More Than Just a Product: How Equitea is Supporting Community and Self-Care with Quentin Vennie
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Quentin Vennie has always felt the call to be a person of service, whether as a personal trainer, a nonprofit leader, or most recently, as the mission-focused entrepreneur and founder of Equitea.
Drinking tea, something that started out as a suggestion from his son’s neurologist to help with ADHD symptoms, has transformed into Quentin’s life work. Through Equitea, Quentin is helping his community prioritize their physical and mental health, lean into self-care, and tend to each other through life's most difficult moments.
Today on the podcast, Quentin is sharing how he transitioned from the nonprofit world to starting Equitea, how he founded the company with the ideals of equity, community, and self-care in mind, how his own experiences with mental health influenced the company, and how he’s moved forward even in the face of personal tragedy.
Subscribe to the Food Means Business Podcast with Hudson Kitchen founder Djenaba Johnson-Jones to hear the personal stories and “secret ingredients” of abandoning your day job and starting a CPG food business.
In this episode, you’ll learn...
[00:48] How Quentin transitioned from the nonprofit world into entrepreneurship
[03:09] The diagnoses that served as the catalyst for Equitea
[07:15] How Equitea is redefining what iced tea can be and challenges Quentin faced while developing this product
[15:22] How Quentin thinks about raising money for Equitea and who he will (and won’t) partner with
[20:27] The life-changing tragedy that struck Quentin’s family and how he’s continued on in the face of loss
[24:54] How Quentin cares for himself amidst the grind of entrepreneurship
If you’re a CPG entrepreneur who is trying to figure out how your mission can show up in every aspect of your business, be sure to tune into this episode:
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About Quentin Vennie
Co-Founder of The Equitea Co., Quentin is a celebrated wellness expert, international speaker and author of the bestselling memoir, Strong In The Broken Places. His work has been featured in the Huffington Post, Thrive Global, Entrepreneur, Fox News, MindBodyGreen,and many others. Quentin has been recognized as one of Black Enterprise magazine’s 100 Modern Men of Distinction and by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for his contribution in raising awareness for mental health and suicide prevention. He has served as the wellness keynote speaker for Colin Kaepernick’s “Know My Rights'' Camp in his hometown of Baltimore, MD and continues his work with youth in under-resourced communities, helping them understand their traumas and turn them into triumphs. As a former non-profit executive, he spearheaded initiatives that made yoga and mindfulness accessible among communities and populations that didn’t ordinarily have access to them.
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[00:00:00] Djenaba: You are listening to the Food Means Business podcast, which features the personal stories and secret ingredients behind what it's like to abandon your day job to start a CPG food and beverage business. I'm Djenaba Johnson-Jones former marketing executive turned entrepreneur and founder of food business incubator Hudson kitchen.
[00:00:20] Join our community of fellow food business owners and subject matter experts. First to learn and laugh with us as we explore a startup world. That's a little more culinary and a lot less corporate these days. All right, Quentin, welcome to the food means business podcast. I'm so happy that you're here.
[00:00:36] Quentin: Thank you so much for having me, Djenaba. I appreciate you.
[00:00:39] Djenaba: Absolutely. So before we talk more about your business, I'd love to hear a little bit about your journey. So talk about your journey from corporate person to business owner.
[00:00:48] Quentin: Yeah. You know, I've always had a very entrepreneurial spirit from the beginning, right?
[00:00:55] You know, I mean, I've, I worked in sales for a very large part of my [00:01:00] Professional career, everything from selling cars and doing financial planning to selling real estate. But, you know, when I went through my, my mental health journey with being generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, major depressive disorder, PTSD, and spent two years addicted to anxiety pills that shifted the trajectory a little bit for me.
[00:01:23] At that time, I was a personal trainer. I had my own. Personal training business. And, you know, going down this, this path of, you know, yoga finding me in, and, and doing these modalities and practices of meditation, all of these things kind of led me down a path of nonprofit work. For me, it was always, you know, I feel I have a God given responsibility to be a person of service and I don't take that responsibility lightly.
