SPEAKER_03: 0:40

Oregon Media.

SPEAKER_05: 0:43

One year we had a Skull Candy sales meeting. Skull Candy had just bought Astro Gaming, which is a um gaming headphone company. And so part of the part of the the meeting was to go into the Astro room, meet the the people behind the brand and learn more about the gaming industry. And so I go in this room and uh the Astro guys giving a pitch on their company and and the gaming industry as a whole. And he's like, okay, this summer, you know, the big Hollywood blockbuster, uh, and I think it was the dark night at the time, I can't remember, but he's like, What do you think it grossed at the box office? And I, you know, I'm thinking 50 million bucks is a big number. And, you know, it was like a he shared that it was a$350 million movie in the first two weeks at the box office. And so then he's like, All right, same time frame, first two weeks of the newest Call of Duty drop. You know, what do you think it grossed at the box office? And I'm I'm still picturing gaming as this subculture, you know. And so I'm thinking, you know, 25 million bucks in two weeks would be a pretty big number. And uh, and he shared with us that that number was 1.2 billion dollars from one game from one uh video game maker in two weeks. And I was like, damn, I was like, that is a that's a that's a big number, and that's a lot of people. And I'm not, you know, I'm not from the world of gaming. Like my love is in, you know, outdoors and action sports. And so I just found that I fell in love with the product, and that's when I was like, okay, this isn't just for gamers, like it's everyday computer users, it's it's the guy on the mountain, it's it's mountain biking, uh, it's college students, you know, it's it's road trippers, whatever it might be. That that's when um you know the wheels started turning. I'm like, okay, there's you know, there's something here. There's a big, there's a really big audience that we can address with this.

SPEAKER_03: 2:41

Every brand you love, every product you admire started as just an idea. Sparked by a moment, shaped by a person, nurtured by a community. The Circling Podcast is proud to introduce Earth of the Brands from Oregon Media and Bend magazine. I'm Adam Shoy. Join me as I sit down with founders from across Central Oregon and beyond. On this series, we follow seven brands that participated in the 10th annual Bend Outdoor Works Startup Accelerator Program. Commonly referred to as BAO, Bend Outdoor Works' primary mission is to help outdoor startups scale and achieve their wildest dreams. On the sixth episode in the Birth of the Brand series, we sit down with father and son founders Jack and Sanjay Green to unpack the story behind their brand, Ionize. Ionize started with the simple question: what's really happening to our eyes after hours behind a screen? That question sparked a caffeinated, mentholated under-eye balm, built to cool, hydrate, and wake you up without another cup or another can. But what began as a solution for screen fatigue quickly found a second home outdoors, on the mountain, riding single track, or on the job, anywhere focused and clarity matter. Jack and Sanjay, along with others, share the story of a decade of lessons, a mountain town upbringing, and the drive to build something simple, clean, and actually useful. You'll hear how 17 formulations led to the perfect glide, while integrity and testing came before marketing, and how a bin-born idea is redefining what energy looks like.

SPEAKER_05: 4:36

So, I mean, you're a pro at this. I know I'm a fan of brands where I I get an in I kind of know what the founder's about, and I've you know relate with them, and I'm like, oh, that's a that's a good person. I'm I'm gonna keep supporting that brand.

SPEAKER_03: 4:49

Exactly. And then you guys are unique because you you're father-son founders from the beginning. I want to hear some highlights from Indonesia.

SPEAKER_04: 4:59

It was a sweet trip. I mean, I've never surfed, I've never had the opportunity to surf waves that are that just consistent and clean. And I mean, it obviously was better and worse from time to time, but like for the most part, I feel like it was just killer, clean breaking waves, like just what's the word I'm looking for? There's a channel, so it's just peeler after peeler after peeler. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 5:26

So that's how you start getting better, man, huh? Exactly. Yeah, I learned a lot. Yeah. Had had you been on a surf trip like that to Indonesia where you're taking a boat out and the break and no. Did you guys surf every day?

SPEAKER_04: 5:38

Every day, just about, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 5:40

I missed two, I missed one day, one full day. And what was the occasion? Um for the trip or for missing the day? I guess both, but mostly the trip. Yeah. That makes more sense. The the missing the day would be what's the excuse? Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 5:56

Yeah. Um, well, for graduation, they said I could pick anywhere in the world to go. So you just graduated high school? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 6:05

And mom and dad took you on a trip. Yep. Pretty lucky for that one.

SPEAKER_05: 6:09

Well, no, it just to be clear, uh, he chose the graduation present, and then and then we the the strings that are attached are that we get to go to. So it wasn't that we took him on a trip. Uh he decided, you know, he he chose a trip as a as the graduation gift, and we uh we got to attend.

SPEAKER_03: 6:29

I love that, man. And that wasn't your first time to Indonesia. Mine, it was. I don't think it was. That's right. That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's right. I heard you were a pretty popular baby on that island, man. Yeah, I guess so. I've seen Do we have photos?

SPEAKER_05: 6:45

Oh, yeah. We made some we made some rupee uh by letting people take pictures with the the the chubby white baby.

SPEAKER_03: 6:53

Yeah, Sarah was telling me about um just how popular Sanjay was when he was a kid and you guys took him there on a trip. Yeah. Was that the last time you'd been there?

SPEAKER_05: 7:02

Uh no, I went again a few years ago. Oh, you lucky son of a bitch. But it was just uh just me on a surf trip, and it was way, way beyond my skill set. So I had traveled all the way over there to to catch a handful of waves, and I was terrified pretty much the whole time I was in the water.

SPEAKER_03: 7:19

Yeah, it gets real real quick out in the ocean, man. Yeah, yeah. Well, Mr. Green, I've known you for a long time, dude. Um and I remember meeting you as Jack and then being confused because on occasion I would hear you referenced as Chris. And for like up until talking to Chris Zanger yesterday, I never heard the story of how your how your name morphed from one to the other. Do you know this story? I do know this story. Yeah, yeah. So um I thought we could start with just Zanger sharing a little bit here. Oh man.

SPEAKER_02: 7:55

Uh yeah, so it was Sheets, Chris Sheets, Chris Smith, Chris Zanger, Chris Green, and there was one other Chris. We all worked for Hunter Expeditions as raft guides. And at the end of the river trip, you'd give you on the river, you know, there's six people in your boat, like, hey, my name's Chris, blah, blah, blah. We'd get these envelopes with some money for tips for Chris, and they'd leave it back at the office. We're like, no, no, it was me, no, it was me. So we're all like, like, which Chris was it? So we all kind of came up with a different name to give our passengers in the boat, our clients, so that when they gave so when they put a tip in an envelope, we it went to the right person. And then Jack had this dream about like being called Jack, and and he switched to that, and it stuck on the river that summer, and then it and then he kind of just ran with it.

SPEAKER_03: 9:17

I I thought. Oh, it's fun hearing the Zanger laughing though. Totally, man. Like I thought, you know, I I'm sure I'm not the only one. Maybe I am the only one that doesn't know that story out of uh your broad network of relationships in this town.

SPEAKER_05: 9:32

Yeah, I'm not sure. The uh I'm happy that he left out the other piece that drove uh the reason behind the name shift, but uh but it uh yeah, it it worked out well, and it's you know, it it I gets confusing sometimes, I guess, just because it's I'm still legally Christopher, so you know, license and credit cards and all that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_03: 9:54

But just you know, I thought we're gonna obviously get into birth of brands, but I thought before we get into ionize, just letting people get to know the two of you. That was kind of the goal of uh a little audio with Zanger, and that we'll hear s from him at the end. But um, talk a little bit about how you ended up in Bend and why you ended up in Bend. Oh man, how far back should I go? As far as you want.

