Daily Inspiration: Meet JOHN ZORTMAN

Today we’d like to introduce you to JOHN ZORTMAN.

Hi JOHN, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My Story

I am a retired Nuclear Pharmaceutical Chemist who grew tired of Big Pharma and decided to leave the profession about 25 years ago after my daughters had completed their schooling, were out of the home and on their own. I really wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do at that time, but I had confidence (that helps) in my abilities, so I moved to Colorado and set out doing some carpentry and teaching. I retired eight years later and boredom took over immediately. I spent most of my first month playing internet poker and actually got pretty good at it. Something was missing! Little did I know it would be a ripe, juicy REAL tomato!
Tomatoes! I was sitting around one day and had a craving for a BLT (bacon, lettuce & tomato) sandwich for my lunch. Hmm, the tomato was missing. I went to the local food store in search of a nice big, delicious tomato to satisfy my craving. Much to my dismay I could not find a REAL tomato! I was taught as a child how to discern a good tomato from a bad tomato and grew tomatoes in my gardens. It pissed me off that I could not find a REAL tomato. I thought Big Food is doing to our food supply what Big Pharma has been doing to our medicines. I spent the next day and a half driving through the Denver area looking for the REAL tomato! I went to all the Whole Foods, Sprouts, Natural Grocers and a few Mom and Pops! Twenty-six stores in all … in a 90 mile stretch … and … not a single REAL tomato. In my own way, I thought this is unacceptable! Seriously!
I spent the whole next day and a half calling all the Vegetable Growers Associations in all the states surrounding Colorado. No REAL tomatoes until … a breath of fresh air … I called the Missouri Vegetable Growers Association and by this time, I am asking, ‘Do you have any REAL tomatoes over there?’ A man answered the phone and said, ‘Get over here!’, then he hung up the phone. I got in my car, drove 930 miles one-way and got there just about the time he was opening his vegetable business. Come to find out he was Amish and didn’t like talking on the phone. I have Amish roots and we were able to chat about his tomatoes and I understood his dislike for telephones. I bought 10 cases of his perfect and delicious tomatoes and spent the next 3 days on the corner of 75th and Broadway in Boulder, Colorado trying to sell REAL tomatoes! I only sold a case and a half in 3 days so I found a farmers market on Pearl St downtown in Denver to sell on Sunday mornings. I sold out in 30 minutes! People loved the REAL tomatoes! My journey for the next 12 years had started.
I spent the summers in the Denver area for the next several years peddling Amish tomatoes and some of my proprietary goods, my body products, during the summers until POT became legal. After that, finding a place to live was nearly impossible. My last rental place had paper thin walls and I decided that was enough of the Denver market scene. During the rest of the year, I started growing tomatoes at my newfound home in Goodyear, AZ. When I was in Denver, Kim (wife) would fly in every 2 weeks and we would travel to Missouri and sell tomatoes together. It was a great bonding experience for the both of us and we still talk about it. In fact, recently I bought her a ‘Tomato’ ring she had specially designed.
Thus began the transition from Denver to Goodyear, AZ and my continuance of selling tomatoes. Only this time, I was growing my own and selling them at local farmers markets. It was working well for awhile until I realized that I could not keep up. I started to buy tomatoes on the side and eventually the business action from that took hold of all my growing activities. I could not keep up with both entities. I also began to sell organic, GMO-free and locally grown produce of all kinds. My produce business went from selling out of one canopy to 32 canopies. I became the biggest in the state and the market I sold most of it at became the 5th best in the country.
Next was a logical transition of all this. I would have herbs and such leftover from incomplete sales of perishable goods. We came up with the idea to purchase a dehydrator so we could co-market the herbal perishables in their powdered forms. It worked splendidly. Sales of the powdered herbs went very well with all these fruits and vegetables being present in abundance. I was in the habit of making fresh smoothies almost every morning and I naturally started to use the powdered forms of ginger and turmeric in my smoothies and looked forward to the benefits associated with these wonderful herbs. However, I was disappointed in the results. I was expecting a big energy boost, clearance of liver bile acid buildup, super anti-inflammatory effects, as well as phenomenal abdominal results. The powdered forms of pure organic ginger and turmeric were not doing much for me. With my background being what it is, it was time for a little more research.
Voila’
GeT RAW!! It’s a potent antioxidant blend made with all organic ingredients. Why RAW? The active constituents of ginger and turmeric are reduced in powdered forms. RAW forms of ginger and turmeric are 250 to 300 times more bioavailable in the human body. Add a very small amount of pepper, now the absorption of turmeric is enhanced 2,000 to 3,000%. Serving size is a shotglassful, but in reality it varies because everyone has different levels of inflammation, etc. Medically documented written benefits are numerous: Inflammation, Digestion, Immunity, Cognition, Anticancer, Antiarthritic, Hangovers, Cardioprotective, Liver Toxicity, Antimicrobial, Antidepressant, Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar and Flatulence. Thus, our motto is GeT Healthy, GeT Well … GeT RAW the organic wellness shot.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
If you don’t have a bad day, how will you know what a good day is?! I can remember vividly having only $5 left to my name and turning it around to make hundreds of thousands. Why? Because I never gave up on myself. I’ve had to recreate myself more than once. Each time gave me the strength and confidence to move forward. I learned to set realistic goals and follow through.
I used to call them ‘baby’ steps because that’s what it took for me to succeed.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a retired nuclear pharmaceutical chemist that grew tired of Big Pharma. When my daughters finally graduated from college, I took a good look at myself and thought, “What am I doing?” So, I grabbed my pharmacy license off the wall, took it out of its frame, wrote ‘Surrender’ on it and sent it to the Board of Pharmacy.
A craving for a real tomato has sent me on a completely different journey. I specialized in organic produce which sent me on a different journey all over again. Having leftovers stimulated my creative instincts and I now create health and wellness products, all from plant based chemistry.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
To be a good risk taker you have to have confidence in yourself. When I moved into Arizona, I had to stop call my friend (now my wife), borrow $38 for gas money and complete my journey never losing confidence in myself. The rest is history.

Pricing:

• Retail
• Discount: Buy 3 get 1 free
• Discount: 35% single case discount
• Discount: 50% 4 case minimum purchase

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.getrawshots.com