Business

Toronto Startup “Duma Energy Drink” Revolutionizes How You Feel About Energy Drinks

Published

2 years ago

February 22, 2022

It’s no secret that the energy drink business is massive, and the list of brands emerging into this industry is constantly growing. Every year, the sales volume increases, and there is an increasing demand for safer alternatives. As the founders of Duma, Andrew Zoka and his business partners, Leslie Wiafe Seth VanDaele and Maxim Nechaev have created an energy drink that isn’t just less sugar and caffeine, it actually promotes health and vitality.

Andrew remembers that there were times when he and his team would buy energy drinks to keep themselves going throughout the day. But he always had concerns over what these drinks could do to a person’s health. An idea sprang to life, and he immersed himself in information about the human body and the many different things that can affect it, where he learnt about the work of experts that showed how our energy can be subject to changes due to circadian rhythm, sunlight, sleep, and a multitude of other things.

This charismatic individual began experimenting, searching for the most effective mixture of these ingredients that could provide a boost of energy as well as promote psychological and physical health. One of their goals is to promote health and well-being in a market that is full of arguably dangerous alternatives. “I don’t think there should be unhealthy food products on the market at all in this day and age,” Andrew says.

Duma is so much more than just energy drinks. In fact, it’s their true, underlying purpose that sets them apart from the many other companies that are also putting out health based energy drinks. The real mission is to generate income that can be donated to cutting edge medical research, specifically, for sickle-cell anemia.

This is something that matters very much to Andrew and his business partners, because approximately 300,000 babies per year are born with sickle-cell anemia, and it is a disease that plagues Andrew Zoka himself. This has given Andrew a unique awareness of the fact of how many people around the world, many of them children, suffer from this incurable disease, and he doesn’t believe it is necessary. Thanks to the advancement of medical research and technology, Andrew feels that, with proper funding, a cure could be developed, and sooner rather than later.

Duma hopes to change health both personally through the product, as well as globally through

the research their proceeds can facilitate. Their energy drink is getting set to launch in 10 pilot stores throughout Los Angeles, California, and more than 10 in the Toronto area. The future looks bright for these entrepreneurs, who are excited to be able to make a difference in such a big way, both for now, and possibly for many generations to come.

Business

Turning Tragedy into Triumph Through Walking With Anthony

Published

1 week ago

April 18, 2024

Rosario Farell

On the morning of February 6, 2010, Anthony Purcell took a moment to admire the churning surf before plunging into the waves off Miami Beach. Though he had made the dive numerous times before, that morning was destined to be different when he crashed into a hidden sandbar, sustaining bruises to his C5 and C6 vertebrae and breaking his neck.

“I was completely submerged and unable to rise to the surface,” Purcell recalls. “Fortunately, my cousin Bernie saw what was happening and came to my rescue. He saved my life, but things would never be the same after that dive.”

Like thousands of others who are confronted with a spinal cord injury (SCI), Purcell plunged headlong into long months of hopelessness and despair. Eventually, however, he learned to turn personal tragedy into triumph as he reached out to fellow SCI victims by launching Walking With Anthony.

Living with SCI: the first dark days

Initial rehabilitation for those with SCIs takes an average of three to six months, during which time they must relearn hundreds of fundamental skills and adjust to what feels like an entirely new body. Unfortunately, after 21 days, Purcell’s insurance stopped paying for this essential treatment, even though he had made only minimal improvement in such a short time.

“Insurance companies cover rehab costs for people with back injuries, but not for people with spinal cord injuries,” explains Purcell. “We were practically thrown to the curb. At that time, I was so immobile that I couldn’t even raise my arms to feed myself.”

Instead of giving up, Purcell’s mother chose to battle his SCI with long-term rehab. She enrolled Purcell in Project Walk, a rehabilitation facility located in Carlsbad, California, but one that came with an annual cost of over $100,000.

“My parents paid for rehabilitation treatment for over three years,” says Purcell. “Throughout that time, they taught me the importance of patience, compassion, and unconditional love.”

Yet despite his family’s support, Purcell still struggled. “Those were dark days when I couldn’t bring myself to accept the bleak prognosis ahead of me,” he says. “I faced life in a wheelchair and the never-ending struggle for healthcare access, coverage, and advocacy. I hit my share of low points, and there were times when I seriously contemplated giving up on life altogether.”

Purcell finds a new purpose in helping others with SCIs

After long months of depression and self-doubt, Purcell’s mother determined it was time for her son to find purpose beyond rehabilitation.

“My mom suggested I start Walking With Anthony to show people with spinal cord injuries that they were not alone,” Purcell remarks. “When I began to focus on other people besides myself, I realized that people all around the world with spinal cord injuries were suffering because of restrictions on coverage and healthcare access. The question that plagued me most was, ‘What about the people with spinal cord injuries who cannot afford the cost of rehabilitation?’ I had no idea how they were managing.”

Purcell and his mother knew they wanted to make a difference for other people with SCIs, starting with the creation of grants to help cover essentials like assistive technology and emergency finances. To date, they have helped over 100 SCI patients get back on their feet after suffering a similar life-altering accident.

Purcell demonstrates the power and necessity of rehab for people with SCIs

After targeted rehab, Purcell’s physical and mental health improved drastically. Today, he is able to care for himself, drive his own car, and has even returned to work.

“Thanks to my family’s financial and emotional support, I am making amazing physical improvement,” Purcell comments. “I mustered the strength to rebuild my life and even found the nerve to message Karen, a high school classmate I’d always had a thing for. We reconnected, our friendship evolved into love, and we tied the knot in 2017.”

After all that, Purcell found the drive to push toward one further personal triumph. He married but did not believe a family was in his future. Regardless of his remarkable progress, physicians told him biological children were not an option.

Despite being paralyzed from the chest down, Purcell continued to look for hope. Finally, Dr. Jesse Mills of UCLA Health’s Male Reproductive Medicine department assured Purcell and his wife that the right medical care and in vitro fertilization could make their dream of becoming parents a reality.

“Payton joined our family in the spring of 2023,” Purcell reports. “For so long, I believed my spinal cord injury had taken everything I cared about, but now I am grateful every day. I work to help other people with spinal cord injuries find the same joy and hope. We provide them with access to specialists, funding to pay for innovative treatments, and the desire to move forward with a focus on the future.”