Know Your Physio

What If Everything You Knew About Skin Was a Lie? Andy Hnilo's Quest for Purity That Will Redefine Your Beauty

• Andy Hnilo • Episode 139

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For too long, the pursuit of healthy, radiant skin has been plagued by superficial fixes and a toxic industry. What if everything you thought you knew about your skincare routine was actively sabotaging your glow? High performers understand the importance of optimizing every aspect of their health, yet many unknowingly apply harmful chemicals daily, leading to persistent issues and an inability to achieve true dermal vitality. This episode dares to ask the uncomfortable questions about what's really going onto (and into) your largest organ.

Enter Andy Hnilo, the visionary behind Alitura Naturals, whose radical quest for skin purity began with a near-fatal accident and an urgent need for genuine healing. In this groundbreaking conversation, Andy pulls back the curtain on the industry's biggest lies and reveals the profound truth of ancestral alchemy and ingredient integrity. You'll discover why true skin health isn't found in a lab-grown concoction, but in nature's most potent, intentionally sourced elements that work in synergy with your body.

Prepare to redefine beauty as you know it. Andy shares his unconventional philosophy and the exact principles that allowed him to achieve a visible, "unstoppable radiance" from the inside out. From the surprising benefits of meteorite powder to the healing power of ancient clays and bee products, this conversation will challenge your assumptions and equip you with a new blueprint for skin that doesn't just look healthy, but is healthy. If you're ready to move beyond the mainstream and unlock your skin's true potential, this episode is a non-negotiable listen.


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[00:01:48] Skincare routines and their benefits.

[00:06:24] Ingredient integrity in skincare.

[00:08:34] Importance of ingredients in skincare.

[00:14:07] Adaptogenic herbs for recovery.

[00:20:10] Passion for clay mask creation.

[00:25:06] Intentional ingredient sourcing process.

[00:30:20] Intentionality in skincare formulation.

[00:35:49] Gold serum ingredients and effects.

[00:39:29] Natural skincare for men.

[00:40:34] Masculine side of skincare.

[00:46:20] Meteorite powder in skincare products.

[00:52:12] The wisdom of natural ingredients.

[00:57:57] Ancestral alchemy and legacy.

[01:00:35] Gut health and skin connection.

[01:08:40] Following your passions in life.

[01:11:21] Disrupting the skincare industry.


Links Mentioned:

Andy Hnilo IG: Instagram


Visit Alitura Official Website

https://alitura.com/

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Andres Preschel:
I was in St. Petersburg, out with my friends, and I was visiting Zach Lowenstein, Biohack Zach, on Instagram. And I hadn't seen him in a few months, alright? He had just gone through a breakup. And I was, you know, as a friend, I was somewhat worried, and I wanted to make sure that I was there for him. And I see him walking up to us, and he had this glow in his face. I was like, bro, before we get into this, bro, before you tell me what the fuck, what What happened to your face? And he goes, bro, Alatorra Gold Serum, baby. That's what he said, Alatorra Gold Serum. You gotta get on it. I was like, bro, are you kidding me? Like, this is just like something you're putting on your face? He's like, yeah, I got this stuff. And I'm not even kidding you, man. Within weeks, every other person that I was interacting with, out, with friends, it was like, hold on a second. Bro, you look like handsome Squidward. Why is your face glowing? Like, what's going on with your face? Andy, it's great to have you on the show. I know we met recently in Austin. Like I said, I had been, I'd seen you at some of the previous conferences. I noticed you and I'm like, God damn, that guy's handsome. What is he doing that I'm not? And now I have to say this all over again and give you that little, stroke your ego a bit, but it's great to have you here, man. I'm so excited to dive into the science and everything that you do. And yeah, welcome to the show.

Andy Hnilo: Brother, thank you. And again, yeah, it was awesome seeing you just a couple weeks ago. It's an honor to be here, so I appreciate you having me on.

Andres Preschel: Sure, you got it. So, look, there's a lot that I want to cover, but one question to start things off. Andy, I want to know why you do what you do, man.

Andy Hnilo: Oh, my number one in it is just helping people feel better when they leave the house if they have some type of routine, which I know I do that is all-encompassing that I know when I leave the door, I'm just going to have consistent energy personally and professionally. It's just a little routine that involves skincare, but If I can play a small part in one of my products, just throughout the day, having some thing that someone can rely on across the world. And we hear it all the time. So you can imagine where that sends me. But I just, I truly live for the result, you know, many little projects with skin issues, you know, seeing people at that conference coming up, you know, and it happened three times. Just, you know, I've tried everything. There are a couple other skincare lines here. What makes yours different? And I go, oh, and I look down and see the bags and I go, okay, okay, I understand. First, you gotta just, that takes you right back, at least me personally, to that situation. We've had, a couple uh, you know employees That that's how we met that just like the frustrated like no makeup on kind of can you help? And i'm like, you know, hi i'm andy Yeah, I I believe I can and yeah, and it's just uh, I love projects Because I just firmly believe our skin being our largest detoxifying organ to have a decimal point And often, you know, one to three to five and sometimes even more than that percentage of the formula being a government recognized carcinogen rubbing toxins on top of your detoxifying organ, your largest detoxifying organ, whose main purpose is to release impurities and just shed them. Why would we ever rub a trace element of that toxin on top of that organ in something we're doing daily? So I just, you know, from the beginning of this, I would always find some type of hole, and by a hole I mean an unnecessary preservative or sometimes three or four, three or four different kinds of, and you know, they may have mentioned it, if it were, non-gluten you know, free alcohol, so gluten, you know, alcohol that contains gluten, you know, grain, alcohol, soteriol, you know, just three or four different forms of alcohol along with those toxic preservatives and the fragrances. And it's just like this perfect storm of toxins that I just, it's good now because, you know, the world is becoming more aware of what's inside of their, their ingredient decks, both internally and then something that we're rubbing on top of our face in an effort to just look and feel good. But aside from the look part, down the road, that toxic buildup, someone close to me is going through that from using decades of a product that someone was telling them that they were, yeah, keep using that. This is great for you. Loaded in methyl parabens, butylene glycol, propane diol, propylene glycol, disodium, it just, so the beautiful part is just, you know, the little engine that could, it's not only us, you know, Osea, Amerigiani, living libations, eminence, the pioneers that were doing it in the beginning, who inspired me to just, when I was making my little potions. to stay the course and it's great. You know, we're 11 years and now that, you know, people are getting more into that. We just get to show what we've been about since day one while highlighting the people that do it, right? I think that's important to the other brands and it's just it makes sense. Just, you know, mitigate the synthetics. Definitely no toxins. And point that out, point out what you used instead of that synthetic that does nothing to the skin, doesn't serve the skin. I bet you provide a little life, you know, go beeswax over glycerin. Anyway, I just, I love it. I love it because you get to pour your heart. It's a form of creative, of a creative outlet for me. It's my art. So it's one of them, but yeah, I really got lucky with Alatorre. So I'm treating this purely as a gift. And just going to stay the course with our mission of ingredient integrity that does serve the skin. And that's the fun part for me.

