An Insider Glimpse Into The Morning Routines, Biohacking Stacks & Relationship-Building Tactics Of A Successful Executive (& What It’s Like To Be Coached By Ben!), With Brian McMaster

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Reading time: 8 Minutes

What I Discuss with Brian McMaster:

  • How entrepreneurial ambition and the desire for impact can redefine an industry niche and Brian's evolution toward a health-focused business….03:16
  • The transition from basic logistics to in-house creation, exploring co-packing, manufacturing, and regulatory requirements with practicalities and mindsets needed for vertical integration in business….06:32
  • How personal loss led Brian toward a deeper sense of mission in health and business—grief and meaning underscore the importance of having a vision beyond financial metrics…9:48
  • Ben and Brian reflect on their client-coach dynamic, trust, and knowledge-sharing, plus the importance of accountability, honesty, and tailored advice in successful coaching (you can click here for more information on working with me and my coaching team)…13:04
  • Finding a balance between self-optimization and meaningful relationships, and how over-biohacking can create social disconnects, but awareness and flexibility help…16:20
  • What prompted Brian from being a podcast listener to a client—seeking the extra edge through mentorship and consistent, expert feedback…17:546
  • Why asynchronous messaging (Voxer) has changed the game for personal development, accountability, and feedback—instant Q&A lets clients and teams move from information overload to interactive, just-in-time troubleshooting and clarity…19:38
  • The role of tough love and straight talk in changing habits and mindsets…21:48
  • Brian details his stacked morning ritual involving cold plunges, PEMF, and red light, and why layering multiple positive habits creates a bigger compounding effect, but it takes time to build…23:43
  • Real-world tactics for working out and staying healthy on the road, including portable gear and micro-routines, minimal hotel gyms, and quick workouts using BFR bands, elastic tubes, and bodyweight…29:19
  • After years of IBS, bloodwork identified dairy and wheat as culprits—showing the power of data, ongoing expert support, and structured (yet flexible) nutrition…30:51
  • The value of comprehensive testing and addressing root causes for lasting well-being, and the discovery and remediation of hidden mold in Brian’s home environment…39:12
  • Daily faith practices and a spiritual foundation bring fulfillment and resilience—prayer, reflection, and gratitude are cornerstones for sustainable high performance…42:28
  • Masterminds and curated groups provide entrepreneurs with connection, vulnerability, and growth—deep relationships combat loneliness at the “top” and expand your thinking…45:44
  • The value of unplugging, time in nature, and practices from wilderness and Indigenous wisdom…49:01
  • What Brian found most surprising and valuable about working with Ben as his coach…52:16

Brian McMaster is a dynamic entrepreneur, faith-first leader, and lifelong student of health, peak performance, and personal mastery. As founder and CEO of M&M Quality Solutions, Brian has built the company from the ground up into a trusted logistics and fulfillment partner serving premier health, wellness, and lifestyle brands nationwide.

Driven by excellence and grounded in purpose, Brian brings a fearless spirit to both business and life. He’s a 4th-degree black belt in taekwondo, a passionate adventure-seeker, and a dedicated biohacker who is constantly exploring the best ways to optimize mind, body, and spirit.

Faith is the cornerstone of Brian’s life. He credits his resilience, leadership, and entrepreneurial success to his relationship with God, striving to lead by example through integrity, service, and love. Brian believes that a key part of his journey has been his friendship and mentorship with me, as I've helped him integrate advanced wellness practices with deep spiritual grounding and a Christ-centered purpose in both his life and business (you can discover more about how to work with me and my coaching team here).

Over the past 22 years, Brian has learned that true success is never a solo endeavor. He attributes much of his growth to the people who’ve walked alongside him—mentors, teammates, and partners whose loyalty and shared vision have shaped every chapter. He leads with humility, invests in people, and cultivates a culture where trust and excellence go hand in hand.

His disciplined daily routine reflects a deep commitment to health and longevity, blending cutting-edge biohacking tools, advanced recovery methods, and spiritual practices to sustain peak physical, mental, and spiritual performance. As a pilot-in-training, Brian remains devoted to pushing boundaries and exploring new horizons—whether in the sky, on the mat, or in a team meeting.

At the core, Brian is a devoted husband who credits his wife, Amber, as his anchor—a steady source of love, encouragement, and strength throughout every chapter of his journey.


Ready to Take the Next Step Toward a Boundless Life with Coaching?

TRIUMPH Coaching

If Brian’s story resonated with you—that drive to grow in faith, health, and purpose—it might be time to experience TRIUMPH Coaching for yourself.

This is my coaching ecosystem designed to meet you exactly where you are.

At the top level, we offer personal one-on-one coaching, including a VIP experience where you’ll work directly with me. We also have other levels of personalized coaching with our trusted coaching team, all built around the same principles of faith, alignment, and peak performance.

Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur, athlete, or someone ready to build momentum, there’s a path that fits your season.

We have something for everyone, but space for one-on-one clients is very limited.

If you’re ready to step into a new level of growth and purpose, you can visit https://jointriumphcoaching.com/ to apply today.

Our team will connect with you personally to help you find the perfect level of coaching.

P.S. If personal coaching isn’t the right fit right now, we’ve made it easy to get started on your wellness journey through LIFE Premium: a group coaching experience that includes monthly live calls with our coaches, guided nutrition plans, and daily workout programming for just $14.99/month (you can click here to sign up!).


Please Scroll Down for the Sponsors, Resources, and Transcript

Episode Sponsors: 

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Resources from this episode: 

Ben Greenfield [00:00:00]: My name is Ben Greenfield and on this episode of the Boundless Life podcast.

Ben Greenfield [00:00:05]: We didn't really talk about this beforehand, but do you have any problem with sharing what happened recently with your living environment?

Brian McMaster [00:00:13]: Well, I mean, the way we found this was you and I were doing testing and the first thing I'm thinking is, man, we're clean people. It's like, what's going on here?

Ben Greenfield [00:00:22]: Welcome to the Boundless Life with me, your host, Ben Greenfield. I'm a personal trainer, exercise physiologist and nutritionist. And I'm passionate about helping, helping you discover unparalleled levels of health, fitness, longevity and beyond.

Ben Greenfield [00:00:42]: Howdy. Howdy.

Brian McMaster [00:00:43]: Oh.

Ben Greenfield [00:00:43]: Today I interviewed Brian McMaster. He's a guy coach actually, and we have a wide ranging discussion on biohacking, relationships, morning routines, business, and it's real eye opening conversation about how a busy executive stays healthy and a lot more. Go to BenGreenfieldLife.com McMaster that's M C M A S T E R McMaster. BenGreenfieldLife.com McMaster for the show notes. Here we go. You guys listening in? Brian McMaster is my guest. I met Brian through kind of an entrepreneurial mastermind that we're both in. And he is super into health, biohacking optimization, peak performance, personal mastery, a lot of the stuff that we talk about on this show.

Ben Greenfield [00:01:33]: But he's also the founder and CEO of a company he can tell you about. It's called M and M Quality Solutions. They do not sell M and M candy. I'm sure you sometimes ask that, Brian.

Brian McMaster [00:01:46]: We let Hershey's do our advertising for us.

