June 3, 2025 • 18 mins
Dogs are more than companions—they’re family. That’s why every Bully Max product is designed for performance and well-being. From muscle-building formulas to everyday care, we offer everything your dog needs to thrive. https://shop.bullymax.com/
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey, welcome in. This is the CEOs You Should Know podcast.
I'm your host, Johnny Hartwell, let's say hello to Leah Kinneman,
co owner of bully Max.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hi, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Tell me everything we need to know about bully Max.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
So, bully Max is a high protein, high fat dog food.
We also have supplements made for working dogs, the breeds
that are very active, and you can find us at
bully max dot com.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
So what what kind of products do you do you sell?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
So we sell dog supplements, great for building immunity, We
sell treats, We have the Power chews, and we sell
dog food. So we have chicken formula, we have lamb
formula if your dog has a sensitivity to chicken. So
we have a variety of products. We even have some toys,
the Power Chew balls and some tug toys. But very
(00:51):
fast ray of products. So here in Pittsburgh, Yes, yes,
we started in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Now is it available in stores?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So right now we're available with the Dogs Stop. It's
been our first retail store that you can find us
here in Pittsburgh. It's been great because you can drop
your dog off and you can find bully Max, but
mostly online and on Amazon and.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Chewy dot com and again what is the website again,
bullymax dot com And you can get all the information
right on the website. Yes, absolutely, So how did this start? So?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
My husband started started out of a one car garage
in Sheridan. He just got that idea that he wanted
everybody's dog to have, you know, the best build high
good immunity, and decided to start the one bottle supplement
and from there we just grew. Everybody wanted the dog
food after that, so we developed the dog food that
(01:43):
formulated and we just started from the garage to the
warehouse and the next warehouse and it got bigger and
now we're here in Allison Park where our facility is
with a thirty thousand square foot warehouse that we're shipping from.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Now your nash but you're also you're based in Pittsburgh,
but you're national, Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
We ship nationally.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah all right?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
So what what what drove him to maybe pursue this
as a career.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
So, I mean he he helped train dogs. He also
had a lot of dogs, and he's seen that niche
of like how can we make it better? So there
we we developed the formula we worked with vets, we
worked with scientists, chemists, and we developed the first product,
which was the supplement, and just grew from there.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Well, what is your background.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
My background's in nursing, so I do have that little
bit of you know, the niche with the dietitian supplements, nutrition,
and have been able to really help out on that
level of like what's best for dietary needs.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
All right, So when he said, hey, this is my idea,
what was your response?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
You're crazy? But I've always supported him and he has
that he just has that ability to just make it
work no matter what. So you know, we've always stuck
together and we've been able to grow the company. Great.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
All right, you are you still involved in nursing or is?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I am not actively working as a nurse, but I
am able to help in a lot of the nonprofit areas.
So I like to be able to give back. I
work events, I work local marketing, and I help with
the nonprofit area in Yeah, let's.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Let's let's focus on the dog food because it's not
something that I've never talked to anybody who started a
dog food company.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, it's a lot.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So what kind of niche did you find.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
So I think with our food that makes it different
from the others. It's it's great for working breeds and
performance dogs. So the dogs that are very active, the
dogs that are in sports. So a lot of our
dogs are dock divingut waiting, sorry, pulling weight, also doing
the treadmills. But they're in these sports programs and our
(04:02):
food helps them with keeping up with their performance.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Like what kind of breeds like, So we have.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Pipules, we have bull terriers, we have German shepherds. The
one of the non profits we work with is Guardian Angels,
so their dogs are helping veterans so that they're able
to alert them with a lot of their special needs.
But those dogs are training all day before they get
to their veteran and with this training, they need to
be able to keep up and be active and our
(04:30):
dog food provides that and keep their strength right, keep
their strength and keep up with that ability to train.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
So you said one bottle initially, that's how you started.
What is that?
