Locally Grown: Michael Roviello of Optimyze

Wim Hof breathwork, cold plunges, finding your true purpose, and creating a place you can be yourself

Community is an important pillar of our health and well-being as humans. Unfortunately, we have become more and more disconnected from one another. A recent survey by the Wall Street Journal showed a significant decline in the importance of community among those surveyed.

Why is this? Why are we devaluing our relationships with others more and more over the years? Is it the rise in social media? Or maybe it’s the divide in political constructs.

At Back to Our Roots, we see the value in knowing one another, especially those that share the same values as we do. Caring about your health and wanting to be better in this modern world can often feel isolating. I can’t count the number of times people have looked at me with crazy eyes when I tell them I like to do cold plunges in 40-degree water, or only eat 100% grass-fed beef.

This being said we want to start highlighting some of the leaders that we look up to in our community. You may not have a source of inspiration in your direct circle but now you have access to some of the greatest pioneers in the wellness, spirituality, and business fields. Use their stories as inspiration to craft your own and keep you motivated on your path to a healthier, happier life.

This new series is called Locally Grown.

This week we are featuring the story of Michael Roviello, Wim Hof breathwork instructor, co-founder of Optimyze, and US Navy veteran. We first met Michael when we signed up to take his breathwork and cold plunge class. We had been wanting to get into cold plunging for a while but weren’t sure the best way of going about it. He taught us the science behind cold immersions and breathing, helping us to see the value in what we were doing.

A lot of times we know things are good for us, we just don’t necessarily know why. Learning the science helps to clarify this why. Now, ever since learning from Michael, we’ve been hooked on cold plunges!

Meet Michael

While taking the course, we learned a lot about Michael’s personal story. He grew up in New York City, surrounded by concrete and loud noises but always felt best when he was in one of the parks or on the beach. Later on, he would come to realize just how much nature heals and how important it is to get sunlight, exercise outside, and avoid artificial lights.

Later, he enlisted in the Navy and became a rescue swimmer, spending a lot of time with machines and away from nature. He quickly realized how bad all of this stress was for him, especially when eating unbalanced meals on an erratic schedule.

After the Navy, he worked in a typical corporate environment like most of us probably do, working his way up to a director position. In this environment, he felt like he was constantly hit by harmful modern-day forces like blue light and EMFs while not having any exposure to nature. After 14 years, he knew he wasn’t happy and felt that he was destined for something greater.

The Feeling of Not Fitting In

For many people, it can be hard to make the jump into the unknown. A lot of times, signs begin to build up, and eventually, the universe hands us exactly what we need to finally take a great leap of faith.

This is exactly what happened to Michael with his corporate job. He had been feeling like he was living a double life, going to the jungle on vacations, yet sitting at a desk talking corporate jargon most days. He couldn’t be his true self around any of his co-workers because they just didn’t get it.

Michael felt like he had to hide part of himself from people at work in order to fit in. I don’t know about you, but this sounds oddly familiar. I’ve always had to tone down my passion for health and wellness in a corporate setting in order to not sound like a know-it-all or so I didn’t come off judgemental. A lot of times, people don’t want to hear that the way they are living directly conflicts with your idea of healthy.

A Message from Ayahuasca

During his time working a corporate job, Michael was in and out of the jungle. On one particular trip, a woman he was with introduced him to the idea of ayahuasca. He decided to embrace the power of the medicine with her, looking for the answer to his true life’s purpose.

During the ceremony, he received his answer. He was meant to be a teacher. However, this immediately upset and confused him. A teacher? He had to go and take a classroom job, accepting a lower salary and teaching what? He didn’t understand what this meant for him and tried to forget about it.

Where his purpose began…

Finally, back at his corporate job, things started to align. One of the VPs of the company he worked at decided to retire, leaving two people to potentially take his position - Michael and his co-worker. Michael wasn’t sure if it was the right step, but was liked by all his other co-workers for the role.

While he was debating the decision, another co-worker came to him and pointed out that Wim Hof, “the crazy ice guy he loved”, was going to be in LA training people in his methods. Michael immediately signed up for the course and hopped on a plane to LA, not knowing what to expect. On the way back, he decided he was going to leave his job.

Sometimes we all need a little extra push to take a risk. The Wim Hof course in LA and Michael’s higher-up stepping down were his. Changes like this are usually openings for something new; the universe will give you an out when it thinks you need it. Being let go from work, major changes in an organization’s structure, or a big move are all chances for you to shift into your true purpose.

Optimyze- More Than Just a Business

After becoming a Wim Hof instructor, Michael finally realized that he was living his purpose- he was teaching. Teaching others about the power of breath and the body. The power of intentional cold exposure.

All of these people finally had the tools to feel great! However, when it came to practicing what he was teaching, it was a bit harder for them. He would help people set up metal tubs in their backyard, showing people how to refill them with bags of ice in order to recreate the cold experience.

He realized a metal tub wasn’t feasible forever- these people needed a better way to practice what he was teaching them. That’s where Optimyze was born from.

Optimyze became a place where like-minded people could connect with one another, be their true selves, and practice with state-of-the-art health tools. Now people from all over Phoenix come to their two locations (and a third on the way) for compression therapy, saunas, cold plunges, red light therapy, and PEMF mats.

Michael’s proudest moment with Optimyze has been seeing how those with autoimmune diseases have been able to use the therapies they offer to drastically improve their health. One lady was even recommended to the center by her doctor and saw a dramatic improvement in all of her biomarkers. Not only is Optimyze helping people connect on a deeper level, but it’s making life-changing healing tools affordable to the average person.

What does Back to Our Roots mean to Michael?

Everything Michael teaches is about ancestral and primal health. He says,

“Getting back to our roots means understanding what our ancestors knew about health, building it into our way of life, and then going even deeper with it using science”.

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If you’re in the Phoenix area, be sure to take Michael’s Wim Hof breathwork class and check out Optimyze. You have no idea how much you will learn, how great you will feel, and all of the cool people you will meet.

You can also check out Michael on Instagram, where he shares educational videos on ancestral healing and his experience in the military.

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Until next week! Stay well!

Maddie and Sebastian