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Mineral Health Founder Matthew “Mills” Miller Tells Us About His Shiny New Hemp Oil

Robyn

Robyn

Matthew “Mills” Miller discovered the benefits of cannabidiol, or CBD, after a near-death experience involving guinea-pig-and-alpaca stew.

As Miller tells the story, he travelled to Peru to hike Pisco in hopes of experiencing an emotional renaissance after the devastating failure of his latest business venture back in 2016. Unfortunately, when he reached the summit, at 19,000 feet above sea level, nothing happened to lift his spirits. If that wasn’t bad enough, when he returned to the base of the mountain, he ate a rancid stew that made him violently ill. His lower intestine became inflamed and wrapped around his colon, which, as he puts it, turned into a ticking time bomb that threatened to blow fecal matter into his bloodstream at any moment. He checked into a health clinic and spent a few days drifting in and out of delirium. Fortunately, when the doctor suggested a colectomy, he managed to gather his wits, escape the clinic, and fly back to the United States. Slowly but surely, he made a full recovery, which he attributes to CBD oil and other plant-based medicines that help with inflammation. Or at least that’s the short, less graphic version of the story.

robyn mineral health austin cbd oil
Matthew Miller at the Mineral Health headquarters in Austin.

Miller is not a scientist, or a health coach, or a nutritional specialist. He’s a storyteller, one with no shortage of tales to tell, and he’s adept at branding. After Peru, he finally had the epiphany that he was expecting. He became a disciple of the cannabis plant, and he began creating the visual identity for MINERAL, his new cannabinoid-focused wellness brand.

Cannabinoids are chemical compounds found in cannabis that bind to cannabinoid receptors throughout the body, which are part of the endocannabinoid system, that help the body maintain homeostasis.

The most well-known cannabinoid is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is what makes marijuana a psychoactive drug. The rest of the cannabinoids, including CBD, have gotten a bad rap due to association, but they are non-psychoactive and can be legally extracted from hemp, a strain of cannabis that contains, by definition, less than .3 percent THC.

As cannabis’ legal status in the United States continues to change, CBD is being discovered for its therapeutic effects on a variety of conditions, from psoriasis to seizures. Notably, in June, the Food and Drug Administration approved a CBD-based drug to treat two types of severe epilepsy, which marks the first FDA-approved drug derived from cannabis. If, as a result, cannabis is removed from the list of Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, CBD will only increasingly be put under the microscope.

In the meantime, as CBD extracted from hemp floods the supplement space, Miller is eager to explain why his product, ROBYN, is superior to other products on the market, and not just because it is more beautifully designed and packaged.

robyn mineral health austin cbd oil
Miller on his Onewheel is familiar sight around the Clarksville neighborhood.
Photograph by Holly Cowart

“CBD is the most studied and associated with health benefits, but there are more than 100 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. They work most efficiently, or more naturally, when experienced together, as they produce an entourage effect of medical benefits to the mind and body,” Miller explains. “A lot of the CBD oil on the market contains CBD only. ROBYN is a full-spectrum hemp oil containing 12 cannabinoids and 26 terpenes, which is what give cannabis its flavor.”

Working with a farmer in Colorado whose extraction process is pure, he says he’s created the perfect cannabinoid-to-terpene ratio for recovery, for restoring balance back to the body and mind. “Inflammation is at the root of all physical, emotional, and mental ailments. Cannabinoids work to reduce that inflammation and return the body to homeostasis,” Miller explains. “That’s why I say our product is about balance. Stress, anxiety, depression, it’s all about being out of balance. If you’re stressed, you’re out of balance. If you’re anxious, you’re out of balance. If you’re depressed, you’re out of balance.”

He markets ROBYN for physical, emotional, and mental recovery. It’s taken sublingually, which, thanks to its terpenes, gives people the sense that they’re tasting the healing benefits. He calls it, confidently, a 10/10 product.

“After Peru, I decided that I wanted to start living. I wanted to feel good at all times,” Miller says. “People are continuously looking for ways to feel better, and they deserve to feel good. I’m trying to do something that helps people.”