Speaker 2 (04:42):
So that bottle is the Bully Max muscle Gain but
also has a lot of vitamins and nutrients in it.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Okay, and then what was the next product that was introduced.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
The next product was the dog food. So that's our
Bully Max thirty twenty formula. So that's thirty percent protein,
twenty percent fat, and that has five hundred and thirty
five calories per cup, So that's a lot per cup.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
So how do you come up with the recipe for
dog food?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So we have veats that work with us, and they
help us formulate these things and give us like what
we want and put it together and make it work.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
I can't imagine go into a vet going all right,
bear with me, but I want to start a dog
food company and I want to be high protein, high fat,
you know, muscle, you know, producing dog food. Right, And
they're like, all right, we're all in.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
This is what you need to do, right, Yeah, But
they do it. And you've got to think about a
person going to the gym and how they want to
build muscle and how they want to be healthy and fit,
and same for your dog.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
You have dozens of products, so you had to go
through that process time and time again.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Wow. Yeah, So who's who's your typical customer.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I'd say our typical customer is a lot of bully breeds,
a lot of the big dogs, a lot of King Courses,
Ruttweller's pipples, but also the dogs that are you know,
active in these sports we built. You know, our motto
is building champions. So any dog that's out there constantly working,
those are our customers.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Now I have a lab mix. He's fourteen. Now this
wouldn't be your typical dog that would use these supplements,
but you know he's at the age now where you
know he doesn't eat as much. And so I saw
some of your products that are high protein and and
my fiance just said, I would love to have a
(06:37):
treat or something that would give him all the nutrition.
Is that something that you know we should consider.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
So your dog can absolutely eat our product, just be
a different kind. So we also carry like a lamb
based formula. It's lower calories per cup and lower protein,
lower fat. This product would be good for an order dog.
And also so like the muscle gain is still great
(07:04):
for an order dog because you're still going to get
the vitamins and nutrients out of it. And a lot
of people think if I take this product, they're just
going to turn into the hulk, and that's not true.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
No, I just want you still have your dog to
get a couple more years out of them.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
You know, you still have to work your dog to
get the benefits of the building the muscle with that.
But some of these products that we have, like our
power chews and stuff like, they can still use it.
It's just going to be a benefit of like the
teeth cleaning that they can get out of it, or
you know, keep them them occupied because they have that
power chew that's going to last forever. But a lot
(07:37):
of our products are still good for order dogs. You
just have to know how to use it right.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Okay, Yeah, what advice do you have for somebody who's
maybe interested in bully Max.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
I would say that we always have our customer service
team if you need extra help or if you have any
questions that you can't find on the website. We do
have a frequently asked Questions section on our website as well.
But if if you go to bully max dot com,
we do have like a great amount of information that
you can find on there, and you can look at
all of our products and you can find one that's
best fit for your dog.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
I've never heard of a dog food company that has
this kind of niche. Yeah, is that.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Very different? Yes, I think we're unique.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
You know, you're like, I'm trying to think of the
you know way protein you know for humans, this is
for dogs. This is you know, the dogs that are
working who you want to maintain that muscle mass, right,
and that's what So did he have dogs that needed that?
Did he? Yeah? Is that what it was? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
He had those bully breeds and you know, always like
to keep them fit and look in their best And
what about you me? Yeah, we have French bulldogs. Now
they're fun but a lot of work. But I have
one that's very calm and the one that's very hyper.
So you do, like we use a lot of our
supplement to like our power choose and toppers. Our toppers
(09:04):
have been amazing for all breeds because we've done a
lot of events. I get some of the some of
the people come up to us and say, my dog
is so picky, they're not going to eat this food.
You give them toppers and they love it really And
we have four different flavors turkey, beef, chicken, and salmon,
And you can change the flavor of the food by
adding the toppers or you can use it as a treat.
So that's been like our number one seller for the
(09:27):
different breeds, that this is a picky dog. They're going
to try this and they're gonna love it. But I
think that that's something that you would consider if you
wouldn't fit into the niche of I want the dog
food that's going to bulk up my dog, right, But
that's definitely a great product to try.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Coppers Toppers. That's that's something that my dog's ringo. What
are your dog's names?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Max and Minie?
Speaker 1 (09:49):
So you have your company's bully Max. To have a
dog named Max, we do, yes, which came first the company? Okay, yeah?
And what kind of dog is Max?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
He's a French bowler.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
He's a French bowler. Yes, they're a handful, aren't they?