[00:01:51] And so when I was going through all of what I was dealing with and found a place of wellness and sustainability in my [00:02:00] own healing, I wanted to find a way to give that back to. You know, individuals that come from where I come from, people who look like you and I, right, who don't always have access to things like yoga studios and their neighborhoods or, or, you know, juice bars in the neighborhood.
[00:02:15] And so, uh, I wanted to use my experience and my expertise and the relationships that I've established to really be, you know, that, that anchor and foundation. For more people in our community to, uh, to experience these things. And that led me into nonprofit. And so from creating yoga and meditation in schools, programs in my own city of Baltimore, it expanded to, you know, uh, New York city, Newark, New Jersey, and then eventually to parts of Virginia.
[00:02:45] That was the corporate, so to speak, kind of side of, of, of the work, right? Because. You know, a lot of people look at nonprofit and it's like, yes, you're doing things for people, but it's very, you know, governed by corporate structures. And, [00:03:00] and it was something that though the work itself was rewarding, that corporate limitation was something that I could no longer deal with.
[00:03:09] And, and it just so happened to, um, conspire around the same time that my son was diagnosed with ADHD. And his neurologist has suggested that he drank green tea as a way to help manage it naturally and holistically. And so as I was stepping out of my role and position as a executive. In non profit, I was going down this path of also now finding a natural and holistic way to manage my son's diagnosis so that he wouldn't be exposed or experience any of the things that I had experienced and had been exposed to foundation and creation of Equitea.
[00:03:46] Djenaba: It's interesting. You talked about mental health in our communities. I feel like we are kind of in the first generation that focuses on our social and emotional health versus what's happened in the past. That's kind of seems to [00:04:00] be a luxury, I think, until now. So I'm happy and excited and all kind of on my own mental health journey as well, trying to figure myself out.
[00:04:09] So I appreciate all the work that you kind of put into that.
[00:04:13] Quentin: Yeah. I think. You know, historically, we've had a lot to contend with, you know, and there's a lot that we didn't have permission to have and, and, you know, when we've, I think with anyone, right, when, when, when anyone has, has had to experience certain things, generation after generation, after generation.
[00:04:34] It becomes viewed as normal, right? It's, it's, it's the, the idea that we just bite the bullet, we grin and bear it, it's a part of our DNA, we're strong because of it, we're this, we're that. And I think, you know, we're the first generation to recognize and see that what we've perceived as normal, Is actually abnormal, and it's a result of the conditions that we've been exposed to historically in this [00:05:00] country, and for a long time we've, we fought for the right to be human.
[00:05:05] We fought for the right to have. Rights, right now we're fighting for the right to heal and I'm just honored and blessed to be a part of the conversation to be a part of those moving things in that direction and I'm just grateful to have expounded and expanded on the possibilities and not just accepted normal for normalcy.
[00:05:31] Djenaba: Right. It's interesting to me, too, that because I have a daughter that is a vegetarian, and once she, she has eczema, and once she stopped eating meat, her whole life changed. Yeah. And the same with my husband, who's now vegan. Joints don't hurt anymore, like, so like really kind of looking at healing ourself through food and not just through, because there's a lot, obviously, always a lot of talk about exercise and all these supplements and this and that, but just like regular, formal [00:06:00] food that's, you know, to help keep us healthy is important as well.
[00:06:04] Quentin: Yeah. I mean, when you think about the Hippocratic oath, right, that most doctors are supposed to take, it says. One of them, one of the key pillars is, you know, food, let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. Right. And when you think about the historical context of black people, before we came to this country, right, you had, you know, those in, in certain tribes that were like the medicine woman and, you know, like they would use things from the earth and herbs and fruits and vegetables and all of these things.
[00:06:31] And, you know, uh, roots like ashwagandha and, you know, astragalus and all of these things that would. You know, had medicinal, um, you know, properties, right? And so, you know, we've always been a people that have, have thrived and survived on what God has provided. And you know, we unfortunately live in a culture where that is now demonized and looked down upon the constant innovation and evolution in, in, in medicine that we've [00:07:00] kind of gotten away from that.
