How One Woman Saved Her Life and Started a Self-Care Business

It’s always a good day when you feel your best from the inside out. For GoDeep’s founder, former TV news reporter and stay-at-home mom, Dana Knowles, this couldn’t be any closer to the truth. 

Currently, GoDeep’s trio of potent blends is making its way into Denver’s largest health and wellness space, Nurture, and has even been featured in Shape Magazine.

It wasn’t until she’d experienced battling an addiction to painkillers — post-hip surgery in 2011 — that it became clear to Knowles that taking control of her health was absolutely necessary.

“Recovery from addiction is awful, truly awful. These drugs literally hijack your brain so that you almost don’t even know you’re addicted when it’s happening to you and getting sober is a miserable process. I was in treatment three times in two years before I was finally able to kick it. I firmly believe that adaptogens and mushrooms have helped in my recovery this last time. I have been clean from opiates for almost four years.”

The grim and immediate after-effects of cutting ties with painkillers were no simple task to overcome for Knowles.

Lack of energy during the day, trouble falling asleep at night and gut issues were among the results of finding sobriety. Despite her doctor wanting to remedy these uncomfortable symptoms with pharmaceuticals — again — Knowles knew she needed an alternative.

She began her quest — in 2016 — toward brain and body alignment after completing treatment. Knowles spent years researching and experimenting — right in her own kitchen — on herself, friends and family in an effort to achieve health wholeness and stability.

She’d started to consult with her doctor, acupuncturist and sister — a cellular and molecular biology scientist — for advice. Upon further educating herself through books on the subject, Knowles kept finding adaptogenic herbs and medicinal mushrooms constantly pop up.

It was during this alchemic process that Knowles found various blends of adaptogenic herbs, medicinal mushrooms and collagen that finally alleviated her health woes. 

With such incredible results, she began posting colorful smoothie and latte creations on her blog and Instagram account. Her inspired audience soon began asking Knowles about her creations and what products she’d recommend them, helping bring forth the idea of GoDeep.

In August 2019, GoDeep became more than just an idea, but a reality.

Energy, sleep and a nutrient boost in the middle of the day were just some of the concerns of Knowles, her friends and family that inspired GoDeep’s essential trio of hand-crafted blends. “All of these blends literally transformed my mind and body,” Knowles attested.

“Relax” boasts sleep-friendly ingredients — like collagen, reishi mushroom and ashwagandha. Reishi mushroom reportedly balances hormone levels, lowers blood sugar and combats viruses and infections, while ashwagandha can help reduce cortisol. Collagen improves hair, skin, nail, bone and connective tissue health.

“Activate” is full of Cordyceps M — a medicinal mushroom that helps promote energy and athletic stamina, widely-known for its use by the Chinese Olympic team. Collagen and MCT oil are also notable ingredients in “Activate” that are protein and energy-rich.

For a daily power-booster, the “Power Protein Powder” is an excellent addition for eye-catching smoothies. Thanks to blue spirulina — a complete plant protein with antioxidants — it gives recipes a unique hue of bright blue. Dopamine bean — another staple ingredient — lifts moods with 15% L-Dopa, which is a precursor to the brain’s feel-good neurotransmitter, dopamine.   

Simply scrolling through the brand’s Instagram and website showcases an abundance of vibrant recipes — like over-flowing smoothie bowls, power-packed overnight oats and Cordyceps mushroom coffee. “My all-time favorite is adding two tablespoons of the ‘Activate’ blend to coffee, throwing it all into a blender for about 45 seconds and serving it up nice, hot and frothy; like a latte,” Knowles shared. 

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GoDeep’s ethos in keeping things simple, letting go of what no longer serves you and learning how to take care of yourself first — before others — is what keeps the business thriving day-in and day-out. 

Each blend’s efficacious nature not only provides feel-good nutrition but gives people an opportunity to mindfully reconnect with themselves. According to Knowles,

“Self-care is THE most important part of my life. The biggest lesson I’ve learned in my life, especially as a mother, is that if I’m not healthy, no one else in my family is healthy. That’s also the main reason why I started GoDeep; to encourage people to take care of themselves in the most healthy way possible, and it’s also easy.”

She deems health and wellness to be areas that should be viewed holistically, rather than singularly. Only addressing signs and symptoms, as in Western medicine, is a detriment to solving rooted health issues, she explained to 303 Magazine.

Each blend gives people the opportunity to fill in the gap and find more options pertaining to well-being outside of pharmaceuticals. It’s through the empowerment of people — inspiring them to take back their power and have control over their health — that fuels GoDeep’s over-arching mission.

Helping others through GoDeep’s products truly makes Knowles feel like she’s making a difference in people’s lives to become healthier. The most rewarding part of what she does comes from the feedback she receives from her customers. They tell her their hair is getting thicker and growing longer, their skin is glowing and they haven’t slept so well in years. 

Persistence in changing the dynamic of diversity in the health and wellness space has also been a pivotal aspect of creating GoDeep and its products.

“Being a Black woman business owner has made me determined. All of the businesses that do what I do are owned by white people. Moon Juice, Sun Potion, Vital Proteins … They’re all white-owned businesses. It’s time for them to make some room at the table for a Black woman.”

She went on and told 303 that while being a small business owner does come with its highs and lows, there are inconsistencies in the representation of people of color in the industry.It’s been tough for me because I feel like the health and wellness industry — in general — is very white and voices of color tend to get talked over, if that makes sense,” Knowles explained.

Having a variety of perspectives and experiences are important facets that are needed in expanding the health and wellness sphere.Honestly people of color invented wellness,” Knowles expressed. GoDeep’s ingredients embrace global diversity by being sourced from around the planet — such as China and India.

As for the future, Knowles is excited to continue her efforts in giving people more blends and nutrition through GoDeep’s products. Focus, immunity and inflammation are just a few new ideas that Knowles has on her mind. She even has her sights set on providing customers with ready-made collagen smoothies and juices.

All photography courtesy of GoDeep.