MUD\WTR: a self portrait
Summary
TLDRThe video tells the story of an individual who, after experiencing anxiety and stress from heavy coffee consumption, found solace in masala chai during a six-month stay in India. Upon returning to the U.S., they created a new drink combining organic ingredients like lion's mane, cacao, and turmeric, offering a low-caffeine alternative to coffee. This led to the founding of a brand in 2018, promoting a healthier lifestyle through this unique beverage. The speaker now runs a global business, encouraging others to try the drink that changed their life.
Takeaways
- 🏄♂️ The speaker was born in Santa Cruz, a small surf town, and grew up making things with his builder father.
- 🎨 The speaker studied both art and graphic design in college, later moving to San Francisco to lead a design team at a tech company.
- ☕ The speaker and colleagues consumed large amounts of coffee, believing it would help them achieve more, but this led to increased anxiety and stress.
- 💡 The speaker noticed that many people had a problematic relationship with caffeine and wanted to reduce or quit their consumption.
- ✈️ The speaker took a leave of absence and lived in India for six months, where he fell in love with masala chai, a popular local beverage.
- 🔄 Upon returning home, the speaker reevaluated his habits and decided to replace his coffee addiction with masala chai, which had lower caffeine content and higher-quality ingredients.
- 🍄 The speaker began experimenting with adding beneficial ingredients like lion's mane, cacao, chaga, reishi, turmeric, and others to his chai for various health benefits.
- 💼 In May 2018, the speaker launched a brand and website, promoting a healthier alternative to coffee that he believed was better for people.
- 📈 The brand quickly gained traction, leading the speaker to focus on the business full-time with a globally distributed team.
- 🥤 The speaker invites others to try the drink that significantly improved his life and became the foundation of his business.
Q & A
What is the origin of the speaker's love for masala chai?
-The speaker fell in love with masala chai during a six-month residency program in India, where it is commonly consumed and available on every corner.
Why did the speaker decide to switch from coffee to masala chai?
-The speaker realized that their coffee addiction was more of a cultural prescription than a personal choice. They found that masala chai, with less caffeine, better suited their lifestyle and mental state.
What were some of the negative effects the speaker experienced from drinking coffee?
-The speaker felt jittery, anxious, and more stressed than necessary due to their coffee consumption.
What ingredients did the speaker add to their masala chai, and why?
-The speaker added lion's mane for focus and cognitive function, cacao for mood and energy, chaga and reishi for immune support, turmeric and cordyceps for physical performance, cinnamon for intermittent fasting and sugar cravings, and a pinch of salt to enhance the flavors.
How did the speaker's new drink compare to coffee in terms of caffeine content?
-The new drink, based on masala chai, contains only one-seventh the caffeine of coffee.
What led the speaker to start their own brand and business?
-After realizing the benefits of their new drink and observing how many people around them might benefit from something different than coffee, the speaker decided to create a brand, code a website, and launch it in May 2018.
What was the initial public response to the speaker's new product?
-The speaker's product started getting sales immediately after launching the brand and promoting it on Instagram.
How does the speaker view their new drink in relation to coffee?
-The speaker doesn’t view their drink as a replacement for coffee but rather as a better alternative, stating, 'We're not mad at coffee, we're just disappointed so we made something better.'
What does the speaker attribute the success of their business to?
-The speaker attributes the success of their business to the high-quality ingredients in the product and the strong, global team supporting the brand.
What lifestyle changes did the speaker make after returning from India?
-After returning from India, the speaker reevaluated their rituals, habits, and beliefs, ultimately deciding to replace their coffee habit with masala chai and other healthful ingredients.
Outlines
☕ The Coffee Obsession: From Surf Town to San Francisco
The narrator reflects on their early life in Santa Cruz, a small surf town, and their journey into the world of coffee. After studying art and graphic design, they moved to San Francisco and joined a tech company. Immersed in the fast-paced environment, they consumed large amounts of coffee, believing it would enhance their productivity. However, this led to a jittery and anxious state of mind.
🌍 A Transformative Journey to India
Seeking change, the narrator took a leave of absence from work and participated in an artist residency program in India. During their six-month stay, they discovered masala chai, a popular drink in India, which offered a refreshing alternative to coffee. This experience prompted them to reassess their coffee addiction, realizing it was more a cultural norm than a personal choice.
