September is always one of the nicest months of the year in Northern California. The tourists are gone, the weather is fantastic and it’s hard not to enjoy the bounty NorCal has to offer. The start of Indian summer brings along with it our annual LIFEAID company retreat. This is an incredible opportunity for our entire team to come together, celebrate the accomplishments from the past year and embark on a shared journey of personal and professional development.
At LIFEAID Beverage Co., we have 10 core values that drive our culture and ethos:
-
Create the most fun, healthy, holistic and fulfilling work environment in Santa Cruz County (and beyond).
-
Grow deliberately, sustainably and consistently create long-term value for our customers and stakeholders.
-
Be curious, ask questions, communicate and adopt a growth mindset.
-
Everyone is an owner—approach your work as such.
-
Work hard, play hard—have fun doing both.
-
Create raving fans—of our team members, customers, suppliers and community.
-
Be solution-oriented, not problem-focused.
-
Do more with less.
-
Strive for continuous improvement rather than perfection.
-
Always play the long game.
Although we practice these core values on a daily basis, the annual retreat brings multiple core values to light all at the same time, allowing us to revisit and focus on them in new ways each year.
This year was extra special to me on a personal level because we embarked on a journey to Lake Don Pedro—a lake I practically grew up on, having spent countless weekends waterskiing there as a kid. Our team rented six houseboats, four Jet Skis and a ski boat. We had professional caterers join us on board to prepare all of our meals, and we brought in seven dynamic speakers to present to our group over the weekend.
It’s amazing how things often work out even better than we could have imagined. I knew it would be an amazing retreat, but we were fortunate to experience what seemed like
a rare, perfect balance of personal development and fun in the sun.
Aside from the occasional mimosa, each morning began with about a 60-minute talk from one of our dynamic presenters. Our entire team gathered around, happily crammed onto the top deck of our main houseboat with our notebooks and pen in hand, eager to learn, grow and be challenged. Little did we know just how much of each would take place!
I should mention that four of our presenters were professional speakers—highly recognized and accomplished authors, TED Talks speakers, leaders and so forth. However, three of our presenters were not well-known, at least not beyond our little circle. They were LIFEAID team members. Honestly, it was pretty amazing being able to empower and then watch individuals on our team get out of their comfort zones, stand up in front of 70 of their colleagues and deliver incredibly well-crafted and powerful messages.
I intentionally gave no direction to any of the speakers when they first asked me what topic I would like them to present on at the retreat. I simply told them about our team, our values and our vision. Then I basically said, “Just deliver a presentation you feel would provide the most value to our group. I trust you.”
Boy, did they ever deliver! As the weekend progressed, a common thread began to develop between each speaker’s message. No one knew what the other speakers were presenting, yet a consistent theme began to emerge. As fate would have it, it was a theme that we all needed to hear.
After three full days and seven amazing speakers, the 2018 LIFEAID Beverage Co. retreat theme can be best summarized this way:
We are all powerful human beings who are manifesting our ability to be agents for positive change in this world. As human beings, our thoughts (conscious and unconscious) are eventually reflected in our words. With our words we create — our words drive our actions and lead to results (both positive and negative). At LIFEAID, our team has been uniquely unified by the common cause of improving the health and well-being of our diseased nation. We each realize and are fueled by the need to get people off of high-sugar, high-caffeine sodas & sports/energy drinks. As an alternative, we are passionate about providing everyone with our clean, healthful products. We possess the power to improve our lives and the lives of everyone we touch by being mindful and intentional regarding our thoughts, words and actions.
By the end of the weekend, we were not the same team we started as.
We had all experienced some “aha!” moments which have forever improved our trajectory as individuals and as a team. We ate, we drank, we played, we laughed, we cried, we danced, we shared, we contributed and — most importantly — we grew. It’s undeniable, watching the people who you care about have breakthroughs that will stick with them for the rest of their lives is what it really is all about.
Our brand is not merely our founders (myself and Orion) or a single product (like FitAid or FocusAid). Rather, it is the collective efforts and inventions of all the great women and men who comprise our LIFEAID team, a team which manifests in each and every one of our products and customer experiences.
While I can say, “I am LIFEAID” and “You are LIFEAID,” I am even prouder still to state that together,
“We are LIFEAID!”
To learn more about Aaron, follow @aaronhinde on Instagram.
> > > Live well!
September is always one of the nicest months of the year in Northern California. The tourists are gone, the weather is fantastic and it’s hard not to enjoy the bounty NorCal has to offer. The start of Indian summer brings along with it our annual LIFEAID company retreat. This is an incredible opportunity for […]
Hydration and Performance in a Tasty Blend
During a round of golf in AZ, it is almost impossible to drink too much water. While it might not feel like you are sweating a lot because it evaporates so quickly, you need a significant amount of hydration while playing in the desert. While water is most useful, sometimes something a little more tasty is desired as is some mineral intake. Soda, beer or a sports drink might hit the spot, but their caffeine, alcohol or sugar isn't going to benefit your game. GolferAid offers good hydration with numerous performance minerals as well as a lightly carbonated citrus flavor. You can get hydration and performance in one drink.
GolferAid is a product by the LIFEAID Beverage Company that makes a number of performance/health drinks. Obviously, GolferAid has a specific focus. The first thing I appreciated is a drink without caffeine or taurine. Many "performance" drink include one of those ingredients which I'm not really a big fan of. It also isn't pure sugar so that too is another nice feature of trying to limit that as well. So even if you are on a pretty strict diet, you should be able to enjoy the best golf drink for a day on the course, GOLFERAID Performance Blend.
I didn't find too many local courses that carried GolferAid on their beverage carts so I brought my own. I often would have one to start, one at the turn. (I still had water in between.) While maybe it was just a placebo mental boost, but I did play some really good golf while drinking GolferAid. The list of vitamins and minerals is rather long for a 12-oz can. I don't know what each one does or how it impacts your golf performance, but if nothing else it had a citrus (hint of pineapple flavor) to it so it was enjoyable to drink regardless of gained golf performance or not.
GolferAid is a nice alternative to many other drinks out there. I like that it wasn't just a shot of vitamins, but a hydrating drink as well. It would be cool to see them offer it in a few more flavors like berry and fruit punch, but for not the light citrus drink will be my go-to pre-/mid-round beverage. I can't promise that you will lower your scores just by drinking GolferAid, but it certainly isn't going to harm your game like many of the other cart girl's beverage choices. You get hydration and performance in a tasty drink.
For more information, visit LifeAidBevCo.com.
+12 oz. for hydration
+Light citrus flavor
+Lots of performance vitamins and minerals
+No caffeine or alcohol
+Low sugar
—One Flavor
SOURCE: http://www.independentgolfreviews.com/golferaid-performance-drink.html
Hydration and Performance in a Tasty Blend During a round of golf in AZ, it is almost impossible to drink too much water. While it might not feel like you are sweating a lot because it evaporates so quickly, you need a significant amount of hydration while playing in the desert. While water is most […]
By: Brad Avery | Oct. 8, 2018
When you need a post-workout recovery drink, there’s FitAid. When you need to pull a late night studying, there’s FocusAid. When your looking to stay up all night for a wild time, there’s PartyAid. And when all that activity finally catches up to you, now there’s ImmunityAid.
ImmunityAid is the latest product from LIFEAID Beverage Company, a brand of functional beverages that serve specific consumer need states. The new orange-flavored SKU launched today at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show 2018 in Las Vegas, running Oct. 8-10 and will soon be available in about 2,000 stores nationwide, including Whole Foods, H-E-B, Vitamin Shoppe and GNC.
Speaking with BevNET, co-founder and CEO Orion Melehan said the new line fills a consumer need for immunity-based beverages, and will also ideally help the company to maintain velocity during the winter when beverage sales drop but colds and flus rise.
“We’re launching ImmunityAid at NACS because we believe the consumer really is going to resonate with the product in the immediate consumption channel where they can grab and go the product for its immediate intended use occasion,” Melehan said. “On the road map we think a lot of growth [for the company] is going to come from the convenience channel.”
Melehan said that when speaking with convenience buyers there is an increased focus on c-stores building out functional sets, separate from the existing sports and energy drink sets, and LIFEAID sees this movement as a chance to become a leader in the space.
Made with a blend of A,C, and D vitamins, zinc, turmeric, ginger root, chamomile, astragalus, and echinacea, ImmunityAid is labelled as a dietary supplement and contains 45 calories per 12 oz. can. It will retail for $2.99 per can.