SPEAKER_05: 10:18

All right. Well, so I grew up, I I guess I'll take it back to the beginning. I was uh farm raised outside of Vacaville, California. And um it it's you know, living and growing up on a farm is is uh it's just a lot of work. And I I feel like my parents didn't even really like kids. They just needed they needed farm labor. So they had my brother and I. And my brother's four years older. And uh, you know, in the the mid-80s, he he took a he got into skating. And so I was watching him and his buddies build a quarter pipe on this little patch of asphalt that was, you know, close to our our farm. And and uh they're playing like the, you know, they got the um, what do they call them? The boom box, you know, with the dual cassette uh player, probably playing some circle jerks or suicidal tendencies and you know, just skating. And I I'd watch and I was like, damn, that's cool, you know, and and I knew that I had to get into that. So got into skating a little bit. And then the same thing happened with uh snowboarding a couple years later. He was an early adopter and, you know, got a rented a Burton backhill and we'd go to Donner's ski area because it was one of the few resorts that allowed snowboarding at the time. And you know, I was I was on skis and I'd watch him just falling down the mountain, but I instantly saw that it would it just looked really cool, you know, even though he had no control. It just I I there was something about it that spoke to me, so I was quick to uh to pick that up as well. And I'm like, all right, next year, because we didn't get to the mountains very often. So I was like, all right, next year I'm gonna rent a snowboard and and go snowboarding. And so I did that and then uh instantly fell in love with it. So then I had to, you know, work and save money, buy a beat-up old rental board from Boreal at the end of the season, and then uh, you know, next thing I know, I'm in high school and we're cutting school on half price Tuesdays to go to Boreal and and go snowboarding. So that, you know, my love for snowboarding came into the picture there. And then, and then uh when it was and when it was time to graduate and move on, uh, it came down to go into a community college either in Tahoe or uh we came across Bend, knew nothing about Bend, but saw that there was a little uh community college here that was 20 minutes from a mountain. Yep. And so myself and a couple other buddies, Jason and Oliver, were like, all right, let's move to Bend. And so that was uh that was 91. So we came up here to to uh just be closer to a mountain, yeah, pretend to go to school. I mean, we did go to school and you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 12:59

There's there's a lot of people that sat in that chair and had a very similar story, man. Yeah, you know, myself included, obviously. I mean, most of us that aren't from here, born here, we're drawn here usually, you know, for the for the recreation or the lifestyle, man. And especially in the kind of the snow world. Right. Because it was such a unique spot, especially back then for having a smaller town vibe, but still having a a snowboard scene here. Right.

SPEAKER_05: 13:25

And that was the that was the cool thing. It was it was definitely uh a a really unique time and that you know there was a lot of there was a lot of there was a high concentration of pro riders that lived here, but they kind of blended seamlessly with the rest of the snowboard community because it was still pretty small.

SPEAKER_03: 13:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 13:41

Well, and at that time, you know, to to be a uh a pro or a sponsored rider, you just you know, clean 360s, a little style when you're when you're poking in air or whatever, like the you know, totally different caliber. The standards were a little lower, yeah. Yeah, but it was it was, you know, at that time in '91, like if you saw uh a car with a snowboard on it, you you know, on the on the roof rack, you were like, oh, that's so-and-so, you know.

SPEAKER_03: 14:07

But uh so was it was it mostly the relationships that you formed in that um network and community of people back then that that kind of drew you into the industry? No, thank you for getting me back on track.

SPEAKER_05: 14:22

I mean, yes, because I I just love the culture of it in general, but uh, but it was more uh needing to feed that love for snowboarding. So I was like, okay, I need to work at the mountain because I can't afford a season's pass. So if I work in the mountain, I can get a season's pass and then snowboard as much as I can. And so I got a job at the mountain. Uh, it was a lift host or something the first year, and then and then the the next year, maybe two years later, uh, you know, I wanted to keep getting closer to snowboarding. So I'm like, all right, I'm gonna get a job in the snowboard shop. So I got a job in the snowboard shop up at Mount Bachelor. That way I got my seasons pass. I was working with product, and through that, uh, there was this uh program called the Pepsi program where they'd ship kids from the valley on buses over to the mountain. And Moro Snowboards was a sponsor of it. Gary Bracelin was the local Moro rep. And so he'd come in to help uh get kids set up on Moro boards, and so I was in the trenches with him, helping them out to get kids set up in the snowboard shop on Moro boards for this Pepsi program. And so working with Bracelin, it's funny it comes full circle, but working with uh with Bracelin and just chatting with him, I realized, man, people can earn a living at you know, selling snowboards. That sounds pretty cool. And so um, yeah, we just kept in contact. And then I think it was just another year later, I found myself working for Bracelin at Black Diamond Marketing, and uh, you know, he was doing Moro Sessions, uh Globe, Fresh Jive, all kinds of different brands.

SPEAKER_03: 16:02

Yeah, man. I mean, you yourself have spent a lot of years working with like a I was looking at the list of like iconic brands that you've worked for, you know, Moro and Sessions and West Beach. And I met you at Solomon. I think that's the very first time I met you. I mean, it all kind of blurs together, Adam.

SPEAKER_05: 16:20

But yeah, I mean it so Solomon, so I worked for Gary for till K2 bought Moro. And then I went back to school at U of O uh to get my degree in business and marketing. But at that time I had been in the snowboard industry, kind of seeing the business and the the marketing that I'd want to be involved in. And so I went back to school and they they're just educating for like um corporate cookie-cutter marketing jobs. And I had, well, bringing it back again, it was funny because uh Mickey Keller was uh in charge of marketing at Morrow. And I had kind of you know watched what she did and and uh just from the outside, and I was like, that's that's the stuff I want to be involved in. Yeah. So when I went back to school and and they're they're teaching stuff that just didn't, that just wasn't relative to what I wanted to be involved in, that's when I was like, hmm, I'm not sure if this is a good fit. And so I uh left U of O and just took classes on stuff that I was interested in. And then uh Solomon called me and offered me uh a uh position as uh as uh just a Northwest sales associate. Yeah. And so I took that and did it for a couple years and then took over the lead rep position, and that's when I started building out Oleo Northwest.

SPEAKER_03: 17:34

Yeah, I I I remember meeting you at a sales meeting in Sun River, and we had just come back from a trip, and there was a photo that they used on the trip on one of the marketing materials. And I remember you and I talking, and you look at me and you go, So what are you gonna do when you're done snowboarding? And at the time I was like, I had I felt like I had just got my foot in the door, and I was like, I thought about that question a lot over the years because I think it was the first time I had actually thought about that, and it's just bizarre to like you look back and then the decisions you make on how to kind of wind up and bend supporting a family, and like you know, back in the day, back then there weren't as many options. It was kind of like education, healthcare, construction, or if you were kind of savvy enough and entrepreneurial enough, like a an industry job of some sort, or you know, so it's it's rad how it's it it's worked out over the years, man.

SPEAKER_05: 18:32

You know, yeah, that's funny. Uh that's funny that you uh it's cool to hear that you that stuck with you and and you you put some thought into it.

SPEAKER_03: 18:40

Well, yeah, because you know, I mean, very few have the goodwill and fortune and skill and talent and health to like draw out a snowboard career, especially back then, more it seemed like they were shorter durations for a lot of people. Right. Um, and and yeah, it's just it it's always good to be looking forward. You're getting ready to go to school at Montana State.

SPEAKER_04: 19:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 19:03

I was talking with your mom, and unlike your dad when he went to school, like you kind of have this project to work on while you're in school. Like when I was doing um the episode with Kate and Kai from Wander Hut, like it was really rad to see how they leveraged their classes and business and applied it directly to to Wanderhut and like what an advantage that was. Plus, it kind of they were talking about how it like engaged them more in this in the like the curriculum because there was kind of like some real world application of it was something that you're trying to build. So I I think that's gonna be a rat opportunity. And you're going to it Montana State and Bozeman, right?

SPEAKER_04: 19:47

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm I'm glad you brought that up because that does like as I'm going into college, I'm not in all honesty that psyched to go to college. Um, but it's that piece of just wanting to get educated and the business side of things so I can apply it to this or apply it to repping if that's the path I go down.

