 journey to take your health back. We are coming to you live from my home office in Makiki and from downtown Honolulu, from the studios of Think Tech Hawaii. Today we will be talking with Stephen Ritz, the founder of Green Bronze Machine and learning how he grows with Aloha. He says, we grow vegetables and our vegetables grow students. I love that. The Green Bronze Machine has served more than 50,000 students around the world every day. The Green Bronze Machine has grown more than 65,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx while generating extraordinary academic performance. And by the way, I like to mention that Stephen Ritz is the 2015 top 10 finalist for the Million Dollar Global Teacher Prize. What I would like you to take away from today's discussion is that when we invest in our KQ, the results are life-changing. So, ekomomai and welcome Stephen Ritz. Hello Wendy. Aloha from the Bronx. Straight from the Bronx, Hawaii. Straight from the Bronx. 12 stories up in my COVID classroom, otherwise known as my apartment. Alright guys, hold on to your seats because we're gonna go for a wild run here. So Stephen, tell us how the Green Bronze Machine got started. And by the way, I love that name. Well, I'm glad you love the name and Green Bronze Machine got started because we believe that we are all American's and that we can grow ourselves into new senses of opportunity, health, wealth, and performance. And that here in the poorest congressional district in America, we are growing something greater that has started a movement right here in the Bronx and has spread all around the world. Wow. And so that sign that on that slide there, that's your logo, I guess, your Green Bronze Machine logo. Yeah, we have a Green Bronze Machine logo. It's right here on my t-shirt. I hope you can see it. I usually wear a bow tie, but it's close to 100 degrees here today. So I'm not wearing a tie. Forgive me. And I'm known for my keys hat because the children call me the big keys. But 110 degrees today, they start melting on my head. Just the way I like it. Well, before we get started, and before you got started with your health journey, you had a health challenge yourself with your weight. Please tell us about this because we got a photo, a picture of you when you weren't as thin as as fit as you are now. Well, yeah, I'd like to say I'm not I wasn't quite as sexy then as I am now. So there's a picture of me there. And you know, my story is not unlike many people. And I'm sure a lot of people listening and tuning in today will get this. You know, I was first and foremost, you know, I was an aspiring professional athlete. And I say that not to impress you, but to impress upon you well into my 20s and even into my 30s, I was in incredible shape. You know, I was very slender, very slim, very athletic, strong, was able to do the triathlon, tried out for some professional sports teams was always in shape. And old age older age started catching up with me. Along with older age, some bad habits started taking in. I started eating more junk food, more soda, the foods that were readily available in my community, which were not healthy. And you showed the picture, but I have the shirt. And to understand that, you know, I went from 180 pounds to 320 pounds. And this is literally the shirt that I used to wear that I out grew. How big I was. And believe it or not was all on my belly. It was affecting my heart. I became a diabetic. I became had a psorotic liver. I was on tons of medication. I was constantly sick. And I was just sick and tired of being sick. You know, my days started with big glasses of soda and big cups of coffee and lots of bread. And sadly, I had a heart attack in school in front of my daughter. And I decided right then and there, it was time to change. And of course, I got very inspired by Mrs. Obama and the Obama White House listening to Mrs. Obama talk about how the way we treat our children is indicative of the way we treat ourselves. And I just decided I couldn't talk about it. I had to be about it. And I started just literally, I lost 100 pounds in seven months. Wow, history. Your diet was just made for a perfect diabetic world. And so I'm glad he changed it because we fight very hard here in Hawaii as a board member to reduce those numbers. And yay, we reduced one with you, Steven. So that's great news. Right. Well, you know, the easiest thing is that it just requires one simple change. Yes, small changes add up to big changes. So I'm going to give all my friends in Hawaii some advice. You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start in order to be great. And the journey up the mountain starts with one single step. I'm on the beach with my surfboard. