Nick Houpt: 0:02

Welcome back to the Life Well Balanced Podcast, where we explore how creativity, self-awareness, and balance shape the way we live and lead. In this episode, we sit down with Justin Snavely, photographer, creator, and manager of the mustache in historic downtown St. Augustine. What started as a small shed tucked behind an ice pop shop has evolved into one of the most authentic lifestyle boutiques in Florida. And Justin's story behind it's just as inspiring. Throughout this conversation, Justin opens up about his creative journey from the highs of freelancing with Sports Illustrated to rediscovering purpose and balance through simplicity, craftsmanship, and community. In this episode, we learn how letting go of societal pressure can open the door to real fulfillment, the lessons learned turning a shed into a thriving business built on care, intention, and authenticity, how patience, perspective, and small wins can shift your mindset when life feels off track. Redefining what it means to look good, feel good, and show up confident in your own skin. Why quiet mornings, simple routines, and walking to work can create peace in a busy world. This is a grounded, creative, and deeply human conversation about resilience, purpose, and the beauty of finding balance in unexpected places. So take a bre open your heart and settle in. This is the Life Well Balance Podcast with Justin Snavely and me, your host, Nick Howe. This episode of the Life Well Balance Podcast is brought to you by Life Force Healing. If you've ever felt like your body is carrying stress, tension, or old patterns you just can't shake, body coating is a gentle, powerful process that helps identify and release trapped energy, restoring balance to your mind, body, and spirit. Life Force Healing is here to guide you toward realignment, resilience, and renewal. Because when your energy flows freely, you live freely. Learn more at lfhealing.com. We're also sponsored by IV Lux Infusion, a luxury mobile IV hydration service that brings wellness straight to your doorstep. Whether you're recovering from a long weekend, preparing for peak performance, or just need a boost, their licensed medical professionals deliver hydration and nutrients tailored to your body's needs. Think of it as a premium self-care administered safely and comfortably wherever you are. IV Luxinfusion Wellness Redefined. Book your session today at IVLuxinfusion.com. And don't forget to use the promo code LIFEWELLBALNAS. Let's dive in. So Justin Snavely. Yes. Thank you for being here, brother.

Justin Snavely: 3:23

You're very welcome. I'm happy to be here.

Nick Houpt: 3:25

Awesome. So I want to start by acknowledging you because when I came by your shop and everything, we just started talking and the way you carried yourself to customers and to myself. And you were just very open and knowledgeable and super friendly. So I want to acknowledge you for being an awesome person and just presenting yourself in a caring way. You have this energy about you where it shows that you truly care about people. So thank you for that.

Justin Snavely: 3:56

Oh man, you're very welcome. That's definitely central to what I do. Awesome.

Nick Houpt: 3:59

Awesome. So when we start, we do a who, what, and why. And it's a big question, but we want big questions for big answers. And so who has inspired you and helped you get to where you are? What experiences have you gone through that brought you here? And why do you do and live the way that you do?

Justin Snavely: 4:22

Yeah. Okay, so starting off with the influences, I've got probably about a million of them, but I'm going to keep it succinct just for the sake of the show here. One of the first ones that comes to mind is I don't know how much of a sports person you are. I love like all sports, but in particular like basketball and the NBA. Ernie Johnson, who is the anchor for TNTs inside the NBA. That's the show with Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith. But yeah, Ernie Johnson is someone who is incredibly successful in like the broadcasting field, but is also one of those people who is he's very principled in how he lives his life, like an incredibly charitable person. I believe he and his wife have adopted a bunch of children, and some of his kids are like special needs kids too. And he just puts a lot of thought and care into the people around him. So I really admire like both his professionalism, clearly like the passion that he has for not just the broadcasting medium, but the people that he works with and lifting others up, like in that environment as well. So everyone, the rising tide lifts all ships, like that sort of thing. Awesome. Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 5:24

Now, what experiences have you had throughout your life that brought you into this realm?

Justin Snavely: 5:30

Well, it's crazy. Before I moved back to Florida, I was living in Atlanta, and that was a good 12-year period of my life. I had actually gone to a different school in Pensacola in like my early 20s. This was like a Christian ministry school. So that's a part of my story. But finished that up and wasn't really doing anything. But we used to go to a lot of just different like punk rock, emo, hardcore shows. Like Pensacola at that time had a really good scene if you're into that kind of music. And a lot of bands would come down from Atlanta. And so we had this kind of through line of people who would come down because they were touring. And then we would drive up there for some of the bigger shows because it wasn't that far. Maybe a little far, but a doable drive. But anyway, that time of life had wrapped up. It's it's the thing that we were doing. And I didn't really have a next step. So it was just I've got a lot of people who are I know who are just going to Atlanta right now. So let me go up there. Eventually settled into pursuing like photography and videography and got to have some really amazing experiences. This is right before the big Hollywood explosion happened in Atlanta because they, for the longest time, were filming like the Marvel movies there, like The Walking Dead was filmed there. So Atlanta became like a really big deal in that world. I was just like ahead of that. So never got to do like the big stuff, but in the more independent sphere, I got to have some really like good jobs. And not to go too off on a tangent here, but one of my best jobs was freelancing for Sports Illustrated. That was a lot of fun. So I would get to do things like that on occasion as well. Anyway, basically got like a really solid job in the production world. There was a company that needed like a video editor. I had a friend who worked there, he got me in. So we were this two-man multimedia department. And then probably a couple of weeks into that job, company is over budget. So they've got to start letting people go. Fortunately, like I had a contract, so I could work out like a little bit longer than like most people who they were letting go could. So that was a nice safety net. But it really rocked my world because once that contract was up, the work wasn't there. Like I was struggling and basically just went back to waiting tables. And then finally it got to a point where the lease on my apartment was up. I've always had family in this area in Northeast Florida. So they'd been wanting me to move back for a while. And the parent company of the shop that I run, the Hippo, like they needed someone in management to come down and run some of the shops. And at that point, it was just like, all right, here's like a clean slate. It didn't work out up here. I still got to do some really cool things, but now let's go back and reconnect with family and just see what's next from there.