[00:07:01] Right. And I think it's important for us to remember, you know, where we come from and who we are. Uh, because our history starts way before we came to America. Absolutely. Absolutely. So let's talk about eqt.
[00:07:14] Djenaba: Tell me
[00:07:14] Quentin: about your
[00:07:15] Djenaba: product.
[00:07:15] Quentin: Yeah. Equitea. We're an adaptogenic, you know, iced tea company. But again, the company was founded on my desire to find something, me and my wife's desire to find something natural and holistic to manage ADHD, our, you know, our son's mental health diagnosis.
[00:07:32] And then it turned into something a lot bigger than that, right? When we look at a lot of the health disparities that we face, not just as black people, but as people in society, right? You know, society where food is making us sick. Right. Stress the over the, like the, the culture of, of being overworked, it's making us sick, right?
[00:07:51] Stress is killing us. It's leading to heart disease. It's leading to dementia. It's, you know, sugar is killing us. It's leading to hypertension and, you know, and, and, [00:08:00] and Alzheimer's and like excessive salts is killing us. It's leading to high blood pressure. Like, you know, like all of these health disparities, we wanted to create a product that was a better for you product, right?
[00:08:11] That could. you know, give people that same familiarity and indulgence, but without giving him a bunch of calories and a bunch of sugar that also had additional ingredients that were functional and efficacious. And so, you know, we started with just adding adaptogens. We just recently did an updated reformulation where now we're including B vitamins and electrolytes, right?
[00:08:35] So now we're trying to like really help. All around holistically, and we're looking at Equitea as being that company of social currency, right? Because when you look at what we've been fighting for all of us, any marginalized group has been fighting for for so long. It's we can't get equality. We'd have to bring it down and start from scratch, but we still have a unique opportunity to [00:09:00] create a space of equity and access.
[00:09:02] Right. Equitable access, wellness, equitable access to education, equitable access to entrepreneurship, mentorship, equitable access to finances, you know, all of the education. So, so on and so forth. And we represent that social currency, represent that societal perspective that we have the right to, to have access to these things in that being healthy and feeling well should not be reserved for the wealthy or for the privileged.
[00:09:29] But everybody deserves the right to be well. And if we can be that first step to help people make a better decision for themselves for hopefully a healthier, more sustainable outcome, then, then we've done our job.
[00:09:42] Djenaba: So Equitea is a ready to drink product. Can you talk a little bit about the flavors and where people can find it?
[00:09:49] Quentin: Yeah. So we started as actually as a loose leaf company. We launched in 2021. We launched with about seven or eight different loose leaf blends. And what we quickly realized over that [00:10:00] time was, you know, there's a barrier of entry when it comes to loose leaf, right? You have to know your water temperature, which means you need to either understand what the bubbles are telling you as far as the temperature of the water, or you have to have a steeper that can change the water temperature.
[00:10:16] You need to know your steeping times. I mean, there's, there's a lot to go with it, right? And we wanted to break down that barrier of entry. So what we did was we took a lot of the blends that we were doing as loose leaf. And we worked with a company to help reformulate that because initially we thought, okay, well, if it's 1 teaspoon per 8 ounces.
[00:10:37] You know, we can scale this thing up and do 150 teaspoons, right. For however many hours. And it just doesn't work that way, right? There's a lot to account for when you're creating a ready to drink product, you have to, you know, decide whether it's going to be pasteurized, which then provides shelf stability, does it need to be refrigerated?
[00:10:55] And if so, that would make it somewhat of a perishable item. And, you know, so there's a lot [00:11:00] to contend with and a lot of variables that we just. Coming from nonprofit we didn't know about. And so, you know, we're, we're constantly innovating and making, you know, uh, updated iterations to make sure that we're providing the best quality, the best taste and the best function.
[00:11:16] So our flavors, we have a, um, peach ginger white tea. We have a, uh, a lavender green tea with lemon. We have a half and half. Uh, we just did a sweet tea for all the people who love sweet tea. We had a spiced hibiscus that we're updating to a tropical hibiscus for that, just that, that West African, you know, Caribbean type of feel.
