The Thermo Diet Episode 14 - Zach's Story and a Bit Of Brand History.

In this episode of The Thermo Diet Podcast Jayton and Zach sit down and talk about Zach's story and how he got to the UMZU and Thermo Diet team

Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments below!

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Full Transcript:

Jayton:
How's it going guys? It's Jayton back again today on the Thermo Diet Podcast. And I have today with me the Mr. Zach Seagull.

Zach:
What's going on?

Jayton:
So today we want to talk a little bit about Zach's story, how he came to UMZU and some of his experience on the UMZU team and maybe work our way into a little bit of other stuff that he does.

Zach:
Yeah. Cool.

Jayton:
So what's your story, Zach? From the very beginning.

Zach:
Where do you want me to start?

Jayton:
Let's start with the very first memory that you can remember.

Zach:
Well no I don't remember that.

Jayton:
Just tell us about your story, and how you came across the brand, and how you got involved.

Zach:
Sure. So it really started when I was in college, freshman, sophomore year of college, everybody experiences like kind of on your own for the first time. And like at home, your parents cook for you, this and that. But when you're actually on your own and you have food at your disposal with cafeterias, all you can eat things, and I don't think growing up health class does a really good job of telling you calories and all of these macro nutrients and micronutrients. They don't really explain it. I feel like in high school and stuff in health class it's more about sexual health and stuff like that.

Jayton:
Scaring you.

Zach:
Yeah, using these scare tactics but really something as simple as food and what you put in your bodies isn't really described to you at all. So I was just wasn't really aware of... I don't think I had any information or knowledge even on like calories or you just look on the back of a thing, it says, "Recommended on a 2000 calorie diet," or whatever. That didn't even mean anything to me, and just being a kid in high school and being active and playing sports and you just burn that stuff off. But you get to college, you get those food halls, and then that's when I really... I probably went into college around like 190 to 200 pounds. But dude, I probably gained the freshman 20 or whatever. But after my sophomore year, I ballooned all the way up to 250 pounds. And also like at the time I had a girlfriend, and I just went out to eat, and just ate like shit, and just got super lax on health, and didn't work out. And just got really into my career path on like graphic design, and photography, videography and everything that goes into that.

Zach:
So I wasn't really paying attention to my body, and I was just eating food for no reason really just out of boredom. And then that relationship ended, and then one day I just looked up, looked in the mirror, and just took a real hard look at myself. And I was like, "This is not who I want to be." So at that point, what's the first thing you do? You hop on Google and look up how to get in shape, and then you come across bodybuilding.com or whatever, and all these like seven day splits and stuff. And for like a year or so, I went on a few up and down things where you'd be, you be consistent for a month or so and then you fall off and then it's just like you're back to where you started kind of thing. Just spinning your tires and not really seeing any results personally.

Zach:
So I didn't know what to do and I kind of gave up again and I lost some weight, kept it off. I just ate less, I did the whole chicken, broccoli, and rice thing, ate out of Tupperware.

Jayton:
So you hated yourself for a little while?

Zach:
Yeah, it was not fun but I would lose weight, but then obviously it's like this food is bland as shit and I don't like it. And I would go on the weekend and then drink, and eat pizza, and Taco Bell, and just bullshit, and never really understanding using food as energy or nutrients for yourself. Until one day, I don't know what happened, I just came across a podcast with Chris on it, or his testosterone IO stuff and nogym.net and all of his early stuff.

Zach:
And then he was on the podcast with Greg with The road to Ripped stuff, and that's when I really got into it, and started kind of combining Greg's three days a week. Because when he would talk about that, I'm like, "Whoa, this guy is basically telling me to work out less," three days a week when I was working out seven, I'd get better results. Like too good to be true kind of thing. And I was like, "I'll try it because I don't like going to the gym every day." And it sounds more interesting to me. And then pairing that with a Chris' testosterone boosting techniques, and these different foods, and using food as nutrients for your body, and like correcting micronutrient deficiencies. And that all made sense to me. Like a light bulb, it just clicked.

Zach:
I'm like, "This actually makes a lot of sense. And I don't know why a lot of people make it so fricking complicated to do all these other things or in the gym super set, or you've got to go on this diet to lose all these things," but when really it's a root cause, you know? So kind of doing that and then using some of Chris's supplements, I think it was even Anabolic Men. And then they had the Anabolic Men Marketplace where I was just buying magnesium and all these different supplements before they were formulated into like Testro-X and stuff, like all these single ingredients. And I felt like a scientist, like, "All right, I need to take this, this, and this, at these times."

Zach:
And then I really got super into that and I think it became a lot more easy for myself to stick to these things because it was simple, and it was effective, and I didn't have to do too much thinking. It was just Chris kind of laid out the roadmap for you there and as time went, like over the next like year or so, I went from 250 down to 180 pounds, and lifting three days a week. I got a lot stronger at the same time while I was losing a lot of weight. But I think just following that information from even Master Your T to all the information that Chris provides really changed my life and made a huge impact like on where I am today, and how I think about food, and my relationship to food, to how I train at the gym. Because when I really got in the best shape, I was doing three to four times a week, and I was taking like Testro, I was taking Sensolin and Redwood for the gym. I think the blood flow and everything was really helping deliver the nutrients into the key areas of your body.