Speaker 2 (10:03):
He is? Yeah, he is. And Mini's just like an angel,
like she'll just sit and hang like she's good.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Is that always the case? And if you get two dogs,
one's an angel and the other one's a handful.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Ye, yes, yes, he goes to daycare and he is.
He goes to the big dog room.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
All right, So tell me about Leah.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yeah. So I have a background in nursing. I have
three kids, Dominic, Mila and Sky seventeen nine and seven
and just kind of got started in the dog food
business when I quit my job in nursing because my
middle daughter, Mila, was born with a congenital heart defect,
(10:41):
so it was a great way to be able to
stay work but also have time with my kids whenever
they needed me at home. So yeah, I kind of
just stayed in the in the business working with my husband,
but also found a part of the business that I love,
being able to do events and marketing here locally, and
then also helping with the nonprofits. So I helped you
(11:06):
some nonprofit work with Guardian Angels. We work with some shelters,
and then I also lead the Pittsburgh in General Heart
Walk here in Pittsburgh for kids born with congeneral heart defects.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Tell us everything about the walk.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
So we have a walk taking place here on June
twenty second. It's at Stage AE and we raise money
for research for kids born with congenital heart defects.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Well, tell us about general heart defects.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
So congeneral heart defect is you know, anybody born with
a defect in their heart, and my daughter had quite
a few. It was a surprise to us and when
she was born. She had open heart surgery at five
days old. So we we went through that journey and
she's had two repairs since she does really well. You
(11:50):
would never know it. And you know, at the time
when she when she was going through all these these
hard times, I could never imagine being here today and
fighting for you know, other families. But once you kind
of get out of that and you have the ability
to help others, I feel like that's that's our calling
and what we should be doing. So we've now been
(12:12):
able to build this walk and this past year we
raised over one hundred and sixty thousand dollars and it's
still growing. So our goal this year is now one
hundred and seventy thousand, and I'm really excited to be
able to bring so many community you know, bring the
Pittsburgh community together, to have so many businesses and families
(12:36):
and you know, just do you have any major sponsors
for the we do? US Steel is our presenting sponsor.
They have been amazing. We have the Pittsburgh Pirates joining us.
Bully Max is a sponsor. We have coach Dave Gray
that does sports with us. The Riverhounds are joining us
this year. We have a beautiful Dove release for all
of our heart angels. So just amazing things all over.
(12:59):
It's like Disneyland when you walk in.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
That's amazing. So what's the money ear marked for one
hundred and seventy thousand? Is that for research?
Speaker 2 (13:07):
It is for research, yes, okay, but.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
It also helps educate the community in general.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
And it brings families together to make you realize that
you're not alone. And it's a great community to come
in and realize that you know, there's families like you
and you can connect on a level that you can't
connect on with everybody.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Well, how's your daughter doing?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
She does great, she really does. You'd never know. There's
a chance you might need another open heart in the future,
but you know, this is why we raise money for research.
So maybe by then it might be you know, less invasive,
but we'll get there.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Going through that journey, what did you learn.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
To take one day at a time. You know, it's
a lot on your mental health as well as physical.
Especially for her when she was a baby, I kinda
it was harder for me to hand her over and
just hope that they knew.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
What they were doing at five days old.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Five days old. Now that she's nine, she just had
a repair in January. It's harder for her to walk
away from mom and trust that they know what they're doing.
So we're battling a lot of like mental health issues
and you know, anxiety. But those are part of I
(14:28):
guess the things that researchers are telling us that hard
kids deal with. So another thing that I guess when
kids grow up in the hospital world, always being the
heart kid, always being the sick kid, always having to
watch and worry about, you know, is my heart okay,
it becomes a battle for them to let go or
(14:51):
to to know that they're okay. And Mila now struggles
a lot with anxiety and as needs a lot of
reassurance that she's going to be okay. So you know,
that's just something now that we have to kind of
navigate through and be gentle with, kind of you know,
coach her through a lot of things.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
It's going to be tough for mom too.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Yeah. Yeah, I noticed myself expecting her to be a
nine year old and just be okay. And then the
next minute, you know, when we have to go through
another surgery or repair, then right then we're you know,
we're back to worrying, and then I realize that she's
(15:35):
never going to just be normal, and we can't expect
her to just be that way. But we have to
be gentle with saying like, okay, well we'll get through
this together.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Well as as a mom or a parrot, you never
stop worrying about your kids, no matter how healthy they are. Right,
all right, getting let's uh, let's finish up with bully Max.