Nick Houpt: 8:07

Awesome. So why do you do what you do?

Justin Snavely: 8:11

Yeah, so it was a little bit of a path to get here. Like it wasn't like running a mustache isn't something I necessarily set out to do. I've got a reputation within our company as being a glue guy. And I like that role. Again, in keeping with the sports metaphor, every team needs someone who maybe you're not the superstar, but you're the guy that helps get things done for other people. And I really like that. I feel like I really personally thrive in that role. So I went from managing the shops to let me interject this. I had to take a step back from management even after moving down here. I was living with my grandfather at the time. He was really sick, and it was just hard taking care of him and also doing management, right? Those are both very demanding jobs. He passed away, and then I was kind of looking to get back into the management side of things for our company. I was our first event coordinator and also our first like delivery driver at the same time. This was right when we started expanding our stores. Um, for people who don't know, like we're not just in St. Augustine, we've got shops in Jacksonville, we're in the Tampa area, we're in the Gainesville area, so we're spread out. That's Hippo, Mayday and Cousteaux. Cousteaux, we just have here in St. Augustine. Okay. Yeah, Hippo and Mayday are all over Florida now. And yeah, so I was running our events and then kind of delivery driving at the same time. Both of those jobs got too big to be separate. So at that point, I was our event coordinator, but also our wholesale director. To get to the point, I took on a couple of other projects and they ran their course. And then this little outpost in downtown St. Augustine called Mustache was open. I wanted something a little bit less involved, but I also have a vision for this thing. For those listening, we sell a lot of like men's grooming products. There's like leather goods, high-quality knives, and like camping hatchets, things like that. And I I love all that stuff. And so here was a chance to take this thing. It needed some rehabilitation at the time, so it was definitely like a project, but it was something I could put more of me into versus like there's always been passion for the work I've done for my employers, but this felt like a bit more personal. And so that's that is how I ended up at mustache.

Nick Houpt: 10:22

Awesome, awesome. And I'm actually wearing the beard balm right now.

Justin Snavely: 10:26

Nice, it looks good.

Nick Houpt: 10:27

The Florida winter.

Justin Snavely: 10:29

Yeah, that's it. Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 10:31

So it's like Christmassy. The Florida Christmassy. Absolutely. And I actually sent the beard balm to a friend of mine back home in Pennsylvania too, and he loves it. And he was saying the thing he really likes about it is the best beard balm he's found with what's in it and then how long the scents last and how good they smell.

Justin Snavely: 10:54

That's incredible. Thank you for sharing that with him. Uh Russell. Yeah, and that's uh it's just a company ethos in general, where like the way that we make like our food products, like it's all like really high quality ingredients. And so when we started this other aspect and got into making those products, it's the same principle, right? We're not gonna cheap out here that like when we hear people say that stuff, it just really validates like why we do it that way.

Nick Houpt: 11:19

Yeah, awesome, awesome. Yeah, and it that's how we met. That's what drew me in is the mustache, a little if you haven't been to St. Augustine right off of St. George Street, it's a shed that you converted into the coolest store that you can possibly have in such a tiny place, and I'm into all the knives and the beard balm and the hatchets, and I come by and buy stuff every probably every time I'm down there. So it's just an awesome space. And what inspired that? What what made you guys say, Hey, we have this shed out back, let's turn it into a cool little shop?

Justin Snavely: 11:59

I think on like a practical level, there's two entrances to that area. It's behind one of our flagship stores, which is like the hippo on St. George Street. So you can get to it from inside the shop by going out the back door, but then we have a sizable gate right on St. George, and that's where most of our foot traffic comes in. So I think Steven, who owns everything, he's just like a really inventive, smart guy. And he's just one of those people that can see opportunity where other people might not really think much about a thing. Excuse me. And I think because they had actually tried like a couple other things before the mustache idea came into play, and they did all right. And I'm not sure what the specific inspiration for that idea was, other than Steven, I think, was probably making beard oils just for himself, and maybe thought, oh, we can do something with this and maybe do more within this space. But yeah, that was in 2015 when they restructured and built that out, and now that business has been going over a little over 10 years, and I took over in late 2019. So it's been a large part of what I've done there as well. Awesome. Yeah. Awesome.

Nick Houpt: 13:04

Now let's talk about creativity. Yeah. Because everything you're saying, it's like everything that you do is a creative aspect. Where does creativity come in and play in your life?

Justin Snavely: 13:16

Honestly, probably since I was a kid. I've definitely always been acquired that way and inclined that way. But then some of it, like my grandfather on my dad's side, he was a painter. I've got other family members who were like musicians. So there's definitely like that creative thread that just runs throughout my family. But some of it too is just that desire, like with creativity, the desire to do something other than just have a normal life. And there's nothing wrong with that. I want to be very clear about that. But just the places that if you can make it work, that like creativity can take you to. I just thought that was really exciting.