Zach:
So I think that made a huge difference in my life and I'm super grateful to be here and be able to express not only has Chris's information changed the way that I go about my day to day life, but then also I'm able to express my creativity of what I do as a job here as well. And then to make labels for supplements and help people at the end of the day, it's a really fun job and it really makes me think I have a cause. I'm helping people.

Jayton:
Definitely.So how'd you go from there to transition to going to Florida and kind of coming into contact with the company?

Zach:
Oh yeah. So how I got started with the company, so I graduated college and I was still kind of living... I'm from Ohio, I went to school at Bowling Green State University, I studied visual communication technology. I graduated, I had a job at a wholesale beer distributor. So I would just make posters for bars and work with their sales reps. Basically they would come to me and be like, "Hey, we need this poster for this place, promoting this beer," And then I would make like a poster. It was just kind of like a job out of college, and I was still kind of living at school, and still was like kind of a student. And I was still working at the university and helping other students there perform their craft, and just like an assistant or whatever.

Zach:
So I was just kind of like, yeah, I was making money, whatever. But I really was on Anabolic Men every day, like any spare second I had, I was on there researching and was like, "Man." And I was watching Chris's videos on YouTube and I'm like, "Fuck, I really want to do this. Like if I had an opportunity, this is something that I would love to do. I have a huge passion for this and would love to film, and record, and edit videos." And then I was on their newsletter and then I got hit with an email that was like they wanted a video editor and I had nothing to lose.

Zach:
And I took a shot and I emailed in and was like, "Yo, this is what I do. Here's my resume, here's my portfolio." Chris emailed me back, gave me like four or five videos, I edited those and then he was like, "Yo, I want to hop on the phone." And then I talked to Nate and Chris and they're like, "Do you want to work full time for us?" And I was like, "Absolutely." They're like, "Are you willing to move to Florida?" And I was like, "Yep, pick the date, I'll be there."

Zach:
And so I think I started, it was October, 2016. And then I moved down January 1, 2017 to Florida, and the rest is really history. I would just recommend anybody that if you really have a goal or want to do something, just put it out there. And I don't know, it's something about like the meditation stuff too, if you put that energy out there, anything's really possible if you just put yourself in a position to do that or just give yourself a shot, right?

Jayton:
Yeah. You have to create it.

Zach:
Yeah. And I think that just like putting that out there and then just working hard. Even though I might not be the best graphic designer at that time, or I might not be the most skilled, but I know that hard work and dedication and the skills, and ability, and experience will all fall within that. If you just have those core values of you'll do anything. Really, if you just have the dedication, I think. So after that, I took the shot and a lot of people... At the time the company was really small, and I don't think anybody in my family really knew what it was or what it was about, but I know with all the research that I did and Chris' information and how it changed my life, I believed in it so much that I didn't care what anybody else told me.

Zach:
They're like, "Oh, you're going to go work for a startup? You won't have a job in a year. Blah, blah, blah." I'm from a really small town too, so a lot of people don't want to see you succeed I feel like, and it kind of holds you back. And that's another thing is I think the people you surround yourself with, or your environment that you're in can hold you back. I think you guys talked about that on this podcast where some people don't want to see you succeed or win. I just don't understand it, so I didn't care what anybody said and I'm like, "I'm going to do this anyways because I don't have anything to lose. I'm a kid. If I don't have a job or whatever the worst comes to worst, whatever, I'll move back home. I don't care."

Zach:
So I gave it a shot and it's panned out tremendously. And I've been here for a little over three years now and I think three years of this experience compared to working a corporate job, I don't think it compares. I feel like I've grown 10 years in two kind of thing where I've worked with so many talented people here like yourself, Chris, and the whole creative team with working with Brenton and Matt. Honestly, I think we're an unstoppable force that can really do anything we put our minds to, which is really cool. And I don't have to go through the red tape and play politics at other places where if I would've took the corporate ladder in a creative position I feel like you can't really express yourself the way, or really get motivated. But working with everybody here in such a tight knit family-like culture here, we're just able to come up with an idea, we're able to put it out tomorrow. It's super fulfilling. I love it and I have a purpose.

Zach:
So it's been it's been a lot of fun. I've done a lot of projects, working on the podcast, working with labels to Facebook ads, advertising, and just learned a lot about marketing website stuff and I don't think I could've got this experience anywhere else. And pairing that with my passion for health, and helping others, and fitness and stuff, because I really do value what I do here because it's changed my life, and I know that I could help somebody else through design.

Jayton:
So what's kind of some of the ideas that you take? For instance, we have this new clothing line, like some of these pretty sexy socks right here. That's something you can check out on, is it umzu.com/gifts?

Zach:
Yep.

Jayton:
So tell us a little bit behind your ideas for those and some of the labels that you've created.

