming to stay for the weekend? What can they expect?

[Michael Bostic]

I mean, honestly, that's the stuff that we do for ourselves. A hot bath always. I always love cooking a meal for someone. I do it myself as much as I can.

[Richard Christensen]

What are you cooking?

[Michael Bostic]

Oh, when whatever's in season. I mean, we're so spoiled. We've got all these farms at our fingertips. I also have a beautiful vegetable garden. I have a great team that runs the vegetable. The orchard and the vegetable garden now. And so we've got no shortage of fresh stuff there. It's always nice. But, yeah, I think the thing is, again, about acting small. We try to keep it very simple. We really are not very fancy at home, but it's a very true place.

[Richard Christensen]

What's your drink of choice? If. If Martha Stewart's over, what's your drink of choice? Are you guys having wine?

[Michael Bostic]

Martha likes a tequila, so she's been over a few times. We've always done a tequila. Blood oranges, if we've got them. Maybe some. We've got a great chili farm in Mexico. One of those farms we. I mentioned is a chili farm in. In Mexico. The Gabino family has this farm in the highlands of Mexico, and they grow the most amazing chilies, and they. They smoke them at a Applewood smoker, and we make spicy olive oil and salsa match and stuff like that from that stuff. But also I love putting those in a margarita. Yeah.

[Richard Christensen]

What's the seasonal dish that you're making right now for, like, the Christmas season?

[Michael Bostic]

Well, what was I making this weekend? You know, it's cold here and it's not cold often in Los Angeles. And I do love a chicken pot pie. I've been making that this week. Yeah.

[Richard Christensen]

So good. And you're in the kitchen cooking and.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Richard Christensen]

That's incredible. Well, if someone's listening and they're like, I want to leave my job. I'm done with it. I'm done with corporate America. I want to go open up a farm. Or maybe they just want to go buy a farm and. And do what you've done.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah.

[Richard Christensen]

What would you caution? Like, what are the pros and the cons and the tips?

[Michael Bostic]

I mean, I don't know. It's different for everyone. And I don't want to give everyone advice. I know that if We. I know how hard it is to be a, a farmer. My parents are farmers. I know how hard that hustle is. I'm not a farmer. I'm lucky that we've fallen into all sorts of verticals because of my property. But I think that would be my first thing is like, what. How do you monetize that business? Is there other ways outside just selling the produce or what are you doing? I know it's tough for people. It's tougher than it ever has been to be a farmer in this country. And so I have my full hand on my heart, like my hat off to all those people who are making stuff in the land and growing stuff. It's tough. Yeah.

[Richard Christensen]

In your book, you have interviewed some incredible people.

[Unknown]

What are.

[Richard Christensen]

Who. What are the ones that really resonated for you? What are the little tips and hacks and tricks that you were like, wow, this is really incredible and different.

[Michael Bostic]