Andres Preschel: Incredible and yeah, I mean I can imagine that when people see and feel the difference They're so inspired by what's possible that they approach you for opportunities to work to collaborate with your brand and you know to help other people see this dramatic change because you know the skin is You know, obviously our biggest organs. It's so important and it's so visible I mean it has so much to do with the impression that we give other people about our well-being and how we carry ourselves and And so, you know, outside of vanity, it just simply reflects our internal health and well-being. So you want to reflect that outwardly. You need to treat the skin like anything else. You can't just, you know, give it a quick fix and give people the impression that you're healthy because you put some BS on your face to make it shine. Like you actually want to heal the skin and give it what it needs to look and feel the best, you know, in the short term and the long term. How did you really learn to appreciate that difference on a personal level? Was there a period in your life where you suffered with poor skin quality? Did you have any scarring? Did something happen that prompted this deep passion and awareness about the skin?

Andy Hnilo: Absolutely. 18 years old, UC Berkeley, my first Pac-10 locker room, you're in there, I played baseball and with grown men and I'm growing into my body at 18. I just was really obsessed with gaining weight and so I wanted, you know, you look into protein, fat, calories and that disregard, at least at that time, to what was inside of the products. Dorm food, cheeseburgers, pizza, Marie Callender's, Barry Cobbler, before bed in an effort to just put on weight, which I did, but it wasn't, I mean, it was good weight, but my skin wreaked havoc. I mean, I had the worst case of back acne at the time and little cystic spots around the face that looked like mosquito bites. And I just yeah, it's the first thing you see in the morning and then you go to the locker room and I was changing with my back to my locker and one day in Berkeley, I went down to Shattuck Avenue to this herbalist store in Berkeley, California and I was put to school on the importance of ingredients, not only what I was consuming but my products topically. And I had never even thought of that. And I quickly went from like Neutrogena, Claracel, Noxzema, this three-part system to just the most toxic solution to my skin issues. And I went to Dove Soap, which had, I think, like five or six ingredients to them, were coconut-derived surfactants. So I remember seeing that coconut in parentheses and going, ding, like, oh, that's natural. Okay, that's kind of like, okay. But I mean, at 18 years old, not only, that cleaned up my skin issues, which was huge. I mean, I could take my tank top off at pool parties and seriously, things like that. are, you know, very impactful and stick with you. And so it became a big passion of mine, which, you know, writing, I started wearing, you know, night cream. Dove also had a night cream with CoQ10 and I think Primrose or Rosehip, I'm not sure, one of those. And I started at 18, 19, just taking care of myself. And, you know, as a guy who was really tough, especially in that locker room, But I liked how I felt. I just put on sunscreen, even though at that time it definitely wasn't the right sunscreen, but just taking care of myself at 18. And then that interest in continuing that, but from a natural element based on those ingredients, not only translated from the products I was using, hair topically on my skin, but in my diet and nutrition as well. I had no more dorm food. I was making my little spinach and tuna salads and cantaloupe. And, you know, some nuts and things like that. I was reading Men's Health Magazine, this versus that, and I'd follow that. And so 18, 19, 20, that passion and interest grew year over year and involved products. Long story made short, after baseball ended, I was an actor in LA for years. I fell into a role that my roommate at the time was reading for. I was helping him run lines and I was fresh out of baseball, so he got me an opportunity to read for that role, booked it, got representation, and that's what I was doing for Up until 2011, crossing the street, I got hit by a westbound heading Land Rover, hit into the eastbound lane, run over by a Tundra, close cut off me in the middle of the street, woke up in Cedars-Sinai ICU with a compound fracture of my jaw, seven broken ribs, and a collapsed lungs. Unrecognizable, though. You know, you're talking, you're on a morphine drip. They quickly told me not to talk because I didn't want the particles to move around, which got pieced back together. I got a titanium plate put in on the bottom and on top. And then I got those removed like eight, nine months later. And that went through the same recovery because I didn't want titanium attached to my body. And, you know, then went to work. I left the hospital. My nurse was a former Marine. He's like, I just want to, shook my hand. He's like, I just want to, say anytime you leave the hospital walking you know it's a good day best of luck on your recovery and that really set the tone wasn't the only thing I had my family there and it's rare we're all together my sisters because they have families and things like that but all of us were in my little 660 square foot apartment setting the tone you know in positivity and perspective you know I was alive people don't survive those accidents so beyond grateful in a weird way I was like I don't know if it was like the fight or flight but it wasn't like it was down and out and kind of a zombie from the antibiotics and things like that painkillers for sure But, um, I was alive and like, I'm grateful I had that mindset. I was like surprised. And so you develop these little, my ankles, knees, shoulder were intact. So I go on these walks when the sun went down, so my scarring wouldn't bake in. I did have a clay mask that I was using every Sunday night. Um before a week of auditions for the entertainment industry, you know to look and feel good You want to look like your pictures and at that time? I believe it was bentonite rasul kaolin kelp and I think I had vitamin c And so I knew just theoretically that I was going to create a lot of microcirculation to that area I mean my jaw was out to there You know people look you in the eye and then look down at the jaw and it became so I became so self-conscious, which is good because I just know I got over that hump over time. I was just looking for some type of improvement every day and that involved, you know, in internal cleansing as well, reducing the inflammation that I just went through and getting rid of the impurities and toxins from the CT scan, x-ray, you know, antibiotics that was just putting me in this fog. But in doing that, at Jaw Wired Shut, I went and visited Dragon Herbs, George Lamoureux from Jing Herbs, Crosby, Taylor, Sage Damers, Truth Calkins at the Tonic Barn at Air One in LA. Jaw Wired Shut, you know, front three teeth missing just, you know, basically explain the situation and if they had any advice for how I could just build the system back naturally. And that's when I found out about adaptogenic herbs, Ayurvedic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine. We put together this concoction, which, you know, of adaptogenic herbs, hushaboo, schizandra, ashwagandha, gynostemma, cistanche, colostrum, egg yolks, spirulina. It was just this really nutrient-dense smoothie. And I started experimenting with some of those ingredients in this clay mask, breaking open the capsules and putting in a little pearl powder, and then liking the particle size and then isolating pearl powder That's how I was doing it. But I was just it was a creative outlet. I never was trying to like build a product. I was trying to find a like an inkling of a difference in my skin, which I did and then I would patch test and isolate certain ingredients on their own. That's when I found the real activity. I in my opinion, you know, my skin is so reactive and so sensitive. that I, yeah, I have a good feel for it. And so I just, I would experiment in some of those ingredients in the tonic, which long story came to be the Alatorra Clay Mask. And that tonic is now our revitalized supplement. So, and then this paste, this chunky paste, I was melting down cacao butter, manuka honey. You didn't really have to melt down manuka, but definitely beeswax, sea buckthorn. I started learning about plant derived stem cells and I was making my own little pace to heal after the clay mask, you know, and then I just would look and it got better. Three or four weeks later, the abrasions were gone, but the scarring wasn't. The swelling had gone down though. And then Christina Rodriguez, who saw me in the ICU, picked her up from the airport a few weeks later and she just did that like snapback double take, which is the best feeling in the world. Like, oh, what are you? What are you doing, you know clothes and I was like, well, I uh, I have this like this clay mask You want to try it and just she lived close went over there bamboo bowl apple cider vinegar lavender And she had a friend there too. That was my first time and and at that time I was just mixing ingredients together a little like a little of this, but not down to like a decimal point of where it is now. But like, and then I would get their feedback. They loved it. It was a little earthy. So we had to cut down the kelp powder in half. I got a couple of those because I started, they started telling their friends, I was going over to people's houses I didn't even know, which I'm grateful for. And just, you know, makeup artists, estheticians. I did this for about two years. I'm just sharing this because I was getting back and it was just fun. It was my thing, you know, being so down and out and actually now having something, you know, because acting and modeling that actually came back, but that was a long time down the road, you know, and just these little victories, you know, but that. was my beta testing on dialing down the formula into where it is now, which I believe is perfect, but it took a while just hand throwing these really rich ingredients into the formula and then fine-tuning it to perfection. to where it is. But that's how it all started.

