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Host: Well, speaking of reaching out, we’ve got a friend of yours on the line.
Dereck: Yes we do.
Host: You want to say hello to Rich?
Dereck: Hello Richie, how are you?
Rich: Great, how ya doing Dereck and Larry?
Host: Very good Rich, thanks for calling in.
Rich: Well listen I really appreciate the opportunity to support what you all are doing and what Dereck is doing.
Host: Now you and Dereck go back a number of years, is that correct?
Rich: We do. We grew up in high school and actually grew up – as boys our families all knew each other, Dereck and my little brother were good friends and I’m good friends with his older brother. I was so proud of Dereck and proud for him for what he’s doing, which I literally believe – literally he’s saving people’s lives. So I wanted to be a part of that, support that.
I believe that individually we are responsible for our own health, but as a community – and community being across the nation – we have to reach out and help others, and that’s why I feel blessed to be a part of this.
Dereck: I really appreciate that Rich, that’s one of the reasons I reached out to you in the first place. Because I follow what you do and what you’ve been doing and you’re one really really genuine person that has a heart of gold. I appreciate you saying what I’m doing, but there’s a large group of us that are doing this, you know, Tammy, Erin, Richard, Laurie, Renee, Austin, we have a whole group at Suncoast – George – I don’t want to– Ryan – I don’t want to forget anybody, but it’s definitely, I appreciate you supporting us.
Rich: Well you all are doing God’s work and you’re angels. If I have about 60 seconds I’ll share a story I don’t share with a lot of people.
Host: Well, Rich, Rich we have longer than 60 seconds.
Rich: Oh, okay, okay.
Host: We’ve got all the time you need, we run up until the top of the hour, so really it’s a matter when you have to run.
Rich: Well, I really appreciate that Larry.
Host: I’ll tell you, I’m listening, before you tell your story, I got to tell you I’m listening and you’re the fourth business owner that’s called in on behalf of Suncoast and the golf tournament and it’s, and Dereck – I’m looking at you as I say this – it’s the passion – it’s the passion of the mission and the event that’s coming through on the radio.
Dereck: Yeah
Host: I’m finding that very rewarding.
Dereck: Yeah, I don’t think anybody does this for any other reason but that they have a place in their heart that was affected by it somehow, someway and you have to be passionate about it because it’s not the prettiest thing to see every day – lives being destroyed and families being destroyed and loved ones being lost. If you’re not passionate about it, you’re not going to be able to handle it. That’s what makes Suncoast such a great place to be a part of and Nature’s Dynamics and being a part of this, is why it’s such a good fit, because Richie’s very passionate about his company. It is a family to him and Suncoast is a family to those of us that work there and those of us that went through the program and those of us that are continuing to try to pass on what we went through and how it affected us in such a negative way. And to try to – hopefully – help somebody to not make the mistakes me we made.
Rich: Absolutely. And I tell you, it’s very – I have a lot of passion and it’s very close to home. Besides my love for Dereck and his family, what people don’t realize – I’m sure a lot of people realize this – but people who haven’t struggled with addiction or alcoholism or others don’t realize how many people it really affects. When you say you’re saving one life, which is very cliché, you’re actually saving all the lives around that person.
I don’t share this story with a lot of people, but in 1996, my little brother who was my soul mate was brutally murdered in Tampa. My little brother was staying in a halfway house recovering from alcohol and we had a conversation – he was doing really well – he was really proud of himself and I was proud of him. I was taking the hard road of “he has to hit rock bottom” and I thought he did. He went to play basketball and asked me to come and I thought he needed a little more time of hard, tough love. My little brother was murdered that night.
He didn’t have a place to go to like the place Dereck and his family – and family meaning Suncoast Rehabilitation – is at. So, I lost him, and I think if he would have had a place where people could help him and uplift him and love him and understand, he may be around or he may not. But I know he was trying to get on the right road.
