Fueling Open #1: Pushing Past Self-Doubt
Updates on new packaging, supporting athletes, and sobriety through injury
Last weekend, Open Fuel served as the primary nutrition sponsor for Ultra Trail Drakensberg (UTD). A massive opportunity for our little brand and a testament to the community-first work that Andrew, my business-partner and the creator of Open Fuel, has done in Cape Town.
It was our first proper event sponsorship and provided certain logistical challenges via a quick turnaround and remote location in the central mountains of South Africa and Lesotho. We hustled to get signage designed and ordered, Andrew threaded the needle on rushing an order of fuel from our suppliers, and by the grace of the postal gods, the branded Ciele hats I made arrived in time.
As I observed the weekend from across the Pacific, I felt excited and proud along with an unexpected sense of loneliness and uncertainty. Could I pull off such a feat? Am I the right person to both manage the operations of a nutrition startup while also showing up in the community in an authentic way to drive organic growth?
Similar to those thoughts that creep up midway through an ultra, the self-doubt was enveloping me. Also like in an ultra, I learned the best response to those feelings is to acknowledge them, sit with them, trust yourself, and forge on.
So that’s what we’re gonna do…
Packaging
I am still planning an in-depth post and video on this, but finding packaging that supports the integrity of our product (i.e. blocks moisture and is food-safe) and reflects our value of putting planet over profit, is challenging.
Despite the decades long marketing propaganda campaign to convince us otherwise, 90% of plastic that is technically recyclable, is not recycled. That makes virgin plastic a non-starter for us. It’s a massive bummer to see the majority of brands small and large continue to subscribe to the status quo of plastic-everything, but there are a few brands leading the way that have given me both hope and a roadmap (Hu Chocolates, Phun Bars, and Skratch are a few examples).
Compostable options initially seemed like the best route, but I learned via a webinar with the CEO of EcoEnclosed, that even major cities do not have the infrastructure or receive enough organic food waste to appropriately compost packaging. It also appears that with current technology, most “compostable” packaging still breaks down into micro-plastics.
We have decided to go with Post-Consumer Recycled packaging for our sachets and bulk-powder bags, and kraft cardboard for our flavor-party sachet boxes. At this stage, the best thing we can do is reuse existing plastic, keep it out of landfills a little longer, and drive demand for these materials over virgin plastic.
I’m still at a loss on scoops, so we will not include them in US bags by default while giving the option for consumers to add a compostable scoop with their order. If anyone who works with a brand that uses plastic scoops reads this and is open to discussing partnering on a molded-fiber scoop alternative, my DMs are open.
In short, the deck is stacked against brands wanting to drive sustainable change, especially if you aren’t a behemoth.
Athlete Signings
This is the fun part. We have officially defined Team Open Fuel and spun up an athlete page to feature our amazing runners.
In the States, I am indexing towards signing local athletes first, and while I’m still looking to bring on two more female runners, I am very excited with who we have onboard so far.
The newest addition to our roster of trail and ultra athletes is Joey Berriatua. Joey is an elite steeplechaser and road-runner who was a staple figure of the Tinman Elite heyday. He is going to be helping me with some sports marketing initiatives while training to make the Worlds team in the steeple. I also have a feeling we’ll see him in a trail race by year end. In the meantime, make sure to subscribe to his substack.
Lastly, I want to shoutout Courtney Coppinger for her top ten finishes at both of the first two Golden Trail World Series races of 2025 and Dan Curts for winning the Canyons 25k last week. Great humans, fast runners, powered by Open Fuel, of course.
Staying Sober Through Setbacks
On a personal note, in January I made the decision for my 2025 to be alcohol-free. Through March, I stuck to this with surprising ease. Over the past 4-5 years I completed intentional work and therapy to shift my relationship to alcohol. Along with this, I give myself the grace to have a couple sips of beer or my partner’s fancy cocktail here and there, but that’s not been much of a temptation.
I’d be lying if I said that trail training wasn’t a major aid in making this shift. When you’re excited to wake up and run on a Saturday morning, late nights and flowing beverages become far less appealing.
At the start of April, my body took training temporarily off the table. I managed the pain from my abdominal and adductor tendinopathy for 6 months, before beginning to feel debilitating hip and hamstring fatigue/pain following Chuckanut (which ironically was a very solid race for me).
Between the injury, self-doubt, and a packed social calendar, it wouldn’t have been crazy to let a few nights rip during April as I was rehabbing and otherwise resting. For the first time in my life, instead of taking the nihilistic approach, I stayed the course. Frankly, I’m still a bit surprised with myself. Maybe I just like sleep that much, maybe my relationship with alcohol has permanently changed, maybe it’s age, or maybe it’s a combination of everything.
Whatever it is, it’s cool to recognize. I have no judgement for those who choose to lean into the social and party scene through injury, nor am I claiming to be a pillar of righteousness here. Giving yourself grace is paramount over most everything else. I’m simply sharing in case anyone might be experiencing a bumpy time that shakes certain habits or commitments they’ve formed. You won’t be disappointed when you come out the other side having done the hard work of sticking with those commitments.
That’s all folks. Thanks for reading, let me know if you have any thoughts or advice, and if you haven’t already, give Open Fuel a follow and send me a DM if you’d like to try some.