“Think of it like Emergen-C on steroids,” said co-founder and president Aaron Hinde. “It’s everything that people would normally be taking during cold and flu season during the winter, or while travelling, to keep their immune system firing on all cylinders. And it’s not just pixie dust in there, we have a very efficacious dose of those key nutrients with a great flavor profile.”
According to Hinde, the company received feedback from consumers and from buyers at some of its top retail partners, including Whole Foods and H-E-B, to develop the new line. He added that nearly three-quarters of U.S. consumers currently take some form of nutritional and wellness supplements, and the company believes ImmunityAid could quickly become the “number two or three” top selling SKU across the brand’s product portfolio.
“One of our biggest criticisms in our early days was that we were way too niche as a company, but we always had this vision of LIFEAID being a very functional beverage company with different products for different needs and having solutions for those consumer needs,” Hinde said. “Now that platform is really being built out.”
Currently the flagship FitAid line, marketed as a post-workout recovery drink, remains the company’s top-selling SKU across all channels, with its nootropic-based FocusAid line matching roughly 80 percent of FitAid’s volume. According to Hinde, the company has so far put very little of its marketing arm behind FocusAid, but an organic trend for more controlled, better-for-you energy from millennial consumers who are seeking alternatives to the mainstream energy brands has sparked the SKU’s growth. To build the line out, LIFEAID is reformulating the product to increase the caffeine — sourced from green tea — to 100 mg per serving and refining the blend of Nootropics, which may improve brain function.
For the first five years after its 2011 launch, LifeAid was exclusively an ecommerce product. However, over the past three years the brand has rapidly ballooned its presence in conventional retail and gyms, currently counting 20,000 points of distribution nationwide — double where the company was a year ago. In retail, the brand has seen over 100 percent growth and in Whole Foods, Melehan said, same store sales are growing 50 percent year over year. However, the ecommerce side of the business, Hinde said, has provided the company with a list of roughly 300,000 consumer email addresses that can be tapped for new product launches and drive repeat customers out to retailers.
Partnerships with fitness brands like CrossFit and Spartan Race have helped LifeAid attract a loyal base of athletic consumers for its core products, but the diverse line of need-state based drinks has led those consumers to buy the brand’s other SKUs. Rather than focusing on in-store promotions, Melehan said, LifeAid has worked on building its field marketing team to continue to add retailers and touch new consumers at events — from obstacle course events to music festivals — across the country. He added that the company is opening up more DSD distributors, particularly on the west coast, and will be increasing its field marketing team from 72 full-time employees to 85 in order to match the new distribution.
“What we look at is the entire life cycle of the consumer and focus on providing as much lifetime value to our customer base as we can,” Hinde said. “A lot of people look at their marketing and say well okay, ‘we have our online marketing budget, our event marketing budget, our in-store activations’ and they’re treated like all these separate things. We don’t look at it that way. Everything connects. The wave of the future, especially in beverage, is that there will be no separation between online and brick and mortar — it’s all one.”
SOURCE: BevNet.com
For information about all of the LIFEAID Beverage Co. clean, unique blends, their health benefits, or to shop the lineup of refreshing blends visit LIFEAIDBevCo.com.
By: Brad Avery | Oct. 8, 2018 When you need a post-workout recovery drink, there’s FitAid. When you need to pull a late night studying, there’s FocusAid. When your looking to stay up all night for a wild time, there’s PartyAid. And when all that activity finally catches up to you, now there’s ImmunityAid. ImmunityAid […]
"Titan CrossFit loves FITAID! We purchased the 10-case promotional deal which included a FREE fridge. After only 45 days, we are reordering! Many of our athletes miss the carbonation of a soft drink, FITAID fills that void and tastes great. Not to mention it is loaded with great supplements. The only problem is I keep drinking the profit! One request: Can you start making a “SnatchAid,” 'cause I sure could use the help!"
—Nick Zawmon, Titan CrossFit, Maryland
"FITAID is a great product and tastes great. Our athletes especially have liked FITAID on hot days as it contains great supplements and is only lightly carbonated, which means no bloated feeling like with other carbonated drinks."
—C. Ryan Bucher, Open Country CrossFit, Ohio
"FITAID is becoming so popular in the gym that people actually put money down to have a running tab for FITAID. All of the trainers love it as well and it is a staple after a hard workout! Excited to get in the next shipment as we have members worried that we will run out before it gets here, that is how popular it is. Thanks for the great customer service!"
—Julie Payton & Cory Letts, owners of CrossFit North Star, California
"Having FITAID available to our members before or after a WOD, cold out of our FITAID refrigerator, shows good member services and great profits for our business. Our members like the taste of FITAID and the Paleo-friendly vitamin and energy boosters to help in recovery. We sell an average of 9 cases a month without any extra effort on our part and provide a great healthy drink to our members. The people at FITAID have been amazing to work with and their customer service is professional, fast, and accommodating. Get a FITAID refrigerator and pack it with cold FITAID for your members. They will thank you, and you will see a nice profit for your business."
—Troy and Melanie Miller, CrossFit Ready, California
"We at CrossFit Amplify love FITAID! It has become one of Amplify’s go to for recovery supplements! We’ll continue to have our FITAID Refrigerator stock for our members and coaches!"
—Mike Viall and Scott Todnem, co-owners of CrossFit Amplify, Illinois
"We have been carrying FITAID at our box for a few months now, and we couldn’t be happier with this product. Our members love how it tastes and how they feel after drinking it! Customer service has also been awesome. The FITAID fridge is the perfect addition to our retail area and thank you again for donating some cans to our charity event that we hosted!!"
—Chad, CrossFit Boom Town, New York
"Here at CrossFit DTW we love FITAID. We have some that drink them for a pre-workout and some for a post. We love that little edge it gives you. It is one of the best sellers here, they go just as fast as the water!! Also they taste great so I sometimes grab them on a rest day too! Thanks so much for a great product!"
—Brogan Walters, CrossFit DTW, Colorado
"FITAID has been awesome for us here at FarmBoy. We love being able to carry a product that not only helps aid in recovery from WODs, immune health and Heart health, but also is great tasting. FITAID is the first thing people reach for at our Box. People absolutely love it! It is by far the single quickest moving drink/ supplement in our Box. My wife and I love the opportunity to carry such a great product that our athletes love and also make money in doing so. It is the best of both worlds. We are happy and they are happy!"
—Brian Baker, CrossFit Farm Boy, Colorado
"We brought FITAID on about a year ago and we really love what it has brought to our gym. We love that it is Paleo-friendly and its supplement profile. We have consistently sold through about 15-20 cases a month and don’t see it slowing down. Our members love it, our staff loves and I love it. Thanks for the awesome product!"
—Narine Kadekian, CrossFit Scotts Valley, California
"We love FITAID! Ever since we began carrying FITAID, we have had a continuous stream of sales. The FITAID mini fridge is a great way to display the product and makes it very easy to sell. Our members love the convenience of having a cold FITAID before or after a tough workout. Throw in the great taste, the athlete specific nutritional supplements, and you have a winning product to offer your members."
—Holly Valentine, CrossFit Vacaville North, California
"Simply put, I bought 10 cases and I only have one left! They have been both a nice pre-WOD pick-me-up as well as a nice post-WOD chaser! I have to say I love the taste after a tough WOD! FITAID has been a welcome addition to CrossFit Great Barrington!"
—Mike Bissaillon, CrossFit Great Barrington, Massachusetts
"I’m part owner of a CrossFit gym and we have been selling FITAID for just under a year. We are a smaller gym (less than 100 members) but have had a wonderful response in regards to FITAID. Our members love that it’s a clean drink (a lot of our members eat Paleo or Zone), that there’s no HFCS, that the taste is great and so is the mild carbonation, and I don’t know what it is but FITAID tastes the BEST after a REALLY tough workout!! I’d say we go thru about 10 cases every 2-3 months. We’ve tried other supplement drinks but overall they just don’t compare to all the goodness FITAID packs. FITAID for life!!!"
—Michelle Gallagher, Jefferson State CrossFit, California
Gym owners, we want to hear from you!
Please share your feedback and tell us what your gym members think of our products. LIFEAID Beverage Co. is here to help make the world a healthier place, one can at a time.
