Steve Prussack
And welcome to another edition of Juice Guru Radio. I’m your host, Steve. It’s so exciting. We’ve got Alton Weekes coming on the show in just a minute. Founder and actual Chief Juicing Officer at Cellful Organics. We’re going to hear all about his journey to wellness, becoming a Certified Juice Therapist. All the amazing work he’s doing. You’re going to love this. So get yourself a juice, a water, some tea. Sit back. Relax. We’ll be back right after this with Alton Weekes.
Steve Prussack
Well, welcome back to the show. We’ve got Alton Weekes here. Founder and Chief Juicing Officer at Cellful Organics. They’re a cold press juice company helping you to detoxify juicing. And his background is going to blow your mind. I don’t even want to give much away. Let’s welcome to the show right now, Alton Weekes.
Alton Weekes
Hey, everybody. How are you doing?
Steve Prussack
Alton, Alton, Alton. What an amazing resume you have. What a journey you’ve had, let’s say.
Alton Weekes
Yes. And still, still on this journey. You know.
Steve Prussack
There is no finish line. So take us back, from US Navy combat war veteran- thank you for serving. Here we are close, Veterans Day was not too long ago. So thank you for the work or for being of service to our country. Take us back, though. You’ve done a lot in design and so much more. There’s a fun fact that I’m going to share with everybody at the end. So you’re going to want to stay tuned for that. But what led you down this path of wellness, though?
Alton Weekes
Yeah. Well first, let me thank you for acknowledging me as a veteran. I appreciate that. People don’t know the sacrifices that the many men and women do fighting for our freedoms here that we all get to enjoy. So, thank you. Well, my wellness started because I was in a place that was not good. And I had to kind of figure out, do you want to live? Do you want to thrive or do you want to die? So I had to make some decisions. But those decisions didn’t come easily.
Alton Weekes
You see, I wasn’t raised in the family that either had a farm or that was, I would say, eating healthy. My family got together, like most families, to celebrate with food. So it was kind of my first introduction and me developing a relationship with food. But along with that came other things that kind of, what should I say, that kind of chipped away at my characteristics. People saying, “You’re not good enough. Oh, you’ll never make it here.” And I started putting those layers on because we start to believe what other people say about us.
Alton Weekes
And for many years, I just thought I wasn’t good enough or I wouldn’t amount to what I hope my life to be. So, I just went on about life. And then one day, I got sick. And when I say I got sick, there were signs along the way, but you didn’t know it. I always believe the universe always gives you one in signs. But if we’re not in tune, if we’re not open, we don’t know where it’s coming from. Sometimes we might just think, “Oh, this is just something going on in my head.”
Alton Weekes
But I remember, if I go back, I was at the VA Hospital down in Salisbury, North Carolina. And I went there because I think I wasn’t feeling well. And I remember the doctor say, “No, I don’t think we’re going to do anything with you. Because I don’t think that if we do something that you would probably make it through the operation.” But still, they didn’t tell me what was going on. But when he said that, that was enough to alert me, and that was around 2007. So I still didn’t do nothing but what I did know…
Steve Prussack
And you were a young guy.
Alton Weekes
Yes, but what I did know that I was 293. I love going to McDonald’s to get 2 double quarter pounders. Those were my favorite. I would hang out at the drive to make friends with the staff. I got no business there at 2 in the morning. So I kept that lifestyle of eating unhealthy food. And one thing I tell people, “Nothing good comes from anything that is dead. Dead relationships, dead-end jobs, dead in anything.” I said, “So if you’re going to eat something, eat something that is full of life, so that you can live.”
Alton Weekes
So as time went on and I found out, I discovered I had sleep apnea. What? Then, I found out I had high cholesterol, and then there was borderline diabetes. And then my bones were hurting, then my asthma was acting up. And then, I still wasn’t doing nothing. Then I remember the exact time I was at the VA again in New York City and I was going to do therapy because once again, I’m 293. I’m carrying on all this weight from all these issues, all these problems, all my unpacked baggage of things that have gone on in my life, that’s unresolved from all my hurts, pains and disappointments.