Ben Greenfield [00:01:48]: They do a lot of fulfillment and fulfillment logistics and fulfillment even for companies in the health industry. And Brian's also a fourth degree black belt in taekwondo. He's all over the globe fishing and going on crazy adventures. And I've seen him at a few of the health events that he and I are at. And he's also, over the past couple of years we've developed a friendship and it's one of those weird friendships because Brian is also a client of mine. I train him for, for health and he's a guy I coach and I don't, you know, it's possible and maybe I should have taken more of some kind of a nootropic this morning. I don't know if I've ever actually interviewed one of my clients on a podcast, so you might be the first, Brian.

Brian McMaster [00:02:37]: I like it. Pioneer. No, no worries, man. You know, if this would have been a, if this would have Been two years ago when we first started, I'd be really nervous. But now that I know you and who you are and how often we've spent time together, it makes it a little easier.

Ben Greenfield [00:02:53]: Yeah. And so you're an executive. You would definitely fit into the category, at least from my perspective. Don't let me put words in your mouth. The busy CEO executive who seeks kind of like the cutting edge of health through as many different tools and technologies as you have available. But you're still working a day to day job. You're not.

Brian McMaster [00:03:19]: I don't know.

Ben Greenfield [00:03:20]: Like I trained some actors for movie roles. There's one at my house right now and he wakes up in the morning and there's like a six hour block for him to do his training and recovery and self optimization. And that's a nice chunk of time that a lot of people don't have. And you kind of fit into the executive category.

Brian McMaster [00:03:36]: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And you know, it's. I know we're getting into the routine and you know, that kind of stuff, but you know, I've been listening to you for probably seven years, eight years. But I think you and I have been working together for two now. I just looked back on it this morning, it was 8:23 that we started. Yeah. It's really cool.

Ben Greenfield [00:03:58]: Yeah. So explain to people what it is that you actually do. Like, I don't even know, I guess fully what the logistics look like of M and M and how you describe to people your actual business.

Brian McMaster [00:04:14]: Well, it's kind of changing a little bit. We started out as, and I don't like to use the letters or the words 3PL because it's usually an ugly word in the industry. Everybody's had bad experiences and that kind of stuff.

Ben Greenfield [00:04:30]: What does the P and l mean in 3pl?

Brian McMaster [00:04:32]: It's third party logistics. So basically contracting someone to do your fulfillment for you. So we store the product for you and then whether you're ordering, selling on Amazon, selling on certain sites or whatever, then we fulfill the orders based on whatever, whatever the need is through the website or that kind of stuff. But M and M is so much more than that. And we're really trying to, really trying to develop a brand in the industry that's different because there's tons of people out there that can do what we do, which is pallet in, pallet out, pick, pack and ship. Kidding. You know, that type of stuff. But where the direction I'm really taking my company is more towards a health and well, we do other things, but more towards Health and wellness, fulfillment supplements, medical devices, you know, that type of stuff.

Ben Greenfield [00:05:21]: This might explain why I've seen you wandering the halls at some of the same health expos that I met.

Brian McMaster [00:05:27]: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Always looking for opportunities. But you know, as we'll talk about, it's something I'm passionate about and become more passionate about since you and I have been working together. But I've always been passionate about my health and it wasn't until my parents passed away within the last couple of years that I really picked a direction for my company. It's like, you know, who are we? Are we just like everybody else? You know, from a 3 PL standpoint or are we different? And I want it to make us different and you know, we won't. I don't think we'll ever be fully health and wellness because there's all kinds of other opportunities out there. But that's something I'm really passionate about getting into.

Ben Greenfield [00:06:06]: Yeah. So in your dream scenario, like let's say I decide I want to start, oh, I don't know, an energy bar company that has ketones in it.

Brian McMaster [00:06:20]: Oh yeah, I have one over here by my desk.

Ben Greenfield [00:06:22]: Theoretically, if that ever happened, I could go to you and be like, okay, so you know, we're manufacturing these bars, we need to somewhere to put them and someone to actually fulfill the orders. And we want somebody who specializes in and has an interest in doing deals with companies in the health sector or the healthy food and beverage sector. And that's kind of the role that you're trying to play now or Phil.

Brian McMaster [00:06:46]: Yep, absolutely. And more than that too. So not just to pick, pack and ship, we actually manufacture point of sale displays. And I'm in the process of working on manufacturing product itself. I don't think I'll ever make a bar, but you know, pouches and you know, filling supplement capsules and those kind of things. I'm really trying to do more service. So if you, you know, one of the things I found that going to these events, I'll go to a supplement, supplement company and I'll say, hey, I'm in warehousing and fulfillment. And they'll always say, well, our co packer does that for us and they don't do a very good job of it.

Ben Greenfield [00:07:27]: What's a co packer? For people who don't know the lingo in the industry.

Brian McMaster [00:07:30]: So co packer would be somebody you go, so you come out with a formulation and you say, okay, I'm going to sell this supplement and you need to find somebody to manufacture it for you. So what they'll do is they'll manufacture the product and pack it for you and then they'll also either do the distribution or they'll have somebody do the distribution. But if they do it out of their facility, it saves in cost, obviously. So I'm already in the fulfillment industry, so I'm like, well, what would it take for me to put a couple of machines in here and put a clean room in and kind of go from there? So that's kind of the way I'm right.

Ben Greenfield [00:08:02]: So you're almost like reverse engineering your way into co packing and fulfillment.

Brian McMaster [00:08:07]: Exactly, exactly, yeah.

Ben Greenfield [00:08:09]: Is that pretty feasible? Let's say you did want to. Instead of just receiving bottles of a supplement that someone has made, you want to start making it right there in your facility. I mean like I've toured some like certified good manufacturing practices, supplements facilities. And not to put you on the spot, but like there's a lot of hoops you have to jump through to fit CGMP status.

Brian McMaster [00:08:34]: Yeah, the first thing you gotta do is have somebody on your staff that knows what you're doing. And we've accomplished that piece of it that knows fda, usda, you know, all the certifications and that kind of stuff. And you know, really, you know, and I'm sure, sure, I'm sure people will have lots of opinions, but really it's not as hard as you would think. It's just following a process. It's just like anything else. You just gotta make sure you do what you say you're gonna do and you make sure you follow the rules, you get audited properly, you know, that type of stuff. So, and you know, you know me very well by now. I'm an entrepreneur, right? So I wanna pioneer, I wanna blaze a path through things.

Brian McMaster [00:09:15]: And it's like nothing's impossible. So we already have that. The kind of, the harder part of it because really the manufacturing process, once it's dialed in, it's, it is simple, it's expensive, you know, to, to have the certifications and make sure you're keeping up on things. But I just happen to have a friend here in Kansas City who manufactures the machines and who also has had two supplement companies that he's built and sold. So he's helping and assisting me in taking care of that. So, you know, it's, it's, it's finding somebody that knows the road ahead. No different than coaching or any of that kind of stuff. So.

Ben Greenfield [00:09:52]: And what about like technologies? I mean, when I say technologies, we could be talking about something as simple as the ability to make. I don't like blue light blocking glasses down to like red light beds. Like how, how deep are you wanting to go as far as what you can manufacture?