Interested in purchasing FITAID or other products for your gym? Visit our product page at LIFEAIDBevCo.com
> > > Live well.
“Titan CrossFit loves FITAID! We purchased the 10-case promotional deal which included a FREE fridge. After only 45 days, we are reordering! Many of our athletes miss the carbonation of a soft drink, FITAID fills that void and tastes great. Not to mention it is loaded with great supplements. The only problem is I keep […]
Brad Avery | Feb. 22, 2018
There’s nobility—and money—in wanting to achieve mass appeal,
building a brand that appeals to as many types of consumers as possible.
But few brands succeed in truly reaching a universal market. It’s a time-honored tactic, in fact, to thrive by thinking smaller — focusing in on specific demographics, need states, or consumer identities to build loyalty. For a long time, this simply meant “college students” or “moms on the go,” but some brands have started to take things even deeper, selecting niche target audiences that live in their own communities or form their own online tribes.
Brands big and small are now finding emerging subcultures to build their beds in. From startup recovery drinks crafting an identity around cult fitness brands to big soda companies focusing in on the emerging gaming community, we took a look in this two-part series at how companies large and small are searching for wide success with niche, but fast-growing communities.
FitAid Hits with CrossFitters
LIFEAID co-founders Aaron Hinde and Orion Melehan first met in a CrossFit gym in 2009, so it’s appropriate that their workout-based FitAid product would become the Official Recovery Drink of the 2017 CrossFit Games.
FitAid, in fact, was carefully built and cultivated around this particular fitness subculture. Oft parodied for its customers’ cult-like devotion to their all-in style of workout, CrossFit has built a loyal consumer base, so a beverage brand built within the culture targeting not only their nutritional needs, but their whole identity, was in a good position to resonate. Its founders say FitAid, one of the multiple functional beverage sublines released under the LIFEAID master brand, is formulated with vitamins, electrolytes, and other ingredients to fit the needs of CrossFit athletes. The brand’s early business strategy involved getting the product in those gyms.
In creating FitAid, Hinde and Melehan — like a large group of insurgent brands, from competing sports drink Kill Cliff, itself a former CrossFit Games sponsor, to a variety of energy bars and snacks — sought to find a way to access a large and still growing customer base made up of several key age groups. According to a report from Rally Fitness, CrossFit counts roughly 4 million members worldwide, with 42 percent ranging between 25 and 34 years old. 19 percent are between 35 and 44, while 18 percent are minors. The demographics skew evenly between men and women. The $4 billion company has experienced massive growth in the past decade, expanding from 13 locations in 2005 to more than 13,000 worldwide today. The company’s low-tech gym setup and franchise model has also given it the ability to rapidly scale and bring in new customers.
Of the roughly 10,000 gyms LIFEAID products are currently available in nationwide, about 4,000 are CrossFit locations. As LIFEAID expands its distribution in traditional retail channels, its connection with its base gives it an extra edge in grocery and at retailers where CrossFitters shopped, such as Vitamin Shoppe.
“That gym channel has been a great driver because it’s very consistent with that health-conscious consumer who we’re targeting,” Hinde said. “That consumer who happens to shop at Whole Foods, and at Kroger’s, and at Publix. We’re able to get turn from day one in a traditional retail environment, which is extremely crowded, because we already have that core community that we’re bringing to the table that we can mobilize.
Having company leaders in Hinde and Melehan who live the lifestyle — and participate in the grueling events — gives LIFEAID another layer of authenticity.
Knowing CrossFit’s unique vernacular and partnering with the culture’s celebrities for social media influence have both been vital to developing an authentic relationship with the consumer base, and not coming off as another invasive brand just looking to exploit a community.
Working within CrossFit has also opened the door for Hinde and Melehan to move into similar fitness-based markets — a transition that reveals another set of growing fitness communities that are being targeted by entrepreneurial brands.
In 2016, Hinde and Melehan began running in the Spartan Race obstacle competition when LIFEAID (FitAid) was signed as the event’s official recovery drink. According to Hinde, Spartan Race and CrossFit had a significant overlap in their consumer base, giving the company “street cred” as it integrated and was introduced to new consumers.
“We followed a very similar approach,” Hinde said. “Got some top influencers and ambassadors on board, ran a few races ourselves, started showing up to events on a smaller scale level, and then when the time was right we wanted to step up and do finish line sampling for all the racers.”
The company has innovated around the partnership, premiering CrossFit-exclusive FitAid RX and the protein-heavy FitAid Fuel snack packets in order to better fit the needs of that consumer. But beyond CrossFit and Spartan Race, much of LIFEAID’s portfolio is built around niche target audiences. Using a uniform can design, the company also markets products such as GolferAid, intended to help golfers improve their performance on the course, and TravelAid (now ImmunityAid), an immunity drink aimed at frequent travelers. The company’s FocusAid is recommended for students, gamers, and office workers and features Nootropics and other allegedly brain-boosting ingredients, while PartyAid focuses on providing clean energy.
Similar to LIFEAID, in November, Kill Cliff—which has long fostered its own relationship with the sport and its athletes—partnered with another Spartan-like endurance event, Tough Mudder, to be the Official Sports Drink of its 2018-2019 season. The company also lends its name to the Kill Cliff Granite Games, furthering its presence in the competitive fitness world.
Meanwhile, GT’s Living Foods is also running with the Spartans, bringing its kombucha products to races as an official partner.
“We are an inspirational brand and we like to take a position of living life to the fullest and making sure each day is rich with experiences,” GT Dave, founder and CEO of GT’s Living Foods, told BevNET. “That kind of philosophy completely aligned and resonated with the Spartan community.”
Dave said he and Spartan Race founder Joe De Sena have long been personal friends, but only last year did the two brands opt to capitalize on their synergy. GT’s Kombucha is being served at all U.S. Spartan Race events this year, and Dave said he sees big potential for the community’s “Spartans” to find value in kombucha as an alternative to sugar-heavy sports drinks like Gatorade.
“What’s very clear in this Spartan community is that the majority of them aren’t really athletes, meaning they’re not doing this for a living,” Dave said. “A lot of them are doing this because they want to challenge themselves to a point of growth, a point of a breakthrough, and a point of new awareness about how their body is a beautiful instrument. That’s kind of our mantra as a brand, we want to help people be the best version of themselves and participate in that kind of awakening about how perfection is not real, but the pursuit of it is.”
On Thursday, Spartan Race signed one of its biggest beverage partners yet, announcing BodyArmor as its Official Sports Drink through the 2019 season.
The brand, one of the top selling sports drinks in the country seeing $130 million in sales in 2016, may lack the grassroots authenticity of a LIFEAID or the holistic health halo of a GT’s, but it can call on endorsements from some of the top athletes in pro sports.
“Partnering with Spartan is a no-brainer for BodyArmor,” said BodyArmor shareholder and 18-time NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant in a press release. “Spartan athletes are driven, competitive and they are obsessed with better, and that’s exactly what BodyArmor exemplifies as a sports drink. Spartan athletes demand the best in hydration and nutrition so it’s only fitting that BodyArmor will be providing them with the best hydration option out there.”
BodyArmor’s partnership with Spartan Race shows the niche market’s value to big brands. The clean hydration promoted by BodyArmor has potential to resonate deep with Spartan’s base, and with the full endorsement of De Sena, it’s being welcomed in with open arms.
Part II of this article will look at how brands are now targeting the emerging eSports tournament circuit as a way to bring in the millennial gamer demographic.
SOURCE: https://www.bevnet.com/news/2018/new-new-niches-brands-look-intense-sports-e-games-growth
Brad Avery | Feb. 22, 2018 There’s nobility—and money—in wanting to achieve mass appeal, building a brand that appeals to as many types of consumers as possible. But few brands succeed in truly reaching a universal market. It’s a time-honored tactic, in fact, to thrive by thinking smaller — focusing in on specific demographics, need […]
By Jason Jaksetic
Why did Spartan and FitAid become partners?
Why do you find a “Spartan-approved” logo on a FitAid can?
Spartan Lifestyle Editor Jason Jaksetic sets the record straight.
I keep FitAid in two bags: my gym bag and my rucksack. I also keep it on my desk and in my pickup truck—both staging grounds for gym and mountain training sessions.
Surely, I enjoy FitAid most when I cross the finish line at a Spartan Race.