[00:11:37] Something that can be enjoyed. It's naturally caffeine free, high in antioxidants, high in vitamin C. It's something that people can enjoy
[00:11:45] Djenaba: year round. So talk a little bit about some challenges you might've faced and how you overcame them as you were creating the product and getting out into the world.
[00:11:54] Quentin: My naivety helped and it hurt. Right. There was, it helped in ways where [00:12:00] there's not a lot of black and brown founders and beverage and non alcoholic beverage. Right. And so there's no blueprint that has been created and laid down as a foundation for us. And so we're creating that blueprint as we speak.
[00:12:13] Right. And I think being naive allowed me to not follow a lot of the roles that were never created for my benefit. It forced me to think outside the box. But that also hurt in a lot of ways because when you look at venture capital and you look at funding, those are still areas that we struggle to receive as, as founders, as black founders.
[00:12:42] I mean, there was a statistic that showed that we received like of all VC funding in like the fourth quarter of 2023. Like, that's carrying on into 2024, right? We had the moments during the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor Black Lives Matter [00:13:00] uprising where everybody was talking about wanting to be more inclusive and supporting Black businesses and brands and investing dollars into these segments and to and all of it was great when it happened, but we all knew You know, that it was, uh, um, it was, it was a moment in that moment, like every other moment would pass.
[00:13:20] And now we're being faced with the same realities that we were faced with before. Right. And so we're just really having to navigate that, you know, recognizing that there are things that we just don't know, and we're learning as we go, you know, as we, as we move along and there's a lot of bumps and bruises, you know, we didn't understand what sliding fees were, you know, which is the cost of, of Associated with getting on store shelves, right?
[00:13:45] It's not just creating an incredible product and having a buyer that wants to bring it in the store. That could happen for some people, but then there's a cost associated with getting it on the shelf. There's a cost associated with marketing it and promoting it so that people know that it's there [00:14:00] and they'll be wanting to buy it, right?
[00:14:01] There's a cost associated with that. There's a loss associated with production. Right. You might go in and produce 3, 000 gallons. Right. And you know, that might be, let's say 1, 200 cans or 1, 200 cases during that production process, you might lose 500 cases, right? There's loss associated with that. Right.
[00:14:23] And so, you know, I think one of the things that I've quickly realized is that this is a very labor intensive business. And it's a very costly, it's, it's money intensive. And if you don't have access to money, it can become very challenging and can create some very significant barriers and variables and hurdles on top of everything else that we need to, to really address and kind of overcome.
[00:14:49] I'm blessed and fortunate to be in the position that I'm in, to be a part of laying that foundation, to be a part of creating that blueprint, but I think there's a lot of challenge in being the first. [00:15:00] And I'm not saying I'm the first, but we as a generation, as a culture, are the first to really explode and explore in this space on a more commercial level.
[00:15:09] Djenaba: That makes sense. So talk a little bit more about, you are in a process of fundraising right now. What are you looking for exactly? Just because someone that may be listening to this might be able in a position, you know, to invest in your business.
[00:15:22] Quentin: Yeah, right now we're looking for, you know, angels. We're looking for family offices.
[00:15:27] We're looking for individuals who can. You know, who can really come in and support the growth of the business. You know, I'm, I'm very strategic and methodical about who we accept money from. I've had to turn down capital from individuals who just didn't fit the ethos of our company and didn't necessarily understand the why behind it.
[00:15:50] I operate everything out of a space of integrity. I'm unwilling to compromise that. Right. And so, you know, I'm looking for individuals who are strategic in [00:16:00] their approach, who have beverage industry expertise and experience, who have food industry expertise and experience CPG. Expertise and experience, right?
[00:16:10] But then also those individuals who understand the mission, who understand the why, and they want to be a part of it.
[00:16:17] Djenaba: Yeah. It makes a lot of sense to kind of hold to your standards because I know I've had, you know, instances, not with fundraising, but just in general in business where I'm like, my gut was saying, don't do something.
