Unconventional Life – Podcast, Blog, Live Events

Category: Wellness

  • Ep464: Using Discomfort as a Tool: Charlie Carlisle on Entrepreneurship and Clean Water

    Ep464: Using Discomfort as a Tool: Charlie Carlisle on Entrepreneurship and Clean Water

    In the wellness world, water is everywhere in conversation but rarely examined deeply. People debate supplements, track sleep scores, optimize workouts. 

    Yet the single highest-volume input into the human body—water—often goes unquestioned.

    For Charlie Carlisle, that blind spot became an obsession.

    Carlisle is the co-founder of Rorra, a Colorado-based water filtration company building what he describes as a “Dyson-style” business in water—premium, design-forward systems backed by rigorous lab testing. But Rorra didn’t begin as a branding exercise. It began with a problem that felt personal.

    And uncomfortable.


    A Baby’s Eczema and the Question No One Was Asking

    Rorra’s origin story isn’t rooted in trend forecasting. It started when Carlisle’s co-founder, Brian, became a father. Shortly after birth, his daughter developed eczema that wouldn’t clear.

    They tried everything—creams, different fabrics, dietary changes.

    Nothing worked.

    Then they installed a simple filter on her bathing water.

    Her skin began clearing.

    That shift triggered a deeper inquiry: If water could impact skin that dramatically, what else were people missing? And why wasn’t water being examined with the same scrutiny as food or supplements?

    Instead of rushing to market, Carlisle and Brian spent six months immersed in research. They brought in industry advisers, studied filtration technologies, and analyzed where the water industry was overpromising and under-delivering.

    What they found was an industry saturated with plastic systems, aggressive marketing claims, and limited transparency.

    Rorra would be built differently.


    The Real Health Lever: Volume and Bioaccumulation

    Carlisle frames water through one key lens: quantity.

    The average person consumes between half a gallon and a gallon of water per day. No supplement, no smoothie, no functional food comes close in volume. Which means small exposures—repeated daily—compound.

    He emphasizes contaminants that bioaccumulate and are difficult to remove once inside the body:

    • Lead
    • PFAS, often referred to as “forever chemicals”
    • Microplastics

    Particularly for children, developmental risk raises the stakes.

    For Rorra, filtration isn’t about trend-based features. It’s about reducing meaningful exposure to measurable contaminants, validated down to parts per billion or trillion.


    The Mineral Mistake Most People Don’t Know About

    While many biohacking conversations focus on structured water or hydrogen water, Carlisle takes a more grounded approach: focus on what can be measured.

    One overlooked factor, he says, is mineral content.

    Reverse osmosis systems can strip water down to near-zero content, leaving it functionally distilled. While effective at removing contaminants, fully demineralized water—if not remineralized—can have unintended consequences, potentially impacting the body’s mineral balance over time.

    Rorra’s countertop system was intentionally designed to preserve beneficial mineral content while removing harmful contaminants.

    The logic is simple: health optimization isn’t only about removing what’s harmful. It’s also about retaining what’s essential.

    And on a practical level, minerals improve taste. Many premium bottled waters are prized specifically for their mineral richness.


    Design as Strategy, Not Decoration

    Carlisle describes Rorra as a “Dyson-style” water company for a reason.

    Historically, filtration systems have prioritized function over form—or claimed function without validation. Rorra’s approach is to integrate both:

    • Stainless steel construction instead of plastic
    • Extensive third-party lab testing
    • Publicly available data
    • Products designed to live on a countertop without feeling industrial

    Their flagship product is a 2.5-gallon gravity-fed stainless steel system inspired by legacy designs but refined for modern homes. The use of high-end stainless steel isn’t aesthetic vanity—it reduces plastic exposure and is designed to last for years, reducing waste over time.

    Scaling that level of quality is operationally harder. Supply chains become more complex. Manufacturing tolerances tighten. But for Carlisle, difficulty is not a deterrent.

    It’s a filter.


    The Entrepreneurial Thread: Obsession Over Opportunity

    Carlisle’s entrepreneurial instincts began early. As a child, he ran small businesses—pet care, car detailing—while watching his mother and stepfather build companies of their own. Entrepreneurship wasn’t theoretical. It was modeled.

