Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Stan Crocker


There seems to be a revolution brewing. Maybe because I have been doing a lot of thinking about food products: snacks, bars, fortified foods, trends, data collected on global fortified food usage and the upcoming concept of…nutri-cuticals (not my word). But in the last few months I have found myself in several conversations about fortified and functional food products. I have entertained discussions on genetically modified food products, employee weight loss programs, health coaching for employers, all sorts of stuff that wouldn’t have found its way into my intellectual arena ten years ago.

Nutri-cuticals is a term I learned today while hanging out with Local Cycling Hero and Dietetics Intern, Stan Crocker. Stan is doing a three-day stint at Pfoodman Holdings as part of his RD completion. Stan had to explain the concept of nutri-cuticals to me a couple of times because I have this short-term memory thing that, more than likely, a pill exists for. So intrigued by the concept of nutri-cuticals and Stan’s discussion on nutrition in America, I thought it blogworthy.

It just so happens that the functional food product revolution is a concept that I am already briefing my team with. The team consists of whomever gives me the time of day to listen, discuss, explore and/or workshop concepts in food, marketing, business—how I want to apply fitness, lifestyle and fulfillment concepts to the Pfoodman brand. The reason I “topic” discussions like these can be attributed to my ongoing mission to change the world through a multi-dimensional self-fulfilling marketing process. Anyone who knows me might have guessed this to be the agenda. It is an open book, most of what I do. Share your ideas with me. I promise I will do something good with it.

Everyone is part of the experiment, a sausage casing fortified with ideas filtered from various conversations--a journey through the “what ifs” when thinking about the Pfoodman brand and how it can be used to positively impact our community. I hope nobody takes offense to the agenda; it is a work in progress and very deeply seeded at this point. Since I have decided that it is not money that motivates me rather, the puzzle, I find it very stimulating to use these gifts from all of you, in order to make a difference.

Stan was on the team today, providing me with the internship, not the other way around. He shared lots of stuff for me to think about: mindset, values, intuition, convenience, education and demographics. All the things that play a role in a healthful society, we agreed. Before you can change diet and nutrition in America, you need to ultimately understand the stages of change—the concept that intuitive health happens for only a small portion of our society and there are stages of change that the general population falls in to. It would be fruitless, an agenda to change society for the purpose of selling new products—that sales to those already embracing intuitive change, or those nearer the “border” are those that provide the market. “Changing society is best left up to the social workers,” Stan said. And I agreed. I still can’t help but think society needs a push in the right direction. Time seems to be running out for some people.

Returning to health and fitness for me has been a journey, a not so perfect journey that embraces the three “M’s”, moderation, motivation and momentum. I didn’t do it without influence, and a lot of it. I emulated those that seemed the most successful at what they were doing. In my case it competitive cycling. Once I entered a new culture, one filled with opinions on better health, similar stories of re-invention, processes for change. These “topics” are what provided me with motivation. I feel strongly about this and find it to be an important part of the Pfoodman culture. Without my own re-invention, I would not have known guys like Stan Crocker nor the opportunity to participate in his internship.

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