SPEAKER_03: 20:10

Just so I can I think uh I I don't know. I I got a late start in school and I remember after being out of high school for a number of years and then going back. I felt like college to me was like learning how to how how you really learn, you know, because there's a little bit more skin in the game in terms of like it's costing you money to be there. Yeah, I think you're gonna have a ton of fun, man.

SPEAKER_04: 20:33

I think so too.

SPEAKER_03: 20:33

Yeah. Are you are you living in a dorm or getting a house?

SPEAKER_04: 20:36

Or yeah, yeah, yeah. I got a dorm. Um apparently I well I applied crazy late. Um, so I thought I was gonna get the worst of the worst, but I guess someone dropped out or something because I got like the dorm that everybody wants. Um yeah, I'm trying to get in contact with my roommate, but he's uh MIA.

SPEAKER_03: 20:56

So I don't think that's uncommon. My son Holden's in the same boat, he's going to school, he's he'll be a freshman too, and he's having um going through the the dorm challenges. So yeah, it's gonna be it's it's gonna be fun for you guys for sure.

SPEAKER_05: 21:11

I like what you said about uh, you know, going to learn how to learn because that is a key component, is yeah, you know, it's not it's not all about the content and what you're learning, it's just the training your brain, totally, the process of learning, which yeah, I feel like high school is more of a social experiment and you figure out how to navigate, you know, the the various uh social structures, but uh but yeah, college is just more about you know putting a process of learning in place.

SPEAKER_03: 21:40

Yeah, yeah. It's it's I think it's uh I mean the world's a different place. And when you and I were growing up, there I felt like there was a l kind of more kind of emphasis on going in to college right after high school, which I didn't do. I felt like I was like probably one of just a few friends that I grew up with that didn't go right into college. Now I think that there's a little bit more kind of space there, you know, in terms of like just it's you know, it's the world's changing quickly. It's like I I have this conversation all the time. You know, what's the return on it? What do you study in 2025? You know, when it like so I really think it even puts more emphasis on that, just learning how to learn because the content that you know coming out of a four-year degree now, depending on if it's like knowledge based, it's gonna be there's just gonna be new factors with AI, dude. Yeah, it's gonna be interesting.

SPEAKER_05: 22:35

We were just having that conversation. We were both uh laying in the hammock earlier today and and uh chatting two hammocks, not uh not smashed in. I was gonna say anyhow, uh just having a hammock having some hammock talk. And uh and I was just encouraging SJ to really, you know, dig into AI and and just figure out how to leverage it as a tool and and just try and get a look at where it's going and and how to best utilize it. Yeah, because there's part of me that's completely freaked out by it and just want it kind of that like social media freaks me out too, and I just I don't really engage much, but uh I'm trying not to be that old guy that's like, oh, it's just a well it's an interesting it's an interesting point because you know your business partner, i.e.

SPEAKER_03: 23:21

Sanjay, is gonna learn a skill set that is gonna, you know, in the business world, I can't I can only imagine the all the different ways you can leverage that as you try to start growing and all those other areas, you know. I mean it's it's everywhere.

SPEAKER_05: 23:36

So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 23:38

Did did you ever work at the mountain?

SPEAKER_04: 23:40

I didn't know no, I didn't. Um I work for Travis, that's about the most Travis Yamata cubicle. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's um that's about the most in the industry of surf snowboard, just the retail side of things. That's about as far as I got. Well, that's a pretty good starting spot. I I definitely learned a lot.

SPEAKER_03: 24:01

Were you were you repairing boards or what were you doing for them? Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 24:05

All of it. I mean, I'd keep the place tidy, I'd yeah, I'm sweeping floors, helping people find stuff, getting them set up on boards, wetsuits, and then I'd also um yeah, do like small ding repairs and stuff.

SPEAKER_03: 24:18

Yeah, dude, I I I you strike me as a kid, I shouldn't call you a kid, as a guy who uh like to the best that you can growing up here, realize how lucky you were to grow up here, you know, like this place is amazing, you know, to like grow up 20 minutes from the mountain, learning how like with parents that do cool shit, and then like you know, the wave and just all the things, like uh it's uh sometimes you don't know what you have till it's you're away from it, you know. That's the other thing I'm excited to see these guys go off to school is because that's when I really start think for one of the first times you really realize how rad it is when you get to grow up in somewhere like Bend. Yep, you know.

SPEAKER_05: 25:00

I mean that's our hope. Uh the one of the primary reasons we made the shift back here once uh starting a family is you know to raise the kids in a cool spot with the hope that you know they they they uh set out on their own, go to different places, and then realize that home's a pretty good spot and come back and hang out.

SPEAKER_03: 25:19

We're super fortunate, man. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's good though. Maybe you didn't work at the mountain. I worked at the mountain, and I I don't know if you experienced this, Jack, but like when you work at the place that you love to go to recreate, it kind of instantly changes your relationship with it.

SPEAKER_05: 25:33

It does, yeah, it does, but it was the only path I saw for being able to, you know, have a season's pass. So I I had to do it.

SPEAKER_03: 25:40

I was right there with you, man. What year were you there? I didn't work at Bachelor, I worked at Brighton for one winter in Utah. Yeah, it was fun though. I mean, I was a I was a nighttime janitor, so I just rode all day and then and then the the drive down the canyon was always easy because it was night, you know. So yeah, that was super fun. I delivered pizzas and worked at Brighton.

SPEAKER_05: 26:02

Nice, yeah, it was a suit, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 26:04

And they had this the the place I delivered pizzas at was it was called Rocky Mountain Pizza on Wasatch, and they had the delivery vehicle, it was like a pretty late model Toyota Tacoma four-wheel drive, and it was kind of a gourmet delivery like pizza place. So most of the customers were in the foothills, and like in the winter, you would just rally that thing and the snow, and it was fun, man. Like a sweet job, yeah, it was super fun. So, Sanjay, we're tell me about kind of talk about your first memory of Ionize and kind of uh when you kind of started the feeling of like learning more than just like something your dad had been kind of noodling on for a long time. For sure.

SPEAKER_04: 26:48

Well, so I let's see. I can't remember exactly when Ionized came into the picture, but I remember it I think it was after Dan. Were you talking at that point? I have no idea. Come on, I have no idea.

SPEAKER_05: 27:01

I think at this point it's important to remember that uh the great things are not built overnight, man. You gotta, you know, you gotta take time to put in the foundation.

SPEAKER_03: 27:10

Nothing good happens quick, my friend. Just always remember the pyramids. Yeah. Tenure overnight success. Yep, easy. Dude, I'm right that I'm right there with you. Yeah, but but it it in all honesty, like um, and I'm I'm joking around, but I I think one of the, and I'm I'm gonna let you answer, but before I forget, like part of the part of the brand story is kind of the last how what year did you first come up with the idea? That's a good question. Uh lose track of time.

SPEAKER_05: 27:39

It was it was quite some time ago.

SPEAKER_03: 27:41

Well, you were working for Skull Candy. Skull Candy, yeah. So, you know, call it 10 years ago.

SPEAKER_05: 27:46

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 27:47

I don't know.

SPEAKER_05: 27:48

Maybe yeah, seven to ten.

SPEAKER_03: 28:23

Seven to ten. Yeah. So like part of the brand story is that kind of that time of like coming up with an idea, but also having a young family. And like what I learned is like, because I'm in it too, is you know, you your priorities are your priorities, right? And like some things the timeline gets adjusted in ways that at the time, or even in hindsight, maybe were not ideal, but all you know, like unless the timeline was the timeline, you wouldn't be found like co-founding and launching this with Sanjay. Right, right, and and it all happens for a reason 100%. And like now that I see I and eyes is like you you guys are both kind of bringing this story together, you know, and it's it's gonna be rad, man. Yeah, it's way more fun this way for sure. Yeah, yeah. So I I I I poke at you for that, but I think um, in all honesty, dude, like uh I think that's yeah, and I I poke at myself as well, and and Braceland really pokes at me, but uh because he loves you.