Nick Houpt: 13:49

Yeah. Yeah. Was there anything specific that you can think where that you created, that you made, that you designed, and you were like, I could do this, I could make a living out of creating something.

Justin Snavely: 14:04

Yeah. So a lot of it is just some of it like watching movies when I was a kid. And uh, it's a little sad because like my parents split up when I was five. Originally born in East Tennessee, and I still have a lot of family up there. Pretty early on in my years, like we my mom and I moved back here where she was from and her family is from. And it's just one of those things, like in a single parent household, even with all my mom's best intentions, and I've got a good relationship with my dad too. I just want to say that. But you're on your own a lot. And as much as my parents care and take care of me, I still had to figure out some things, like in passing the time when you're a kid. And uh, movies were like a thing to retreat into, especially coming from like some family craziness, and just like it's that storytelling thing, I think, is really the essence of even that. Like, you're just watching this thing, and someone had an idea for a story and they wrote it down, and other people thought, well, we can take what you've written, we can actually incorporate like this visual component to it and like further bring people into that world. And I think that's something I love about creativity is like you can just create these things and draw people in, and you can tell stories, like, and they can be fictional, but they can also still be personal, and I just think that's really important.

Nick Houpt: 15:11

I'm actually reading a book right now called The Science of Storytelling. Oh, cool, yeah. And it's the whole science behind how our brains function when we are taking in these stories and how to deliver a good story based on how the brains function. Yeah. And so if we can dive deeper into what you were just talking about, I I'd appreciate it where when you are younger, just in case there's someone out there listening that maybe not even younger, but feeling alone and feeling like they are passing the time and they're looking to step into who they really are, but don't understand or know where to start to look.

Justin Snavely: 15:57

Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 15:57

What's some ideas you can give them to tap into that creative realm of their body and mind?

Justin Snavely: 16:05

Yeah. I think one of the biggest things is if I could go back and tell myself anything, it's just take a deep breath and just be patient with yourself. Because sometimes it can just take a while, especially when you're young, because like you you have literal like mental and physical changes, right? Like your body, your hormones are changing as you get older and you hit those teenagers. So there just might be things happening that you don't understand. And for me, like part of that is like at work, I'm an extrovert, like 1000%. It feels necessary to me because I do want people to feel welcome and invited. And we'll probably get into this later. But there is like a self-care aspect to what to my approach to things, and I want people to feel cared for, even if they're not conscious that's what I want them to feel. But part of my own growth journey was also just on a simple level, just realizing I was an introvert as a kid and not understanding why I would get frustrated sometimes and like large groups. And it's not that I didn't want to be a part of large groups because I did, but just finding the balance of like when is the right time for me to retreat, so that when I do need to be with people, I can actually give them my best too. So yeah, I think patience is a big part of it because you're thinking and feeling things that you're just you might not figure out for a while, and then also don't be afraid to try just whatever you're feeling. I've got a thousand different hobbies. Photography and video started out as that thing. Like, even when I was a teenager, like I was 100% that kid with a video camera. Hey, let me get my friends together. We're just gonna make a couple of goofy videos and make our own like little film parodies, and just because it was just fun to do. And then it's hard to say I'm like a musician, but I'm definitely musical. Like, I've got like a guitar collection, and that's a part of uh creativity is expressing emotion through like just kind of writing some songs and or just I'm just gonna riff for a little bit just to get the aggression out. So I just want to play something heavy and that kind of suits my mood. So yeah, it's like patience exploration, try different things, don't be afraid if it doesn't work out. That's part of the process, too. It's okay if you try something and you don't like it and it doesn't work out, try the next thing and see where that takes you. So I I feel like those are two important things.

Nick Houpt: 18:11

That's awesome. Let's talk about success for people too. Yeah. And because we're all we're about wellness, life balance, lifestyle, and the way you carried yourself when I was talking to you. We were just going back and forth on you being up in Tennessee and everything, and you being able to walk to work in the grocery store. And what does success look like for you?

Justin Snavely: 18:35

Yeah, I think about this a lot actually, because sometimes it's very easy for me to start getting down on myself and thinking, like, what am I doing? I put all this energy into like video and photography, and I got to do some really cool things, but here I am still on the retail side. But then, like, even the way I get to run that shop to me is like pretty successful. Work like a one-off thing for what our company does. But I don't know a lot of people who have a job where they have free reign to just like I curate that shop. So, you know, my boss every now and then will come in and say, Hey, look into this item. I want you to bring this sort of thing in. But I travel, I go to trade shows. I have free reign for what goes in that shop, have a literal hand in making some of the things that we sell. And for all intents and purposes, I don't own it, but it's mine in a way. That alone feels pretty successful to me. That kind of autonomy, like to just do a thing and have someone say, I trust you with this. That's the biggest thing. If someone said, I trust you enough to just let you do this thing, there's like a lot of joy in that. But I also think that just in a broader sense, culturally, we need to get off the success equals money thing. That's certainly part of it. And there's nothing wrong with having financial success. And for me, like I feel pretty financially successful. Like, I'm not wealthy by like American standards, but if you compare me to 90% of the world, like I've got so much. Even on a material level, I was thinking recently, like, I've got all the guitars I've ever wanted. I collect like vinyl records. I was able to drop like a few hundred dollars on like a smashing pumpkins box that's coming out. Like, that's success. If you can do that and not have to stress about it, you know what I mean? Those aren't like big like things. It's not like life-changing stuff. But for me, it's I get to live comfortably and like peacefully with what I do. Maybe it isn't the path that I chose for myself, but like that shop is a success, right? Like it needed some rehabilitation. And over the past like four years, we've had some of the best years we've ever had on the financial side, like with that store. So that success. But it's also just finding a place where you belong, right? That's, I think, is maybe the most successful thing. If you can find an environment, and not not just work-related, but on the career side, if you can find an environment where you feel like you connect with these people, that they care for you, and also give you freedom to have input and say, actual say with what is going on, that's pretty successful to me.