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. All right. So now we're going to turn to your students who you are in front of daily. So I want to see all their smiles and when the children are smiling, that means they're learning. So I love this photo of the kids with you and how big are their smiles? They love them. Yeah, so that's a great picture of me with the children in our classroom with our tower garden. And you know, when children are happy, it's indicative that they are healthy. So you know, smiling children, successful children, I think what you really see here are engaged children and children who are learning are children who will be earning and growing their way to success. And for me, of course, we live in a community that is just filled with junk food and poor options. You know, the fresh food is not available. Junk food is everywhere. The clown, the king, the carnal on every single corner. And I started noticing that the children who were not performing well in school were children who were not eating well. And it just really, it just dawned on me that children will never be well read if they're not well fed. So getting them access to healthy nutrition in school where they need it most, while learning how to grow their own food in the community where there was none was one of the greatest things I can do. And the rest has just been history. You know that you've been part of the story, Wendy. Wow. Yeah. And I know that you have curriculum. You have a whole course around the tower gardens because you can use the tower gardens in your classroom very easily. So I understand that you've developed a curriculum around the tower garden. So I want you to share with us a little bit about it and tell us who can use this curriculum and how can they get signed up for it? Super. So it is right here just to show you what this bad boy is. This is the green bronze machine classroom curriculum. It is over 300 pages, lesson plans, metrics, rubrics, data. There are 600 active links, but long made short, it is the art and science of growing vegetables using a tower garden, aligned to common core next generation science standards P 21 international baccalaureate and the United Nations Sustainable Development goals. And presently we are in more than 500 schools across the United States, hundreds of schools in Canada and five nations globally. And we are expanding around the world daily. And this is literally an all you can eat buffet of work of school. So it is not an add on. It is a build in designed for teachers to teach children reading, writing, math, social studies, art, literacy, project based learning, using, of course, one of my favorite teachers of all time, the amazing edible tower garden. Wow. That is a means, Steven, just can you rattle off your website so people can Sure, and the best thing about the tower about the green bronze machine classroom curriculum is that it comes with an unlimited lifetime site license, no annual fees, no tiered subscriptions, we do the data. It is available at the green bronze machine website that is www.green bronzemachine.org and simply go on the curriculum page, but visit the website, take a look at has professional development enhancement videos, you name it, we've got it. And of course, when you get the product, you get me and I'm available. Well, that's one of the best parts. But I love being involved. And I'm proud to say that to date, we've had 100% teacher satisfaction, 94% of the students use it want to repeat the program. And we were named the top 10 program in the United States and top 100 in the world for the work that we are doing. Wow. You know, I work personally with a friend named Dora. And Dora is with the community of schools and they love the idea and so they have to just get on board and get on it. They the problem is they have so many schools in the system throughout the islands. And I know that when you purchase a program or the the curriculum, it goes to the one school site, but they probably they should probably work on the main campus first, but they probably have a I want to see like at least 10 to 15 campuses throughout the islands. So they'll have to make that decision. But this is a curriculum. Let me share with you, Wendy. This is a curriculum that is data driven and 100% tested. We beta tested this with 30,000 students. And realize we're finding that we are moving the most difficult to teach and hard to reach children. Spheres of success that they've never imagined. So what are we seeing? We're seeing teachers teach longer. We're seeing teachers get tenured faster. We're seeing children that are not getting left back that are being promoted that are not suffering from summer slide. So in many ways, this curriculum pays for itself. Best of all, it is fully covered by a lot of grant programs, right? Clive for grants, people love supporting the Green Bronx Machine classroom curriculum and paying for it with grant funding. Wow. You know, Steven, your excitement is contagious. And Hawaii hears about your results in your classrooms. So you get a call one day. And this is years ago from one of Hawaii's premier schools, the Kamehameha schools, to be a keynote speaker at their technology technology fair here in Hawaii and they know they sent for you. So I understand that it was a full house or over 400 teachers and staff standing room only. And I met you at that fair and we went and I brought my tower guard and you were on stage and please share a little bit about that moment with us while you were sharing your heart with Hawaii. Well, first and foremost, thank you, the amazing state of Hawaii and the Kamehameha School District for your amazing hospitality. But what the most important thing to realize was that I sat in a room of 450 teachers who gave me this resounding standing ovation. Yes, they are ready. Hawaii is ready. And they're like so many states, the people in Hawaii understand the challenges facing children around obesity, diabetes, lack of engagement, you know, farm to table movements, growing your own food, having access to healthy fresh food. So I was so grateful for the reception I've got. We've gone on to do amazing things. I hope