SPEAKER_05: 29:25

I appreciate that, but uh but and I'm super thankful to Gary because he's he's definitely you know done so much to help me over the years, and but uh including you know twisting my arm to uh to join the Balcor, which was awesome. But yeah, it it you know my priority was was all about time preservation with the family up until uh recent. And yeah, yeah, now it's just time to it's time to get ionize to market. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 29:54

So so a couple years ago, Sanjay, you kind of got interested?

SPEAKER_04: 29:58

Yeah, I can't I can't remember. I was probably somewhere around 10. I have honestly no idea. Oh, when you first kind of yeah. Just well, but when my first memory of hearing about ionize was I think it was war paint or advitalize, I can't remember exactly, but it was in this little metal tin, and it um I didn't know anything about it. I just that's my first memory of ionize. And uh yeah, it just kind of came in and out of the picture for years and years and years. Um uh and it was always evolving a little bit at a time, but probably two, three years ago, I drew more of an interest and saw, or yeah, two years ago, saw that it could be more of a it could actually turn into a rad product that was sold everywhere. And uh I can't remember exactly how I got how I ended up.

SPEAKER_03: 30:57

Do you think it was more like the the like the process of working on building something that like you were interested in as well?

SPEAKER_04: 31:06

Yeah, that and uh yeah, I I just thought it'd be a rad experience trying to bring a product to life. Yeah. And it's even cooler that it's a product that this guy invented. And uh yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 31:20

Yeah, I mean, Jack, we haven't really talked about it. What is ionize, and then kind of tell people how you would describe the experience of what It is to someone who's never heard of it. All right.

SPEAKER_05: 31:33

It's so eye and eyes, it's pretty simple. It's uh it's a caffeinated, mentholated under-eyebalm that energizes your eyes. Yeah. Because you know how like when you're when your eyes start to fade, uh, it it triggers something in your brain, and your brain starts to follow, and then your whole body starts shutting down. And it's, you know, it's not always the most opportune time. You might have, you know, a lot of miles that you still have to log. You might, you know, want to get a couple more runs in. You know, you might be working on a on a crazy spreadsheet, whatever it is. But uh, it's just a simple way to um, you know, to energize the eyes. So and to back up. So the you know, when you swipe it on, it it leaves a cooling sensation uh under your eyes, and the menthol triggers the tear ducts and uh and just brings some light lubrication to your eyes. Because if you're staring at a screen or the road or whatever, you you dry out.

SPEAKER_03: 32:31

I tell you, I use it multiple times a day when I'm at my job, just looking at um computer screens all day for like electronic medical records and just it it absolutely every day after lunch, first thing in the morning after lunch and like three o'clock. Yeah. And and it it really does work.

SPEAKER_05: 32:49

Um I'm stoked to hear that you're using it every day. That's oh yeah, thanks for bringing me a couple.

SPEAKER_03: 32:55

I mean, um, and I push it on people too. I've had a few people try it, but I need uh maybe I need to take a sample because um some people don't like, you know, like I don't mind putting stuff on me that other people, but I've learned people are a little a little more sensitive. Everybody has their personal uh right comfort zone. It's true.

SPEAKER_05: 33:13

I draw the line with chapstick and strangers, but but uh but under eye is a different story. It's a little different. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 33:19

Yeah, yeah. Well, um, I thought this would be kind of I I you know your wife Sarah and your mom is amazing. She helped me with her um what would you call? Is it a marketing company? What would you call people people? Yeah, it's a branding. Branding and and yeah, branding, marketing, interactive. So she her and uh some of her team um helped me with store the story booth branding last year, and I've gotten to know her just from seeing her. I've known her for a while, but just I've gotten to know you guys better just going through Bao, and I've been seeing you more recently. And yeah, I had a rad conversation with her um a couple days ago. So I like putting in these uh pieces of audio because it it gives the listener um just kind of now, granted, she's biased towards you guys, but it's a different perspective already.

SPEAKER_01: 34:12

You know, it's a concept that came to Jack years ago, um, a handful of years ago. He recognized an a need and developed this product, but just kind of put it on the back burner to really to focus on you know on being a dad and be present and focus on you know his other his other business endeavors. It's been so much fun to see the product and just the brand evolve over the years. Um, because there have been all these you know points in time where it's like, okay, let's let's do this. And then it's a nope, not right now. Let's, you know, back burner. Sanjay's a really smart cookie and has so much to offer. He is the demographic, essentially, or one of them. And he brings such a great perspective to the table from a branding standpoint and a user standpoint. I think it was like a year or two ago where he started really showing interest in in a lot of interest in the in the product and the business side of things and just the process. And I'm just I'm proud of him. I'm so excited to to have him have this opportunity and to be a part of to be a part of of Ionize. The Bao Endeavor, it kind of gave them a focal point to sit down together and strategize and bring really bring it to life. You know, before this, it was more of a concept that was simmering. And I do think that Bao helps light a fire under them to really make things make things happen and uh yeah, get the really get the ball rolling and and bring it bring it to market. I just think it's gonna be really helpful to so many people. I'm Sarah Green and I'm Jack's wife and Sanjay's mom to watch this this whole business come to come to fruition from concept mediation through the whole branding process. And to see both Jack and Sanjay work together and collaborate as a team has just been it's just been so so heartwarming and just really, really special.

SPEAKER_05: 36:44

Oh man, that's something about hearing my wife uh just just uh you know brings a little emotion forward.

SPEAKER_03: 36:51

Good, man. It it's good to hear that stuff. I like setting it to music. It kind of gives the whole like story a little bit more fun feel, you know. Yeah, it felt really good.

SPEAKER_05: 37:00

Yeah. And I I'm so thankful for her. Not only is she just an amazing wife and mom, but she is so good at what she does. And uh, and she's been so patient with uh I mean, honestly, she's uh she's put her and her team have put more hours into Ioniz than I think uh any of us have. So she really is such a key part of this whole thing. I mean, we wouldn't have, yeah, we we wouldn't be we wouldn't be anywhere without her.

SPEAKER_03: 37:34

So yeah, the the that's rad. And the branding that people people's done, I think is I mean, you have by far the best temporary website I've ever been on. I don't know when, you know, but just the way like your branding, the images of the, you know, it's just it's fun, dude. Nice, yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 37:54

Well, it it shouldn't be long before that uh that launches, and we and you see the real site, which is much better. I'm excited, man. Yeah. When are you guys launching? Well, we're gonna we're gonna get Sanjay to school first and uh and finish up a couple things, but thinking early fall.

SPEAKER_03: 38:12

Yeah, yeah, like uh probably mid-September. I love it. Yeah. Sanjay, what's it been kind of what's it been like collaborating with your dad on a business? Well, I've learned a ton.

SPEAKER_04: 38:24

I mean, going through the Bow program has really like I don't I mean, I'm I haven't gone through college. I'm fresh out of high school, so I'm not educated at all in that side of things. But just being a fly on the wall for the most part and just watching everyone try and build their brands and uh yeah, working on building one ourselves has definitely just given me a killer, not killer, but a good understanding of how it's done and what what needs to happen.

SPEAKER_03: 38:53

Has it changed your guys' relationship? I don't know. Like yeah, like I mean, in the good, I mean, like have you do you feel like you've learned more about your dad that you didn't know before after kind of working on something like this with him?

SPEAKER_04: 39:09

Yeah, I mean it's definitely uh honestly, no.

SPEAKER_03: 39:17

Yeah, then that's what that means you guys have a really good relationship. Which which I think is obvious to anybody that knows you, but you know, a lot of people that you know, so saying no is not a bad thing.