Alton Weekes
And the lady said, “You know, I’m not going to be able to sign you up for physical therapy. I’m taking your pressure right now. I think you should go down to the ER.” I left her office and went in and got in my car. You know, talk about insanity. She said, “Go to the ER.” Why are you going in your car? And that was on a Tuesday. On that Thursday, once again, the universe is trying to get my attention.
Alton Weekes
So on Thursday, I was putting on some socks. I blame some LeBron James basketball compression socks. I wasn’t going to play basketball. I just like the socks. And as I was putting them on, I felt the pain. But still, that wasn’t enough to alarm me. And that lasted for like, three to five minutes. And then I was like, “Wow, that’s different. Maybe because of how I’m moving.” But on Saturday, the pain happened again but it lasted longer. I had to go to school, to the prestigious school of the Fashion Institute of Art and Design, where some of the most iconic designers in our country, rather in the world has studied and walked those halls. Anywhere from Donna Karan to Calvin Klein to Michael Kors, Norma Kamali. All have come out of that school.
Alton Weekes
So, I had to do a portfolio review because I was studying exhibition design. Exhibition designers create the look and feel of what an exhibit is. Those experiences are in museums. Meaning, how does the traffic flow? How does the colors should be on the wall? Where should the artifacts go? So that’s what expedition designers do. And they worked in conjunction with curators who studied that history of that particular artifact.
Alton Weekes
So as I was doing my portfolio review, that pain came back. And I’m talking to my professor, dean of the school, another adjunct, and I’m turning pages. I’m just turning pages, and the pain is getting more severe that I get on my knees. Not one time, which still baffles me to this day, not one time did any of those professional people say, “Are you okay? Do you need a moment? Can we get you a glass of water? Because you are standing just now and now you’re on your knees and your voice has gotten more shallower. Something’s not right?”
Alton Weekes
But no one said nothing but I knew the universe was still there. So I finished my review. I went and sat outside the review room still squirming because in my head Tuesday, this went away in like, three to five minutes. So I’m trying to find some easement in my body and it’s not happening. So my chair of my department comes out and said, “Alton, you did fantastic.” I’m still squirming. Like, do you see me squirming? And I’m just shaking my head to him like, okay, yes.
Alton Weekes
So something say, you need to go up the steps and you need to find you some help. So those steps look like I was climbing Mount Rushmore. It took me at least 25 to 30 minutes to get up one flight of steps. And then once I got up the steps, I sat in the auditorium alone, just to see if I can get some more comfort for another 25 minutes. And you got to walk down to security. And there’s a long hallway in school where a lot of designers for certain classes, mostly the fashion textile designer. They use that to post some of their projects. And it’s always a long hallway because it’s like a gallery.
Alton Weekes
Anyhow, that hallway seemed like it was just forever. And I finally made it to security. And I said, “I think- because what do I know? I think I’m having a heart attack.” And they call emergency services and sure enough, once I got to the hospital and they draw your blood, they see the enzymes from your heart. That’s how they know you’re having a heart attack. And that was the change that said, you got to do something radical.
Alton Weekes
You got to really go radical. Because what you’re doing, brother, is not working for you. And this could have been your last moment. So you get another chance. You got a second act, the second act. You’re in intermission right now. But the second act is usually better than the first. Because the second act is what people will be left with. And that’s where I am. And that’s how I started my wellness journey, doing things for myself, just for myself. I didn’t have no knowledge. I didn’t have no information.
Alton Weekes
I’m not a nutritionist. I didn’t study it. But I knew that plants, fruits, things that were alive would also flood my system and bathed me in nutritional goodness that I myself might be able to reproduce healthy cells and create an environment inside that other cells would just expand that. And ever since, I’ve been on a mission to teach others, to support others. Not in a preachy kind of way, but just to say, “Hey, I see what you’re doing. But let me tell you about something I did.”