Brian McMaster [00:10:08]: Well, that's a, that's a, if you ask my team, the, you know, somebody comes to me and says, tomorrow, hey, I want you to build a space shuttle. I'd be like, yeah, let me try and figure it out. So how difficult is it? It depends, you know, from a, from a capsulation standpoint and making tablets and those kind of things. You know, the research I've done and the things I've been looking into, it's again, it's process and equipment. So, you know, it's pretty easy to fill a capsule and it's pretty easy to have the machinery put in place. It's not cheap, but once you have that stuff in place, then it's formulation, it's making sure you're cleaning properly and those types of things. So now if I was going to go down the road of saying, hey, I'm going to build a red light bed, obviously that'd be a little bit more of a challenge. But what I'm finding is, you know, looking, even filling energy drinks, you know, it's a process.

Brian McMaster [00:10:57]: It's just, I don't want to minimize it by any stretch of the imagination, but it's setting the things in place and making sure you do what you're supposed to do and what you say you're going to do.

Ben Greenfield [00:11:10]: So, yeah, so in the middle of building this fulfillment empire, it sounds like it was your parents health problems or passing that kind of shifted you towards looking at your own health.

Brian McMaster [00:11:22]: Yeah, well, I've always been. I started doing Tony Robbins when I was like 17. I've been to all of his events and, you know, all that kind of stuff. And I credit him with a lot of the direction in my life, you know, if you can accomplish anything and finding the right coaches and you know, those types of things. But my parents passing just really forced me to, you know, focus on a vision. I've, you know, I show the Rob Report and you know, always used to be about, I want to have money and yachts and, you know, all that kind of stuff. And it really changed through that period of my life when I was watching my parents kind of go downhill and deteriorate. I was like, man, I got to be, I got to be doing this for a reason here.

Brian McMaster [00:12:05]: And that's, that's kind of where I said, you know, this is what I'M passionate about. So I'm going to drive this direction. It's more fun for me. It means more to me, it means more to my team. And as opposed to, you know, most of the people out there, we stick stuff in a box, we ship it out, we label it, you know, we do that kind of stuff. It just really needed to mean something to me. And that's, that's when my parents passed. That's what really drove me that direction.

Brian McMaster [00:12:29]: I mean, I've been doing fulfillment for almost 23 years now. And, you know, we grew a business Greenfield from, no pun intended, Greenfield from, you know, nothing to, you know, millions and millions of dollars a year. And it's always just been about pick, pack and chip and, you know, quality control and that kind of stuff. But I really didn't come up with a vision until a couple of years ago when my parents passed. That that really drove me in that direction.

Ben Greenfield [00:12:58]: Yeah, when I'm using that terminology, by the way, I use Blue Ocean because if I say Greenfield, it just sounds too narcissistic.

Brian McMaster [00:13:04]: Yeah, well, I know you pretty well, so I know it's not.

Ben Greenfield [00:13:09]: I might know you better. I look at your stool and your blood and your urine and your saliva. And that is true.

Brian McMaster [00:13:15]: You do know me intimately, that's for sure.

Ben Greenfield [00:13:18]: My clients, I probably know them all as far as their biology, just about as well as or better than their partners.

Brian McMaster [00:13:26]: Plus, didn't I hear you tell me at one point that Jessa says when you're in the bathroom sometimes, are you on the phone with Brian?

Ben Greenfield [00:13:33]: Yeah, yeah, no, I'll be boxing clients from the bathroom. And yeah, I mean, I'm a hyper optimizer. For better or worse. I'm one of the guys who is a an early advocate of Tim Ferriss whole four hour workweek approach. But sometimes that means I'm still engaged in deep work, but often stacking some kind of biohack. Like one of my clients walked in on me this morning, standing there naked, writing emails sandwiched in between two red light panels, with my hair growth helmet on my head, standing on a grounding platform. Because I figure if I'm going to fire on the emails, why not? Sometime I'll have to buy some other things at the same time.

Brian McMaster [00:14:12]: Sometime I'll tell you the story about Amber. When she first came to my house when we were dating, that was telling. Now she tells it better than I do. But she stopped over the first time she stayed at my house and she woke up in the morning and I was out of bed. And she saw a red light under the door. So she's like, man, what's going on with this? She had no idea. She goes into the other room, she's got her little chihuahua with her, and she walks around the corner and she's like, he's standing there bare as the day he was born, with my iPad up on a thing, had goggles on, red light. I had a thing in my nose, you know, V light and stuff on my head.

Brian McMaster [00:14:56]: And she's like, my goodness, what did I get myself into? So she's adopted a lot of the principles now, but yeah, that was a pretty freaky time for.

Ben Greenfield [00:15:10]: Yeah, I think. And you probably run into this too, especially from the relationship standpoint. You can get to the point where over optimizing can get in the way of relationships like whatever, date night with the wife and hey, I gotta be in bed by 10pm so my whoop, sleep score or whatever doesn't suffer or foregoing a second glass of wine or something like that. When, you know, you just want to relax and have fun with your partner. There's certain times when I think it behooves one to take one for the team and consider the fact that there's the 117 year old, gin chugging, cigarette smoking, long lived Sardinian woman somewhere who's living a long and fruitful life because she's placed a priority on relationships. And that beats all the biohacks.

Brian McMaster [00:16:00]: Yeah, well, I'm fortunate. She's been a trooper and she's picking up some of this stuff, but I've walked her through my routine one morning, she's like, hey, why don't you just walk me through what you do? And I think we were prob. Probably a quarter of the way through it. And she's like, yeah, I'm not doing that. Yeah, that's, that's, that's, that's. But it's developed over time. You know, you and I have been working together for two, over two years now.

Ben Greenfield [00:16:20]: Yeah, I'm actually, I'm, I'm curious about that. What? It's not very often I get to interview one of my clients. So what made you want to like start working with me?

Brian McMaster [00:16:33]: Well, I was listening to your podcast for probably six, seven years and you know, as I hear things, you know, I'm starting to collect gadgets and you know, things that, that you do and you know, I noticed, you know, things, you know, changing and feeling better and you know, just, just really just overall health wise, I was feeling good, but I'm listening to you and I, and, and I can't remember what it was, but on one of your podcasts you had mentioned about coaching. So I reached out and I'm of. I've always been, I've always had mentors since I was very young. You know, I, as an entrepreneur, I really, you know, I know the import, having somebody to show you the road ahead and have that ability to be able to talk to that person and work through challenges and those kind of things. And when I found out that was available, I thought, I'm going to investigate this. And then you and I had the kind of the 10 minute, 15 minute discovery call. And I think, I don't know if you remember this, but I remember saying to you, man, I can't believe I'm talking to you. And you're like, well, I wish I could say the same thing.

Brian McMaster [00:17:45]: So, because we really didn't know each other at that point, which was really cool. But that was, you know, I just wanted to get better at what I was doing. And I knew health was absolutely. Because aside from our faith, you know, health is the number one thing we have. Right. So I just really wanted to get better at it. And I don't do anything half, you know, when I jump in, I jump in. So when we had that discovery call, I was like, wow.

Brian McMaster [00:18:11]: You know, and the other thing too is I don't like to, I don't like to do things halfway. So if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it. So VIP was like the way to go. And it's been phenomenal.

Ben Greenfield [00:18:22]: Yeah. And what I really appreciate about working with you and I do not, by the way, for those of you listening, this is not about to become one giant commercial for coaching. I want to delve into Brian's routines and biohacks and some of the biggest wins for him right now in the health department because he's pretty dialed on a lot of this stuff. But I think one of the things that I've really appreciated about working with you, Brian, is you use the Q and A component really well. I have some clients who I coach and I'll ride out their next two week block of training and all I get back from them is, yep, did it. I'm done waiting for the next couple blocks and thanks for your nutrition plan. I'm following it. And I might get a question like once a week, once every two weeks.