SPEAKER_05: 39:30

Yeah, and it uh you know, when when he uh expressed interest, I was really excited because I've what you know, obviously watching him growing up. Uh I uh I realized that, you know, he's like he's an old soul and uh and has always been very, you know, always had a very calm, collected demeanor. And he but he's also incredibly persuasive when there's some goal he's trying to achieve or something that he something that he wants, but not in a he's not persuasive in a in a salesy way. He's just like just very grounded in his approach and he and persistent and and you know, puts forward arguments that are tough to combat. And so, you know, I've I've watched as a dad, I've watched this just, you know, trying to trying to uh keep him from getting certain things, and I put up these barriers and he's continuously like bringing them down until he gets what he wants. And and so I've I've always thought, holy smokes, he would be an amazing uh, you know, rep or salesperson, but also uh he you know has taken interest in different brands and has this creative side. Yeah. And so I've just seen all these pieces that I think uh bring a lot to the table, you know, as it relates to brand building and and uh sales and marketing and all the pieces.

SPEAKER_03: 40:56

Yeah, I was talking to Chris Zanger and he was telling me about um his observation of you, Sanjay, and the last, I don't know, year or something about um basically teaching yourself how to kind of rebuild your your truck and the suspension and tires and kind of like uh this level of curiosity that you have, and then when you put your mind to it, you like you just figure it out to the point where he wants any work he does has wants to have done on his sprinter van, he said he's gonna take to you. I love it, man.

SPEAKER_04: 41:28

Yeah, it's definitely um I've worked on my truck a lot. Well it's an SUV, it's not a truck. But uh but it's definitely giving me just um just a better understanding of how to uh approach just approach something. You just where to start and how to make it all look nice.

SPEAKER_03: 41:52

Yeah, man. It's uh it to teach yourself how to do stuff speaks volumes, you know.

SPEAKER_04: 41:59

Yeah, yeah. And once I have something in my head, like once it's in my head and I'm just set to get that done, it will not leave my mind until it's until it's done.

SPEAKER_05: 42:10

Obsessive, I think they call it. Yeah, yeah. It's at a kind of a crazy level.

SPEAKER_03: 42:15

Well, you know, everything has a trade-off. There's a lot of upside to that, man. For sure.

SPEAKER_05: 42:20

Yeah, for sure. It's interesting, you know. So I it's as Sanjay heads down his path, it's clear to me that he's he'll he'll have to find something that he absolutely loves doing in order to, you know, in order to to wake up every day to to go to work. Because he's he's one of those guys where if he's into it, he is into it and he's great with it. If he's not into it, then he will just procrastinate to no end. But you know, that's human nature. But absolutely, man. And I hope that doesn't come across as negative. I mean it as a positive thing because and it's good because you you will find what makes you happy because that's just the type of person that you are, and that's what's gonna need to happen.

SPEAKER_03: 43:04

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think uh I always I think like trying to pursue your passion as a as a vocation is um is always a good game plan. Yeah, agreed. Yeah. I mean I'm living proof of that. I'm trying to aren't we all yeah, yeah. Well, sometimes. And I'm not talking medicine either. So I you you gotta share the story of kind of the the where did the ideation for ionized sure came from.

SPEAKER_05: 43:38

Yeah, so uh so backing up to where I left off earlier.

SPEAKER_03: 43:42

Because no one's ever invented an under-eye menthalated caffeinated kind of moisturizer energy surprising to me, but yeah, true. Yeah, so so I just want that to be the context of that because to truly innovate something is is pretty rare.

SPEAKER_05: 44:03

Yeah, well, it it uh you know I've always had I always like I love coming up with ideas. It's the execution part that is difficult, you know. It's fun, right? It's fun to yeah, yeah. So so with this one, uh you know, backing up a bit, the the where was I going? So from Solomon, you know, I got involved or built out uh Oleo, so had a sales agency where I worked with a lot of different brands, a lot of different SKUs um that we're managing. And and so I, you know, have a long history of working with brands that have a lot of products, and it's just been interesting watching how they operate and how they grow the brand. And so um so one year we had a Skull Candy sales meeting. Skull Candy had just bought Astro Gaming, which is a um gaming headphone company, and so part of the part of the the meeting was to go into the astro room, meet the the people behind the brand and learn more about the gaming industry. And so I go in this room and uh the Astro guys giving a pitch on their company and and the gaming industry as a whole, and he's like, Okay, this summer, you know, the big Hollywood blockbuster, uh, and I think it was the dark night at the time, I can't remember, but he's like, What do you think it grossed at the box office? And I, you know, I'm thinking 50 million bucks is a big number. And, you know, it was like a he shared that it was a$350 or sorry,$350 million movie in the first two weeks at the box office. And so then he's like, all right, same time frame, first two weeks of the newest Call of Duty drop. You know, what do you think it grossed at the box office? And I'm I'm still picturing gaming as this subculture, you know, guy in the mom's basement type of thing. Or and uh, and so I'm thinking, you know, 25 million bucks in two weeks would be a pretty big number. And uh, and he shared with us that that number was$1.2 billion from one game from one uh video game maker in two weeks. And I was like, damn, I was like, that is a that's a that's a big number, and that's a lot of people, you know. And so I I uh my wheels started turning. I'm like, what are gamers doing? You know, they're staring at the screen for a long period of time. Well, what happens when you stare at the screen? And so I started researching it and I realized that, you know, dry eye, eye fatigue, eye twitch, headaches, like when you stare at the screen, you don't blink that much. And so uh, you know, I realized that uh that there's all these things that happen when you're you're staring at the screen. So I'm like, okay, what can I what can I make that's that's fun, affordable, it's kind of cool, and uh, and that just you know enhances the the experience for the gaming community. And so that uh, you know, that was in the back of my head, and I came home from the sales meeting, and this is another side tangent, but the uh another business that uh we had acquired a a year or two uh earlier was Danny Naturals, you know, natural products company. Which is still in business, still in business, yeah. And I thought that, you know, at the time, I thought I was gonna transition from Oleo into Danny full-time because my goal was to just get off the road, not be going to sales meetings and trade shows so I could be a dad at home. So we bought Danny Naturals through Danny. I developed a good relationship with this guy, Josh, out of uh uh with Northwest Cosmetics out of Idaho. And Northwest Cosmetics works with some of the biggest uh cosmetic companies in the world. And so he, you know, was really good at his craft and and knows the cosmetic industry super well. So when I came back from that meeting, I called Josh immediately and I was like, hey man, I've got this idea that I want to share with you. And uh and anyhow had him sign an NDA and then and then uh shared the idea with him. And he's like, I love it. Uh you available next week, I'm gonna fly out and let's sit down and get to work on it. And so he came out and we uh we started, you know, started uh working on the formula, just figuring out exactly, you know, how we wanted it. And it's it's funny how a simple thing becomes so complicated because you know it can't burn too much, it can't uh be too shiny, it can't have too much scent, it needs to be effective, all the things. And so it took like maybe 17 rounds of trial and error with different things, different products, and until we were able to, you know, come up with the formula that that uh we felt really good about.

SPEAKER_03: 48:43

Yeah, the density and uh all of it, huh?

SPEAKER_05: 48:45

Oh yeah, the the melting point, like you gotta be able to leave it in your car on a hot day and not have it turn into you know complete liquid. Totally. Yeah, and uh and on a cold day you can't have it be too hard that you can't swipe uh swipe it under your eye. So it's yeah, it's it it's simple but complex. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 49:01

When was the moment you where you kind of thought this this could work?

SPEAKER_05: 49:06

Oh man, well, I guess it's so you know, I was I was guinea pig number one, obviously, because I'm working with the the cosmetic chemist on it, just doing trial and error till we got it right. And uh, and then once we got the the right formula, and at the time I was, you know, I was still repping and we had Danny. So I was spending most of my time on the computer, you know, looking at spreadsheets and and just doing computer work. And um and as you know, so and I'm using it all day, every day, and and loving the feel. And by the way, I'm you know, I wear contacts, my eyes get dry as well. And, you know, when the contacts dry out, it's really uncomfortable and they try and like come out of your eyes. And so it's it uh I just found that I fell in love with the product. And that's when I was like, okay, this isn't just for gamers. Like, and I'm not, you know, I'm not from the world of gaming. Like my love is in, you know, outdoors and action sports. And so uh, you know, when I realize that, okay, this is, you know, it's not just gamers, it's everyday computer users, it's it's the guy on the mountain, it's it's mountain biking, uh, it's college students, you know, it's it's road trippers, whatever it might be, that that's when um you know the wheels started turning. I'm like, okay, there's you know, there's something here. There's a big, there's a really big audience that we can address with this. And what did you have caffeine in it at that point? Yeah, caffeine, yeah. That was from the caffeine's always been in there, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 50:37

Yeah, because I I remember and and Chris has some audio on this, but like the caffeinated eye drops, you know, and there there weren't a lot of the like products other than stuff you would put in your eye that would give you kind of that same benefit.

