Sorel Mizzi Discusses the Positive Effects Onnit Labs' Alpha Brain has had on his Poker Game
Sorel Mizzi recently became a member of the Onnit Honor Roll. Onnit Labs is a company that produces vitamin supplements for real people, doing real life activities. Onnit produces several supplements like Alpha Brain, which promises to help with mental focus and memory and Shroomtech Sport which promises to improve athletic performance. We got a chance to talk to Mizzi about his experience with Alpha Brain and some of the other products Onnit produces.
You heard about Alpha Brain and Onnit Labs from the Joe Rogan Podcast, is that right? What were your first impressions of Onnit and what really drew you in to the company?
Correct. Being an avid listener of the Joe Rogan podcast, basically, Joe Rogan strikes me as the kind of person who is honest about a lot of things that many people are afraid to be honest about. So to me, he has infinite credibility. And the fact that they offered the first 30 pills with a money back guarantee, where you can send back the bottle if you don't like it and get your money back, was enough for me to try it. It was like a freeroll. It's hard not to try something that you think might possibly have a positive effect on you when they're offering a money back guarantee. So it was just a very obvious thing to try.
What was it about the product [Alpha Brain] that really drew you in? What made you say that as a person and a poker player, I need to try this?
Now that I'm doing the health challenge and I'm being more physically active, I'm really into vitamins and things that increase longevity and my overall health. And I felt like this was something that could potentially do that. So I was really interested in trying it and seeing if it had a positive effect on me. I'm always into new things, and I like to read about new medicines and new innovations, especially those that have to do with personal well being. And Nootropics was something that I never really heard much about other than from the podcast. So I did my own research and just decided that I was going to give it a shot.
After taking Alpha Brain, what were your first impressions?
At first to be honest, I didn't really notice much of a difference. And then probably after four or five days of taking it I started noticing very subtle differences in my focus and the way that my conversational flow had improved a lot, which was a very subtle difference. It's not like Adderall where it's like a massive difference and you can notice it because it's a very heavy drug. But obviously that has adverse side effects like coming down off of it and overall just being an addictive drug.
But Alpha Brain doesn't have any of those negative effects like coming down or getting addicted or anything like that. The one big difference that I noticed that I was super conscious of was the fact that I could remember my dreams. Which is huge because you spend like 20 to 30 percent of your life dreaming. And it's cool to be able to remember some of that. So that was a huge factor in me liking the product and that really got me hooked on the product and made me want to use it regularly.
Were there any specific events that you started using the Alpha Brain for, or was it something that you just started adding into your daily schedule?
It was something that I added into my daily schedule. I actually started taking it like a month before the World Series. And that's when I started to experience the subtle changes, but then when you're actually putting it to use in something where you have to use a lot of focus you definitely notice the subtle changes which can end up being the difference between, for example in poker, the difference between an easy call and a marginal call, or a marginal fold and an easy fold. And those subtle differences are what end up giving you those small edges which end up accumulating and making a bigger edge. I would say it definitely improved my poker game in that way.
What was your first tournament like after you had started taking Alpha Brain?
To be honest again, it's super subtle. In my experience, I know that everyone has different brain chemistry and some people say it doesn't work for them, other people say it works for them. For me, it's somewhere in between. A lot of people argue that it could be a placebo effect and say that it could've just been sugar pills, and you think that it's working, so it's working, for which I understand the argument.
For me personally it wasn't a big enough difference for me to be like “Wow, this is going to be a huge help to my game.” But I felt like it was enough of a difference where I would volunteer willingly to take it before every poker game just because of that small sort of thing. Now I'm focusing a lot more on hands that I'm not involved in whereas before I would kind of just zone out. Again, maybe it's just the fact that I'm conscious of that now so I'm thinking of it and I just convince myself to pay attention more, but even if it is a placebo in that sense for me it's still worth it to take it. But still, the major differences for me were just remembering my dreams. I have some really messed up dreams so kind of like remembering them and trying to diagnose them after the fact is a cool thing for me.
Have you taken any other Onnit products? If so which ones are your favorites?
