How Barbara Sturm Built a Billion Dollar Beauty Brand with Zero Training

27:57Did you ever feel any pressure that once you'd taken that money, did you start to feel the pressure of everybody else thinking about what this brand should be, what it should become? Was there any of that? No, I just had so much fun creating and doing more things that are cool for the brand and, you know, running with my instincts and doing things differently than the industry and kind of shaping a little bit what was out there. I mean, I brought the science to skincare and went away from all this marketing, empty marketing promises. And there was so much noise in skincare, but nobody really looked into efficacy.

28:37Do the products really work? Like what are the ingredients? What do the ingredients do? It's a lot of marketing in that space. A lot of marketing. I want to talk to you about that because I think that your ethos is what makes you so much of an outlier and so successful. But I wonder, I want to understand a bit about what really changed in the company. Do you feel like, did you have to professionalize? Did you have to, did anything shift? Because I do feel like there is this idea that you can sort of take money off the table and go about business as usual. And my experience has always been that even with the best and the nicest and the kindest of investors, something does change in the company once you take money from somewhere else.

29:15It's not the same thing and there is an expectation and there are board meetings and things get more formal. Did that happen to you? They were quite cool about it. They really trusted me. Goodness. But they brought a great CMO and they brought then a CFO and they brought like a couple of people I never knew there was a CMO. You were like, okay, we're doing this. But it's great if someone else can do it. Someone who's actually done it before. That's going to be amazing. So hiring people was part of what they were doing. And yeah, they were overlooking. But they were mostly also helping. And it was great to have some great partners.

29:53And have they still been great partners for you? Next question. I love that you say that. We'll have a big conversation there. Well, it's true though, isn't it? My advice really is, you know, do your business yourself as long as you can without investors. Because as you say, as soon as you have investors in, there are some good things, there are some bad things there. Also, it's always a lot of greed behind, you know. Yes. They're called investors for a reason, right? But I think that is really sound, really great advice. And I feel like there's such a, you know, there's so much amazing stuff happening, especially in this country around founders and starting businesses.

30:32is. And there becomes all of these myths that you should go out and immediately raise money. And I love the advice that you give to keep it your own for as long as you can. But what I think about that, I want to say, if you have a belief that something works, why? I always tell everybody, do it yourself, get money from the bank. And if you don't 100 % believe, then you don't do it because you don't really believe in it. You just want to be a CEO and you just want to have like, you know, a business and be a business owner, entrepreneur, know, whatever everybody calls themselves. But I think it's very important that you believe and that you have the guts to really go into the minus to build.

31:13Yeah. And have you been in the minus? Oh, yeah. Yeah. With my 350, I was right in the minus. How hard is it? Like when you, because I feel like looking at you, looking at your life, looking at your beautiful family and looking at you at the helm of this incredible empire that you've built. It all seemingly looks so easy, but I've never had that experience myself. What have been like your hard or your hardest moments that you've had in the brand? I mean, even before the brand, you know, I was working with just men and, you know, get bullied out. Unbelievable things happen, but it never really took me down.

31:53I always was like moving forward. And, you know, when you have children and especially when you're a single a mother you just like you don't have a choice and you need to stay positive and optimistic and there are so many challenges there's so much jealousy around in germany it was unbearable people like you she's not a dermatologist she's not that and she's like i am the big dermatologist i mean and then they copy everything you do you're like but i did it yeah i'm the one with the cream oh it's crazy they they they even went to the authority and and and and complained to authority about me. I mean, like, I don't know what, what I had to face.

32:31And then, yeah, later on, you know, from dealing with investors, dealing with your people who are working for you, you know, it's, it's like, it's hard to overlook everything. Yes. It's really hard. It's, it's one thing if you juggle with a few million, it's a different thing if you juggle with more millions, you know, your head is on the line. Yeah. You know, it's my name. The stakes become really high and it is your name. It's your name and you have everything to lose essentially. How much of your, I mean, like you, you kind of strike me as such a disciplined person. And I wonder how much of that comes from your German heritage.

33:06Oh yeah. I have a big self-discipline. I, I am, I'm, I'm a workaholic too. I love working. I'm, I'm obsessed with creating and I have discipline. If I need to do something, I do it. How much do you work, Barbara? Be honest. I every day every night I think about things every day Monday to Friday every day seven days a week no seven days a week no no no there is no weekend but you know I take time off for skiing I take time off but even while I'm skiing I'm thinking and you know I'm creating new things right now I'm so I so love it and I I love the challenges I love to do new things and 10 things at a time And yeah, you have to be on everything.