    In college, he studied finance at the University of Denver, expecting to follow the conventional investment banking route. After experiencing that environment firsthand, he realized it wasn’t aligned.

    Rather than forcing a prestigious path, he leaned into startups and building.

    His advice for aspiring founders is direct:

    • Work on something you can obsess over for at least five years.
    • Don’t chase money alone. Burnout follows misalignment.
    • Avoid glorifying the solo founder narrative.

    Rorra is built in partnership with Brian, someone Carlisle has worked with for nearly a decade across ventures. Their skills are complementary—Carlisle oversees the tangible world of engineering, design, supply chain, and fulfillment, while Brian leads digital presence, marketing, and revenue strategy.

    Trust first. Complement second.


    Using Discomfort as a Tool

    When asked what living an unconventional life means to him, Carlisle answers without hesitation: using discomfort as a tool.

    Entrepreneurship, especially product-based entrepreneurship, involves seasons of friction. Rorra’s launch cycle—spanning months of scaling, polishing, and troubleshooting—required sustained intensity with minimal margin.

    The key, he says, is anticipation. Expect the friction. Prepare for it.

    Then take deliberate breaks.

    After one intense scale cycle, Carlisle unplugged for a 10-day backcountry ski trip in Italy. Hard reset. No half-measures.

    Grinding without recovery isn’t discipline. It’s erosion.

    Discomfort builds capacity—but only if you manage it intentionally.


    The 24-Hour Test for Any Idea

    Before closing, Carlisle offers a framework for anyone sitting on an idea.

    Can you put in 24 cumulative hours of research within a week?

    Not scrolling. Not fantasizing. Actual reading, synthesizing, prototyping.

    If you can sustain that level of interest and still care, that’s a signal.

    If not, the idea may be more ego than obsession.

    For Carlisle, building Rorra wasn’t a flash of inspiration. It was sustained curiosity applied to a real-world problem.


    Where Rorra Is Now

    Rorra currently offers:

    • A stainless steel countertop filtration system
    • A filtered showerhead

    Over the next 24 months, additional product platforms are planned, all designed around the same principles: measurable performance, mineral preservation, durable materials, and radical transparency.

    The company’s growth has been accelerated by partnerships within the health and wellness space, reinforcing credibility and expanding awareness—but Carlisle is clear that they are still early in the journey.

     

    Giveaway: The Rorra Home Outfitter Upgrade

    One lucky Unconventional Life listener will receive:

    • 1 Rorra Countertop Filtration System
    • Filtered showerheads  

    Connect with Charlie:

  • Ep458: From Miscarriage to Mission: How WeNatal Is Rewriting the Fertility Playbook

    Ep458: From Miscarriage to Mission: How WeNatal Is Rewriting the Fertility Playbook

    For Ronit Menashe and Vida Delrahim, fertility was never supposed to become a business.

    Both women had climbed the corporate ladder at Nike, built long careers in marketing and leadership, and checked all the boxes of “doing life right.” Marriage, motherhood, stability. Until life cracked the script open.

    Within the span of a week, both women experienced miscarriages—two best friends, navigating loss at the same time, receiving the same dismissive medical answers.

    “It just happens.”
    “It’s probably your age.”
    “There’s nothing you can do—just try again.”

    But that answer didn’t sit right.

    When the System Stops Short

    What began as grief turned into research. And research turned into outrage.

    Ronit and Vida discovered something few people talk about: up to 50% of miscarriages are linked to sperm quality, yet fertility is treated almost exclusively as a women’s issue. Men are rarely tested. Rarely educated. Rarely invited into the process.

    That blind spot became their breaking point—and their calling.

    They left corporate life and went all in on a mission that felt deeply personal and deeply overdue: turn fertility from a “me problem” into a “we practice.”

     

    Trimester Zero: The Missing Preparation Phase

    What changed everything wasn’t IVF. It wasn’t a miracle intervention. It was preparation.

    Through functional medicine experts, including Dr. Mark Hyman, they learned that while egg count declines with age, egg quality and sperm quality are highly influenceable through nutrition, lifestyle, and environment.

    Men, in particular, can regenerate healthier sperm in as little as 72–90 days.