This is because in daily living, I’m one of those people who keep the throttle pretty close to the floor while simultaneously trying to stay lean and mean. (Let’s face it: most Spartans are. After all, a Spartan lifestyle is active and demanding.) Sometimes, when running this precarious balance of input and output, we start running a little low and need a boost, both in performance and recovery. And FitAid, amazingly, has Spartans covered in both situations.
ENTER FITAID.
There are many reason why you will find a Spartan logo on a can of FitAid. I’ll break down the main ones for you.
45 CALORIES.
Unless you are doing long workouts, extra Calories aren’t your friend. Especially drinkable ones. You are trying to burn Calories, not gain them. The 45 Calories found in FitAidare not excessive like the Calories most sports drinks. Anyone familiar with how hard you work to remove 200 Calories isn’t about to toss them back quickly during a workout. 45 is not zero, but then again, FitAid is not a ‘diet’ sports drink, full of artificial sweeteners.
RAW, ORGANIC BLUE AGAVE.
When nature has provided so many natural sweeteners, modern humans’ reliance on processed sugars and artificial sweeteners is perplexing. Spartans think so, anyway. That’s why they will reach for FitAid over sugary sports drinks. Agave is delicious. Agave is natural. Agave is a no brainer for a great tasting drink.
Skip the processed. Always. FitAid did.
PERFORMANCE AND RECOVERY.
FitAid pulls double duty. I drink a FitAid before and after my workouts, and sometimes during a long endurance session. The one before my workout fuels my endurance and performance. The one after helps me recover from the damage I did.
Incidentally, because most Spartans train early in the morning before work, it’s nice to get the energy boost after a workout with your recovery fuel so you can shower up and roll into the office on a mission to tackle the next challenge.
VITAMIN C, D, E.
Spartans don’t worry about vitamins too much when they have their diets dialed in and are consuming plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. But sometimes, especially when traveling or busy, it’s hard to get the vitamin-rich foods that are essential to a healthy diet and immune system. A day with FitAid is a day you know you have the key vitamins that keep your health covered.
AMINO ACIDS, BCAAS, GLUTAMINE.
Muscle fuel and muscle repair are at the core of performance and recovery. Feed your muscles well when they are most hungry, and they will be therefore you when you need.
TURMERIC.
Spartans love the performance and recovery aspects of this natural ingredient so much that we devoted a whole week of our Food of the Week recipes to exploring how to incorporate it into our Spartan diets.
LIGHT CARBONATION.
I love bubbles. You love bubbles. We all love bubbles. They are, well, just damn refreshing. FitAid delivers bubbles.
Maybe you are a seasoned Spartan, training and living hard. Maybe you are just starting to step on the accelerator and finding yourself lacking some energy as you engage in the Spartan lifestyle. On any gym and on any mountain, FitAid is the performance and recovery support you need. (With bubbles.)
SOURCE: https://www.spartan.com/en/community/blog/lifestyle?article=42661
By Jason Jaksetic Why did Spartan and FitAid become partners? Why do you find a “Spartan-approved” logo on a FitAid can? Spartan Lifestyle Editor Jason Jaksetic sets the record straight. I keep FitAid in two bags: my gym bag and my rucksack. I also keep it on my desk and in my pickup truck—both staging […]
SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. – Hot off the heels of the traditional shopping season kick-off, LIFEAID Beverage Co., LLC. achieved an impressive volume of Direct to Consumer business during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend reaching just shy of $500,000 in direct website e-commerce sales.
The company, known for their niche “clean supplement blends” has seen a meteoric rise over the last year. 2018 is proving to be a potential break-through year for the brand.
For a second year, LIFEAID has secured a top spot on the Forbes list of Fastest Growing Companies and 2017’s list recognized the brand as the 2nd fastest growing in its category. FITAID, the Recovery Blend, which is popular within the CrossFit and OCR communities, recorded an impressive 35% share of the weekend’s sales. Notable portfolio performers included FOCUSAID and brand flagship product LIFEAID; while GOLFERAID, PARTYAID, and TRAVELAID rounded out the strong sales figure.
According to their VP of Sales, Dan Leja, “2018 is going to be a breakout year for the Brand.” Leja goes on to report, “We anticipate in excess of 12,000 traditional retail outlets, including some of the most established national retailers.”
This figure is 4 times what their retail penetration was in 2017. Authorizations include GNC, Kroger, Safeway, with significant reviews pending. At time of release, SPINS data is displaying promising results as they are positioned as a top 5 brand in their category over the last 24 weeks. Additional focus in 2018 will include consistent brand awareness efforts and building off their consumer successes to help bolster and sustain their current trajectory in retail.
About LifeAid Beverage
At LIFEAID, we fuel your passion with our clean and refreshing nutritional blends. Our products are tailored for your active lifestyle – without all the junk. LIFEAID products are available throughout the U.S. in more than 5,000 gyms and retail stores such as Whole Foods and The Vitamin Shoppe. Join us as we show the world there is a better way. For more information, please visit www.lifeaidbevco.com or contact press@lifeaidbevco.com
SOURCE: https://www.bevnet.com/news/2017/lifeaid-sets-e-com-black-friday-sales-record
SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. – Hot off the heels of the traditional shopping season kick-off, LIFEAID Beverage Co., LLC. achieved an impressive volume of Direct to Consumer business during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend reaching just shy of $500,000 in direct website e-commerce sales. The company, known for their niche “clean supplement blends” has […]
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of attending a mastermind full of high-powered fitness entrepreneurs, and in attendance … Aaron Hinde.
Aaron Hinde is the Co-Founder & President of LIFEAID Beverage Company and he has a pretty incredible story.
He has been grinding since 2011 to make LIFEAID a leader in the industry. So much so that FITAID is the official recovery drink of the 2017 CrossFit Games and LIFEAID remains an independent brand run by its founders – not a subsidiary of a large beverage conglomerate.
But what I learned from Aaron during the mastermind about business and life is invaluable, and I wanted to take my best shot at bringing that same knowledge to the listeners of the podcast.
Listen to the podcast here:
THIS WEEK’S BETTER HUMAN BULLETS:
- Fitness Challenge – 100 Thrusters @ 65# with EMOM 5 burpee buy-in (Modified Kalsu)
- Mental Toughness Challenge – Wim Hof breathing plus cold plunge in shower
- Book Recommendation- The Power of Habit
CONNECT WITH US:
Thanks for listening! —Jerred
SOURCE: http://www.endofthreefitness.com/aaron-hinde-fitaid/
Read the full podcast transcription below:
Speaker 1: Faster than a speeding bullet.
Speaker 2: I ran until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid.
Speaker 1: More powerful than a locomotive.
Speaker 3: An idea is like a virus presumed highly contagious.
Speaker 1: ... with a single bound.
Jerred Moon: What's up everyone, Jerred Moon here from End of Three Fitness and welcome to the Betterhumanology Podcast. And more importantly, welcome to Season Three. I'm super pumped everyone is joining us for our third season. Now, every season, we like to change things up just a little bit. So, season one we were just getting the grasp and the feel for podcasting, what we were going to do, how we were going to do it. And then Season Two, we got a little more structured in our interviews and then started bringing a little more conceptual stuff and getting better. Now in Season Three, the biggest feedback we got was kind of keeping the interviews the same because everyone likes the challenges from our guests and everyone likes finding out what these high level human beings have to say about their advice on becoming better. So, those things are going to stay the same, don't worry about it. But what you can expect is more awesomeness in becoming a better human being.
Jerred Moon: So, we're going to do two episodes per week. You're going to get another episode later this week. I'm not going to give any teasers or reveal what it's about, but every one will be about making you better, whether that's physically, mentally, emotionally, whatever we need to tackle, we're going to do it. And I'm super pumped to release Episode Two this week. So, be ready for that. And also something we're kind of doing in conjunction, sometimes the audio from our YouTube videos that we just recently started making are going to make their way into that second episode of the week. And if you're interested in following us on YouTube and what we're doing there, you can go to garagegym.tv. One more time, that's garagegym.tv, and that'll take you straight to our YouTube channel where you can subscribe and be a part of what we're doing there because every single video we make is not going to be 100% suitable for audio because there are the things that you need to see since it is video, but the ones that will work we'll throw in here periodically. But that's enough of me rambling on.
