Functional Mushrooms Explained: The Science Behind Lion's Mane, Reishi & Brain Health

Functional Mushrooms Explained: The Science Behind Lion's Mane, Reishi & Brain Health

Can functional mushrooms really improve focus, sleep, immunity, and long-term brain health?

In this fascinating conversation, Dr. Lida Fatemi is joined by Stephanie, founder of Troop, a functional mushroom company dedicated to making evidence-based mushroom supplements approachable, delicious, and backed by science.

The episode begins with Stephanie sharing her remarkable family story—from their Moroccan roots and their family's immigration journey to the United States—to how a skiing accident during the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly sparked the creation of their company.

Together, they dive into the growing world of functional mushrooms, explaining the science behind Lion's Mane, Reishi, Turkey Tail, Cordyceps, Chaga, and Maitake. They discuss why extraction methods matter, why not all mushroom supplements are created equal, and why bioavailability is one of the most overlooked aspects of mushroom products.

Dr. Fatemi also shares her clinical perspective on medicinal mushrooms, discussing their potential role in supporting cognitive health, sleep, immune function, gut health, and integrative medicine.

Beyond mushrooms, this conversation explores entrepreneurship, resilience, family businesses, community, and the personal growth required to build a mission-driven company.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Stephanie’s inspiring Moroccan family history and immigration story

• How a life-changing injury during COVID led to the creation of Troop

• The difference between functional mushrooms and psychedelic mushrooms

• Why extraction methods dramatically affect mushroom potency

• The benefits of Lion's Mane for memory, focus, and cognitive health

• How Reishi supports relaxation and restorative sleep

• The immune-supporting properties of Turkey Tail, Chaga, Maitake, and Cordyceps

• Why quality, sourcing, and bioavailability matter when choosing mushroom supplements

• The importance of community, purpose, and resilience in entrepreneurship

• Why building a business often requires building yourself first

If you're curious about functional mushrooms or looking for evidence-informed ways to support your health naturally, this episode is a fantastic place to start.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

So it was two generations ago. You're a second or third generation?

SPEAKER_01 0:03

I'm a first generation American. Both of my parents are from Morocco. Uh the story, so there were nine siblings of the family of how Jake and I are related. And, you know, there's a big age gap. So one of the older sisters, she was the catalyst of everyone moving to America. So this is actually even crazier. So uh they were in Morocco during World War II, and my great uncle Sidney met a man in the streets of Casablanca who was a home basically homeless, had just come from France, and he had nowhere to stay. He had his violin and that was it. And my great uncle loved music and was like, come, you can stay at our house. There were nine siblings and two parents in a two-bedroom apartment, and he was always taking in people to how to house them and stay with them, yeah, to help them. And this man who he met, his name was Albert, and Albert had come from France and escaped the Nazis by teaching their kids how to play the violin. And that's how he didn't get captured. He ended up in Morocco at my family's house, and he ended up marrying my grandfather's sister, Claudia. And they were the ones who first moved to America. First they moved to New York and then California. And um, the rest is kind of history. All of the siblings, like not all of them, but a few of them came to California. Some stayed in Morocco, some went to Paris. But yeah, that's kind of how I ended up living. And it's fascinating. It is, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

I love that. And it's so inspiring to think that people left their homelands for a better life for themselves, for the generations after them. And it took so much courage. Like, imagine the the unknown that comes with that, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Oh my God. Yeah, the unknown. I mean, I'm sure you can relate to being from Iran, like it's a it's a very similar situation. People are escaping where they are for a better future, not only for themselves, but for their families as well. And a lot of Persians whose families left Iran and came to America and they end came here with nothing and couldn't speak the language.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