33:48You have to be on everything. I mean, I just feel like wherever I go in the world, whatever, you know, if it's an incredible hotel or it's an incredible store, like your brand is there sitting with the best of the best brands. But you've kind of done that and created something that's so true to yourself. And you've kind of weaved it in with your family because your daughter works for you. I love the idea that like some of these first people that are in the business still work with you. How does that work? It's like, it's a big family and that's the core team. and we're, it's really like we talk night and day and there's no, there's no boundaries.

34:23We are all like in this together and so dedicated. And yeah, I'm also very competitive in a way. I want to be in the best hotels. I want to be on the front. I want to be the inventor of everything. And I am, you know, I bring things to the skincare industry. Like five years ago, I brought the exosomes out. Now it's like the thing on the market. Yeah. But it comes from the orthopedics, you know, now, like, again, dermatology or the orthopedics, the exosomes. 15 years ago, I treated rheumatoid arthritis with exosomes and it was amazing the results and I wanted to bring it into the skincare world, you know.

35:01Do you think that your daughter will take over the business one day? Whatever they want to do, whatever makes them happy, you know, we only want these kids to be happy. That's true. and being also confident. I was just, we were just doing like a big press trip and Charlie was doing the speech. I mean, the way she speaks, she expresses herself. And this is not like, like, oh, you know. No, I mean, she is like your greatest brand ambassador, isn't she? After you, she's your greatest brand ambassador. But also she is friends with everybody, with next generation. Yeah. You know, how many hotels she sources, how many opportunity, business opportunity she brings.

35:41it's unbelievable. I feel like so many people like warn about the dangers of mixing business and family. But I mean, I've seen it work. I work with my husband. My sister worked with us for a really long time. And I feel like, I just wonder how you've managed to avoid some of the pitfalls of that. I trust Charlie to everything. I trust her opinion, her taste, your style, everything. And whatever she decides, And Charlie is your oldest daughter. Yeah. Your eldest daughter. She's 29 now. And if she makes a decision, I trust and we go with it. It's like, for me, no question. And she also started bringing in new products.

36:15I wouldn't have brought in eye patches. And they're amazing. I'm obsessed. No, we're all obsessed. I mean, I would say I start three days a week with your eye patches. I'm obsessed with them. Put them on the flight yesterday. And we put them in the fridge and it's like the best. I went on a day flight, 12 hours. I purchased eye patches. I changed them two, three times. And you would never have done that. That was Charlie's idea. Yeah. I listen to her. Yeah, you have to listen to her. Because like you said, she's a different generation, the different needs. And, you know, they just, I mean, who knew that we would buy so many eye patches?

36:47I certainly didn't. I never had eye patches until like three years ago. Now I can't live without them. Those really work. I'm obsessed with them. No, they do. They really, really work. What are you teaching? So Charlie's 29, Peppa's 10 years old, your second daughter. What are you teaching them about leadership and about business more generally? I think I bring down to them the values I learned from my mom, from my parents, keeping both feet on the ground, being kind and respectful to everybody, you know, only spend what you got in like those values and being kind and respectful to me is super important.

37:20So for me, everybody around us, if I would see my kids being not kind, that would really hurt me. So that to me is super important. And yeah, they should fulfill their dreams and I will support them with whatever they want to do. Peppa wants to be a ski racer. Okay, we go for it. It's like whatever it is. Knowing that kid since she was about three, that just doesn't surprise me whatsoever. She's a ski racer and an actor. She was always like an absolute spitfire, that little girl, just like running through walls. She's unbelievable. She will do whatever she wants to do. No question. Do you, I mean, I know that your mother was a biochemist lab doctor and I wonder what she taught you about leadership and forging a path because she had three children, right?

38:10And I just wonder, what did you learn from her? I mean, she was such a manager. She had three children, no nanny. She was starting to work in the lab like 6.30. She had to bring us to the kindergarten before, like it was even for smaller children. It was unbelievable how she ran this whole thing. My dad was a fully working architect, being away, teaching on universities as well. So she was running everything and still also fed us and amazing. Just amazing. Lead by example, no? We have to become our own managers because sometimes people say, how do you do this and how can you get everything done?

38:51You just do it. Just do one, the next, the next, the next, and you just get it done. Did anyone ever deter you? Did anyone ever say, you're a doctor. Why would you try to do this brand? No. Amazing. Lucky you. Yeah, I don't, I mean, people tell you you can't do things, but that doesn't mean you were listening. But no, because I was always a doctor anyways. Yes. And I stayed at the service to the patients, even in the brand. So we do a lot of education. And for example, when COVID hit, I started really talking to everybody out there, giving advice, listening, learning, and doing all these like masterclasses and, you know, online classes.