Jerred Moon: The very first interview of Season Three is Aaron Hinde. He is the co-founder and president of LIFEAID Beverage Company. Now, you may know FITAID. FITAID is probably their most popular beverage that they have. I am a huge fan of FITAID personally, and so we're having him on the show. But we're not having him on the show because FITAID is an awesome beverage. While it is an awesome beverage, the reason I really wanted to have Aaron on the podcast was because a few months ago I was down in Vegas for a mastermind, a business mastermind with AJ Roberts, and he had Aaron Hinde come speak to this small group of fitness entrepreneurs and I never really interacted with Aaron before. I knew who he was, but I'd never really spoken to him in any capacity. And he just did this talk.
Jerred Moon: He was there pretty much the whole time, but one of the talks he gave was kind of like these 10 lessons learned for being an entrepreneur and things that he thought we could kind of take to the bank in all the years of him being an entrepreneur. And some of them, some of those rules are not going to be applicable to everything we discuss, but I bring up a few of the rules with Aaron today in our discussion because some of them really, really hit home with me and I have them all written down and I review them quite often. And I really wanted to get him on the show specifically to discuss some of these and discuss his story because it's very interesting. But man, some of the things that he was saying knocked me right on my ass, and so I want to see if I can bring some of that to you and kick of Season Three the right way. So, without any further ado, here's Aaron Hinde.
Jerred Moon: All right Aaron, welcome to the Betterhumanology Podcast, man. Super pumped to have you on today.
Aaron Hinde: Appreciate it. Stoked to be here, Jerred.
Jerred Moon: All right. So, every guest knows that we start the podcast off with challenging them, giving them some challenges for your week, and I'm going to give that to you today. So, could you hook us up with a fitness challenge this week?
Aaron Hinde: I've got a dirty one for you.
Jerred Moon: All right.
Aaron Hinde: Just put 65 pounds, so just two 10s on a barbell. We're going to do five burpee buy-in every single minute and until we hit 100 thrusters.
Jerred Moon: Man, that does sound dirty.
Aaron Hinde: So, every minute that goes by, you've got to re-buy-in with five burpees.
Jerred Moon: Awesome. All right dude, and how about a mental toughness challenge?
Aaron Hinde: If you haven't done Wim Hof breathing yet, check it out. Anyone can message me afterwards. I've taken two classes on it to get the correct technique because there's a lot of bad technique out there, but Wim Hof breathing every morning followed by a cold plunge in the shower. It'll rethink the way you start your day. It's better than coffee.
Jerred Moon: Awesome. Have you been doing that lately?
Aaron Hinde: For the last two years.
Jerred Moon: Okay, awesome. And now, just out of curiosity, where were the correct courses? Was it from his site?
Aaron Hinde: Yeah, I mean, that's a great resource or you can pay for his course. I actually learned from Mackenzie who had taken class direct one on one with him. And then another one of his friends, I'm trying to think of the guy's name that I met at a mastermind who's good friends with him who's actually hiked Everest with him. And both of them when I went through it with them, I got the exact same training from both of them. So, I know that that's the right way to do it. When I YouTubed it, it was like, "Man, so many people are doing it wrong." So, yeah.
Jerred Moon: That's awesome. And how about a book recommendation for everyone listening?
Aaron Hinde: Just finished yesterday The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Really good stuff in breaking down our habits, other people's habits, changing habits, kind of why we do what we do. Really good stuff. And if you have anybody that is trying to improve on bad habits, this would be a must read.
Jerred Moon: All right, perfect, man. Well, I really appreciate you giving us the challenges for this week. Now, if we could just do a minute, maybe give us your background, kind of introduce who you are. A lot of people, I'm sure, already know, but you have a pretty interesting story and I'd love to share it with everyone listening today.
Aaron Hinde: Yeah, I'm Aaron Hinde. I am co-founder and president here at LIFEAID Beverage Company. A lot of people in the fitness space know us for our recovery drink, FITAID. And been hammering away at that since 2011 when we started the company. And before that, I was a sports chiropractor, and that's kind of how I got introduced to the CrossFit and functional fitness space. I was always a personal trainer since my youngest, youngest days. And that led me to chiropractic, and I started working on some of the HQ people and some of the athletes when they were coming into town, my office was in Scotts Valley where CrossFit HQ's located. And that got me my first foot in the CrossFit gym. And the rest is history.
Jerred Moon: That's awesome, man. And then you took on the challenge of opening a beverage company. Can you tell me ... the reason I want to talk about is because when we were in that mastermind together, you brought up ... I forget the percentage, but something crazy high like 80 or 90% of them fail within five years. Is that the correct metric?
Aaron Hinde: Yeah. Yeah, it's actually within 12 months, it's 95% failure don't make it to 12 months. And then in five years, it's 99% failure rate.
Jerred Moon: Goodness. And so, how did you take that plunge right there? Because I'm not a huge risk taker, it's something I'm working on in all honesty to be able to tolerate more risk. And I think entrepreneurship is forcing me to do that, which is awesome. But I would like to know, man, did you know those stats going in? Or is it something you learned later?
Aaron Hinde: Hell no. Hell no.
Jerred Moon: All right.
Aaron Hinde: No, ignorance is bliss, brother.
Jerred Moon: All right, perfect.
Aaron Hinde: Yeah, no. It was total ignorance. I mean, the risks taken at probably way too early of a stage was just like, thank god it worked out. I mean, that's how I have complete confidence and really faith, you know? Just looking at all the challenges over the last six years and knowing how many times we almost completely went out of business and knowing the risks that I put my family through and walking away from a very successful practice. It just led me to believe in that grand plan that certain things just are meant to be.
Jerred Moon: Yeah, man. Certainly and that's incredible. Obviously it's all working out now. And if you were to run into someone how is maybe a little more risk averse, someone like me, you know? I said it's something that I'm working on, or maybe someone listening, what advice would you give to them if they're staring at a mountain?
Aaron Hinde: Yeah, good question, you know? If something seems overwhelming for you, or you're having difficulty taking the plunge, start with small risks. So, for somebody like myself, I was always, for whatever reason, just scared of heights. Like, they scare the heck out of me. So, as soon as I realized like, "Hey, this is an actual issue for me. It's affecting my life at certain points in time." I went and signed up for a bungee jumping class and did bungee jumping. And then after that, I jumped out of an airplane just to be like, okay, not that that's something I want to do all the time, but I know that I'm going to overcome that fear and do it. So, I would say look at small challenges, start with those, and those will lead to you taking bigger ... and risk is a broad word. I think sometimes it's overused. I mean, you shouldn't be taking stupid risks. I'm not jumping out of an airplane with no parachute on. So, make sure you're taking very calculated risks, but start small and work your way up.
Jerred Moon: Okay, great, man. I love that. And in FITAID, what was kind of the ... and we all have our fears as an entrepreneur, right? But what point did you get to where you're like, "Okay. I think we're going to be okay." How long did that take? Because I'm sure it was a lot of scariness in the beginning.
Aaron Hinde: Oh man, we've had scary moments up to like 12 months ago, quite transparently. But I would say where I could actually sleep at night again, it took a good two years, two and a half years.
Jerred Moon: Wow, man. And I really just like to paint that picture. And to be honest, when I talked with you when we were in Vegas, I think just hearing you talk about kind of the mindset of all that craziness, the demons on your shoulder or in your head, that are that negative self-talk, all of those things. And you have a company that much larger than mine in size, and I was like, "Man, this guy is struggling with the same stuff that I'm still struggling with," you know? It might be to different degrees, but I think that made me chill out almost a little bit.
Aaron Hinde: Yeah, good.
Jerred Moon: I'm like, "Okay, dude, we all deal with this." And I know a lot of people listening, they ... because if you follow everyone's Instagram and social media, you think everyone's life is perfect, right? You don't ever think about what we're really challenging. What have you found or practices have you put in place to kind of get you out of a negative spot?
Aaron Hinde: Yeah, I mean, first of all, you can't believe everything you see on social media. So, nobody wants to post, "I'm having such a shitty day and the sky is falling, woe is me," because nobody gives a shit, you know? Number one. But I think you made a keen observation. I mean, look, the demons are there and they never really go away. And I think I look at entrepreneurs that I look up to and that I've spent time with. I know that they have them too and they have different demons than I have, but they've still got demons that are jacked up and the question is, what do you do with those thoughts?