And like the alternative would be that they would either be dead, their families would be dead, or they would be tortured. So having somewhere to escape to and to have a life where it's free. I know like, are we free free in America? No, but compared to many other countries in the world, yeah, we have a be we have it amazing. I came to the US when I was 14. And so I was a freshman in high school. Yeah, from Tehran to an all-American high school, and man, the language Barry, I didn't know any English. And my parents were in their um like 40s, yeah. I can't imagine what they had to go through. I mean, my dad had this business that he started and it was doing great. And leave that behind so that your daughters would have unless you know your children in general would have opportunities.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

Exactly. Yeah, yeah. And honestly, and the the Persians, especially, they came from nothing. So many people that I know came here with nothing and built these incredible businesses here. And it's just like it's mind-blowing to me to come here and in like one or two generations create this massive like wealth for yourself. When you come here and you don't speak the language, you don't have any connection. I mean, it shows such a tenacity of the people. And yeah, it's it's incredible.

SPEAKER_02 3:41

Right. And connection. I think that's another thing that we have. Connection. We really care. And I believe your culture is similar in that. That's community, collaboration, connection is really what matters and what people seek. And and in that is when your growth happens so much quicker. Kind of like the mycelia.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Absolutely, yeah. I mean, after knowing mushrooms, it's it's kind of like you can't not compare things to mushrooms because it really is such a mirror for us. Like the mycelial network is a mirror for our brains, it's a mirror for our lives, and how like the butterfly effect of life and how we're all connected, and it really is just so powerful. And once you know about it, you're you're always comparing things to mushrooms. It's so true.

SPEAKER_02 4:31

And then you know how the planets and all the plants are connected to each other under the ground, right? The the world wide web. Yes, exactly. And it's just fascinating. And to know that, hi Jake, just getting to know each other. And I've I'm hearing about your amazing family from Morocco and the the move here, the immigration, and there's just so much there. There's so much richness. And have you been back to Morocco, Jake?

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Uh yeah, I have been back. We did like actually a cousins trip. We have quite a large number of cousins. So a bunch of us cousins who live in LA did a trip back to Morocco together, and we visited where our grandparents lived. We actually like tried to match the actual buildings. They had photos of buildings from back then, and we tried to match it, which was really cool. And um, it was just really cool. We we even actually met some cousins that we had never met before who live out there, so it was a very cool experience.

SPEAKER_02 5:32

That is awesome. That is awesome. It feels grounding. You know, I was just telling talking to Steph about it that every time I go back to Iran, which it's been like 17 years since I went back, it's such a shame, you know? But when I go back, you feel like you belong immediately. It's just like I'm home, I belong, we're good. Well, except for the current terrorist regime that's in power. Safe. And that's what I grew up with, unfortunately, um in Iran. But yeah, let's hear about what you guys do. I'm very curious uh to hear about your work, your company.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

Yeah. So uh as I mentioned, Jake and I are cousins and we started our journey through mushrooms during COVID. Jake had a really bad ski accident and broke his knee during right at the first day of lockdown in California. And I had also been furloughed from my job in hospitality. And so I offered to move in with him and his family to take care of his leg or to help. And after a few weeks of Netflix spinging, like the rest of the world, we got kind of bored of that. And we were just looking for something to do. And I was reading this book that really inspired me, How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan. And I didn't realize that mushrooms could be neuroplastic and have all these incredible, incredible benefits for your brain and your health and wellness. And I asked Jake if he wanted to start growing mushrooms with me. And we started growing mushrooms, and it the whole thing just kind of happened very organically. We just wanted to share the benefits with our friends and family and in a way that resonated with us. And Jake really does not like taking pills or capsules or anything like that. So he suggested that we make gummies. So we started making gummies to share with our friends and family, and the rest is kind of history. I don't know if I missed anything, Jake, if you want to add.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

