The Planet

NP: Now, I’ve got to ask…Why a children’s book? It seems to be a very divergent move from your conventional supplement company. Can you tell our readers what was the catalyst or the creative spark that lead to the creation of Russel The Mussel?

MP: Well, I am an observer of the world as well as someone with a burning desire to change things for the better. Having grown up in one of the first generations surrounded by fast food, I saw the toll it took on my own body when I was young. It seems that in this insanely competitive and busy society, surrounded by rich, calorie dense foods and endless entertainment available at our fingertips, the generation of children growing up now are surrounded by an obesity epidemic with little or no information that they can understand to fight against it. A lot of my customers are teachers and parents, and they have expressed their frustration in trying to teach WHY they take care of themselves and go to the gym. So, I pulled Russel the Mussel out of my files – a story that was written with this exact purpose in mind – and used my resources to publish it.

NP: Was proper nutrition and exercise a big part of your childhood?

MP: As I mentioned, when I was growing up fast food and sugar-cereals were becoming pervasive, constantly bombarding us from the TV. My family was never really into healthy eating – and these were the habits I picked up. I lost my father to colon cancer when I was 9, and watched my own belly start growing. I knew something wasn’t right with this disposable, fried, crème-filled way of living.

NP: How long did it take you to write Russel The Mussel and what were some of your greatest challenges in bringing this to fruition?

MP: Well, unless I wanted to try to present a book loaded with stick figures, the biggest challenge was finding an artist that was able to take the vision in my head and make it real. An Anthropomorphized shellfish with muscular development and definition isn’t the easiest thing in the world to picture – but the artist I hired, John Grosvenor, came from a graphic novel background (www.grosvenordesigns.com) and made the transition effortlessly. The other big challenge is trying to make a viable product, in this industry dominated by the “get huge, get ripped, screw health” mentality, offering a useful and moral message.

NP: What would be the greatest compliment or sense of accomplishment you could receive from this body of work?

MP: The greatest sense of accomplishment in my mind would be 10 years from now, meeting a teen that is into fitness and obviously taking care of himself telling me that “Russel the Mussel” made him think and gave him a tangible figure to see in his head and reject the seductive siren-song of the fast food , sedentary lifestyle.

NP: Russel The Mussel has a profound and potentially life changing message for the health of our youth, how do you plan to promote this message to the public?

MP: We are working closely with the Jayden Deluca Foundation, in partnership with the American Heart Association, to donate some of the proceeds from the book to research and prevent Childhood Heart Defects. We will be expanding this model to include other charities for the benefit of children, especially in the area of childhood diabetes – one of the most insidious thieves of health and longevity. We are also starting a program of donations to Elementary School libraries across Ohio, and hopefully someday across the world. We’ll be working hard to try and get the book picked up by Scholastic as well.

NP: Is there a tip you can offer the public to help increase awareness of healthy lifestyles for our youth? How can we make our homes more proactive and health centered?

MP: As parents, it is not enough to just try tell your kids…you have to teach by example. It doesn’t have to be lifting weights or running on a treadmill, eating boiled chicken breasts and broccoli constantly…but you should be making an effort to listen to the message being “sold” to kids, and contrasting it with the truth. Take the family on walks together, get them away from the TV and X-box. Buy water or juice instead of soda. But again, teach by doing.

NP: Do you have any plans to continue writing?

MP: I am a rabid insomniac, and my mind never stops churning. I drive my wife nuts with constant ideas – especially about new books. I am enlisting the help of my 3 kids (who I sometimes let “help” package Java Lather to earn some money and teach them the that if they work, they get to spend their money on fun things) to make a Russel the Mussel Activity, which will give especially the younger kids a chance to participate in helping Russel and the rest of the colony make wise choices. It will have things like Mazes, word searches, and games. As of current count, I have about 28 stories in various stages of completion, and the second book – Ricky the Raincloud – is going into illustration right away. Writing is my first love, and I will never stop.

NP: Any sneak peaks on up-and-coming products in the RPN line you can share with our readers?

MP: We have been doing a LOT of research in the area of Probiotics and their effect on overall health – especially in children. We are working with my production wizard to encase the KE-99 strain used in Gut Health in a tart candy carrier, in order to help children’s immune system become heartier and possibly prevent some of the long term disorders we see. Things like allergies and asthma, not to mention LONG term illnesses like colon cancer are starting to be connected to imbalances in intestinal flora. We will also be releasing a hairloss treatment, a nootropic formula, as well and a very ENTICING masculine pheromone soap, called Renegade. We are also going to expand the FidOmega line, which seeks to take the things we have learned about supplementation and applying the things that work to improve the health and lives of Man’s Best Friend.

NP: It is quite obvious that RPN is not your traditional supplement company! Many companies fail to take the proactive approach of educating and promoting a healthy lifestyle; especially for young children who need it the most in this culture of mass childhood obesity and fast-food obsession. Matt, thanks again for taking time to share your story with us. We wish you and RPN the best and continued success!

MP: Thanks, Sam…I am just glad there are companies like Nutraplanet out there, willing to support the smaller supplement companies – and who actually takes the time to evaluate the quality of the lines you sell, rather than simply looking at the bottom line.