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FC2O AI Episode 1 - Earthing with Alun Biggart
706 Plays3 months ago
Join the kids and me in quizzing long-time friend, colleague and barefoot traveller on the path holistic! Enjoy the show... here we go:
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Transcript
Introduction to Earthing and Health Benefits
00:00:00
Speaker
to but internally in Vibram there there wasn't the interest and and it's a shame because like, i things as the Earthings the hidden elixir of of health where very few people actually understand how much gold there is for just taking your shoes off and running around on either grass or sand or stone. It's one of the healthiest things you can do and something that we've been programmed to do since the beginning of time.
00:00:48
Speaker
to order
Podcast Introduction: Meet the Hosts and Guest
00:01:00
Speaker
Hello, welcome back to FC2.0. And of course, this is FC2.0 AI, our first episode with Archie and Isabella using the AI technology. And we've got Cedric with us, of course. um And today we're interviewing Alan Bigart, who's been a friend of mine for many, many years. It's even in the decades now. And and he's a very successful businessman. Our business paths have crossed many a time as Czech students and Check, ah him being a check distributor and me being a check instructor and then we distributed five fingers ah respectively in our own countries. So Alan and I have had pods which have interlinked and now he's brought out his new range of earthing shoes. So we're going to talk about earthing a fair bit in this podcast. and But as you will see, here's ah here's a sort of sharp cookie, if that's the right term.
00:01:47
Speaker
um and um he he also um and mixes with the hoi polloi a little bit of of our world so he has people like Gabon Marte on his books and Bruce Lipton stayed with him and of course Paul check and he's spent time with the Dalai Lama so he's ah he's a cool cat so anyway I'm sure you will enjoy the show here we go.
00:02:25
Speaker
Welcome to FC2.io AI with me Matt Walden and Archie Walden. Isabella Walden. And our guest today, Alan Bigart. Alan, how are you doing? I'm doing well, I'm missing you buddy and it's wonderful to see your gorgeous kids. Ah, thank you, thank you. Yeah, we should have got your kids on as well. It would have been a proper party. A big ah big horror show.
00:02:48
Speaker
yeah Exactly, exactly. Well, today we're going to be talking a bit about our history together, but also where we're at in terms of our latest business venture. um So I know that Archie and Bella have got some questions for you. So do do you want to start out with a question? Yeah, I'll start out. um oh um So if we're staying on the topic of business and business ventures, um let's start at the beginning and ask you, um like how did you start in the business world?
Alan Bigart's Business Journey
00:03:20
Speaker
i started and I started in the biggest business world when I was probably about Isabella's age. And that was selling a hot energy drink called Maxim, which was made with something called maltodextrin glucose polymers. And it was the first one on the market. And that was back in 1992. And it was just after the time that ah the same company had given Linford Christie something called Creatine.
00:03:50
Speaker
that propelled him to the Olympic gold in Barcelona. So that was it in 1992 the business started and for me it was just like playing Lego. It was just like building something with Lego and ah it It turned into an amazing journey that took me from Glasgow to to Copenhagen and living in Denmark for the last 30 years, where I thought I was going to be a professional badminton player, but I ended up building a business and then selling it. And then that's where I met your dad through a mutual crazy friend called Paul Chek. They're aware of my crazy friend.
00:04:32
Speaker
yeah yeah yeah And Paul's been a big part of our lives in that he's given us ah a formula for looking after our our bodies, which were which we still use most of it today. I presume you do as well, Mark, because you're still looking young. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So um so yeah, so so that was the start point, wasn't it, with with with Maxim? And then we met with Paul. And do you want to sort of continue with the story from from there? Yeah.
00:05:06
Speaker
It went like crazy. I mean, I didn't um imagine imagine what was going to happen with with selling energy drinks and protein powders and stuff like that. And we ended up having a couple million pound business. And the more I got into it, the more I was um concerned about the quality of the the ingredients and looking at seeing if we could make stuff healthier. And then it was actually at a a lecture with ah Paul that your dad was at and where Paul started talking about a spa team and all the colors and things like that. And that was just like the straw that broke the camel's back. I thought, okay, i'm getting I'm getting out of here one way or the other because I tried to reformulate stuff. I tried to find organic stuff and I found some really great organic bars and some organic ingredients, but
00:06:00
Speaker
you know, 20 years ago, people weren't interested in it, they were just interested in big muscles, and they didn't really care or a flat stomach, they didn't really care how how they got it. So I sold it to a venture capital company, and which financially was the stupidest thing I'd ever done. But you know, in in terms of quality of life, it was the best thing I ever did. And then I just started a website writing about health and nutrition and sleep and lifestyle and personal development, spirituality. And that's brought a lot of exciting teachers into Matt's world, your dad's world and my world. We've had Bruce Lipton, they grew a check, David Perlmutter.
00:06:42
Speaker
We've given him a tea coming next month to 2,000 people in an indoor arena. His names you guys might not be that familiar with. He's a real top tier authors and presenters in our kind of world of rehabilitation and spiritual development and new age and so on, psychology.
00:07:03
Speaker
So these are people that are very difficult to to ah get into an auditorium. um if If you don't already have contacts with them, and Alan's done an amazing job at developing a model that it's ah encourages these people to come and work with him, which is which is very interesting. You might have to move into that a little bit later.
00:07:23
Speaker
yes um yeah so um I gave him a tease really important for you, Archie, because when you're traumatised by your dad's parenting, his books you should go and read. Thanks for that, Alan. Appreciate it. Yeah, so yeah so you you've done your maxing business, you've sold it, and and then next step,
00:07:47
Speaker
Well, basically started the um online universe that that we have and it's got three legs. One, we do
Transition to Health and Nutrition Focus
00:07:53
Speaker
live events with speakers. Two, we do online events where we offer online courses. We started that three years ago. and We already have had 80,000 people through the online ah courses. and There's a free part of it where people can get a ah you know some really good tools to help them on their on their journey and then if they're interested they can buy full courses and then we have a shop where we sell healthy products.