Andres Preschel: What a story, man. What a way to feature everything you learn in a product that's helping so many people. You can identify with every ingredient you put in your product. What a privilege.

Andy Hnilo: That's what it is, though. And that's how I honor it to this day. One by one. I mean, right now I'm working on my sunscreen. And you can reverse engineer that base. You know, I found this out at SRC Labs. We have our own custom section because all of our ingredients are customer supplied that often get little additions throughout the road. You know, you find out about things and you get excited. That's, you know, we have a personal relationship. I have a personal relationship with all my chemists. We have several. You can't be great at everything. And I went through the unfortunate part of meeting with manufacturers in the beginning with my clay mass specifically where it's an extremely specific formula. I think we have five different sources of for those ingredients because it's just I don't know why did I yeah I mean you just I wanted to find the They're like the specialists, the curators, the first four-hour milking grass-fed colostrum, the best, most potent L-ascorbic acid, Nevada green desert clay. I didn't want just bentonite. I wanted a story behind it. And how do you find that? I mean, luckily, I, because I went from Aztec healing clay when I was 20. It's one ingredient bentonite. That's how I made my little mock clay mask when I went down to LA's. It's one ingredient. And a few years later, I just kept buying this little eight or 16 ounce jar, I forget which one, probably 16. And then I just, you know, was looking, I was like, calcium bentonite clay? All right. And then I found out about, well, through Jason Eton, who's written books on clays about the different, you know, nutrients and minerals and pyrophyllite versus eyelight and kaolin, rasool, bentonite, the different forms, how to prepare it perfectly. I mean, we had conversations over the phone, bless his heart, because I really got put to school on clays and developed. You poured a little gas on that passion. And so I just, looking back, it's a trip, how it all came to be. I mean, that was a gift right there, getting to know the components of clays and which was the base is the base of the clay mask. We have four clays in that formula, but then just experimenting one by one with ingredients that really a lot of things didn't work, but the divine nine is what I call them of the Alatorra clay mask. I mean, we can't touch that. That's perfect. So it really yeah, it was just a fun process throughout that was just purely led for passion for recovery, but also just I thought I had something, but it was kind of just a little joke that you start laughing because who am I? I don't have a chemistry degree. How does this even happen? But I troubleshooted Dave Asprey's email wanting to work or at least be affiliated somehow. My friend was an ambassador for Bulletproof. coffee at the time. And, uh, so D dot Asprey, Dave dot Asprey, David at Bulletproof exec.com, like 10 different combinations. And just, uh, sent the same email before and ICU after, and like men's health magazine going, dude, you got me, your products help get me back into something. I love so much. Just want to thank you. Number one. And, And if I could be involved anyhow with Bulletproof, I would love to. My friend Crosby is an ambassador. One of those emails went through and they got back to me. I became an ambassador. And so I started like taking pictures with my mask and while I was drinking Bulletproof and just, you know, on social media with that. And I guess I got a little bit more familiar with my accident and then have me on Bulletproof Radio, February 1st, 2014. That changed it all. I mean, I idolized Dave at the time. I mean, I still do. He's awesome. But I mean, just sitting there on Skype, dude, I was so nervous. But in, you know, we're talking about how I recovered with this products in the last like 15 minutes ago. So your skin. Your skin looks great. Like I'm sure the audience would like to know what you did and like we didn't talk about this beforehand. I definitely didn't have a website or company or you know, what I thought was a product to be able to sell at that volume, but he got a big response. I started, you know, I because right after that I started just why kind of, you know, I created this mask and Yeah, he's like, oh, this mask, you didn't mention it before. And I started flowing on the ingredients and what I use. And he was adding his really good technical insight to how the components of grass-fed colostrum combined with the vitamin C can really help just build the best complexion during that cell turnover process. And he flew down to LA. We came to terms on a deal and had a product in the Bulletproof store June 26, 2014. So just a few months later, yeah, from that podcast, we had something. But in those beginning stages, like even Before he came down, uh, people were reaching out once it aired. Hey, we'd love to try this mask and i'm like, oh, well, thank you Uh, I go to I think I was just giving it out and they're like, all right. I just come up with a price $35 free shipping sounded good until You know in my packaging I was going to whole foods to get those like clear containers that they only sell or well They don't sell them. They're for peanut butter almond butter olive oil, I think but that would grab the stack of 50 in the lids and bring them up. And they came up with the price, thankfully, on the spot. It was like 15 cents for each. And then came up with a name for the company, Alitura, being Latin for feeding and nourishing, you know, your skin being your largest organ. I believe, firmly believe, it's important to treat it like another milk. And so just one by one, slowly but surely, not too fast, I was figuring out how to run this one product business and I can't describe the excitement. Number one, working with Dave, getting love, being on a podcast that I had listened to and watched and I never would have dreamt of being on it. But yeah, that's where it all really started. just the whole learning Shopify. And I had a friend of mine who was working for Netgear and, you know, just stay away.

Andres Preschel: What a throwback.

Andy Hnilo: Oh yeah, yeah. His name's Eric Fiatto. Bless your heart, brother, if you're out there. But just the whole, it wasn't too much, you know, learning about writing directions, ingredients, the whole UPC codes, putting the beautiful label on and then getting your dream duplicated. That was a difficult part. Meeting with contract manufacturers, getting undercut on my pearl powder and colostrum, walking over there in a little Henley white lab coats. I'm sorry, can I see the pearl? I can just, you know, that's, is that Jing? No, you didn't say it. Well, oh, so I found out you had to put things in writing. Well, I did via email, but like, you know, contractually and it was just disappointing, but I'm glad I went through that because that's how I found like my the need to meet in person and really trust your intuition and get on the same page with, look, this is a very dynamic formula. I'm not trying, you know, they ask you, what cost are you looking for? I'm like, no, I don't know. We'll find that out at the end. So it's much different. Um, and I learned how things go in this industry and I believe that's a way you can stand out, but share more of the process, which is what, I do, just because I love it over these past 11 years. It doesn't have to be rushed. These are like albums, you know? I just have fun with it. Take your time. Who knows when something else may come to you through your research. It's just, it does not have to be rushed. They're one by one, have their own little mini documentaries, every one of them. So I'm just, yeah, extremely grateful for the opportunity to fall into something. So that, I mean, that accident really led to a lot of purpose. I just can't imagine my life without it.

Andres Preschel: I mean, man, this story is so inspiring and so refreshing because it's like, if you look at these ingredients in isolation, I mean, some of them, You can say that they can be reduced down to their bare mechanism of action. There's so much research behind bentonite clay and how it might work. But you look at these things in isolation and yeah, there are ingredients that work. But the fact that your curiosity and discovery drove you to these stories and to the best of the best ingredients that typically have something in them that works synergistically and you source them and just the whole process is so intentional that now it's like it's almost like it's almost like imagine if you take like a like a you know wedding ring and it's like a lab-grown diamond versus like a natural diamond right there's the same thing on paper but there's a natural history to one. It took millions of years to develop that. It grew in nature, and there's something special about that. Whereas if you take something that's just as simple as some carbon atoms in a certain structure with a certain kind of hardness and a certain shine, and yeah, it's still a diamond, but there's this certain kind of richness to one that the other just can't have. And so I think it's incredible that your passion drove you in this direction because now the products, they speak for themselves.

