We were in LA for the 2008 NBA Finals (Lakers/Celtics). This was the moment we had all prayed for, and the thing my husband Ray dreamed of and worked for his entire life- the Championships. Everything seemed perfect- except for one thing- our 17 month old son, Walker was suddenly not himself. He was lethargic, peeing thru his diaper, he taught himself how to say “Juice Mommy” between Monday & Friday because he was excessively thirsty and then, he started vomiting.

I remember Ray saying to me the night before Game 5, “Shan, something’s wrong with Walker.” The next morning, I took Walker to the hospital (and thanks to great advice from the hotel physician), I demanded a blood test. Twenty minutes later the doctor came into the room- she was white as a ghost and tears were streaming down her face. “Oh my God”, I said, “You have bad news for me.” She said, “Your blood sugar is supposed to be between 70-120; Walkers is 639. He has Type 1 Diabetes and has entered a phase of Diabetes called ketoacidosis which means his blood sugar is poisoning him to death; if he doesn’t get insulin soon, you are going to lose him.”

It was as if the rug had been pulled out from underneath me and I was hurdling thru space. In an instant, I became a warrior for my son- an activist, an advocate. It changed the course of our lives forever; but, what happened next was the thing I never could’ve prepared myself for.

I was on my way to buy groceries for dinner and Walker, who was in his car seat, was suddenly suffering from extremely low blood sugar. My plan of the casual schlepp to the grocery store was out the window- I needed real food and I needed it NOW. I frantically scanned the highway in search of what I wanted- a delicious, freshly prepared meal made with organic ingredients and the convenience of a drive-thru- for Walker and my other boys who were all in tow.

What I quickly discovered was that what I was looking for did not exist and that simple realization left me feeling powerless, defeated and broken.

After racing down RT.9, leaving my kids in a running car (not a proud moment), hurriedly grabbing take out from a mom & pop restaurant then dashing quickly home to feed my boys- sure Walker was safe and his blood sugar was at a stable number; I found myself sobbing on my shower floor. I was exhausted. I was depleted and defeated and resigned to the fact that no one was going to fix this for me.

I got up, dried off, looked in the mirror and thought, “no one is coming to save you Shannon. And, if this is a problem for you, it’s just a problem period, and you’ve got to solve it.

I called my husband Ray and told him that if no one has big enough balls to reinvent fast food, we had to do it. It took eight years to get our doors open and 18 months to successfully complete our organic certification process...but, we did it...we created the thing we wished existed and it’s growing! I can’t tell you how many people told us “no” or that this was “impossible”, that fast food could never be better or that if it could, someone a lot smarter than us would’ve already done it.
Thankfully, we don’t believe in the words “no” or “impossible” and we recognize that if someone smarter than us was more capable; they would’ve done it already-but, they didn’t, we did and we continue to grow and evolve because the words we believe in are GRATITUDE, THANK YOU, DEDICATION, TEAMWORK, FAITH, GRIT, FAMILY, TOGETHERNESS, DREAMING and YES!

We are so grateful to every single person that helped and supported us, encouraged us and even for the naysayers (you may not know it, but your lack of imagination and disbelief inspired us to push on, go harder and to persevere).

We are thankful for our amazing #grownteam that continues to invest in this collective dream to franchise grown all over the country and the world, but most importantly to our grown guests that overwhelmingly and religiously support us with your patronage, loyalty and by championing grown every single day. Your faith in our mission to change the world one USDA organic certified fast food meal at a time is the thing that sustains us.

I never dreamed of being a foodtrepreneur or restaurateur; the truth is, grown was born from pure frustration and desperation.

Grown is the future of fast food and we won’t stop until we are accessible and affordable to every family – regardless of mean income or zip code.

Walker is 13 years old now and he is the most resilient, brilliant, loving, athletic, happy, joyful, kindhearted & talented person I know- he makes everything look easy- because life with T1D, frankly, is hard. He has never complained, or asked “why me” and he doesn’t allow it to slow him down or to limit his dreams.

November was World Diabetes Month, but every day for Walker is spent living with diabetes. Ten finger pricks, 7-10 insulin injections each day, carb counting, highs and lows- it’s always there- he never gets a break from this serious medical condition- not on Christmas, or during exams, for his basketball tournaments or even on his birthday.
To the world, Ray may be the 2x NBA Champ and Hall of Famer, but, in our house, Walker will always be the real MVP whose daily battle with diabetes gave birth to our grown mission and this extraordinary movement!

The process to living an optimal life begins with your mind. Often times as a trainer and life coach, I find that individuals, especially those in pursuit of achieving a better level of health and fitness, refer to themselves in the negative sense. We all, unconsciously and routinely, use damaging statements in relation to our goals, such as “I’ll never be able to eat healthy”, “it will take forever for me to reach my goals” or the most common “I hate the way I look and feel”. When I hear clients speak negatively about themselves or others, I respond with a challenge: for every negative statement, they have to text me four positive things about themselves before the completion of their day.

The reason I stress the importance of positive thinking is due to the significant role it has on weight loss and overall health. Studies show that negative thoughts can lead to self-sabotaging behaviors, such as going off your diet or skipping workouts. Promoting destructive mindsets and behavior leads to all types of inflammation within your body. Further, when one has negative images of themselves, they often feel unmotivated, fatigued, and uninspired. A negative mindset can have a negative effect on one’s ability to visualize goals, making it that much more difficult to complete the goals.

Many scientists are beginning to study the effects of positive thinking on individuals’ lives. Studies have shown that a negative mindset can make the process of losing weight, improving fitness performance and living a healthier lifestyle more difficult. I truly believe that the change happens when you focus, not on what you don’t like about yourself, but instead on the things you love. Even during the growth process on the pathway to achieving goals, we can still learn to be grateful and enjoy the health that we have. It’s important to make conscious efforts to surround yourself with positive reminders throughout your day. Listed below are a few tips I use to ensure I stay in the best possible mindset:

Turn your radio off: Unsurprisingly, a lot of the thoughts we are fed unconsciously come from media platforms. When you’re in the car, take the opportunity to engage in mindful driving, slow down, and avoid the radio. Advertisements, political opinions, and loud music often exacerbate an already stressful situation. Instead, use that time to listen to an audio book or to your favorite motivational speaker.

Mental Anchor: What is a mental anchor? An object or image you keep with you throughout your day that reminds you of your goal to keep a positive mindset. Personally, I use a piece of onyx because it’s small enough to fit comfortably in my pocket. Prior to beginning a training session, I empty my pockets, so I’m consistently reminded of this anchor.

Meditation: I can not stress the importance of meditation enough. Meditating has completely transformed my life and the way I experience my day. Prior to incorporating meditation, I gave in to the busy chatter we all endure in our minds. Meditation allows me to focus on eliminating outside distractions and gain better control over my thoughts, emotions, and stress levels. Meditation can also help us sleep better at night. People who have better levels of control over their behavior and emotions during the day have “lower activation levels” at night, which allows them to decompress quickly.