Nick Houpt: 21:03

That was good. If you are someone that is working for someone else, a company, or anything, and you feel that you do have some good ideas and some creative aspects you want to bring to the table. Do you have any advice for someone on how they could present that to a boss or management or anything like that?

Justin Snavely: 21:29

Yeah, I think some of it, you want to have insight into the people that you're working with. There's like this biblical phrase, don't cast your pearls before swine. I'm not about to just call anyone like a pig here because that'd be super rude. But the essence of that phrase is if you've got something of value and people wouldn't receive it, don't just throw that out there and waste your energy because it's just going to lead to frustration. But if you know that like the people that you're working with, if they're caring, if they're listing people, if they've got like the emotional intelligence, like that's like a big thing these days, is in leadership, like emotional intelligence. If what you're doing would be received, then like just freaking go for it. Don't let like personal anxiety hold you back from opportunity, like essentially. But also read the room a little bit too.

Nick Houpt: 22:11

Yeah. When you go through that, not self-doubt, but when you're in your own head thinking about, oh, I I've done this and I've done that, and I'm not necessarily where I thought I was gonna be, and you had mentioned, then you think about where you are and the you're great grateful for what you have and everything like that. How do you snap your mind out of that self-pity or self-doubt or being upset with where you are right now?

Justin Snavely: 22:45

On a very practical level, and I actually heard this listening to the show I mentioned of yours that I listened to. Oh, cool. Yeah, when Stephen Crook was talking about like the military breathing. I'm not from that world, so I didn't know that specific thing. But yeah, like breathing is like a big part of all of that for sure. Like, literally just take a couple of deep breaths and just calm yourself. Stepping outside of yourself is very important. Acknowledge that you're feeling this way, but then take a step back and see what are the arguments that are actually saying the other thing here. I'm very fortunate where I live in downtown St. Augustine because it's a very walkable area. And sometimes it's like literally just let's just go for a walk. The water's right there. Like everyone knows, like just looking and being around water is just calming naturally. And that's something very specific to my situation. So I can indulge that. But if you live in Florida, you're close to some body of water somewhere. Even if it's not the ocean, it's the springs. So yeah, sometimes literally, literally get outside and just walk and like vitamin D from like the sun, all that stuff is actually a very practical and tangible ways to actually like change your mood and to help you see things better. But I think a lot of it is acknowledge. Don't be afraid to say, I am feeling this way, and this sucks, right? That's it's unhealthy to try to bury that. But I think along with acknowledging that, it's also helpful to take a step back and say, I'm feeling this way. But again, here's all the counter-arguments to what I'm feeling and like embrace that stuff as well.

Nick Houpt: 24:08

What kind of mindset does someone have to go after kind of what they want in life?

Justin Snavely: 24:15

Yeah, that's a tough one because I some sometimes I think like it's inherent to certain personality types, right? Like for me, I don't really know what to call it because like I want control of things, I want importance, but I don't necessarily want to be like the face of a thing either. But then some people are very driven. Steve Jobs is someone like I admire a lot. Like my dad used to sell Apple computers, so I grew up with that stuff. And I think someone like him, now he's an exception because he literally changed the world in a lot of ways, but also like people like that are just so driven. And I don't know exactly where that comes from. It's just like the way that they're wired with brain chemistry and hormones and all that stuff. Or was there like a catalyst that like made them be that way too? So yeah, that's a tougher one to answer. I think at the very least, just don't shortchange yourself. Like maybe try things to find out what your limits are. One of the things, one of the projects I helped out with one time was like the remodel of one of our other businesses, and we converted into a coffee house. And there was a lot of learning from that experience, but it was also an experience that really stretched me as far as just kind of the overall responsibilities of that thing and like the different aspects of it. Because there was a lot that went into that, and I found where my limits were with doing something like that. So I think like that definitely helps to like know your limits, but then sometimes you also just have to accept a thing, even if you're nervous about it, just to find out what those limits are. And if you do hit a wall with a project, again, like I don't think you're not a failure, you're not unsuccessful just because a thing wasn't the right thing for you.

Nick Houpt: 25:48

Yeah. That kind of ties back into what you said too earlier about you were doing videography and photography, and then you had to go back to waiting tables. Yeah. And I want to touch on that too, because I have been there too. Yeah. And I know so many people go through that. And I think that we beat ourselves up when we get to a stage in life where we feel like we're taking 10 steps back. Yeah. But sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to get back ahead.

Justin Snavely: 26:18

Exactly.

Nick Houpt: 26:19

So since we're talking about mindset and you said failure, let's tie that together of what kind of mindset do you have to have if you are going through one of those challenging times and you do feel like you're a failure, how do you come out of that? I'm probably sure you're probably going to say some of the same stuff, but just to get someone to shift their thought process if they are in that realm of, I was here and now I'm down here and I'm waiting tables again. Yeah. What kind of practices can people put in place and how can they think?

