Adam Torres and Sarah Turner discuss CeraThrive.
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Show Notes:
CeraThrive is helping people boost gut & brain performance. In this episode, Adam Torres and Sarah Turner, CEO and Co-founder of CeraThrive, explore Sarah’s journey as an entrepreneur and CeraThrive.
About Sarah Turner
Sarah is something of a brain health obsessive. In addition to first degrees in Psychological Sciences and Nutritional Medicine, with a Post Graduate qualification in Clinical Neuroscience, she has studied many techniques both orthodox and alternative, with one goal in mind – to improve and optimise brain wellness and prevent brain related disease. Whilst in California, Sarah became involved with the Biohacker movement. This led to her current understanding of the overriding role of physics in biology and fuelled her fascination with light and its healing effect on the body and mind. Whilst collecting data for a clinical trial on the effect of near-infrared light on symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, she gained direct experience of how powerful this therapy could be.
About CeraThrive
The CERA System is an innovative red light therapy device that treats the body systemically.
It’s the first and only FDA listed red light therapy system that targets the gut-brain axis for upgraded brain capability, increased longevity and peak physiological health.
- Boost cognition
- Slow aging
- Find your peace of mind
- Safe
- Non-toxic
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest on the show, just head on over to missionmatters. com and click on be our guest to apply. All right. So today I have on the line, Sarah Turner, and she is CEO and co founder of Sarah Thrive.
Sarah, welcome to the show. Adam. Lovely to be here. All right. So we got a whole lot to talk about. So I want to get into Sarah Thrive. I want to get into your work and a whole lot more, but just to get us kicked off, we’re going to start this episode with what we call our Mission Matters Minute. So Sarah, at Mission Matters, our aim and our goal is to amplify stories for entrepreneurs, executives, and experts.
That’s what we do. Sarah, what mission matters to you? Well, I’m on the mission to revolutionize. brain health and wellness. So just a small little mission for me. Well, maybe I should define it. I want to get people to understand the importance of light and that for a lot of things that people are using pharmaceutical interventions for, that there is an alternative.
So I think my mission really is just to educate people that there are. these alternatives available and where people can find them because there is so much that people can do to gain control over their own health. let’s go a little bit further and back into your history. Like what led you to this work?
Like where did this begin for you? I actually started off my career in pharmaceuticals and I spent quite a while as a research scientist for different drug companies. And actually I think a pivotal moment for me was when I was doing some experiments looking at. Drug delivery devices and and through my studies, I began to realize it’s more about the environment of the person rather than the drug that’s being delivered.
So I was looking at, for example, static charge in the body and how that influences drug deposition, particularly in the lung. That’s what I was looking at the time. And so it soon became apparent that really the best way to kind of solve an issue of having a buildup of static charge was not to change the plastic in the device.
It was to actually get the person outside and grounding. And, really that led me to kind of change the way I was thinking about how we could Healthcare in the it’s really to do with how the person is and what’s going into the person and the environment that can have such a major difference rather than focusing so much on kind of interfering with that and trying to find a solution that goes outside of what our bodies are doing naturally.
So you mentioned working for the pharmaceuticals or in that industry to begin. How did the, entrepreneurial side or bug or like, how did all that come about? Like starting a company or did you have that kind of piece in you as well before maybe corporate America when you were younger or like, where’d that come from?
To be very honest, Adam, I kind of think of myself as a bit of an accidental entrepreneur. It wasn’t me too. You’re in good company. Exactly. I literally have a book called driven and in it, that’s my title. I’m the accidental entrepreneur. I love it. No, I’m serious. I’m not joking. Because it was never my plan actually to start a company at My background is scientific research and it’s really where I’ve spent most of my time and it’s, probably my main skill set. When I was investigating these different delivery devices, especially for life therapy, soon realized that the ones that were available were not really user friendly.
They weren’t portable. You couldn’t use them at home. So I designed one really just for my use and for the people that I was coaching at the time. So when I took it to the manufacturer, my, you know, my goal was really just to get it made so that it was out there. Of course, I have a brilliant manufacturer, but who are now my business partners.
And so they said to me, okay, we can do this, but we, would like you to front the company because that’s really how the best way to get it out. So that’s really how it came about that. It’s a joint venture. I want to, I don’t want to. Let’s get past that. What was that decision like for you? Because, okay, they come to you with this.
It wasn’t like just an instant, okay, I mean, I don’t think so. You’re scientific. You’re, you’re adding some scientific method to this somewhere. Come on. Like what went into that decision to kind of, to agree, to head up the company, you mean? Yes. And to do it and to actually do how they get you. What I’m saying is how they get you to jump off the cliff.
Well, it was cut. It was kind of do that or the device doesn’t get made really. Oh, wonderful. That’s brilliant. They’re good. Yes. Yeah, it was. Yeah, it was. That was the deal, really. And so I had to make that decision because really, I, I really am very passionate about this. Therapy. And I really did want to see this kind of be manifest in the world.