I have. I've taken the New Mood. I've actually taken pretty much all of them. There is Shroomtech Immune and Shroomtech Sport and I've taken both of those. I usually take Shroomtech Immune with my Alpha Brain every morning and Shroomtech Sport I take before a workout. It's got a lot of vitamin B-12 and Cordyceps mushrooms. I would say the Alpha Brain and the Shroomtech Sport are my favorite. Shroomtech Sport because it really pumps me up before a workout, I take like three or four pills before a workout and there is a noticeable difference to the quality of my workouts for sure. I'm just way more pumped. I want to finish my workout, whereas when I don't take anything I kind of just want it to end. Now when I take the Shroomtech Sport I'm just way more inspired to get those extra couple of reps, and that's a huge thing. And then the Alpha Brain for the reasons I stated earlier.
How did you get involved with becoming an Onnit Honor Roll Member?
It's actually kind of a funny story. I listen to the Joe Rogan Podcast, as I was saying, quite a bit. I listen to it while I'm playing poker, most of the time so I can kill two birds with one stone. There was Aubrey Marcus who is the owner and CEO of Alpha Brain, he was on the podcast one time. I listened to that and I was really fascinated by a lot of the things he had to say. Randomly, after busting one of the first tournaments, I think it was the first tournament actually that I played at the World Series, I went to the Onnit booth and I just said, “Hey, can you tell me a little bit more about the product? I listened to Aubrey Marcus on the podcast and I'm really interested in endorsing it.”
I guess I just said I was really interested in endorsing the product because it was something I used anyways. And Aubrey happened to be there. He was actually there at the booth and we talked for a little bit and exchanged numbers and we had lunch. He's just a really cool fascinating dude and you can tell he just takes care of himself and he knows what he's talking about. At that point I was pretty stoked to represent Alpha Brain because it's not like I was seeking a random endorsement — I actually used the product and I figure that I can endorse and something that I believe in. Something that I believe in and something that I actually take myself before I even received any financial gain from it. And now I have the opportunity to endorse something that I truly believe in. So I met with Aubrey and we discussed a deal and we moved forward from that. I kind of just wanted to get my foot in the door because Aubrey is a really interesting dude and he's a really cool guy to have as a friend. That's how it all started.
How has it been through the World Series working with Onnit? What are some of the benefits that come with working with the company?
They give me products pretty much whenever I need, which is more than enough for me. If they didn't give it to me, I'd buy it. So it's just a win-win situation for me. I mean I get to talk about something I use myself and that I actually use on a regular basis. And I can help a lot of people with their focus at the table or otherwise. It's been great, whenever I need any kind of supplements they send them to me. They are just a really cool company to work with.
What about your fitness challenge. Have you been continuing that through the World Series? I know that you said you've been using the Shroomtech Sport for workouts, so has that been helping you out a lot?
The days that I do take it, I usually get in a workout. To be perfectly honest, I probably haven't been as on the ball as I was before the series because it's really hard keeping the hours that I do. Sometimes I'm not asleep until 5 a.m., sometimes 3 a.m. I'm going out every once in a while. Even though I'm not drinking, just playing poker and having to play every day. This is kind of an excuse, me saying this, I mean I could find the time to workout and to work my schedule around my workout, which is what I used to do prior to the World Series but it's very exhausting when you're using your brain all day, and you become really tired. Keeping the motivation to workout is the hardest thing. I worked out this morning. I've been working out like two to three times a week as opposed to five or six times a week like I was before the series. The hardest thing for me that I haven't kept up is my diet. But after the series I'm going to go back into fitness mode and really just buckle up and go full throttle once again.
Have you gotten a chance to meet anyone else from the Onnit Honor Roll?
Matt Vengrin is on it. He has been sponsored by them for a few years or so. Other than that, I heard something about Steve Aoki being a part of it, or becoming a part of it. I met him before that. It's just like a really cool team. I have a huge man crush on Joe Rogan. So just being a part of something that he's a part of is really appealing to me. Even the few people that I've met within the company have just been really cool people, So I'm really excited to be on the team for sure.
Find out more about Onnit Labs, it's "Honor Roll," that includes poker players Sorel Mizzi and Matt Vengrin, as well as Joe Rogan and others; and all the supplements offered, at Onnit.com.
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