We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Justin Puppe. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Justin below.

Alright, Justin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My mission is to create everyday products out of biodegradable materials by utilizing mycelium. My goal is to develop a range of eco-friendly materials that can replace environmentally harmful products that are used daily. I believe that by exploring all potentials of mushrooms and by using them to create sustainable materials, we could make huge progress toward a future of human civilization on the Moon or Mars. I’ve always wanted to make a positive impact on the world today and I’d love to be able to do it through my passion in life. Two of my major interests are mushrooms and outer space. When I found a way to combine my two passions, I knew I had found my purpose in life.

I have fully dedicated myself to making this happen by working every single day to make progress toward this goal. I research and do hands-on cultivation daily, that I document and create content over to share on my social media pages and YouTube channel, Mycelium Work. I want to see human civilization on the Moon and/or on Mars before my lifetime is over.

Justin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello! I am Justin Puppe, a 23 year old self-taught mycologist with a deep passion for fungi! It all started when I was 17 and listened to a Joe Rogan podcast featuring Paul Stamets, one of the most well-known mycologists of our time. Paul had discussed the versatility of mushrooms. This conversation sparked my curiosity, and I immediately was hungry to learn more. I tend to be an individual who dives very deep into passions and interests of mine.

I began by ordering two of Paul Stamets’ books, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms and Mycelium Running. I read through both and gained a remarkable amount of knowledge, including how to cultivate my own mushrooms. With this new knowledge, I ordered my first bag of sterilized grain, a liquid culture syringe of Pink Oyster Mushrooms, and a few sterilized substrate bags for when my grain spawn was fully colonized. I inoculated my grain bag, and after three weeks, it was ready for a quick transfer to the sterilized substrate bags. I waited another three weeks, and the substrate blocks were fully colonized and ready to be put into the proper fruiting conditions.

Boom! After about one week of placing my bags in a homemade tote that I misted for ideal conditions, I saw my first successful mushroom fruits. Pink oyster mushrooms are incredibly beautiful, and I was mesmerized. This experience deepened my curiosity and led me to dig further into the hands-on practice of cultivation. I transitioned from cultivating culinary mushrooms to experimenting with medicinal varieties like Lion’s Mane, Maitake, and Reishi.

I had read about the health benefits of all these mushrooms, and they’re truly incredible. Lion’s Mane is said to have cognitive benefits, supporting brain health and memory by promoting nerve growth. It may also help reduce anxiety and depression while supporting gut health through its anti-inflammatory effects. Reishi is said to help the body cope with stress while supporting immune function and reducing inflammation. It also promotes heart health, enhances liver detoxification, and has potential anti-cancer effects. Maitake is said to have immune boosting benefits, and has been studied for its potential to fight cancer, as well as lower blood sugar levels.

On top of the medicinal benefits of mushrooms, they are very versatile in many aspects. They play a vital role in sustainability, such as bioremediation, which helps breakdown pollutants, and enhancing soil health by decomposing of organic matter. Mushrooms can also be used to create biodegradable materials, providing eco-friendly alternatives to everyday products like packaging, insulations, and even clothes.

I currently handle first-hand sales to restaurants, cafes, and farmers markets when I can, as well as having online sales through my website, which I designed myself. On my website I sell a variety of products, including fruiting kits, liquid culture mushroom genetics, sterilized agar plates for cultivation, sterilized grain, sterilized grain spawn, and sterilized substrate blocks. One of my main goals is to help educate others about mushrooms and teach them how to cultivate their own mushrooms at home, because I believe that mushrooms are the future. In addition to having a website that I can educate through, I share educational content on all of my social media pages and post informative/educational videos on my YouTube Channel, “MyceliumWork”.

Have you ever had to pivot?

There are many moments in life tha can lead someone to the point where a pivot is needed. Pivoting can be a very tough step, but once you recognize the need for change, its important to take action and overcome the fear that comes with it. A time when I had to make a huge pivot was just this last year. At the time, I was working full-time in IT for Amazon as an IT Support Associate II. I started out by providing everyday on-site support at the fulfillment center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Then, this last year, I had been presented with an opportunity to move to Davenport, Iowa, for a promotion to work on a remarkable project for Amazon. I had been traveling to the area for months to help with the build of a new fulfillment center.

I was responsible for setting up the network infrastructure for the new fulfillment center alongside an engineer who is also a mentor and a good friend of mine to this day. It was a very exciting step in my life! At the same time, I had been cultivating and studying fungi for five years, and in the past year, I realized that this hobby was more than just a hobby, it was a true passion of mine. So, I decided to start my business, Mycelium Work. For some reason, I still felt the need to juggle a full-time job with my business as the “side hustle.” The only way I could get weekends off for the Quad Cities Farmers Market in Davenport was to pick up an extra day and work Monday through Friday at Amazon. This meant I was working 7 days a week for 5 to 6 months straight. I was setting alarms in the middle of the night to make sure I finished work in time to have product ready for this farmers market I attended every Saturday and Sunday.

This constant grind eventually left me feeling drained and simply unhappy. I was experiencing my first burnout. One day, as I sat at my desk, I found myself thinking deeply, “Why am I still working this full-time job that I don’t want to do for the rest of my life when I’ve found my true passion?” I realized it was simply fear. Fear of losing money that I had saved up for years. Once I overcame that fear and started thinking these thoughts, I knew what I had to do. I submitted my two-week notice and quit my full-time job at Amazon. I decided to relocate back home to South Dakota and dedicate myself fully to my business and my true passion, rather than dividing myself between a job I didn’t care about and this dream I was ready to take on full-time. This was the best decision I ever could have made for myself.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I found resilience in the clarity that came from burnout. It was during those countless dark, quiet moments of reflection that I realized I had two paths ahead of me. Either continue down this road that I didn’t love that provided a false comfort of security, or take the leap and fully commit to my passion and my dream. The fear of losing the money I had worked so hard for growing up was real, but I knew that I would not feel true fulfillment choosing the wrong path. I knew that true fulfillment would come from building my own business on my own terms. Staying complacent in a job that didn’t align with my vision for the future would never bring me the satisfaction I was looking for in life.

I chose to overcome the fears I was going through and submitted my two-week notice. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right one. I had the passion and the dream all along, I just needed to see them for what they truly were. I am grateful that I took that leap. In that moment I demonstrated resilience by making the choice to embrace change, rather than let fear or discomfort hold me back like I once had. I have gotten very comfortable with the feeling of fear and discomfort, and that has made all the difference in the world.

This was a very crucial step in my growth as an individual and business owner. It took resilience to push through the burnout, the financial instability, and the risk of starting something new with so many unanswered questions. There will always be obstacles along the way, but it’s all about how you overcome those obstacles. Sometimes, it feels like walking through a thick fog, but I will always find a way to jump over that obstacle.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://myceliumwork.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Mycelium.Work/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561116404844
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/justin-puppe-488531292
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MyceliumWork
• Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/BSLyP5XJbNiMEdrTY9m2Zg