Justin Snavely: 26:51

I think one of the biggest pieces of advice I can give anyone, especially like if you're stuck and you're not where you think you want to be or feel like you you wanted to be, just know that like life is gonna knock you on your butt. Nobody has a perfect life. Nobody, not even the most put-together person you can think of. Like everyone has struggle points. And I think one of the most important things to know is that it's not always gonna be there. Generally speaking, I know I'm generalizing here, but like most people tend to figure it out, and most people tend to have things work out for them. And those kind of darker days for me, I wish I would have had someone who could have said, don't sweat it. Yeah, it's tough now. There's all this craziness happening. It feels like things are falling apart. But if you just give it time, take a deep breath, be patient with yourself, be patient with just life and opportunity, like things will come back around. Firmly believe that.

Nick Houpt: 27:44

Yeah, yeah. I think everyone's been at some point where it was like that. Yeah. I know I'm there have been times in my life where it was such a challenging time to where I would I was in the process of getting evicted. I anytime I'd hear a big truck outside, I'd go to look to make sure my car wasn't getting towed and taken from me. And that was in my adult life. Yeah. And so I think a lot of people need to hear that. I really like how you break down, slowing down, and breathing. And so let's talk about self-care. Yeah. And you have products that tie into that. And what do you do to implement self-care? And then let's talk about some products that offer self-care, whether it's inadvertently or on purpose for people.

Justin Snavely: 28:33

Yeah. I gotta start off with a quote. Again, going back to the sports thing, Deion Sanders, Neon, Deion Sanders, one of the greatest quotes of all time was when you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, you play good. When you play good, they pay good. I love that so much. There's so much in that, right? And I think that's like, man, especially even in like struggle times, there's something to like if you just put the work into even like grooming, it seems simple, but if you look in the mirror and you like the way that you look, even if everything else is crazy around you, I really think that helps solidify things. Like it's in part where confidence comes from.

Nick Houpt: 29:10

There's actually this study I saw where they had these men and women, and the women were on the other side of glass from these men. And some of the men got sprayed with really good smelling cologne, and some of them didn't. And the ones that did were rated more attractive by the women than the ones that weren't because of the confidence they had from how good they smell.

Justin Snavely: 29:36

That's incredible.

Nick Houpt: 29:37

How crazy is that?

Justin Snavely: 29:38

Yeah, yeah.

Nick Houpt: 29:38

So that kind of ties into what you're saying.

Justin Snavely: 29:40

Yeah, and everything in life, it's like it's all a sensory experience anyway, right? And I just that's amazing that like further solidifies that. Like we're wired to feel and experience things. And yeah, those sensations, especially when people respond positively to you, that's always going to be a confidence boost. That's amazing. That's cool.

Nick Houpt: 29:58

So, what are some of the products that help? With self-care that you guys carry.

Justin Snavely: 30:02

Yeah. So going to the beard product stuff, within like the past 10 years or so, like that's a lot of the attitudes on facial hair culturally have changed. And I think in part that's due to the fact that, for lack of a better phrase, we're not just running around with like hippie beards anymore. You know what I mean? It's not just like the stereotype of the dirty hippie. I love them, but there's a way that you can like style and like trim and line up that makes like facial hair just like really presentable. And I would say, like most guys, if you can grow facial hair, you're gonna look probably better with facial hair. Like I know people like in the military and other jobs and careers have like different restrictions. There's no shade, no shame on that. But just in the way that, like, like there are guys who don't have the strongest chin, but all of a sudden you add like a beard there, and like that guy, he feels like his face is fuller. And then and once you start using like the products, like the hair is better, it feels better on your face, it can actually address like skin issues. So I think there's just like a healthy amount of that that that comes into play.

Nick Houpt: 31:00

My girls have never seen me without a beard, so I always tell them I have a major butt chin under here.

Justin Snavely: 31:06

Yeah, and listen, man, I know from my friends who have shaved, it'll freak your kids out if you ever shave. Don't they won't like it, so don't ever do that.

Nick Houpt: 31:15

Yeah, my 16-year-old is don't don't shave your face. Yeah, it would be so weird. They've seen pictures of me.

Justin Snavely: 31:22

Yeah, but look, like my own dad, like I've seen pictures of him without facial hair. I have never in my 45 years ever seen him without facial hair. Now he might go like mustache sometimes over full beard, but he's always had something. I've never seen him completely like clean shaven. Yeah, yeah. And it would be very weird.

Nick Houpt: 31:38

I have a good friend of mine. He has a beard down to here. Yeah. And he's very well known for his beard and everything. And when I see pictures of him, it throws me off when he doesn't have a beard. I'm like, man, that it I can't that's not even the same person. Yeah.

Justin Snavely: 31:53

That's so the guys with the long beards like that. Like, I love talking with them because if you really want to learn how to care for your facial hair, like those are the guys who will tell you, like, this is what I use, this is why it looks this way.

Nick Houpt: 32:05

Because mine, when it starts, get we're going on a beard tangent here. So when when mine starts growing out, it like starts curving out. So I can only go so long before it starts looking pretty crazy. And then I'm not like a let me try and straighten this thing. That's why I have a beard so I don't have to shave my face and stuff. So if I gotta start putting more effort into keeping my beard, then I'm probably just gonna shave my face. Yeah. But I love your beard balms. Let's talk about making them, and it's really a part of your lifestyle too, when you go through and you make them. You made a joke saying it's really nice being able to make beard balm in your kitchen in your pajamas, right?

Justin Snavely: 32:46

Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 32:47

So we're all about life balance and everything around here. So let's talk about how you do balance all that making products, selling the products, living your life. Yeah. Let's dabble into that.