SPEAKER_05: 50:53

Right. And the stuff, you know, I don't like putting, you know, I hate putting contacts in, but I have to. But uh, you know, I I just hate like dropping things in my eyes. Yeah. And usually it makes your your vision kind of really blurry for a minute, and then the you know, the impact wears off fast. So yeah, I'm I'm uh plus you have to stop while you're doing it. Right. You don't have to stop when you apply ionized. That's true. Yeah, see keep rolling. Yeah. So once I realized that there's all these different uh uh different channels that we could go down, um and originally for what it's worth, the brand was uh ivitalize. And the thought was ivitalize would be the kind of the umbrella company. And then uh under that there'd be like war paint for the gamers, long haul for the for the uh gas stations, uh Kramit for the college bookstores, game on for the athletics, you know, and we'd have these different different packaging, different channels of distribution. But then it's like, oh man, well, that's you know, that's different social media handles, that's that's different labels and and looks for each one. And you know, every every company has their you know minimum order quantities. And so it uh you know, it quickly got complicated. And that's when um that along with I vitalize having uh, you know, uh it it we couldn't get full clearance on the name. And so that's where we came up with ionize and just decided, okay, let's let's give it a look and feel that can uh speak to a fairly broad audience and let's just focus resources on on that and get it, you know, to uh to some different points of of distribution.

SPEAKER_03: 52:33

Yeah, I I you've done a really good job doing that. Like it's really well positioned and based, I think, a lot like on the branding is a big part of that, you know. And and uh I gotta give thanks to people, people. Totally. But then also just you know, I would I would say that there's probably a benefit in just getting that ionized brand identity across so many different channels versus kind of individual, you know, that I think you're doing the right way.

SPEAKER_05: 53:02

That's the hope. I mean, you look at you know, you look at other energizing products that have been on the market in in uh in the past years, whether it's Red Bull or Five Hour Energy, uh, you know, there's a there's a number of things out there and they really, you know, that they just had a consistent look and feel that went to lots of different channels of distribution and it it worked well for them.

SPEAKER_03: 53:27

So yeah, it's cool.

SPEAKER_05: 53:28

Hopefully we can do something similar.

SPEAKER_03: 53:30

Yeah. Have you have you heard of any competition?

SPEAKER_05: 53:34

No. Yeah. No, yeah, no, that's uh yeah, not yet. Which I've been surprised. But I mean, there are like there's in all fairness, there's you know, there's creams and stuff that have caffeine that that you put around your eyes, but it's everything's positioned to, you know, more towards older demographics and the, you know, they're they're typically pretty costly. And uh, you know, we're really positioning towards uh younger, like youthful, uh, you know, young, fun, outgoing, like that's that's uh, that's where we're positioned. We're and affordable, like we're not, we're not expensive. We're and our our our our goal with the the brand is to you know build out the the brand. And if we're lucky enough to you know to drive healthy revenue, then we plan on supporting cool things that we're that we're interested in. And that's where you know Sanjay when he came into the picture, he's like, yeah, dad, let's let's just like let's have fun with it and and uh you know support the support events that are you know in the in the areas that that we're interested in in the things that we're interested in, and not uh you know not just try and sell it everywhere. Let's yeah, let's let's take it slow and and build it right and and position it in the uh the things you're passionate about. Right. Yeah, it's cool.

SPEAKER_04: 55:00

How how do you use it? Well, the first time I uh I really realized that this could be a really cool product is because I've grown up with it kind of just around like so I'll use it here and there, but I remember I had some in my backpack, and I had this really, really boring teacher, like fresh sophomore year, I think. And I I can't remember, I didn't sleep well the night before some, but I could not keep my eyes open for the life of me. And I remembered I had the stick ionized in my backpack, so I reach in and I swipe it on, and it just brought me back to life, and I was able to like just I was able to at least not fall asleep right there and then but I was able to actually do the work, yeah. And uh from there I kind of realized that all these kids are drinking energy drinks before they do, before they go to school, before they go snowboard, surf, whatever it is. And um, and I realized that if it could be if I and eyes could be marketed in a similar way to energy drinks, where it's just about doing cool stuff, I think it could really have a uh an impact.

SPEAKER_05: 56:14

It's it's funny though, because we haven't, you know, we we haven't even launched yet. And and Sanjay's like uh sending me Facebook marketplace links to like cool motorcycles and and uh potential autocross cars where he's like, hey dad, this would be a you know, this would be a cool motor uh ionized motorcycle. Let's, you know, let's let's get this to start, you know, start uh representing the brand. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_03: 56:38

Yeah. What what is your guys' branding strategy like for the next year? Or I guess like marketing strategy more so.

SPEAKER_05: 56:48

It's you know, we're gonna to invest in in digital marketing. I mean, that's since we're just launching and need to, you know, we have our thoughts uh obviously on where we think the brand is gonna resonate, but uh, but I think our our heaviest investment's gonna be in digital marketing and trying different things to see what truly does resonate. And then we'll, you know, we'll we'll chase, we'll keep doing what what uh we like doing, but we'll you know, we'll definitely follow what's working.

SPEAKER_03: 57:19

Yeah, I don't know about you guys, but when I went going through BAO and kind of learning the you know the the data-driven approach, you know, the like like evidence-based marketing, you know, like putting the work in to look at the numbers and the return on this like strategies, that that was scary to me because you it really like marketing and that you know to be successful and get return, like you have to go about it in a systematic, kind of critical way. It's true.

SPEAKER_05: 57:48

Yeah. Which takes some of the fun out of it, but it's but it's also uh it's way more sensible.

SPEAKER_03: 57:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 57:54

Yeah. It's yeah. I mean, otherwise you're like, you know, you're trying to get somewhere without a without a clear roadmap.

SPEAKER_03: 58:01

Yeah, some people I guess would just have that skill set to kind of intuitively do that, but I definitely don't. What were some of the main things you walked away with going, wow, I get that's I never knew that?

SPEAKER_04: 58:14

Um just the whole concept of building a brand. Like I've never done this before. That's a lie, actually. I tried to get some samples um of like uh sunglasses and obey products um from some of his buddies. Oh like like like last year, like from reps, exactly, yeah, for a super discounted price. And I tried like I built a website and I tried selling them uh see you are an entrepreneur at a discount, and it I just didn't have the time and didn't put that much effort into it. Yeah. But uh going through Bao, I just learned how just the motions of starting a business because I really didn't know anything going into it. And so that's where I couldn't tell you some exact components that I took away from it, other than just a better understanding of how to bring something to life.

SPEAKER_05: 59:09

Yeah. Which I think the you know, one of the at least for me, one of the key components is really just coming back to focusing on your why, like figuring out why you're why do you want to be in business? Why, why, why do you want to do what you're doing? And that uh and you know, letting that be the the foundational piece that you build from. And that uh and that's what they really drove home, which I thought was uh super helpful. Do you guys have the same why? That's a good quest.

SPEAKER_03: 59:41

You know, I'd have to review our uh our our bow work to see, but I I I'm not sure I guess just like off the cuff, like or it this it kind of puts you on the spot, but like why it's fun because I've been asking myself that at the quest because the why kind of changes at at different times, you know. Like I think the main thing is the main thing, but sometimes you have to have these little micro whys because it gets hard, man. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_04: 1:00:07

My why I think is just you only get one life, and if I was to go down a path, I would want to build a brand and do something really cool with it, as opposed to working a desk job or something along those lines. I'd much rather be doing cool stuff with cool people, and uh I think that is my why to wanting to build a brand.

