A Drink Supporting People in Recovery from Alcohol & Drug Addiction | Business With Purpose EP 262: Wes Hurt, CLEAN Cause

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My guest this week is Wes Hurt, a father of two boys, a serial entrepreneur and a person in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. His love of business coupled with the desire to use his experiences and gifts for the greatest good resulted in the birth of CLEAN Cause. 

Wes created an Organic Sparkling Yerba Mate beverage as an alternative and organic caffeine source. Based in Austin, his business supports addiction recovery with 50% of net profits funding sober living scholarships. 

4:43 – Wes 101

• Wes began experimenting with drugs and alcohol in high school. Over the next 20 years, his addiction grew. 
• He went to six rehabs and one psych ward. He had a daily addiction to opiates and was popping 30 to 35 pills a day and added crack on top of that. 

11:15 – The root cause

• People shared their addiction stories with Wes, and he realized how big the problem was. 
• Society often focuses on the leaves of a tree versus the roots. The root cause of addiction is more important to understand.
• Addiction is just a flavor of affliction. We’ve all got something. We all use something to fix it, to cope or to medicate or to heal.

18:15 – CLEAN Cause

• Wes says entrepreneurship chose him, he didn’t choose it. 
• He enjoyed starting businesses and had an inherent desire to make businesses better.
• Within months of getting sober, he had a flicker of inspiration to use his story to help others.

32:03 – Company with a mission

• His Organic Sparkling Yerba Mate beverage has low- and no-calorie options. 
• His company provides scholarships to people who need help. 

39:07 – Why a sparkling beverage?

• Wes loves caffeine, so he wanted to create a sparkling beverage. 
• He wanted a drink that didn’t make him feel like crap.

41:57 – What’s next?

• He wants to further develop his non-profit, the CLEAN Cause Foundation.
• Wes is talking with a few big celebrities about promoting the brand. 

47:58 – Get to know you

• Who would play Wes in a movie about his life? He doesn’t know, maybe Dax Shepard.
• His favorite meal? Pepperoni pizza

FEATURED QUOTES

Addiction is just my flavor of affliction. That’s it. We’ve all got something. We all use something to fix it, to cope or to medicate or to heal.

What I believe is society often focuses on the leaves of a tree versus the roots. 

We have a spine. We’re bold. We’re not looking for handouts. 

SHOP NOW: https://cleancause.com/discount/PURPOSE (Use code PURPOSE for 30% off your first order!)

ABOUT CLEAN CAUSE:

Clean Cause is on a mission to support individuals in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction by donating 50% of profits to fund sober living scholarships.  Coined “CLEAN Kickstarts,” these are intended to bridge the critical gap between rehab & reintegration.  The CLEAN Cause product line consists of 9 amazing tasting, USDA organic certified, sparkling yerba maté beverages that come in low & zero calorie options.  Each 16-ounce can is packed with 160mgs of organic caffeine to power your everyday passions all the while supporting individuals recovering from alcohol & drug addiction.  CLEAN Cause’s 40 plus employees are dedicated to building a brand that empowers consumers to leverage their purchases that ultimately support individuals in recovery from alcohol & drug addiction.

ABOUT WES HURT:

Wes is a father of two boys, a serial entrepreneur, and a person in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. His love of business coupled with the desire to use his experiences and gifts for the greatest good resulted in the birth of CLEAN Cause. Based in Austin, Texas, CLEAN’s innovative business model supports addiction recovery with 50% of net profits funding sober living scholarships. Being an avid consumer of caffeine, he created a product that he knew would fill a need he had in his everyday life – an amazing tasting organic sparkling yerba mate with low sugar & 160mg of naturally sourced caffeine per can. Since then, CLEAN Cause has granted over 2,170 sober living scholarships representing more than $1,085,000.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS: 

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Speaking of stories behind brands that change the world, I’d like to introduce you to Deux Mains. In French, Deux Mains means two hands. Why ‘two-hands’? Because everything they create is made by trained artisans who use their two hands to make their life better while crafting beautiful products.

Truly, this is a company that set out to change lives and make a positive impact in the world. It started when the founder, Julie, wanted to create dignified jobs in Haiti, a place she was growing to love, and that was exploding with creativity. She wanted to share this talent with the world.

Julie set up an educational program to train people with artisan skills and then went on to build a factory that operates on 100% solar energy. Deux Mains now employs more than 40 artisans that handcraft premium leather goods, jewelry and sandals. Their lives are forever changed by their craft.

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