Aaron Hinde: Do you dwell on them? Do you let them paralyze you? Do you let them overwhelm you? Or do you understand that you as a human being actually are in control of your thoughts and you are in control of ... so, I'm not saying you can all of a sudden will the negativity out of your consciousness. I don't think that that's quite possible. I mean, maybe it is with a lot, a lot of practice, but what you do after those thoughts enter your head? What do you do and how do you react to that? Do you dwell on it or do you go, "Oh, I see you. Screw you. I'm not going to let you take over me. I'm not going to let you paralyze me. I'm not going to let you ruin my day or my week or my month or my year. I am going to take control of the situation." And in how we react in those moments, I think is what separates people that will eventually see success and those that just are content with a life of misery.
Jerred Moon: And do you think the smaller things like your morning routine, and I don't know if you have an evening routine, do you think that those things help you in that process?
Aaron Hinde: 100%. 100%. My morning routine has been a game changer for me, and it's something that's consistent for me that I can count on, that I know sets my day up a certain way for success. There is someone I met at, I think it was a barbell shrug mastermind, his name's Jesse Elder, you can check him out online, jesseelder.com. But he said something profound to me last year, he said, "We all are going to experience pain, but we have a choice whether we're going to suffer," okay? So, there's no avoiding pain in life. I mean, we fall down, we scrape our knee, you know, shit doesn't go our way. Who knows? I mean, the bigger you get in business, the more pain there really is, you know? You're on their radar, you get a lawsuit, you get an employee issue. You get all this stuff, you know?
Aaron Hinde: Like, most recently, we have a private Facebook page for all of our gym owners, and someone saw someone violating mat pricing on Amazon, which I have no control over. And they can put it sold by whatever name they want. And they put life space aid. So it looks like it's coming from us. Of course, we take steps immediately to shut those people down when they're violating that, but people were attacking me personally, multiple people. And then it starts snowballing and it's like, "God," you know? I just started suffering. I started suffering, and I was like, "All I want is for what's in the best interests here of our gym owners and I'm getting personally attacked by these people." And then I had to take a breath and realize, hey, I'm choosing to suffer here. That's on me.
Aaron Hinde: So, instead of moping and being really upset about it and firing back defensive negativity, I just instant messaged each person and explained, "Hey, here's what's going on. If you've met me or not, I'm a transparent guy. I am all about legacy and treating people well. And our whole community, our whole ethos here is around doing the right thing in every aspect of our lives. So, I'm not perfect, but this is where we're at, and this is the situation what happened, and here's what we're doing to correct it." And every single one of them like, "Hey, I really appreciate it." And it just flipped the whole scenario. But I had a choice to make there and I started going down one direction and was able to catch myself and turn it around into a positive thing. So, these kind of, I guess, are really opportunities happen all the time in our lives and how we choose to seize those opportunities is the differentiator. And things like morning routines and mentors and a great support network and a great team and good communication with your spouse or significant other, they all play a big part in it.
Jerred Moon: And what role would you say mentors have played in your career over the last decade?
Aaron Hinde: I mean, changed the whole playing field, you know?
Jerred Moon: So you-
Aaron Hinde: I just talked with one of them two minutes ago.
Jerred Moon: Awesome.
Aaron Hinde: Like, these guys, whether I've met them or not, I've been fortunate enough that everyone I consider a mentor I've actually got to spend some personal time with. And the most recent that I have been following and kind of viewing as a mentor was Gary Vaynerchuk and finally got to meet him in New York at his office a few weeks back. So, it's all about ... mentors allow you to leapfrog. I think mentors provide exactly what you need at that stage of your life.
Aaron Hinde: So, what happens is, you may outgrow mentors over time. You'll find new mentors. It's a consistently evolving process, but there's no quicker way to leapfrog in any aspect of your life than hooking up with a mentor. And that doesn't mean like, "Hey," emailing them, "Will you be my mentor?" That's the worst way to do it, right? That means first subscribing to their email list or their podcast and figuring out how can I provide value? Most of these mentors that I'm with now, I ended up just writing a check to them, you know? I wrote them a check and bought their dog food, whatever they were selling and engage with them that way and created reciprocity. I know the power of reciprocity. So, I gave you money, you're going to have to give me something in return and then develop a personal relationship with them beyond just a business transaction. But if someone took everything from me today and said, "You need to go and be successful," and they picked any field, I don't care what it was. I would immediately find out who's the biggest player there who's making things happen, who's doing things in alignment with how I see things. And I would find a way to engage them and provide value to them and then have them take me under their wing.
Jerred Moon: That's awesome, man. All right. Now, I wanted to hit on one thing because when we were at that ... one thing that you said just really knocked me on my ass, and that doesn't happen very often to be honest, because I'm in a lot of self development circles. I have a lot of mentors, still have a mentor, you know, things like that. But one thing you said is you are exactly where you need to be right now. And I think that one hit me on such a deep level because we all want to be somewhere else typically. We're all trying to push forward, you know? It's not a matter of like, "Are you present?" I'm not talking about just having goals and whatnot. But that one resonated with me so much because just this podcast in general is we're all trying to become better, working on ourselves one day at a time. But you are exactly where you need to be. I was wondering if you could just elaborate your thoughts on that statement a little bit more?
Aaron Hinde: Yeah. I think the biggest point of confusion that I'll clear up and differentiate and you said them both is people being where they want to be versus where they need to be. And where we need to be and where we want to be are definitely two different things. And that gap, that delta can create stress in our lives, can create motivation, can create all kinds of stuff. But there's a delta there, right? And hopefully over time as we get more mature and are moving the ship forward, that delta shrinks and becomes one with where we need to be and where we want to be become one and the same, but I think the thought process behind that is kind of coming back to what we were just talking about with how are we reacting to life? Like, shit happens. We have pain points in life. And so often we get myopic when we're stuck in the moment that we're feeling overwhelmed or we just don't understand. We don't have an understanding of why is this happening to me? You know, we get very victimized, we become the victim.
Aaron Hinde: And the easiest example I have for this is like if you think of a high school sweetheart or something that you might have been head over heels for and it didn't work out and was so devastating during the breakup period. But then you fast forward 10 or 20 years and you look back and that and you're like, "Oh my god, thank god that didn't work out. That would have been a disaster," right? But it wasn't until time passed and you were able to have some perspective that that actually made sense, you know? All these things that are happening, like Tony Robbins said, "Life isn't happening to us. Life is happening for us." And I think that this thinking is very congruent with Tony's statement there that these are all little pieces of a mosaic that come together and once we step back and we look at that, it's a beautiful thing, but all these little glass shards and such may not make much sense when we're stuck in that moment.
Jerred Moon: Yeah, and that's probably the most difficult part is trying to piece them together, you know? Trying to see each thing that happens as maybe a stepping stone or something to drive you forward as opposed to looking at it in a negative way.
Aaron Hinde: Yeah.
Jerred Moon: All right, man. So, let's hop back in your career a little bit. So, you were a chiropractor, correct?
Aaron Hinde: Correct.
Jerred Moon: And so, tell me about your practice. How long you were doing that? I kind of want to dive into that a little bit more to really paint the picture of you coming full circle to LIFEAID.
Aaron Hinde: Yeah, I mean, I was in the chiropractic business as a solopreneur at least for 10 years. I had a great practice. I averaged every month for 10 years 31.5 new patients a month by referral, 95% by referral. So, when you're doing good work and you're treating people how they should be treated, that is always reflected in probably the most important stat that there is in business, which is referrals. So, it was a healthy business, you know, I brought in a lot of money, but I was young and stupid. I spent a lot of money. I had a lot of unnecessary expenses every month. I had a big challenge in 2009. So, here's a practice I don't think I know that in 10 years it never grossed under $350,000, which is a good chunk of money. I had all this money going out the door. I was spending it on $6,000 a month on ridiculous insurances and this and that.
Aaron Hinde: And then come 2008, being late to the game, I saw everybody that was making so much money in real estate that I hopped into that game right before the big crash. And in 2009, I basically lost everything. I had to go bankrupt and that was a big challenge for me. But fortunately, I had my practice, so that didn't skip a beat. I was able to, the very next day, come in and nothing changed from that perspective, but it really gave me like a smack across the face when I had months I was bringing in $50,000 in revenue, but I had 70 going out the door because I was inaccurate in my thinking that, "Oh, I'm a good chiropractor, therefore I'm going to be a good real estate investor." No, that's not the way it goes.