So, I moved down, I was in a completely different industry, I moved down to help my mother and bring my son, who was a newborn around her and give her some life. She had a vitamin/supplement store. So really to save my mind I started reading fourteen hours a day studying supplements and vitamins and botanicals and it kind of saved me. I went back to school and I started going through the vitamins supplements industry and organic vegetables and fruits. From there I started working for companies and I started my own company and from there it blossomed. I find it no coincidence that if it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t even be in this industry.
So, I feel like giving back to my brother who was trying to uplift himself and who was struggling. There were times when I was ashamed of it and now I’m ashamed that I was ashamed of that – my little brother. But it is an addiction, people need help, people need love, people need a place like Suncoast Rehabilitation Center to go to. That’s why, every chance I get, I try to support these causes, to support people and their families. Because from the loss of my brother, my kids, my family, there were hundreds of people affected – and they’ll be affected for the rest of their lives. So, I’m so proud to be able to be a part of this and support Dereck and his Suncoast family and the families of people who really need that help.
Host: Rich, my regular listener hears me say this on occasion, and I realize that we lost your brother about seventeen years ago – but there’s something that this radio host does believe – and the reason I believe it is because we wouldn’t continually have a radio show week after week for the last seven years – the airwaves reach the heavens.
Rich: Yes sir. I truly believe that. I’ve been so blessed.
Host: And it is the strength of loved ones lost that keep this radio show going week after week. So, I’m glad you shared your brother with us and Nature’s Dynamics – a reflection of who your brother was?
Rich: Yes, it is, we started, and I wanted to have a company that cared about people. He cared about people and had a great heart, and a company that reached out to others and also we have the best ingredients. We only use organic ingredients, my kids are the taste testers. We started out with one product in Publix when Publix takes fifteen years to get into and we now have sixteen products. We’ve been blessed across the nation. Retail accounts are being featured online.
I believe exactly what you said Larry. Those airwaves and Troy’s been watching over. You know, in this economy, when so many people have struggled, I’ve been blessed and my company continues to grow phenomenally. But I always remember how it got started and I remember that I honor my brother and the things that were best about him and reaching out and helping people that I can, and support families and causes like Dereck is. So, I was very proud to be a part of this. And I thank you both.
Host: When we talk about Nature’s Dynamics, what’s the first product I should think of?
Rich: The first product are Berry Garden Gummies, our kid’s gummy, with organic fruits and vegetables. But I tell you, even if you don’t think about Nature’s Dynamics, when people are recovering from addiction or liver or kidneys or even stress, there are a lot of botanicals and spices that help your body and we put those in Nature’s Dynamics products, such as organic mushrooms, shitake, maitake, reishi, cordyceps. We put those in Pro Balance and we put those in – which is a probiotic – and we put those also in our multi. We have unique products. Ours are gummy bear vitamins so they taste great, but we use organic ingredients. So, the Body Boost Min for instance has a certified organic blend – multi vitamin blend, then we have an energy and wellness blend and a fruit and vegetable blend and those all support stress, your brain, your body, your kidneys, your liver. So, really we approach from a whole body wellness approach.
People who – depression – they now have connected depression with – and liver and kidneys – with lower probiotics or digestive tract. So we use six probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that help your digestive tract, but now their finding it’s all through your body. Then we add organic blueberries, organic flax seed, organic mushrooms, which help your entire system. So, we have a full line of organic gummy supplements and probiotics that people love and people tell their friends and family about it. That’s really how we’ve gone – I call it soul to soul marketing. We haven’t done a lot of marketing on TV, radio, ads, print. We just count on somebody saying this product’s so great and the owners and the family believe in what they’re doing and tell other people and that’s how we’ve grown across the nation.
Host: Well, listening to you and having Dereck from Suncoast, there’s such a dramatic need for people that are in recovery, especially in the early days of coming out of recovery. They certainly need nutritional supplements.
Nature’s Dynamics, do you work with the treatment and recovery community right now to any great degree?