SPEAKER_05: 1:00:32

Yeah, and mine mine's similar. I guess uh, you know, with I guess my why is more about I I want to use business as a conduit to do good things, and so uh, you know, good things meaning like I'd love to, you know, be able to to give more to different um Enviro and social orgs that are doing great work already, while you know, also having that business support, great jobs here in Bend uh for people and uh supporting cool events that that we're interested in. And so so my why is is uh is just you know conduit for good, whereas uh Sanjay's you know that's important to him as well, but uh but he also he's more focused on like doing cool stuff, I feel like.

SPEAKER_04: 1:01:24

Well, and you've you've had you've done your time doing cool stuff, that's true. And that's where I want. I want a piece of that too.

SPEAKER_05: 1:01:32

I don't blame you, man.

SPEAKER_04: 1:01:33

There has been a lot of fun in there, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_03: 1:01:36

Yeah, I mean, that's a good point. You know, like uh this guy's grown up seeing kind of the lifestyle and the network of friends that um kind of your professional career has provided and where you live. And those things take, you know, you gotta they don't come for free, you know. You gotta like do your best to position yourself to be able to do that. And by doing what you're doing, having more control, it gives you that opportunity. Kind of that's the way I that's what I'm hearing. Yeah. I don't know if that makes sense or not, but oh yeah. I like it, dude. I like it.

SPEAKER_05: 1:02:10

And the other why, you know, it's well, it's not the other why, but uh a big piece for me too, uh just being a guy that has you know dry eye and uh and and just the discomfort that that brings, like being being uh just recognizing that that ionize helps with that. I feel like yeah, I feel good about it because I know that the product can help a lot of people. So we can help people have fun doing it and do cool things. Like if those can all come together, that uh yeah, it sounds like a win to me. 100%. Yeah. And the the other piece that uh, you know, I I started to go down this path earlier, but working with the different brands and seeing like the skew count and just how how much it's just a lot. When you have a lot of skews, it's a lot of work. And so my dream has always been to, you know, since I've since working with the brands, the thought and dream has always been to like figure out one thing that you can sell a lot of places and not have have to have new collections every every season and not have to have multiple uh multiple products within that collection. And you know, like just the the sales cycle of that sort of thing is just like it's a it's a grind.

SPEAKER_03: 1:03:27

Obviously you're focusing on school primarily, but are you gonna be kind of just doing what you can when you can?

SPEAKER_04: 1:03:33

Yeah. So uh going off to college in the fall, I'll be definitely sitting in the backseat for the most part and letting him run things. But my position, and who knows where what'll happen and where I'll end up, but I think my position primarily will be uh doing the social media side of things because he struggles, he has zero social media presence whatsoever. I don't think that's true. He doesn't have a grasp on yeah what needs to happen, and I think I have a better understanding of that.

SPEAKER_03: 1:04:09

Yeah, as you should, I guess.

SPEAKER_04: 1:04:11

And that's some that's something I can do from anywhere.

SPEAKER_05: 1:04:14

Yeah, not you know, for just it's a big part of it. It is, and it and I've and I fully understand the importance of social from uh from a business standpoint and and always have. It's just there's something inside of me that just also sees the evil in it and sees, you know, what it I just see how it's impacted people's lives in negative ways, and that's where I I struggle and I'm like, I just don't really want to be that involved in it. Well, it's good that you have a partner that can do it. Thank goodness. Yeah, yeah. One thing that I haven't touched on that I think is uh that I feel like is important to share is just that it, you know, being that myself and my family are the primary guinea pigs, like it was super important to uh to me to to make a formula that's really healthy. And so we use, you know, really clean ingredients. There's no animal testing. Uh it's been, you know, we sent it out to a third-party testing group, uh, consumer products testing group is what it's called. And they've they've tested it on hundreds of people, which is interesting. You actually pay a lot more to test on people than animals. I guess that, yeah, I guess that that makes sense. But uh, but anyhow, it you know, it's passed with uh flying colors, no issues with any of the test candidates, and uh and it's a patented formula, so it took like four years, but the two came through.

SPEAKER_03: 1:05:37

Congratulations.

SPEAKER_05: 1:05:38

Yeah, and it so it you know the the the butters and oils that are used as the carrier for the menthol and and caffeine actually hydrates the skin and is is beneficial to your to your face. So it anyways uh yeah, you have the eyes of a 40-year-old. Oh hey, thanks, man. Uh I think you're um I I don't know if you're I don't know if if that's sarcasm or not. I can't tell by that look on your face, but I'll take it.

SPEAKER_03: 1:06:05

When I wake up um and like it takes the like swelling out from underneath your eyes.

SPEAKER_05: 1:06:13

Yeah, the the caffeine, yeah, the caffeine is good for that.

SPEAKER_03: 1:06:16

Open the capillaries and wake up in the morning like when I first get to work and like oh man, I don't look like I slept very good. And like it does actually work, man. That's the reason I use it mostly every morning.

SPEAKER_05: 1:06:29

Oh, the depuffer on it's funny. We don't we don't even really uh we don't really touch on that since our demographic photo.

SPEAKER_03: 1:06:38

So where will people be able to find ionize when you guys launch? Primarily on your website?

SPEAKER_05: 1:06:43

Yeah, yeah, primarily on on ionize.com. And then uh and we're we're gonna start the sales process in the fall um when we launch and just start, you know, placing it at different uh different retailers that that uh that we like and that we feel like are a good fit for the brand. And uh yeah, and then just just chase it from there.

SPEAKER_03: 1:07:07

That's gonna be fun. Yeah. That's gonna be really fun when you see like this it actually on a shelf after you know all the work you guys have put into this. Yeah. Yeah, that's that's good. How how so how can people kind of support you guys and learn more like on Instagram, I'm guessing, and social media right now? Not quite yet, but uh once we launch the website, the Insta's gonna get going. So, you know, this episode's probably gonna air in late September. Perfect. So it works. Maybe it'll be up by now.

SPEAKER_04: 1:07:40

Yep, it will be up by now.

SPEAKER_05: 1:07:41

Yeah, so at at ionize bomb is uh the Instagram handle, and then ionize.com is where yeah, where you can find it.

SPEAKER_03: 1:07:50

Yeah, I love it, man. Well, I'm excited for you guys. Is there anything I didn't ask or we should talk about that we didn't?

SPEAKER_05: 1:08:00

Um not that I can think of. Yeah. I just, you know, again, I'm so thankful for uh Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 1:08:07

Any last, any last shout-outs or gratitudes?

SPEAKER_05: 1:08:10

Well, since you, you know, I already told you how how much I love and appreciate my wife, but since you had Zhanger on there as well, you know, that guy has been a believer since the start and is he's always like he's always kind of nudging me along. He's like, come on, Jack, and you know, you just gotta get this to market. And he's like, by the way, you know, if when you're ready, I want to invest. So it's so it that having a a good friend that believes in it to that level, to where he's ready to, you know, invest his hard-earned dollars. It uh that kind of confidence definitely inspires me to keep moving forward. But, you know, I'm not I'm not gonna take anybody's money until I can prove the concept out, you know, with our own our own money. And then, and then if that happens, I'll uh or when that happens, I'll uh I'll definitely chase investment dollars because we're gonna want to scale fast.