    They created what they call Trimester Zero—the three months before conception where both partners clean up their diet, reduce toxins, support hormones, and take targeted supplementation.

    The result?

    • Ronit gave birth to a healthy daughter at 42

    • Vida followed three months later

    Their personal experiment worked—twice.

     

    Why the Prenatal Industry Needed a Reset

    When they examined the prenatal market, the problems ran deep:

    • Poorly absorbed nutrients

    • Underdosed formulas

    • Fillers, dyes, and additives

    • No standards for men

    WeNatal was built differently:

    • One prenatal for her

    • One prenatal for him

    • Clinically relevant dosages

    • Third-party testing

    • No shortcuts

    The goal wasn’t speed or scale—it was integrity.

     

    Beyond Supplements: Mental Health, Grief, and Community

    Fertility isn’t just physical—it’s emotional.

    Miscarriage, trying to conceive, and pregnancy loss often happen in silence. That’s why WeNatal includes a shared journal with its subscription, addressing mental health, gratitude, and partnership alongside nutrients.

    Their belief is simple but radical: healing happens faster when it’s shared.

     

    Redefining Success—Later in Life

    Starting a company in their 40s raised eyebrows. Leaving Nike raised more. Choosing no outside investors raised the most.

    But for Ronit and Vida, success was never about optics—it was about alignment.

    “We didn’t want to build fast,” they say. “We wanted to build right.”

    Today, WeNatal has supported over 30,000 families and sparked a broader conversation about fertility, partnership, and agency—proving that sometimes, the most unconventional path is also the most impactful.

    Giveaway


    WeNatal is gifting one lucky Unconventional Life listener their Together Kit, including His + Hers Prenatal, their Manifestation Journal, and their Together Protein Plus—valued at over $350.

     

    Connect with WeNatal

  • Listening to the Body’s Hidden Intelligence: How Inna Segal Turned Trauma into a Global Healing Movement

    Listening to the Body’s Hidden Intelligence: How Inna Segal Turned Trauma into a Global Healing Movement

    For Inna Segal, healing didn’t begin in a classroom, a clinic, or a spiritual retreat. It began in a moment of profound loss and a blunt truth.

    After years of chronic illness, debilitating back pain, anxiety, psoriasis, and the devastating stillbirth of her child, Inna had exhausted every conventional option. 

    She was seeing multiple practitioners weekly, doing everything “right,” yet nothing created lasting change. Then one day, her chiropractor looked at her and said, “Your body is stuck. There’s nothing more I can do.”

    That moment didn’t break her. Instead, it redirected her.

    Instead of asking who could fix her, Inna asked a different question: What if my body is communicating something I don’t yet understand?

    The Body as a Language, Not a Problem

    At the time, Inna was studying linguistics and literature, training to become a writer. Language—how meaning is formed, stored, and expressed—was already her world. What she didn’t realize was that this skill set would unlock an entirely new way of understanding healing.

    Through breath, touch, and inquiry, Inna began listening inward. What she discovered was startling: her body wasn’t malfunctioning. It was remembering.

    She became aware of layers of unresolved experience stored within her body:

    • Childhood trauma from migrating across countries without language or stability

    • Bullying and family conflict

    • Ancestral trauma from war, imprisonment, and displacement

    • Unprocessed grief from losing her child

    As she felt, acknowledged, and worked through these layers, her body responded. Psoriasis that had persisted for 11 years disappeared within weeks. Chronic back pain and sciatica resolved. Anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation faded.

    Healing, she realized, wasn’t about fighting the body: it was about befriending it.

    From Self-Healing to Global Impact

    What began as a personal awakening soon revealed something more. Inna noticed she could intuitively perceive patterns within other people’s bodies—emotional roots of illness, stored trauma, and energetic imbalances. 

    At first, the experience was overwhelming. Over time, she learned discernment, boundaries, and ethical application.

    This work eventually became The Secret Language of Your Body, a book that has since been translated into 27 languages and sold over one million copies worldwide.

    The premise is simple, yet radical: Every part of the body carries wisdom. Symptoms are not random. Illness often begins long before it appears physically—and healing starts with awareness, not blame.

     

    Responsibility Without Shame

    A cornerstone of Inna’s philosophy is responsibility—not as self-blame, but as empowerment.