Okay, so I wrote the book. I wanted. The publisher wanted another cookbook and then I wanted a gardening book. And I was just trying to figure out how to firstly write about plants. That's what I really wanted to do. And. But also at the same time, I was really self conscious that maybe Flamingo Estate was a Covid baby, maybe it was a shot, maybe it was a lucky strike, maybe I just got lucky, maybe it's all going to disappear. But like all those other brands that I saw in Coba that have now lost their luster, I had such anxiety around that. So for me, the book started as, how do I find people who have built a world and then built a wall around it and told everyone to fuck off? And how do I meet and talk to my heroes who are operating at such a high vibrational energy? You know, you meet those people who you hang around, you're like, shit, I feel so much better, healthier, more alive because I spent an hour with you. You know, we all have met those people. How do I squeeze that juice? You know, So I made a list of people and like this several. And Jane Fonda and Kelly Whistler and Martha and those people that are in here who every time I meet them, I'm like, God, I want more of that. You know, so some of it was that. How do I get. That was some of it. So I didn't. I started writing and I sat in the goat shed. I've got goats at the house. I sat the goat shed and I write. I started writing about first about wisteria, which is, you know, the vine that grows and grows and grows and grows and grows and grows and grows. And you can put it anywhere. And it grows. It's such a good metaphor for work ethic. It just does not stop. And I was writing about wisteria, and then I thought, who do I know that is like wisteria? And then I was like, oh, it's Martha. And so that sort of then set up the construct for the book where I was like, plant and person, plant and person. And so started just to go through my favorite plants and then. And then build that bridge. And so Jane Goodall, obviously is, like, iconic. She was. She's in the first chapter. And Kelly Wurstler's maybe one of the really interesting ones, because Kelly is a good friend and her family. Kelly is so disciplined. She goes to the gym twice a day. She is there for her friends, but she does never waste any time. She will never hang around people she doesn't like. She's just really good at saying no and very, very kind at saying yes. And she's a wonderful person. And her chapter is called Prune youe Roses. And that's. You know, anyone that has a garden knows that if you want your roses to come back strong, you have to prune them. You have to get the scissors out, and you have to chop them really, really hard. And so the metaphor there is. You've got. In our lives, we need to keep scissors in our back pockets, metaphorically speaking. And we have to chop, chop, chop all the time. The shitty person, the shitty friend, the shitty colleague, the shitty thing, the habit, the Weber thing is it drags you down. You've got to take the scissors to it. Kelly does that so well. And so that's one of the things I. After writing the book, I was like, oh, I need to get. I'm pretty good at that already. But I was like, I need to get my scissors out and really chop. And so that was one of the more interesting lessons in the book. There's so many. It's 600.

[Unknown]

It sounds like the book, in a way, is also you extracting lessons that you wanted selfishly for yourself from the highest performers in your life.

[Michael Bostic]

100%. I mean, the whole brand was awesome. Me selfishly making the stuff I wanted to use every day. So also, this is me selfishly now trying to, like, figure out how to not just live a good life, but how do I live a great, great life?

[Unknown]

Well, I think it's refreshing to hear because sometimes people are nervous to admit that they do things selfishly, but in your case, you're doing it Selfishly. But then sharing this with other people.

[Michael Bostic]

No, no, I'm all for, you know, we say Flamingo is the house of radical pleasure because I, and I think it is because it's a radical act to stand up for your own happiness. I know that sounds a little Bernay Brownie, but I was like, it really is the hardest thing in the world to stand up for your own pleasure, what you want to do every day from the second you get out of bed. And so the book is sort of an exploration of that in some ways. Yeah.

[Richard Christensen]

Is there any other tips from these incredible people? Like give us like Chrissy Teigen's in it, John Legend. There's so many amazing people.

[Unknown]

Is there a little, a little takeaway.

[Richard Christensen]

That you've maybe applied to your own life that you're doing daily now based on writing it?

[Michael Bostic]

The one thing that everyone sort of said, and I never asked the question, but the one thing that came out in every interview was put your phone down. This promise of technology would leave us more time to do the things that we wanted to do. Instead, what it has done is given us more time to scroll. And so there's great power in just the doing, the planting, the making, the baking, the walking, the doing something. I got that from everyone was just put your phone down and go and make, bake, do, plant, do something, and everything else will fall into place. It will deliver it on your feet when you make that promise to the world.

[Lauren Everts]

For anyone that wants to make their.

[Unknown]

Home more of a peaceful, inspiring place, like, what do you think some of the things they can do?

[Michael Bostic]

I mean, I, I, when I designed Flamingo with the guys, we, you know, I wanted a house that was, I'm not a fan of hgtv, open plan based homes. So there's a lot of color. I really tried my home to tickle all the senses. You run your fingers across. The textures are different. It's wood, it's marble, it's stone, it's. It's rough, it's smooth, it's cold. The smells are amazing. Every room has a window that opens up to the garden. And even if you don't, even if you don't have that, I do think go outside and pick some rosemary or jasmine or whatever and stick it in your shower and let it steam. You know, I think there's the bring nature in. I guess that's the main thing is bring nature. And all of the lessons we need to learn about life are in the garden. They're already there. You know, one of the chapters is Called drop your leaves like a plum. Because it can't always be. It cannot always be summer. It has. You all have. We all have to go through a winter. John and Chrissy talk about that after they talk about her, you know, her miscarriage and then, you know, she got canceled and like they've had a winter and they got through it. And we all have winters and we can all get through them. And we also have to drop our leaves and rest. You know, stone fruit can't. Can't bloom and fruit unless it gets cold enough in winter, they have to rest for them to come back stronger in spring. And so they need the cold. And so we need that too. We need a minute just to like drop our leaves.