Justin Snavely: 32:56

Absolutely. It's just I love making it part of the routine. I think more than anything, I love a quiet morning. Like I used to be like a super night owl person. My ideal bedtime was like 4 a.m. You know, and I think that the root of it is I just like the quiet of that time of day. Like the world's just more peaceful. Everyone's at rest. And I think there's something beautiful in that too, even though I like to be awake during those times. But yeah, there was like a beauty and just being awake when the world is that quiet. So for the same reason, I'm much more of a morning personnel. Not I'm still I don't want to be talked to very much in the morning, but I enjoy being up early and I enjoy the quiet of that. And these are like very simple acts of self-care, but I love coffee and try not to go too coffee nerd, but I I do have a French press. And you get that thing, you let it sit for a few minutes, and then you've got that first cup, and just the way that that just hits so good in the morning. Probably throw on a little bit of music in the background, and then yeah, just sit there for a few minutes, and then I can start piecing things together if I need to, if it's a day where I need to make like a beard order or a beard balm. But it's that's like the next step in that routine. It's very focused. Like I'm measuring specific ingredients and amounts, and I like that because it's so precise. I find precision like that comforting, like when you know the right amount of a thing. So, yeah, like when you just got the music going and the coffee's good, and you can just quietly sit there and make a thing, and that that's a really cool way to start your day. Is I've already been productive because I just made something, like I could have the laziest day for the rest of the day, but like I here I am, like I've already made something with my own hand.

Nick Houpt: 34:25

I think that's where I am with coffee a lot, too, is it's not so much the coffee, it's the process.

Justin Snavely: 34:31

Yeah, yeah.

Nick Houpt: 34:32

And uh before we had our two-year-old, we would use the French press and everything. Now we're there's no time for the French press or anything like that. We could probably set a French press down and then we go do stuff, and then the French press is gone, and we're like, okay, we're fake. Yeah, but we're all about that. It I like to get up early too and do that routine of coffee, and I like to read a book and that kind of stuff as well. And it was funny. I was gonna make a post yesterday. I my my good friend told me, he made a joke and said, You're turning very granola these days as you're getting older.

Justin Snavely: 35:05

Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 35:06

And I thought about it yesterday because I was sitting there and I'm like, granola, what makes me granola? Because I'm sitting here with my mushroom coffee on a PEMF mat with instrumental folk music playing, looking at an autumn forest. That's not granola.

Justin Snavely: 35:24

Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. That sounds like a good way to start the day though.

Nick Houpt: 35:28

It's when I can, yeah, I like to start it like that. Are there any routines that that you utilize on a regular basis that you would share with people that you feel would help them slow down or start their day off on top of what you just said?

Justin Snavely: 35:43

Yeah, similarly. I'm very big make your bed in the morning guy. It's similar to the I've started my day making this thing. It's such a small thing, but you've already done something. You've done something for yourself, whether you realize it or not. I'm a very clean person by nature. I think some of it is just in the chaos of growing up, like with a split family, you want something you can control. And if you've got a room or a home, you can control what goes on in that thing, like most of the time. So I love like a tidy, put together home. So yeah, one of my first things is actually make the bed in the morning. That just sets the tone. Like the place looks nice, but feels put together. So yeah, I like that.

Nick Houpt: 36:21

Yeah, we talk about that in our book, Tilting the Balance, because there's in the beginning of the book, we we have it's called Small Tasks. Yeah, yeah. And we talk about winning small. And Michael Phelps talks about that stuff too. And then obviously the book Make Your Bed. Yeah. And so it really just makes you feel good about yourself because you already started the day winning at something, whether it's small or not. Your brain doesn't know the difference because it re you are rewarding yourself in that way, you know. So when it comes to self-care, what are some other things you put in place for self-care for your physical body?

Justin Snavely: 37:02

Yeah. I have it's not like a crazy exercise routine, but I do have an exercise routine. I do five days out of the week. Just a combination of like push-ups and stomach crunches. So that's mostly what I focus on. And then just with the nature of my setup with where I live and where I work, and honestly, even where I go to church, like home, work, and church are all downtown for me. So I pretty much walk everywhere. Unless I'm going out with family, we're catching up with friends and we're going out someplace. Like, yeah, like my world because I can, and that is a luxury, and I embrace that luxury. Yeah, it's walking.

Nick Houpt: 37:36

I even park further away from places than I need to get steps in and everything, yeah. Also, and I catch myself when I see a closer spot, I'm like, ah, someone might need that more than I do because I'm able to walk far. But I I integrate walking with what I do too. Yeah. And if there's one takeaway you want someone to have from this conversation with us that we may not have covered, what would that be?

Justin Snavely: 38:06

So I think going back to what success is, I think uh something that that also really helps me. It's like therapeutic, it's also just a good principle to live by. I'm not gonna beat your audience over the head with this, but like faith is very central to me as a person, right? But even if you're not like religiously inclined, if you just have something bigger than yourself, like in your life, I think that's good for anybody, no matter what you believe. It puts things in perspective. Like you can be like an atheist, but still be amazed at the vastness of the cosmos. And even that can inform like how you relate to people and connect with people. Because whether you believe in God or not, like both things put like humanity and life in perspective and how just precious it is that like here we are, like on this like blue orb in space, and somehow we're all conscious and we're all living with each other. And it's a miracle, no matter how you cut it. But even day to day, like when you believe in something bigger than yourself, you're more inclined to do charitable things for people, whether it's people you like, whether it's even people you don't like, when you can see the humanity and those around you and just live for that. And again, just something bigger than you. I just think like that's the best way to live. That's good.