[00:16:30] But it looked really good, so it felt good in the moment, but it hurt in the long run. So yeah, I definitely would take in money. I think it makes so, you know, so much sense. Yeah. It's like
[00:16:41] Quentin: a relationship, right? Like you can be with a person. You know, and be like, Oh, this is great. But if your gut is telling you, they're not the one to marry, you know, and you put a ring on it in any way, you just shot yourself in the foot, right?
[00:16:53] I'm a firm believer in the, in the idea that your gut is God, you know, and I have enough [00:17:00] instances personally in my life. Well, I didn't follow my gut and, and I regretted it afterwards. And so like whenever you're dealing with an investor or taking money, it's a marriage, you know, it's a relationship, it's a partnership.
[00:17:12] And so I'm, I'm very strategic about that because I want people who, you know, don't see me as a one night stand, right? I want people to see me as a longterm relationship and something that, you know, we can grow and build together. So what does success look like for you? That's a loaded
[00:17:29] Djenaba: question, right?
[00:17:29] Yeah. Absolutely. It is. I ask it on purpose because it's something that I've been thinking about lately, like almost like for me, like, what is the end game here? What's going to like, as you know, as time goes on, what's going to make me feel like this was all worth it.
[00:17:42] Quentin: Yeah. And you know, I think that's, there's a lot of nuance to that for me.
[00:17:47] Right. I think for me, you know, I can give the, the idyllic answer of like, I want, you know, Equitea to be a household name. And I want people to have better health outcomes as a result of consuming [00:18:00] our product. I want to be able to, uh, you know, be a pillar and an anchor for the next generation of CPG founders coming up.
[00:18:08] You know, I want to get to a place where I can create my own fund and I can start, and I can start investing in black and brown founders and brands and businesses and helping them, you know, get from ideation to execution. You know, so that's one part of it. You know, I think the other part is in order for me to get to the first part, I have to grow and scale Equitea to a point where I can, I can leverage it.
[00:18:32] Whether that's going public. Whether that's selling it to a private equity or one of the big, you know, beverage conglomerates, or being able to pass it down generationally, right? But either way, success for me starts with Equitea being where I can leverage that, and then everything else will come to follow.
[00:18:54] So talk about the importance of community.
[00:18:56] Djenaba: Yeah.
[00:18:58] Quentin: I think community is [00:19:00] foundational community for me is culture and I don't deviate from culture. You even see my shirt says be more kind. I'm in LA, but I work for example, Baltimore everywhere I go. You know what I mean? And this is, and this is a saying of, of, of my business, be more kind.
[00:19:16] Drink Equitea. Being more kind means being more kind to yourself. Love yourself enough to do the right things for yourself. Love yourself enough to give your body the fuel that it needs to give your mind the fuel that it needs, right? Whether it's drinking Equitea or, you know, saying a positive affirmation, right?
[00:19:35] Just be more kind to yourself to therefore be more kind to other people, you know? And so for me, I think building that community of like minded individuals We all want the same things who, you know, our paths may be different, but our end goal is the same. When you look at all of the trials and traumas and tribulations that we've experienced.
[00:19:59] You know, [00:20:00] as a culture and as a community, you know, and the, the division and the segregation and separation within our own culture that has existed since we've come here, I think it is, it is, uh, advantageous and of the utmost importance for us to reclaim who we are and for us to reclaim our narrative and for us to reclaim our culture and reclaim our community.
[00:20:23] And our connectedness to one another. And so, you know, community for me is paramount.
[00:20:27] Djenaba: So I read that last year, your son died. Can you talk a little bit about that? And how you decided to keep going with the company after that tragic event.
[00:20:41] Quentin: April 12th of this year was one year since he passed.
[00:20:46] Djenaba: And by the way, I'm, I'm so sorry to, I'm so sorry that that
[00:20:49] Quentin: happened to you.
[00:20:49] I appreciate it. Yeah. He passed from accidentally ingesting fentanyl and, you know, it was a very devastating [00:21:00] moment for myself, for my family. And to be completely honest, I didn't, I didn't think, I didn't know Whether or not Equitea would continue the last picture I have of my son alive. He was standing in a Sprout store holding a can of Equitea, right?
