Ep 16: The Genius Life with Max Lugavere

The Genius Life with Max Lugavere

Episode 16: Show Notes.

Brain disease often starts decades before the diagnosis, and if only people knew that the foods they put in their body can either make or break a healthy brain, they would make different choices. Today’s guest is Max Lugavere, author of Genius Foods and The Genius Life, here to talk about the journey that led him to his life’s purpose – helping people truly understand nutrition. Max had been on track to becoming a television star, yet little did he know, he was being divinely groomed to challenge the traditional healthcare system, where they treat symptoms more than the root of an illness.

We hear about Max’s fascination with the idea of becoming superhuman, and he takes us through the manifestations of this interest in his early forays into health science. Max shares about his experiences at university, getting into film and documenting ‘peak experiences’, and how this led to him and his best friend working as Current TV presenters for six years.

Around this time, Max’s mother was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative condition, and he left everything behind to find out all he could to help her. Max talks about how this moment became a culmination of everything he had learned up until then and was the point at which he found his life’s purpose. We get into the documentary Max is working on and the books he has written, as well as how his experiences with his mother have put empathy at the center of all the work he does. For an inspiring conversation about asking questions and realizing that everything in life is grooming you for your purpose, be sure to tune in.

Key Points From This Episode:

Max’s childhood fascination with Exosquad toys the themes that drew him to them.
Having a lifelong interest in the body and ideas of frailty and health optimization.
Eating a ‘healthy’ childhood diet restricted by the limits of Max’s mom’s idea of healthy food.
How Max discovered healthier eating and diet types as a teenager in chat groups.
Meeting Jason Silva, getting into filmmaking and spiritual hedonism; Max’s student days in Miami.
Making Textures of Selfhood and how Jason and Max got content creator jobs for Current TV.
Lessons learned about authenticity and storytelling while at Current TV for six years.
Max’s music practice, YouTube videos, and the idea of practicing to get better at something.
How Max shifted from film and music to wellness after his mom was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative condition.
The different elite health facilities Max and his family consulted to get a clear diagnosis.
The problem with doctors and how Max used his prior skills and knowledge to help his mom himself.
Max’s decision to make a documentary film about his experiences and process of researching for answers.
Big discoveries Max made in his research such as dementia beginning decades before its symptoms.
How Max’s process around his mom led to a culmination of his skills and realization of his life’s purpose.
Raising money to make the documentary and struggles getting final funds to get it finished.
Navigating the contentious terrain of health and science and the diet Max argues for.
Lessons learned about the Hippocratic oath since Max has been in the nutrition spotlight.
Max’s social media strategy; continuous commitment and using comparison-style posts.
Advice for people wanting to follow a similar path to Max’s, and how Max defines success.