Hayden Earl hopes to join the ranks of Walt Disney, Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos: entrepreneurs who achieved great success after starting in a garage.
The Millcreek native and Olympus High grad is on a mission to revolutionize energy drink powders by creating effervescent tablets that eliminate the mess and inconvenience of other products. He calls it “Third Life Health Effervescent, On-The-Go, Self-Mixing, Productivity Drink Tablets.” He’s working on the name.
“I had just started exercising more consistently. I had also gotten sick and I took those Airborne tablets,” Earl said. “In my head, I bridged the gap. I thought it would be nice, instead of taking a scoop of pre-workout powder, which makes me go absolutely crazy — I get super-giddy — I can just have these tablets and it can be a little bit more convenient.”
He created a fizzy tablet that includes caffeine, L-Theanine and choline for focus, mixed with agmatine sulfate and electrolytes for performance and recovery. By tinkering with ingredients and tools in his parents’ garage, Earl finally found a process to create the tablets that is easy and scalable.
Earl launched a Kickstarter campaign as a pre-sale platform where people can get in on the ground floor of his new product. The campaign runs through July 13, with the products being rolled out in early fall. Those interested can go to Kickstarter and search for Third Life Health to find the campaign.
“My demographic is the consistent type of person who’s going to the gym every day. It’s not easy to get to the gym every day, so that’s where this comes in,” Earl said. “I gave it to my girlfriend and she said it’s like waking up on the right side of the bed in a tablet. I think that is perfect.”
Looking for a way to benefit conservation efforts, Earl turned to his childhood passion: watching Animal Planet and worshipping David Attenborough. In order to pay it forward, 10 percent of each Third Life Health product sold goes to help specific endangered species.
Each flavor of tablet supports a different animal. The current five flavors are dedicated to elephants, mountain gorillas, rhinos, polar bears and pandas. As his company grows, he hopes to expand flavor options that will fund efforts to save other species, like sharks, sea turtles and blue whales.
“I wanted to find purpose and build that into my life’s work. I want to leave a legacy that helped the world and helped these animals,” Earl said. “That’s where the name Third Life comes in. These animals are on their last life, and this is the most important one, because we can’t mess up now.”
While Earl was earning his marketing degree from Utah State University, he minored in entrepreneurship and always had the idea for Third Life Health in the back of his mind. He also developed a love for roller skating during his time in Logan, where he met his girlfriend, Jadee Merayo. They can often be found skating at Millcreek Common.
Earl remembers a professor telling him that if he created a solution to a problem, he’d find an audience. Earl’s problem was a caffeine sensitivity that made him avoid energy products with high levels of caffeine, which made him jittery and itchy. He believes his tablets will help anyone who needs a boost of energy, without the side effects of highly caffeinated products. For more information, visit ThirdLifeHealth.com.
“I think people should buy it if they want a little tablet of motivation,” he said. “I think there’s such a strong community here. I just love being a part of it and I hope I can bring some value to it.”