39:34And it was great because it brought me back to being a doctor. Yeah, no, I really feel that. And it's an interesting segue because I feel like the beauty landscape has been completely transformed by TikTok. And now we see like kids younger and younger. I mean, my kids who's eight years old loves nothing more than an hour in Sephora. Like that is her favorite thing to do. And I'm like, but where do you even get that? You know, she sees it on YouTube. She sees it on TikTok. So what do you think about the ever-growing complexity around people's beauty routines? And not just women, but also like so many men, you know, they're sleeping with mouth tape and they're talking about longevity.

40:13And then they have these like 17-step routines. And I feel like that's really like the opposite of what you're all about. But what do you think about it? Because I guess there must have been parts of that that have been really additive to your business. So first of all, I think it's great that people get the mindset of staying healthy, doing prevention. And looking after themselves. Looking after themselves. I think that's a good trend. The trend which is worrisome is that these kids, you know, have access to so many information that not necessarily keeps them safe. Well, Barbara, tell us. What is the information that we're getting?

40:49This is like a big topic for me because Pepper's 10. Her and her friends, yeah, I'm going to Sephora. And, you know, she's collecting these creams she's not allowed to use. And I'm like... So you tell her that you're like, you can't use that. Oh, yeah, of course. Of course. and I tell her ingredients, that's what it does. This is what happens to your skin. And so she uses Sturm on her skin. Sometimes she's allowed to put a cream on her leg and then she likes fragrances. Really? Are you that strict? You're like, no, you can't just put any random thing on your face. Yes. No, it's so dangerous. They have access to everything.

41:22And not every mother knows about ingredients and sees the danger because so many ingredients disturb your microbiome, your skin barrier function. They get so many issues. Eczema. I have phone calls every day from mothers. Oh, my kid used XYZ. What can I do? And yeah, obviously they cannot run to Sephora and buy all storms. It's, you know. It's expensive. It's expensive. It's expensive as fuck. I mean, I love it, but it's not for everybody. And they want like 10-step routines and Peppers doing the roller and like the ice thingies. And like she puts her headband on and then she does like the face mist and the calming serum, the better be.

42:00And like, it's like a whole thing. But I feel like we're all like that. And you're quite contrarian because you're saying, okay, ladies, that you shouldn't be using all these harsh ingredients. You shouldn't be using retinol. I mean, I read somewhere you don't even like sunscreen. Oh, no, no. It's not that I don't like sunscreen. Okay, tell me. What is the truth? That is a total miss, you know. But you have been quite vocal about... Yeah, but I want to say we need the sun. We need the sun. Okay. The sun is our source for vitamin D production. It's important for our immune system, for our mental health, for our respiratory tract, for our perfusion of our arteries and our veins.

42:30There's so much coming from the sun. It's important for our bones. So you don't want me in sunscreen every day? No, no, no, no, no. I'm not saying that. I mean, I use sun drops, by the way. I use the stem. You see, I have a sunscreen. If I was against sunscreen, I wouldn't be doing sunscreen. But what I want to say is that we also need the sun. And that rather than putting on sunscreen 24-7, which you have to do if you use ingredients that damage your skin barrier, like retinal, glycolic, laser treatments, acid, P.S. So you don't advocate for those things? Even fragrances in skincare, you know, destroys your microbiome and makes your skin barrier dysfunctional.

43:07And, you know, there's another trend, barrier cream, barrier support, strengthen barrier. But then, you know, it's like nobody brings it together because if you want to save your skin barrier and your microbiome, you don't use harsh ingredients. You don't do that because you scrub off your skin. You get red, you get inflamed, inflammation. You cause a lot of inflammation. You're bringing down your skin barrier, destroyed healthy skin cells. So give it to me. What should I be avoiding at all costs? What are the things that like we just should not? You know, in Europe, they're taking retinol down off the market.

43:41No. Yes. But I just started with the retinol. I thought I'm 42. Am I not supposed to be using that three days a week? I would never use it. You see, there are two ways of looking at anti-aging. And I'm an anti-inflammatory doctor, so I wouldn't cause inflammation on my skin. So I would not do retinol or glucolic or acid peels or resurfacing products because it causes inflammation, destroys your microbiome, your skin barrier. Look, would you put an acid peel or retinol on your heart or your liver? No, because I feel like it would be gross. We need to respect the organ skin the same like we respect the heart or the liver because the skin is one of our most important...

44:23What are we doing for anti-aging, Barbara? Hydration, anti-inflammation, exosomes, telomerase activating, nutrition, all heal and repair. You take what you got and make it the best possible instead of destroying what you got and bringing the future closer to you. I mean, well, it sounds like it makes sense. Oh, it absolutely makes sense. It absolutely makes sense. And there are so many people who also have sensitive skin if they use retinol, they get redness right away. And by the way, if you destroy your skin barrier function with melanin-rich skin, you get hyperpigmentation so easily. So people who use lasers as a peels all the time, they get this body skin.