Andy Hnilo: You know, that's a perfect analogy, by the way, perfect analogy. And it's still out there. And we're the little engine that could just, I mean, like I said, there are a few other brands doing it right. But the V2 formula is now that we're being more conscious of our ingredients and that V2 is just a little less cleaner. They're all four or five sixes out of 10. And I just, you can't just from deception, in my opinion, We all know what it is. We get the red to green rating on the ingredients and the cleanliness. It's the first thing you sign off on from the ingredient supplier. So they give you that. I think it should be required. I think a lot more compliance should be done on skincare. And it starts with that first 30% within the first five to 10 ingredients that is just so predictable on the synthetics.

Andres Preschel: I love what you said when you asked. I think it was you having a conversation with the guys in the lab and they were asking you what you want the price to be. And you're like, no, we'll worry about that later. I mean, that alone goes to show where your priorities lie and the experience that your customers get. You know, that's beautiful. I really admire you for that. That's incredible.

Andy Hnilo: Thank you. Thank you, brother. That number one thing for me, I want people to be a part of that and I do my best on social media, just to share, it's just different and you know what my. That's why I call my chemist personal friends because it's just I, you know, getting let down a little bit. so I was making it myself for years. Couldn't find a co-packer until I found Jose in Las Vegas. They don't radiate the clays. They respect the formula. Sat down, flew in from LA, went in 2018. That was, but like, it's just, yeah, I mean, that first opportunity to duplicate the The formula that you made that you put so much time into that, uh, the revision process, it just has to be duplicated. Here are the numbers. Please do that. I'll pay whatever. I know that you need to get some profit on top of that, but just please just use these ingredients. And then, uh, the cost part of things. Yeah. That just, you know, I couldn't believe the opportunity profit margins, cost of goods, the business side. I started looking into that like year one or two. I've still had a couple other side jobs. And then we locked in and I got some help from different partners. Dave obviously was instrumental. Carissa Bodnar from Thrive Cosmetics, bless your heart. absolute angel on earth, you know, introducing me to certain components, you know, good packaging components, a great label printer, Revere Group out in Seattle. So I got some help from that. standpoint from those two, Dave and Carissa. And then just, you know, kind of, um, taking, you know, getting on Dave's, Hey Ben, Ben Greenfield just was on Dave Asprey's podcast. Love what you're doing. If you wouldn't mind, uh, having me on as a guest, I'd love to share, uh, the story about our mass. And so just kind of. slowly but surely getting out to other podcast platforms and just sharing the story of how the Alatorre clay mask was made and just what's inside it. And I know it's a clay mask and like getting people to mix it and sit down and what's in this, you know?

Andres Preschel: It's an opportunity to meditate, man. You know what I mean? I mean, it's just…

Andy Hnilo: Yeah, exactly.

Andres Preschel: It's an opportunity to just slow down, to be present, to put something on your face, to feel the difference and then to see the end result of being intentional and meditative with your approach. I mean, honestly, you know, and it's not just about the ingredients and sourcing them, but then, you know, potentially bastardizing them when you put them through the process with these chemists, right? You want to make sure that they actually treat them well. So it's about the person at the end of the day, what their values are. and that partnership. So you take your mission and you actually bring intellect to the right process. A lot of people have the intention, but then the process is off. Elizabeth King, I love her quote, process saves us from the poverty of our intentions. I think most people in the skincare business, most companies probably have a good intention, but what's their process look like? You know intention alone isn't enough. So the fact that you've and you have this this this I mean really this pain in your story You know That's what drove you to get the best because you demanded it for yourself and now you demand it for every single person involved in your process Then now everybody gets to gain something from that. I mean, that's that's incredible. That's incredible. Seriously. I mean kudos to you That's that's that's that's really admirable. That's awesome

Andy Hnilo: Hey, thank you, brother. I promise you that's how it's done. You know, it does not no due dates, no benchmarks, pour your heart into it, share the story, people will come if they love the product, they'll share with their friends, more into the products, less into this throw it against the wall, see what sticks. Like you mentioned the word intention. goes very far. And, um, I love the formulation. I love the splitting hairs of ingredients. I love the fact. Yeah. I mean, signing off on presence three times, twice while it was in quarantine, baby powdery to vanilla. I mean, that's when that's the last step you signed off on it already. That's just like for compliance and just coming back on that. uh three times total it's just yeah it's a level I don't know really having like a knack for and a feel for good uh texture emulsion nice light aroma but specific and different from anything else and explain that too it's I found my my my creative outlet and I really mean that though and and there are other things too I love art love music love designing gotta get better at that like just using hands and but I will but uh Just not having someone tell me what to do, Andres, it just allows for that freedom to create. I'm very grateful for that too.

Andres Preschel: You can't really be creative on a… on payroll, I mean, on a on a fixed hourly, you know, salary or rate or schedule, it's difficult to just spew out creativity, at least to the to this extent. You know, it really just takes living your life and allowing for that present moment to come. Hey, so I want to shift gears into the actual ingredients and how they work and what they do. But I want to I want to actually I want to share a story with you of how I How I first really came across Alatorra and what inspired me to start using your products. Cause I had seen you, like I said, at conferences and, you know, I'd seen your products here and there, but, um, I've never, I had never used anything on my skin ever until. I was in St. Petersburg out with my friends and I was visiting, uh, Zach Lowenstein, biohackzack on Instagram. And I hadn't seen him in a few months. All right. He had just gone through a breakup. And I was, you know, as a friend, I was somewhat worried and I wanted to make sure that I was there for him. And I see him walking up to us and he had this glow in his face. I was like, bro, before we get into this, bro, before you tell me what the fuck what who what happened to your face? And he goes, bro, Alatorra Gold Serum, baby. That's what he said, Alatorra Gold Serum. You got to get on it. I was like, bro, are you kidding me? Like, this is just like something you're putting on your face. He's like, yeah, I got this stuff. And I'm not even kidding you, man. Within weeks, every other person that I was interacting with out with friends, it was like, hold on a second. Bro, you look like handsome Squidward. Why is your face glowing? Like, what's going on with your face? So look, I mean, I take pride in, as you know, I mean, this is what I do for work. I am obsessed with health. I'm obsessed with science. And I believe that, you know, your skin reflects what's happening on the inside out. Right. It sits on the inside out. But. When you have the right product, it really helps to promote that that that glow. I mean, it takes it to the next level. It's the cherry on top. You know, I don't want to tell people, all right, just put this on your skin and you're going to naturally look amazing and get all these compliments and feel better and more confident by yourself. But it definitely took me to the next level. I don't know if you can tell, but I have the gold serum on now. Whenever I want to impress, I put on the gold serum. Whenever I get on stage, I put on the gold serum. I've been doing the clay mask with my girlfriend. It's a great way to just spend the evenings together. And I recently got the two fun things that I've been experimenting with that I want to ask you about. The meteorite powder. I mean, I can't believe there's actually meteorite, you know, remnants of meteorite in there. And I also got some kind of cologne from you guys. that my girlfriend is obsessed with, like she is like it drives her crazy. So I need to know, starting with the gold serum, what's happening to my skin and how is it working so well?