to return to Hawaii soon. So I could also work on my surfing game. But yeah, that was made four years ago. It's hard to believe for quick years. But um, you know, I can't wait to get back. I know you've made Herculean growth and created tremendous opportunities with students, communities, NGO, faith based organizations who understand that with this technology, we no longer need to be dependent on boats. We can grow our own food and we can do it with 90% less water, 90% less space and engage children and meaningful academic experiences and workforce development programs. Because to me, I don't want to talk to edgy talk about education if you're not talking about opportunity. So this really creates spheres of success around entrepreneurship, health, wellness, add value products and most importantly, sustainability, which on that island is absent and on all of the islands and around the world is absolutely critical. Yes, so critical. And that's why when I first bought the tower garden to Hawaii, I knew that this was exactly what we needed. Yes, we have land, we have ag land, but we're not using all of our ag land. But you know what? We have a lot of urban land, and it's underused. And so why not do exactly what you've done in the Bronx of New York and create farms within the city limits. And I thought that was brilliant. Wendy, this is my farm 12 stories up in the middle of the Bronx. Stories up in an apartment building with copious amounts of food. And I'm doing it with 90% less water, 90% less space, no, no pesticides, no chemicals, no infestation. And the food that I grow, I grow there, I eat it here. It is as fresh and nutritious as anything in the world. And that's how I retain my boyish good looks and charming personality and endless energy. Amen. And I know that you're going backwards in time with your face and your skin and your look and your attitude. And that's prices because, you know, people are always afraid to talk about their age. But you know, age is a number and no matter what we do, it's going to happen. But how do we arrive at the ages in the, you know, the upper ages? And that's most critical. And for you, Stephen, you've turned around your cloth, you're looking younger, you have more vitality, you have less pain, you're doing everything right, that your body says you need to do. And you've learned a lot through the Targon and then what you've learned and acquired, you're passing it to your students. And that's why their smiles are even brighter at a younger age. You've given them absolutely. It's a life changing opportunity. Listen, learning to grow your own food is so critical on so many levels. Even if you don't eat the food, but you share it with other people. It's learning about water. It's learning about ecosystems. It's learning about inputs. It's learning about time. And it's really learning about nature. And I always say when we teach children about nature, and give them equal access, realize we have the first wheelchair accessible farm run by wheelchair students in the United States. I know you have an equally impressive story. We have foster care on farms where children who are unemployed and chronically underemployed are now growing their own food. There's my buddy, Jack's appearing on the screen. I think I know that good looking woman behind them. Let's take a good look at that picture and tell me more, Wendy. Wow, yeah. So Jack's he's a 19 year old young man. And he just finished high school and you know, with this COVID and the lockdown, he says, oh, I can't get a job. So he said, you know what, you guys, you have a few tower gardens out there. And then I the family went into a powwow, and they decided together, you know what, Jack's needs an opportunity. And if Jack says yes, they're all going to stand behind and support him. So they quickly poured a 20 by 20 foot slab concrete slab, then they put the towers up. And then now Jack's is running the farm and their family's backing him up because Jack's was born with no use of his legs. And so he's been on the wheelchair all his 19 years of life. And so of course, some may ask, how does he reach the top levels? Well, that's where the big brother comes in, or the mom or the dad, and they'll help him harvest or put the plants up there. But the most of the work is done done below from his wheelchair where he can just bend over, fill in the water, fill in the nutrients, testing the pH and doing all the daily chores is done straight up from his wheelchair. It's just during harvest time that he needs the help and assistance of his family members. And of course, there's just the benefit of horticultural therapy. Listen, when I'm around these plants here, and I live in the urban jungle, there is a sense of peace, fulfillment, mindfulness and calm serenity. Yes, then sway moment that I have here, that is absolutely helping me in untold ways with stress reduction, relaxation, mindfulness, tranquility, and everything that connects me back to my inner soul. So there are so many benefits, plus you get to eat it. So there is it. And in case he's selling it. Yes. And that's the best part you save a lot of money. I mean, personally, I eat over $100 of produce from my tower, Steven. And that's for the last nine years. So can you read the proximity? Some people eat about a hundred. I can eat about $100. Listen, I hear in New York City, prices are insane. And that's why you don't know where it comes from, right? I can grow