01 · The dream
I wanted to make movies.
When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a filmmaker. I made my first feature film and toured the festival circuit with it. I thought I was on my way.
02 · The turn
Reality had other plans.
The film industry was tough. I worked hotel graveyards to keep the dream alive, 10pm to 6:30am, straight from evening classes. Dinner was whatever the 7-Eleven had at 2am: cup ramen, beef jerky, chips, a Monster. Eventually I found my way into a lighting company, and from there into packaging. I went from carrying bags at a hotel to building businesses, traveling, driving the cars I used to dream about.
03 · The cost
I ended up over 312 pounds.
The nights never stopped, they just got later. Midnight calls with factories overseas. Dinners that ended the same three ways: pizza, a drive-thru, or another cup of ramen. I had built the life I wanted and I did not feel like the person I wanted to be.
04 · The change
2024: the change began.
I tried everything with a name on it. Keto. Carnivore. Every plan I could find. What survived all of it was the thing they had in common: protein first, every meal, no exceptions. I got obsessive about what I was actually eating, started training, and went from over 312 pounds to 178.
05 · The realization
I did not want a diet. I wanted better versions of what I already ate.
Every plan asks you to subtract. Give up the noodles, give up the rice, give up the bowl at the end of a long night. That works right up until the day you are tired, and then it does not work at all. I wanted the noodles on my plate to carry their weight. I could not find what I wanted, so I made it.
06 · The search
I read every label
in every aisle.
I went looking for a ramen I could love and still feel good about. Convenience stores, Asian markets, the health aisle, late at night and on lunch breaks. I turned every cup over and read the back. Fried noodles, a gram or two of protein, a day’s worth of sodium. The ones that called themselves healthy tasted like the idea of soup. Nothing on any shelf was the cup I wanted, so the only way to have it was to make it.
07 · The partner
I flew around Asia
to find the right hands.
A noodle with the protein built in is not something you can order from a catalog. I flew around Asia looking for the right sourcing partners, tasted more test batches than I can count, and sat with the people who would actually be making it until I found a factory willing to work through the recipe with me, noodle by noodle, broth by broth. That is where NOMI is made today. I know the people. I have eaten at their table.
08 · Now
A familiar food.
A new question.
Could we keep the warm broth, the noodles and the convenience, while working plant protein into the noodle itself? We tested, changed recipes, tested again, worked the noodle and the texture and the broth until it was something I wanted in my own pantry. Not from a trend report or a boardroom. From a food I never wanted to give up. We started with ramen because it is the one that carried me. Rice and pasta are next.