SPEAKER_03: 1:09:07

Yeah, man. I mean it it's always uh validating when people believe in you and continue to encourage you. And yeah, friends are what would we be without our friends, huh? Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 1:09:18

Right. And uh and yeah, big thanks to Bao again because that you know, Gary and Justin kept uh kept shoulder tapping and just saying, hey Jack, you know, you've been talking about this for a long time. Like you wanna, you know, if you if you go through the Bao program, we're gonna make you do it. And uh and the whole experience and and having the being able to share that with Sanjay was was awesome. And it was way, you know, at the time I thought, oh, well, I know what, you know, I've I've worked in this space, you know, I know what needs to happen. And uh and so I I thought I knew what I needed to do. I was just lacking the motivation to execute on it. But uh going through the program, I realized that there was a lot of pieces that that I wasn't thinking about, I wasn't doing. And uh, you know, just having such great people to mentor and and such an awesome cohort to be in there with and kick ideas around together, like it was really impressive and super helpful. And for having uh, you know, Sanjay being able to uh see, you know, a business community with the mentors that have all you know had these interesting career paths and and to realize that you know you don't have to, and I know he already realized this, but uh for a lot of people I feel like you think business, you think like suit and tie and stuffy. And you know, when you meet people behind these these cool brands and you're like, oh, they're just cool people, and you know, doing doing uh interesting things like it, it it it just makes business that much uh more interesting and and more appealing. Yeah, I I couldn't agree more. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:11:02

You got any last words? Uh I just like to shout out my dad because I think most people wouldn't think to bring their kid into their business that they're starting. And uh um I just feel super fortunate to be a part of it. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_05: 1:11:17

Thanks, man. That's uh I appreciate that. And and not to put the pressure on, but uh, you know, as a dad, nothing uh nothing could make me happier than if you go off and get educated while I hold down the fort, and then you come back and uh and you're just ready to you know get in and run things while I check out and go surfing. That's the goal. That is the goal.

SPEAKER_03: 1:11:42

I'd love that you brought up Chris because uh I thought we could end with the little little story of his. All right.

SPEAKER_02: 1:11:51

Jack had the vision, and it took engaging with Sanjay to execute the launch. One of the things that I like about Sanjay is um he has this like, I got this energy, and it doesn't come like he doesn't use it lightly. Of all the group of kids that Sanjay engages with, he has this like willing to kind of play the little bit of a longer game than I think most kids of his generation. Like put the work in and kind of wait for the return rather than immediate gratification, and just this like curiosity that leads to execution and do something for the duality of this experience with Sanjay and Jack is I think that that you know Sanjay got brought into this process, but I think him coming in is actually the gift has been Jack, it's really reinvigorated Jack to kind of to dive in and run with something that he's been dabbling with for a lot of years, but now he's finally taken it to where it needs to go. And I really attribute that to Sanjay. I can't tell you how many optometrists and like and like just and the just the guys that we worked with at the different labs and that all this stuff that he ran with. I mean, he's traveled around the West looking at all these different labs and getting the science and the formula jiggered and rejiggered and literally back of napkin reconfigured to get it to what it is today. And I mean, we're out mountain biking five years ago. Ten years ago. I didn't know what this was. He's like, oh, try Formula 42, you know, and it's just like he's still out there wiping the stuff on our eyes and you know, to test it out. I I really have a lot of respect and adoration for Jack in a lot of ways, but one way I judge people and and we all judge people is um who is this person when they're alone and by themselves? Like, who is this person when they're not being like they're not when they're not manicuring their persona, but they're just who they are. I took a group of guys down to climb out Shasta where I grew up, and we're all gonna climb up the mountain snowwork down. There's a group of uh four of us, uh, and we made it up to Lake Helen, which is was one of the base camps. We did a lower base camp, made it up to there, but it was nuke and winds, and I was just like, this is miserable. Like I'm getting blown around, there's no way to hold safely hold my board, you know, and we're and we still had another 4,000 feet of climbing against the summer. And so we recorded and went down towards the campdown, went down to the uh back of the truck at the trailhead, you know, and opened the cooler with a case of beer and sat there for probably five hours drinking beer and shooting the breeze in the sun for shirts off. And then Jack comes stumbling down in, like in this total altered state, and it just had this amazing, like um almost felt like a spiritual experience. Like he was by himself and then, like, real near the summit, he ran into the sky. He was bringing um somebody's ashes up, like an old mountaineer. And so he was like a part of this experience in the sky, like having this doing this process of uh of sending you know somebody's ashes off on the summit of the mountain. I don't know if Jack was near him or just chatted with him or what, but you know, coming down, we're kind of in this silly party state, and and he was just in a total different energy. And he was like that for like three days. He was just in this much more contemplative, kind of serene, kind of just had had a spiritual experience and achieved a really challenging um thing. So I just had a lot of respect for that. Like when the tough got going, he he kept going, pushed on, and he didn't he didn't record and turnaround. And and that says a lot about who somebody is when they do that on their own. Right. That wasn't that wasn't uh a chore, a job, that wasn't being videoed or YouTube or GoPro. That was just Jack doing Jack. Hi, I'm Chris Sanger. I got this hat that I've been wearing today that uh J-Mo gave me uh last year for my 50th birthday that says uh washed up local, and uh that that's been feeling kind of fun. So a message for Jack and Sanjay. Um the foundation's built and it's time to launch. I I picture it at every convenience store around the country in five years. I mean, it's essentially five-hour energy for the eye, right? One day at a time, one foot in front of the other, or as my dad said, onward and upwards. And I have full trust that you guys are gonna launch beautifully. Good luck on the trajectory.

SPEAKER_05: 1:16:38

That experience was what the the mountain climbing was an interesting one, and I think I had a different uh a different look to me because I feel like I almost died three times on that continuation. It was gnarly, but uh like the windstorm. I mean, it I felt like it was gonna blow me off the side of the mountain a number of times, and then and then uh yeah, the guy at the top was uh that was that was an awesome bonding experience because it was me and one other guy, like nobody else dumb enough to to sum it when the wind was blowing that hard. But uh, so we yeah, we bonded, but then I got lost coming down the mountain. Like I had to, you know, he had I had to get back down to where the my snowboard was because at a certain, you know, at a certain point it was too windy to carry anything, like you were just holding on to the, you know, your your i sacks on the on the mountain. And uh and so I got uh down to where and it was sketchy getting down to where the snowboard was because I didn't know how to walk with the um, oh what do you call them cramp-ons? You know, I didn't know how to slide down safely with the crampons. I'd never done that before. Yeah, so that was sketchy. Um, and then I finally get my snowboard and I think that, you know, and I crush my water because I think I'm just riding back down to the parking lot. Well, I was like one drainage over, which you you know how that is on a mountain, like, you know, it's it's not that big of a deal when you start. But when you get far down there, like you are way on the degree off over a long time adds up quickly. I get I get way down there before I realize that I must have missed something because I had gone way too far, and then I had to turn around and hike back up to get uh, but at that point I didn't have any water and you know the the the day was almost over. Anyhow, it was uh dude. That sounds like an article experience. It was an ass kicker.

SPEAKER_03: 1:18:35

But yeah, it's good to do hard stuff, man. That's I think they call that type three fun, like what you had. You know, it sucks ass in the moment, and yet you kind of have a fond memory of it, you know.

SPEAKER_04: 1:18:47

Yeah, yeah. Did you get any pow turns? No pow.

SPEAKER_05: 1:18:50

It was uh, but I got some decent slush turns.

SPEAKER_03: 1:18:53

Yeah, had you heard that story? Uh I hadn't, no. Yeah, all right, man. You learned something about your dad. Yeah, yeah. Right on, you guys. Well, I'm excited for you. Uh proud of you guys. Thank you.

SPEAKER_05: 1:19:06

And thank you so much for this opportunity and just taking the time with us and totally walking us through our first podcast.

SPEAKER_03: 1:19:12

Yeah, I hope you had fun. Yeah, that was great. Yeah, cool. All right, fellas. All right, all right. On the last episode of the first season of Birth of the Brands from Bin Magazine and Oregon Media, I sit down with my friend and business partner Dan Gummel the morning after our busiest event yet. We sit in the story booth and ask each other a question. What are we really building here? Though the final answer to that question is yet to be determined, we do know what we've built so far. A glass-dalled space that looks like a spaceship, feels like a confessional, and somehow makes people laugh, cry, and remember. This is the story of how public radio craft met a maker's mindset and is becoming something worth building.