Ben Greenfield [00:19:10]: And then my clients who do the best job, I'll get a question sometimes on a daily basis, sometimes a few times. A day. And we use Voxer, which is a great app for anybody who doesn't use this. I don't know if you agree with me, Brian, but for just asynchronous communication, because I used to hop on phone calls with my clients a lot and it turned into like, can you do Thursday at 3:00pm? No. Friday at 9:00am? No. Okay, Friday, 9:30? Done. And with Voxer, it's literally like you have a walkie talkie back and forth to me whenever you need it throughout the day. And I use it with my employees too, and my team.

Ben Greenfield [00:19:45]: And it's awesome because for the most part you can replace phone calls, you can transcribe, you can save. But back to you, I think that's one of the things that you've done really well is just ask questions. And for example, what I tell my clients is, hey, listen to my podcast please. Because that's one of the best ways to keep up to date with all the newest things that I'm discovering. But then after you listen to the podcast, use your coaching services box for me and ask me, hey, is that new supplement that you talked about right for me or should I be purchasing that piece of fitness technology you talked about? Or is what I already have already good for? For the purposes that we're working towards? So I think the Q and A has been a really, really big part of the process.

Brian McMaster [00:20:35]: Yeah. And I use now Voxer for all of my team as well. And I didn't even know about it before I met you and it is so effective. But the fact that I have that access to you and granted, because I don't like details and that kind of stuff, I probably ask you the same question three times within a six month period and you let me know that too. You're man, I answered this three months ago.

Ben Greenfield [00:21:01]: I'm very good at that. I do the same thing with my wife. I'm like, and in my emails I have very few boundaries about being an asshole when it comes to say. So I'll say something like, yeah, like I told you three months ago. Yeah.

Brian McMaster [00:21:19]: And I like that and I need that. That's one of the reasons I'm a 4th degree black belt in taekwondo and I like discipline. And actually Amber, that's something that shocks her too is because as an entrepreneur I don't really like people telling me what to do. But when it comes to a coach, another funny story with you. And I remember standing at my ice plunge and I voxered you that morning and I'm like, man, sometimes I stand there and I just look at it and I'm like, oh. And it doesn't get any easier. But you're like, dude, it's not getting any warmer while you stand there and look at it. So you just gotta shut up the inner you know what and jump in.

Ben Greenfield [00:21:58]: You can say, shut up the inner bitch. Yeah, sometimes that's a phrase I'll use occasionally with clients. I had another guy who, he was just having an issue with sugar and sweets and candies, and I told him, look, dude, shut up the inner bitch. Go shove all that stuff in the trash can, get out of your house, don't buy it again, and then just move on. And sometimes people want the ten step protocol and the three supplements to take. So there's certain compounds. Like, I know you and I have talked about things before in the past, like Kratom, for example, where if you're using a lot of Kratom, sometimes you can't just shut up the inner bitch and move on. You got to use a few choice dopaminergic aids and things like that to wean yourself off.

Ben Greenfield [00:22:45]: But yeah, sometimes you do need a coach to just tell you, hey, just buck up and do it.

Brian McMaster [00:22:51]: Yeah. And I even, I mean, you as you know, I got in down that road with Kratom and you know, some of the drinks, and I was really struggling with it because I believe I do have an addictive personality. And, you know, that was another place that you were able to help me through. And you know, to me those things are just invaluable. Being able to communicate with you on a daily basis, sometimes hourly basis is. It's just invaluable to me because I get you had mentioned as being a busy executive. I got so many things on my mind. It's like I don't have time to think about laying out workouts and looking at my labs and doing all that kind of stuff.

Brian McMaster [00:23:29]: So it's just invaluable to me.

Ben Greenfield [00:23:31]: So besides standing naked in front of a chihuahua in the mornings, what's the morning routine look like for the current executive that is Brian McMaster?

Brian McMaster [00:23:43]: Well, so it's pretty elaborate. So I hop up in the morning, usually 4:30, quarter of five, something like that, because I like to get things out of the way in the morning early. It makes me feel better.

Ben Greenfield [00:23:53]: Yeah. And by the way, whenever people hear 4:30, the first thing that crosses their mind is, what time's bedtime?

Brian McMaster [00:24:00]: Nine. I'll be in bed by nine, sometimes 8:30, but I'm in bed by nine. And I think the important thing about that is you don't necessarily have to go to sleep at 9, just being in bed and turning off the screens and that type of stuff. And then when I get up, I'll take care of my morning constitutional and then I'll hop in the ice bath, and then I go right into my Zen den, which has my Pulse XL Pro. And I have a red light cocoon over top of that Pulse XL Pro.

Ben Greenfield [00:24:32]: By the way, for people who might not be familiar, that's the pemf.

Brian McMaster [00:24:35]: Yes. Yeah, pemf. So I try to stack when I can, but I'm doing that. I'm inhaling hydrogen gas, trying to stack as much as I can.

Ben Greenfield [00:24:45]: And by the way, and I'm famous for interrupting people as they go through their routine.

Brian McMaster [00:24:49]: Oh, no worries.

Ben Greenfield [00:24:50]: So. So while you're doing that, out of bed, using the restroom and then moving on to things like hydrogen inhalation, pemf, kind of like biohacking and jumpstarting the day in the Zen den, are you listening to anything or is it just in the silence?

Brian McMaster [00:25:06]: Yeah, so actually I'll either listen to a book of some sort. Like we're doing a Bible study right now on John Bevere's the Awe of God, so I'll listen to a chapter of that, or I'll listen to an audible Bible or something along those lines. But I try to feed my mind with something, or I'll listen to one of your podcasts, something like that. So, yeah, I'm definitely listening to something. I try to stack as much as I can.

Ben Greenfield [00:25:34]: Yeah, I'm the same way. I do daily audio Bible. Basically, that's like, it's about 30 to 40 minutes. So it's Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, and then kind of like a little message at the end. And that typically gets me from out of bed through the bathroom, oral care, facial care stuff, through the stretching routine. And so by the time I've finished my morning stretching routine, and similar to you in the Zen den, mixing that up with some PEMF and stuff, I've gotten the morning spiritual food in.

Brian McMaster [00:26:07]: Yeah, and I'm doing those things as well. I do the facial care, I do the tongue scraping, oil pulling, you know, I have the fino toothbrush, you know, so I'm brushing while I'm putting stuff in my hair. You know, it's anytime I can save a couple of minutes, that's the, you know, that's the ticket.

Ben Greenfield [00:26:25]: Yep. Okay, so you finish all the stretching and everything, and then what comes next?

Brian McMaster [00:26:32]: I'll hop in the sauna. I usually try and get my workout in in the afternoon, so I'm really doing my recovery in the morning and kind of prepping for my day. But sometimes I'll skip the cold because I know that, you know, and I've kind of been working back and forth you. And I've been talking about that because, you know, you don't want to go into the cold and after you're working out or before you're working out or whatever. And so sometimes I'll. I'll work out in the morning, which, you know, you've got my workouts dialed in for me, but usually I'll hit the sauna. I hit the sauna for 30 minutes, and I have my sauna hacked with four red lights in from sauna space, and it pops it up to 170 degrees.