[Richard Christensen]

It's interesting, Richard, what's been the most surprising thing to you with Flamingo Estate? What are things that are. Have surprised you with your journey?

[Michael Bostic]

Well, maybe that I was cha. I'm annoyed at myself for spending 20 years chasing hungry ghosts. What's most surprising is how much joy I've got from just the simple things.

[Richard Christensen]

But don't you think that you had to have that winter to see the other side?

[Michael Bostic]

Oh, for sure. I'm so grateful for Covid. If Covid had not have happened, I don't know where I would be now.

[Unknown]

So if you could like put your thumb on the things you wish you didn't chase specifically, like, what are those?

[Richard Christensen]

His green thumb.

[Michael Bostic]

I think there was a point in my. Inside my soul where I could feel that this, it was time to do something else. But I didn't because I was. I needed the money or I was doing something. I think that if I had have really sat and listened to myself, I probably would have left that job 10 years earlier and done something else. And I feel like now, I think, you know, also there's a chapter about shadows in the book embrace your shadows like a tree fern. How I think I dealt with that was I drank like a fish. I drank. I was. You know, we talk about drug use and addiction in the book. I really was self medicating and I think maybe trying to quieten the voice in my head that like I needed to shake things up and I was just too, too scared maybe to take that, that jump. You know, had Covid not have come and crushed my business, I probably would still be there drinking right now. And so, I don't know, there's a. So maybe that maybe I would have just been a bit more brave than I was.

[Unknown]

Yeah, we had.

[Michael Bostic]

Because I would say, like I was brave in many Ways like starting a business is scary and managing a team is scary. And I think that in many ways I was strong and brave, but where it really counted, like in the silent moments and in the. My dark shadow, I was. I was a coward. And I wish I had acted more boldly in those private times. Yeah.

[Unknown]

We had Mel Robbins on the. Do you know about Mel Robbins? And she was talking about. Sometimes we get. I forget sunken costs or whatever, where you've put a certain amount of time in anything into something.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

And then even if you know it's not the right thing, like, we can't let go of it because of the time that we've allocated to it.

[Michael Bostic]

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Unknown]

I think that can be applicable to not only careers, but relationships or pressures. Whatever it is, we can't quit things even if we know they're not great for us.

[Michael Bostic]

It's true. It's so true. And I think maybe what this business has taught me is that the joy in seasonality, like not just like accepting change, but really racing after it. Like racing after the close of a season and something new coming up. I love it now. I love change. I get very bored very quickly and try very hard not to stay in one place too long. Now I'm sort of actively seeking change all the time and not just trying really hard not to get even. Not even to think about it, just to keep running towards it, both in product development, but also in my private life and the way I treat people and the way I sort of move through the world.

[Unknown]

Do you have to travel consistently to stay more so?

[Michael Bostic]

I mean, I spent my life on a plane. I was at the number one frequent flyer on JetBlue when I had my agency, the number one. They had a party for me and I was. Oh, my gosh, I'm so ashamed of that now. I was always somewhere else, you know, I was always running. And so I tried for the longest time not to even get on a plane again. I hate going out. I rarely go out. I try really, really, really hard not to travel. I love, love, love being home now. And so. But now, obviously we're. Now that we're selling overseas, I'm, I'm. I'm traveling a bit more than I. Than I would probably like to, but when I do, I'm really mindful of it. I'm not.