No, that's pretty much it. Yeah, we we kind of never intended to even start a business. It was just really organic, wanting to share these benefits with our community, with our family and friends. Um, and yeah, we just wanted to do that in the most delicious and fun way. Um and also, like, not only was I really not into taking powders and pills and things, but um, a lot of the mushroom products on the market at the time when we were uh building this company were all very like ceremonial and kind of like hippie-esque, very like earthy and eastern medicine and all these different things that really didn't resonate with me at the time. I was kind of almost anti-all of that where I was in my life. And because I was just kind of starting my health journey like a lot of people during COVID, health was not the priority before COVID, and then it really changed to be the priority after. So it didn't resonate with me. So we wanted to develop a company and a brand that could share these mushrooms and these benefits in a way that would make people, uh people of all types and thought processes want to take them. So we made it really colorful and bright and poppy, and we wanted to share education in a really fun and approachable way. So, like, we don't want to, you know, turn off anyone by being too hippie-esque or too in any one way. So we just wanted to make it really approachable and spread the love and awareness of mushrooms.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

That's awesome. Real and practical is what come to mind when you say that. And yeah, and tell me, like, is there is there any difference in difference in the onset of action that you guys have experienced with your clients or yourselves if you're gonna, you know, take a gummy versus like let's say you take the capsule powder or whatnot. I don't know if you guys experimented between different products to see to to even notice that. I don't know, but do you see any difference or is it all pretty much the same? About 30 minutes of after you ingest, that's when you start feeling it.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

So do you both mouth open?

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Yeah, so tinctures are actually the most bioavailable way to take gummies and that or to take uh products, and that's what's in our gummies, is we have tinctures. Yeah. So most companies will be using a powder. However, we use a tincture because of that, and also uh it makes the gummies taste significantly better. We went through a really long journey to get here. We researched pretty much every mushroom farm in America. We looked up every mushroom wholesaler, functional mushroom wholesaler, all the extractors, and because we really wanted the quality to be the best. You know, if we're gonna create a product, it's gonna be the best product. It's gonna be the best mushroom gummy that you can find. So the quality has always been of the utmost importance to us. And when we were looking for manufacturers, some of them actually were okay or already had these mushroom gummies that they were making private label. So they make like a million gummies and they sell it to different companies who all put their branding on it. But when I would ask them the simple questions of like, is it powder or tincture? Do you know where you're getting your mushrooms from? What are your test results? They actually couldn't even provide that information to me. So we knew that we had to do custom formula, which made our lives so much more difficult. But it was totally worth it because we were able to control the quality of our mushrooms and just make sure that they're super potent. I was actually just looking at our test results before I got on here, and it's the highest they've ever seen for a tincture for our mixed blend. Yeah. So we're getting incredible, incredible test results. And we're working with farmers who do the extraction. So the whole process is vertically integrated. So we have control over the whole thing. And um, they're constantly iterating and tweaking and testing. So we're like really at the cutting edge of this, which is really cool and exciting. It's super exciting.

SPEAKER_02 11:29

And so, just for my education, how does the how does the process work? So tincture, first of all, is is my favorite just because circulatory absorption, really nice. But from a production standpoint, so let's say here are the mushrooms, and then what happens?

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Yeah. So here are the mushrooms. So they grow all the mushrooms in the United States, organically or USDA certified organic, sustainably cultivated. Then they go through for us a triple extraction method. So just for overall education, it's important to know that the bioavailable compounds of mushrooms are locked within the cell walls. So you need to extract them out. And they have fat-soluble and water-soluble compounds. So you want to make sure you're doing at least a water and an alcohol extraction. So our extractors actually take it a step further. They have a patent pending proprietary method that they're that they do. It's super cool. It involves like heating up the mushrooms to a certain degree. Each mushroom actually needs a specific temperature, and that's been tested. So they uniquely cater this to each mushroom. Um, and then they do cold water, hot water, and alcohol extraction. So then that all gets put into a um a tincture. And actually during the extraction process, you get these like these crystals too that come out. They're just like pure mushroom compounds. Yeah, it's it's insane. Um, yeah. So then you have a tincture with all of the bioavailable compounds in it. And then we use that tincture and we put that into our gummy formula.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