Ben Greenfield [00:27:14]: You've got a dry sauna outfitted with red light?

Brian McMaster [00:27:18]: No, I actually have a. I have a clear light. Infrared.

Ben Greenfield [00:27:21]: Okay, infrared Sauna outfitted with sauna space, red lights. So you're getting both infrared and red light?

Brian McMaster [00:27:26]: Yep. Yeah, absolutely. So I sit in there for 20 to 30 minutes and sweat, and then I'll hop out, take a cold shower or dip in the plunge again. And then I'm pretty much ready to get to the bar downstairs and take my vitamins and supplements and that type of stuff. Stuff. I'll do hydrogen water at that point. So it's a. It's a pretty.

Brian McMaster [00:27:48]: And it took, you know, it took took a good two, three years to get to get to that point. And the other thing, too, that I think is important to say is, you know, it's a lot of stuff. It can be overwhelming. But, you know, one of the things I learned from you, too, is if you're just doing something, you know, just. Just get up and do something. It doesn't have to be an elaborate routine. That's what I tell a lot of the executives that I have meetings with and have groups with. You know, it's like, don't get overwhelmed.

Brian McMaster [00:28:13]: Just do something. You know, get up and move in the morning.

Ben Greenfield [00:28:16]: Yeah. And then particularly, I find when you. When I'm traveling, I have much more time restrictions than at home. But still, when I travel, it's get up, put on the Bible, do the oral and facial care stuff. And then typically, I'll try and squeeze in 10 to 15 minutes of stretching, kind of bouncing up and down, moving around on the hotel room floor, drop to my knees beside the bed, get, you know, even if it's just three to five minutes of praying in and then I literally will stand up, go downstairs, grab black coffee from the lobby, head out in the sunshine, usually in my bare feet, and just start jamming through emails. Whereas when I'm at home, it's like sometimes 90 minutes after I get up before I'm in the email inbox already.

Brian McMaster [00:29:00]: Yeah, and that's a funny one too. When we first started out early, I was like, yeah, I'm traveling. I didn't get my workout in. And you're like, dude, traveling is not a reason not to work out. So, yeah, I do that as well. You know, usually the hotel gyms, they're pretty equipped and pretty stacked if you do your research before you go into town.

Ben Greenfield [00:29:19]: Yeah, yeah, you can. But I mean, like, I know you do some semblance of this as well. Two pound travel kit is blood flow restriction bands, door frame, suspension strap and elastic band. And like sometimes. And you probably running this too, Brian. Like, it's literally like 25, 30 minutes that you have to work out. And if you're taking five minutes to get to the gym and back, that turns into a 15 minute workout. So putting on the BFR bands in the hotel room and just jamming through push ups, squash lunges, suspension strap, pull ups, and elastic band overhead presses, you can get a solid workout in a half hour.

Brian McMaster [00:29:55]: Yeah, absolutely. And an interesting point about that is just recently, you know, I was going through some sea level changes and, you know, I had to really get back into the weeds in my business. And I just boxered you and said, hey, man, I don't have an hour to work out in the morning. And you designed my routine to do that. Just do 15 minutes. And that just works out awesome for me so I don't have to think about it. And I know I'm getting something done that's good. And like you said, it's five to ten pounds worth of stuff in your bag.

Brian McMaster [00:30:26]: And it's nothing crazy that TSA is gonna stop before or take anything out.

Ben Greenfield [00:30:31]: Yeah. And to clarify for people, for Brian, when he says sea level changes, he's not talking about altitude. He's talking about corporate executive shifting and change in his role. And how about your diet? How has that kind of changed in terms of insights or new things that you've adopted?

Brian McMaster [00:30:51]: Well, you know, and I think you may have had a similar experience that we talked about, but all through my childhood, I had cramps in my stomach that would double me over and just, I'd go get, get to Go to the doctor. And they'd tell my parents I had ibs and, you know, there's nothing they could do about it. You know, that kind of stuff. And then, you know, shortly after you and I did blood work and testing and all that kind of stuff, you're like, man, you gotta get out. You gotta get dairy out of your diet, you gotta get wheat out of your diet, you know, and, and here's all the things you need to avoid. And, and as soon as that happened, well. And I remember one of the first boxers, this was like, ben, I can't eat anything, man. What am I gonna eat? And you're like, dude, dude, there's plenty to eat.

Brian McMaster [00:31:32]: You just have to kind of stay on this. And that's one of the great things about working with you. Again, it's just because you lay all that stuff out for me. And then I know what I don't put in my diet and what I do put in my diet. So it hasn't changed in a crazy fashion. It's just a couple of things that I needed to eliminate. And all of a sudden I don't have these bowel issues or these issues with my biome. So just having that information, I mean, it's like if you don't have it, you don't know what's wrong.

Brian McMaster [00:32:00]: So finding that out was, I mean, I'd been going through that for years and didn't know it was wrong. And then all of a sudden, now I don't have that discomfort. But I'll tell you what, if I enter that, if that stuff gets back in my system, I can tell right away.

Ben Greenfield [00:32:13]: Yeah, exactly. And for me, from a nutrition standpoint, there were a couple years where as a nutritionist, this was like early on in my personal training days, I thought that the best thing I could do for people was literally write out breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack every day. Do exactly this Monday through Sunday. And people would especially people have an all or nothing approach. They get super frustrated because they'd be like, well, I had a lunch meeting, I couldn't eat this, and then date dinner with the wife, and I had to skip this meal. I just can't do this. So now I generate kind of a sample week of eating the big things to avoid, the big things to include. And then I find that once people understand what a sample day of eating looks like and have this selection of breakfast, lunches, dinners and snacks, and then the ability to ask me clarifying questions as they go, you don't need a rigid meal plan as much as you need to know.

Ben Greenfield [00:33:10]: Okay. About how many calories am I supposed to eat? What's my carb fat protein ratio? What are some sample meals? How many meals a day should I have? Should I do intermittent fasting? And are there any foods that are big, no nos or red flags for me? And once you combine that with just the ability to be able to ask me questions, I think it feels like you're a little bit less inside some prison cell when it comes to meal selection.

Brian McMaster [00:33:35]: Yeah. Because it can be overwhelming. I mean, there's so much information out there, there's so many people to listen to, there's so many podcasts. And that was one of the things that was good for me too, is obviously I'm biased towards you, but it all of a sudden I'm just listening to your podcast and you're interviewing other people and all that kind of stuff. But it's like at some point you got to pick a direction and say, hey, I'm going to stick with this consistently so that I'm getting consistent results. And it's not as difficult to do. And to your point, being able to voxer you and say, hey, Ben, I'm thinking about eating this, or I had this the other day or whatever. And it's like, check your chart, you know, it's probably not a good thing, or you shouldn't have this, or whatever.

Brian McMaster [00:34:17]: So again, it's easy and it's invaluable. It takes the thought process out of my head.

Ben Greenfield [00:34:23]: Yeah. And sometimes still the unexpected pops up. I don't know if you. We didn't really talk about this beforehand, but do you have any problem with sharing what happened recently with your living environment?

Brian McMaster [00:34:35]: Well, I mean, the way we found this was you and I were doing testing and I came back and I had high levels of mold in my blood.

Ben Greenfield [00:34:42]: You had, I think if I recall properly, it was more than six different species in very high amounts on your last mold. Mycotoxin analysis.