45:00And then you need to use hardcore sunscreen. And now sunscreen is also seen as cancer-causing. You know, it's not the best ingredients. And we all know that. Well, also, I think that sunscreen is very different in Europe than it is here in America. I always buy everything because, you know, I'm English. But it's like there are so many things that are banned in Europe that we use so readily in America that I'm like, forget about it. The laws for sunscreen filter haven't changed since over 20 years in America. But it's so crazy. But even in Europe, I mean, like chemical filter. And I use the sun drops.

45:33And obviously when you go out and play tennis and TLA it's also a whole different story than maybe in Europe, but also in the mountains, you need sunscreen. But I don't think you should use sunscreen 24-7. And you don't think you should use sunscreen every day? You have to. Yeah, if you're sitting here in the office, no. If you have strong barrier function. If you use retinol, yes, 24-7. But you also should have a pollution filter. Because pollution and HEV light coming from the computer sitting in front of screens 24-7. You need like a HEV filter too. So everyone that sits in front of a screen 24-7 should actually be using a filter.

46:13Anti-pollution drops. I mean, I love those anti-pollution drops. They're amazing. And you need to reapply. That was one of the reasons that I gravitated towards your brand. And I always wanted to ask you why you did this. I can't believe we haven't spoken about it before, but the darker skin products. I mean, you were one of the first. And I just wonder like, why did you do that? That's actually Angela Bassett who said, you know, there is like nothing. Was she your client? Yeah, nothing for us. She said, there's nothing for us. You need to do something. And I was looking into the science and I found that melanin-rich skin actually is prone to way more inflammation.

46:46And not just, you know, inflammation goes all the way, all around. If you have like a breakout and you squeeze it, inflammation is not just there. It's going all the way. And then it becomes hyperpigmentation. Exactly. Because you break through the skin barrier, sun, pollution, HEV light. Well, I feel all of us know that, but we don't know the science behind it and then what we should do to prevent it. And all I know is when, I mean I've never wanted to use exfoliators on my skin because I always thought they were too harsh and when I started to use your enzyme cleanser but specifically the one for darker skin I mean I use it three days a week that is my facial exfoliator.

47:23Look this is your exfoliant you shouldn't be using retinol on top because so there are three forms of exfoliation one is facial scrub mechanical exfoliation the second one is enzyme cleanser enzymatic but very very gentle, only takes off dead skin cells. And the third form is like a acid, pulo, retinol, like a resurfacing, already tells it resurfacing, not only takes off dead skin cells, but also healthy skin cells, meaning destroying your skin barrier.

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48:56So if there's three things that you think pretty much everyone, doesn't matter if you're 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, like what are the three things that we should all be doing? And then I'm going to ask you what I should avoid. Okay. Make it easy for me because I'm a simpleton and I don't have time for like a 20 step routine. Yeah, but that, you know, I'm traveling with my hyaluronic serum, my face cream and maybe like two more serums. But I'm also very like, because we need to be fast, you know? We have shit to do. We have shit to do. We don't have time for 20 steps. So yeah, Clint, you... We'd all love to be like that man with the, you know, like we opened the blue bottle of water and had like two hours in the morning but it's like, are you kidding me?

49:33Can you imagine I'd have a line of kids like there going like, what are you doing, mom? Exactly. So, yeah. So we don't do that. The three things that we have to do. Non-negotiables. Cleanser. Our foam cleanser, non-negotiable, is amazing. You use that after your day, whatever. Then you use a hyaluronic serum and a face cream. If you do these three steps and maybe add the enzyme cleanser for twice a week, you're so good. You will have a strong glow. Okay, so I'm doing a cleanser. Yeah. Hyaluronic serum. a simple moisturizer, and then maybe using the enzyme cleanser a couple of days a week for exfoliation.

50:07I promise you, healthy, dewy, glowy skin. You get hydration, you get the balance, you have the purslane for the telomerase activation. Most proven anti-aging theory ever, Harvard studies. Really? Telomerase activation, yeah. Telomeres you know. Telomeres I know, absolutely. The caps of the chromosomes, each cell division gets shorter, shorter, shorter. That's why we're all with the peptides over here, yes. Exactly, until the cell mutates or dies. And the telomerase keeps those telomeres from shortening because we're very dependent on our 40 to 60 cell divisions, which gives us our age. But turtles, for example, have 110 cell divisions.

