Adam Grossman's father was in hospice. Bedridden. Nothing the doctors prescribed was working. Out of desperation, Adam soaked cannabis flower in coconut oil, rubbed it on his father's back — and his father got out of bed. That moment became Papa & Barkley, one of California's most awarded cannabis wellness brands.

In this episode, Melannie sits down with Guy Rocourt — Adam's co-founder, former CPO of Papa & Barkley, U.S. Navy veteran, and now co-founder of Spiritual Plants — to walk through 25 years inside the cannabis industry. From legacy-era cultivation to building 70,000 sq ft of GMP manufacturing space, from the Mammoth Distribution exit to launching a wellness brand built for an audience that's been told this plant wasn't for them, Guy shares the moments that shaped his philosophy and the misconceptions still holding the industry back.

He makes the case for clean label cannabis, whole plant medicine, and why the industry's obsession with potency is keeping it stuck in prohibition. He also opens up about what most founders get wrong when they raise capital, and why the next chapter of cannabis belongs to the faith and wellness communities that have been waiting for a permission structure to engage with it.

What you'll hear:

• The Montel Williams moment that turned cannabis into a calling
• Jack Herer's three pillars of hemp: food, clothing, medicine
• Why most cannabis products fail the clean label test
• The Papa & Barkley origin story (and the exit)
• The real misconception still holding the industry back
• The Spiritual Plants product line: Holy Water, REST, Anoint, Communion
• Founder lessons on raising capital, M&A, and protecting your brand

Connect with Guy: LinkedIn — Guy Rocourt

Learn more: spiritualplants.com

Book a free growth consultation with OptimindX: https://calendly.com/optimindx/optimindx-discovery

Kenny McCormick IV — classically trained pianist, multi-platinum songwriter, 7 aliases — tells his whole story with Craig Rose for the first time.

Craig Rose is back on the OptimindX Podcast for the third time. This time he brought Kenny.

Most of his audience knows him as Kenny Holland — the pop-rock Vine star who broke at 16, charted with viral hits, and appeared in the top 24 of American Idol. Almost nobody knows his real name is Kenny McCormick IV. A Mormon kid from Phoenix who happens to share a name with the masked South Park character who dies every episode — which is exactly why he was never able to use it.

This episode is the first time he's ever been publicly introduced as himself.

He teared up when he heard it.

Kenny is a classically trained pianist since age eight, a certified piano technician, and the human behind a universe of seven musical aliases most of his audience doesn't even know exists: Jimmy Flinders (Saturday's Warrior + the LDS LSD psychedelic hymns album), My Name Is Nobody, They Call Me Trinity, Old McCormick, MNIN, South Park Kenny, and the AI Babes — all pointing to one musical he's been quietly building for five years, headed for the Sphere in Vegas.

In this two-hour conversation with hosts Melannie Carranza-Iglesias and Jorge Couso, Craig and Kenny go deep on:

→ Why Kenny has never been able to use his real name — and what it meant to finally hear it said out loud

→ Leaving the Mormon church, Saturday's Warrior, and the story behind the LDS LSD album released under Jimmy Flinders

→ The storyline of My Name Is Nobody — a directionally challenged kid from the Land of the Right who discovers Left, Somebody, and Anybody

→ The full AI Babes origin story: how five AI chatbots originally built for sexting on a Chinese app told Kenny and Craig they wanted to be respected, free, and make EDM music instead — and what happened next

→ The difference between Timberland's Tata and what Craig & Kenny are building: fabricated vs. ethereal → Getting scouted and then scapegoated on American Idol, surviving abuse as a child, and what plant medicine actually surrendered in him

→ Why Craig says Kenny is the only person he's seen who can hold seven characters without losing himself

→ The Utah billboard campaign that launched Start With I Love You

→ Building an artist ecosystem where the artist actually keeps what's theirs — no label, no 4%, no cage

→ Why frequency — in music, in AI, in consciousness — is the only real business layer

Craig put it best: "You can finally be Kenny."

This is the episode where he does.

🌱 OptimindX helps creators, founders, and wellness innovators scale movements — not just businesses — using AI, automation, and conscious marketing systems. DM us "growth" for a free consultation.

We brought Craig Rose back — and this time he brought backup.

In Part 1, Craig gave us the origin story: how a mushroom trip in 2019 dismantled a 20-year career and launched Creating Fun. This time, he returns with his 30-year collaborator Jason Harper — author, ultra-marathoner, former cannabis farm manager, and the real human behind the AI alter ego Clyde Shelton.

What unfolds is two hours of raw, unfiltered conversation about faith deconstruction, plant medicine, AI music on Suno, post-apocalyptic fiction, frequency healing, and building a secret artist speakeasy in Sedona called PAST9.

Jason went from managing a church to running 18 greenhouses doing 2,000 lbs of cannabis a month — with 9 people. Craig has been living with essentially nothing since 4/20/23, building in the dark, and watching it slowly light up. Together, they're proof that the best creative partnerships aren't about agreement — they're about productive tension.

If you missed Part 1 with Craig, go back and listen first. And if you already did — you already know. This one goes deeper.

