Our Story | Elixir MRE® Malibu Wellness & Recovery

Elixir MRE® did not begin as a business plan.

It began in Malibu, California among surfers, climbers, athletes, gym communities, long

recovery days, and people searching for better ways to fuel the body without sacrificing

performance, movement, or health.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Malibu wellness culture was different than it is today.

Before social media influencers, wellness podcasts, and billion-dollar supplement brands, there

was a tight-knit coastal community built around movement, connection, and outdoor living.

The days moved between Point Dume, Malibu Creek, Leo Carrillo, Surfrider Beach, County

Line, Trancas Market, Cross Creek, Neptune’s Net, PC Greens, Vitamin Barn, Coffee Bean, and

local gyms spread across the coastline.

You surfed.

You climbed.

You trained.

You hiked.

You grabbed juice afterward.

You knew the people behind the counter.

And wellness was simply part of everyday life.

That environment shaped Elixir from the very beginning.

BUILT BY ATHLETES — NOT MARKETERS

Before Elixir MRE became a company, the products existed as homemade nutrition shared

between friends, climbers, surfers, bodybuilders, and athletes looking for functional, lightweight,

nutrient-dense fuel that could survive long days outdoors and still digest cleanly during training.

The products were developed practically.

Backpacks and climbing rucksacks had limited space, so bulky tubs made little sense.

Lightweight Mylar packaging worked better, protected the ingredients more effectively, and

traveled easily between the beach, the mountains, gyms, film sets, and road trips along the

Pacific Coast Highway.

Every formula evolved through real-world feedback.

Friends tried the products.

Athletes requested changes.

Ingredients improved.

Recipes evolved.

The products slowly became part of people’s daily lives.The now-iconic Mookie Cookies® were born during climbing days throughout Malibu and

Southern California. What started as homemade “meal cookies” carried into the mountains

eventually became “Mookies” after legendary climber Michael Reardon shouted down during a

climb asking if there were any more “meal cookies” left in the pack.

The name stayed.

So did the culture behind it.

THE GOLD’S GYM YEARS

The first real turning point came when Elixir entered Gold’s Gym Venice.

At the time, only a handful of bags even existed. After being challenged by a friend to try selling

the products at a Gold’s Gym parking lot event, founder Tom Gianelli and a friend showed up

wearing freshly embroidered polos and hats with only a small supply of products in hand.

They sold every bag.

Shortly afterward, Elixir entered Gold’s Gym Venice Beach and eventually expanded throughout

Gold’s Gym locations and stores across Southern California, including Malibu, Santa Monica,

Oxnard, Ventura, Goleta, and Santa Barbara.

The products found homes inside:

• Gold’s Gym

• health food stores

• juice bars

• gyms

• climbing communities

• beach communities

• recovery-focused lifestyles

Stores like:

• Erewhon

• Lassen’s

• Rainbow Acres

• PC Greens

• Vitamin Barn

• LA Urban

and others helped grow the brand organically through community and word of mouth.

There were no celebrity campaigns.

No influencer marketing.

No venture capital.Just products people continued coming back for month after month, year after year.

Today, Elixir maintains an 86% customer retention rate, with many customers having used the

products consistently for nearly two decades.

That loyalty became the real foundation of the company.

TRIALS, FIRES, LOSS & REBUILDING

The story of Elixir has never been linear.

Like the founder’s own life, the company itself has endured setbacks, loss, reinvention, and

rebuilding.

In 2007, founder Tom Gianelli suffered a devastating spinal injury while climbing at Malibu

Creek State Park, sustaining severe nerve damage and partial paralysis after breaking his back

during a fall. The injury permanently changed the direction of both his life and the future of Elixir.

The recovery process deepened the company’s philosophy around:

• nutrition

• rehabilitation

• recovery

• nervous system support

• resilience

• longevity

• plant-based wellness

• movement

• rebuilding the body intelligently

Years later, the company faced another major challenge during the Woolsey Fire, which

devastated large portions of Malibu and the surrounding communities. The fires disrupted

operations, damaged local commerce, and created enormous financial strain throughout the

region.

Then came COVID-19.

As gyms closed across the country, Elixir lost much of the gym distribution network that had

helped sustain the company for years. What had once been a thriving network of more than 200

gyms and stores rapidly contracted into a far smaller footprint centered primarily around direct

customers and a limited number of health-focused retail partners.

At the same time, the company was forced to scale down from large third-party manufacturing

and national distribution systems back into a leaner, more independent operation.

And then came the Palisades Fire.Many longtime customers, neighborhoods, and supporting businesses throughout Malibu and

the Pacific Palisades were directly impacted. Stores closed. Communities changed. Foot traffic

disappeared. Longtime local businesses that once formed the backbone of the Malibu wellness

culture vanished.

But Elixir remained.

Not untouched.

Not unchanged.

But still standing.

THE REBUILD

Today, Elixir MRE is in a new chapter.

The company now operates independently from its own facility in Westlake, California while

continuing to maintain deep roots throughout the Malibu community where the brand was born.

The focus has shifted toward:

• direct-to-consumer wellness

• online education

• storytelling

• rebranding

• longevity-focused nutrition

• wellness rituals

• clean ingredients

• recovery support

• community

• and rebuilding intentionally for the future

While many wellness brands have come and gone over the last two decades, Elixir has quietly

survived wave after wave of industry change.

It has outlived trends.

Outlived competitors.

Outlived multiple generations of supplement culture.

Not because of hype.

Because people kept coming back.

That relationship between the customer and the product became stronger than any marketing

campaign could ever create.MORE THAN A SUPPLEMENT COMPANY

Elixir MRE was never meant to be just another supplement brand.

It became a reflection of:

• Malibu

• movement

• recovery

• surfing

• climbing

• resilience

• nourishment

• longevity

• community

• and rebuilding after hardship

The products evolved alongside the people using them.

And after every setback — injuries, fires, financial hardship, gym closures, changing industries,

and shifting culture — the philosophy remained the same:

Support the body intelligently.

Move forward.

Keep rebuilding.

That is the story of Elixir MRE®.