Patch Blog: The All-Natural Face of the American Dream

Since meeting Inguss Strikaitis last December, I now have a face to put on my picture of the American Dream. At age 24, Inguss first came to the U.S. from Latvia for a vacation. Within a few months, he was the co-owner of a thriving business—a hair salon in Chicago. Within another year, a salon in Los Angeles was acquired. In 2009, a third salon in New York was added to the portfolio. In a very short time, Inguss had achieved the kind of success that everyone who dreams of coming to the U.S. (and many of the rest of us) want. 

He walked away from it all a couple of years later. Why? Because he wanted to take it up a notch. He wanted more than just the money in his pocket. He wanted the American Dream lifestyle, too, and he wanted to be in a business that truly helps people. Inguss had been introduced to another business opportunity that would help him do just that. 

With his boyish good looks, ever-positive outlook, and charming accent (English is his fourth language), Inguss has the kind of charisma that makes people just want to be around him. While I was already fully engaged in several business ventures of my own when we met, I was intrigued to know what inspired Inguss, in a “down economy,” to sell off three successful businesses.

Though he never seems to be rushed and he moves with an easy grace, Inguss is always in motion. I was able to corner him on Monday, by phone, for a quick interview. 

He said he was wasn’t looking for a new biz opp when he tried an herbal body wrap, the “Ultimate Body Applicator,” at a vendor night at his salon in Chicago in 2004. He saw immediate results, reducing his waist by two inches, and so he stocked the body wrap in his salons. 

He took note when his hair salon customers came back raving about the products, so he investigated further. He discovered that It Works!, the company produces the wraps, uses only the highest quality herbs and other natural ingredients in its products. He talked directly with “Dr. Don,” who created the herbal formulations. What impressed him, above all, was the family feel of the company. The owners of the company treated him like an old family friend right off the bat. He decided to become an independent sales associate, offering the full line of herbal and natural products, even as he managed his salons, because, he says, “why not have more money?”

After a company-sponsored challenge in which he lost 24 pounds utilizing the herbal products, however, he got serious about the business, and he sold his interest in the hair salons. He is quick to say, however, that the herbal products he offers promote overall health, not just quick weight loss, and that individual results do vary. 

He is particularly passionate about sharing information with people who face serious health challenges. He spoke last Sunday at a Cervical Cancer Awareness luncheon in San Gabriel about how the company’s Greens product, made from 38 herbs and “super-foods,” helps alkalize and balance the body’s pH—processes that some medical experts feel is important for cancer prevention and restoring the body’s systems after chemotherapy. 

For all that, Inguss is modest about his success. “I believe it’s important for people to make changes in their own lives, and no one can change it for them,” he told me. Not content to bask in his own success, he intends to help as many other people realize their dreams as well. He is quick to share what he knows and to ask how he can help you. Isn't that truly the American Dream—not just to pull yourself up by the bootstraps, to make something of yourself, but to pull up others along with you? That’s my image of the American Dream anyway.

Want to know more about Inguss and the herbal products that inspired him to sell three thriving businesses? When he’s not jetting around the country supporting his teammates, he regularly attends the weekly Work@Homer networking events I have blogged about in the recent past. 

This Thursday, May 3, Inguss is hosting a Wrap Party at 1 p.m. after the weekly Work@Homers networking luncheon. 

On Saturday, May 5, you can meet Inguss at the World Labyrinth Day Festival, which is free and open to the public, featuring eco-friendly and world-conscious vendors, along with yoga and meditation events. The festival is from noon to 3 p.m., at the Neighborhood Church, 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. 

World Labyrinth Day is a day that brings people from all over the planet together in celebration of the labyrinth as a symbol, a tool, a passion or a practice. Click here for more information about World Labyrinth Day. You can also read more about Inguss's story here.