    “Responsibility,” she explains, “is asking what I’m willing to do now that my body is carrying this.”

    Her work guides readers through understanding emotional and mental patterns associated with specific body parts, reflecting on life events that preceded illness, and engaging in practical exercises that restore agency and clarity.

    Rather than offering generalized advice, Inna emphasizes specificity—mapping a person’s experience with precision. After 25 years in the healing field, she believes detail is what creates lasting change.

    Living—and Healing—Unconventionally

    Inna Segal’s work sits at the intersection of body, mind, spirit, and consciousness. She openly explores topics many avoid: ancestral trauma, intuitive awakening, reincarnation, and what happens beyond this lifetime.

    For her, living an unconventional life means thinking independently, questioning inherited beliefs, and continuously recalibrating one’s inner compass.

    Her message is not about rejecting medicine or logic—it’s about expanding them.

    Because when we learn to listen, the body doesn’t just heal. It teaches.

    Connect with Inna:

  • Ep456: Rewiring Love: How Thais Gibson Is Teaching Millions to Heal at the Subconscious Level

    Ep456: Rewiring Love: How Thais Gibson Is Teaching Millions to Heal at the Subconscious Level

     

    For years, Thais Gibson believed that relationships were supposed to hurt.

    Raised in an emotionally volatile environment, she learned early that love came with conflict, unpredictability, and intensity. Calm felt foreign. Stability felt suspicious. And intimacy? Often overwhelming.

    “I actually remember worrying when things weren’t dramatic,” she shares on the Unconventional Life podcast with host Jules Schroeder. “If we weren’t fighting, I thought something was wrong.”

    That belief—deeply embedded, entirely subconscious—would quietly shape her relationships, emotional coping mechanisms, and sense of self for years.

    Until everything unraveled.

    When Willpower Isn’t Enough

    Like many people on a healing journey, Thais tried to think her way out of pain. She read the books. Set intentions. Promised herself she would do better next time.

    But the patterns kept repeating.

    The breakthrough came when she learned a truth most people never hear: the conscious mind controls only a fraction of behavior. The subconscious—the part responsible for emotional reactions, habits, and attachment patterns—runs nearly everything.

    “You can’t outwill the subconscious,” she explains. “You have to reprogram it.”

    That realization changed the course of her life.

    The Science of Emotional Conditioning

    Through years of study in psychology, neuroscience, and somatic healing, Thais discovered why people remain stuck even when they want to change.

    The subconscious is wired through repetition and emotional intensity. It doesn’t respond to logic or affirmations—it responds to imagery, feeling, and consistency.

    What feels familiar—even if painful—feels safe.

    This insight became the foundation of Integrated Attachment Theory™, Thais’ proprietary framework that bridges attachment theory with subconscious reprogramming and nervous system regulation.

    Healing Attachment from the Inside Out

    Attachment styles, Thais explains, are not personality traits. They’re subconscious survival strategies learned in childhood.

    Fearful-avoidant, anxious, and dismissive attachment patterns all stem from core beliefs about safety, love, and self-worth.

    By targeting those beliefs directly—rather than behavior alone—lasting change becomes possible.

    And it works.

    A Live Demonstration of Rewiring Belief

    During the episode, Thais walks Jules through a real-time belief reprogramming exercise, revealing just how accessible the process can be.

    The steps are deceptively simple:

    1. Identify the fear beneath a goal

    2. Name the belief attached to it

    3. Create emotional evidence for the opposite belief

    4. Repeat consistently over 21 days

    It’s not about motivation. It’s about neural pathways.

    From Library Workshops to a Global School

    At 21, Thais began teaching free workshops in library rooms. People kept asking to work with her privately. Her waitlist grew to two years.

    That demand led to the creation of The Personal Development School, now serving members in over 115 countries with more than 60 courses dedicated to subconscious healing.

    It’s not therapy. It’s education for the inner world.

    The Real Transformation

    Success aside, the most profound shift for Thais was internal.

    “I used to be incredibly harsh with myself,” she admits. “My mind was always loud.”

    Today, she describes a sense of peace she once thought was impossible—space to create, to love, and to live without constant inner conflict.

    Healing didn’t just change her relationships.