Alton Weekes
Because one thing I also tell people. I said, “If you got a doctor and your doctor’s prescribing any kind of medication to you for 30 days, 45 days or 90 days, that’s not a doctor. That’s a case manager. That’s somebody that is managing your case. Have they told you? Let’s get rid of it. That’s somebody that’s managing you.” So, I always believe I want to get rid of problems. I don’t want to keep problems around. And I told my cardiologist, once I saw him and he put me on seven medications, I said, “You know, I don’t negate your education, case studies of what you’ve seen and your medical degree.”
Alton Weekes
“All of that, I believe, is valid. But I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’m going to be satisfied waking up every day being reminded that I got a condition because I got seven pills to take. Oh, that’s not the story that I got to repeat. I’m not going to do it.” I said, “So let’s make a deal.” And I tell people, “You got to challenge your doctor.” I said, “My doctor can tell me stuff, but I’m the manager of my body. I get to say, what’s the final say? Yes, you tell me what’s happening, but I still got to manage it.”
Alton Weekes
“Because if I don’t do the things that I need to do or that you say, that’s not going to help you. It’s ultimately my body.” So I tell people, “Don’t be afraid to challenge your doctor and ask them questions. Push back on things that you don’t know or don’t understand and say, is there another way? Or tell them I got a better way. How about if I try this?”
Alton Weekes
And that’s what I told my doctor, “Hey, I’m going to try something and we’re going to have a duel of your medications and nature. And we gonna see who’s gonna win.” I said in every year I would ask my doctor, “What are my numbers? How am I doing? How do I look? What’s my EKG? What’s my heart saying?What’s my blood work?” And he was saying, “Everything is going good. This is coming down. You’re losing weight.” And every year I would say, “Well, can I come off this? He said, “Yeah.” I said, “Do I have to stay on that other one?”
Alton Weekes
He said, “No.” I said, “What about that one?” Until there was nothing else to come off. And he said, “What are you doing?” I said, “I told you we was going to have the duels of your medication and nature’s. And I knew nature was going to win.” I said, “I just knew it because that’s life. Here you’re giving me something that’s toxic for my heart, that could screw up my liver or take my kidney out.” I said, “Come on, doctor.” So he said, “In my 30 years, you are the only person that has reversed this, in my 30 years of practice in cardiology.”
Steve Prussack
Wow.
Alton Weekes
I said “That was done through plant medicine.” And one of the things that he said to me was this, “I have been caring for Alton for several years as his cardiologist. His story is inspirational. After he had a cardiac procedure, he was determined to improve his heart health through diet and exercise. Through his strict attention to exercise and eating a plant-based diet, he has successfully reversed his health challenges and has lost over 100 pounds. I am convinced that his dietary program has helped him to prolong his life and greatly enhance his cardiac wellness.” So that’s where we at.
Steve Prussack
By the way, that’s your Ted talk right there. And that’s almost 20 minutes. That’s a Ted talk right there and actually, I think it’s 22 minutes. But that is a great- I mean, if that’s not going to inspire, I don’t know what is. In the time left we have though- God, thank you for that and thank you for sharing. And if that’s not going to ignite a passion, I don’t know what is and then someone who’s-. And if you guys are listening on the radio, you’re not seeing him, we’ll have the video up on the website. But you’ve lost over, how much weight you’ve lost?
Alton Weekes
I was 293. I lost over 100 pounds.
Steve Prussack
Yeah. Like you said.
Alton Weekes
I’m 3 pounds away from the weight I was when I was in the Navy. My whole time in the Navy, I was 180. I’m 183. So I’m working on the 3 pounds.
Steve Prussack
Well, how did juicing come in? I mean, I know now you’re a Certified Juice Therapist and you’ve got- how did juicing come in and what made you decide to make it part of your life, entrepreneurial mission?