00:08:21
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So one thing I don't think we will have made completely clear to to to the listeners so far is that obviously you've got a Scottish accent. So you're from from Scotland, i living in Denmark because you're an elite badminton player. And a lot of people I don't think would realise that Denmark is, is it the second tier country in the world for badminton or something like that? One of the top ones. well it's One of the top ones, my friend just won the Olympic gold medal yesterday for the second time in a row. ah wow So he's like, the he's like the king of of badminton just now and the danish king went and congratulated him and he actually said okay victor you're king today that's excellent so um but but so that's how you ended up in denmark was because you played badminton ah basic i basically studied uh sports physiology and when i finished my degree i had four choices do a phd get a job do medicine i come to denmark and play badminton and then i took the
00:09:15
Speaker
energy drink and creatine with me over to Denmark and started a company and was lucky enough to play with two of my friends, one who was Olympic champion in 96 and the other one won world championships in 97 and they were really kind and loving and they said to me, Alan, get a job.
00:09:33
Speaker
So I focused more on building a business than I did on playing badminton, but still, you know, I enjoyed playing at a good level. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Excellent. Excellent. So then I always explained to the kids yesterday when we were just sort of planning a little bit for today's meeting, um, that one of your goals, I think you stated to me at least was that you wanted to become the Danish Dr. McCullough in terms of that, that was a kind of Dr. McCullough's newsletter.
00:10:00
Speaker
Obviously, many people will know what that is, but but McCullough had the world's biggest health newsletter, right? as is Yeah. And so you are aiming, I think at some point, that was part of your your mission statement was to to essentially become the McCullough of Denmark or to to have a health letter, let's say a health newsletter that was at that kind of level. Is that is that correct? If I remember that accurately?
00:10:23
Speaker
I think so, Matt. I mean, we must have talked about that 20 years ago. I mean, how I ah achieve i've achieved that goal, the I think, probably 10 years ago. So I'd forgotten about that. So thanks for reminding me. I mean, I think...
00:10:37
Speaker
Now the goal is just to do what I can and ah on a daily basis to help other people on their journey. and And what I'm finding now is the most important thing to do is help build communities. It's helped find a safe place for for for people to and thrive,
00:11:03
Speaker
and which which even which after COVID is even more important. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Got any questions, Bella?
Intuition and Personal Growth
00:11:12
Speaker
She's just enjoying the discussion. Yeah, no. You mentioned full check earlier and so obviously check training. What kind of just made you, than I don't know, go from, well, I suppose we kind of talked about that. That's all right. sorry yeah I don't know. Did you have, but why did you decide to like start the track? Yeah. What kind of turned you?
00:11:38
Speaker
No, I didn't know it at the time, isabella but I think it was my intuition. I saw a picture of Paul training on a Swiss ball, on an exercise ball, and I think my intuition just guided guided me there. I use my intuition every every day. It's like my guiding hand of the the the universe. I don't think I understood what it was then.
00:12:03
Speaker
and and And i'm um I'm glad I did. I went to a two day ah workshop in Eastbourne. It must have been about 2000, 2001. That's where I met your dad. And then I brought Paul to to Denmark. I was going to say, like um when you said you moved to Denmark, I was going to say, like, do you think that was just because you just felt like it was the right thing to do, like going and playing badminton and then it then it opened up options for you when you were in Denmark?
00:12:36
Speaker
I think it was two-sided attitude. One, I was, um let's say, socially challenged. So I didn't have that much in Scotland apart from playing badminton. And two, I was just i just wanted to to to go and see if I if i could get good at playing playing the sport. So in one sense, it was a little bit of a an escape. And the other sense, it was, you know,
00:13:06
Speaker
Pissing a dream, I suppose. Yeah, it was it was a dream. And the guy I was going to originally going to work with was he was an absolute nutter. And I was close to to not going. And I remember sitting in the living room with my dad and he just said, you know, you've got enough money to last for six months. Go. The worst thing that can happen is you have an experience of a lifetime and loot and learn some really good tools that will help you no matter where you do. Just just just go.
00:13:37
Speaker
One of the things that's always struck me about you, Alan, is that you you mentioned it earlier that you use your gut feeling quite a lot. And you know you I remember whenever I've stayed with you, there have been you know various self-help type ah resources playing in the background of the Nightingale Conant staff and some of these authors that you've mentioned. you know um And you really embody that and and and live that, don't you? and And strikes me that that's a part of your business philosophy. And and part of what's made you successful is is that you know you don't just listen to it as an interesting aside, you actually apply it.
00:14:15
Speaker
um fact Thanks for that, Matt. I mean, one of the, there's actually the one of the most well-known Wynn Hough instructor, she said to me the other day that you're the one that's the most authentic. And I took that as a really good compliment because it, you know, we all mess up and screw up. It's just about being being honest with it. But the the business for me is not a company. Okay. it It's helping to provide a a living for for me and put food on the table for for for the kids. But it's more a playground to explore.
00:14:47
Speaker
all the fantastic things that are out there in the world. and and how you can keep the body young or or reverse aging or your spirituality or just your journey and helping to to find a inner peace. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, you were obviously around that sort of early 2000 mark, you would get, you're exploring the Czech teachings, learning a lot of that yourself. Obviously we're inspired enough to put on some ah seminars
00:15:18
Speaker
in Denmark and then become the the the distributor for the c check
Cultural Contrasts: UK vs Denmark
00:15:22
Speaker
materials. yeah That was presumably in parallel to you setting up the newsletter and and other elements of the business. yeah Can you talk us through that a little bit? Well, when I sold my company in 2004, it was a bit of a scary time because I just become a father for the first time. And you possibly experience this, ah Archie, when you have have kids, as the male, you're the hunter gatherer, the lady is more making the home and I don't mean that lady should stay home and make make the home, but I think there's something in the male genes that he feel he has to be the hunter gatherer and go and ah and come put food on the table. So never having to think about money, I had to start, you know, okay, the inc the very good income that I had is has gone, how how do I
00:16:12
Speaker
buy nappies and clothes for this ah little one. So the check, the working with Paul and and your dad when he came over and talked for us as well was ah was like a good step in ah in building the foundation for something to to to work on.
00:16:29
Speaker
and And we had Paul here, you know, several times, and I think we had some of the biggest audiences say he'd ever spoken to, which was Paul, because the market here was really ripe for it and possibly because it was part of my calling and I was good at explaining, you know, this guy, ah even though he's ah he's he's a bit crazy, he's got a system that really works.