exponentially, you know, I grew 37 kinds of fruits, vegetables and herbs. I do all kinds of specialty products. I've never eaten better for less. You know, you buy the tower garden once and you have refills for life. So people don't think value, you know, you buy it once you get free refills for life. Yes, that's the best deal in town, man. And I say when people buy a tower garden, they're buying peace of mind. Because here in Hawaii, everything is shipped in. So yes, it was picked a week ago. And it has it's grown with GMO seeds, it has pesticides, chemicals, and a week old. So it's already on its way of rotting. And that's what we're consuming daily. And that's our hope to get healthier and better. So the hope is that we, the state of Hawaii can be more self-agriculturally sustainable, so that we can grow locally, supply our local schools, our local families with the best quality of food, which is only like a day or so old, but with the tower, it's five minutes old, and it's in my body. That's what I love that 100% correct. It's not a product. It is a movement. That's what I'm so proud to be part of this movement. And realize now with the COVID crisis, this is the perfect opportunity, because it's kitchen tables, and homes are becoming the new classroom. Here you have a wonderful project based learning experience that you can put in your home, and best of all gives children jobs, responsibility, things to do. And then it allows you as a family to come together and cultivate a healthier, more sustainable palette, your child's best interest, your family's best interest, and the world's best interest. So it's really a great time right now to be doing this kind of work. Exactly. And it's all wrapped up in the tower garden. So it's producing families and aloha, and it's creating better quality of food for all of us to consume. As we have the best project as well, to bring the family bonding stronger together right there in the living room, or on the on the lanais or in the patio. So wow, you know, I know you work a lot and Steven, and when you were here in Hawaii, I have a slide of you. And it was with you, you were on the surfboard. And that surfboard, I don't know how we found that surfboard, because you're pretty tall. And one long board. I'm glad you don't have me falling off in the water. I don't know what other slides you have. You may have a surprise slide for me. But there's my friend, Wendy from conference, but I will tell you the ability to be out on the beach with the people to go have some shaved ice to visit Ethels to see some of the farms to see the turtles to see the landscape. You know, your state has some of the most beautiful landscape in the world. And I urge all of you to not only embrace it, but to savor it and preserve it and treasure it. So thank you for that opportunity. I yearn for the days when I'm back at the beach hanging 10 and getting on doing my little wiggle. And you shall be here, Steven, you just put it out in the universe that is your heart. So you're coming back. And I'm working with so many people saying, let's bring Steven back. And they're like, Yes, yes, yes, let's bring him back. So as soon as this COVID this isolation lockdown is over, just pack your bags, you and your wife, Lisette, come on down. We're waiting for you. I'll be there with my keys and my swimming trunks. You can we're excited. But before we go further, Steven, I want to share with others that we have a video. And I want to have a heart of what you do in the classroom. And what the green Bronx machine is all about. So it's just a short video that we want to share with everyone. I can't wait to see it. Let's roll it. There is a myth that marginalized communities want cheaper food. No, they want healthy food. Kids are getting fatter. They're getting sicker. I have 200 pounds, six graders. And to me, that's appalling. I can't accept that. It's just not right. Listen, when kids lose weight, and they go home and they're bringing food home to their families, and grandparents are getting involved, and parents are getting involved, and people are talking about what's going in their bodies. Plant by plant, classroom by classroom. We're changing outcomes. And we're changing destinies. I have kids who are teachers now. I have kids who are aspiring to things and jobs and places that they've never imagined. That to me is exciting. Put a seed in the ground. Put a seed in the ground. It's that simple. Go ahead, Wendy. I'm sorry. That's amazing. That's what you do every day in class. I mean, like, that's one of the videos that actually shows my high school program and realize that whole facility was once an abandoned building. So they've taken abandoned building in the middle of the Bronx and converted into a commercial farm where children are growing food, growing jobs, and growing opportunity is one of the most spectacular things. But what I love is it shows how easy the use of a tower garden is. Now, I'm not going to say they take care of themselves. That's where people come in. But the assembly, the maintenance, this is stuff that anybody can do. This is not daunting science. And best of all, is that, as you well know, Wendy, we're part of a community of over 100,000 people in the United States alone who are tower gardeners. And this technology is spreading around the world. You know, our curriculum is available in Arabic. It will be available in Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish, and