50:43They get to live over 200 years. So you see how important it is to keep our cells dividing healthy and throughout their 40 to 60 cell divisions. And you know what is one more of the killer of this cell division? Dehydration or dryness. So staying hydrated is that important? The key, the key. You have to compare grapes with raisins. The grapes are the hydrated skin cells, the raisins, the dehydrated ones. And the grapes have these osmosis channels to bring on active ingredients and obviously look better on the skin. So you want the grapes. That's why you need hydrates. And that's why you need the hyaluronic serum or the super anti-aging serum to bring really deep, deep hydration, but also superficial instant hydration.

51:24Okay, so I'm staying away from retinol. Because retinol breaks your skin barrier, your microbiome. What's happening now is transepidermal water loss. Water leaves the skin. Bacterias come in the skin. So all of that hydration that I'm putting in is just leaving. Gosh, it's so complicated, isn't it? I know, it's complicated. But I know that your whole thesis is about so much more than just skincare, right? Because you are a lifestyle person. I feel like you are the walking, talking embodiment of what it is that you talk about in this lifestyle. because you speak to me so much about sleep and exercise and nutrition.

51:59Like, do I really need to be doing all of those things? Because I feel like we've been told that some of that stuff can go by the wayside if you've got the right products and you have the right skincare machine. I 100 % believe in a 360 approach and also makes sense. You know, what we eat translates into our system, what we put on our skin translates into... So you need anti-inflammatory foods as well as... But also endocrine disruptors. whatever you put on your skin with endocrine disruptors or, you know, getting something in a supermarket wrapped in plastic, endocrine disruptors, has an impact on our entire hormone situation.

52:37So you have to think about how do you stay healthy, how you prevent from getting diseases. When I was 16, way before I did anything, I became a total healthy eater. I love healthy food. And the more you're used to healthy food, you're obsessed with healthy food and you don't like anything. I, you know, never want to eat fries or burgers. You don't never eat a fry, Barbara. No, I don't like it. What? I really do not like it. What about wine? Yeah. Okay, fine. Not that much, but yes. Thanks. But not very much. No, I, you know what? But I also don't tolerate, I don't tolerate it anymore, you know?

53:17No, but I understand. I mean, honestly, I tried this with Gwyneth Paltrow. Yeah. And I was like, just give me the secret. and she's like, it's the diet and the exercise and nutrition. There are no shortcuts. And there it comes back to self-discipline. Yes. You have to have the discipline. And look, I moved into the mountains when I was 50 and it was because of mental health. But I wanted... You left LA, right? Yes. And I wanted to have a lifestyle where I don't just sit in the office 24-7 because we love working. We love working. But you can be on the phone on a hike. You can do different things.

53:52or I'm calling my team from the red light bed or I call my team with the oxygen mask on. What do you think the importance of walking and talking the lifestyle of your brand are? Like how important is that to your brand and doing as well as you've done? Whatever I do, I need to be, I'm so convinced about what my life is, how I create the products, how I believe in my brand. And this all needs to be together. If you don't believe in what you're doing, how do you talk to your patients, to your clients? How do you sell your genes if you're not, if you don't think they're the coolest genes on that planet?

54:30No, you have to. You have to live what you, I'm not preaching, but what you bring into the world. You have to live that. Otherwise, nobody believes you. And I like to be authentic. I don't want to be anybody I'm not. I'm a scientist. You really are. You're a scientist. I'm a doctor scientist. And I've always been and I always loved it. And I always, I love to do something that works and not, I don't want to throw a marketing slogan at you. No, it's not me. Although we have a really good marketing slogan now. The doctor that slows skin aging. Yes, let's go. And it's working. Yeah, but it's proven.

55:05It's proven. It's proven. We've got, you know, I sold part of the business to Pooch and they're doing all these like. Good for you, Barbara. All these like, you know, testing. Testing and testing. and now we can claim this thing what I knew before that this slows down aging but obviously I couldn't say it now we can say it's kind of cool now you can actually say it try and test it Barbara how was it working with your husband all of those years? you know it's like in every marriage you help each other you support each other and you're building life together you know so it's nice to have someone who supports you and believes in you and helps you with everything you know it is it's just a total a total game changer.

55:45Didn't work out that well for us. Well, sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. It can for a minute and then not at another time. I mean, not everything is great for, you know, forever. For a certain time in your life, things are a great thing and then you change and then it's so exciting what comes next. And I'm so happy. I'm so full of life. I'm so full of creativity. There are so many projects I'm working on, which is fun. Love it. Which is so fun. I'm really interested now that you've sold the business or a piece of the business to Pooch, right? And so did anything change after you did that sale?