Alton Weekes
Well, juicing came in because I knew I couldn’t eat all those vegetables. But I knew I could drink it. So I said, “Let me just start drinking it.” So when the pandemic happened, I was like, “You know what? Everybody is worried about the immune system, staying healthy. They’re trying to eat and do better. ” Because all the medical professionals have scared the daylights out of them and said this is the people that’s getting attacked. So everybody was trying to get their help together all of a sudden. But I remember talking to myself saying, “Well, even before the pandemic, you did some things that successfully help you reverse your heart disease. Why don’t you just share that with the people that’s in your network?”
Alton Weekes
And I started doing that throughout the whole pandemic. And when December hit, next month would be one year when December hit, I slapped the label on the bottle, and all of a sudden, the wall opened up. It made it kind of official because it kind of cemented it in the physical realm. It wasn’t just an idea in my head. Now people saw it. How can I get it? What do I need to do?
Alton Weekes
And that’s how Cellful Organics started. And that’s how I started sharing people my story. I always tell people, “You know my story. You heard it. You are on medication. If you want to get off, you got to do something different. If you’re not willing to do nothing different, then you’re going to keep repeating the same thing.” I say “Some things in life, you got to be radical about. In living, you got to be radical.”
Steve Prussack
So are you splitting it? I mean, obviously now that you’re certified as a juice therapist, you can lead people. You’re a Holistic Health Practitioner and you can write the books. Obviously, you have so much to share. But you’ve got the juice business, too. So are you going to look at doing both? Obviously you could, right?
Alton Weekes
Yes. Well, both of them I’m going to look back because I’m so happy and excited that I discovered, that you even created something like this. I didn’t even know this existed until it popped up on my feed. And then somebody else said, my godsister was like, “Hey, do you know this guy, Steve?” I said, “I think I’ve seen it before, but I didn’t investigate.” And I said, “Oh, I got to get this.” I said, “I got to go through his program. This is what I need.” I said, “I need some more tools.”
Alton Weekes
So yeah, using the modules that you have created in this program so that people can become a Certified Juice Therapist. I’m definitely using those two to help support people on their journey, but also educating as well. And then with the product, so it’s going to be a combo. I talk about it but I’ll show you juices that I use would work for me. Because see, I could talk about those juices because I know what got me off seven medication.
Steve Prussack
Yeah.
Alton Weekes
It’s not a powder that somebody else created, a third party and I’m saying, “Hey, take two scoops.” No, I know what I did. It was always my green belly. It was always the kale, the spinach, the cucumber, the granny smith. And I did that.
Steve Prussack
Nice.
Alton Weekes
Because that’s the only one I knew. I didn’t know all these other combinations. All those came later. And I did that every day.
Steve Prussack
That’s an amazing combination. Cellfull Organics. What a great name and what a great leader behind the brand, when we talk about positioning or how you can be unique and the story that goes into differentiation of our business. You’ve got it all right there. You realize that though, right? You’re also a great storyteller.
Alton Weekes
Yes, that I hear. I want to be better, though.
Steve Prussack
I thought you did amazing.
Alton Weekes
Well, thank you.
Steve Prussack
So take note listeners and anyone in the program now or anyone that this is- he’s putting it all together. He’s making it happen. So the juice business right now, is it delivery or is it- how is it modeled?
Alton Weekes
Cellful Organics ships out of New York and we ship nationwide and that’s doing good. So, anybody can order. If you’re into cold press juicing and you want to get juices for yourself, we provide you. Because a lot of people, it is a lot of work, and some people don’t want to do the work. So we prepare it, we flash-freeze it and we ship next day air.
Steve Prussack
Great. I’ll have to try it. And you’ve got a whole bunch of different recipes. Again guys, the website cellfulorganics.com. We’ll have the link up at the show notes with Alton Weekes. You’re going to want to check that out.