Nick Houpt: 39:14

Yeah. Where can people find you on social media websites?

Justin Snavely: 39:18

Yeah. So I don't do a ton of social media. It's one of the worst things that I'm at. Like with my job, it's one of the things I'm worst at. Is we have the mustache social media account. I I barely post on that. But yeah, I am on Instagram. It's uh Lee S-N-A-V-E underscore L Y is my Instagram handle. So people can follow me there. A lot of my uh professional work is showcased there, but it's also like a lot more personal stuff, too, since I don't do as much freelance photography anymore. Yeah, you can message me or ask me questions if anyone's got those for sure. And then come by the mustache, shop. Downtown St. Augustine, St. George Street. We are behind the Hippo H Y P P O on St. George, and that's the place to find us.

Nick Houpt: 39:57

Awesome. Let's talk about masculinity a little bit. Yeah, let's do it. Because we've had so many people talking about men and putting suppressing their emotions, and even a lot of men with self-care and how they present themselves and everything. And I think you the stuff that you make and create and carry in your shop ties into a little of both. It's oh, I'm really manly with this hatchet, and then I'm putting nice lotions on my face. And yeah. So, what does masculinity look like for you?

Justin Snavely: 40:31

Man, that's such a good question. I can tell you, especially on the self-care side of things, like sometimes like my job is a little covert, a little stealth, even for guys who aren't maybe even thinking in the self-care realm, like that subconscious thing of I'm doing something nice for me, whether they know it or not, like you're getting like a serotonin boost or like some sort of a dopamine hit, you know what I mean? So I think there's that. But yeah, masculinity. I think like I'm a big fan of the Art of Manliness blog. I don't know if you're familiar with that. I definitely think there are things that like there's like books that guys should read. Like one of your previous guests mentioned Meditations by uh Marcus Aurelius, right? Yeah, I've got that book.

Nick Houpt: 41:10

That's all I believe.

Justin Snavely: 41:11

Yeah, it's great. And it's not one you don't even have to sit down and read the whole thing in one sitting. It's a great, like, just pick up, read a couple of pages, you're gonna get something out of it. So, yeah, there is like the stoicism thing, which is like very useful and very helpful. But I just like that there's more of a balance these days that, like, like you don't want to shame previous generations, right? Like, they they were only given what they were given. And I think it's unfair to go back and judge people based on that. We have different information, we have better ways of looking at things, but we had to work to get there, right? It wasn't just something that we're inherently born with. But I do think it's important to indulge in a lot of traditional like masculine activities, but also don't be afraid to understand, like, not just that you're feeling certain things, but why you're feeling certain things. I haven't done like therapy yet myself, but I know a lot of people who do. And I think there's a lot of value in that, just in talking to people, just being open. It kind of a little bit ties into the bigger than yourself thing, but like sometimes the bigger than you thing can just mean being open to the people around you and not being closed off. And then to the people that we want to be open to. I think there's a challenge to say let people also be open to you, if that makes sense. And I think the world is getting better with that. Strength and leadership is not just do what I say because I said it. Strength in leadership is also being open with your people and letting them know, hey, like I've got these flaws. I'm not perfect, but we can still all do this and work together.

Nick Houpt: 42:38

Awesome.

Justin Snavely: 42:39

Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 42:40

Now, last question: what does a life well balanced look like to you?

Justin Snavely: 42:44

Definitely having a relationship and engagement and just communication with like people that are close to you, people that you want to get to know, people that you've known for a long time, having that foundation. I know not everyone comes from like a good family, and that's certainly a part of my story, but if you can build a family like around yourself, even if it's not blood relation, I feel like that's like the first step. Having something that you're living for that's more than just career, whether it's like a hobby or like a broader passion, like a charity work or something like that, and then just having fun. Like it truly is about like the journey. Like, I feel like most people, when they get the thing that they're pursuing, it's just, oh, I'm here. Yeah, exactly. So just have fun. The journey is the best part.

Nick Houpt: 43:31

Awesome.

Justin Snavely: 43:31

Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 43:32

Man, this has been great. Yeah, Nick, thank you so much. No, thank you. We appreciate you coming on, and we look look forward to more and more success for you and for the shop and everything. So thank you.

Justin Snavely: 43:44

Yeah, and I wish that for you guys. I know you've got the book in the works. I saw that Instagram post today. It's looking really good.

Nick Houpt: 43:50

Thank you.

Justin Snavely: 43:51

Yeah, you're welcome. Awesome.

Nick Houpt: 43:53

So we're coming down to the end of our time, and at the end, we do a speed round. Okay. And it's called balanced or unbalanced. And so I'm going to ask you something, and you tell me if it's balanced or if it's unbalanced. If you want to elaborate more, you can. If we want to just keep moving through, we can keep moving too. Sound good? Sounds good. All right. Balanced or unbalanced, engaging with every customer on a busy day.

Justin Snavely: 44:22

Mostly balanced. Some days it just gets really hard. It's kind of hard to translate what mustache is if you haven't seen it. Like it's literally like a hut, like a shed, but it's very busy because it's on St. George. Sometimes, like, I've got a line of people, and on the more difficult days, like it's a blessing in disguise because people want to come into the shop, but it can get like really tight court. And so I've got to take a moment to keep from getting agitated, to be real. And all right, I know this guy is driving me nuts because he's trying to get in ahead of the people who are already in here, but I still need to give that person like the best experience I can. So let me try to be patient with me and him and just kind of go from there. But yeah, most of the time, like I do a good job at that, but I'm not perfect, and every now and then someone will still get on my nerves.