[00:21:17] And so there was a pride that was associated with, with this business for him. Right. And the decision to keep pushing forward was a decision to honor the legacy of what we're trying to build with this company. But also honor him, right? And, and honor, you know, the company started from mental health and it wasn't the son that passed away.
[00:21:46] You know, the company started as a result of, but there was a reason there was something that he was searching for that. I think I have a responsibility to, to help other youth understand [00:22:00] their traumas and understand how to turn those into triumphs. And I can do that through the work of Equitea and reach a much larger, larger group of individuals than I could in any other capacity.
[00:22:13] And the fact that my son was proud of this company. And was proud of what we did. It was a no brainer to, to continue to push that forward for him.
[00:22:23] Djenaba: What else are you doing to honor his memory? I seem, I believe I read about some foundation or event that you're creating in his, in his memory.
[00:22:32] Quentin: Yeah. I want to, I want to, um, I'm working on creating an event, not just in his memory, but for any family who's lost a child or a loved one due to fentanyl.
[00:22:44] It is a, it is a pandemic that is. Impacting every community and those that are losing their lives the most are our young people and, you know, losing [00:23:00] a child is something that I would never wish on my worst enemy. It is the greatest fear of any parent. It is the most devastating heartbreak I think any human being can experience.
[00:23:14] Especially losing a child so young, he was only 17. And so I think healing though sometimes can happen in silo healing should also exist as a community. And I want to utilize my resources to help other people who are, who are still fighting the good fight. And trying to grieve and trying to heal. And so that's the premise behind the event Equitea Cares, the event that we're looking to put on, uh, over the next couple of years.
[00:23:47] And hopefully we can make it an annual thing, you know, where we can bring families together and you know, across the country to really, you know, have a, a day of healing together. So you don't
[00:23:59] Djenaba: feel so alone. [00:24:00] I can imagine that people do feel alone and I, I, I thank you for, for sharing your story with the world.
[00:24:06] I think it's really important. I appreciate it.
[00:24:09] Quentin: I think a shared story can be a saved life, right? And our lives are not here for us to hoard the experiences associated with them. It's here for it to be shared. Right. Because if you know, you know, Jay Z had a line in H to the Izzo. He was like, like, I told you, sell drugs.
[00:24:25] No, Hov did that. So hopefully you won't have to go through that. Right. And like, that's who we are as a people. Right. Like we go through things and we share those experiences with the hope and expectation that other people don't, don't experience the same thing. Right. The smartest people in the world are those who learn from other people's mistakes.
[00:24:45] Yeah. And not have to learn from their own, you know? And so it's a, it's a, it's an honor and a privilege for me to, to be able to do that for others.
[00:24:54] Djenaba: How are you taking care of yourself with. Everything that's going on with the business. And [00:25:00] then, you know, personally, I, you know, I have to, it is, I found entrepreneurship to be challenging because something could be going really great in the business and really bad in person personally, it's like, how are I, you know, I'm, I kind of, I asked this question to everyone, like, how are you taking care of yourself?
[00:25:16] How are you making sure that you have what you need so that you can be there for your family and also for your business?
[00:25:21] Quentin: Yeah. That's a really interesting point and I'm glad you asked that question because it's also interchangeable, right? Yeah. Right. Things can be going great personally and then it's falling the hell on, you know, in your business world.
[00:25:33] Right. Yes. And then it's even harder when they're both seem like they're going fire. Right. And so a long time ago in my journey, like I recognize that you can't bless from an empty well, right? Like I can't give what I don't have. And in those moments where I feel like my well is depleted. I set a standard and an expectation that I need me time, you know?
[00:25:56] And so that means I can't be a father right now. [00:26:00] It means I can't be a husband right now. Right. It means sometimes I can't be a CEO and a co founder right now. Right. Sometimes I just need to be a human for myself. And those, that looks a lot different, you know, today than it did before. But for me, my day starts with a cup of tea every day.