Brian McMaster [00:34:51]: Yeah. And the first thing I'm thinking is, man, we're clean people. It's like, what's going on here? It's not like we have a wrecked up house or anything. We have a really nice house. And I think the first path we went down was it might be your office environment or it could be your other home in Indiana or whatever. And also my wife now, as you know, Amber, she struggles with some health issues as well. So it's like, man, what's going on? And I had Ryan come in and he finds it in my gym and what was happening was the walls, meaning mold.

Ben Greenfield [00:35:25]: He found mold in my gym.

Brian McMaster [00:35:25]: Mold? Yeah, he finds mold in my gym on the back of the drywall. And what was happening was it was cold on the other side of the wall and I had my sauna in there. So it was creating the moisture and then the drywall was the food. And I just thought it looked like dust, you know. And he shines a light on it and it's like this little city of stuff. Stuff.

Ben Greenfield [00:35:46]: Yeah.

Brian McMaster [00:35:46]: And you know, I remember you sent me the photo.

Ben Greenfield [00:35:49]: It's gross. Yeah.

Brian McMaster [00:35:51]: So. So then it's like, oh, you gotta, you gotta remediate this mold. And they'll probably have to pull the walls out downstairs. So I'm going through all that stuff. And as you said, when, when you've oxford me back, it's really stressful to go through that. And we're gonna get it taken care of, but we're gonna have to spend some money to pull some walls out and you know, that kind of stuff. And I'm gonna have to make sure that I don't make it happen again. But there again then I'm gonna like boxer and you.

Brian McMaster [00:36:15]: Right, Ben, I can't go in my gym and work out. You know, I got to get that stuff out of there. And you know, just. It was, it was a. It still is a challenge because it's not taken care of yet. But I've been able to pull the rowing machine and the sauna and the, you know, stuff out and get it cleaned up so I can still use it. But it's just, it's. It's a challenge.

Ben Greenfield [00:36:33]: It's almost easier to wrap for because. Because you're not the first person this has happened with. I find that for me to walk somebody through a glutathione charcoal binding detox and removal process, or sometimes even something more advanced, depending on what you need like a series of chelation IVs or even the blood filtration therapy down in Mexico or something like that. Most people are pretty willing to pop the pills and do the IVs. A lot of people are highly resistant to the idea of, wait, somebody has to come into my home. And I can't go in this specific room for X number of days. And I got to remodel this and, and move my gym equipment into this room. But the problem is you can do a pristine job getting rid of everything in the body.

Ben Greenfield [00:37:17]: And if you don't remove the environmental exposure, you're just going to be dealing with it your entire life.

Brian McMaster [00:37:23]: Yeah. Absolutely. You'll be on that protocol your entire life.

Ben Greenfield [00:37:26]: Yeah, exactly.

Brian McMaster [00:37:27]: It doesn't matter. Yeah.

Ben Greenfield [00:37:30]: Obviously you and I both kind of alluded to this fact already. Spiritual health is a big component of overall vitality. And my take on this side of things as a Christian is we don't do things like worship God or live an upright life for the sole purpose of living to 150 years old. We do it to give glory back to our Creator and honor the entity that made us. But at the same time, there are also proven health benefits of spiritual practice and prayer and worship. And all these things that I think go hand in hand with and as you said earlier, are even more important than the biohacking and the supplements, et cetera. So what do you do as far as the spiritual piece and as things change for you over the years?

Brian McMaster [00:38:29]: Yeah, and, you know, my wife Amber, she's always been in the church and always, you know, and as we got together, we've been together eight years now. You know, she really brought me more to faith. I've always been a believer, but I really. She calls me a baby Christian. I'm probably not so much that now because I've been getting more and more into it, but. But I make prayer a daily habit. And I just feel like when you pray, things happen and things happen that just are not coincidence. And now we pray together in the mornings.

Brian McMaster [00:39:07]: And obviously I picked a lot of that up from you. I don't know if you remember this or not, but I still have the voxer that you sent to me. I reached out to you and I'm like, man, you're successful. I have a successful business. You're successful. Do you ever just feel like not getting out of bed in the morning? You ever have those days? And I remember exactly what you said to me. You're like, man, I'm going to kind of go all Jesus freak on you here, but you need to read my book, Fit Soul. And I read that book in four days, and it changed my life because it was a lot of scripture and it was a lot about the things that I needed at that point.

Brian McMaster [00:39:42]: And between Amber and you and some of the other people that are faith based in my life, it just really changed my outlook on things. And I try to do everything. We're even praying over the business every Monday morning now. It's huge. And obviously health is important. God gave us this meat suit to get us through this life on earth, and we should honor it and take care of it as a temple, and that's One of the reasons why I'm so into the health and wellness that I am. But prayer and my faith are top of the list for me. Obviously, I've been to your house and we've spent some time together, and I know that it's that way for you as well.

Brian McMaster [00:40:25]: Well, so you've been an instrumental part in helping me with that piece, as well as my wife.

Ben Greenfield [00:40:32]: Yeah. And if you had asked me that question 10 years ago, I would have said, yeah. There are many mornings that I wake up not really wanting to go do what I do, and many evenings I go to bed feeling an unfulfilled gnawing in my soul. And even though I've been a Christian, I grew up in a Christian household. It wasn't until about 10 years ago when I started to learn and explore a lot of the concepts I teach in Fit Soul. And the sequel to that endure that I found I filled the infinite hole in my soul. That longing for something eternal, the connection to God each day, the listening to the audio Bibles, the prayers, the bringing the family together for a spiritual meeting each morning. Once you fill that infinite hole with something infinite, all the finite things suddenly do become more meaningful.

Ben Greenfield [00:41:22]: You wake up in the morning and you do feel like you have a purpose and drive in life. Even the way that you've kind of restructured your business to fit more into what you are passionate about, health. I mean, if you're making cool health products and shipping those all over the world and helping grow other health companies, not to put words in your mouth, but you probably will leap out of bed a lot more readily in the morning because you've tied a deeper purpose and fulfillment to what you do each day and paired that with a connection to your creator.

Brian McMaster [00:41:54]: Absolutely. And for me, for the longest time, I used to say this all the time. I'm an entrepreneur, and it's lonely being an entrepreneur, and it's lonely at the top and all that kind of stuff. And my faith has really changed that to the fact that I'm not lonely. I have my creator. I have prayer. I have the Bible. And whenever I'm feeling down or whatever, you know, I turn to that, and it just changes things for me.

Brian McMaster [00:42:22]: And I really believe God put people in my life to help me, you know, spread the word. And I believe that he put you in my life for that reason and Amber in my life for that reason. And, you know, when you start to go down that path, I mean, things just really change for you. I mean, as you know, we just got married Yesterday.

Ben Greenfield [00:42:41]: Yeah, I know.

Brian McMaster [00:42:43]: And it's been such a different feeling. Feeling. It's just. It's just absolutely amazing how. How all of a sudden I look at her the same way I did when I first met her, and, you know, it's. It just. It just makes all the difference in the world. And.

Brian McMaster [00:42:58]: And when that piece of your life is in line. I've learned this, you know, really recently. It. Everything else just falls into place. It's like I. I've. I say this many, many times. You know, in the end, we win.

Brian McMaster [00:43:11]: And when you know that. That nothing should really strike you down, you have bad days, but you're not promised that it's going to be easy, but in the end, we win.