56:21Did you make loads of money, Barbara? Oh my God, yeah, for me, it's nice to not having to worry anything. Yeah. You know, that's also a nice feeling. But you're at that point now where you don't have to worry. No, you just really do the things and create things and you have like the freedom for everything. it's mind-blowing how great that feels and you have an amazing partner in Pooch because they're like a one of one they're great and yeah all the things I didn't like doing in the business is on them and I have much more power and time to do what I like and then the only thing I want to say there are more eyeballs watching over what you do and then sometimes I feel like I pushed the wagon up the hill because I just want to go ahead and do it and they're like oh let's see another Yeah, there's checks and balances and things that change.

57:12But again, I think that that's very honest from you because things do change when you sell and you have to be aware of that. I mean, I feel like I've been around so many founders who are like, oh, this person bought my business and now everything's changed. I'm like, what do you expect? You took a check. Like that's what happens, right? It's like - No, but it's also an opportunity. And to scale a business, you need a totally different set of people. You need like the best people and they have the best people in their company. You know, I have the best for travel retail. I have the best of, you know, retail.

57:47I have the best lab there. By the way, products are all under my supervision. There's nothing that will change or these products are my babies. And that's what I said up front. I don't care about your margin. I'm the boss of every single product leaving the factory. No, and I imagine that they want that because that's what's made this brand so successful all these years that we had amazing product actually works. And now we know it because it's tested. Yes, exactly, exactly. No, they're totally excited about the product and they understand it and they understand me completely. So they're actually super good in following my lead.

58:21What's the future of the brand for you now? Hopefully world domination. What I always wanted. What does that look like to you? Like what is world domination? When you're in all of the best stores all over the world, you have this incredible brand that really, to me, seemingly feels so pure. There is like the brand is so pure. You've never sold out. I don't feel like you've ever done anything that's taken away from what it is that you mean to your customers. Like what does world domination look like? Yeah, you're right. The message has never changed. The philosophy was always the philosophy. That's another thing, which I think is very important for creating a business.

58:56Don't change with trends. Stay to your belief and stay really, really consistent. How have you managed to do that given how much is happening in your space all the time. I believe one thing and I say it, I say it, I say it. And I said so many times, don't use retinol. And I got attacked by so many people. Oh yeah, I remember. She's not a real doctor and she's not this or this. It's just my opinion. I'm not telling people what to do. Everybody can use whatever they want on their skin. I just have this anti-inflammatory approach and I stick to it, you know? And I think with the mindset of people today wanting to live healthy, wanting to be educated about health and prevention, not getting sick.

59:35They understand, oh, fragrances and products do this to me. Or retinol on my skin does that. Maybe I shouldn't do it. Maybe I should eat more healthy anti-inflammatory diet. Maybe I should drink more water. So while people are learning this, they will understand more and more and more that this anti-inflammatory theory, because if you look at longevity treatments, they all come down to one thing, reducing inflammation. and this mindset and this philosophy will break through and then I think our brand should be the leading brand.

1:00:29Feel more clear at one year with monthly dosing. EbGliss, LibriKizumab, LBKZ. A 250 milligram per two milliliter injection is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema. Also called atopic dermatitis that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. EbGliss can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to EbGliss. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur.

1:00:57Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with EBCLIS. Before starting EBCLIS, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Ask your doctor about EBCLIS and visit ebglis.lily.com or call 1-800-LILY-RX or 1-800-545-5979. Get in the game with the college-branded Venmo debit card. Wreck your team with every tap and earn up to 5 % cash back with Venmo Stash, a new rewards program from Venmo. No monthly fee, no minimum balance. Just school pride and spending power. Get in the game and sign up for the Venmo debit card at Venmo.com slash college card.

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1:02:16What is your longevity routine? Because I know you're in Stard and I know that like being in that, Being in Stard last year, I thought that being in LA, I had a longevity routine. And I was like, oh, no, you don't, girl. This is like on a whole different level. What are you doing? But you can spend hours and hours and hours. If you do this every day consistently, you're like... Are you spending hours and hours and hours? I spend, but I do things in between. And I don't do it every day. But I try to work while I'm doing certain things in my routine. But what I do, I drink first, I drink already a little water when I get up with lemon, a warm water with lemon.

1:02:57But that you need to get in in the morning right away. Otherwise, you know, I don't drink enough water throughout the day. And then I do my breathing techniques to make sure you get the oxygen in your system. With a machine or just unaided? No, just you do your, you can do a breathing technique. It costs like six minutes or something. And yeah, I bring pepper to school. I, you know, do all my errands. I also have five dogs. It's quite a lot of things to do. But then I'm doing a few peptides because I also had a knee injury and a knee surgery. So you injecting or you just... I inject some peptides ever since my knee surgery.