Nick Houpt: 45:10

Yeah. That's it happens to all of us. Yeah. We this is funny we answered this. Waking up before sunrise to work.

Justin Snavely: 45:18

Yeah, balanced. Yeah. That's funny that I put that on there.

Nick Houpt: 45:21

We already talked about it. Turning your hobby into your job.

Justin Snavely: 45:26

Yeah, I would say balanced. We didn't talk about this as much, but my aspect as a company photographer has led me to a lot of really amazing places. There was like a small period recently where I wasn't doing as much photography for us, and I worried if that side of things was over with. But it again, patience, it came back around. And I can't tell you how many doors just being the hippo photographer has opened for me and doing other things. So I'll stay balanced there.

Nick Houpt: 45:50

Cool. And you do all their photography and everything too?

Justin Snavely: 45:52

Yeah. We have another person who does like social media. So she does like most of the daily posting, excuse me. But if you see like the magazine style, like high-end kind of shot, that's what I'm doing.

Nick Houpt: 46:03

Oh, cool. Yeah. Awesome.

Justin Snavely: 46:05

Now when I see it, I'll be like, I know if it looks like it should be in like a food cookbook, like that's probably my yeah, like the branding style stuff.

Nick Houpt: 46:12

Yeah. Very cool. Doing everything yourself instead of outsourcing.

Justin Snavely: 46:18

Oh, unbalanced. Yeah, I'm bad about that. I like control and I don't always like to let go of that.

Nick Houpt: 46:24

Yeah. Smelling scents for hours at a time. Balanced, love it.

Justin Snavely: 46:29

Maybe I love it a little too much, but it comes with the territory. Yeah. Yeah. We talked about it. Man, I even burn incense at home.

Nick Houpt: 46:35

Yeah.

Justin Snavely: 46:35

So I feel you on the granola thing a little bit.

Nick Houpt: 46:38

Let's talk about that though, real quick, though. How do you come up with new scents?

Justin Snavely: 46:41

Yeah. Some of it is just like ideas. Like I know I having been in this world so long, I know what certain ingredients smell like. And there is a bit of experimentation that you can do. But I love vetiver, which that's like a very, it doesn't sound appealing. It's a very grassy scent, but it's like a fragrant kind of grass. Not like how lemongrass is citrusy, but it's earthy and just clean. And it's just it just feels real. So I like things with vetiver.

Nick Houpt: 47:07

Yeah, those are my kind of scents too. I'm like, this makes me feel manly.

Justin Snavely: 47:10

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 47:11

Like I I always wanted to do a beard balm or something that was like campfire and bourbon. Yeah. With a grassiness. If I could find something like that, wink wink.

Justin Snavely: 47:26

Yeah, yeah. See, right off the top of my head, I'm thinking like you could use like a cedar essential oil and mix in a few other things, and you're probably halfway there.

Nick Houpt: 47:33

Yeah.

Justin Snavely: 47:34

Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 47:34

Because those are what I like too. Those like grassy, like outdoorsy smells. Having creative freedom over financial stability.

Justin Snavely: 47:44

Yeah, I would say balance. I feel like I'm lucky to have both, really and truly.

Nick Houpt: 47:48

And I I feel like too, if you live out the creativeness that's inside you, the money will come on its own.

Justin Snavely: 47:58

Exactly. Even we haven't talked about this, but like we we sell t-shirts at the shop too. We have six designs that we sell. Only one of them is not ours, but I've had a hand in every design that we sell that's ours. Like a lot of it is my boss will ask me, give me 12 ideas for a t-shirt. So I write those down. Then we send them off to our graphic designer, and then I'll bounce ideas back and forth with our graphic designer. So yeah, that's it's really cool.

Nick Houpt: 48:21

Yeah, that's awesome. Balanced or unbalanced, bringing work home with you.

Justin Snavely: 48:26

Oh, unbalanced. Not just because I make the beard oils at home, but yeah, sometimes I just can't stop checking the Slack channels or the email. So that's that that's I got work to do there.

Nick Houpt: 48:37

Yeah. Balanced or unbalanced, turning a shed into a business. A balanced, yeah.

Justin Snavely: 48:44

Yeah, a successful business too, which is the coolest part about it.

Nick Houpt: 48:48

The place is always jumping. Every time I come by, it's yeah, it's rocking. Thank you. Making less revenue to deliver a higher quality, more natural product.

Justin Snavely: 49:00

I would say balanced. Although I would say the way that we've sourced things, we kind of get to have it both ways. Like we're using like high quality like organics to make our beard oils and stuff, but our profit margins are it's honestly it's all about buying in bulk. Yeah. You're you maybe spend more up front, but if you start getting certain price breaks because of quantity, then yeah, you're making a bigger investment there. But then in the long term, your average cost means you're getting more back on your sales.

Nick Houpt: 49:27

Believing success should be peaceful, not pressured.

Justin Snavely: 49:32

Yeah, balanced. Yeah. I used to think it was the other way. Like I used to feel that pressure. Yeah. But again, taking a step back and kind of looking at how much I have, and I truly feel so lucky. Even the apartment that I have. Like I have like dirt cheap rent, which is something that a lot of people don't get to say. Yeah. So awesome.

Nick Houpt: 49:51

Balanced or unbalanced, coming on the life well balanced podcast.

Justin Snavely: 49:56

Oh, totally balanced. This is great. This is fantastic.

Nick Houpt: 50:03

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