Martin Žufánek: From Distiller to Wellness Advocate – How a Heart Attack Sparked a Journey into Longevity and Health

The Žufánek brothers are widely known as distillers, but one of them is also a technology evangelist and, in recent years, an enthusiastic explorer of the world of longevity. Although technology has always been his hobby, health problems made him more interested in the state of his body. “When I bite into something, in a brutal way,” said Martin Žufánek at the Money Maker conference. When he was talking about how he especially takes care of his health, he revealed what herbs mean to him and why they had to learn to say words like we don’t have time and we don’t have at the distillery.

The Žufánek brothers are famous distillers, whose experience as OMFG gin and traditional slivovici is known to all lovers of quality schnapps. Until recently, this family business was going strong, but in 2018 it started to take its toll on the Žufánkys. First, his father fell, and then the youngest of the brothers, Jan, got into trouble.

“It happened in an instant. He went blind due to the great pressure. The line from eye to brain was cut, and when he opened his eyes he could not see.” explained on the third annual Money Maker business and investment conference Martin Žufánek’s moment, which was one of the first driving moments in the redesign of the distillery’s operations.

“Until then, for my father, who is old school, 51st year, the purpose of life was to work himself to death. In fact, he believed that anyone who died of hard work had lived a good life. But after my brother’s incident, he thought maybe that wasn’t the right thing to do. “ Žufánek remembered and said: “We started questioning why we are at the distillery until eight in the evening and why every Christmas is so heavy. We slowed down and started using the words no, we won’t do it, we’re not much more often. We stopped running something that we would not use at all in the future. Growth is a forbidden word here. Now we are not going to grow. “

Before however, the final wild pace caught up with Martin Žufánek himself. One day his heart started racing and his Apple Watch indicated that something was wrong. After 23 years, he was caught by the things that, according to him, must be caught naturally by anyone involved in a non-stop business. “At that moment, I realized how terrible it is to be aware of basic things like nutrition, balanced diet and weight management,” Zufánek said.

A heart attack brought him to the operating room at IKEM and made him study the subject of longevity and a healthy lifestyle. “I have several friends at Mendel University, with whom I started studying all kinds of scientific research. From them, I started picking out what each of them said was beneficial, and I thought to myself that maybe it really works.” a famous distiller revealed his source of information.

He was the first to do DNA tests to find out exactly what his body needed. “I would never have said how deficient I was in omega 3 fatty acids. These helped me a lot, and so did the turmeric olive oil and more. When I started two years ago, at the age of 43, my metabolic age was calculated to be 54 years. And when I was there two months ago, they measured me as 38 years old. I have been treated for bowel disease all my adult life, and within those two years I was cured. which was shocking even to the Prime Minister himself,” Žufánek reported the results of his efforts.

Photo gallery: Money Maker 2024

Organized by CzechCrunch the third annual Money Maker conferencewhich became the largest investment business event of its kind in the Czech Republic.

In addition to getting stronger and making eight hours of sleep a daily priority, Žufánek also advised those who attended the conference to start cooking themselves at home and thus be disciplined have control over what they eat and change how often they eat.

“All our lives, we were pushed by our mothers not to be hungry, to keep eating and to keep our bellies full. That’s silly because the body needs to be hungry. I have a five to six hour window during the day when I eat. My first meal is at ten to eleven, and the last at five in the evening. And the body will get used to it,” he described his eating habits Žufánek, who often finds inspiration for his schnapps directly in gastronomy.

“That’s my curse. When I eat something, I think to myself: “Yes, how would this taste be drawn? What would a brew belly taste like?” Herbs are my passion too. There are endless flavors to come. That’s why I enjoy brewing gin and absinthe so much, where I can let loose.” he described Žufánek and revealed one of his latest discoveries.

“Herbs are what I would like to do for the rest of my life and create as many combinations as possible. Every year I find something new. The current OMFG gin, for example, contained an aromatic flower, which many people don’t know about. It was part of my favorite perfume, and I thought if it smells that good, I want to pull it.” said Žufánek, adding that he has such confidence in his experiments at the distillery that he only knows in advance what will be brewed that week.

And how does drinking and a healthy lifestyle go together? “I drink all the time. But everything must be fair. I have been a non-stop drinker for 26 years. I drew a great deal of it, and if I had a slightly weaker will, I would be somewhere in Bohnice or another sanatorium today. I drink slowly, when I brew, I basically just sip. I don’t steal more than one scene a day,” Žufánek finished.