1:03:34And that's also quite interesting because I wanted to, I thought, how could I have had this accident? It's stupid. What did I do? How stupid am I? Did you get it by tennis? No, I was. I wasn't even skiing. You know, I wasn't even skiing. I was standing with my skis with Pepper and Pepper and my skis kind of like, you know, and we slowly went down and I have to get down and I just, you know, I was just, it wasn't, wasn't cool. And I was so upset about it. And then I said, you know what? Do the surgery. I will be skiing next season. I do the surgery and I will just get the fittest myself that, you know, and from the day of surgery, the next day I started working out everything.

1:04:14and I had the speediest recovery ever because I was so dedicated. Are you lifting weights? Yeah, I do it all. And I wasn't so good about this before. I really started with this injury. So the biggest challenges are the greatest opportunities. And I became so good about everything. And yeah, I'm doing for longevity. I have like the most amazing physio who was also like a guru kind of person, but he made me fit like everything. I do pool workouts. It sounds super lame, but it's so effective. Really? Yeah, I do everything. In the water? In the water, yeah. It's super effective. And it's so great for your body and for your lymph system and everything.

1:04:57And then I have a red light bed. I use every day for 20 minutes. Every day? If I can, yeah, but I do phone calls on it. So I just go on and like... I'm always like weird about phone calls on the red light bed, but that's fine. You're just like on the phone. All right, fine. I'm just on the phone. 20 minutes every day. And then people say, are you on a red light, buddy? Yeah. Yep. Quite a little hum there. But I also do PMF mat, alkalining your body. Yes. Yes. I did that at the hotel in Stade last year. So you do first PMF, then you do 10 minutes on oxygen. You put the oxygen mask on and you ride the bike so you get a lot of oxygen in your system.

1:05:36And then you go onto the red light and then the oxygen through the red light gets pressed into your mitochondria, the power machines of our cells. So this is the idea and I love it. And you're doing all of that every day? No, not every day. A few times a week. Also I travel, yeah. Yeah, I try to do it as much as I can. And then I have the most amazing yoga person in Stade and I don't like yoga. It's not my thing. I've never been a yoga person. No, it's not my thing. I do reformer Pilates, but it's like, I wish I was a yoga person. I know it's the best thing for the posture, for old age, for our job.

1:06:15I mean, it's just the best. I mostly do. I mean, you really are doing the most. It's a fair amount. Yeah, I do it in this yoga person. We could be on like, you know, I don't know, Hoogerman or like one of these right now. When you come in August, we do it together. No, I'm going to do the whole thing. That's why it's the end of my vacation because I go and it's like after all the tocks, I detox. I don't know if China's a place to do. It's like I'm steeping red wine out of my rosé from my veins. Some of it is busy socially. Yes. It's like funny. Do you feel like it's made a big difference? Like all of this longevity?

1:06:48Because we hear so much about all this longevity stuff. You, who is a doctor, who has a clear view of your medical levels before and after, you feel like it makes a huge difference? 100%. And I see my inflammation levels going down because my inflammation was quite high from all the stress and traveling. And I had so much stress. I was like, it's, you know, the stress rises to your cortisol and you get so much inflammation. And it all went down. I have like the lowest inflammation levels. And again, the longevity treatments all bring down inflammation. Breathing techniques brings down inflammation.

1:07:26Workout, breathing oxygen brings down inflammation. It's so good for you. And if you feel it necessarily, it's with every anti-aging treatment. You don't know how it would be if you didn't do it. So it's like, you know, what do you want to compare it to? But, you know, to just sitting in the office and before and, you know, I have a strong back. There's so many things coming together. It's a game changer. Game changer. And I really want, and LA is so good about it, by the way. You know, everybody's so healthy. No, I'm far healthier here than I would ever be living in England. That's for sure. Yeah, for sure.

1:08:01That's for sure. What do you think for people that are starting their careers now? Because there's just like so much out there, so much opportunity for people, so much choice. When you look back on the career that you've had, what would you say to people starting out now? Do the things you love. For example, skincare is such a big, big thing and everybody loves skincare. And I'm taking on interns, you know, the daughters of my friends. And they're all coming and come and learn. We're doing college ambassador programs, school activation stuff. Oh, how wonderful to be able to offer that. It's so cute.

1:08:35I love mentoring. I love supporting people who are trying to figure out. I'm still, I'm with Peppa and her friends. We have little brainstormings. We do like little education. I'm going to their school. It's just nice to see the next generation come and coming with their ideas. And such an amazing generation, by the way. I love Peppa's, Peppa's are your kids. they have such an amazing way of thinking they're so fair they're so they want to do everything right and they're genuine I love them and I like to spend time with the kids and help them and yeah do what you love follow your dreams you can fulfill your dreams there's no one who can stop you if you just believe in it and believe in passion and work for it and work your ass off and take risks and go for it you can do anything it's really true I love that advice yeah alright we're going to move into some rapid fire what is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning I cuddle my kid you know she's sleeping with me not always but sometimes and I love it and I kiss her and cuddle her it's the best so lovely and the last thing you do before you go to bed at night same literally the same kissing a cuddle yeah so good I think these kids they need to grow up with so much love they need to listen to how much we love them every day, how special they are, how proud we are of them.