00:16:57
Speaker
Do you think um in Denmark it's got a larger population of people who want to like who care about their health? I think that's a really ah really good intuitive question, Archie. and and I don't mean to upset set set the viewers, but in in the UK,
00:17:18
Speaker
and Most of the population is led living in Cloud Cuckoo land. The country is called Great Britain, but it should be renamed Second Class Britain. If you look at the Scandinavian lifestyle and what's here, I mean, when I take my my kids home, sometimes they're absolutely shocked by what they see. And it's a shame because in the in the yeah UK, they have more than enough resources to make one of the best countries on the planet. But if the 1% keeps all the money to themselves and doesn't invest in the rest, then that's just unfortunately what's going to happen. Now, I'll give you an example. When I was in Scotland, I used to play in the National badminton center and we had six badminton courts.
00:18:15
Speaker
in Glasgow. Only six. The only place with Bampton courts, the rest were like multi halls. It was in an old ship factory. Where I live in Denmark, the club that I play in, how many Bampton courts do you think it has? 12. Good guess. It's actually 14. Okay, so if you were to put out like a pointer and a piece of paper and draw 10 kilometres round from where I live. How many exclusive badminton holes do you think there are, Isabella? I have no idea. Pick an old and 12.
00:19:02
Speaker
and this There's 70. 70. So that's why a little country of 5 million can produce world and Olympic champions. No, it's not just badminton. There's indoor tennis courts. There's ah and football.
00:19:22
Speaker
it's It's just, this parrot is' it's paradise here. and It's not that everything's right. It's a really socialist ah country, which is good on one hand because it means that everybody gets lifted up in in the community. But on the other hand, there's a lot that take that don't give.
00:19:40
Speaker
Yeah, yeah ah one thing that I've heard about Scandinavian countries, I'm not sure if it's just a stereotype, but like the the crime rates really low and everything's like really like you were saying when you went to Denmark that you went out in the morning and all the streets were completely clean.
00:20:00
Speaker
us yeah people like it it's better it It's better than the UK but you know it is we've got beautiful nature we don't have the mountains that they have in in Scotland or in ah in Switzerland whatever but the nature is really good there's good education are the education kidding the kids perfectly no but it's it's it's it's it's still good I'd like to see them teach the kids some real stuff like and i say to Isabella, hey Isabella, what's what's your purpose in life instead of teaching you all about ah biology or or math mathematics and asking Archie if he if he knows about what money actually is and how it's just an exchange of energy and things. But
00:20:47
Speaker
All in all, it's just paradise to to to live in. and Crime rate is low, hospitals are good, still allopathic, but you know if if I got sick, I'd rather go to a hospital in Denmark than than one in the UK. My sister's an emergency ah ah consultant, not far from where you guys live, and she said it's just like falling apart. Right, yeah. And and the prisons, is that a thing?
00:21:16
Speaker
um'm I been lately and I'm not planning. cool so you know But i think I know that there's people from Eastern Europe that don't mind getting caught from for for for crime in Denmark because a prison in Denmark is more like a hotel in certain parts of Eastern Europe.
00:21:34
Speaker
yeah yeah yeah Cool. So, and actually one of the things I think you were leading to watch is that um when I used to teach in Sweden, I would often ah look out to the park that was just outside the hotel where they put me up and and people would cycle in and leave their bikes in the park to go into work in the town. And I, ah one time I noticed they don't lock them up.
00:21:56
Speaker
And they just leave their bike against those bends, go into work, come back, pick up the bike and go home. And I'm like, my gosh, you could not do that here in the south of England. I don't know about other parts of England, but I've had many bikes stolen that have been fully locked up. it Anyway. And when they go into Copenhagen in the morning on a summer's day, that is thousands of people baking.
00:22:21
Speaker
Yeah. And that's, you know, that's a really good answer to to the question that you and Isabelle have asked, Archie, is that in every road, there's a cycling lane, there's a bike lane. So everybody can bike without worrying about getting knocked down by ah but by ah but by a car.
00:22:41
Speaker
Yeah. So I hope I hope a visionary who's good at building some something will lead the UK and the other countries in in in Europe because it's not that it can't be done, it's just it's just the will ah because the resources are are there, but everybody has to contribute.
00:23:05
Speaker
and I like to use an analogy of everybody's invited to dinner. You don't necessarily have to pay for the food, but are you going to sit at the table, make the dinner or clean up afterwards? It's important that everybody contributes. Yeah, definitely.
00:23:22
Speaker
Good stuff. okay So so you know we started out as kind of co-students, as it were, on the Czech journey. You then became distributor to Denmark. I then eventually got onto faculty for the Czech Institute. And one of the first courses I was teaching was out with you in Denmark. In fact, it might even be my very first course that I taught was out with you. He was very green, Isabella, but he he did a good job. Thank you. um And then it wasn't actually the first course I taught, but I do recall it was it was one of the first courses I came in wearing a pair of five. So I just got back from New York teaching out there.
00:24:01
Speaker
I walked in with the classic fighters and your reaction was something like, what the hell are those? yeah know they fighting things And you said, are they any good for you? And I was saying, yeah, absolutely. You know, they allow the foot to function like it's barefoot, ah but it gives you a bit of protection. and I remember the exact words, Matt, and the exact words were Where the F did you get those? And before you could answer, I said, why the F didn't I think of that? Because I just knew intuitively, you know, wow.
00:24:33
Speaker
that was That was something that was so good for the body. yeah yeah And and you know also that they stand out, don't they? Because they're so different to to to what you see on a day by day basis. And so we always used to say when we distributed them that that we they had that sort of Marmite effect where know Some people love them because they stand out. Some people hate them because they don't want to stand out. um it's um But more specifically, the function, I think, is phenomenal. and um anyway So the story there was that you said,
00:25:10
Speaker
I've got to get distribution rights for these for for for Denmark. And I said, well, look I've actually been in touch with Vibram um in the US ah because I've been writing a chapter for a textbook talking about natural rehabilitation, natural and evolutionary approaches approaches to rehabilitation. And so I actually been doing some research into the benefits of barefoot. So I had a bunch of references.
00:25:32
Speaker
And when I saw the product, I thought, well, you know we should feature this product in the chapter because it's just an excellent rehabilitation tool. So I had already spoken to Vibram, and this was Tony Post, who was the CEO in in the US. And I said to him, look, if you'd like me to feature them in in this chapter, then let me know. And you know I can get my models, who I'm taking photos of, to to wear them in in the pictures.
