Care Before You Cure with Mark Gilliland

In this episode, Michael Dargie sits down with Mark Gilliland, founder of Kyoto Botanicals, a botanical wellness company built on hemp-derived, THC-free CBD and, as of recently, functional mushrooms. Mark never set out to work in cannabis. A self-described introvert and former wildlife biologist, he grew up in Dallas riding his bike into the woods and wandering creeks from sunup to sundown, turning over rocks and catching anything that moved. That childhood love of nature became a biology degree, years of fieldwork, and eventually a career in consumer packaged goods marketing at companies like Nestle. The turn toward botanicals came out of the blue. An old boss recruited him to Charlotte's Web, the brand that helped create the whole CBD category alongside Charlotte Figi and the original patient families. Mark had real reservations. He had never been a cannabis guy and carried the same negative perception of weed that a lot of people did. But from week one he was hooked. Seeing firsthand how the plant changed people's lives was eye-opening, and he decided to dedicate himself to growing awareness and acceptance for it. Along the way the two get into the science and the soul of the work. Mark explains terpenes, the chemical defence mechanism plants use to fend off bugs and animals, and how those same compounds carry health and wellness benefits for us. He makes the case for a shift from treating illness to baseline maintenance and prevention, from curing ourselves down the road to caring for ourselves day to day. The conversation is honest about the founder's life too. Mark describes the roller coaster nobody warned him about: highs like no other high, and lows that can drop you to rock bottom in a heartbeat. His way through it is the same thing that has grounded him since childhood, getting outside, walking the dog, sitting in the sun for three minutes to reset. The heart of the episode is Mark's decision to stop hiding. For years he ran Kyoto Botanicals by the rigid marketing playbook he had learned, suppressing the nagging feeling that his real differentiator was himself, his voice, and why he cared. A few months ago he finally turned the camera on, forced himself through thirty days of YouTube videos, rewrote his own blog posts, and redesigned his homepage around a simple question: what do I want people to feel when they meet me and the brand? His advice to rebels in waiting is disarmingly simple. Don't hide yourself. That's the reason what you're doing matters, and eventually why it will matter to the world. You may not reach a hundred million people, but you'll reach a hundred thousand of the right ones. Woven through it all are camping trips with his kids, a love of baking bread, a hard-won lesson about giving yourself grace, and a book recommendation that reframes how we see the world entirely. **Episode Highlights** - \[00:57,000] Meet Kyoto Botanicals | Mark introduces himself as founder of Kyoto Botanicals, a botanical wellness company focused on THC-free, broad-spectrum hemp CBD, recently expanded into functional mushrooms. - \[01:50,000] Why 'Botanicals' | He explains the name was deliberate, always meant to reach beyond one plant into the many plants that support our wellbeing. - \[02:10,000] Terpenes 101 | Terpenes give wine its full body and show up across the pepper family. Mark, a former wildlife biologist, breaks down what they actually are. - \[02:39,000] A Plant's Defence | Terpenes are the plant's chemical defence mechanism against bugs and animals, and many of them are beneficial for human health. - \[04:47,000] The Cottonmouth Bite | At about ten, Mark picked up a baby water moccasin that bit him. Luckily it was a dry bite, and he still has the fang scars to prove it. - \[06:39,000] Recruited To Charlotte's Web | An old boss pulled him into Charlotte's Web, the company that helped create the CBD category. Mark had serious reservations about working in cannabis. - \[07:38,000] Hooked From Week One | Meeting Charlotte Figi and the original families, and seeing the plant change lives firsthand, turned his skepticism into a calling. - \[09:03,000] Care, Don't Just Cure | Mark argues for a shift from treating illness to daily wellness and prevention, and senses that culture is finally starting to change. - \[10:15,000] The Founder Roller Coaster | Nobody warned him about the highs and lows: euphoria one moment, the terror of feeling like a failure the next, sometimes within the same day. - \[12:19,000] How He Resets | Getting outside is his regulator. A walk, a run, or even three minutes in the sun helps him catch himself sliding too far up or down. - \[19:13,000] A Little More Grace | Asked what he wishes the world knew, Mark lands on giving ourselves and each other more grace, a lesson he's trying to model for his kids. - \[25:02,000] An Immense World | Mark recommends Ed Yong's book on how animals sense the world differently, a humbling read that ties back to his message about grace and patience. - \[27:48,000] Advice To Rebels In Waiting | The nagging itch he suppressed too long: his real differentiator was himself. Don't hide from what made you want to do it in the first place. - \[29:36,000] Turning The Camera On | He put his name and face everywhere, filmed YouTube videos, wrote his own blog posts, and rebuilt his homepage around how he wants people to feel. - \[31:55,000] Thirty Days Of Reps | Super introverted, Mark forced himself to film daily for a month. By day five or six the fear was gone and it became routine. - \[33:47,000] Where To Find Mark | Kyoto Botanicals dot com and the Kyoto Botanicals channel on YouTube, where he brings his one-on-one market conversations to scale. **Links From This Episode** - Kyoto Botanicals - Kyoto Botanicals on YouTube - Charlotte's Web - An Immense World by Ed Yong - Nestle Full show notes, transcript, and more: https://rebelrebelpodcast.com/episodes/care-before-you-cure