Welcome to the Personality Spotlight, Michael. You bring
wonderful sun care through your company, Oceana Naturals, and
we're so pleased to have you join us! Please tell us
about your upbringing, and how you came to be the interesting
man that you are today.
I am an
Air force brat who, 3 weeks after being born in Niagara Falls,
NY, moved to Alaska for the next three years. Every two
to three years, our family moved and because my parents wanted
to expose us to the world, the plan was to never accept an
assignment where the family could not come. As a result
of this plan, I spent 7 years living outside the US, in
Taiwan, the Philippines, and Turkey. Other assignments
included Colorado Springs, upstate NY, Nebraska and finally,
California. Up until four years ago, 28 years of my life
had been spent in Sacramento, California.
I must say that I am the only one in my family that is
not in possession of a college degree. I did attend Cal
State University San Jose for three years and got so bored
with the process that I started my first business - a mobile
DJ business. Soon after I moved back to Sacramento and
opened a soft sculpture gift shop with my girlfriend.
In 1985, a friend offered me the opportunity to become
a financial advisor. After 22 years, I still work as a
Vice President for the same firm, headquartered in Beverly
Hills, CA.
Almost five years ago, I purchased a beautiful three
story townhouse across the street from Panama City Beach,
Florida. I do business from my third floor office that
overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. I couldn’t ask for a
better place to do business.
Every experience I have had in my life has contributed
to my current success as a financial advisor and entrepreneur.
I began playing the drums when I was seven (and still do on
occasion), self-published four audio books about self
actualization (www.powerfulliving.org), travel the world each
chance I get (going to Spain in October), and am an avid
golfer with a single digit handicap, and a red wine fanatic.
I will have a conversation with just about anyone,
regardless of where they are from and love meeting new people
in the strangest places.
I am grateful for everything in my life and look
forward to many more years of discovery and exploration.
I'd love to know more about Oceana Naturals and how this
company came to be.
Oceana Naturals
came to be because of a sample of MelanSol sunscreen I
received in the mail from another company. After looking
at it on my desk for a couple of weeks, I called the inventor
and asked what he was doing about marketing it in the US.
He was very nice and we hit if off right away. I have
been into living as naturally as possible for over 25 years
(no junk food, fast food, processed food or soft drinks, if I
can help it). We were headed to Costa Rica in a week, so
I had him send me samples we could try. To say the
least, I was ecstatic about the way MelanSol performed and
asked if I could market it for him… and Oceana Naturals was
born! I am now the exclusive US distributor of MelanSol
and loving it.
We were so fortunate to have you join us in the All Natural
Beauty Forum for a discussion about MelanSol, along with Peter
Zahner, the formulator. For those that missed it, please
tell us about this line, and what makes it so unique and
desirable.
As I mentioned,
MelanSol is the brainchild of Peter Zahner, a Swiss man living
in Bonita Springs, Florida, who overcame a bout of basal cell
carcinoma, one of the fastest growing forms of skin cancer in
the US.
Peter went the traditional route of using high SPF
sunscreen during his bout with skin cancer, yet it kept coming
back. Being the inquisitive man that he is, he decided to take
matters into his own hands and research why he couldn’t shake
the skin cancer. His revelation led to the invention of
MelanSol.
What makes MelanSol so radically different from
traditional sunscreen are its ingredients and what it is
designed to do. Sunscreens have always been formulated
to do just one thing--absorb or reflect UV radiation.
The rational being that, if you can prevent most of the UV
rays from reaching your skin, then you will be able to stay in
the sun for a longer period of time, hopefully avoiding
sunburn and other skin damage.
The flaw in this rational is that absorbing or
reflecting UV rays has nothing to do with the underlying cause
of long-term skin damage--free radicals or oxidants.
Free radicals begin to form on your skin the moment it is
exposed to UV rays and are responsible for pre-maturely aged
skin, like wrinkled and leathery skin, sagging skin and
eventually skin cancer.
When Peter discovered this scientifically obvious flaw
in sunscreen logic, he immediately went about designing a
sunscreen formula that contained antioxidants that would help
prevent free radical/oxidant damage, thereby helping people
avoid the pain and suffering of sunburn and dramatically
reduce the pre-mature aging of the skin. MelanSol works
with your body’s defenses by supplementing your antioxidant
protection when yours are overrun by an ever increasing number
of oxidants. The only way to counter free radicals
(oxidants) is with topical antioxidants and MelanSol has one
of the strongest proprietary blends available.
The MelanSol formula we sell today is several
generations away from his first invention. It is
designed to be non-greasy so it can be worn everyday.
The lotion soaks into your skin within minutes. A daily
application of strong topical antioxidants like those in
MelanSol is our idea of the perfect anti-aging regimen.
I never begin my day without an application of our Dark
Tanning Lotion on my face, arms, chest and neck. It
feels fantastic and my skin has never looked better. In
fact, many women have told me that they receive wonderful
comments about their skin after using MelanSol for just a few
weeks.