1:10:00And they need that, especially when you work so much and you're gone all day or overnight or whatever. It's the one thing that the relationship of the trust of the kid in you, I think is unbreakable and it's so important. Absolutely true. What are you currently aspiring for in your business life? having the best people around me. It's still something I am looking to optimize because I want to scale and scale and scale. I really, I'm driven and I want to find the very best people for the level of growth in my business. Yeah. It's not easy. No, it's not easy. If you have any recommendations. I'm like a part-time recruitment consultant.

1:10:47What do you need? I can't imagine. It's true. Well, I do think, and I say this all the time, I reckon it is 25 % of my time I actually spend bringing the right people into the business. Because when you have the right people, it makes your life easier. It stops you from stressing. You learn so much. It's like, at this point, how can I know so much about everything? I don't. Actually, very good. You need to find the people who are better than you. If you think someone is better, you listen to them. You learn from them. It's quite interesting as well. I also always need a sparing partner. I need to talk to someone who I get excited with.

1:11:25And I like that within the interview process. Because when I interview, I also am like, this takes so much time. But it's like I'm learning in every single interview because you understand how other companies do it, what you might want to avoid, what you might want to start doing. And so I take that whole process as a very big learning. Never stop learning. Never. Don't think you know everything. Then you're in trouble, Barbara. What are you currently aspiring for in your personal life? I just love my life. I moved to a place where I have the work, but I've been so joking. Where I do my sport, where I have the most amazing community and friends, where my kid is safe and can go to school in a normal way, where I breathe oxygen, actually real oxygen every day, and where I can do my longevity program.

1:12:14because, you know, I'm a little older than you. So at one point, you really have to take care of yourself. And I started really religiously doing that. And I love it. And I learn so much. I have great people around me, people who are smart and interesting. Love it. I love that. What is the book that changed your life? Krishnamurti, actually. I love his philosophy. And you can learn so much by just reading a page here and there. so you don't have to read like, you know. Yeah, you can just take this. I love that. That's my favorite. When you can have a book on the bedside and just pick it up to any page.

1:12:51And then you fall asleep when you had like this one page. The best, the best. You're like that. I felt that. Yes. All right. What is something that you valued when you were starting out that you no longer value? That's kind of a bad thing that I don't value what I used to value. Maybe it's a bad thing. I want to not have changed in my personality. I don't want to think of myself. or I'm this amazing or I want to be exactly who I was. And I think for me, this hasn't changed. I still have the same values and I value great food. I value great people. I value friendship. I value help. Barbara, that might be the best answer we've had to this question.

1:13:33Really? Yeah, you're just you. I'm just me. And you haven't changed. But you know, some people when they're successful, they become an asshole. Yes, a lot of them. Yeah, and they're not like, you know, But this is keep your feet on the ground. And my best friends are still my best friends. And it's just the cool things you have around you, they should stay. Barbara, thank you so much. I love speaking to you. I'm so happy to see you. Congratulations for all your success. You are incredible. Thank you. And by the way, to you, you're incredible. I'm so in awe of everything you do. You're a good, good testimonial and idol for all our kids to watch.

1:14:11No, I love you for saying that. And the same to you, my love. Thanks again. Thank you.

1:14:20If you're loving this podcast, be sure to click follow on your favorite listening platform. While you're there, give us a review and a five-star rating and share an episode you loved with a friend. We'll be so grateful. A Spy with Emma Greed is presented by Odyssey. I'm your host, Emma Greed. Our executive producers are Corrine Gilead-Fisher, Derek Brown, and me. Our executive producers from Odyssey are Maddie Sprung-Kaiser, Leah Reese-Dennis, Asha Saluja, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Stephen Key is our senior producer. Sound design and engineering by Bill Schultz. Angela Peluso is our booker. Original music by Charles Black.

1:14:56Video production by Evan Cox, Kurt Courtney, Andrew Steele, Carlos Delgado, and Arnie Agassi. Social media by Olivia Holman. Special thanks to Brittany Smith, Sydney Ford, my teams at The Lead Company and WME. Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Hilary Schuff, Eric Donnelly, Kate Hutchinson-Rose, Tim Mecole, Sean Cherry and Lauren Vieira. If you have questions for me, you can DM me at aspirewithemagreed. Greed is spelled G-R-E-D-E. That's aspire, A-S-P-I-R-E with Emma Greed. or you can submit a question to me on my website emagreed.me.

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