🍵 Crafting a Healthier Beverage
Upon returning home, the narrator began experimenting with masala chai and other natural ingredients to create a healthier alternative to coffee. They added lion's mane for cognitive function, cacao for mood and energy, chaga and reishi for immune support, turmeric for health benefits, cordyceps for physical performance, and cinnamon for flavor enhancement. This new blend became their go-to drink, replacing coffee in their daily routine.
💡 Launching a New Beverage Brand
Recognizing that many people struggled with caffeine addiction, the narrator decided to share their creation with the world. In May 2018, they designed a brand, built a website, and launched an Instagram post promoting their new beverage. The tagline, 'We're not mad at coffee, we're just disappointed so we made something better,' resonated with many, leading to immediate sales. Since then, the narrator has dedicated themselves to growing the business, now supported by a global team.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Mug
💡Santa Cruz
💡Builder
💡Art and Graphic Design
💡San Francisco
💡Masala Chai
💡Caffeine Addiction
💡Lion's Mane
💡Cacao
💡Chaga and Reishi
💡Turmeric and Cordyceps
💡Intermittent Fasting
💡Hydro Flask
Highlights
The speaker was born in a small surf town called Santa Cruz, where they were always making things, influenced by their dad who was a builder.
Studied both art and graphic design in college, which eventually led to moving to San Francisco and joining a tech company, leading the design team.
Experienced increased anxiety and stress due to heavy coffee consumption while working in the tech industry.
Noticed a cultural pressure to drink coffee as a way to enhance productivity, leading to a decision to quit coffee.
Took a leave of absence from work to participate in an artist residency program in India for six months.
Fell in love with masala chai, a popular drink in India, and recognized it as a potential alternative to coffee.
After returning home, realized that their coffee addiction was culturally prescribed rather than a personal choice.
Started replacing coffee with masala chai made from high-quality organic ingredients, containing only one-seventh the caffeine of coffee.
Researched and added ingredients like lion's mane for focus, cacao for mood, chaga and reishi for immune support, turmeric, and cordyceps for physical performance.
Created a personal drink blend, adding it to a hydro flask each morning, and taking it to work, the gym, and music festivals.
Noted that almost 90 percent of the population is addicted to caffeine, leading to curiosity about how many people might benefit from an alternative.
In May of 2018, designed a brand, coded a website, and launched a business, with the message 'We're not mad at coffee, we're just disappointed.'
The business quickly gained traction, and the speaker has been working on it ever since, now leading a global team.
The speaker believes that the drink they created ultimately changed their life and wants others to try it.
Transcripts
friends
would walk up to me and just be like
what the is in your mug
and i would just tell them it's mud
[Music]
i was born in a small surf town called
santa cruz
my dad was a builder so i was always
making things
i went on to study both art and graphic
design in college
ended up moving to san francisco and
joining a tech company there
leading the design team i was drinking
tons of coffee
everyone was drinking it sort of bought
into the
paradigm that coffee was gonna allow me
to do more and do it faster
but i think spending a lot of time just
by myself in front of a canvas
i was pretty in tune with my mental
state
i was jittery i was anxious life was a
little bit more stressful than it needed
to be
i met more and more people who had a
similar relationship
to caffeine people wanted to wean off
their afternoon cup
or quit all together around that time
i got invited to do an artist in
residency program and go india
i took a leave of absence from work and
i went and lived in india for six months
their version of coffee is masala chai
it's on every corner it's what
everybody's drinking
i fell in love with it
when i came home i took an inventory of
a lot of rituals and habits and beliefs
became really obvious to me that my
coffee addiction
was more something that was prescribed
to me by culture than something that i
wanted to continue
i ended up swapping it out for this
masala chai i found
it was really high quality ingredients
all organic with one seventh the
caffeine of coffee
[Music]
and i just started to research different
ingredients that had a benefit profile
that fit my lifestyle
i added lion's mane for focus and
cognitive function
cacao for mood energy and of course
flavor
chaga and reishi for immune support
turmeric
and cordyceps or physical performance a
little bit of cinnamon to help with
intermittent fasting sugar cravings
and a pinch of salt to help the flavors
pop i started to add that to my hydro
flask every morning with a bunch of hot
water
and i would take it with me to the
office to the gym to music festivals
almost 90 percent of the population is
addicted to caffeine
and i wondered how many people were
around me that
maybe would benefit from something
different
and so in may of 2018 i designed a brand
coded a website put up an instagram post
and said we're not mad at coffee we're
just disappointed so we made something
better
and we just started getting sales
i've been working on this business ever
since
i have an amazing team spread across the
globe
and we would love for you to try it
this drink that really changed my life
ultimately became it
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