00:26:00
Speaker
So he said well you know what benefits are there to these five fingers and so i start explaining the benefits by email and he said what do you have references for that and i was like well yes a medical chapter so i've got i've got medical references so that was how i had made the contacts and and so then i pass on the contact details to you and the next thing i know you've arranged a meeting.
00:26:21
Speaker
for the next time I was out teaching with you so we could meet with a representative from the Italian distributor. I forget the guy's name now, but so but but we met with him.
Business Ventures with Vibram
00:26:31
Speaker
and um And that was where we negotiated distribution rights for each of us, you to the Denmark and me to the UK. and So that was quite quite a thing. um But then, yes, then that journey continued. So so and and why don't you sort of explain your journey with the Five Fingers and with footwear and so on since then?
00:26:53
Speaker
we see It was an amazing journey with ah with the Five Fingers because I think it's the best ah product in the sporting world because of what it can do for the body in terms of helping you to to move naturally and can give a lot of people the the health back in loads of different ways. So, you know, we had a really good ride on it. And one of the best things is actually was actually meeting the the young Italian inventor of Five Fingers called ah called Robert Fleary. Yeah. And learning about his story of natural movement in the in the mountains and how he's developed the Five Fingers from the original classic, which is maybe a little bit clumsy to ah
00:27:39
Speaker
is his probably his masterpiece, which is the KSL Evo, which basically fits like a glove on the foot. That's that was an amazing story, wasn't it? I mean, we would get him on the podcast at some point, but Robert was ah was he was he a a design student. I forget what he was. He was a design student, and I think he was doing his like thesis or something in Vibram where he came up with this second skin. But my what I recall was that he was working in the Italian Alps as a lumberjack in his holidays. So he he was doing you know lumberjacking ah and was walking up the trails.
00:28:18
Speaker
in his big lumberjack boots and what he found was that they got really obviously see hot and sweaty and they were heavy and all he wanted to do at the end of the day was to walk back down the trail barefoot but what he found was that it was a bit flinty and a bit uncomfortable and so as much as it felt nice it also felt a little bit too much sometimes and so he just thought if I could develop a kind of second skin just so I could still feel the ground, feel feel the the contours of the ground, but but without the risk of the sharp the sharpness and and the unpleasantness of of these sharp flints against my foot, then that would be amazing. and And so then he used his design skills to develop the first prototype, which he took to a bunch of different companies, but he was quite near Milan, which is where and Vibram are based. So he actually took it to to them and it was ah Marco Brahmani,
00:29:09
Speaker
so Yeah, they the the owner of the the company. Who um you actually saw something in them. you know so he he's he he So Marco Bramani is the grandson of Vitali Bramani, which is where Vibram comes from. So it's yeah, it's like Adidas, which is formed by Adi Dassler and Vibram is by Vitali Bramani. um And ah anyway, so Marco Bramani is a sailor and basically said those would be great for the boat um ah because you know it's great to be barefoot on a boat but when it gets wet it gets slippery um so yeah so that was that was where that came from and it all took off from there for for Robert and and for Vibram.
00:29:51
Speaker
um Yeah, so how about what what what sort of came after that, Alan? Because you know one of the things that that we found in distribution, and I'm sure you have had a similar experience, is that you can't be dependent entirely on one brand. um Or you can, but it's higher risk. You need to diversify a little bit. So so i'm we diversified in ah in in in different ways. And you offering tool socks, other
00:30:23
Speaker
quality barefoot shoes and one of the things that that I tried because it was something that we had a common bond with Matt was ah was the earthing and ah Robert Fleary unfortunately was the only one at Vibram that really understood about earthing and together we looked at making a rubber sole that could transmit the the natural healing energy from the ground ah into the foot and we did it partially, but there wasn't enough and information in, ah sorry, there wasn't enough interest in Vibram to take that further. And I think it's kind of interesting and that Vivo Barefoot have just come out with ah grounding a grounding boot. how how How it's working or not, I'm oh i' not sure on whether it actually,
00:31:17
Speaker
truly works. I'm not sure either because we'd need to test it. Yeah, yeah, right, right. So I remember going out to meet with Luca Piani, who was one of the the top guys in the Milan office around 2008, 2009, and taking some papers with me to to show him the benefits of earthing and how, you know, if they could instill kind of earthing technology into the five fingers, it would be like the perfect bafoot shoe because it has all the biomechanical benefits so of the toe dexterity and and the flexibility and everything else but also the earthing benefits which is what you lose when there's a rubber sole. And it was kind of interested but it wasn't the direction they were going and I spoke to Tony Post about it and I spoke to various people across several years and it just seemed like there was never quite the appetite there.
00:32:07
Speaker
um But so and, you know, obviously you had similar experience with with Robert, you couldn't quite get it across the finish line. But then announcement robert Robert wanted to. But internally, in Vibram, there there wasn't the interest and and it's a shame because like.
Deep Dive: Health Benefits of Earthing
00:32:21
Speaker
i things as the Earthings the hidden elixir of of health where very few people actually understand how much gold there is for just taking your shoes off and running around on either grass or sand or stone. It's one of the healthiest things you can do and something that we've been programmed to do since the beginning of time. Yeah.
00:32:46
Speaker
Um, so at the moment on TikTok, there's like this trend about, um, how magnesium, if you rub it on your feet at night, it's supposed to be good for you. They didn't me how it's an electrolyte. Is that right? Yeah. And, um, I was just wondering if that has any, well, if the earthing shoes have similar benefits to what magnesium. but but any You know, to be honest, you need to ask your dad cause he's smarter than I am.
00:33:16
Speaker
and But I would I would doubt that it's as healthy as everything because if we explain in simple terms what earthing is. It's the natural contact skin contact to the earth and the earth has got like a healing energy battery in it. So when you've got any part of skin, hands or feet are on contact with the earth, it's basically like taking antioxidants through the feet instead of the the mouth. And we know now
00:33:50
Speaker
through science and medicine, that inflammation is the cause of most disease. And and the scientific studies have shown within 30 minutes to an hour, you can virtually switch off all inflammation in the body by just having skin contact to the ground. ah And it is it's mind blowing.