Andy Hnilo: Oh, that's a special product. I mean, to get this right here, that old color, it was kind of, because I knew I wanted to have astaxanthin CoQ10 in a collection of active ingredients in a base of a formula without water. We're using Rose water, rose oil, carrot seed, neroli, frankincense, sandalwood, 95% organic, that's our base. But we added plantarite vitamin A, that's a retinal alternative. Keep in mind, this is 2017 that I formulated this. Copper peptide, marine collagen, CoQ10, and astaxanthin, the five clean active ingredients that I supplement with internally as well, with the exception of plantarite vitamin A. Um, but uh marine collagen cookie 10 astaxanthin copper peptide I do and so like that whole body internal active skin like the all-encompassing healthy healing ingredients Um, just uh that that was and still to this day can't adjust I wouldn't add anything to it, which is a trip. Um, But um, yeah that that like when I when I released that It was this combination that you hadn't seen before of like usually it's organic botanicals or ideally clean skin science with active ingredients like alpha hydroxy acids with the predictable water glycerin alcohol-based fragrance preservative and then a little active shulma study I just, where's the life in that? I need mother nature, you know? And so like that's, you know, beeswax, propolis, pollen, royal jelly, olive oil, aloe vera, cacao butter, you know what I mean? I mean, just earth grown ingredients. I firmly believe because I have really reactive skin where I, you're going to see the influx of microcirculation from clays once it dries. Get softer clays, you know, because bentonite can be a little harsh. Softer clays, I mean kale and pearl powder, anyway. But that's, yeah, it's a clay mask. But the gold serum, yeah, we got, it was a little, It was like a sunrise, which I like too. So that glow, that's astaxanthin, that's CoQ10 in the light gold oils. That's a propolis, jojoba as well. And it just, the emulsion, it goes on. I got lucky with that formula, but we put a ton of work into that because it was kind of, I I don't know there may have been other brands, but it was kind of confusing But it led to our you know Explaining something extremely unique combining the best with organic botanicals with clean you know active ingredients and That's you know it We're starting to do more of that. Like you saw with the meteorite scrub Um, that's a dynamic product as well. But that glow that the little kind of um, you know enhancement comes from Suzanne, it adds a little tint. Like, look at your beautiful skin right now. Look at mine. I mean, the lighting is a little different or whatever, but that shine.

Andres Preschel: It's a shine, but it's not overwhelming. It's not like in your face. It gives you that little bit of like a tint and it like moisturizes, but there is like that little, like when I first put it on within seconds, I noticed the microcirculation. Like I kind of get like this, a little bit like a flush. But then minutes later, it's just kind of like this natural glow. Just like you said, it's like when the sun's at a low angle and the light's hitting you perfectly and you want to snap a picture, but it's like you have that effect throughout the entire day and people are freaking out when they see it.

Andy Hnilo: Exactly. Yeah, I mean, thank you, bro. The clay mask, gold serum, pearl cleanser, cleanser, exfoliate, hydrate, repair. Keep it simple with that four because we have a lot of products. But whether it's our products and someone else's, that's fine too. I just, man, a lot goes into this. So like, I don't take those words lightly. I appreciate it, man. Yeah.

Andres Preschel: No, it's almost honestly, I mean, I hate to sound I don't know how this is going to come off, but sometimes I almost like don't want to put all this stuff because I feel like my skin looks so good that people aren't going to believe that it's like a real natural product. They're going to think that I'm doing some kind of surgery or something because I get so many compliments, so many questions. And I always say, hey, look, I mean, there's a foundation of health, but then you take it to the next level with certain products. And I always recommend your products. But it's been life-changing. I mean, plain and simply, it really has been life-changing. I wanted to ask you a few questions about, you know, because I'm sure a lot of guys tuning into this are like, all right, isn't skincare for girls? Isn't this like a very feminine thing? You know, like, what can we say? What would you say about the masculine side to skincare? What do more men need to know about skincare?

Andy Hnilo: Just I, it improved my confidence. It improved how, it improves with an S how I feel about myself. That's me, but I'm not alone though. I just, I remember going down to spring training, you know, you're going over to Major League Baseball teams and, you know, they're walking to the locker room. I just had this little table with my clay mask. And by that time I had my moisturizer too. And you'd see these guys, you know, they have suits, clothing, shoes, like a lot of vendors. And then me with my little mask. But in skincare, no, I'm good, I'm good. A few of them started to walk back, and then I was able to tell my story, pump out the moisturizer, have them try it out, explain that it's 95.4% certified organic, and then the collection of botanicals, and then really hammering home, you know, super nervous. I remember Matt Kemp, he's like a star at the time. And I'm just getting into this, you know, 2014, 15, but it may, you know, getting the nods. Oh, that's cool. Getting the nods. Oh, that makes sense. Yeah. I take a lot of pride in my ingredients. If you look in there, there's no toxins by design, never include any government recognized carcinogens. It's your first thing that your body is trying to detox from. Why would you ever rub it on daily? And oh, the nods started happening. And then, They love the product. And then you take that victory and go, all right, I have something here. And you listen to the customer. What are you, are you, do you plan on making a night cream? And then you go back to that paste, that chunky paste that I was telling you about. And I went to my same manufacturer. Hey, do you think you can make a night cream? I'm looking for something thicker. And I took, I showed him a picture and I obviously wrote the ingredients that I was, um, would love to incorporate in that. And there, which was a lot. Um, I like to have and it's not they're all for a reason. I'm, not just throwing fluff out for marketing. They're actually pretty evenly uh proportioned throughout And especially with the mass. There's a lot of pearl powder in there. There's a lot of colostrum. I'm, not just throwing a little They all like a lot of great.

Andres Preschel: It's not a pinch. It's a generous.

Andy Hnilo: Oh, no Oh, yeah, absolutely and um But yeah, they all had their perfect timing though, and they all literally have a little mini documentary of what went into them. But I'm glad because it just adds to what we can truthfully share in our emails and face-to-face is the best. Yeah, there's a way, you know, and other brains are doing it too, doing a good job. Merone glass, I'm so glad people are getting into this biophotonic glass. Sure, it's expensive, but you don't have to add that potassium sorbate, phenoxyethanol, sodium benzoate, BHT. I mean, these are just shelf stabilizers that… Right, they're compensating for the poor quality of the container that they're in. Yeah, I mean, you see these shelf-stable formulas, I'd rather eat fresh food, right? So, I mean, keep it, you know, shelf-stabled with, you know, good, I mean, bee products are naturally antimicrobial, antifungal. antibacterial, but at the same time, like this glass only allows a good violet light. It was originally made for like tomato paste, I think, you know, beeswax, olive oil, but the violet light enhances the life of those ingredients of our often raw organic ingredients that we're having in our formula. So their whole motto is preserved by the bottle, not by toxins. And you're seeing other brands go into that, which I would always trust those brands. Yeah, you're seeing a few of them too, because they're taking a chance. That bottle is more expensive than the top, like, you know, those hundreds, who knows every one of them, but I know a few of them, just the bottle and pump alone, more expensive than entire cogs of some of the most expensive products. That's, that's what we're going up against. So it's all right. I, uh, you know, um, I love where we're at and I believe we're, we're just sharing a piece of our, our heart, which is just easy to point out with formulation and, um, coming from me, I just am able to explain it directly, uh, uh, face to face. And also it's just not quick. This thing takes forever. Our, our sunscreen, uh, Um, yeah, when that finally gets released, I'm not sure. I mean, the goal was June, July, but we'll see. We're just working on the base right now. Proprietary blend of that bentonite, xanthan gum, citric acid. Well, bentonites like slate gray, we don't combine with a non-nano zinc. You're going to get that white film. So even though deconstructing that proprietary blend, making our own, French yellow clay, Multani meaty clay. Now we have pigments that can combine with that, you know, the white non-nano zinc. Now, I mean, these things, we're kind of just, oh, because that's easy, proprietary blend. Okay, and then you get a base of a formula, but we didn't make it. That's somebody else's. I just, everything you can reverse engineer and then takes time, but these are things you can all explain that you left out by and with intention. If that makes sense, it's just… Yeah, no, absolutely.