Rich: We do not but we would love to reach out to them. You’re exactly right, Larry, in the beginning stages, from what I understand, and really throughout recovery your probiotics are damaged, the beneficial bacteria’s damaged. Your body can be dehydrated, your kidneys and your liver and all those ingredients, the mushrooms and blueberries and flax seed and holy basil and ginseng and ginger and turmeric. All of these wonderful organic spices and fruits and vegetables really replenish those lost nutrients and help heal your body. It’s a fact that blueberries heal your digestive tract. Probiotics heal your digestive tract, your immune, your liver and now with depression. So, all these ingredients, these whole food ingredients, we call them the science of nature, they’ve been proven for thousands of years.
Host: Knowing what you know now, if someone came in to – do you have an actual shop too, or is it just all…
Rich: We do, we’re located – our offices are located in Orlando Florida.
Host: So, I can walk into a retail store “Nature’s Dynamics?”
Rich: You can walk in. We don’t have a retail store. We have a corporate office and a warehouse, but you can walk in to any Publix supermarkets in the South East. You can walk in to private health food stores, some doctor’s offices, we’re online, we’re featured on Groupon – we’re the first company to be featured on Groupon – we’re featured on Amazon, we were just recently put into Whole Foods, we’re expanding throughout the nation.
Host: That’s spectacular. I love to hear those stories.
Rich: Yes, we’ve been very blessed.
Host: If I told you I’m on – doctor told me to take Prozac – what I think I heard you say is that there should be an alternative to that.
Rich: There is. There are scientific alternatives to that, clinical trials. Probiotics help with depression. Organic Saint John’s Wort that doesn’t have synthetics in it is very good for that. There is a little known herb, it’s called “ocimum sanctum,” it’s the ayurvedic medicine in India, it’s the mother of all herbs, here it’s called “holy basil.” Holy basil is scientifically proven to reduce cortisol, help regulate your blood sugar and reduce stress. We put holy basil in all our women’s and men’s products and our probiotics. Whether people are taking Nature’s Dynamics products or any products, I would encourage them to – if they’re under stress or on Prozac – look at holy basil as an alternative, look at probiotics as an alternative, something with probiotics and Saint John’s Wort as an alternative.
Host: Are you going to be golfing next Friday?
Rich: We will be there. We will be there.
Dereck: Saturday.
Rich: Saturday. Yeah, sorry.
Host: Saturday the 24th.
Rich: I got it on my calendar. I’m standing right now on the sidelines of a Pop Warner, I coach a Pop Warner team and I’m standing on the sidelines, so I don’t have my calendar in front of me.
Dereck: Kinda hard to call plays and talk on the phone, isn’t it Richie?
Rich: It is!
Host: Do you have time, do you have time to golf much?
Rich: No, I really don’t, I wish I had more time. I’m carrying a lot of gummy bears and coaching football and trying to spend a little time with the family every once in a while.
Host: I’m just so happy you’ve discovered the radio show because, the radio show is about education, education, education, that’s the first thing and secondly there has to be alternatives.
Rich: Yeah.
Host: The radio show does not have a lot of alternatives. We talk about – just for background, Rich – talk about the marketing and the selling and the distribution of way too many negative drugs are going out on our streets.
Rich: Yes.
Host: Unfortunately it’s coming from people in white jackets, and I’m a pharmacist, I’m not anti-drug. But we have too many products out on the streets right now. And actually Suncoast…
Rich: You’re absolutely right, Larry.
Host: Suncoast is, fortunately or unfortunately, from a business perspective, they’re picking up the negatives that are occurring from this over-distribution. But Nature’s Dynamics, you offer, my goodness Rich, you offer an alternative. How do we get that message out?
Rich: We do and I think, Larry, that’s a great idea. Just as you all educate, our message has been a message of education that instead of synthetic vitamins, or as you said – and I’m all for pharmaceuticals for a therapeutic approach – supplementation and as an alternatives there are clear spices and botanicals and herbs that help people that they can use to actually heal their body, instead of masking it.