[Unknown]

It sounds like now there's more purpose behind it.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah, I mean, it's a very different energy. I'm doing the thing I really love. And so I, I'm very happy for that.

[Richard Christensen]

How do you work with your partner? I work with my husband.

[Michael Bostic]

Oh, God. Isn't it hard?

[Richard Christensen]

It's hard, but. But no, it is hard. It's the most rewarding and challenging thing.

[Michael Bostic]

We would not be sitting here today if it wasn't for Harvey. He is amazing. He's designed everything. He's pushed me harder. He's like, we together have built this business and we live at home together. But, you know, there's some days when I'm just like, ugh. And he is too. There's an interesting interview with Joe Horgan, who's the founder of Mecca. Mecca is a huge billion dollar business in Australia. It's a big beauty retailer, brilliant business. She and Pete, her husband, work in it together. And I was in the interview, I was like, how do you guys do it? They are both in it. They're so energized. And she's like, sit at different ends of the office. And so that you don't see each other all day long. So you have different little, you know, work friends. And then what they have done is they don't drive home together. She bought a car so that they didn't need to drive home together so that she could have a minute, not take their problems home, not talk about work on the way home, because then you're just gonna talk about it when you walk in the door. And so we've not done that.

[Unknown]

That's a good one.

[Richard Christensen]

You would not know. You'd call me.

[Michael Bostic]

So that's that. But, you know, also, like, it's also on the flip side. It's nice to do a business together.

[Richard Christensen]

It's very, very, very rewarding. I will say that.

[Lauren Everts]

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[Unknown]

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[Richard Christensen]

And I've trusted throughout all three of.

[Unknown]

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The first thing when people ask me should I work with my, I always say no. That's my first, like no. And then I go into unless and if you feel. But I think what I also don't like is when couples say like, okay, there's a certain time when I'm not allowed to talk about this.

[Michael Bostic]

It doesn't work.

[Unknown]

It doesn't work. And I'm like, you can't have these parameters around what's going on in your life and what's important. Like when, when the wife or the husband says we're at dinner now and we don't talk about that. I'm like, well if that's what's important and what they're passionate about.

[Michael Bostic]

No, no. I also don't. I'm very much. This is one thing I do not believe in, in work life. And it doesn't exist non work life. It's all one thing. And I like it that it's one thing. I like it that it's very integrated for me now. But it would. But I also like. I do like telling Harvey to go sit in the other end of the office. He can have his own work friends.

[Richard Christensen]

We ask this a lot to people on this show and you are such a good one to ask this to. What's your morning routine when you wake up on a regular old Tuesday?

[Michael Bostic]

It's very, very disciplined. And it's the same every day.

[Richard Christensen]

I can't wait.

[Michael Bostic]

I wake up very early, very early.

[Unknown]

What's very early?

[Michael Bostic]

I'm always up by 6:15 at the latest.

[Lauren Everts]

Okay.

[Michael Bostic]

But early. Normally before that I go make coffee and then I get on my bicycle and I ride to the gym because I don't have a car. I told you that. And so I. So I cycle for an hour and then I get to the gym, I work out and then I cycle to work, work. And that's been my routine for Monday to Friday for a while. If on the weekend, the first thing I do is get up and I feed the goats.

[Richard Christensen]

Okay. I was going to let you say, what about the goats? And then also when you say you cycle to work, isn't work at your house?

[Michael Bostic]

No. So we have an office not far away now, so.

[Richard Christensen]

And hold. I have to ask you a couple questions. Are you like lighting your tomato candle and then heading to the kitchen to squeeze the goat's nipple to get the milk for the coffee to utter or not, Whatever. Like, I need to know, like, are you. What are the little. Are we like in the shower with the rosemary? Like. Okay, you gotta tell us like the details.

[Michael Bostic]

No, no, the candle's on.

[Richard Christensen]

Okay.

[Michael Bostic]

The coffee is the coffee I make and sell. We roast our coffee every Tuesday. It's great coffee.

[Richard Christensen]

I have not tried.

[Michael Bostic]

Your coffee is great. I'm a real coffee snob.

