(a sneak peek of Denver HQ)
My dearest sriracha freaks,
Earlier this year I decided to move myself (and Jojo's) to Denver, Colorado. Serendipitously, Denver is the birthplace of Jojo's Sriracha. It's the place where I finally decided to give a fuck about my body... It's where I took refined sugar out of my diet for a month and completely transformed my life... it's the place I started scrutinizing every ingredient that went on or into my body. Denver is where I decided that I could eat better, live better and make a better sriracha...
Denver is also the place where I started my sacred yoga practice and did my yoga teacher training in 2010 at Vital Yoga just before I moved to New York. That's where I learned about ayurveda and threw away all my conventional beauty products and started making my own so I could finally clear up the crappy skin I had since I was a teenager. It's also where I met the great love of my life and then moved 2,000 miles away.
When I moved to New York, I had no idea I would start a business making sriracha. But I do know that I had opened my heart to the universe and asked her to show me the way to my greatest happiness. And as per the typical workings of the universe - I got exactly what I asked for...
I got to meet the sweetest farmers, food producers and entrepreneurs. I got to take an idea and bring it to market. I got invited to swanky food events and even got filmed for The Cooking Channel! I got to put jojo's sriracha in the highest quality specialty food stores I know of and collaborate on the coolest projects. I got a business that I was in love with and the drive to make it successful...
...I also got to face myself and all the things that were hindering me from fulfilling my greatest potential. I got a really great therapist who helped me deal with the death of my mom at 15 and show me all the ways that I screwed up my intimate relationships because of that trauma. I got to look at my wife's face when I told her I was unfaithful and that I was leaving. I got to move back in with my family for a year while I let the dust settle. I got to cry hard and learn how to hold myself. And I got to wake up one morning and decide that I could do what was truly in my heart. I had nothing left to lose.
I've always felt like I have three homes: California (where I grew up), New York (where I went to undergrad and later moved back and started my business) and Colorado (where I went to grad school and decided to give a fuck). I'm a firm believer that home is where the heart is. And I had left my heart in Denver. So I decided to lay all my cards on the table and jump. It felt like the quote I've never forgotten: leap and the net will appear. I jumped, and trusted that things would fall into place.
I've wanted a kitchen space to call my own since I started making sriracha and in Denver that dream is finally coming into fruition. We found the sweetest little space that will soon be love hard, inc. Denver headquarters. I know that this is just the beginning of so much awesome and I am so excited to share it with all of you.
On the personal side of things, I reconnected with the love of my life and we now share a beautiful home together. I wake up every morning next to someone who loves, supports and believes in me. And everyday I'm grateful I jumped.
I know that I wouldn't be where I am now without all the love and support I've received. Not just from friends and family, but from complete strangers. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
With deepest love and gratitude,
Jojo