And so your then your gummy formula only has the uh the mushroom that you have to like, you know, let's say it's cubes that they're using or golden nature or whatever. It's not just, and I'm wondering about this um if uh the extraction process is it just psilocybin or psilocin that gets taken out into the tincture, or anyways, just curious. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

Sorry, go we know, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 13:27

All of it. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

Well, I was gonna just give a little specification here. What the mushrooms we're talking about are actually functional mushrooms, so like lion's mane, raishi, chaga, yeah. So clarification while we're definitely keeping our eye on uh the slowcybin market and the extraction process is uh largely the same, actually, to put this into a gummy, and while you know we're definitely preparing for that, we can't do that legally yet. Yeah, so we are right now in the functional uh mushroom space, and so all of these mushrooms that we work with are functional and not unfortunately not yet psychedelic.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

Absolutely, absolutely, and that's I mean, look, each one of like Reishi, Turkey Tail, I don't know if you guys are doing all of that. Of course, yeah, once these are yeah, right, yeah, they have such incredible medicinal healing effects that majority of them have anti-tumor, anti-cancer properties, majority of them have uh proimmers properties, like it's incredible. Exactly, yeah, has so much in it that so much utilized. You know, I have clients who are also in the um, you know, some at the end of life with metastatic disease, you know, and creatic cancer and whatnot. I suggested to them, I'm like, you guys, you should be on turkey tail.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 14:54

For the for the uh chemotherapy to work better with your cancer and to have better results, you should be on turkey tail. And so it's really cool that you guys have it in a gummy form because it makes it so much more fun, especially in patients who are already taking so many medications. Exactly. And it just it's gonna be like, oh, this is a treat instead of I gotta swallow another pill.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

Exactly. And we and we already do have physicians who are prescribing our products to their patients because it's like a break from the pills instead of more pills, and you're getting an extremely concentrated dose of these mushrooms in our gummies. So you're getting more mushrooms than you would get in the pills and more effective mushrooms, and it's in a delicious vegan gummy.

SPEAKER_02 15:40

That is so cool. Um, next question sugar levels, because people are caring about the sugar content of things too. Where do your gummies stand?

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Yeah, so they're very much in line, if not a little bit lower than what's currently on the market. Um, for each gummy, we have about 1.5 grams of sugar. Um, yeah. And we went with organic cane sugar because when you look at allulose, which is the way that you claim sugar-free, it actually has been linked to a lot of stomach and digestive issues. And it's not legal in uh the EU and in Canada. We decided, yeah, we decided to keep it clean.

SPEAKER_02 16:20

Beautiful, beautiful. I love that. I love I love that you guys have done the research and you know these things about it. That's beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 16:27

Right. And one more note on that we worked with like a dietitian researcher who actually looked at the product and looked at like the function of the sugar in our product. And she was telling us that the sugar actually acts as a delivery mechanism, maybe basically like a vehicle to deliver the bioavailable compounds, such as the beta glucans, deeper into your cells than if there wasn't sugar. So you're actually getting more effect from the bioavailable compounds having that in there.

SPEAKER_02 16:59

How interesting. How interesting. That's so cool. And then when you are, you know, in the extraction process, you mentioned all the bioavailable compounds are included in the tincture, which I love because you know, when you look at the cannabis industry and how they extract and how they literally destroy the plant into bits and then they extract just CBD or CBG it needs to be a whole plant, you know, like that's where we're seeing the healing and medicinal effects of the plant. Otherwise, we have seen research that can be it can be also harmful, you know, Joel. And so, you know, and and I know you guys, you know, are not producing the psilocybin containing, but what we're looking at the pharmaceutical companies, what they're doing and extracting only psilocybin, what are we doing? Nature has it that we need all these compounds in this plant. Yeah, and we're so primitive in understanding what compounds exist in a plant to begin with. Iban, it's like a million other things that are in the mushroom or in any type of mushroom that has, or any plant for that matter, that has those therapeutic benefits. So it's very refreshing to hear that you guys are using, you know, all the bioavailable compounds in in the mushrooms you guys are producing, or tinctures of the gummies. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:21