[00:26:17] You know, before I am anything to anyone, that is my respite. That is my non negotiable, right? I enjoy the process and the ritual of making a nice hot cup of tea. It can be 300, 000 degrees outside. I'm drinking a nice hot cup of tea every morning. Being in LA, George Foreman III is a, is a really good friend of mine, and he has, he A boxing gym, five minutes from my house called Kraft Boxing.
[00:26:44] I box and go to that gym four days a week. You know, on Saturdays I work out for three hours. I box, lift weights, box again. Right? And that's become that everyone in that gym, uh, Coach Giff, Coach Gladys, [00:27:00] You know, her, like they, George, like they've just really become, you know, keen in like all of these individuals have become extensions of my family, you know, because I, and I don't even think that they know.
[00:27:14] How impactful and influential they are in my life and in my own healing. And so those are also non negotiables for me. I love to garden and though I live in a townhouse, I don't have a backyard. I have a couple of like pots on my balcony upstairs in my room that I, you know, that has everything from basil to kale to, you know, Rosemary and time and mint and all of these other things.
[00:27:37] So I garden, you know, that's also a non negotiable for me. And then in the evening, I love to cook for my family. Cooking for me is a, is a stress reliever. It's a way for me to be creative. It's a way for me to like step outside of my normal, right. And just do something that's fun and innovative. And some days it's great.
[00:27:57] And some days it's not so great. Right. But I [00:28:00] love the process of it. And, uh, I'm pretty damn good at it, you know? And so I'm a firm believer in finding the things that bring you joy and do that more often, because that's the only way to fill your well. If you're trying to give a person the, you know, uh, water from your well, and that well is empty, then you're both thirsty, right?
[00:28:18] But if we can do what we need to do to fill our well, and then we can bless from our overflow, then we all win, you know, and I, I'm, I don't believe in that overwork, don't get enough sleep, you know, sacrifice your health. So that you can do what, right? Like, what is it? You know, what are you doing? Because, you know, if I'm not doing well, then my, my daughter can't get a hundred percent of her father.
[00:28:45] You know, my wife can't get a hundred percent of her husband. You know, my business can't get a hundred percent of its CEO, right? Our customers can't get a hundred percent from our company. And so I'm, uh, you know, I have quite a few non-negotiables. In order to be able to ensure that when I show up, I'm showing up and I'm not showing up as a piece of myself.
[00:29:07] I'm showing up standing firm, 10 toes down in my authenticity and my integrity. And so that's how I'm taking care of myself. And then on the, on the, on the grieving side, right? Like, you know, I grew up believing that men don't cry and I realized that that was a lie, you know? And so when I'm hurting, I give myself permission to feel that pain.
[00:29:30] You know, when I need to cry, I give myself permission to cry every night I step outside. I thank God for everything he's blessed me with, and I tell my son that I miss him and I love him. That is my evening ritual every day, you know? And so I, I find those moments to, to give myself permission to be human because the world won't do it.
[00:29:48] Society's not gonna do it. Nobody's going to give me permission to expose and explore my own humanity except for me. And so why am I going to restrict myself from doing [00:30:00] that when the world's
[00:30:00] Djenaba: going to do it for me? It's true. It's almost like, well, for me, I had to figure out like, okay, you're worthy of this.
[00:30:06] You're worthy of giving yourself this time. You're worthy of, and I think that that's something that is not appreciated. Like people, you know, it's like, you're right. No one's going to give it to you. You have to take it. Yeah. And be okay with taking it. Yeah.
[00:30:20] Quentin: And the world will make you feel bad for it. Yes.
[00:30:23] Right. They say taking care of yourself is selfish. I'm like, well, it's not selfish. It's necessary. You know, it's, it's called self care. Right? So like, if we don't care for ourselves, we're going to rely on somebody else to do it for us. When I was diagnosed with anxiety, the medical system failed me. All of the pills that I was getting that I was addicted to, I wasn't getting them on the streets.