So yeah, that was my decision maker, really. And of course, it was a bit nerve wracking to start because I don’t have the business brain. What is your support group? What did they like? Just the people around you, your environment. They’re like, wait, Sarah, you’re doing what? Like, how did that go? Because I know for me, I’m just because I’m relating to as an accidental entrepreneur.
For me, people thought I was crazy. They’re like, what? Adam, you have this. This corporate thing, this, you know, identity, all these other things, like, what was that like for you? Yeah, well, I’m very fortunate in that I do have like support group. My friends are very supportive. I mean, I’ve done different things throughout my career.
I’ve done kind of fairly out there scientific research. So I think people, people already thought I was crazy. I wasn’t going to say it, I was hoping you would though, go ahead. Yeah, I already kind of had that label because I kind of jumped from pharmaceutical, fairly orthodox science to looking at things like consciousness interface devices and some pretty out there fringe technologies.
So, you know, I think I already had that name for doing things that were slightly on the, on the outskirts. but my friends are very supportive. Amazing. And really also my business partners, you know, they’ve helped me along the way. It’s not really just like I’ve been pushed out in the front to get on with it.
So it’s something that we’re doing together. and yeah, I’ve managed to get a lot of very good people around me. Which is very fortunate. You know, I have a good team. I have brilliant engineers, you know, I have a very good relationship with my investors. So yeah, I’ve been very fortunate in that way.
Amazing. And so let’s get it to Sarethrive. So you, have this, technology, you have this thing you want to do. , what happens next? Yes. So at the moment took a while actually to get the actual hardware made. There were various hiccups with that. There was various chip shortages in China and various things that went on to delay the production.
But I managed to get a few pre orders behind, but now, thankfully, since September, I’ve had production units to sell. And, and actually it’s gone very well, you know, considering, you know, this is a start up and we’re just testing the water. There’s been a lot of support, so I’m now actually on batch three.
So I’m getting to the scaling phase. So, you know, it’s kind of gratifying to get past that fairly nerve wracking part of the business where you don’t know if people are actually going to be interested or take it up. But I think that’s tried and tested now. So now it’s just obviously it’s not an easy phase, but now it’s the scale up phase to see you know, how to get this to be more mass market, because my background was kind of the biohacking people.
So I already bit of an audience there because I speak a lot at the biohacking events with various other projects I’ve been involved in. So that’s kind of, it’s that understands red light therapy. Now the challenge is to make it a bit more mainstream. And for most people, it is a little bit out there still.
Talk a little bit more about the technology and why it works. So it’s, actually fairly simple technology. It’s red and near infrared. the colors really refer to the wavelengths. So red light is of a certain wavelength that you would normally see at sunrise and sunset. Near infrared light is Invisible to the human eye, we still call it red, though, because it’s just a little bit longer wavelength than red.
So this is, if you’re thinking about the visible spectrum of light, this is a longer wavelength light. And that has significance because these longer wavelengths of light will actually penetrate into the body. And when they do penetrate into the body, they set off a whole cascade of, Things that are happening to the biology, hormone production and epigenetic switching and ATP production.
So really what we’re doing is harnessing the body’s natural tendency to respond to these longer wavelengths of light that are found in sunlight. And then it’s really, all about the delivery system. So this device that I’ve developed, we can also pulse that light in certain ways to entrain brainwave frequencies.
So we’ve kind of upgraded just delivering red light. And we can also use two target sites. So I use the brain and the gut together because now there’s a huge amount of information about the gut brain connection and how important that is for chronic illness. And it does seem that you can very effectively Target both of these organs with red and near infrared light, just using fairly tailored delivery systems, contoured delivery systems that are kind of small and portable and easy to use.
What are some of the, benefits of using this device long term? And maybe, because this is a podcast audience so people are driving in their car, maybe describe how it looks a little better. I won’t do it justice. I’ve been on the website. I’ve seen it. I’ve held it. It’s beautiful. Maybe describe it a little bit too.
Yeah, so if you imagine just a headband, a fairly thick headband that goes flush against the forehead that has three clusters of light So it’s emitting light you can see the light coming out because I have the red light in there But there are some clusters that appear not to be on and that’s because we’re like I’ve mentioned It’s invisible near infrared.
And then I also have another small cluster that goes on the back of the headband to target the cerebellum at the back of the head. So it looks a bit like a kind of a Wonder Woman headband and it’s totally battery operated. You just charge it with a USB C and then on the abdomen, it’s like a very cozy fabric panel that also emits red and near infrared and people I have a strap you can kind of either strap it to your abdomen or it’s also useful on other areas.
I know people who have it across their chest or if they have areas of pain. I just kind of tuck it in the top of my trousers at top of my pants rather so you can Yeah. You can wear it in different ways, but it’s a fairly small, compact device. Like I say, just a flat fabric panel across the gut and a plastic headband that goes across the front.
activated using an app. So the app allows you to choose six different programs based on the pulsing schedule. And I have various wellness programs in there. It is a wellness device, not a health device. So all of the terminology is wellness. And yeah, we can also sound files, you know, and breath work.