Some people say that the vitamin/supplement industry is not regulated. It’s very regulated and what a lot of people don’t know that you probably know, Larry – a majority of vitamins made in the USA and around the world are made by drug companies – synthetic vitamins. We educate people about organic whole foods, what your body should be eating and taking to help heal your body, rather than masking a problem that, as I’ve seen today in society with this “take one pill” and then now it’s Prozac and Vicodin and OxyContin and all these. It’s just one after another to where it, really, I’ve seen, my son’s seventeen and I’ve seen a lot of kids in our community struggling with prescription drugs and it seems like they’re now easier to get then regular drugs – than heroin or other drugs.
Host: Before I let you go, Rich, folks who just joined us, Rich from Nature’s Dynamics, do you believe in conspiracies?
Rich: I try not to be, but some of them are so interesting that I do believe in some, yes.
Host: Well, there’s – people think that the reason you’re hearing the negatives about the natural products is because, if they can get the FDA to take them off the shelves you can have the pharmaceutical companies comes in and sell them.
Rich: Yes. Yes.
Host: I’m not so sure I don’t believe that.
Rich: Well, I’ll tell you Larry it’s very interesting you brought that up because the National Products Association battles every year, every year, against lobbyists for the drug companies who I believe want to do exactly that.
Host: Well, where’s the common sense here? I mean we have at least, and I’m not exaggerating here, and the good news is it’s gone down, we have five to seven deaths, overdose deaths here in just Florida alone, every day , on average. 70% of those deaths are from prescription drugs. How often do you hear of a natural remedy creating a negative effect on an individual? I just don’t, Rich, I just don’t get it.
Rich: You’re exactly right, Larry. You see, for instance there are clinical trials out of University of Miami and around the world that ginger is a natural anti inflammatory, helps keep your blood platelets from being sticky, and ginger actually heals your stomach instead of damaging it. Where you see pharmaceutical anti inflammatories that were approved, they destroy your digestive tract, you have strokes, you have heart attacks, but they continue to be on the market. Really, they look at it like, what’s the percentage of people that died and then you have to take it off the market. Ginger is eaten and used every day and has been used for thousands of years around the world and everything your body needs. The only thing you do is get a ginger root from Publix and boil it with some honey and make a ginger tea and drink it every day and that’s going to help you be a healthier person, with inflammation, with arthritis, with your blood sugar, with cholesterol, with motion sickness, ginger’s an amazing root.
Host: Rich, Nature’s Dynamics, what a pleasure.
Rich: Yes.
Host: I can’t thank you enough for calling in. It’s not hard to see why you and Dereck are friends.
Dereck: Yeah, I really really appreciate it Rich. And listening to you, I mean, it’s – that’s the reason you do what you do. You know you’re business, you know the benefits of it, you know the harm of all the other products and you’re trying to do something for the better. That’s why I’m very very proud of you and very proud of everyone at Nature’s Dynamics for getting on board with us and supporting us for this golf tournament coming up in a week and a half. So I look forward to seeing you there, I hadn’t seen you in a while. I do look forward to seeing you guys. Just really really proud of what you do and so thankful that you’re on board with us.
Rich: Dereck I tell you it’s been a blessing and I really am so thankful for the opportunity. I’m so proud for you and proud of you and everything that you and your team are doing. I know it’s cliché, but you’re saving lives. I truly believe that if Troy boy had had a place to go to like you all are creating, all of our lives might have been different.
And Larry, I thank you for your time and the opportunity and I’d love to reach out to you sometime and see how we could work together to improve our community and reach out.
Host: I’m excited – I’m excited that we met because I’m on a mission and – but I also think that this mission – there’s no reason why we can’t grow this mission together – just absolutely no reason at all. I agree with you. I think Suncoast, Tammy Strickling and the entire team that she works with, just unbelievably wonderful people, so, we’ve met some nice people, Rich. Thankfully they brought us together so I look forward to us communicating in the future.
Rich: Okay. I’m sorry, Larry and Dereck, I have to go, I thank you so much.
Dereck: Thanks Rich.
Host: Thank you so much.
Dereck: Enjoy the game.
Host: What a class act. He’s sitting on the sidelines with the Pop Warner football and he found time to give his time to you.
Dereck: Yeah, he’ll make time for the right people.
Host: That is so cool.
