Brian Mosser was eight when his family moved to Florida. His mother had two firm requirements for their new home: It couldn't look like a cliché Florida town—no palm trees—and it had to have a health store nearby.
Upon the Mossers' arrival in the Brooksville area, his mother located a phone book, ready to decide the family's fate.
“If this town has a health food store, we will move here,” Mosser recounts his mother saying.
The health store Mosser’s mother found in the phone book was called Shakespeare Sisters—the original name of what's now Get Healthy. At just 17, Mosser began working there. Today, he owns the business.
Mosser bought Get Healthy Brooksville and Get Healthy Spring Hill in May from owners Laura DeWitt and Karen Greenway. However, his involvement in the natural products industry and the local community started earlier. A teenage Mosser, in need of a summer job, started working at Get Healthy to pay off some bills.
In just six months, he was the manager of the Brooksville location. Years later, he became the general manager of all the Get Healthy stores. Within the last six years, Mosser was put in charge of running the company while Laura and Karen transitioned into retirement. From being hired as a bulk boy and cleaning toilets, Mosser has spent his life working for the owners.
“I didn't want to see the stores be sold to anyone else but myself, because I wanted to keep that same passion and emphasis on education and making sure customers are getting the right products for themselves,” Mosser tells WholeFoods Magazine. “I really kind of felt like the only person who could do that was someone who trained at the feet of the people who created this company.”
His passion for the health industry stems from witnessing firsthand how the work reshaped customers' lives for the better. Early on in his training, he watched Laura use her science-based knowledge of the products to recommend nutrition options, guiding customers to their best potential. His training proved how important it is to make customers understand and feel heard about their needs. Mosser saw how critical product education was at every level of business, from managers to bag boys.
"I grew up in a small town, and most of the people living in this area are from a small town," Mosser says. "They want to know that they can trust the brand, trust the quality of the product, and that the product is going to work.”
A personal journey
Mosser understands the power of a healthy diet and supplements. A couple of years ago, he was diagnosed with a rare form of bladder cancer. Even after spending years cultivating a healthy lifestyle, his body fell to disease.
He felt empowered by the industry to take back his health and control his fate. Using Ajay Goel's book Outsmart Cancer With Powerful Natural Medicines: The Five Alternative Solutions to Prevent and Treat Cancer, and his understanding of the natural product sector, he was able to avoid radiation and chemotherapy through surgery and nutrition.
With his personal journey and commitment to the community fueling his mission, Mosser is focused on the future of Get Healthy and the next generation it will serve. Mosser looks to continue to expand, carrying the mom-and-pop nutrition store around the area. He is excited to find the next protege and capitalize on the younger generation and their movement toward a healthier lifestyle.