What's the future of bully Max the dog food company?
You know, are you going to branch out to other animals? Is?
(16:05):
What's what's Do you have a plan? What's the future
look like for the company?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Think our future would probably be probably be expanding to retail.
We not, We have not hit that market just yet.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
It's a tough it's tough, and it's expensive too, isn't
it It is?
Speaker 2 (16:22):
And you know, online has just been great for us.
We we really know the online business. And Amazon's amazing
to everybody loves that and you get it right at
your doorstep. And you can get a subscription too, so
you don't even have to keep clicking the button. It
just shows up. But I think that you know a
(16:43):
lot of people still ask where can I find it?
And it's just the next step of you know, where
do you want to find it and which stores do
you want to see us in?
Speaker 1 (16:51):
How do you get into retail stores like that?
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Connections people you know.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
And money or from a marketing standpoint, what's uh, what
has worked for you.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Marketing right now? TikTok that's just been like the greatest
new up and coming thing. It's the trend right now.
Social media is just the way to go these days.
A lot of influencers, you see that, But again it's
all online. Marketing is online. But again, if you're doing
(17:30):
if we do go to retail, a lot of them
come to you because they see us growing. So that's
that's happened too, But it's it's where the customers want
to see us.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Is it fun?
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Some days?
Speaker 1 (17:44):
It depends on what part What part is fun?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
I love the events. I love doing the giving back part.
That that's happiness to me. Yeah, And my husband has
fun doing the the computer side. You know, he likes
the growing of the business online and seeing the numbers
and the growth. But we're two different brains, all right.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Again, if there's one thing you want people to know
about Bully Max.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
What is it It's just that we're a family based
Pittsburgh business and you can find us at bullymax dot com.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
This has been fun. Leah, thank you so much for
your thank you. This has been the CEOs you should
know podcast, showcasing businesses that are driving our regional economy,
part of my Heart Media's commitment to the communities we
serve on Johnny Hartwell, thank you so much for listening.
Hey, welcome in. This is the CEOs You Should Know podcast.
I'm your host, Johnny Hartwell, let's say hello to Leah Kinneman,
co owner of bully Max.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hi, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Tell me everything we need to know about bully Max.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
So, bully Max is a high protein, high fat dog food.
We also have supplements made for working dogs, the breeds
that are very active, and you can find us at
bully max dot com.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
So what what kind of products do you do you sell?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
So we sell dog supplements, great for building immunity, We
sell treats, We have the Power chews, and we sell
dog food. So we have chicken formula, we have lamb
formula if your dog has a sensitivity to chicken. So
we have a variety of products. We even have some toys,
the Power Chew balls and some tug toys. But very
(00:51):
fast ray of products. So here in Pittsburgh, Yes, yes,
we started in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Now is it available in stores?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So right now we're available with the Dogs Stop. It's
been our first retail store that you can find us
here in Pittsburgh. It's been great because you can drop
your dog off and you can find bully Max, but
mostly online and on Amazon and.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Chewy dot com and again what is the website again,
bullymax dot com And you can get all the information
right on the website. Yes, absolutely, So how did this start? So?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
My husband started started out of a one car garage
in Sheridan. He just got that idea that he wanted
everybody's dog to have, you know, the best build high
good immunity, and decided to start the one bottle supplement
and from there we just grew. Everybody wanted the dog
food after that, so we developed the dog food that
(01:43):
formulated and we just started from the garage to the
warehouse and the next warehouse and it got bigger and
now we're here in Allison Park where our facility is
with a thirty thousand square foot warehouse that we're shipping from.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Now your nash but you're also you're based in Pittsburgh,
but you're national, Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
We ship nationally.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah all right?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
So what what what drove him to maybe pursue this
as a career.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
So, I mean he he helped train dogs. He also
had a lot of dogs, and he's seen that niche
of like how can we make it better? So there
we we developed the formula we worked with vets, we
worked with scientists, chemists, and we developed the first product,
which was the supplement, and just grew from there.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Well, what is your background.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
My background's in nursing, so I do have that little
bit of you know, the niche with the dietitian supplements, nutrition,
and have been able to really help out on that
level of like what's best for dietary needs.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
All right, So when he said, hey, this is my idea,
what was your response?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
You're crazy? But I've always supported him and he has
that he just has that ability to just make it
work no matter what. So you know, we've always stuck
together and we've been able to grow the company. Great.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
All right, you are you still involved in nursing or is?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I am not actively working as a nurse, but I
am able to help in a lot of the nonprofit areas.