Andres Preschel: I love the way you think, man. I think we think similarly about things. We're obsessed with what we do and we're willing to deconstruct and rebuild and whatever to our standards. And look, no one's ever done it before, but that's why it's the best. Demanding the best.

Andres Preschel: Yes.

Andres Preschel: Yeah. I wanted to ask you about the the meteorite powder. Yeah. Is that. Yeah. So how did you decide to put meteorite in your products and why does it work so well?

Andy Hnilo: It was suggested to me by a friend. And then I fell in love and looked around and saw very few brands using meteorite powder. Then I found the source in North Carolina, ground meteorite powder, 15K for a half kilo.

Andres Preschel: Literally buying pieces of a meteor.

Andy Hnilo: Oh yeah. And now I'm getting really, really into it. This is black diamond. This is 100 carats of black diamond. And I just, I love, you mentioned diamonds earlier. There's something sacred about them. And then, but black diamond, the thing is right here, this is a little coarse, but we can dial that down to get to a fine, like silky particle size. And then I want to incorporate that with my body scrub. You know, I've got Dead Sea, I have Dead Sea, three different particle sizes of Dead Sea, actual mud, no additives, nothing.

Andres Preschel: Oh my God, I love Dead Sea mud. I've been to Israel multiple times. And lathering yourself in that mud and getting in the Dead Sea is something every human being needs to experience. The deep level of cellular satisfaction that you get when you embark on that experience is unlike anything else in the world.

Andy Hnilo: so renewing so cleansing you're happier you're looking around there are a few people there you could just watching people shed as those you know oh the glow is insane yeah yeah insane experience yeah yes so just uh yeah in person got three different particle sizes of that salt and the dried mud to what I'm thinking about. You following me here on that body scrub? So I got like four or five ingredients. Who knows when this comes out, maybe a year from now, who knows, but we're slowly but surely. I love having natural Exfoliants with a story behind it that are completely different than anything anybody else has used before. So in that meteorite scrub, for example, we have fine, very, very fine particles of a Moroccan meteor. And I love that it's Morocco, by the way. I'm going there in a couple of weeks with my dad. Nice, which is seriously I That was a the the moroccan raw soul clay was fascinating to me. That's probably my favorite French eye light is close green nevada green desert clay is probably my favorite because that's it's so clean jason I bonded on that one. So I would say that's my my favorite Ingredient, I don't know pearl powder's close propolis is close. I could keep going but i'll keep it short. Um, yeah, just um the different components that go into products. I mean, that's your opportunity to just go a little different, go outside of the box, go get unique with it.

Andres Preschel: It's literally an out of this world experience for your skin.

Andy Hnilo: Absolutely. And we thought about that piece to your face. We thought about all these clever, catchy phrases, but that is just a micro element. I mean this. just for like the cosmic energy and it's more about the, you know, the olive and cherry pit, little amber to gently exfoliate the dead skin cells and then the alpha hydroxy acids. We have mandelic, fulvic acid, hyaluronic acid, bamboo stem cell extract, ceremonial grade matcha powder for an antioxidant capacity, Montana U-tip powder and the oil, taxanes. Dr. Naysha Winters, I followed her speaking last July in Virginia and she goes in on the taxing component. She does a lot of work for cancer research and just regenerating the terrain and she uses Um, mistletoe is one of the big mistletoe So now I'm intrigued about mistletoe and I had the opportunity to share for the taxing t-a-x-a-n-e Look up taxing and how incredible they are internally topically as well. So these are just unique and great I don't see them too much. This is you know, it's like making an album, you know different artists. I don't see You know, you want to be your own, you know, not just sure people will leave clues Um ancient egyptian magic is where I looked at it was the only perfect product remember when I say I couldn't find anything without holes being preservative artificial colors, uh Unnecessary synthetic preservatives. I mean, uh fragrances Um, but ancient egyptian magic, I think that uh beeswax, they're out there in miami I'd love to meet them beeswax royal jelly olive oil propolis, and I think honey. I think it was just five ingredients. So I reverse engineered that and added my own botanicals, if that makes sense. Sea buckthorn, aloe vera, cacao butter. And now that's like how I just fell in love with bee products. And then I learned the history of ancient Egypt and just fell more deeper in love and found out more about when I was a little kid and how drawn I have always been to Egypt and now I'm paying big tribute because it not only changed my life from an addiction standpoint, but I'm just spalling like just as ancient alchemy. There's something inside of me that deeply resonates in his vast like it's not like reading but something like crystallizes in my brain when I see the word frankincense, boswellia, myrrh, blue lotus, rose, olive oil, beeswax, propolis. These were all used in ceremony and beautiful rituals that involved afterlife.

Andres Preschel: There's an innate wisdom built into those ingredients. Absolutely. That sparks something in us. It kind of makes us wonder.

Andy Hnilo: Yes.

Andres Preschel: There's actually, on that point, there's a great quote that Matt Maruca, our friend Matt Maruca from Robtics, shared with me when we were just having a conversation about his glasses. He said, it's a quote by Buckminster Fuller. It goes, don't try to teach anybody anything. Instead, give them a product, the use of which will inspire new ways of thinking. You know, and you just showed us the difference that that makes, right? I mean, if you have the right product and start thinking about the innate wisdom that the ingredients carry, I mean, all of a sudden, it's not even about your skin health anymore. It's like, otherwise, what is going into our skin? What is going into our bodies? You know, why is it there? Is it supposed to be there? You know, what's worked for the past thousands of years? What does the world around us create innately, you know, just like a diamond, right? To me, I mean, there's just something about that that is so much, it kind of gives me a peace of mind that nothing created in any lab could ever give me. And obviously, I mean, this is a sort of bias, right? We call it an appeal to nature bias, but I'll take that bias all day, man.

Andy Hnilo: Me too. I just, yeah, it's, from the emulsions, the extracts in the research and the knowledge that I've gained through that, through meeting different people, learning about one ingredient on certain trips. This is happening in Morocco two weeks. I guarantee I come back with something different, like just something new. I don't go there for that, but I say it, I put it out there and it always ends up happening because the common conversation is, oh, where are you from? What do you do? And it's just like sharing what I, what I do comes in. I mean, it's, you know, it's, uh, this is my life. It's not a job when I wake up, I'm on, it's all out. It just is the truth. If I have a family, maybe that'll be different maybe one day, but, uh, I don't know. I just, um, this is, yeah, it's a, it's a lot of fun and I get to combine it into like actionable ways and mechanisms meaning products, but this is like This is an offering from me that I've worked like obsessed over So for in split hairs solo with nobody else cuz I just love doing it on my own sure I take advice and I listen take what I want leave the rest that whole approach but yeah, just so much thought and love and and went into all of my formula and truly does man like it's just you get one chance to release something that's that's you your ingredient decks in my opinion say a lot about your character sure we don't see formulators from other brands all right i love being frontline it's just what an opportunity you know just to share what you did by design and what you left out for you know, to give complete confidence to the user, the prospective customer, even if they don't buy, they know, they feel that directly across, at least I hope they do, that I'm the one who made it. I'm standing right here and I love what I did. I can answer any question. I love our process. It's much different, I believe. So, yeah.