Ben Greenfield [00:43:22]: And you know what? We can edit this part out if you want to. You just tell me. But I remember a couple years ago, maybe like a year and a half ago, when you and I were actually talking about Amber, and I said, look, dude, if you just want to make her feel as secure and loved as possible, and. And to know that just like her future with you goes on no matter what, you gotta make it official. I know it feels official, but you gotta, like, make it official. Tie the knot. Do the wedding, do the marriage. So I was, like, on cloud nine when you told me last week that you guys were officially making it happen.

Brian McMaster [00:43:58]: Yeah, no need to edit it out, man. She knows. I told her that when we came back from that event and you and I were talking. It's one of the things about her. We've been very honest with each other, and we talk to each other more so now, like I said, it's. It's really changed some things. But, yeah, she. She knows.

Brian McMaster [00:44:17]: And she knows that you said that, because she'll remind me of that. You know, Ben told you so, or I. I get the. I get the quintessential. What does Ben think? What does Ben think about that? You know, so. So you've been.

Ben Greenfield [00:44:30]: My apologies to the spouses of anyone I coach.

Brian McMaster [00:44:33]: Well. Well, without probably knowing it, you've become a big part of both of our lives. And we. We love Jessa. You know, she was. She was fortunate enough to spend some time with Jessa. She loves Jessa. We love.

Brian McMaster [00:44:46]: I mean, it's all around. It's been a godsend, man.

Ben Greenfield [00:44:50]: Yeah. And you said it's lonely at the top, and obviously part of that is solved by a connection to God. But you and I are in one mastermind group, Jason Gaynor's mastermind group. Together, you are in the happy hustle mastermind group, which I'm not in, but they have an annual event, like a biohacking event at my house, talk to people who. Who might really want to build better relationships, especially entrepreneurs. And not to get sexist, but one of the things that even research has shown about males is that going out and doing group activities together is one of the ways that males particular bond. And there's a lot of cool male entrepreneurial mastermind groups out there. And of course, there's groups for females and mastermind talks that we're in.

Ben Greenfield [00:45:38]: That's for both sexes.

Brian McMaster [00:45:39]: But.

Ben Greenfield [00:45:42]: What value have you found or what advice would you give to people when it comes to building relationships through groups like that?

Brian McMaster [00:45:49]: Well, first of all, get one. That's the number one thing I think it's invaluable to have a group of men, women, if you're in a women's group that can really be vulnerable, see eye to eye with you, have the same challenges. And that's one of the things I like about both MMT and the Happy Hustle Group. Group. And. And I'll say Happy Hustle especially because I've developed some relationships with those guys. And when we go to these camping expeditions where there's no technology and, you know, all that kind of stuff, and they're really. You're around the campfire, you're learning nature things, how to build shelters and catch animals, you know, and all that kind of stuff.

Brian McMaster [00:46:30]: And if you. If you'd have told my dad, you know, three years ago when he was alive, that I built a squirrel trap on a log, he would have been like, that's not my son, you know, And I'm. I'm learning these things. But I think the important thing is, number one, get in a group like that. But the other thing is make sure it's curated because there's tons of these groups out there that, you know, these guys show up on Learjets and they drive in and Lamborghini.

Ben Greenfield [00:46:54]: Anybody can get in if they write a big enough check.

Brian McMaster [00:46:56]: Exactly. Yeah. And Carrie, Jack, he does a fantastic job with Happy Hustle. I mean, those guys are just absolutely phenomenal. And mmt the same thing. I've only been to one meeting, and I'm, again, I'm thankful to God that you. You help me get into that group. And, you know, it's just the quality of people.

Brian McMaster [00:47:15]: And the other thing I would say, too, is the vulnerability. I mean, these guys will sit at a table and cry about situations. I mean, these are entrepreneurs that are, you know, seven figure Eight figure, nine figure companies. And they have the same challenges that everyone else does. But to be able to sit in a group like that, throw the cell phones away and say, you know what, we're going to sit here and talk about this and have those guys be vulnerable and open up like that, there's nothing that compares to that. And it just helps so much to know that other people and I can pick up the phone and call those guys and say, I got a challenge and they'd be there. I mean, it's invaluable. But there's tons of these groups out there.

Brian McMaster [00:47:58]: But it's really, really important to get into one that's very well curated.

Ben Greenfield [00:48:01]: I agree, I agree. And the way I see it is this your church, the neighborhood potluck, maybe parents of kids who go to the same school as your kids or your homeschooling group or whatever, you can find people there. But for me, the way I see Mastermind groups, and I'm in three Mastermind talks and the Frontier Club and one other, the way I see these groups is that you are able to connect to people who kind of get, especially in entrepreneurial groups, the struggles that you go through as an entrepreneur who get the weird way you're wired up. Because most of us have ADD or OCD or some kind of issue that just makes us weird and unable to sit there and not fidget and want to go do something when everybody else is just watching the tube at the super bowl party or whatever. And it's kind of almost, there's the bonding and there's the connection. There's almost like the affirmation that, oh, hey, there's a bunch of people who are wired up just like me, who I can get along with and share my hopes and fears and struggles with, and we can all build each other up and have a really damn good time going on parties and adventures while we do it.

Brian McMaster [00:49:22]: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. There's just nothing like it. And just another funny story. When we went on the epic Mastermind camping trip in Montana, we hiked six and a half miles, miles up the mountain. And it was up the mountain. You know, I thought I prepared by wearing a 30 pound vest and walking on the treadmill was not prepared. But, you know, getting up there and then spending that time for five days and then coming down the mountain and we go into Bozeman, Montana and, you know, we're kind of having a celebratory drink and, you know, one of the questions was, you know, what are your, what's your first thought when you come down the mountain. And mine was, it's really loud down here.

Brian McMaster [00:50:03]: It's loud as commotion, people beeping at people, people looking at you strange. It's like, I want to go back up the mountain. And we need to get closer to being real and closer to things that are more God made and less man made.

Ben Greenfield [00:50:16]: Yeah. Analog Insider tip for people subscribe to Ryan Levesque's Digital Contrarian. You remember him, Brian. He actually spoke at our last Mastermind Talks event. I'd never heard of him and I'm a weekly devotee of his newsletter and now. And a big thrust of what he writes about is even in an era of AI, we need to focus upon Return to Analog, he got to the point where he literally moved and started a farm. But carving something like that into your day to day existence, just quiet time in nature and stepping away from the phone and the technology, it's critical. My sons have been in a wilderness survival camp school since they were six.

Ben Greenfield [00:50:55]: And a big part of it is based off of, of kind of the Native American lineage and training. And so as a part of that, they have sit spots almost every morning since they were 6, for 20 minutes they're outside just sitting and staring off into nature. And I think more people, even if it's just in your own backyard, could benefit from a practice like that.

Brian McMaster [00:51:14]: Absolutely.

Ben Greenfield [00:51:15]: I guess the last thing I wanted to ask you, Brian, was, and maybe this is coming full circle to try not to sound like a commercial for my coaching, but I'm gonna ask you a coaching related question anyway. Anyways, was there anything that kind of like, surprised you or that was unexpected when you decided to work with me?