    It gave her her life back.

    Giveaway

    One listener will receive a one-year all-access membership to The Personal Development School.

    Connect with Thais

  • Ep453: Bet on Yourself: Designing Outdoor Spaces That Tell Your Story with Steve Griggs

    Ep453: Bet on Yourself: Designing Outdoor Spaces That Tell Your Story with Steve Griggs



     

    Not all landscape designers are created equal, and Steve Griggs is living proof.

    For nearly four decades, the New York–based designer has been quietly transforming backyards, rooftops, and estates into living works of art. His projects have earned him two spots on the Inc. 5000 list, appearances on Bravo’s Backyard Envy, Good Morning LaLa Land, and features in Forbes, Huffington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. But ask him what he actually does, and he won’t talk about fame or aesthetics first.

    He’ll tell you about the guys chiseling stone in the cold.

    “Most people just see a pretty picture on Pinterest and say, ‘I want that in my backyard,’” Griggs says. “They have no idea what it takes—the engineering, the plant science, the labor. The real heroes are the guys on the ground doing the work.”

    That mix of candor and craftsmanship is exactly what’s made Griggs the guy to call when you want more than a pretty garden.

    From “Just a Landscaper” to the Guy Everyone Calls

    Griggs didn’t set out to be another name in the landscaping directory. From the beginning, he knew if he stayed generic, he’d be trapped in the race to the bottom.

    “Starting out as a landscaper, you don’t want to be a landscaper,” he says bluntly. “You want to become the guy, the gal—the it person. If you don’t separate yourself from the crowd, you’re just competing on price. And that’s a quick land to nowhere.”

    To climb out of that commodity trap, he began positioning himself differently. He leaned into media, became a go-to guest on podcasts, and compressed 30 years of work into a visual coffee-table book called Straight Dirt: New York City’s Premier Designer Tells It Like It Is. The book, filled with high-impact photography and honest stories from job sites, became a powerful leave-behind for clients—and a quiet weapon against his competition.

    “If a client’s looking at two landscapers with similar pricing, and one of them has a book on the table, they’re probably going with the guy who has the book,” he says. “It raises your credibility the second you walk in.”

    Your Backyard, Reimagined as a Story

    Ask Griggs what he really does, and he won’t talk about lawns or shrubs. He talks about lifestyle, feeling, and memory.

    “Some people paint, some people write music, some people sculpt,” he says. “My art form is your backyard.”

    His process starts with listening—not just to what people want built, but how they want to feel when they step outside. Some clients want Vegas energy: pools, lights, late-night entertainment. Others want a zen courtyard to decompress from the city. His job is to translate those emotional cues into a design and then bring it to life in three dimensions.

    He’s particularly passionate about the value of outdoor space in dense markets like the Northeast, where property and taxes come at a premium.

    “I’ve had clients say, ‘I don’t want to fix up my backyard—we never go outside,’” he laughs. “And I tell them, ‘You never go outside because it looks like this.’”

    Since COVID, he’s seen a massive shift in how people relate to outdoor living. Fire pits, outdoor kitchens, TVs, and covered lounges have turned backyards into the new family room.

    “The backyard is the new kitchen,” he says. “It’s where memories are made. Your goal is to make your place the coolest house on the block so your kids and their friends want to be there. That’s where the magic happens.”

    Money, Mindset, and the Price of Being “The Guy”

    Behind the polished projects, Griggs carries a familiar story about money—one that many high-achieving entrepreneurs will recognize.

    He grew up in an old-school, working-class household where the soundtrack was scarcity: turn off the lights, we can’t afford that. That narrative turned into an internal script that followed him into adulthood.

    “For years I was deathly afraid to talk about money,” he admits. “I’d be terrified to give the real price. In my head it was always, ‘What are they going to think if I say this number?’ I didn’t feel worthy to charge it.”

    The turning point came when he realized his clients could write a $100,000 check with the same emotional charge as a phone bill. It wasn’t that the projects weren’t worth the money—it was that he hadn’t fully owned the value of his work.

    “You can’t be clipping coupons on groceries and then expect people to hand you six-figure checks,” he says. “It’s a mindset thing. You have to believe you’re the person they want, or you’ll always be just another guy with a truck.”