So I like to be able to give back. I
work events, I work local marketing, and I help with
the nonprofit area in Yeah, let's.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Let's let's focus on the dog food because it's not
something that I've never talked to anybody who started a
dog food company.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, it's a lot.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So what kind of niche did you find.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
So I think with our food that makes it different
from the others. It's it's great for working breeds and
performance dogs. So the dogs that are very active, the
dogs that are in sports. So a lot of our
dogs are dock divingut waiting, sorry, pulling weight, also doing
the treadmills. But they're in these sports programs and our
(04:02):
food helps them with keeping up with their performance.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Like what kind of breeds like, So we have.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Pipules, we have bull terriers, we have German shepherds. The
one of the non profits we work with is Guardian Angels,
so their dogs are helping veterans so that they're able
to alert them with a lot of their special needs.
But those dogs are training all day before they get
to their veteran and with this training, they need to
be able to keep up and be active and our
(04:30):
dog food provides that and keep their strength right, keep
their strength and keep up with that ability to train.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
So you said one bottle initially, that's how you started.
What is that?
Speaker 2 (04:42):
So that bottle is the Bully Max muscle Gain but
also has a lot of vitamins and nutrients in it.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Okay, and then what was the next product that was introduced.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
The next product was the dog food. So that's our
Bully Max thirty twenty formula. So that's thirty percent protein,
twenty percent fat, and that has five hundred and thirty
five calories per cup, So that's a lot per cup.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
So how do you come up with the recipe for
dog food?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So we have veats that work with us, and they
help us formulate these things and give us like what
we want and put it together and make it work.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
I can't imagine go into a vet going all right,
bear with me, but I want to start a dog
food company and I want to be high protein, high fat,
you know, muscle, you know, producing dog food. Right, And
they're like, all right, we're all in.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
This is what you need to do, right, Yeah, But
they do it. And you've got to think about a
person going to the gym and how they want to
build muscle and how they want to be healthy and fit,
and same for your dog.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
You have dozens of products, so you had to go
through that process time and time again.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Wow. Yeah, So who's who's your typical customer.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I'd say our typical customer is a lot of bully breeds,
a lot of the big dogs, a lot of King Courses,
Ruttweller's pipples, but also the dogs that are you know,
active in these sports we built. You know, our motto
is building champions. So any dog that's out there constantly working,
those are our customers.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Now I have a lab mix. He's fourteen. Now this
wouldn't be your typical dog that would use these supplements,
but you know he's at the age now where you
know he doesn't eat as much. And so I saw
some of your products that are high protein and and
my fiance just said, I would love to have a
(06:37):
treat or something that would give him all the nutrition.
Is that something that you know we should consider.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
So your dog can absolutely eat our product, just be
a different kind. So we also carry like a lamb
based formula. It's lower calories per cup and lower protein,
lower fat. This product would be good for an order dog.
And also so like the muscle gain is still great
(07:04):
for an order dog because you're still going to get
the vitamins and nutrients out of it. And a lot
of people think if I take this product, they're just
going to turn into the hulk, and that's not true.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
No, I just want you still have your dog to
get a couple more years out of them.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
You know, you still have to work your dog to
get the benefits of the building the muscle with that.
But some of these products that we have, like our
power chews and stuff like, they can still use it.
It's just going to be a benefit of like the
teeth cleaning that they can get out of it, or
you know, keep them them occupied because they have that
power chew that's going to last forever. But a lot
(07:37):
of our products are still good for order dogs. You
just have to know how to use it right.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Okay, Yeah, what advice do you have for somebody who's
maybe interested in bully Max.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
I would say that we always have our customer service
team if you need extra help or if you have any
questions that you can't find on the website. We do
have a frequently asked Questions section on our website as well.