00:34:08
Speaker
how how healthy it is. And it's also mind blowing about how few how few people know about it. And that's one question I wanted to ask you Isabelle is, why don't you think people that many people know about the healing benefits of the earth?
00:34:26
Speaker
That's a good question. i I honestly don't know. is Archie? I think maybe it's because people don't like the thought of going barefoot. So as soon as they hear that, its their brain sort of switches off and maybe thinks it's a bit spiritual or hippie. So they don't fully like interact with it. But I'm not sure. I think i think the real reason is that it's free, you can do it anywhere, anytime. It feels absolutely wonderful, but you can't put ah put it in a bottle, put it in put a label on it and sell it to someone else. So there's no money to be made of something that's it' free.
00:35:11
Speaker
That's right. I can't commodify it, can you? Yeah. I also think it's about time as well. I don't think don't think people would think I'm going to get outside for half an hour barefoot because they've got too much going on all the time. Exactly. Exactly.
00:35:30
Speaker
Well, and this is one of the things that we used to talk about with the five fingers is is that um you know you could give someone some foot exercises, for example, ah to because a lot of people have flat feet um or overpronating feet. In fact, about 80% of people have that.
00:35:46
Speaker
and so more you back Yeah, or sore backs. I mean, that there's loads of knee pain, there's another one which is very common and and and can be helped by going barefoot. So the point is is that you you could say, oh, do these exercises, it will take you 15, 20 minutes a day. And most people won't commit to that because it's too much time, right? um ah But if you said, well, wear your five fingers for 10, 15 minutes a day or for an hour or for the whole day or whatever it might be, then they get the same sorts of benefits just by being barefoot in a vertical miss.
00:36:18
Speaker
um because it stimulates the muscles in the foot and those muscles across time will get stronger. So really what you're doing is you're you're migrating the individual's physiology towards the environment within which they evolve to function. right that's what That's what five fingers do. That's what earthing mats do. That's what earthing shoes do, is that they provide a solution that means the person doesn't particularly have to change their lifestyle. They can integrate it into their lifestyle, but it gives them benefits which migrate their physiology towards that environment within which they've evolved to thrive. right um And so that's ah that that's I think the the the huge benefit of things like earthing mats that you can have under your desk. So you don't have to be outside for two hours a day. You can have your earthing mat, for example, like we have right now. Did you notice that?
00:37:09
Speaker
Oh, wow. That is something below us. We have our feet on. um who
00:37:20
Speaker
Well, seeing as we're called FC2.0 AI, perhaps we should use AI to help us with our understanding of our various product ranges. So here is AI's take on earthing.
00:37:32
Speaker
So here we are on chat GPT. So let's tap in a question on a thing. Tell me in less than 200 words.
00:37:44
Speaker
the benefits of earthing. okay Let's see what it's got to say. okay so Earthing, also known as grounding, involves direct skin contact with the Earth's surface, e.g. walking barefoot on grass or soil, or using conductive systems that transfer the Earth's electrons into the body. Research suggests that earthing offers several health benefits. okay so Let's read those out. so Number one,
00:38:10
Speaker
Reduced inflammation. By absorbing electrons from the earth, earthing may neutralize the free radicals, reducing inflammation and promoting healing. Okay. Number two, improve sleep. Earthing helps regulate circadian rhythms and cortisol levels, often leading to better sleep and increased energy.
00:38:26
Speaker
3. Stress Reduction. Direct contact with the earth may lower stress levels by reducing cortisol, fostering a sense of calm and wellbeing. 4. Pain Relief. Earthing may alleviate chronic pain by reducing inflammation and improving circulation. 5. Heart Health. Grounding can improve blood flow, reduce blood viscosity, and potentially lower blood pressure, benefiting cardiovascular health.
00:38:51
Speaker
And number six, enhanced immunity. Some studies suggest that earthing enhances immune function by reducing inflammation and supporting recovery from illness or injury. Overall, I think is a simple, natural way to support physical and emotional wellbeing.
00:39:06
Speaker
So there you go that is an independent AI ah take on the whole thing concepts and what you can really see as a general theme is that. I think helps to reduce this micro voltage that's held in the body when that is dropped through a thing or grounding.
00:39:24
Speaker
Then your cortisol levels will drop when cortisol levels drop your inflammation drops it means you're more calm your less fight flights so your stress reduces your pain reduces the blood viscosity decreases and because stress actually inhibits immune function then your immunity is facilitated so there we go there's a nice little summary and a good reason why.
00:39:47
Speaker
getting outside in your bare feet or using an earthing mat in your office or in your home or an earthing sheet in your bed or indeed getting a pair of earthing shoes can be very beneficial to your health and your happiness. So if you want to get your hands on a pair or get your feet in a pair, head over to mattwarden.com, go to the products section and I think you'll like what you see and you'll like even more how they feel and how they make you feel.
00:40:15
Speaker
what
00:40:21
Speaker
Yeah. so And as Alan just said, you know that reduces inflammation. um That's very well documented. But I suppose to your original question, Bella, when you're talking about the magnesium,
00:40:33
Speaker
um you know magnesium is is an electrolyte. So it has an electrical properties. All minerals do. um And so, yeah, you're probably getting a similar it a similar process. You rub magnesium into your feet. It will provide electrolytes to the body.
00:40:51
Speaker
um But that's only one electrolyte, right? Whereas when you're walking across the ground, you're getting a whole array of free electrons coming from the ground. So that's what Alan was just saying. That's kind of like your antioxidants coming into the body. You also get the benefits. You're dumping micro voltage from your body. So right now, all four of us are sat in front of our computers. We're sat inside our homes, which means that there's electrical circuits around us, which means that if we're wearing rubber-soled shoes,
00:41:20
Speaker
then we will be accumulating essentially micro-voltage impact issues. And that micro-voltage is kind of like electrical charge that excites cells, increased which just makes us slightly more on edge, slightly more inflamed, slightly more fight-flight.
00:41:40
Speaker
um And if we could take our shoes off and put them on the earthing mat or step outside barefoot, that's where we dump the micro voltage and that helps with inflammation and and so on. So so that's the ah rationale behind it. So I think there's there's definitely a link with that magnesium thing that you're talking about, but there's a lot more benefits to just stepping outside barefoot.
