Malibu's Place for Healthy Treats

I just had my new favorite Malibu treat: real frozen yogurt from . I've been twice in three days since I've discovered this spot in .

"It took six months of research to find this organic frozen yogurt,” Khalil Rafati told me when we chatted about his journey that led him from drug addiction to health guru to Malibu business owner. "And it is incredible."

Agreed.

But this isn't the only thing on the menu worth chatting about. There are specialty shakes, protein shakes, juices and tons of organic toppings to load in or on whichever treat you choose.

Rafati and girlfriend Hayley Gorcey opened SunLife Organics just two months ago, and the response has been overwhelming.

"The first day we had 200 come through; we had no idea what to expect," he said. "The response literally brings tears to my eyes."

And don't look for a menu on the wall when you visit because there isn't one. The two want to talk to customers directly and really find out what they need or want to taste.  Although, it may not be one of them who gets to make that shake for you 

"We literally thought it would be just the two of us running the place," Rafati said of the nine employees who they’ve had to hire.

It was quite a journey for Rafati and Gorcey to open the store they've wanted for years. Rafati's journey, especially, was quite a long haul.

"About eight years ago, I completely bottomed out,” Rafati said. “I felt horrible. I was smoking, drinking coffee all day. He was also using drugs.

And then in June 2003, Rafati went on what he called "a journey to reclaim health … to rebuild his body."

"I went on a mission," he recalled.

Rafati began working out, exercising, doing restorative yoga, understanding super foods, including green powders, bee pollen, royal jelly and spirulina.

"I started feeling immediate results … and it went from a hobby to a passion to a life's mission," he said.

Rafati said that it's arguable he "traded one addiction for another."

"But it depends on what you're addicted to," he said. "Addiction doesn't have to be bad.”

Rafati also opened Riviera Recovery, which specializes in a healthful approach to overcoming addiction.

And about four years ago, he met his girlfriend.

"We have two very different backgrounds in terms of our journey, but the health foods was one of the things we had in common," he said.

Within six months of dating, they knew they wanted to open this shop.

"We saved every penny, we both come from humble beginnings," he said. He told me about Gorcey. She grew up in Malibu, but with humble means, her family rented …. And she graduated from UCLA last year.

"We used to sneak into health fairs because we didn’t have the money for admission," he recalled. "We would stand at the side door and sneak in. Then we got to know the owners of companies, and they would let us come in under their company name, print us name tags."

After investing money in precious metals and watching it jump in value, months of sneaking into health fairs, and finding they were driving all over Los Angeles to actually get healthy shakes and super foods, they finally found themselves living their dream with a store in Malibu.

"There was nothing like this in Malibu," Rafati said. "We have organic coffee … can you believe there was no place to buy organic coffee in Malibu?. It is the most incredible coffee."

He and Gorcey really wanted to bring to the community what people here didn’t have access to—healthy treats.

"Fred Segal is a friend and he took me under his wing and said to me, 'Don't ever compromise and stay with integrity,'" Rafati recalled. "That's what we've tried to do."

SunLife Organics in Point Dume Village: 29169 Heathercliff Road, 310-457-6161