[Richard Christensen]

Is it like mold free, all the checking boxes?

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah, but you should also drink coffee within like three months at the very maximum. But you should drink coffee when it's fresh.

[Richard Christensen]

I'm getting your coffee tomorrow.

[Michael Bostic]

That. That sits on the shelf for like, it's already terrible. You need to have freshly ground coffee, freshly made coffee, rather roasted coffee.

[Unknown]

Our average order value with your company just going up and up.

[Richard Christensen]

Is there goat milk in it?

[Michael Bostic]

No, we don't use goat milk, but everything else in the kitchen is stuff that we grow or make.

[Unknown]

And what do the goats do at your property? Are they there?

[Lauren Everts]

Just friends or.

[Michael Bostic]

So the first goat was sort of a gift from a farmer that we helped at. And I was like, oh, my God, what are we gonna do? And then obviously, he needed a friend, and then they had two more friends, and so now their goats have. They're just pets, kind of. But I do love them very, very much. They're beautiful. They're actually. They're just like, go. I go sit with them, and on the weekends, I spend time with them more. And there's a real simple joy in having a. Some livestock on your property.

[Richard Christensen]

It's grounding.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah, sometimes. I actually said sometimes. Like last night, it was so cold, and I said to hobby Arch could just get a sleeping bag and go down, sleep with the goats.

[Unknown]

You can get whatever animals you want if you participate.

[Lauren Everts]

Because she does this thing where she.

[Unknown]

Says she'll help, and then it's literally.

[Lauren Everts]

Just me with the animals.

[Unknown]

It's not.

[Richard Christensen]

I'll help with the goat.

[Michael Bostic]

What do you want?

[Richard Christensen]

Are you eating something from the garden in the morning, or do you not. Do you wait until later? What are the foods that you're reaching.

[Unknown]

For in the morning?

[Michael Bostic]

In the morning, I have a cup of coffee, and I normally. I'm on my bike. I normally don't eat, and then I'm out the door.

[Lauren Everts]

Lauren has built a whole fantasy of.

[Unknown]

What you're doing in the morning.

[Richard Christensen]

If you could see in my brain what I think you're doing, you would be like, well, honestly, on a weekend.

[Michael Bostic]

I'm feeding the girls, and then I'm running a really hot bath because we have a big bath for the bath house, and we sit and I sit in the bath for an hour. It's my favorite place in the whole property. And every night, I try to take a long bath as well. And so that's like, lots of soap. Lots, lots, lots of soap. The. The jasmine and the. The damascross soap is my favorite one for that.

[Richard Christensen]

Go watch a Disney princess wake up.

[Michael Bostic]

That's how you like.

[Richard Christensen]

I imagine, like, the birds. The birds are flying, fluffing your pillow, and the clock, like, chiming in the background and, like, the cup of tea on the tray. It's really crazy.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Michael Bostic]

I like to make healthy breakfast in bed on the weekends. I do that a lot.

[Richard Christensen]

Okay, see, I know, I know there's dough.

[Michael Bostic]

I do that. Yeah. Yeah, I do. I like. I think that my mom and dad Used to bring my brother and I a cup of tea in the mornings when we were little kids on the farm. And I think making. Even just making a cup of coffee for someone is the greatest act of service to get their day started.

[Unknown]

I make a cup of coffee every day.

[Lauren Everts]

You don't even drink it.

[Richard Christensen]

Hold on, though. To get him to do this has been like.

[Lauren Everts]

But I do it.

[Richard Christensen]

He does it now.

[Unknown]

I do it.

[Richard Christensen]

And he's. Every morning, he'll be like, do you want a cup of coffee? I want a cup of coffee. Even if I don't touch the coffee, it's the act of having you make the coffee that I like. I don't care about the coffee.

[Lauren Everts]

I'll make that.

[Unknown]

The coffee that you don't drink, we're not gonna use. We're gonna use the shitty stuff that's.

Still on the counter before you go.