00:42:01
Speaker
yeah I also have a question for both you and Alan. How would it help an elite athlete, like with um when if an elite athlete decided to start earthing, what benefits would they see? They would they would basically recover faster and and they would um they would reduce the the stress ah the stress in their body and they would boost their immune system so there'd be less chance of ah of of getting sick. And I think also for the general population, part of the reason why people are so sick is because they've lost the connection to nature.
00:42:43
Speaker
Yeah. And just taking your shoes off and walking on on the on the grass and sand, you start to connect to the source that our ancestors always had because they walked around on on bare feet or in leather skinned moccasins. And when they slept at night, it wasn't in a nice, comfy bed. it was It was on the ground with some skin of of animals to keep them warm if it was ah cold. So we basically over the last couple of hundred years, and especially since rubber-soled shoes started being the norm in the 60s, lost a connection to to nature and to the earth. Yeah.
Modern Lifestyles and Natural Practices
00:43:22
Speaker
That's what I was going to say. I was going to say, how how is this not common knowledge if it's going to be so beneficial for people? I'm i'm flabbergasted that more people are not earthing and looking at the health benefits bit of earthing. But again, it's like we're we're in a culture that
00:43:42
Speaker
You go to the doctor and yeah and it's not necessarily, I mean, medicine's got its faults as well because it's it's based on treatment, not prevention, but it's also because of the customers they're getting. I think probably 90% of people that go to the doctor expect a pill to cover up the symptoms that they've got so they can carry on with the the unhealthy lifestyle that they have instead of thinking about, okay, how can I take the power into my own hands?
00:44:10
Speaker
and look after my my my own body. And for and for me yeah and more and more people that I know, getting outside into nature and doing it in bare feet is one of the best things you can do for your body and soul.
00:44:25
Speaker
yeah I think as a kind of collective psychosis or hypnosis, um perhaps a collective amnesia, because our default, of course, was to be barefoot or in touch with the ground. and you know In my studies of ah footwear, I've been using footwear for about 40,000 years, but but really rubber footwear for about 40 years, maybe 50 years now.
00:44:50
Speaker
um and so you know, prior to that was primarily leather soles, which are electrically conductive um or can be depending on the thickness of them and so on. So, you know, the the the point being that, you know, if you if you think about what's healthy to eat these days, what's organic food, 100 years ago, that would have been just been called food, right? Because there were no non-organic, everything was organic. And, you know, we talk about earthing, well, that's what people did naturally 100 years ago. We talk about avoiding blue light. Well, that's what people
00:45:21
Speaker
they just weren't exposed to blue light apart from the natural blue light from the sun. you know So there's all of these things that have emerged as a result of this society and and the kind of technologies that we're exposed to. And we're almost having to rediscover nature. So there's this kind of default that was the norm. And that's, I think, why people don't know about it.
00:45:41
Speaker
um But um yeah, I mean, also, I think both of you, Alan and Archie, have have kind of touched on this idea of connection and feeling connected to to to the broader world. And I think that's why there's this kind of hippie connection, often with barefoot, is this idea that and you know We might see it as a little bit unusual or or perhaps even backward for the reasons we were just saying, right? That modern people wear modern shoes with with air pads and gel pads and the relative script technology and all the rest of it. And the hippies go barefoot. It's like, whoa, what a bunch of weirdos. But actually, they're the smart ones.
00:46:21
Speaker
and One definition of spirituality is a sense of connection to the greater whole. right And if you think of what barefooting is, well, it's a sense of connection to the earth, which is the the greatest hole that we have here. i it's like the It is the whole earth that we're connecting to. It's not just the ground under our feet, but we're connecting to the entire planet when we when we touch our feet to the ground. so And and love ah Mother Earth is, you know, she is so wise. If we only listen to what she's ah got to say, I mean, the other the other day I was going for a walk with the dog in the forest and the amount of people that I passed that had something stuck in their ears. So they're listening to a podcast or music or whatever. So that's OK. There's nothing wrong with that. But if you're in the forest listening to something on your
00:47:15
Speaker
your telephone, are you hearing the rustling of the leaves? Are you hearing the birds the birds say singing? Are you hearing the swish of the the the water? All these things that are are there to, you know, de-stress the body together with the beauty are arranged and people are just they' just not they're just not present. And and I think in the next 10 years, we will see an exponential increase in people that start to really get interested in nature and and probably taking the best of what technologies got to offer, but going back to basics with the way they live their life.
00:47:57
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. This kind of ties in with forest bathing and that kind of thing, doesn't it? This is grounding. Exactly. And I think you see parks in in in major cities where people ah can walk in the grass or the stones in the in the in their bare feet. You'll see people using less sun cream or no sun cream and just building up their tolerance to to the sun early in the spring. And you know, not blocking the body for the healing energy and the vitamin D you get from the sun. ah yeah So you were telling me that you saw, um was it a TikTok about Harland? Yeah, that's why I brought up the um elite athletes and the benefits because um there was a video of Erling Harland and how he does it, which is, it was on TikTok, which is a really good thing because it means that
00:48:53
Speaker
Do you remember what he was, was he saying that it helps him recover or? um I'm not sure whether it was him saying anything. It was just a video of, I think it was a photo actually of just him with one of his football teammates just with their feet on the grass and just it recovering. Yeah. He's a really smart guy. I mean,
00:49:18
Speaker
There's pictures of him as well with his mouth taped so he understands the importance of nasal breathing and and there's no coincidence that he is as good as he is because he's like the you know my my friend that just won the Olympics for the second time. He is just going all in looking at any natural way he can to improve his performance.
00:49:41
Speaker
Yeah it's really fascinating because you look at people are now there as well and and you know there's this you put in the photo of him he's got five fingers and he uses swiss balls and it's kind of if if if you're that good. Normally you found.
00:49:56
Speaker
all of the top things that are going to help you. Like there's other stuff with Harland where he's wearing blue light blocking glasses as well. So he's obviously just into the whole thing of how can he optimize his physiology and realize his potential as a human being. Which is, you know, we look at Ronaldo with the water thing. Do you remember that with the Coke and the water? He was sat down to do an interview post-match and there's these two bottles of Coke lined up.
