"It's not an overstatement to say that the methods of For Wellness and the principles of the company and the founders are the things that have changed my life."
As a Phil Mickelson super-fan, Paul Riley was one of For Wellness' first customers (and also among our youngest). After taking inspiration from Phil's health journey, Paul has lost an incredible 70 lb, found his passion for running, and conquered his first marathon.
How did you discover For Wellness?
I was a very active kid. However, like so many youth athletes, that sports journey, at least in the organized competitive fashion, ended with high school. I remember walking on to campus as a freshman in 2016 and I weighed 170 lb. By the time that I finished my freshman year, having lost my connection to sport, I ended up weighing over 210 lb. Progressively, I continued from there. I was over 250 lb, so almost 100 lb heavier than I was just three years prior and that was never something I was proud of.
I've been a lifelong fan of Phil. Phil also struggles with the food demon and you know, has had his ups and downs with psoriatic arthritis and I saw the culmination of all that work that he had put in at that age, and around that time and I said, "Well, why can't I do this?"
At that time, For Wellness as a brand was not around, but there had been a story in golf magazine where Phil explained his coffee and water fasting regimen and so I built sort of a home-made For Wellness. Once a month I was doing three day fasts and that was a really great kickstart towards getting my health and wellness back. I was one of the early adopters and I remember getting on the waiting list to get that first subscriber box.
The best thing about Phil's approach is that it was “Here are actionable steps that get you from A to B. You can get back to a place where you're happy with your wellness and someone else (Phil) has done it in each of these steps". Thankfully, the steps are the products, so that made it pretty easy.
What is your favorite For Wellness product and why?
The Superfood Bites. That was a revelation for me. The introduction to that product has been unbelievable. I've always had a bag of office snacks in my desk and that was the killer for me. Whether it be chips or cookies or crackers, those things came out of my desk and in the desk went the Superfood Bites. I'll have one or two of those during the course of the morning. When I'm feeling my focus from the morning's coffee start to wane a little bit, they have been excellent.
What accomplishment are you most proud of on your wellness journey?
I've always wanted to go to Iceland. In 2022, we booked our flights and we were going there for almost two weeks and then I said “well wait a second… what are we going to do while we're there?” I signed up for a half marathon because there was a half marathon in Reykjavik while we were there and I had never run any organized races. This was a big undertaking and I used the product as a means of training for that. The half marathon in Iceland was a real benchmark for me because in a way it felt like the culmination of a journey that at that point had been going on for almost three years.
Then after that there was the Maine marathon, and that might have been the pinnacle of my wellness journey. I'm down below about 175lb now so I'm almost back to my college weight.
You don't really realize how much you're doing and how well you're setting yourself up until you cross the finish line of the marathon and then you turn around and you look back and you see how all those small steps and all those decisions you made each day - to avoid the bad foods, to put something good in your body, to go for that run even though you're a little sore, or whatever it is. You look back and you say hey, wait a second. All these small steps made up to 26 miles worth of running. But it only happens when you reach the end.
What's your For Wellness regimen?
I just have a plain black coffee as soon as I get to work, and I have a Greek yogurt.
Couple of hours later when I start to get a little hungry, that's when those Superfood Bites come in. Depending upon how I'm feeling, at usually about 10am or 11am I'll have one or even two, and that holds me over until I'm actually on my lunch break.
Now that the gummies have come out, I've replaced the energy guus with the Recovery Gummies, I absolutely love those. The Bites and the Recovery Gummies are always in my golf bag.
How else have the Recovery Gummies™ played a role in your routine?
I also use the Recovery Gummies as a study aid. There is ample research to support the use of chewing gum during studying. You then chew the same flavor on test day and it aids in recall. During exam prep, I used Recovery Gummies to stay sharp during the rigorous study sessions and then had a serving just before I sat for my exams. I genuinely believe it resulted in better test scores and kept me locked in during those 3 hour exams!
What role has For Wellness played in your journey?
It's not an overstatement to say that the methods of For Wellness and the principles of both the company and Dave and the founders have brought to it are the things that have changed my life. The products are the tools, the Superfood Bites, the Recovery Gummies, the coffee. I was an athlete as a young kid. I lost that part of my personality. I lost that part of my wellness, and I really paid for it in college. I’ve lost over 70 lb and it wouldn't have happened if I wasn't given the tools to succeed because Phil was so open about his own struggles.
What's your advice to someone thinking about starting their wellness journey?
You can't wait. Because if you wait, sooner or later, you're three years down the road but nothing's changed.
