Whole Foods founder John Mackey joins Pickleballers hosts Jared Paul and Roscoe Bellamy to talk about building a billion-dollar brand, pioneering conscious capitalism, redefining love and life in his next chapter—and why he’s all-in on pickleball.

(00:00) - Intro
(01:11) - John's entry into natural and organic foods
(02:29) - Opening his first natural food store, Safer Way
(03:32) - Relocating to a bigger location and rebranding to Whole Foods Market
(04:43) - Understanding the importance of meeting the market
(05:56) - Whole Foods initial goals
(07:05) - Why Whole Foods was successful so quickly
(08:32) - Catching the wave and riding the trend
(09:24) - Venture capitalists turning down Whole Foods
(10:24) - John's advice to young people...follow your passion and heart
(10:45) - Reign Storm clean energy
(11:04) - What did Whole Foods teach John about legacy and impact
(11:50) - The importance of a great team
(12:31) - Love and purpose being important business factors
(13:02) - When John realized that Whole Foods would be a national company
(13:36) - Expanding to the Bay Area
(16:00) - Going public in (1992)
(16:31) - Whole Foods' biggest competitor and capitalism
(18:08) - How to keep purpose and love at the forefront while scaling the company
(19:49) - What John did after Whole Foods
(21:07) - John's next chapter, Love.Life
(23:06) - Psychedelic and MDMA therapy
(24:10) - How to live with less regrets
(25:06) - The profound impact of psychedelics on business, ego, and lives
(26:42) - Fish Fischer's introduction and his life of service
(28:05) - Fish's introduction to golf and eventually caddying for Bubba Watson
(30:00) - The community of pickleball and its ability to change lives
(32:02) - Pickleball's influence on Love.Life
(32:47) - How John got into pickleball
(34:03) - The beauty and magic of pickleball
(35:23) - Is pickleball becoming the new golf?
(36:30) - Learning about people as you play pickleball with them
(37:37) - What pickleball teaches people about business strategy and psychology
(38:43) - Moving fast and iterating in business...and pickleball
(39:59) - What John has learned about Fish from playing pickleball with him
(42:09) - What John would change about pickleball
(44:49) - John's favorite pro and learning from watching other players
(47:13) - What John thinks people should eat before and after they play
(49:49) - One message the pickleball world needs to hear from John
(51:51) - Learning more about Love.Life and final thoughts