Meet A Really Rad Guy

Meet the CEO of Rokit Fuel, a middle age dude who is livin his dreams… owning his own business and providing awesome nutritional products for people who, like him, love the great outdoors (but it’s not a prerequisite); that includes his family of 6 kids and a very supportive wife, who all enjoy recreational and adrenalin-pumped adventure. This is a guy who lives what he believes, continues to lead his family with his physically active example, and who eats, drinks and breathes Rokit Fuel. And I tell ya what, it’s really refreshing to witness someone like Bernell, who is as passionate about the business he’s in, as he is about the way he lives.

Just as an example, I ran into Bernell the other day, and he was dressed in spandex running shorts, knee high socks with high top sneakers, a ripped up t shirt with blood escaping his left shoulder, and he was completely drenched in sweat and mud. If his grey hair wasn’t sprouting through, I could’ve easily mistaken him for a funky dressed teenager. I got out of the car to say hi and make sure he didn’t need a ride to the hospital, and all he said was “Man I feel great, this rocks!”

Now this is a guy I really admire. I have seen first hand his rigourous, active lifestyle. I have also seen him at a time when he was at a heavier weight, unable to do the things he now lives for… like a muddy, snowy run up the face of a steep mountain.

Most of us, at one time or another, have found ourselves wanting to change a few things about the way we take care of our bodies. Bernell hit that point about 25 years ago, when he woke up one day and realized he wasn’t comfortable with his incline in weight and decline of activity. So, he found a new balance in his eating style, and started eating things like cracked wheat, oatmeal, or cream of wheat for breakfast (and sometimes lunch and dinner.) He also started running… a lot. He started out with a 3 mile canyon run, and from there, ran regular 3-8 mile runs, 4-5 days a week. He’d had enough of feeling limited by his health, and made some major alterations in his choice of past time on the weekend. (One such past time involving a road bike trip from Canada to Jackson Hole, WY) 

“I just started going back to the basics… eating the things that I grew up on as a kid. I’d eat what I call my bucket of mush in the morning” says Bernell. And growing up on a farm, with 7 siblings, they lived mostly off of whole grains… and no, I’m not talking about the processed box of Wheaties in your cupboard. I’m talking about WHOLE foods… wheat, oats, barley, rye, the kind of stuff you might see a horse eat, a really buff and burley horse that is!  Hence, basic whole grains became the inspiration for Rokit Fuel!

“I eat this stuff every day for lunch with either soy milk or my favorite Naked drink, “Green Machine” poured over it. I grab a Rokit Fuel Energy Bar (coming in May) if I’m in a hurry and it gives me a similar boost. It’s a food that stays with me, and gives me sustained energy that lasts much longer than most foods,” he says. And he wants to share the love with the world. ”I’ve been an entrepreneur for the past 32 years, and since the creation of Rokit Fuel 3 years ago, I am finally in a business that I am completely passionate about, because I know I’m helping people. I know Rokit Fuel is making people healthier and happier.”  

I ran into a guy named Ray Churgovich, an Ultra-Marathoner who was getting psyched up and ready to run 100 miler in Moab, Utah. We got talking about the Rokit Fuel philosophy and mission, and he said, “If my grandmother wouldn’t recognize it as food then I don’t put it in my body.” I think that statement sums up what Bernell and all those who believe in Rokit Fuel are trying to do… provide simple, whole foods to people who can appreciate what it does for the body.

Some have criticized the higher calorie content of Rokit Fuel (around 260-280 calories a pop) What I personally think about the calories? Well, way back when, when my grandpa was growing up on a family farm in southern Utah, calories were also known as something I like to refer to as “energy,” and not the undeniably evil thing calories have become today. In fact, I highly doubt my grandpa ever counted a day’s worth of his calorie intake ever throughout his life. And just FYI, his 90th birthday is just around the corner and he’s still kickin, and super healthy, so I guess that’s what not counting and obsessing over calories can do to ya… make you live long and prosper. You may sense that I have a little emotion behind this belief, and I do. (Just read “Insane Dieting Game” under Health and Nutrition) I have become, to put it gently, pretty fed up with the way a lot of people approach “nutritional facts.” Rokit Fuel is exactly what it proclaims… fuel that will fuel your body in doing whatever it is you like to do. End of story. (for now at least, I have to restrain myself from “going off” on this topic)

So, let it be known that the great and mighty C.E.O. of Rokit Fuel, may be sitting at his desk in front of his computer right now, but nobody’s shining his Gucci designer shoes and bringing him a latte. No, he’s most likely wearing an old pair of New Balance running shoes, a pair of denim jeans and his classic Rokit Fuel tech shirt that is just there to re-inforce that he really believes in this business. And when he’s not in the office? Well, I’d check out a southern Utah slot canyon, or a near by peak in Utah County, where you’ll find this guy rapelling, hiking, biking, running and exploring all that the outdoor world has to offer… with a pack of Rokit Fuel on hand of course!

Visit http://rokitfuel.com to learn more!