Episode Details

The "Billion Dollar Meal"...

Take a look at the ingredients of just one of the culinary delights designed by my guest on today's podcast.

Young Thai Coconut Meat Spinach Raw Cashew Butter Goat Colostrum Chlorophyll Whole Leaf Aloe Buffered Vitamin C Crystals Collagen Vitamineral Greens Silica Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate E3-Live (Brain-On) MCT Oil Four Sigmatic 10 Mushroom Blend (Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, Enokitake, Maitake, Shiitake, Lion's Mane, Tremella, Agaricus Blazei, and Meshima) Rice Bran Solubles Hemp Milk

From the Billion Dollar Meal above, to the Million Dollar Smoothie, to my son's favorite - "The Dragon Bowl" - and beyond, Khalil Rafati features an amazing assortment of superfood creations at his "Sun Life Organics" juice and smoothie bar spread across California. But Khalil hasn't always been a health freak who creates very expensive smoothies.

He went to Los Angeles in the 1990s and had it all. He was working with Hollywood movie stars and legendary rock musicians. But it wasn't long before he found his way into the sordid underbelly of the City of Angels. At 33, Khalil hit rock bottom. He was addicted to heroin and cocaine, overtaken by paranoia and psychosis, and written off by his friends and family.

He was 109 pounds, a convicted felon, high school dropout, and homeless junkie living on the infamous Skid Row in downtown L.A. So how does someone with nothing, who feels like they deserve nothing, and who just wants to end it all turn their life around?

What's the best way out of a hole? Quit digging.

Khalil's book "I Forgot to Die" is an incredible true story of pain, suffering, addiction and redemption. How one man ultimately conquered his inner demons and wrote a new life story. Today, Khalil is the owner of Malibu Beach Yoga and SunLife Organics, a rapidly growing chain of popular juice and smoothie bars in California. He also founded Riviera Recovery, which is a transitional living facility for drug addicts and alcoholics.

Among the many things Khalil and I talked about: -How to guarantee a celebrity won't want you around them...7:30

• In most cases, Khalil's travel lifestyle is very upscale; he is hired for his culinary expertise.
• "You don't need to be special; you just need to be transparent."
• If you want to guarantee a celebrity will never be friends with you, ask for a selfie.
  • They just want to be normal.
  • Oftentimes isolated from the rest of the world.
• People are enamored with Khalil's transparent approach to telling his story.

-The story behind the "Billion Dollar Meal" and the "Million Dollar Smoothie"...15:10

• Khalil is a devoted Ben Greenfield disciple
• Most recipes at Sunlife Organics are Khalil's
• The recipes were just what he was eating, and people asked him what he was eating.
• Smoothie is vegan
• Eat for purpose, versus for pleasure
• Has become the best version of himself

-How I treated a problematic erection with fermented beet juice...21:30

• Recommended by Dr. Mercola
• The efficacy of the Gainswave treatment

-The story behind (or that led to) Khalil's book, "I Forgot to Die"...26:00

• Rough childhood
  • Abuse, neglect
  • Acted out; shame; desperate for attention
  • Arrested several times as a teenager; major legal trouble by age 21
  • Drove to CA with $800 to his name.
• Drove to CA with $800 to his name
  • Started detailing biz; net several A-list celebrities as clients
  • Began dealing drugs