[00:30:48] I was getting them from my doctor. I was buying them from a very popular pharmacy. So, Yeah. That was filling those prescriptions on a regular basis without asking any questions. And it [00:31:00] almost killed me because I relied more on a system than on myself.
[00:31:05] Djenaba: It's like deep down, you, you know, what was right for you, but we're looking at these so called experts thinking that they know, and they don't know.
[00:31:12] Quentin: No, of course not. It's all experimentation. You go in and they say, look, let's test you for this. And let's give you this medication and see how it performs. That's an experiment. You know what I mean? So it's like, what if it doesn't work? Then we're just going to try something else. And then we're going to try something else.
[00:31:30] And then something else. And hopefully that'll work. It's an experiment. Well, I'd rather experiment on myself with things that I know are healthy, like kale and broccoli and mangoes and apples and, and, and yoga and tea and all of these other practices and activities that people have been doing for hundreds and thousands of years, right?
[00:31:52] Like we've relied so much on the medical system in America. That's why our, you know, our life expectancy has [00:32:00] reduced significantly. Generation after generation after generation, people are dying younger and younger and younger. Why? It's what we have access to. It's our food system. It's the water. It's the healthcare system.
[00:32:13] It's lack of access. Right? Like there's a lot that's at play here. Yeah. I'm fortunate to be in the know and I'm, and I'm, and I'm, I'm grateful that I have an inquiring mind and I always want to learn more and I question everything. If it doesn't make sense to me, I'm going to question it until it does.
[00:32:33] Well, I'm going to find another alternative that makes better sense. And that's how I've been since I was younger. That's why the traditional system, academic system didn't work for me. I questioned too much. I spent more time getting in trouble for questioning, being successful and getting on honor roll, you know?
[00:32:49] And
[00:32:49] Djenaba: it was made for you that the traditional system is made for you to sit in a chair, digest information and be able to recognize it out on
[00:32:56] Quentin: a test. Yeah. Yeah. And who made that? And who [00:33:00] created that information? That information was also designed for me to be a good worker. It was for me to be a good old boy.
[00:33:07] I'm not the good slave.
[00:33:12] Djenaba: So I'm going to switch gears here a little bit here at Hudson kitchen. We have what we call a money bell that we ring when people are celebrating something, so it could be something personal or professional. We'd love to hear what you're celebrating now.
[00:33:24] Quentin: I'm celebrating the fact that we are rebranding and relaunching.
[00:33:30] Uh, Equitea. I think the new formulations are even better than what we have right now. I think our new packaging is even better than it is right now. We are about to launch and close to 500 additional retailers between now and the end of the year. So this year we are aiming and planning to be in about a thousand stores.
[00:33:54] And so coming from where I come from. And in the limited resources that we [00:34:00] do have to get to that point. I'm proud of it.
[00:34:03] Djenaba: Congratulations. That's amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much for being here. Please let everyone know where they can find about, about you and about Equitea.
[00:34:11] Quentin: Yeah. Equitea everywhere.
[00:34:13] Equitea.com. Equitea Co Co. So E-Q-U-I-T-E-A-C-O on Instagram, the Equitea company on LinkedIn. Quentin, Vennie, everywhere. What you see Equitea, you see me, you see me, you see Equitea. So, you know, look out for us. We're in, we're in all Sprout stores nationwide. You know, if you're in Chicago, we're at Fruitful Yield.
[00:34:36] If you're in Texas, we're in Central Market as well as Sprouts. If you're in San Diego or in Jimbo's. And, uh, you know, we're, we're, we're constantly looking to grow and expand. Thank you.
[00:34:50] Djenaba: The Food Means Business Podcast was produced by Hudson Kitchen. It is recorded at the studio at Kearney Point and mixed and edited by Wild Home Podcasting. Our theme song is [00:35:00] by Damian DeSandis and I'm your host, Djenaba Johnson-Jones. Follow Hudson Kitchen on Instagram and Twitter. At the Hudson kitchen and to get food business bites right in your inbox.
[00:35:09] Sign up for our newsletter at the Hudson kitchen. com forward slash newsletter. Listen, follow, and leave a review on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts until next time.