But if if you go to bully max dot com,
we do have like a great amount of information that
you can find on there, and you can look at
all of our products and you can find one that's
best fit for your dog.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
I've never heard of a dog food company that has
this kind of niche. Yeah, is that.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Very different? Yes, I think we're unique.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
You know, you're like, I'm trying to think of the
you know way protein you know for humans, this is
for dogs. This is you know, the dogs that are
working who you want to maintain that muscle mass, right,
and that's what So did he have dogs that needed that?
Did he? Yeah? Is that what it was? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
He had those bully breeds and you know, always like
to keep them fit and look in their best And
what about you me? Yeah, we have French bulldogs. Now
they're fun but a lot of work. But I have
one that's very calm and the one that's very hyper.
So you do, like we use a lot of our
supplement to like our power choose and toppers. Our toppers
(09:04):
have been amazing for all breeds because we've done a
lot of events. I get some of the some of
the people come up to us and say, my dog
is so picky, they're not going to eat this food.
You give them toppers and they love it really And
we have four different flavors turkey, beef, chicken, and salmon,
And you can change the flavor of the food by
adding the toppers or you can use it as a treat.
So that's been like our number one seller for the
(09:27):
different breeds, that this is a picky dog. They're going
to try this and they're gonna love it. But I
think that that's something that you would consider if you
wouldn't fit into the niche of I want the dog
food that's going to bulk up my dog, right, But
that's definitely a great product to try.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Coppers Toppers. That's that's something that my dog's ringo. What
are your dog's names?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Max and Minie?
Speaker 1 (09:49):
So you have your company's bully Max. To have a
dog named Max, we do, yes, which came first the company? Okay, yeah?
And what kind of dog is Max?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
He's a French bowler.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
He's a French bowler. Yes, they're a handful, aren't they?
Speaker 2 (10:03):
He is? Yeah, he is. And Mini's just like an angel,
like she'll just sit and hang like she's good.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Is that always the case? And if you get two dogs,
one's an angel and the other one's a handful.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Ye, yes, yes, he goes to daycare and he is.
He goes to the big dog room.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
All right, So tell me about Leah.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yeah. So I have a background in nursing. I have
three kids, Dominic, Mila and Sky seventeen nine and seven
and just kind of got started in the dog food
business when I quit my job in nursing because my
middle daughter, Mila, was born with a congenital heart defect,
(10:41):
so it was a great way to be able to
stay work but also have time with my kids whenever
they needed me at home. So yeah, I kind of
just stayed in the in the business working with my husband,
but also found a part of the business that I love,
being able to do events and marketing here locally, and
then also helping with the nonprofits. So I helped you
(11:06):
some nonprofit work with Guardian Angels. We work with some shelters,
and then I also lead the Pittsburgh in General Heart
Walk here in Pittsburgh for kids born with congeneral heart defects.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Tell us everything about the walk.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
So we have a walk taking place here on June
twenty second. It's at Stage AE and we raise money
for research for kids born with congenital heart defects.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Well, tell us about general heart defects.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
So congeneral heart defect is you know, anybody born with
a defect in their heart, and my daughter had quite
a few. It was a surprise to us and when
she was born. She had open heart surgery at five
days old. So we we went through that journey and
she's had two repairs since she does really well. You
(11:50):
would never know it. And you know, at the time
when she when she was going through all these these
hard times, I could never imagine being here today and
fighting for you know, other families. But once you kind
of get out of that and you have the ability
to help others, I feel like that's that's our calling
and what we should be doing. So we've now been
(12:12):
able to build this walk and this past year we
raised over one hundred and sixty thousand dollars and it's
still growing. So our goal this year is now one
hundred and seventy thousand, and I'm really excited to be
able to bring so many community you know, bring the
Pittsburgh community together, to have so many businesses and families
(12:36):
and you know, just do you have any major sponsors
for the we do? US Steel is our presenting sponsor.
They have been amazing. We have the Pittsburgh Pirates joining us.
Bully Max is a sponsor. We have coach Dave Gray
that does sports with us. The Riverhounds are joining us
this year. We have a beautiful Dove release for all
of our heart angels. So just amazing things all over.