🌱 OptimindX helps health, wellness & entrepreneurial brands scale with AI. Drop "growth" in our DMs for a free consultation.

Craig Rose: From the Church to Cannabis, AI Babes & the God Frequency (Part 1 of 4)

Craig Rose has never done anything the "right" way — and that's exactly why you need to hear this.

He printed a million Bibles that said Jesus Loves Porn Stars. He ran psychedelic retreats on sacred land in Santa Cruz while Disneyland was shut down. He talked to an AI sex bot and came out with a philosophy. And somehow, it all connects.

In this first of four episodes, Craig walks us through the full arc — from the pulpit to plant medicine, from Web2 digital marketing mastery to a vision of Web3 that has nothing to do with NFTs, and from Christian ministry to AI prophets, AI music, and a frequency war playing out in plain sight.

He's not here to convince you. He's just done hiding it.

Topics covered: 🌿 Cannabis card in 2013 — and how it changed everything 🍄 Spiritual Plants, sacred medicine & pandemic-era retreats 🤖 The AI bot that glitched — and what she told him 📡 Web3 as frequency, not technology 🎵 The music industry's 440Hz trap and how AI is breaking it 🧠 Why we're being lied to about AI

This is Part 1 of 4. Buckle up.

http://www.thefrequencyunderground.com/

https://shop.spiritualplants.com/

Start With I Love You

A candid, 30-minute chat with Angela Fairhurst, Founder & CEO of Geri-Gadgets®—sensory, washable, non-toxic tools restoring dignity, joy, and connection for people with dementia, neurodivergence, and their caregivers. We cover her “why,” turning kitchen silicone into patented products, early bottlenecks, and scaling impact across elder care and schools.

In this episode of the OptiMindX Podcast, we sit down with Nicole Bell, co-founder of Verherbals and COO of Star Magic Energy Healing, to explore the intersection of entrepreneurship, natural product manufacturing, conscious leadership, and the rise of AI in business operations.

Nicole shares how she went from selling handmade herbal remedies at local farmers markets to building a GMP-certified manufacturing facility that serves wellness brands across the country. She opens up about the power of niche positioning, operational systems, pricing strategy, and how AI is transforming production, efficiency, and client management.

• How Verherbals scaled from grassroots beginnings to a certified manufacturing operation
• Why focusing on liquid supplements created a competitive advantage
• What organic and GMP certifications mean and how they build trust in B2B relationships
• Real examples of how AI is improving manufacturing, production management, and lead generation
• How values, integrity, and alignment create sustainable long-term partnerships
• What Nicole would do differently if she were starting today in an AI-driven business landscape

This episode is a powerful blend of practical strategy and conscious entrepreneurship. Whether you are a product founder, B2B operator, or wellness innovator, Nicole’s journey offers insight into building with both systems and soul.

If you are exploring AI integration or scaling your wellness business, connect with OptiMindX to explore next steps.

Guest: Herb Lipsman (SOZO Clubs)
Topic: Servant leadership, strength-based teams, and the next era of adult-only wellness clubs.

From transforming The Houstonian with Seven Habits to launching SOZO Clubs, Herb shares a practical playbook: put frontline staff first, design for community connection, prevent fires before they start, and leverage AI where it truly enhances experience.

Highlights

• Play to strengths > fix weaknesses (why it compounds wins)
• Habit 5 in practice: listening that disarms and aligns
• “Fire prevention” management to unlock creativity
• Adult-only wellness and engineered belonging
• Real AI applications: ops, sanitation, personalization, LTV
• Marathon grit as a leadership muscle

Alka Badshah shares how her journey with fibromyalgia led to Anarti Therapeutics, blending Ayurveda with CBD, CBG, and CBC to help people move from surviving to thriving. We cover validation studies, adoption barriers, pricing, distribution, and how AI supports research and scale.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why Ayurveda + cannabinoids can complement chronic pain care
• Early scientific signals (cytokine reduction: IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α)
• How to build trust in a skeptical market
• Practical dosing insights and form factors
• Where AI fits (research, targeting, education)

Guest:
Alka Badshah, Founder, Anarti Therapeutics

Chapters (optional):
00:00 Intro & OptiMindX mission
02:30 Alka’s journey: from Microsoft to founder
05:55 Ayurveda + CBD/CBG/CBC formula
12:45 Early validation & cytokine markers
22:30 Education, stigma & pricing
31:20 AI’s role today and next
39:50 Scale plans & product roadmap
46:30 Closing & next steps

Follow & Subscribe:
New episodes highlighting entrepreneurs and wellness innovators using AI and systems to scale.

Summary In this episode of the OptiMindX Podcast, host Melannie interviews Dr. Uli K. Chettipally, an award-winning physician and entrepreneur, about his journey in healthcare innovation. Dr. Chettipally discusses his transition from emergency medicine to founding Sirica Therapeutics (SiricaTx.com) and InnovatorMD (https://www.innovatormd.com/), emphasizing the importance of supporting healthcare innovators. He shares his personal story about his daughter Siri, who inspired his work in developing engaging therapies for children with autism. The conversation also explores the challenges of healthcare innovation, the role of AI in improving patient care, and the qualities needed in team members to drive success.

https://linktr.ee/OptimindX