Jerred Moon: I see that a lot in just people in general who get good at almost anything is that they start thinking that there's some sort of superhero principle or something, you know? Like, "I'm good at this, so I'll be good at that." Is that something that you take caution to these days? Like, are you very aware of that fact when you're hopping into new opportunities and whatnot and being like, "Look, I'm not an expert here, but I'll learn as much as I can," or-
Aaron Hinde: 100% yes. So, thank god for that little life lesson because it has taught me that very thing, you know? I know what I'm good at. What is it? It's like landmark forum stuff. It's, I know what I know. I know what I don't know, but what I don't know that I don't know, that's the big scary area, right? So, I'm very aware of what I don't know, I don't know. And don't even pretend to try to become an expert or position myself as an expert on something I don't know anything about. So, fortunately like here at LIFEAID, we've got a great team. I've got a great business partner and we have a very different and complimentary skillset. And our team's been able to pick up the slack for areas that I'm extremely deficient in.
Jerred Moon: And I'd like to now ... like, I mentioned at the beginning, but that was more on the risk side of things. But what was the deciding factor? Because 50 grand a month in revenue is pretty comfortable. I know you had a lot going out the door, you said, but that could have been a comfortable lifestyle. So, why go all in on LIFEAID? What was the big motivation there?
Aaron Hinde: You know, ever since I was a kid, I always felt like I'm going to do something big, you know? And in my mind the playing field that I was at, even though it was great and I was almost a local celebrity here in Santa Cruz. I was twice elected the County Wide office during that time, and kind of like friends where everybody knows your name type of thing. You just ... I had kind of tapped out that playing field and then I always had a drive for something bigger and I wasn't quite sure what that was. And I always had a foot in the kind of entrepreneurial world with a few other projects that didn't quite pan out as well as I would have liked. And I don't know, I guess for lack of a better term, it was kind of that fire in the belly. And when this opportunity presented and we started to see a little bit of traction, and we always had faith in the overall vision, we just decided to push the chips all in and go for it.
Jerred Moon: You do have an awesome product. I'm sitting next to a fridge fully loaded with FITAID right now.
Aaron Hinde: Appreciate that.
Jerred Moon: So, I am a user. And so, over the last ... how many years have you guys been open?
Aaron Hinde: Since 2011.
Jerred Moon: 2011. So, what would you say your biggest ... I mean, you can go with either one, mistake or challenge. So, challenge overcome or mistake you've made, and I'll let you pick, in the last six years running LIFEAID?
Aaron Hinde: Man, there's been a lot of them.
Jerred Moon: Yeah, I know. It's a tough question.
Aaron Hinde: Probably I think one thing that especially entrepreneurs that are scaling and are in a growth phase need to be very conscious of is who they bring onto their team and who they allow as part of their culture and a representative of their brand. So often when things are going a million miles a minute, and for a long time I was the head of marketing and sales and had a food in accounting and fundraising and trash picker upper. We were so desperate to hire people, it was like, "I'm going to put out a Craigslist ad and the first qualified looking person on paper gets hired. And bringing on the wrong people can cost multiples on their actual salary when it doesn't work out. So, I think that's one thing that we're very conscious of now. We have a lot of hoops set up. We're very guarded about who we're bringing on our team, and not from a skillset perspective. We can teach anyone any type of skillset, but from a human being perspective. And that's been probably the biggest lesson that I would always caution young entrepreneurs, just be careful who you bring on as part of that team because you want to maintain that team and grow it in perpetuity. You don't want a revolving door that just creates a lot of stress and headache.
Jerred Moon: All right, man. I'm going to shift gears on you here for a second. This is what we call The Book Question. So, say there's a nationwide curriculum implemented, the President calls you up, and he's like, "Aaron, you're going to be responsible for a chapter in this book. It's going out nation wide, every single child in America is going to have to read your chapter and be tested on it and pass it before they're allowed to graduate high school and go any further." What would your chapter be about?
Aaron Hinde: Man. I need a couple of chapters at least. But I'd say the first chapter needs to be on, in the school system we're always asking what do you want to be when you "grow up?" And the question we should be asking is, "Who do you want to be when you grow up? What type of person? What type of human being do you want to be?" Not what do you want to be? You can be anything you want. So, I think the whole framework needs to change around that and we need to be teaching people to be good citizens, to be moral citizens, to have a set of ethics to treat people ethically, treat the environment ethically as they would want to be treated. So, I think that's the framework. And then, number two, people need to learn sales marketing psychology. Like, that would be my chapter of kind of my expertise as why do we do the things that we do? Why do other people act the way that they're acting? The more we're able to understand that and break that down, I think we can be more and more effective communicators, business leaders, etc.
Jerred Moon: And where do you think you picked up most of that sales marketing background? Is it from having owned your own businesses for so long? Or is it pushing forward on educating yourself through different resources? Or what's been the biggest impact for you learning that stuff?
Aaron Hinde: Both. Both. Being a chiropractor, it's interesting than a lot of other professions kind of in the medical community because if I was an MD, say I could graduate and typically I would plug in to a group practice or a hospital setting or something like that, where I'm very kind of protected. I don't need to create patient flow. I don't need to worry about billing and all that kind of stuff. So, having my own practice and it's dependent upon me and the systems I set up really taught me a lot about systems and internal marketing, referral marketing, so on and so forth. But also, there's just great resources out there. I mean, there's never been more of an abundance of information available through podcasts, through YouTube, through all kinds of free resources. And if you want to actually spend a little money, spend $12 on Amazon and you can get someone's whole life's worth of wealth of knowledge in a book.
Aaron Hinde: And so, I was never a big reader in high school or college, but afterwards, I really took it on and I don't know how many books I've read now, but I go from one to the other to the other non stop either physical or audible, and that's been the biggest education source. And I think the key there when you're educating yourself with podcasts or with books or whatever it is, make sure, from what I've been reading recently, make sure you're consuming content that's relevant to your evolution. Like, what are you looking to do next, right? Don't read something that's abstract or something that you can't apply today or something that's not relevant to you or may be relevant two years from now. You won't retain anything. So, always be consuming information that is relevant to your next step in your journey.
Jerred Moon: Where do you think that drive comes from, wanting to ... you say you go from book to book to book learning information. Where does that come from?
Aaron Hinde: Probably my dad, you know? He's a hard worker. He works, he's almost 70, he's still out. He'll outwork anybody out in the yard and on the tractor and digging ditches. Like, he just works. And I never like to ... who likes to really work that hard growing up as a kid, you know? "Get out in the yard, come help me out, do this and that." And I was like ... but, it just stuck on me. And so, I've been working and since I was a little kid, you know? Anybody I could make a buck and bagging groceries, whatever it was, mowing lawns and just working and I'm not afraid to work. You can't be afraid to work. I know Gary V is big on that right now, like put in the freaking work and it's just never been an issue for me. I love the volume of work. I realize I get very restless if I don't have something challenging me, some drive to keep me going. And yeah, so I'd give most of that drive to my old man.
Jerred Moon: That's awesome, man. All right. I wanted to bring up one more of the 10 lessons learned that you gave. Another one that kind of stuck with me was how you do anything is how you do everything, because that one can be applied in a lot of different ways, but I want to just start with getting your thoughts on that one.
Aaron Hinde: Yeah, you know, it's something that I drill home to my kids, and especially my son when I take him to school every morning. If you take on that attitude with life. Let me back up a little bit. I used to come from more of a scarcity mindset, I think, that in order to excel in one area of life, you really needed to suffer in others. And that was my reality for a long, long time, unfortunately. And it really took its toll, especially on my relationships and even with my kids not being there. I mean, I flew 52 flights last year, you know? I mean, I was gone so, so much and I'm constantly gone. And I'm just like, "Oh, well that's what it takes to succeed. That's what it takes to grow in business." And that may be true, maybe that is what it takes, but the fallacy, the issue with my mindset was that to excel over here, this other place has to suffer. I may have still had to put in the work and the time to make this successful, but that doesn't mean I couldn't still put in the same work and time ... work, and not time necessarily, but work and effort and presence in all aspects of my life.
