Stay True, Stay Wild: Adventure and Clean Nutrition with TRUWILD Co-Founder Zac Curhan
Stay True, Stay Wild: Adventure and Clean Nutrition with TRUWILD Co-Founder Zac Curhan
Here all the details: Episode 21 of Marrying Your Passions: The DINK Travel and Adventure Podcast
What kind of person goes heli skiing and surfing in the same 24 hours? The kind of person who then comes home and builds a nutrition brand because nothing on the market was good enough for the life he was actually living. That is Zac Curhan, co-founder and CEO of TRUWILD, and our guest for Episode 21 of Marrying Your Passions.
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| If there is adventure to be found, we are there. That's us on the left off the coast of Key Largo, FL. |
Married DINK (dual income, no kids) couple, Nathan and Alicia, sat down with Zac for a conversation that went well beyond clean nutrition. His story is one of adventure, entrepreneurship, and betting on yourself, and it fits right in around here. Nathan was fueled by TRUWILD products at the Eugene Marathon earlier this year, his 41st state in his quest to run a marathon in all 50, and we have not stopped talking about them since.
Who Is Zac Curhan?
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| Zac Curhan, TRUWILD CEO |
Zac is an Ironman finisher, surfer, climber, former Muay Thai fighter, scuba diver, free diver, and a world traveler who has explored over 40 countries. He has surfed four of the five continents, summited Kilimanjaro and Mount Whitney, and taken his entire team up Mount Shasta as a company retreat. He jumped out of a plane once. (Tied to someone, Alicia says it still counts). He lives the lifestyle TRUWILD was built for and that comes through in everything the company does.
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| Zac surfing |
Born on a Hike
TRUWILD did not start in a lab. It started on a hike. Zac and his co-founder Nate Cox were out on the trail one day when Zac found himself sluggish and searching for a clean energy source that would not leave him crashing two hours in. Everything available at the time felt like it was designed for bodybuilders in a gym, not for people actually out in the world doing things. So they decided to build something different.
Zac grew up with a dietitian mom and a doctor dad, so supplements were never foreign to him. But everything he had been given growing up felt fake, full of junk, and not made for the way he actually lived. He and Nate wanted to create something natural, clean, great tasting, and affordable. Products that worked for the everyday adventurer, not just the elite athlete.
In 2017 they each put in $5,000, got their first production run of a thousand bags, built a Shopify website, listed on Amazon, and sold out in six to nine months. They reinvested, ran it back, and kept going. Today TRUWILD has twelve products in their portfolio, all vegan, gluten free, organic, non-GMO, and made in the United States.
As Zac puts it: it was not born in the lab. It was born in the wild.
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| Zac in the community with TRUWILD |
What Does "Stay True, Stay Wild" Actually Mean?
We asked Zac directly. His answer was simple and genuine. True means staying in line with what actually matters: your values, your health, your people, your family, your community. Wild means not settling. Saying yes to experiences. Pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. Not always being extreme, just being alive.
That is exactly the energy Marrying Your Passions was built around, and it is why this conversation felt so natural from the very beginning.
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| Adventure is what we are all about! A recent trip to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge with a room overlooking the savannah with giraffes! |
The Products
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| TRUWILD Products we are currently using and enjoying! |
TRUWILD's philosophy is benefit first. Every product in the line was built around solving a real problem for real people. Here is a quick look at what they offer:
Motion is their flagship energy powder. Clean, natural caffeine from mountain green tea with no crash. Nathan has been using this before long runs and marathons, including the Eugene Marathon, and has made the switch away from his pre-run espresso shot. It comes in raspberry coconut, mango pineapple, and other flavors.
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| Nathan fueling with TRUWILD Motion before the Eugene Marathon |
Hydrate is their electrolyte and amino acid blend. Alicia is completely sold on the Watermelon Lemonade flavor and has been reaching for it all through the Florida heat. Not too sweet, not artificial, and it genuinely works. Available in watermelon lemonade, passion guava, and strawberry lime.
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| After a hot Florida sun, Alicia turns to Hydrate to replenish. |
Wild Greens is their USDA organic greens superfood powder, built to fill the nutritional gaps that most of us are not covering through food alone.
Nitric Beets is a nitric oxide booster that supports blood flow and vasodilation. Nathan has been using this one in the lead-up to his upcoming races and has noticed a real difference.
They also carry a kombucha powder for gut health, adaptogens with functional mushrooms for mental clarity and stress, a turmeric blend for inflammation, and an immune support capsule. Most products come in flexible bags you can roll up and throw in a backpack, and they also offer individual travel size stick packs. Perfect for race weekends, national park hikes, or any trip where you want to take care of your body without hauling a bunch of gear.
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| Nathan's go to before marathons and long runs is "Motion." Tastes great and keeps him going! |
Not Just for Extreme Athletes
Alicia made this point beautifully in the episode and it is worth repeating here. You do not need to be training for an Ironman or running marathons to benefit from these products. TRUWILD was built for the entire spectrum, from the person doing water aerobics at 90 to the person walking their dog through the South Florida summer heat to the person crossing their first 5K finish line.
The philosophy is simple: keep people moving every day. Clean ingredients, great flavors, no hype, no junk. Just products that help your body feel its best so you can actually enjoy the life you are building.
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| Hydrate is our go to whenever we need to make sure we are getting all we need in our daily Florida lives. |
What We Took Away
Beyond the products, this conversation gave us some genuinely good reminders for anyone thinking about chasing a dream or pursuing something they believe in.
Execute before you feel ready. Zac and Nate launched TRUWILD when the idea was maybe fifty percent fleshed out. Most people wait for a hundred percent and never start. They just went.
It is going to take longer and be harder than you think. But it is also going to be the most gratifying thing you have ever done. Getting that first message from a customer who tells you something you made actually helped them is a feeling that never gets old.
Stop only doing things you know you are going to finish. One of Zac's friends challenged him with this and it stuck with us. Sign up for something you are not sure you can complete. The uncertainty will make you train harder, think differently, and reset your sense of what is possible.
Entrepreneurship spills over into relationships. Zac was honest about this. The stress, the time, the energy, it affects the people around you. The answer is not to pretend otherwise. It is to build boundaries, stay present when you are with the people you love, and keep your eye on what you are building it all for.
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| Zac loves to hike! |
Get 30% Off Your TRUWILD Order
As a member of the Marrying Your Passions community, if you want to try TRUWILD we are happy to share you can get 30% off your entire TRUWILD order. Visit truwild.com and use code MYP30 at checkout, or go directly to truwild.com/discount/MYP30 to have the discount applied automatically.
You can follow Zac on Instagram at @zstar77 and TRUWILD at @tru_wild.
Listen to Episode 21
You can find Episode 21 wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed it, leave us a five star review, share it with someone who loves to live actively and intentionally, and subscribe so you never miss an episode.
Coming up on our next episode, we are heading to Hot Springs, Arkansas to explore Hot Springs National Park and all the city has to offer. It is one of those places most people have not put on their list yet, but absolutely should. It is perfect for DINKs. We cannot wait to share it with you!
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| Nathan and Alicia enjoying a recent DINK weekend trip to Walt Disney World. |
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