Zach:
Yeah, so when I first started here, it was Truth Nutra, so it was... Like the UMZU stuff now, I think we're really hitting our stride with Francis and the UMZU and just having fun with it really. And just coming up with cool stuff that... Honestly it was just like Chris came to me with an idea for coming up with clothing and he's like "I want to make stuff that we want to wear, and it doesn't have to really represent a supplement company type deal, let's just make cool stuff and let's put it out there. And then if it sells, it sells. If it doesn't, I still want to wear it.

Jayton:
Definitely.

Zach:
So that's the whole thing is just making stuff. I think that comes back to the products themselves too. It's like we make formulas that we want to take because other people have these issues and it helps solve a lot of things. And it goes hand in hand with the clothes too. I don't want to make something that I don't want to wear or I don't want to make a graphic that I don't think it's going to do well on Facebook or something. Or like even with the Thermo stuff, let's make something that people are attracted to and really are proud to represent. I don't want to just put something on it and feel like it's advertising, I want people to stand up for what they believe in. And I think that's exactly what we do with our products and the formulas that you create, and Chris puts together, and what we promote. And I'm super proud of everything we do because at the end of the day we're not just trying to make money, we're trying to change people's lives.

Jayton:
Exactly. Yeah. So some of this stuff is kind of more to the minimalistic side, it's really simplistic. Did you do that on purpose?

Zach:
Yeah. I'm a fan of just clean design. And once again, I think it pairs really well with our supplements because we don't put any fillers. I don't want to take away from the brand itself as just filling it with garbage really. I want to get straight to the point and represent what we stand for. And that's the transparency from our products and everything that we put in. I know it's like the highest quality, and I feel like, other design like Apple or anything like that where it's very clean, it feels very premium, and I just want to use this simplicity and the minimalism of that vibe for our products because they are super premium and they do exactly what we say, and a design like that too, I just am really fond of that.

Jayton:
Definitely. Heck yeah. So is there anything else that you can think of that you want to toss out there?

Zach:
Besides the fact of if you do have passion for something but you don't want to put yourself out there, like you want to do something but you feel like you're holding back... Like you guys mentioned with just putting that energy out there, and if it's something that you're really passionate about, I say go for it. Because I mean, why not? What do you got to lose? It's the same thing with taking supplements and stuff like that. If you really want to make a change, it's just not from taking a supplement. You got to be all in. You can't just have one foot in the door and the other foot out.

Jayton:
You got to dive.

Zach:
Yeah, you got to deep dive into it and you got to attack it 100%. 110, 150, 200%, I don't care. You just got to go for it. And it comes down to like if you take a supplement, yeah, you'll get results from it, you'll get what the supplement is meant to do. But if your diet's not on point, if you're not that active, or if you don't really pay attention to what you're actually putting in your body, or if you don't put all the effort into your job that you really care about, you're not going to get the results that you want. If you really want to make a change, or if you really want to do something, you got to be all in on it and you've just got to become obsessed with it, I think. And I'm obsessed with what I do. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but my mind always races about like, "How can we make these things better? How can I make this design better? Or how can I help reach more people promoting our supplements?" And then the brand itself because dude, I mean honestly it's kind of cliche, but people say, "If you do what you love, it's not really a job," but it's true.

Jayton:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Definitely. Yeah. I mean, I was kind of in the same boat. They didn't even have a job available whenever I was hitting them up.

Zach:
Yeah. You got to make yourself a valuable asset and just be persistent about it. And if you do that, then they're like, "Man, like this guy really, really wants this and he'll do anything." That's another thing, it's like when I came into the job, I didn't have any professional experience in doing podcasts or anything like that. But I didn't say, "No, I don't know how to do this." I was like, "Yeah, and I'll learn it," and you'll figure it out.

Jayton:
Definitely.

Zach:
So I would say that's the other thing. Just put yourself out there and be able to want to learn new things and new skills and have this stuff in your toolbox or your arsenal you can do this, you can do that, whatever. And you'll create yourself as like a valuable asset. And just willing to, if you don't know how to do something, you'll figure it out, you'll learn it. And that's what I've done. And now that I have a lot of experience, I might not be like an expert in everything, but I can work my way around things to figure it out and get it done at a pretty high level personally I think. But that's why also you build a team around yourself where you're really good at these things, but you don't have to become a master because you have other players on your team that can do that heavy lifting because that's what they're passionate about.

Jayton:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Definitely. Heck yeah.

Zach:
Cool.

Jayton:
Well if you all want to check out some of his designs on the clothes, you all can go to umzu.com/gifts and I think that's all we have. Did you want to talk about anything else?

Zach:
No, but you guys should definitely check out the Fruits & Roots t-shirt that I made. I really like that one. I haven't been to get my hands on one yet, but I think that'll do really well for the Thermo people out there. It's a little banana and a potato. We have two versions of it, one with the classic vintage UMZU logo, and then on the back it says, "Fruits & roots, fuck vegetables." Because who eats vegetables if you're on Thermo?

Jayton:
Yeah, exactly. Well there you have it. Make sure if you're not already to check out the Facebook group. If you're not on the Thermo diet yet, then you can check it out at thermodiet.com. You can also get into the Facebook group and ask all kinds of questions and we will talk to you next time. Thanks for listening to this episode.

Zach:
Peace.