00:50:20
Speaker
And he kind of looks at them as it goes like this, moon moves moves the bottles and goes agua and puts water on the table. And he was like, oh, that's so perfect. That vented Coca-Cola profits quite significantly. But that that's what people that are serious about their health and their performance. They look for every marginal gain. Yeah.
00:50:41
Speaker
I mean, I had, i had to as a guest with my tribe that meet every second week, one of my friends was in town and he's the four-time world freediving champion and holds the Guinness world record for how long you can hold your breath underwater, 20 minutes with oxygen, 10 minutes without swum, 72 meters under the Arctic ice. He's been there working with some of the top sports people in Denmark, teaching them, because I mean, most sports people are meet breathing through their through their mouth.
00:51:11
Speaker
yeah but nasal breathing is just gives them so much more performance and not only that, it gives them a much better health and off the court as well. yeah What do you mean when you say 20 minutes with oxygen and 10 minutes without? Well, if you just breathe normally and go into the water, he can do 10 minutes there or you can breathe pure oxygen and once you've done that, he can do 20 minutes.
00:51:39
Speaker
I see. It's mad, isn't it? Absolutely amazing. But see, you know, we talked touched on spirituality early and talked about, you know, sense of connection to the greater whole. But another way, a way I like to think of spiritual being spiritual or spiritual sense in life is, is that you are realizing your potential. you know So so so if if you if there's a if there's a purpose to life, it is to realize your potential. you know If you waste your potential, then you've kind of you know you're compromising on what's possible. And so when you look at your Harlins and your Renaudos and your freediver friend, you know what they're doing is is they are realizing their potential, that they're optimizing what they can achieve.
00:52:23
Speaker
by dotting every I and crossing every T. And so that's that's a kind of spiritual act in a way, because they they're not not only achieving what they can achieve as an individual, but they're inspiring others through that. And so you know inspiration is literally bringing spirit in, or giving spirit to other people, you know so they can bring in spirit and and inspiration. right Well, that's why I'm always running around with no no shoes on, doing the gardening in no shoes, even even the even in the the winter, running around in the snow bit bare feet, not for long, you know, but just 30 seconds here, a minute there, jumping in the ocean in the in in the winter. There's loads of free things you can do that that are healthy for
Practical Tips and Potential Risks of Earthing
00:53:10
Speaker
you. And you actually, once you've overcome the fear of it, you actually start to enjoy it. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if if somebody told me
00:53:18
Speaker
Five years ago, winter bathing was actually enjoyable. They thought they were nuts. what
00:53:29
Speaker
So let's try looking at it the other way around. What are the dangers of earthing? Earthing, while generally considered safe, can pose some potential risks. Number one, electrical shock. If earthing is done through conductive devices plugged into outlets, there is a risk of electrical shock, particularly if the outlet is improperly grounded or faulty. And indeed, this is this is another reason why it's best to plug anything like um an earthing mat directly into the ground. So most of the companies that provide these products, they offer um an earthing rod that you can put into your garden
00:54:07
Speaker
Yeah and a long why that goes out through whatever window i've got one out of my bedroom window and going down there the wall into a little rose bed outside and that so means there's no risk of electrical shock from that and also what it does it minimize the exposure to dirty electricity which is the electricity that's held in the house.
00:54:27
Speaker
system and there's some studies to show that even though there are benefits to using the ah the earthing through the sockets, which may be your only option if you live in a tower block or something like that, or you're unable to put a rod in the ground outside for whatever reason, maybe it's all concreted over, um then ah then that's a ah good second best, but there is extra exposure to to the sort of dirty electricity from spillover from other parts of the electrical circuits in the house or the building.
00:54:57
Speaker
Okay, so part two, infection. Walking barefoot outdoors, especially in polluted or contaminated areas, can expose you to bacteria, parasites, or other harmful microorganisms leading to infections or skin injuries. Of course, this is true. It's pretty rare. If you're healthy, then the chance of you getting an infection, even if your foot is cut, ah is low.
00:55:18
Speaker
But if you ah do have a cut, obviously it makes sense to cover it. um If you're out and about or if you're you know your immune system's low for whatever reason, perhaps a health condition or perhaps because you've been traveling or sleep deprived because you just got a new baby, that's a good time to be more cautious with ah with things like going barefoot. Number three, allergies or irritation. Contact with certain surfaces like grass or soil may trigger allergic reactions or skin irritations, particularly in sensitive individuals.
00:55:47
Speaker
Number four, weather exposure. So, earthing outdoors during extreme weather conditions, e.g. storms, lightning, or excessive heat can be dangerous. Grounding through thunderstorms could expose you to higher risk of lightning strikes, particularly if you're on the top of a hill where there's no trees. and You're the highest point. um And then number five, cuts and injuries. Walking barefoot increases the likelihood of stepping on sharp objects, glass, or stones, which can cause cuts, bruises, or foot injuries.
00:56:14
Speaker
So to minimize risks, things should be done with caution, especially in unfamiliar or hazardous environments, such as in the dark, be cautious there. Um, but you know, the obvious solution to that is to wear a barefoot shoe and that mitigates pretty much all of those risks that we just discussed. And so if you'd like to look at the range you've got, then take a peek here.
00:56:36
Speaker
So if you want to get your hands on a pair or get your feet in a pair, head over to MattWarden.com, go to the product section and I think you'll like what you see and you'll like even more how they feel and how they make you feel.
00:56:50
Speaker
what
00:56:56
Speaker
um What are the benefits over the five fingers? Of of the other thing, yeah for me it's just the the free electrons ah and the healing energy and into the body. and There are other thing, shoes on the market, there's sandals and other sort of stuff. ah In collaboration with your dad, we made ah we made these in Portugal.
00:57:21
Speaker
which is ah a boot and a shoe but as you can see they're food form. So it's basically the first barefoot earthing shoe on on the market that's you know basically like ah a glove on your on your foot and because it's a leather sole that's just been sewn, there's no plastic or rubber, there's no glue, so that allows the the healing energy to come through the shoe into the into the body. If you glue it or you've got rubber, then it just acts as a ah barrier. And is there enough space for the toes to stay spread? i Yeah, yeah you can you can even have a toe spreader in them as well. Wow.