Aaron Hinde: So, when I'm looking at things, it's like, how's my physical shape? Am I putting in the work there? How's my spiritual shape? Am I putting in the work there? How are my relationships? How's my car? I don't want to have a nasty looking dirty filthy car because I know that reflects poorly on me. How do I look? How do I dress? I dress comfortably, but I don't want to look like a complete bum. So, how you do anything is how you do everything. How you approach life is reflective on how you're going to be successful in all aspects of your life. Take this from a spiritual perspective for instance. Like, right now I'm a convert to Greek Orthodoxy, which is kind of an Eastern Christian very traditional Christian tradition. If you look at ... and they do a lot of fasts, not that I do all the fasts. I probably should do more. But they do a lot of fasting. And all traditions in religion utilize fasting quite a bit. And you think about and you go, "Well, why is that?" Well, not all monks and nuns and so on and so forth are obese and therefore they have to fast. Why do they fast? Because they know if they can ... if you have the ability to tame the demon of gluttony, the demon of the stomach, then you can tame any aspect of your life, right?
Aaron Hinde: So, if you're a gambler or you're an alcoholic, you have a sexual addiction, whatever it is, if you can tame that most basic instinct of, "No, stomach. I'm not going to give you whatever you want just because you're hungry." If you can get control of that very basic primal human instinct, then you can control ... it has a domino effect. You can control all kinds of aspects of your life. So, I'm probably on a total tangent. I don't even remember what the original question is, but-
Jerred Moon: We were talking about how you do anything is how you do everything.
Aaron Hinde: Yeah. Yes, so that's kind of, I think, where a lot of that comes from and that attitude comes from as I realize that these small wins lead to bigger wins and small defeats can lead to really big defeats if you let them. So, just being conscious and controlling my thoughts, controlling my actions as much as I can and keeping all aspects of my life in abundance and keeping them tight. Yeah.
Jerred Moon: Yeah, and you're talking about to excel in one area of your life, others have to suffer, you just had that mindset, having had that for a long time. That's why, in all honesty, my favorite type of guest to have on the show is an entrepreneur because ... especially an entrepreneur at your level because they've had to figure a lot of shit out in all areas of their life, you know? And you're working in so many different areas trying to become better and well-rounded in every single aspect of your life. But I like to then transition that because I know you have kids. I have young boys, you're learning a ton right now, and I would say more than most people focus on. And I don't know if that's just a trait that is forced through entrepreneurship or if it's just a different gene in people who are more entrepreneurial, but how do you plan, or how are you kind of taking what you're learning and giving that to your kids? Because assuming you want them to leapfrog you in their generation, their time. So, how are you getting this information to them?
Aaron Hinde: Yeah. I've thought a lot about this, and we have open discussions around things. I think the biggest transfer of information comes in just observation and them seeing how I operate and the good, the bad, and the ugly too. I mean, they went through early times when I was not present. I got very frustrated easily. I was just not ... I was in scarcity mode. I was letting the demons really control my thought process and hopefully they've seen that kind of change and evolve. And we have open discussions about sales, marketing, politics, psychology. Like, they're very, very ... kids are ... you know, they're so smart. And they can really operate on a much deeper level, I think, than we give them credit for. And ultimately, do I want them to be some successful entrepreneur? Well, yeah. I mean, that would be awesome. Of course that would be great. Like, yeah, they surpassed dad. But at the same time, if they were first world class musicians, they may be providing as much or more value to the world.
Aaron Hinde: I think we as parents are wanting to drive to become successful so our kids can have it better than us, it's kind of just human nature, right? It's happened since the beginning of time, and definitely in this country that's the attitude. Why are we all, sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters of immigrants? Because those people, our great grandparents had it in their mindset that we are going to go to this land of opportunity and create something better for our kids. So, it's ingrained in our DNA. But ultimately, what is that interpretation of something better? For them, it was freedom, maybe freedom from persecution. It was financial. Most of them were driven by financial wellbeing. But I think at a certain point in time, would I be disappointed if my kids never took on any debt load, didn't buy into this whole consumerism bullshit and became a world class guitar player or pianist or something? No. That would be awesome.
Aaron Hinde: So, I'm not trying to push them one way or another. I'm just trying to make sure that they understand that they have the ability to make choices and decisions. And those decisions will have impact on themselves and other people. And really focus on who they want to be as a human being, not what they want to be.
Jerred Moon: I love that, man. Who you want to be as opposed to what you want to be. I think that's really great. I think I'm going to start posing that question to my own kids as I move forward in fathering. But I want to move onto the quickfire questions of the show. So, I'll give you a quick question and quick answer. Are you ready for that?
Aaron Hinde: Sure.
Jerred Moon: All right, man. What's the hardest workout you've ever done?
Aaron Hinde: I don't even remember what it was, but it was my very first CrossFit workout. I visited the bushes like three times. Everyone was laughing at me.
Jerred Moon: You know, I get a lot of that. It's like, "I don't remember what it was, but it was my first CrossFit workout."
Aaron Hinde: Yeah, absolutely. I came so strong to the whole round. It was a three rounder, I remember that. And a couple of my patients, I was working out with them. And I physically looked like I was in better shape than them. And so, round one, I'm like, "All right, I'll pace myself with these guys and then I'll pass them at the end." And I was going right with them, and then we got about halfway into round two and I was like, "Oh, something's not right." I'm like, "Oh." I went to the bush and just sucked air for about five minutes until everyone passed me up.
Jerred Moon: That's awesome. All right, man. In your opinion, what's the best activity for building mental toughness?
Aaron Hinde: Best activity for mental toughness? Put yourself in mentally difficult situations, you know? Constantly challenge yourself. Whatever's in that uncomfortable zone, force yourself into it.
Jerred Moon: All right. If you could have one piece of equipment to train with for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Aaron Hinde: I've thought about this before. I mean, as much as I hate the prowler, I mean, that thing could just keep your in shape no matter what, pushing that around.
Jerred Moon: Yeah, strap it to your body, walk around. All sorts of things.
Aaron Hinde: Exactly, yeah.
Jerred Moon: All right, man. Now, here is the question of the show. Every guest gets it. And it is, what is your best advice for becoming a better human? And it's 100% open ended. And you can take your time here.
Aaron Hinde: You know, we are all either making emotional deposits or withdraws to other individual's bank accounts around us. And if we're conscious of that and we go throughout our day always wanting to make deposits and not withdrawals, then when we do have a slip up, when we aren't on our A-game and we have that little withdraw, it's okay because you have such a fun balance of emotional deposits that it's not that big of a deal. I think when we are negative in our emotional balance of when we kind of float around zero too often, it really is destructive to relationships and to progressing as a human being. So, I would say be very conscious of all your interactions. It goes one way or the other. There are no neutral exchanges. And be conscious to make emotional deposits on a daily basis to the people that you care about.
Jerred Moon: I love that. All right, man. So where can people learn more about you? Where do you want them to head and check out to learn more about LIFEAID and all that good stuff?
Aaron Hinde: Yeah. For me personally, all my handles are just my name, Aaron Hinde, H-I-N-D-E. And lifeaidbevco.com is our website, if you haven't checked it out there's some cool kind of marketing stuff on there as far as lead gen and funnels and that kind of thing. And then all of our individual skews have their own social handles. We're biggest on Instagram. FITAID's our biggest account there. Just add FITAID on IG.
Jerred Moon: All right. Perfect, man. Well I really appreciate your time today, Aaron. Thank you so much for being on the show.
Aaron Hinde: Appreciate it. It was fun.
Speaker 6: Your best. Losers always whine about their best.
> > > Live well!
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of attending a mastermind full of high-powered fitness entrepreneurs, and in attendance … Aaron Hinde. Aaron Hinde is the Co-Founder & President of LIFEAID Beverage Company and he has a pretty incredible story. He has been grinding since 2011 to make LIFEAID a leader in the industry. So much […]
LIFEAID Beverage Co.
Develops and sells nutritional sports and energy drinks. It's PartyAid is popular at Burning Man.
2016 INC. 5000 RANK: #396
3-Year Growth: 966%
2015 Revenue: $4.4 M
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Industry: Food & Beverage
Launched: 2011
INC. 5000 HONORS
#24 - Top Food & Beverage companies
ON THE WEB
Web site: lifeaidbevco.com
LIFEAID Beverage Co. Develops and sells nutritional sports and energy drinks. It’s PartyAid is popular at Burning Man. 2016 INC. 5000 RANK: #396 3-Year Growth: 966% 2015 Revenue: $4.4 M Location: Santa Cruz, CA Industry: Food & Beverage Launched: 2011 INC. 5000 HONORS #24 – Top Food & Beverage companies ON THE WEB Web site: lifeaidbevco.com