Is Rob Dyrdek Plant-Based? We Spoke to the TV Host About His Vegan Venture

If you're a '90s kid, you surely remember racing home after school to watch failed skateboard stunts and comical pranks commentated by Rob Dyrdek, host of Ridiculousness. The show remains one of MTV's most popular series on air today, ten years later. It's best known for Drydek's incredibly witty commentary and comebacks as he and Steelo Brim exchange quips and Chanel West launches her signature laugh. But now the professional skateboarder turned reality star has opened another door, this time stepping behind the scenes and out of the lens.

Dyrdek recently announced the launch of his newest venture, Mindright, a plant-based energy bar that helps you do exactly what it sounds like, get your mind right. The inspiration behind the brand started when he met Chris Bernard who was the CEO of a different CPG start-up company. The two passionate players bonded over the idea of filling the white space in the plant-based industry, they believed there wasn't an energy bar that had incredible health benefits and actually tasted good. When they explored the criteria needed to make this bar, they realized all the ingredients they wanted to use helped to get your mind right, and instantly, it clicked. Mindright was started.

The company launched last Thursday after one year of development and hard work. Dyrdek and Bernard only met once in person before their vision turned into reality. Dyrdek pointed out that the entire business was created strictly over zoom in just one year, this was a "testament of evolution and technology," he said.

Now that the reality TV host everyone loves has stepped into the world of plant-based products, the question everyone wants to know is: Are you plant-based? "I'm a product of the evolution of vegan to plant-based [eating]," Dyrdek replied. "Vegan used to be impossible, then 'plant-based' made it more attainable. Plant-based made people more aware. If you have one plant-based meal a day, there's such a positive impact on the environment and your health," he adds. "That's the philosophy I subscribe to."

We spoke to Rob Dryek and business partner Chris Bernard on the day of the official launch of Mindright and Dyrdek entered the Zoom with unbridled excitement, having just learned that sales were popping. "We already sold 20 boxes of bars at 9:30 in the morning!"

Chris Bernard: Mindright is about getting your mind right. We want people to feel good, and that's exactly what we leaned into when creating the product. The three bars we launched today help elevate your mood, decrease stress, and give you energy to feel good, all day long. There's a big wave right now about people being over-caffeinated and our ingredients provide energy at a cellular level so you don't have to worry about that. We use ashwagandha as a powerful ingredient that reduces stress due to its calming effects, cordyceps for energy, ginseng for better mood, and MCT for brain fuel. We call this mix the happy brain blend.

Right now, we're selling our bars on our website at getyourmindright.com and on Amazon. We are hoping to get into retail stores by the end of this year.

Rob Dyrdek: The inspiration behind our business started when we first met and together noticed a white space in the food and health industry. Chris was the CEO of a different CPG company at the time and his company was looking for an investment that wasn't for us. We wanted to build a company from the stage idea. We were both passionate about helping others feel good and Chris's head spun when he saw the evolution of a better for you, functions, vegan energy bar that actually tastes good.

Chris came to me and said, "I think I got this," and I said, "I think you got this," and it was all remarkable. We actually only met once in person because the lockdown hit right as our business was forming. We build this company purely in the pandemic, we build the company over a year on Zoom, a testament to evolution and technology.

Rob Dyrdek: The heaviest lift was how do we create an ordinary brand, and how do we turn this into a brand that's going to be amazing and last forever. We connected and tried to find the right name. We thought when your brain is happy, your life is, and when you're mind is at its best, your life follows. When we heard Mindright for the first time, we thought this is actually what the product does for you, it gets you in the right state, the right mind, and the right energy.

Rob Dyrdek: I'm a product of the evolution of vegan to plant-based. Vegan was impossible, then plant-based made it more attainable. plant-based made it more aware. if you have one plant-based meal a day, there's such a positive impact on the environment and your health. That's the philosophy I subscribe to. I want to make plant-based products that lead with taste. How can you make replacements for vegan products that actually taste good? We solved the problem.

Chris Bernard: I snack more plant-based, I still eat meat sometimes, I don't eat dairy, I eat less gluten.

Rob Dyrdek: Chris loves peanut butter. I was a toasted coconut kind of guy but then I walked into the room of my house and I smelt this warm blueberry aroma flowing through the air of my living room and I asked my wife, "what is that smell?" She said, "it's your blueberry Mindirght bar," so ever since then I'm now hooked on the blueberry almond flavor.