(12:59):
It's like Disneyland when you walk in.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
That's amazing. So what's the money ear marked for one
hundred and seventy thousand? Is that for research?
Speaker 2 (13:07):
It is for research, yes, okay, but.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
It also helps educate the community in general.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
And it brings families together to make you realize that
you're not alone. And it's a great community to come
in and realize that you know, there's families like you
and you can connect on a level that you can't
connect on with everybody.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Well, how's your daughter doing?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
She does great, she really does. You'd never know. There's
a chance you might need another open heart in the future,
but you know, this is why we raise money for research.
So maybe by then it might be you know, less invasive,
but we'll get there.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Going through that journey, what did you learn.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
To take one day at a time. You know, it's
a lot on your mental health as well as physical.
Especially for her when she was a baby, I kinda
it was harder for me to hand her over and
just hope that they knew.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
What they were doing at five days old.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Five days old. Now that she's nine, she just had
a repair in January. It's harder for her to walk
away from mom and trust that they know what they're doing.
So we're battling a lot of like mental health issues
and you know, anxiety. But those are part of I
(14:28):
guess the things that researchers are telling us that hard
kids deal with. So another thing that I guess when
kids grow up in the hospital world, always being the
heart kid, always being the sick kid, always having to
watch and worry about, you know, is my heart okay,
it becomes a battle for them to let go or
(14:51):
to to know that they're okay. And Mila now struggles
a lot with anxiety and as needs a lot of
reassurance that she's going to be okay. So you know,
that's just something now that we have to kind of
navigate through and be gentle with, kind of you know,
coach her through a lot of things.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
It's going to be tough for mom too.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Yeah. Yeah, I noticed myself expecting her to be a
nine year old and just be okay. And then the
next minute, you know, when we have to go through
another surgery or repair, then right then we're you know,
we're back to worrying, and then I realize that she's
(15:35):
never going to just be normal, and we can't expect
her to just be that way. But we have to
be gentle with saying like, okay, well we'll get through
this together.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Well as as a mom or a parrot, you never
stop worrying about your kids, no matter how healthy they are. Right,
all right, getting let's uh, let's finish up with bully Max.
What's the future of bully Max the dog food company?
You know, are you going to branch out to other animals? Is?
(16:05):
What's what's Do you have a plan? What's the future
look like for the company?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Think our future would probably be probably be expanding to retail.
We not, We have not hit that market just yet.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
It's a tough it's tough, and it's expensive too, isn't
it It is?
Speaker 2 (16:22):
And you know, online has just been great for us.
We we really know the online business. And Amazon's amazing
to everybody loves that and you get it right at
your doorstep. And you can get a subscription too, so
you don't even have to keep clicking the button. It
just shows up. But I think that you know a
(16:43):
lot of people still ask where can I find it?
And it's just the next step of you know, where
do you want to find it and which stores do
you want to see us in?
Speaker 1 (16:51):
How do you get into retail stores like that?
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Connections people you know.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
And money or from a marketing standpoint, what's uh, what
has worked for you.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Marketing right now? TikTok that's just been like the greatest
new up and coming thing. It's the trend right now.
Social media is just the way to go these days.
A lot of influencers, you see that, But again it's
all online. Marketing is online. But again, if you're doing
(17:30):
if we do go to retail, a lot of them
come to you because they see us growing. So that's
that's happened too, But it's it's where the customers want
to see us.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Is it fun?
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Some days?
Speaker 1 (17:44):
It depends on what part What part is fun?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
I love the events. I love doing the giving back part.
That that's happiness to me. Yeah, And my husband has
fun doing the the computer side. You know, he likes
the growing of the business online and seeing the numbers
and the growth. But we're two different brains, all right.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Again, if there's one thing you want people to know
about Bully Max.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
What is it It's just that we're a family based
Pittsburgh business and you can find us at bullymax dot com.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
This has been fun. Leah, thank you so much for
your thank you. This has been the CEOs you should
know podcast, showcasing businesses that are driving our regional economy,
part of my Heart Media's commitment to the communities we
serve on Johnny Hartwell, thank you so much for listening.
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