[Richard Christensen]

You also have. Is there anything that you do at night that's special, ritualistic routine? Any kind of, like, romantic. Romantic things that you do?

[Michael Bostic]

I mean, I take a hot. And often we take a bath together, but I'll take a hot bath for an hour together.

[Richard Christensen]

This bath. Are you. You're using Flamingo Estate? Yeah.

[Michael Bostic]

No. Yeah. It's where we started. Remember? The soap was killing my roses, so it's where we started. Yeah. Lots of. Lots of body wash. The sage one that I think you have. The sage and rose one. All the. The rose and jasmine one.

[Richard Christensen]

If I were to pick a couple.

[Michael Bostic]

We just did. Actually just did a new. Oh, my God. This amazing marigold soap that we made. That's incredible. That's only for a limited period. We did that, which is so good in the balth. And I'm very spoiled because I can throw, you know, so much of these big soap bricks under the belt, and it's fine. That's my favorite. That soap is remarkable. And we're working on one now. I've got this idea. We. Just before I came here today, it was just smelling samples. When you harvest honey, you put dried lavender in the smoker, and it calms the bees down. That smell of smoky, dry lavender is incredible. It doesn't smell like, you know, terrible, like Mrs. Meyer's lavender. It's like. It's like a real deep smoke and a little lavender sweetness and maybe some sage. And so I really want to do a candle and a soap that smells like that for. For next, you know, next spring. So that's my next soap. We've been working on that.

[Richard Christensen]

You've got a lot to do if I were to pick my favorite curated products, you guys, the peppermint soap bar, any of his soaps there. There's a texture to it that's unlike anything else. And the smell is gorgeous. And you're right, you can put it in your shower. It smells the whole shower up. I use shampoo, your body wash. I have your tomato candle tomatoes, the big everyone's fave.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah.

[Richard Christensen]

Hand soap in every single one of my rooms. My kids use it. I love your hand soap. I have your book. I think you really can't go wrong on the site. But those are some of my standout favorites.

[Michael Bostic]

You know the soap that you speak of, the base oil is babassi oil. Do you know what that is?

[Richard Christensen]

No.

[Michael Bostic]

It comes from the Amazon. It is in Brazil. I mean it grows in other places too. But it's this rather than using palm oil, which is so bad for the world. Babassu grows in the space between like the forest and the, the grassland. And so in a way, if you think about it wrapping around the Amazon, it sort of is as invisible electric fence, if you will. If we can build value in those trees, they won't tear them down. And so I'm trying to encourage everyone to use babassu because we can. And the local communities are harvesting it and they're making the oil. And so the. Can you imagine if everyone was doing that? Then there would be the inability to push the Amazon down because we would be protecting these trees that are safeguarding it right now. And so Bavasu's an amazing whale I met. This is the guy in the book.

[Richard Christensen]

That if you're listening, dial soap. Take note.

[Michael Bostic]

The guy that. There's a wonderful interview with this guy in the book, Gonzalo, who. Oh my God. And this is the thing actually it's easy to talk about the celebrities in the book. There's other people in there who are really who move me greatly, who are not rich or famous. But Gonzalo and his wife bought 900 acres in, in Mexico and in the Yucatan Peninsula and they in the middle of this giant Disney forest, there's like 20 acres that are flat, naturally cleared and he's growing rare or extinct vegetables and produce there because most of the produce that we eat today, it's only here because it's got thick skinned. A lot of produce that we used to have has disappeared because the skin was not thick enough to put in boxes and transport places. So thin skinned fruit. I'm a big, now a big fan of thin skinned everything, people and vegetables. But thin skinned Fruit.

[Richard Christensen]

What's a thin skin? Is kiwi skin thin skinned?