    Today, he’s unapologetic about charging what his projects are worth. He also insists that loving your work isn’t enough—you have to treat it like a real business.

    “I used to say, ‘If I love what I do, the money will follow.’ That’s not how it works,” he says. “You’re supposed to make a profit. Business is for profit. Be fair. Don’t take advantage of people. But don’t apologize for making money.”

    40 Years In: Jealousy, Grit, and Showing Up Anyway

    After four decades in the industry, Griggs has seen trends, companies, and entire economies come and go. Instagram, though, brought a new kind of challenge: comparison.

    “Do I get jealous when I see guys online talking about making a million dollars a month? Absolutely,” he says. “Here I am, 40 years of blood, sweat, and tears. It gets to you sometimes.”

    His way through it isn’t glamorous. It’s not a hack. It’s consistency.

    “The longevity is just consistency,” he says. “Showing up every day. Doing what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it.”

    That grit is rooted in his upbringing. His father worked construction, getting up at 4:30 a.m. to commute into New York City and feed five kids. Griggs inherited not only the work ethic but the sense of responsibility that comes with it.

    “I’m old-school now, I can finally say that,” he laughs. “Your word is your bond. If I tell a client they’ll be swimming by July 4th, no matter what happens, they’re swimming by July 4th. That’s your reputation. That’s everything.”

    His biggest piece of advice for anyone trying to build something unconventional?

    “Bet on yourself,” he says. “You want to be the person with the ball with two seconds left who actually wants to take the shot. Nobody’s coming to save you. It’s on you.”

    Creativity in Spray Paint and Steel-Toed Boots

    Despite the tough-guy exterior, Griggs describes himself as a softie who cries at movies and gets emotional easily. His creative process is surprisingly intuitive.

    He doesn’t sit behind a screen and draft for days. Instead, he walks the site with old-school spray paint in hand, sketching the pool, patio, and pathways right onto the earth.

    “It’s like when a song comes into your head,” he tells Jules. “For you, you go to the piano. For me, I start spray-painting the outline. I see the whole thing before it’s ever built—even down to the flowers.”

    He laughs that he can’t draw a stick figure on paper, but give him a raw piece of land and he can see the finished space from day one.

    The Lonely Road of Entrepreneurship—and Why He’d Still Choose It

    Griggs is quick to point out that entrepreneurship is not for everyone.

    “Can everyone be an entrepreneur? I don’t think so,” he says. “It’s lonely. There were times I didn’t know if I could make the mortgage or the payroll. People are cheering for you—but also, some aren’t. There’s jealousy.”

    And yet, he wouldn’t trade it.

    Being his own boss meant he could coach his sons’ soccer games, be present for family life, and build days around what mattered most. Now married 29 years to a wife who balances his high energy with a calmer presence, he knows firsthand that success without relationships isn’t success at all.

    “I see a lot of people where one partner is working nonstop, and everything else falls apart,” he says. “It’s not worth it.”

    Even with his own business, he refuses to let his kids skip the hard part.

    “They see me come home dirty and tired,” he says. “They’re not following in my footsteps—and that’s fine. But if they ever want to come into the business, they’re not getting handed the keys. Go out, get beat up a little, learn how the world works, then we’ll talk.”

    Why Breaking the Rules Might Be the Only Way to Live

    For Steve Griggs, living an unconventional life is less about rebellion and more about refusing to sleepwalk through someone else’s plan.

    “To me, the unconventional life is breaking something, living outside the box,” he says. “Don’t just do what everybody says you should be doing. Go for it. Bet on yourself. Don’t have regrets.”

    Whether he’s spray-painting the outline of a rooftop pool, pricing a six-figure backyard renovation, or sending 5 a.m. emails so clients know he’s thinking about their project before sunrise, one thing is clear: Griggs isn’t just designing outdoor spaces.

    He’s designing a life on his own terms—and inviting the rest of us to do the same.

    Giveaway: Win a Copy of Straight Dirt + Personal Design Insight from Steve

    To celebrate the episode, Steve is giving away a hardcover copy of his coffee-table book, Straight Dirt: New York City’s Premier Designer Tells It Like It Is.

    Connect with Steve

     

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UNCONVENTIONAL LIFE

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