Andres Preschel: What do you think is, and what, I mean, I can understand and appreciate that you want to keep doing what you're doing and continue to grow your mission and your company and your, you know, the impact that you're having in people's lives. But, you know, is there something else that we haven't discussed? Any direction that you want to take this in? Anything that you want to accomplish or a legacy you want to leave, you know, beyond what we've already discussed?

Andy Hnilo: Oh, thank you for asking. I truly believe we're just getting started. I mean, we're 11 years into this. The hunger is only increased just because, you know, you all add life. This adds life and energy. I mean, so I just want to stay the course and I don't want to be vague about it. Like I do have goals, big goals. I mean, Watch founder brands like Burt's Bees, La Mer, Paul Mitchell, Hewlett-Packard, Apple. And you look back at these founder stories that I've really been inspired on truly. And that's really how mine started. I mean, I met my neighbors for the first time because they had a garage when I was quote-unquote expanding. We had this little assembly line skateboard filling. Send it on over to Dan and then the labeling like it did start like that. I couldn't afford labor. So we do product trades and sometimes I had to pay, you know, 20, 25 bucks an hour to certain people who I, but I just making it work, you know, people seeing podcasts. We did a second one after that, that reaching out, I needed so much help. You know, Dan, Frank Caro, if you're out there, I really appreciate you. They just would drive up. While I was working a lot as a model for Oakley during, right at that exact time. So it was just like this whirlwind of, you're back, you know what I mean? And pure, I couldn't believe it. Just like such a euphoria of having, you know, purpose just in something that, you know, working with Asprey, being back in the career that people told me I wouldn't, being, modeling, acting. I know it's kind of a funny thing, but it was like a goal to get back. Everybody's telling me, are you going to sue the city? Pedestrian has the right of way? No, that's karma. It was my fault. And so it just led to a lot. So it just demands what an opportunity, what a gift. Stay the course. So as far as legacy and things like that, I just firmly believe Alitura, being Latin, one of the original languages, in my deep love, for meeting, you know, a new person from a different culture, different part of the world. And then just, I mean, what an honor. Now you're there and they feel and see that respect, I believe. And then just, you know, just that part is sacred and special. Being able to travel the world alone and experience other cultures, how they live life. That's my, like, number one thing. And then the dream is let me to an introduction to like the wisdom to a wise one, an elder, just, you know, Peruvian cantuta flower, mastic in Greece, phone calls with people at like clothing stores that the conversation happens and that introduction, talking on the phone to a friend that specializes in ingredients, this stuff always happens to me. So there's something about that too. And it's just, I don't know, but I'm grateful for it. It's just, I got, I got to stay the course because it just, you know, there's a way to make things better. And I believe, and also while paying tribute to ancestral alchemy all throughout the process, which I believe is a, is a, an incredible way to pay respect to the, the gods and above. And I just, yeah, this is a lot of fun. So I like, Leaving a legacy would be great. Just being respected one day down the road, like the founder stories, and if I can inspire a young, hungry entrepreneur, that it is possible. I got told no so many times and laughed at. I get it. No chemistry degree, but just tried to prod. Okay, I get it. I get it. Just take me out of it. Try try that just try it Because if you have something and you you'll shout it from the mountaintops, we respond to passion, you know Like the farmer guy at the farmer's market is using cayenne pepper not herbicides or pesticides But like his eyes light up when he's telling you that even if I don't eat kale, dude, i'm behind that and and I just uh Yeah, I think, you know, we need more of that positivity and passion and the possibility and encouraging everyone of what they're capable of. So it's just, it's limitless. Just pay attention to the things that excite you. And if it can help someone else around this world feel better about themselves, what a gift. So I just, I love this. I want to just keep doing it forever. I mean that, dude.

Andres Preschel: And I can tell that you will. I mean, the vitality, I mean, it just reinforces, you know, this effort. You love what you do. You get incredible feedback. You have a company that is absolutely blossoming because the results speak for themselves and that helps you reinvest in your wellbeing. It's this positive feedback loop that is so enriching and so wonderful to observe. And look, I know we're running short on time. I have a few rapid fire questions for you if you're up for it.

Andy Hnilo: Let's go, yeah.

Andres Preschel: You ready?

Andy Hnilo: Yeah, and thank you, by the way, with what you just said.

Andres Preschel: My pleasure, man. All right, rapid fire questions. What do you believe more people need to know about their physiology as it pertains to their skin?

Andy Hnilo: Gut health. and identifying household products and personal care products. I know that's two, but I would look into diet, gut health specifically, and identify the toxins in your household products, your laundry detergents, your shampoos, and just look at them. YUKA, Y-U-K-A, is a great app where you can just scan the barcode, get a zero to 100 rating, and they'll identify the government recognized carcinogens or toxins in the products. So just let's start scanning the barcodes and let's be mindful of what we're putting inside of our bodies as well. I could keep going on that for a while but I'll just keep that.

Andres Preschel: Is there a particular like call it like protocol for your gut or an expert that you can recommend or a system or something for parasites because I know parasites have a nasty influence on the gut microbiome and on the skin. Have you explored these avenues? Is there anything that you can recommend?

Andy Hnilo: Yes, I have a VITRACT, is it V-I-T-R-A-C-T? I just did the whole stool sample so they could figure out the whole what's going on down there. Katrine Walensky, K-A-T-R-A-N-E, Katrine Walensky. She's a friend of mine on Instagram. I can introduce anyone. She's amazing. She's a mile away from me, so what a gift.

Andres Preschel: Sedona. Yeah, yeah. She's in Sedona. I didn't know you were in Sedona.

Andy Hnilo: Yeah, I'm in Sedona.

Andres Preschel: Oh, what a magical place, bro. I thought you were in California.

Andy Hnilo: That's exactly what it is. 16 years LA, Chicago, Vegas. Came out here to clear my head, right? Just climb Bell Rock. Didn't know you could look up houses on Zillow to actually schedule a meeting. I was trying to find home. It was going to be Sedona, Austin, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, maybe Golden, Colorado, Boulder. But put it in offer. It was supposed to be a three-day weekend to clear the head. Didn't want to go back to Vegas. and put in an offer that Monday after seeing that home that I booked the night before that I had no intention or plan of doing. I was just luckily looking up things. And man, it's almost three years here and it's just every day gets better. I really mean that. When I go to other cities, it's cool, but just the noise, traffic, you can't even, you know, the big buildings, not seeing the sunlight, but waking up to it. It's just, it's, it's interesting. It's much different out here, but man, I just really prefer it. Yeah.

Andres Preschel: Wonderful. Artistically. I'd love to, next time I'm there, I'll hit you up.

Andy Hnilo: Definitely, yes. Sweet.

Andres Preschel: Please do. What's your skincare routine every day?