Italian. Because the desire to grow food is universal. Wow. Okay. So now that we talk about growing on a tower, we have a question from our viewer. And that would, what would make a tomato start to turn black on a tower garden? First, I thought it was a joke, but it's a real question. So there, that wasn't planned. That's a really good question. My suspicion is that it is what is called end blossom rot. And what that means is you will probably have your water cycle up too much. So you need to reduce your timer. Because what's happening is the roots are consistently taking up water. And then they become what's called rotten. So the tomato goes from being red to really black very quickly. Sometimes it can be pH, but the beauty is if I don't know, there are more than 100,000 people on the tower garden Facebook page. If you post a question, you will get the answer you need. But my suspicion is without seeing it and realize I'm thousands of miles away, what it is is a simple timer issue and that you are over watering your tomatoes. That's, I think that's the same answer I would, I would share Steven. Whoa, boy, you seem to be a pro at this growing, huh? Well, you know, I've learned, I like, you know, I'm going to tell you, Wendy, our students have grown over 100,000 pounds of vegetables. And that's amazing. And it's mostly little guys right now. So I can, you can, we all can. We are Americans. Aloha. And you know, Steven, you've hidden right on the nose because our kids are getting fatter and they need help. And you know, they need skills. And this is basic skills. So that's why I resonate so well with this as well. Because this is, I'm a hands-on person. I'm a, you know, a common sense person. And I'm not an academic. And so for me, this went right up my alley when I got it home. I was one of the first in the state of Hawaii to have it, put it together, saw the seed sprout. I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm a grandma. So I was so excited. Put the seedling into the tower. And then it grew. And then it grew and I breathed air on it and I prayed over it. And I just watched it grow and grown. And it's been nine years, Steven. And you know what? The fact that we love it so much. And I just pray that most, everyone that does invest in a tower garden, that the passion for their health and their family's health continues, not just the day that they decided to do it. But the whole idea is to continue success and using it for the rest of their lives. Well, you know, I'm going to sum it up real quickly. This to me is the ultimate project-based learning tool. And you know, I know you well. But I've seen tower gardens teach children responsibility, science, math, how to follow directions, patience, to merit. And those are some of the critical skills in life. I'm not an academic either. You know, I'm an ex-athlete. But the important thing too is, as I've known you through the years, is to see the amount of people you have touched and the lives you have changed. You've not only changed your life, you've built a business, you've empowered many people below you to build a business as well. And the outreach that you have had into your community is Herculean. So yeah, you're growing vegetables in your tower garden, but you're growing so much more. You're growing money. You're growing community. You are growing people and you are growing lives. And I just want to say, I take my hat off to you and I salute you because you are a true community hero and your people in your community are so lovely to have you. And I'm honored and privileged and proud to call you a friend. Thank you so much, Stephen. It means so much coming from you. You know, Hawaii is one of the most isolated landmass in the world. And we need this. Everyone does, but we need it truly. I mean, I want to say more than anybody else because when our ships stop coming to the islands, in two days time, Stephen, we have no food. Okay, the people- Well, we can all eat at Wendy's. So Wendy, I'm going to get ready to say goodbye. I'm going to urge anybody who wants to learn more about what I do to go to the Green Bronx Machine website. You can also follow me, Stephen, S-T-E-P-H-E-N, Stephen Ritz, I have my name right here. It's on a copy of my book, so you can learn about the power of a plant. Reach out to us. I'm here to support you. And remember, you don't have to be great to start, but you have to start in order to be great. And no one can do everything, but everyone can do something. So get out there, make it happen. Mahalo! All right, and Stephen, look at me, and thank you, Wendy. You gave this to me when you were in my living room. I got one of the first Green Rock Machine. You got one of the first hats ever. Yes, I did. I'm so excited. I don't let anybody touch it. This is my special hat. When I go to work, I wear it proudly because you gave it to me. I'm going to bring you a sustainable gangster shirt the next time I see you. All right, so Hawaii wants to say Mahalo to you, Stephen, for staying up with us and just sharing your heart, your energy with the people that you can impact. And there's so many, so many classrooms that are yet to be entered with you, with this video, so that they can understand the power of a plant. Right, so that's exactly what it is, the power of a plant. So thank you, God bless you. I'll speak to you soon and make epic happen. Mahalo! See you soon, Wendy! See you soon, Wendy! Yes, weekend!