00:58:07
Speaker
Yeah and they're super comfortable, really lovely feel on the foot. So obviously you've developed those, you've now got them in production and oh or you've had them produced I should say. Yeah we found a really really beautiful small shoe and company in Portugal that can hand make them in small, in small amounts. Excellent. Excellent. And so we're going to have those available through our website as well. um And we've also got an ebook that you have put together, which we can share with people, which gives them a bit more information on our thing.
00:58:43
Speaker
um So that's that's fantastic um With the um um Talking about the likes base for the toes um Is there and also also another feature where it's like the shoes aren't too flat or anything like they'll they'll actually keep your foot the right shape Yeah, yeah look they'll keep your foot the right shape. I mean, some people need to use ah correct toes or other toe correctors if they've deformed their foot by going in incorrect footwear. But it's just basically actually like a second skin on your your feet with the minimal amount of
Earthing Products and Innovations
00:59:25
Speaker
protection. if you
00:59:26
Speaker
If you stand in a sharp stone, you'll you'll feel it, but it's not going to puncture the skin because it's got the the leather there. And the interesting thing is if you measure how well the shoes earth when you first get them and measure it a week later once you've been using them, the the earth a lot better after a week because the body fluids and the sweat allow more of the energy to come through the sole into the body.
00:59:53
Speaker
And that was something I was going to ask you about or or mention was that when I stayed with you and you showed me the first prototypes, you actually used a voltometer or voltmeter to measure that. And that was really impressive to see the effects. Can you just explain it a little bit, um you know the sorts of measurements that you get with these things? Well,
01:00:16
Speaker
The voltometer, you're using it with the earthing shoe and an earthing mat. And if you go and and and stand on the the earthing mat with a normal rubber shoe, I get between six or seven on the voltometer.
01:00:36
Speaker
depending on how close I am to the computer, how much yeah dirty energy is coming from the computer. if If I put my bare feet on it, it goes to virtually ah zero. and If I put an earthing shoe on that's totally new, it'll about be about two or three. And then once I've used it for for a week, it's down to about zero as well.
01:00:57
Speaker
yeah yeah it's a you know I have an earthing mud under my computer as well. I sleep in an earthing mud too. It's just a beautiful way of getting rid of all the dirty energy and out of the the body and keeping yourself connected to the ground. Yeah, so one thing I noticed about um using earthing sheets in bed is that um it stops the need to go for a pee in the night for me.
01:01:25
Speaker
And I was thinking initially, I just thought it was a bit of a coincidence. Maybe I'm drinking a bit less. And then after a few months, you start thinking, well, I just don't need to go in the night anymore. And and I think what that is, is that inflammation makes you um ah excrete more water. Right. and And so and so I think it mobilizes the water more effectively. Whereas when I think you are um ah I think it helps to align the water and and um optimize its function in terms of structuring it within the cells of the body so that you don't have this excess water, which then ends up filling up your bladder and ends up with you having to get up in the night. So I think that's thats an amazing, and when you think of how important sleep is, if you can have an undisturbed night's sleep every night compared to a disturbed night's sleep, then that's a huge difference. yeah i think I think it's tough.
01:02:17
Speaker
I think it's twofold Matt, if you're if you going outside during the day and you've got skin contact or having earth issues on the ground, then that's going to help you sleep better. And then when you're sleeping on an earth thing Matt as well, it's going to yeah it's going to be a cumulative. Yeah, definitely.
01:02:32
Speaker
definite I think, you know, a lot of what we talked about today has been covered in the Earthing Book by yeah Clint Ober, right? um So, you know, we talked about athletes and recovery, we talked about sleep, um just sort of health in general, inflammation, inflammation being a primary cause of of ah most of the modern ailments, you know, from diabetes to cancer to heart disease to stroke.
01:02:54
Speaker
um And Clint Ober has really dug into that research and and created a lot of that research in his book The Earth. and and funded And funded the research himself because nobody else will. I mean, the guy deserves a Nobel Prize for how many people he's helped on the road to to to better health with what he's done.
01:03:14
Speaker
Absolutely, but but you know him, don't you? yeah You've you've had him yeah had him to talk or you just, I forget what the question was. No, I'm a nerd. So if I want to know about ah ice bathing, then I go to Holland and jump in an ice bath with Wynn Hough. When I want to know about everything, I flew to the to the States and Clint Ober was very generous and gave me a couple of hours of his time.
01:03:34
Speaker
Oh well, very cool. so and in palm In Palm Springs in 45 degrees. Really? It sounds like a good place to me. Yeah. Yeah. um Well, anyway, well we will have to get him on the the podcast as well to find out more about the sort of technical details that he can share with us. but That was brilliant, Alan. Thanks very much for that. um So yeah, so these new earthing shoes, which you've developed, and I had a little bit of an input in terms of, I suppose, ah encouraging you to do it and providing some of that original research. um they They're now available on your site for people that are anywhere in the world. People in the UK, we've got them on our site as well um with with a little lead time if they want to purchase them. um but And then ultimately, presumably,
01:04:22
Speaker
You'll be a you know so pushing them out to the rest of the world. Slowly but surely when we find the right partners. Yeah, perfect. perfect perfect that well Thank you very much for your time today.
Conclusion and Farewells
01:04:35
Speaker
You're welcome. And I'd like to finish by inviting myself to your house on the 24th of December because I'm going to be a few miles away from you for Christmas.
01:04:43
Speaker
Oh, you're welcome. Yes, yes. Come on by. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. You're you're very welcome. Because I'm desperate to see Bella running around in the bare feet in the snow. yeah Yeah. Perfect. All right. Thanks very much, Alan. Take care. Take care. Love it to Great stuff. Bye bye. Bye.
01:05:09
Speaker
So I hope you enjoyed that, our first episode of FC2Ai with Alan Bigart. We've got plenty more in the pipeline for you. So if you don't want to miss those, then hit subscribe. And of course, if you have time to leave us a little review, that would be fantastic. Apparently that is supposed to be something that that really helps to get a bit of traction with these podcasts. um And then of course, we've got the products that we mentioned. We didn't go into too much detail, but so but there's the Earthing Shoe range, which you can see on mattwarden.com.
01:05:38
Speaker
And of course, you can get them from there or if you're elsewhere in the world, you can get outside of the UK, then you can get them from Alan's site, which is Alan.dk. um So I think that covers it for now and we'll look forward to seeing you on the next show.