[Michael Bostic]

No, no. But there's like different types of like tomatoes that are very brittle and wonderful stuff like these weird colored, different colors that we've never seen before. The Gonzalo's growing, there's amazing stuff. And he's been on contract, he's been growing some for the guys from Noma that, the restaurant that we all know of and some other places. And he's been experimenting with very rare or near extinct produce and he's growing it there. He's such a nice guy and one of the people I've met who impressed me the most. And again, living purpose is this word that we throw around that's so scary for people. And we get so hung up on it, like, am I living my purpose? Am I living my purpose? But Jane Goodall, him, like everyone in the book, I think, are living their purpose, but they're just doing the thing that makes them happy. And that's great and that's all it needs to be.

[Unknown]

Yeah. And I think one of the biggest lessons is all these people that are living their purpose have also found massive success without necessarily putting that as the.

[Michael Bostic]

First thing, but the success is different for everyone. Gonzalo's success is just bringing back a.

[Lauren Everts]

Rare species versus sure, I didn't mean financially.

[Unknown]

I just mean like, you know, we know of these people and we know about their lives because they've kind of chosen these maybe unconventional paths to attack that purpose, but they've like, in their own lives now they're happy and successful in all this.

[Michael Bostic]

But it's hard. Like, I know. I think there's another conversation with this wonderful guy, David Leon, who's one of my most biggest role models. David started Farmer's Footprint, co founder of that, and has worked with the center for Food Safety to get. He lives in Hawaii now to get glyphosate Roundup out of our food system. He's campaigned so hard for it, they found traces of glyphosate in school drinking fountains in Hawaii. And then they realized that Monsanto was using the spray, not telling people. And so he's been. Now it's still not illegal, but at least they have to tell people. And actually, on that note, in a couple of weeks we're going to do an olive oil that's very special with Laura Dern. And Laura Dern's mother also got sick from, from glyphosate from pesticide use. And so all the proceeds from that are going to, to the center for Food safety, which I'm very excited about. And a lot of what. We haven't even talked about this. A lot of the stuff that we do, we try as much as we can to give those proceeds back to people who are fighting for climate or all that sort of stuff. And the celebrity honey, which you've probably seen and that sort of stuff, all that stuff is. Is all going towards those people.

[Richard Christensen]

The guide to becoming alive. Everyone go get it.

[Unknown]

It's a beautiful book.

[Richard Christensen]

It's in my kitchen, you guys. It's such a good one to have, like, on display. And I also like your other book, too. That's a good one, too. You can't go wrong. Richard, thank you for coming on the show. Where can everyone shop? I know we have a code.

[Michael Bostic]

Oh, great.

[Richard Christensen]

Your team gave us a code.

[Unknown]

You guys go get the soap.

[Richard Christensen]

All the soaps.

[Unknown]

What are your.

[Lauren Everts]

What do you.

[Unknown]

What do you think? Your favorite products for them to start with.

[Richard Christensen]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Do the retreat.

If they've never had a flamingo stage product.

[Michael Bostic]

Tomato candle. The peppermint soap, which you love. The soap bar. Olive oil. The olive oil this season is so good.

[Richard Christensen]

Michael likes it because it makes his balls tingle.

[Lauren Everts]

How do you know?

[Richard Christensen]

I just know. I know him so well.

[Michael Bostic]

I want to say something so bad, but I can say no, no, no, no, no.

[Richard Christensen]

This is the podcast to say it.

[Michael Bostic]

No, no, no. It's all good. I'm glad your balls are tingling. This is great. I hope you feel really alive.

[Lauren Everts]

Life. My senses are.

[Unknown]

All my senses are activated.

[Richard Christensen]

Flamingo Estate.com Skinny 15 for 15 off. I will be using my own code to get the coffee. Go shop, you guys. It is one of my favorite websites to go on. I'm telling you. I'm such a fan. Richard, thank you for coming on the show. Come back anytime. I feel like we could have gone in 100 directions.

[Michael Bostic]

Thank you. So nice to meet you both.

[Lauren Everts]

Thank you, Richard.

[Richard Christensen]

Thank you, Richard.

[Unknown]

Fans.

[Richard Christensen]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Appreciate you.

I left in the show notes for you. His book link. I left the flamingo estate link. Go get their shampoo and conditioner and their hand soap. Trust me. Enjoy.