Meet The Team Part One: Justin

What do you do at Natural Stacks?

My official job title with Natural Stacks is Supply Chain Director, however, with a small and rapidly-growing company, everyone wears multiple hats and does various jobs all with the common goal of growing this amazing company.

Most of my time is spent in the shadows on the operations side. I do everything from inventory management, ingredient sourcing, working with manufacturers, and everything it takes to get the product into the warehouse and ultimately delivered into the customer's hands.

Problem-solver is another hat I and the rest of the team must wear -- t’s not all rainbows and daisies! Issues constantly arise and we have to be on our toes in order to control the damage.

You work for a supplement company, so I have to ask: What does your supplement routine look like?

Morning Stack

I take CILTEP 3-4 mornings a week, depending on how my work load is and if I need that extra focus to get me through the day. Sometimes I'll take MycoMIND and MycoBOOST instead to switch things up. I feel like they give me that extra umph on the days when I need it and want to switch up the routine.

I'll also take vitamin D3 a few times per week for general health and well-being. Living in the Pacific Northwest you're not able to get as much direct sunlight as other areas in the world.

I'd say about 4 days a week I'll also throw in Krill Oil and Curcumin. The bodybuilding lifestyle can sometimes be restrictive in terms of diet (can't always get all the nutrients I need from whole foods), so filling in those gaps with high quality supplements from real food is key.

Performance Stack

I use BPI BCAA's because I love the taste. As a competitive bodybuilder, and someone who is constantly counting macros, having something besides water that's flavored and calorie-free is what I need in my life.

I use Dopamine Brain Food as a pre-workout almost every morning. Personally, I don’t like stimulatory pre-workouts, and all I need is something to boost my mental drive while allowing me to focus on the mind-muscle connections throughout my lifts.

I also take our BioCreatine before and after my lifts. Creatine has always been a staple of my diet because of the physical benefits it provides.

During workouts, and especially in a caloric deficit while cutting, I drink a protein drink that is 2 scoops of NS protein powder mixed with 20 grams of dextrose. I follow Layne Norton who is a natural professional bodybuilder, powerlifter, but most importantly Phd, which is where my intra-workout protein drink came from. He takes a very scientific approach to everything and I very much recommend looking him up. His articles can be dense, but provide great insight backed by science.

Afternoon Stack

Serotonin I use most days in the early afternoons. After lunch I get the "is this day over yet feeling", and SBF gives me that uplifting push to get through the rest of the day.

Evening Stack

At night I like to take GABA, Prebiotic, Serotonin, and MagTECH.

Some nights I take all 4, some nights I only do a few. I like to throw Prebiotic in with my smoothies because it adds a little density and flavor. MagTech and GABA are important to me in terms of calmness and relaxation. I think everyone needs something built into their day to help them unwind or get to sleep better -- this is what works for me.

Do you have a specific morning routine? If so, walk us through it.

My morning routine consists of waking up around 5-5:30am every morning. Cooking 200g of egg whites with 2 whole eggs and around 60-80g of oats with cinnamon, 60g of blueberries, 8g of brown sugar mixed in. After this I head to the gym and immediately to work after.

Any productivity tips or hacks that have been game-changers for you?

I prepare most things the night before as a way to smooth the process.

Setting out my clothes, both work and work-out the night before.
Making my BCAA and Protein drink the night before and sometimes go as far as to prep food for my morning meal.
I always prep my lunch for the next day as well.

I like to spend less time putting more stress on my mind that early so that I can focus on tackling the tasks ahead. If I forget or don't have time to prep the night before I find myself scrambling in the morning and forgetting key pieces, like underwear...

You’re stranded on a desert island. What five foods do you take with you?

Gotta have my oatmeal in the morning. It’s been a staple of my diet for many years and love it. Along with...
Eggs. Something about breakfast foods are just the best!
Lenny and Larry’s cookies are another. I have a huge sweet tooth and it allows me to indulge while still getting some pretty good macros.
(and 5) The last two I’m just gonna say fruits and veggies. Doesn’t really matter the kind, it’s just hard for me to live without them.

What are your top 3 Natural Stacks supplements?

Dopamine, Serotonin and probably CILTEP.

Last question: What are your top three tips to live optimal? (whatever that means to you)

Always be prepared: whatever this means to you, just do it. Nothing worse than being underprepared and being a deer in headlights.
Try new things: As someone who does very much have a routine day in and day out, I try to incorporate new things to my daily routine to better optimize it. Could be trying a new diet for a period of time, new supplement routine, etc. It’s important to have variety while understanding what you need.
Enjoy life! We can all get caught up in a web of negativity that seems to never end. I think it's important to be conscious of the fact that it's all temporary.