Podcast Summary: What Are You Made Of?

Episode: From Fear to Fortune: Ronan Levy’s Journey in Psychedelics & Entrepreneurship

Host: Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco
Guest: Ronan Levy
Date: February 14, 2025

Episode Overview

This engaging episode explores the personal and entrepreneurial journey of Ronan Levy, a pioneer in the cannabis and psychedelics industry. Levy candidly discusses overcoming deep shyness, his rollercoaster experiences with founding and ultimately losing Field Trip (one of the first NASDAQ-listed psychedelic therapy companies), and the importance of resilience, consciousness, and intention. The conversation dives into themes of identity, meaning beyond material success, the future of psychedelics, ego in entrepreneurship, and maintaining balance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins and Personal Growth

• Shy Beginnings and Transformation
  • Ronan reflects on being “a super shy kid,” working at McDonald's, and the decision to change:

    “At one point I just woke up and I'm like, I don't want to live like this. I don't want to be shy… I just need to get out there and do shit.” (01:40)

• Host Relatability
  • C-Roc shares his own journey from social discomfort to confidence, especially relating to sales and business:

    “I would love to be able to just go up to cool people and talk to them…and nowadays it's like, easy.” (02:38)

2. The Success/Achievement Cycle—and Its Limits

• Entrepreneurial Drive and 'What Next?'
  • Ronan explains how chasing one success after another can become hollow:

    “You come out the other side of success…now I have a big bank account, but every other problem I've ever had is still with me.” (05:07)

• Identity vs. Mission
  • C-Roc advocates not tying identity to a profession, likening business to a “vehicle”:

    “If that vehicle crashes, slows down…it's not your identity, it's just your vehicle.” (06:04)

3. Field Trip: Psychedelics, Business, and Social Movements

• Genesis of Field Trip
  • Ronan describes founding Field Trip to normalize psychedelic therapy, driven by the “zeitgeist shifting”:

    “I saw psychedelics not as a platform for mental health…but as a platform for consciousness change.” (06:42)

• Niche and Market Challenge
  • Ronan discusses market realities and business missteps:

    “We just got out over our skis…built really quickly, believing we could…build the plane as we were flying it and it just never worked out.” (11:52)

  • The pandemic’s impact and misalignment with customer readiness were pivotal.
• Brand Philosophy
  • Field Trip’s tone:

    “Serious limits [psychedelics’] potential… I wanted to bring a bit of levity to it, a little bit of excitement.” (09:09)

4. Reflections, Failures, and Lessons Learned

• What Ronan Would Do Differently

  • Focus on “slower growth, building community awareness, even supporting underground use”—making Field Trip the “Lululemon for psychedelics.” (16:35)
  • New mission:

    “If you can give people the capacity to see the world in a new way…you're going to solve a lot of human suffering.” (17:46)

• Attention, Intention, and Consciousness

  • Both discuss how intention shapes experience, in business, life, and psychedelic practice.

    “Whatever your intention is, is what you're going to focus on…how can we set a better intention? Clearing out some of the garbage…which could be done through the field trip method.” (18:02)

5. Science, Consciousness, and Spiritual Inquiry

• Limitations of Measurement

  • Both reflect on science’s “blind spots” and the possibilities of dimensions beyond our perception.

    “Science can only be done by humans. Right. There's always going to be the human lens of experience built into all science.” (20:39)

• Psychedelics, Evil, and Responsibility

  • Addressing fears around psychedelics opening doors to “evil”:

    “I don't know that evil exists. Evil is just something that we define…Can a psychedelic trip send people off to do crazy things? Yes…But everything can, right?” (24:48)

  • Importance of responsible usage and guidance is strongly emphasized.

6. Entrepreneurship, Ego, and Re-centering

• Personal Fallout and Recovery
  • Ronan describes the emotional aftermath of Field Trip’s collapse:

    “I had about six months of brain fog. I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't know if I was good at anything.” (28:48)

  • Turning point: A meditation revealed, “You're trying to do too much”—prompting a deliberate slowing down and reconnection with family.
• Redefining Success
  • Intends never to be consumed by business again:

    “My biggest lesson is I will never let a business consume me as much as Field Trip…It was all encompassing…I want to do that again. Business is not that important.” (31:38)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On getting people to like you:

  “The easiest way to get people to like you is just ask questions about them… the more they talk about themselves to you, the more they like you.” (03:35) — Ronan Levy

• On embracing chaos:

  “Of all the species… what separates human is we are more equipped for chaos than any other species… bring the chaos… If you can get to that place of, ‘give me life, all of life, the miserable as well as the superb,’ and just enjoy the fluctuations…” (10:40) — Ronan Levy

• On intention and perception (psychedelics/life):

  “Intention is everything. So…what is your intention with it?…if your intention is to see things that you shouldn't see or you get—you have fear going into it, you're going to get that.” (27:53) — Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco

• On resilience:

  “You just gotta stand up, put one foot in front of the other and keep going. As long as you can find the will to do that, you can make it through just about anything.” (33:51) — Ronan Levy

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:25] — The signature question: "What are you made of?"
• [03:35] — Social anxiety, learning the power of asking questions, the role of alcohol in overcoming shyness
• [06:04] — Dangers of tying identity to professional achievement
• [06:42] — Founding Field Trip, the vision for psychedelic therapy
• [11:52] — Business failure: pandemic, overcapitalization, and market readiness
• [16:35] — What Ronan would do differently; the future of Field Trip as a movement
• [18:02] — The role of intention and perception in personal transformation
• [20:39] — Limits of science and consciousness studies
• [24:48] — Psychedelics, spirituality, responsibility, and “evil”
• [28:48] — Entrepreneurship, ego, setback, and recovery
• [31:38] — Redefining priorities: family, presence, sustainable entrepreneurship
• [33:51] — Resilience and coming full circle

Resources & Contact

• Ronan Levy:
  • Website: ronanlevy.com
  • Instagram/Social: @ronandlevy
  • Ventures: Sizzle Brands, Coastline Longevity

Episode Takeaways

• Entrepreneurship frequently brings both external success and internal crises of meaning.
• Intention directs attention; being aware of this can transform experiences, whether in business or personal development.
• Psychedelics, responsibly used, are powerful tools for self-understanding and perspective shifts—but are not cures or identities.
• True resilience comes from recognizing your worth beyond external achievements and being willing to restart, grounded in experience and self-knowledge.
• Balance, family, and presence matter more than relentless hustle.

This episode offers listeners an insightful blend of vulnerable storytelling, practical wisdom, and philosophical perspectives—from overcoming shyness to building (and losing) a movement-defining business, and ultimately, finding meaning beyond material achievements.