Yeah, definitely. Our our extractors are actually um, you know, they're they take a lot of pride in not just the level of how many compounds are the level of the compounds in their extraction, but the quantity of compounds. Um, so they're getting our our gummies are basically getting more compounds out than anybody else. Most people are just focusing on kind of the name brands of these compounds like beta-glucans and triterpenines and things like that, but our extractions have over 200 compounds. So we're just really getting the full range of everything from the mushroom.

SPEAKER_02 19:00

That's amazing. That is so cool. That is so cool. That's amazing. So, um, name some of the mushrooms you guys are making into gummies.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

I'm curious. Yeah, so we have one product that's just lion's mane, and then we have another product that's solely raisie, and then we have our super true blend, which is lion's mane, raishi, mitaki, cordyceps, chaga, and turkey tail.

SPEAKER_02 19:23

And that's amazing for the immune system, right there. 100%. I just want to tell us about a little bit about property, is just for the audience. You know, some may be familiar and some may not be familiar at all with the um the medicinal benefits of each one that you just named.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Yeah, absolutely. Well, our super troop is kind of for the person who is new to the world of mushrooms and wants a little bit of everything. So you are getting my talky, which helps with blood sugar regulation. You're getting a ton of immune boosting properties because each of those six mushrooms have incredible immune boosting properties. You're getting uh improvement of focus, mental clarity from lion's mane, jolt and energy from cordyceps, and raishi, which is amazing for also your immune system, but for calming and de stressing. And they're all, most of them are very great for your gut, especially turkey tail. Turkey tail is not only amazing for your immune system, but your gut health as well. It contains prebiotic properties. So you're getting a really well-rounded, like a multi-mush kind of thing we call it. And Lyons Mane, we have a specific product for that because it is one of the more sought out, sought-out mushrooms since it is so effective. It's amazing for your brain, it helps prevent cognitive decline. So they're using it in studies for Alzheimer's and dementia, Parkinson's, other neurological diseases because it helps slow the decline. And that one for me, when we were first creating the product, before we even did our market research, that one I kind of knew I wanted to make because dementia does run in our family. And I've just always had this fear, I don't know why, of forgetting my life after I've, you know, done my best to live it so well. So I'm like, if I can take something that is delicious and um helps mitigate that, why not? And yeah, then we have our Rishi product, which is Jake's favorite. It's really amazing for helping you sleep. And it's not a sleep aid that makes you tired, but it actually just relaxes the body, calms the body. And because of that, you're able to have a better night's sleep. And then you don't get groggy in the morning, which is kind of uh common with products like melatonin and other sleep aids. So that's very high-level overarching of our regimen. That was great. That was great.

SPEAKER_02 21:35

I didn't know Reishi has sleep aid effects. That is so cool. And it's such a prevalent issue in the population, sleep issues, right? Oh, yeah. Let's say you want to, you know, sleep better. Like, do you take it an hour before, two hours before? How do you do it?

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Personally, I take it like probably two hours before. And like Steph said, it's not like it's not gonna make you sleepy and tired like a melatonin would. It just Kind of reduces that like ever-present physical sensation of anxiety in your body if you experience that. Um, and it's interesting that when I take the Rishi, I don't even know that I'm experiencing that that feeling until I take it, and then I notice my body's so relaxed and calm. And I was like, wow, I didn't even know I was feeling that before because it's just so ever-present. So you just get used to it, and then when it's gone, you feel just like this deep relaxation, and then that is what allows me to sleep because I don't feel that like buzzing anxiety in my body.

SPEAKER_02 22:36

Amazing. Does it affect your dreams?