Andy Hnilo: Every day? Cleanse, okay. I do the mask, I recommend one to three times a week. I probably do it four or five. I just, my skin's used to it. I have something that I, you know, to prepare for pretty much daily and then also I know what I'm getting. You know, it's just it's not only skincare. There's something that it does and unlocking through the like microcirculation. I like to get it up near my eyes and just releases. We hold a lot of tension in our, you know, right here and it just releases that and just makes me feel better. So like it's something that I, you know, love doing so, but yeah cleanse usually four or five times a week will follow with a clay mask. that I let completely dry. I'll add my favorite essential oils, blood orange, lemongrass, frankincense, myrrh, ylang ylang, sea buckthorn, and then just kind of, man, I'll sit right out there, let the sun bake it in and dry. There's a theory that women, or not women, but when animals get sick, they roll around in the mud and then lay out in the sun and kind of draw out those impurities. I just, it does something.

Andres Preschel: You sure women don't do that too? I thought you were about to say women.

Andy Hnilo: I would, yeah. Women probably should do that. They all should. I just, this sacred earth out here too, I'm thinking about it all the time with the Red Rock and like how I could incorporate some Sedona Red Rock into a product. but that may be with our scrub that I was just mentioning, we'll see. And then just rinse, shave, follow with the, well, cold rinse, close the pores, gold serum, afterwards a little night cream before bed. I know that was a long-winded response, but like- No, it's great, it's great. Pearl cleanser, clay mask, gold serum, night cream, but they, yeah, I know what I'm getting every single time with those.

Andres Preschel: Awesome, and are you a fan of gua sha?

Andy Hnilo: I am.

Andres Preschel: Yeah.

Andy Hnilo: Yeah.

Andres Preschel: I recently became a super fan of Gua Sha. Yes. Yeah, it just helps to drain the face of all the fluids that, you know, when you wake up in the morning, you've got that puffy face. Dude, I've been loving the Gua Sha.

Andy Hnilo: Yes. Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Same thing, I just started it. Yeah. About, you know, three or four months ago. But yeah, I love it. Yeah. Yeah, I keep it in the freezer. So that's a good one. I mean, this one obviously isn't because I used it earlier today, but like, yeah, absolutely. Right around there. Back, you know, get a little lymphatic drainage down there.

Andres Preschel: Yeah, the lymphatic drainage for the face is, yeah.

Andy Hnilo: Tongue over, tongue over… The teeth, so that opens that up, just a little tip right there. Yeah, it does something, extends those glands a little bit more.

Andres Preschel: Anything else that you do for a nice structured healthy face outside of skincare and gua sha? And obviously, I mean, you know, generally exercising and eating the right foods and being lean. Is there anything else that you do that most people wouldn't imagine you do for your face?

Andy Hnilo: Ooh, I used to have this routine of chewing gum and then running to strengthen up, keep that neckline nice and tight. I tried that little, that jaw thing.

Andres Preschel: Yeah, the… Oh my God, what's it called? Jaws or Sighs or something like that?

Andy Hnilo: Jaws or Sighs. Yeah. But like, my jaw is so off that it kind of like, you know, that's where I broke my jaw. So it like, I don't know if it's weak down there, it must be, but I thought it would grow back stronger. Anyways, yeah, something flared up. So it works well for some people, but not me. I would say just, yeah, now that I'm doing the gua sha, and I know I'm missing one, man, I do agree. Mastic gum, maybe? I did get that. I did get that gum of the gods or whatever. And I just, I stopped because that Jawsercise thing, it just for me, it didn't work out. And so I used to chew gum a lot to keep, you know, like, the jaw muscles nice and strong and tight. That's a big thing. I used to chew a lot of gum, but I don't do it that much anymore. I wish I had more tips for you on that because I do a ton of things, but or have done a lot of things over my life, even including like especially when I had swelling right there. Remember that rapid release kind of like it's just like a almost like a vibrating frequency. They also have another Theragun, you know.

Andres Preschel: Yeah, like a microcurrent. Yeah. I forget what they're called.

Andy Hnilo: Yeah, I just have a lot of scar tissue still kind of bunched up. So I'll like put that there. It's normally meant to like loosen up fascia and, you know, loosen up your muscles.

Andres Preschel: What about red light therapy?

Andy Hnilo: Oh, absolutely. Every day Juve, I have the Juve solo. Nice. Do you?

Andres Preschel: Yeah, I've got a huge panel right behind me.

Andy Hnilo: Nice. Yeah, that's a must for sure.

Andres Preschel: Sweet.

Andy Hnilo: Yeah.

Andres Preschel: Well, we're down to just, I think, two more questions for you. So, if you could put a word, a message or a phrase on a billboard somewhere, what would it say and where would you put it?

Andres Preschel: Ooh.

Andy Hnilo: Oh man. Um, I would say potential only means you haven't done it yet. Pay attention to the things that excite you. Dot, dot, dot. That would be thought provoking to the people that haven't taken the leap to follow their dreams. Yeah. I, does that make sense?

Andres Preschel: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, absolutely.

Andy Hnilo: It really gets you to think. I put it on sunset Boulevard and is that LaBrette doing now? Um, either La Cienega or Crescent Heights. You get a lot of people in the rat race thinking about maybe, I don't know, this is what I think, you know, maybe following their heart and their passions and getting out of the rat race. I just hear that it's a beautiful story when I hear people just take the leap to get out of something. I can't imagine going to work every day Working for somebody doesn't treat you right. I'm not saying that's the situation everywhere but somebody right now is in that dreading to go to work, you don't, that adds up over time can you imagine five days a week 40 hours a week. Just the freedom of pouring your heart into something. It's not easy by any means, but like just the, the victory in living, not having to be in that situation and then following your heart is possible. That's why pay attention to the things that excite you just because of that component of the farmer's market guy. You know, you just love, I feed off it. Don't you, you know what I mean? When someone's excited, it's contagious. I, you listen intently. So follow the passions, you know, it's huge.

Andres Preschel: Well said. My last question for you here, man, and thank you. I mean, this has been such an incredible show. I can't thank you enough for everything you do, for your presence with me today, for absolutely living what you preach and really being in love with this mission to help others in such a meaningful way and all the stories behind every single ingredient. I mean, seriously, man, I was already impressed and blown away. And now I really get to appreciate why that's the case, because it's I've been using your products and there's a reason they have that kind of impact and there's a reason that they light you up. And that's the reason why you're here on the show with me, you know, living what you preach. So I can't thank you enough. This has been so refreshing. Yeah. My last question for you is pretty simple. I mean, where can people find you if they want to learn more, if they want to try the products or if they want to connect with you? What's what's the best place?

Andy Hnilo: Hey, thank you for what you just said, brother. That means a lot. It's nice to be seen, and you give me the opportunity to share something that just, they said burnout would happen. I'm just getting more excited 11 years in. I truly am. So I'm grateful to be on your show. This was a blast. I felt like it was five minutes. I could keep going. But just alitura.com, A-L-I-T-U-R-A.com. We're on Instagram, Alatura Naturals. I'm Andy Nilo, H-N-I-L-O. And just, I'm everywhere. It's me and my team. If you have any questions or just want to chat, I just, I love being alive. Love what I'm doing. And, um, we're going to stay the course and, and just doing our best to make some noise and disrupt what I believe to be as a toxic skincare industry and just helping people feel better and encouraged about not only, you know, going for their goals, but leaving the house every day, exerting the best energy personally and professionally to everybody they come across. And, you know, it's, it's awesome to play a small part if I do with some people all around the world, man. So, yeah.

Andres Preschel: Awesome, man. Honor of pleasure, bro. We'll be seeing you soon.

Andy Hnilo: Yes, thank you so much, man.