Steve Prussack
Gosh, there isn’t so much we can talk about in our final minutes here. I did say I would share the fun fact, though. And I know- I’m going to share the fun fact. And then, you’re going to cap it off with the final five minute lowdown, the breakdown of the pillars. You know, what you really want to get that we maybe didn’t talk about here and what you want to share with the audience.
Steve Prussack
But the fun fact is, and I’ll tell you guys, because you’re not going to guess it. Alton actually studied Mortuary Science and Funeral Services, those principles. So it’s interesting. So you were focused on the dead before getting into the living. Isn’t that right?
Alton Weekes
It was and that was for many years and that’s way before. I was right out of high school focus on the dead, which was interesting. And I got a job working in the county of the Bronx, picking up cadavers and bringing them to the chief medical office because I thought I was going to be a funeral director. But you know…
Steve Prussack
Very well. I’m glad you found the new path. And if I can guide you in the last thing, what I would love if you can share- because the entrepreneurial journey isn’t for the faint of heart. And I know you’ve probably had your ups-downs and everything and anyhow that continues, you’re not in the finish line, in our health in that journey. What are some of the challenges? One of the things you’ve overcome. And I don’t know how you share that in four minutes. But what are some of the challenges as an entrepreneur? And what was the biggest lesson you’ve learned?
Alton Weekes
I think one of the biggest lessons in anything that I tell people that even starting out wanting to even juice with me or use my services, I always tell people, “Start with your why? Why are you doing it? Why do you want this? Why do you need it? Start with your why, be intentional and know that anything is possible for you. But you got to start by answering your why first. You can’t do anything if you don’t understand why you’re doing it.”
Alton Weekes
Why am I doing it? Because I want to be healthy. Why am I doing it? Because I need to come off medication. Why am I doing it? Because my mother, my sister, my aunt and my cousin and my neighbor two doors down all die from cancer. Why am I doing it? So once you understand your why, then you will know how.
Steve Prussack
Yeah. I think we heard your why in your opening story, right?
Alton Weekes
You did. You heard my why.
Steve Prussack
Anything to add to that?
Alton Weekes
No. I started because I wanted to live. So I’m living and I’m doing good. And now I’m a Certified Juice Therapist. Thanks to the Juice Guru Institute.
Steve Prussack
Wait a minute. That’s not your physical copy. I don’t see gold…
Alton Weekes
No, this is my digital.
Steve Prussack
Did you get the other one yet?
Alton Weekes
Not yet. It has come, I think, what next month or something?
Steve Prussack
Okay. Yeyy..
Alton Weekes
Yeah. So I’m excited about this.
Steve Prussack
Congratulations on that accomplishment, though. It’s been a joy having you in the program and responding personally to some of your comments and thoughtful comments as you went through the program. And now you’ve got the Mastery, though. And I don’t know if you’ve gone through all those tools in there. Have you had a chance?
Alton Weekes
I’m going back to it. I’m going back to it like I’m just beginning again. I’m going back through everything like I’m beginning again.
Steve Prussack
Okay. And I’m here to support you. We’d love to have you on the show again. Maybe next time, we’ll do a whole show on your entrepreneurial journey, and we’ll pick up where the journey continues. So, Alton, anything to say in closing in this amazing episode of Juice Guru Radio?
Alton Weekes
No. I just want to say thank you to you and your lovely wife, Julie. I appreciate all the work that you guys are doing in this juice industry and for bringing us all along to create this Juice Revolution in the world, so that we can take care and get people healthy. So thank you for doing that.
Steve Prussack
And thank you for being- what was that?
Alton Weekes
And for standing in your brilliance.
Steve Prussack
Yes and thank you for being a leader in the Juice Revolution. And he has so much-, you’re going to be hearing more and more about him. Oh, I don’t know how he does it. Alton Weekes right here at Juice Guru Radio. Again the website, cellfullorganics.com I’m Steve Prussack and we’ll see you next time.
Alton Weekes
Thank you, take care.