Billions of dollars of sunscreen are being sold today
and nobody really knows how it works. In fact, the
majority I have spoken with say they only apply sunscreen to
avoid sunburn, which means only if they are purposely going to
be outside for an extended period of time. The truth is
that you should be applying all natural UV protection to
counter free radical buildup, so you can maintain healthier
skin throughout your lifetime. Sadly, traditional
sunscreens do not contain anything that can thwart free
radical damage. They just keep selling the party line of
higher SPF is better. Have you ever wondered why people
who have worn sunscreen for outdoor sports for years still
have leathery skin and skin cancer? You should.
I have committed myself to telling everyone about the
antioxidant protection in MelanSol because it works! It
is also in complete harmony with the human body and the way
people live their lives. I couldn’t ask for any better
business to be involved in.
Can you share any future plans that you have for your company
or MelanSol?
My ultimate goal is to work with each generation to educate
them about how MelanSol can help them avoid the irreversible
skin damage that they will experience later in life. It
has to be part of a daily regimen just like brushing your
teeth. Maintaining a balance between your antioxidant
protection and oxidants that form on your skin when it is
exposed to UV rays is the key to maintaining a youthful
looking appearance.
I can see MelanSol being used by companies to help
their employees prevent skin cancer, and cancer patients
undergoing chemo or people taking antibiotics using it to help
them experience sunlight sun without negative side effects.
I envision MelanSol supporting healthy activities all
over the country. Puresunscreen.com and our MelanSol
products are synonymous with purity, ethical practices and
honesty in business.
MelanSol can really help people and my mission is to
see that I help as many people as possible. The
education aspect of what I do is huge, yet not insurmountable.
There is nothing on the market that can do what MelanSol does
and I love finding different ways of telling people about it.
Stay tuned, MelanSol is going to the highest mountain
in India in late September. A well known climber by the name
of Hansreudi Wirth, his team and the Sherpa’s are using it
exclusively during their climb. He took it with him on
his last climb in October of 2006 to the top of Annapurna IV
in the Himalayas.
What advice would you give to others that are interested in
starting their own natural product businesses?
It all begins with
a good product. There are tons of natural products on
the market. Do your research and develop or find a
product with efficacy and integrity. Then get behind it
with everything you have. Get the message out in any way
you can. Traditional marketing avenues don’t work for
many natural products because the big conglomerates can always
trump you with huge advertising budgets that dispense
marketing inaccuracies, while diluting the meaning of natural
and organic to the point where it has no meaning.
If you truly believe, you can do anything, regardless
of the odds. Never give up! Even I am working with
a smaller advertising budget than most firms, however, I know
I will grow steadily over the next year or two. I am
alright with this pace if I can continue to craft and get my
message out to anyone who will listen. If there is a
way, I will find it and work it.
One other thing, you have to surround yourself with
people that understand and support your goals and dreams.
If you are constantly bombarded with negative dialogue, it
will drain your energy and creativity. One piece of
advice, I wrote and published two audio books about self-talk
because it is an important element in building the confidence,
energy and intention you need to be successful. Become
intimately aware of the direction of your “self-talk.”
Always keep it going with the direction of your goals and
dreams instead of against them.
What do you do for fun when you are not working?
Golf, golf, golf,
movies, travel and music. A short, yet passionate list,
yet on that I actively pursue.
Having and actively pursuing other passions regenerates your
creativity and renews energy for building a successful
business.
What evidence have you seen that people are beginning to come
around to the opinion that natural is better?
Everywhere I go,
more and more people are interested in learning about what I
have, and knowledge is the first step to taking actions that
propel you into a completely different direction in life.
I think it will still take many more years before a greater
majority of people come around, because of the continuous
stream of propaganda that serves to deceive the public.
“Going healthy” takes a real commitment. You have to
form new habits and spend more wisely. This is not easy
for a society that wants a “silver bullet” that can wipe away
the sins of an unhealthy lifestyle. Adopting a healthier
lifestyle takes patience, knowledge, will power, and lots of
self love.
Do you have any interesting stories about encounters you've
had in your business that you could share with us?
Each time we go on
vacation, I take along a few bottles of MelanSol. Last
year, one of our trips was to Costa Rica. I love to keep
a lookout for people experiencing severe “oxidative stress”
(sunburn) from spending too much time in the sun on their
first day or two of vacation.
During dinner, we had the pleasure of sitting next to a
couple from Louisiana. I noticed her raging sunburn and
asked if she could use anything to help get rid of her pain
and suffering. With a desperate look she said she didn’t
know of anything that could help, but that she would do
anything to alleviate the pain. I gave our room number
and asked her to stop by after dinner. I would give her
something that would make it feel much better, so she could
enjoy the rest of their vacation.
The next morning, she ran up to us at breakfast.
She raved about how great she felt, told us that she would
never have thought that a sunscreen could do what ours did,
and asked if she could buy the bottle. I gave her a
price and she immediately whipped out the cash. To this
day, they are good friends. I have a dozen stories like
this from vacations we have taken since I began my
relationship with MelanSol, and I look forward to experiencing
many more.
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