There are lots of things you can do to heighten the experience of this therapy. So I also in the app have breathwork sessions and sound files that match the pulsing in the headband. but, you know, you could really, the light is the magic. So, you know, even if people are trying to stack their hacks and do this light therapy while they’re doing something else.
Even while they’re working, you can do that. Or you can, you know, take ten minutes out of your day and sit and do the breath work. I’m really trying to make it as easy for people as possible. Hmm, that’s amazing. What’s been the response so far? Like, know you’ve been traveling, you’ve been letting people wear it, obviously you have devices in the market.
Like, what’s been the response? I’ve actually had a great response. And I’m getting different people setting up different groups to kind of talk about that experience, which is great. I mean, it is a wellness technology. So I can only really talk about taking people from a baseline to better, but I do have people using it who are suffering from various disease states and then they’re using it for their symptom management or to increase their well being.
So I have a motor neuron support group. I have a young onset Parkinson’s also at the biohackers, you know, everybody there is about brain optimization. And of course, that’s very interesting. I was on a call with a chap this morning and he was talking about brain reorganization. You know, he feels like He is more assertive.
He can organize his thoughts more and he’s kind of upgrading. So I’ve got some great results, both from people who are looking at symptom management, but also from people who are just trying to be their best self. I mean, I think right at the moment, you know, if one’s under a lot of stress, there’s a lot of pressures, you know, people need to make sure they’re getting adequate sleep.
So from that point of view, a lot of people are using it. And not necessarily using it for any kind of treatment modality. They’re using it to thrive. You know, that’s part of the next era thrive. You know, we’re not just trying to kind of exist free of illness. We really want to be the best we can be.
So I think that’s gratifying from my point of view that a lot of the biohackers and longevity people are taking it up. Talk a little bit about your, rollout plan and how you plan to continue to spread the message of Sarah Thrive and really continue to get these, devices into the market.
Yeah, I mean, as you know, I mean, I think I’ve seen you at quite a few events now, Adam. I’m out there on the events trail, you know. Both in US, UK and Europe, so I’m just about to hop on a plane to Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi. I’m going to a wellness summit there, and then LA, Miami Tallinn. So, I do a lot of the events.
I also do a lot of podcasts. I also have my own podcast called Rebel Scientist, where I talk to a lot of other people in the space and talk about their use of red light, I do a lot of press releases, maybe local. I’m here in UK at the moment. I do kind of local and regional press releases. So really that’s, I’m really kind of putting myself out there this year as much as I can to kind of raise that awareness.
I’m, probably on a plane once a week right now. I don’t know, a bit crazy. That’s, that’s, that’s amazing. I like to say, what did I say you were on? I think you’re on your world tour, right? With your device. I love it. I love it. I do see it. , and I see the response and I see that people light up pun intended on that one, Sarah, I’m allowed one right now.
I’ve seen it like when they put it on, when we’re at events and when I’ve seen you at a couple of events and you let people wear it and they’re like, and they get it. And it’s fun. And this is, I think I’ve seen mostly in primarily in the biohacking space type of events. And , there are a lot of fun and the people there are smart, like they’re into it.
And A lot of people are, well, they’re more advanced than me. I’m getting more advanced now. I enjoy covering this type of content because I learn and I’m like, really our health, if we don’t have that, what else do we have? Nothing else is going to matter. Right. Oh, for sure. Our brains, you know, everything else, you know, we can deal with if we’ve got good brains, you know, I think that’s.
The most important thing as especially, you know, with kind of there’s a lot of talk now in the aging space and in the regenerative space, there’s a lot of stuff about longevity. But from my point of view, you know, nobody wants to lead an extra long life if you don’t have good brain function. So. To me, you know, brain health is what it’s all about.
Amazing. Sarah, this has been a lot of fun having you on the show today. I’m glad we finally got to catch up and we got to do this. If somebody wants to follow up, learn more about Sarah Thrive what’s the best way for them to do that? So I’m really on everything under Sarah Thrive. So it’s C E R A, Sarah Thrive.
It’s kind of a play on cerebral although my name’s Sarah and it kind of helps people remember. So yeah, Sarah Thrive. Any of the socials, I’m on Sarah Thrive and the website is just sarahthrive. com.
Perfect. And for everybody listening, just so you know, we’ll definitely put the links to Sarah Thrive in the show notes so that you can just click on the link and head right on over.
And speaking of the audience, if this is your first time with Mission Matters and you haven’t done it yet, Hit that subscribe or follow button. This is a daily show each and every day. We’re bringing you new content, new ideas, and hopefully new inspiration to help you along the way in your journey as well.
So again, hit that subscribe or follow button and Sarah, man, can’t wait to see you at the next event. I’m sure , we’re going to cross paths again. I’m sure very soon, very soon. I’m hitting the States I think a week on Tuesday. So see you there. Oh, you’re not here right now. Okay. So you’re coming back soon.
Okay. Coming back soon. Wonderful. We’ll look forward to seeing you and thank you. Thank you. Take care, Adam.