Brian McMaster [00:51:34]: Well, there are a lot of things, but when I went to your house for the first time for the Happy Hustle Mastermind, I had this vision. Listening to you and seeing your podcast and all that kind of stuff. I had this vision of what Ben's equipment and his house are going to look like. I envisioned this pristine workout area and everything, matches and all that of stuff. Yeah, maybe, maybe even Ben Greenfield. Kettlebells and, you know, all that kind of stuff. And I remember I was fortunate enough to stay in your guest house because I was a client of yours and everybody else was in campers and tents and whatever. So that was really cool too, by the way, but the gym was right underneath.

Brian McMaster [00:52:17]: And I remember when you took us on a tour, the first thing I noticed was all the sweat stains around your, your, your vibe plate. And like nothing in your gym really matched, but it Was all kind of. You confused. It was like. And the first thought that went through my mind is, man, this guy walks the walk. He, he's not, he's not out there trying to impress anybody. He does what? And then, and then of course, to cap that all off, we had what, four days worth of working out with you. And I was doing the workouts you were putting together for me.

Brian McMaster [00:52:49]: But man, you kicked our butts.

Ben Greenfield [00:52:50]: Yeah. Any of my clients who get a chance to actually train with me leave realizing that they need to turn it up notch?

Brian McMaster [00:52:56]: Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely. And come and come back because I, I kind of, you know, the curve kind of dropped for me a little bit too. It's like, man, I, I don't, I don't have Ben pushing me, so. Yeah, I know.

Ben Greenfield [00:53:09]: I, One of my clients was, he's at my house right now and he was, he was throwing up in the backyard yesterday. It's like, welcome back to reality.

Brian McMaster [00:53:16]: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. But that's, that sets the bar. And then, and then the only other thing is just the, the. And I know, I know that you have different levels of coaching, but you know, for me being a, and just having that access to you from, from a lot of different fronts, you're just, you're just a down to earth person that I can talk to and, and you know, I know you're always going to give it to me straight and, and you know, when we first started working together, I didn't really know what to expect. So you're the, you're the real deal, man. That's what I tell, that's what I tell everybody.

Ben Greenfield [00:53:50]: Oh, thanks man. And I'm very picky about who I work with and who I coach. I, I was at 10 people a month. Now I'm down to 8 people a month that I'll actually work with one on one. I still do a good 10 to 12 hours per week of just a la carte phone calls with people who aren't month to month clients but who I'm just going over lab work or answering questions for. But for the small group of people who I still work with, one on one, people even ask me, why do you still do that? Why don't you just do all group coaching and a monthly call with a whole bunch of people and I really like. It's almost like it keeps me growing to figure out problems like whatever someone gets mold in their home, oh, how do I help this person out and I got to do research or somebody comes down with some strange, whatever growth on their right forearm or even a relationship issue. And it helps me grow and kind of gives me that one on one touch point that I think it keeps me realizing or it gives me a realization of what people are struggling with on a day to day basis and what I need to learn as a lifelong learner to help them.

Ben Greenfield [00:55:06]: So yeah, it's obviously, and this is another question I get from people. Well, you're just trading time for hours when you're coaching people, looking over wearable data on the weekends and writing in workouts on training peaks and answering questions on boxes. And I like that part of my job. I do a very limited amount of it. But being able to work with a guy like you, Brian, has just been absolutely fantastic. And it goes both ways. It grows me when I work with high level people like you.

Brian McMaster [00:55:39]: Yeah, and I appreciate that and the kind words too. But it's like I said before and the other thing too is we've become friends. And you know, there's just. It's like I have a trust there. I know that what you're telling me is the real deal again. And you know, I never want to lose that either. And I think about it and I've voxeled you about this before, you know, about how much I appreciate what you do. And yes, to me it's not an expense to me, it's an investment in my health.

Brian McMaster [00:56:13]: But it's, it's so much more than that. Like you said, it's not just health, it's relationships. It's a relationship with God. I mean, I could call you with a business question even though you're not my business coach. It's just having that access to you, it's just invaluable and it's changed my life in a lot of ways.

Ben Greenfield [00:56:33]: Just don't ask me any crypto questions.

Brian McMaster [00:56:35]: Yeah, I won't do that. And it's a privilege for me too. I mean, it's not something I take lightly. I really do appreciate everything you do.

Ben Greenfield [00:56:46]: Cool, man. Well, first of all, a few reminders for people. Honestly, if you have a health product that you want to fulfill or a product you don't fulfill and have shipped in General. [email protected] McMaster this is not a paid advertisement. I don't get kickback from Brian or anything, but he obviously does a good job and I actually am serious. I'm launching a ketone bar and he's fulfilling those for me. So M and M solutions. I'll have a link to [email protected] McMaster Even though my plate is full, if you want to get on a wait list for coaching or work with one of my coaches, I'll put a link to that.

Ben Greenfield [00:57:26]: [email protected] McMaster and any other links or things we talk about that I'm able to link out to, including information about mastermind groups and things like that, I'll put in there.

Brian McMaster [00:57:38]: There.

Ben Greenfield [00:57:39]: So BenGreenfieldLife.com McMaster is where all the juicy shownotes reside. Brian, you just got married. She should probably go, you know, do whatever married men do.

Brian McMaster [00:57:49]: Yeah, I, I, everyone asked about the what are you doing for your honeymoon? I'm like, I'm going back to work the next day. But we're, we're gonna do something, invite some people, party next year. We're, we're both busy. But yeah, she, I definitely married out of my league there. But she's a great gal and I love her to death. And as you know, because you've met her, she's fantastic. But I'm excited. I'm excited about the next chapter of our life.

Ben Greenfield [00:58:17]: Awesome. Well, God bless you, man. And everybody listening in. That's Brian McMaster. Show [email protected] McMaster Brian, until at least the next few hours when I get a boxer or we talk again.

Brian McMaster [00:58:32]: Absolutely.

Ben Greenfield [00:58:32]: I'll see you on the flip side.

Brian McMaster [00:58:34]: All right. Sounds good, brother. Thanks. All right, take care.

Ben Greenfield [00:58:37]: To discover even more tips, tricks, hacks, and content to become the most complete, boundless version of you, visit BenGreenfieldLife.com.

Ben Greenfield [00:58:53]: In.

Ben Greenfield [00:58:54]: Compliance with the FTC guidelines, please assume the following about links and posts on this site. Most of the links going to products are often affiliate links, of which I receive a small commission commission from sales of certain items. But the price is the same for you, and sometimes I even get to share a unique and somewhat significant discount with you. In some cases, I might also be an investor in a company I mentioned. I'm the founder, for example, of Kion llc, the makers of Kion branded supplements and products, which I talk about quite a bit. Regardless of the relationship, if I post or talk about an affiliate link to a product, it is indeed something I personally use, support, and with full authenticity and transparency recommend. In good conscience, I personally vet each and every product that I talk about. My first priority is providing valuable information and resources to you that help you positively optimize your mind, body and spirit.

Ben Greenfield [00:59:46]: And I'll only ever link to products or resources, affiliate or otherwise, that fit within this purpose. So there's your fancy legal disclaimer.

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One thought on “An Insider Glimpse Into The Morning Routines, Biohacking Stacks & Relationship-Building Tactics Of A Successful Executive (& What It’s Like To Be Coached By Ben!), With Brian McMaster

  1. Lori says:

    Have you interviewed sports scientist Darren Burgess? I would love to hear you compare notes on tips and techniques when training elite athletes and what it takes to be the best in the business. Thanks 😊

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