SPEAKER_00 22:39

People have definitely said that. People have said they've had vivid dreams while they're taking Rishi, which I'm yeah, I think that that's pretty cool. I I have seen noticed that in the beginning when I started taking it, but lately has not been that way. But we have heard that before.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

How interesting. How interesting. Because a lot of people are looking for that, right? Like having that relaxed sleep but lucid dreams. And yeah, a lot of people work like literally that's what they do as one of their practices, which is great. It gives you a different perspective about life and different answers when you're sleeping and you're able to be in that state. But yeah, Steph, you were gonna say something.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

Yeah, I was also gonna say, I'm sure a lot of your listeners microdose and lion's mane is really great to compare with microdosing. If anyone is interested in testing that out, um, while we don't sell psychedelic products, I we definitely have had experiences with psychedelic products and have tried them ourselves. And um, I can attest that lion's mane and a point one is is a really nice combination in the morning.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

It's so good. And it's kind of the opposite of Rishi, right? Yeah, it's uh it gives you this boost. So I have people who they're it doesn't give you the jitteriness of coffee, it gives you a clarity, a calm clarity and a focus. That's what my experience is with lion's mane. And I, you know, I personally have to be, and I teach this in my in my coaching for each individual how to personalize how you take medicine. And I'm talking plant medicine. And one of the things we talk about, you gotta find your own dosing, the suggested dosing, and then what is your dosing? Because everybody's different. And so for me, what I have found with lion's mane is it does, if I take it every single day, I get into a sympathetic state that I'm like, bro, like a super hyper focused, kind of like a hypomanic state, which is super productive, but it's very tiring for your body and your psyche. So you have to be very conscious of how you approach it. If I do it, if I take it every other day or every third day, that seems to be a nice space for me, but everyone's different and the dosages are different and potences are different. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So cool. What else? Tell me more. What else? So, where are you guys distributing now? Like, are you guys selling online? What do you tell us about all of that and where people can find you? Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

Okay. We we mostly sell online, although we are also in uh select retail stores in California, such as Airwan, which is like our crown jewel. They were uh the the the leader of the health space in retail right now, which is really cool. But we're in a we're in a number of retail stores around California, and then mostly online. We're sold on Amazon, um, we're sold on our website, which is probably going to be the best place to find us because you can learn more about all of our products, about our story and mission and everything. Um, and that's tritroop.com, t-r-y, tr-o-o-p.com. And then on Instagram. Okay, cool. Yeah. And then on Instagram too, uh, we post a lot of really fun mushroom content. Um, and that's at Tritroop T-R-Y, T-R-O-O-P. It's just basically the same. Like it's us trying to make this space fun and approachable for everyone with a really strong scientific backing so that it's not like froofy and just kind of like random and saying, oh, it's gonna make your energy better. You know, it's it's really we're really interested in the the science-backed facts here, but presenting them in like a fun and engaging way.

SPEAKER_02 26:27

Awesome. Awesome. Also, tell me the name.

SPEAKER_01 26:30

Why, why the name? So it means a group of mushrooms that grows together. Yeah. And it was actually funny because Jake and I, for months, were going back and forth on different names, and we had this list, and everything was kind of meh. And we were talking to one of my friends, and he's like, Why don't what about the name Troop? And we were like, Oh my god, Troop, it's perfect. Because it is, it's easy to read, pronounce, it has that P at the end. So it's like a nice word to say, and the meaning is obviously there in a group of mushrooms that grows together and connection and community is really built into what we do. I mean, it's how we started the company. We started it by wanting to share these benefits with our troupe. And so it just unfolded so beautifully. And we really hope to have community and connection be at the ethos and at the core of everything we do moving forward and as we grow.

SPEAKER_02 27:24

I love it. I love it. And you know, that's what came up for me too. It's like, you know, you're cousins and the whole family story, and yeah, that is just so cool. Yeah. Well done. Well done.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 27:35

How long have you guys been open opened for business?

SPEAKER_00 27:38

Yeah. Uh it's actually our two-year birthday in two days from now.

SPEAKER_01 27:47

Yeah, we get two birthdays a year now, not just one. Full the celebration. What is life without celebration, right? The more the better.

SPEAKER_00 27:55

Totally.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

Absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:57

Yeah, it's been a it's been a journey for sure. It's been interesting to see how much like starting a business. It's not like the you and the business are separate. Like you are the business. And uh in order to learn how to grow the business, we had to grow ourselves. And that was the only way. And so we've done so much growth over the last two years, it's truly insane.

SPEAKER_01 28:17

Yeah, with mushrooms being a huge therapy and mushrooms. Therapy and mushrooms, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:24

The reasons why we're both actually alive. I mean, isn't that interesting? It's it requires you, if you truly and you know, there are a lot of companies that have been coming up in this realm and they go down. And for that reason, because I think they're just looking for fast money, but it's it's not there. It's not there. Like if you're not in it for the long heart and for the right reasons, yeah, it's not gonna work out. And if you're not in it to evolve yourself and serve, it's just not gonna work out. And it's um it's challenging, but it's also very rewarding to be in this space. I'm so glad you guys have stuck it out and how cool it is to have a troupe doing what you do. It's it's so fun, right? Working together is like a dream come true. I haven't seen my cousins in years, and I wish like it would be so cool to be able to not that we grew up together, but we've been separated for a long time. So I'm so happy for you guys doing this work together.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

Thank you. Yeah, it definitely uh it was it wasn't always cool or easy during the two years, but we kind of went back and forth on this, where you always get people saying, Don't start a business with family because it'll turn out bad. But the thing is, if we weren't family, we probably would have split the company in half. But because we were family, we're like, well, we're stuck together anyway, so we might as well work it out. So yeah. So it actually helped us to like stick it, stick it through and to grow and develop. We both were would always show up for therapy. That's how we kind of always knew that we were in this, and no matter how bad it got, we all we always were would show up to improve. So yeah, that really made an impact.

SPEAKER_02 30:04

That's incredible. That's it, what an incredible story, you guys. I always think about it. Like, if you're gonna look back 20 years from now, like what you've done with your life, how cool is it? Like this, this is so cool that you guys are doing this and showing up, even though it's hard sometimes, you know, and it always is, right? Like some days are covered, some days are easy, and everything in between, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:26

Yeah, for sure. You need those easy days to keep you going and keep the spirits high for sure. But yeah, I mean, there's always a lesson to be learned, and I think that's yeah, we've just really come together on that. And yeah, you have to check your ego at the door, honestly. Truth, truth, man, so much, so much good learning.

SPEAKER_00 30:45

Which m mushrooms is really great for checking your ego at the door.

SPEAKER_02 30:48

Yeah. Right. Yeah. Always going back to your story, Jake, with your leg. Are you doing okay with your knee and everything now?

SPEAKER_00 30:58

Yes, definitely. Yeah, fully healed, totally better. And I honestly look back at it like it was a blessing. It really was. Like it totally course-corrected my life into a fully different direction than I was going. And had that not happened, none of this would be here today. And I'm actually grateful for it.

SPEAKER_02 31:18

Incredible, incredible, that's amazing. Well, on that note, any any last comments or things you guys want to share with the audience?

SPEAKER_01 31:27

We would love to share a discount code with your listeners. Yes, of course. We always want to spread the love to our troupe. Yeah. So conscious 20 will get them 20% off. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 31:41

Thank you so much. Thank you. And we'll make sure it's in the show notes. And it's the pleasure getting to know both of you. And I hope we continue.

SPEAKER_01 31:50

Yeah, absolutely. Definitely. Absolutely. Would love to do some collaborations with you and yeah, it would keep you in in the troop. I mean, you're you're in now, and so yeah. Welcome to the troop. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:04

I'm all about it, and we're gonna celebrate this, okay? Yes, absolutely. I love it.