July 5, 2025 • 25 mins
Marie Gonzalez shares her journey from frustrated detox customer to successful business owner, creating delicious juice blends that genuinely help people feel better. Her faith-guided path from Honduras to America led to a thriving family business that combines nutrition education with products people actually enjoy consuming.
Marisabel Gonzalez
- Tel: +1 954-397-9588
- Website: http://www.yes2detox.com/
- Email: info@yes2detox.com
- Email: marisabelgonzalez@ymail.com
• Marie created her business after finding commercial detox programs unpalatable and ineffective
• She initially developed juice recipes for her picky-eating children, disguising vegetables in tasty smoothies
• When hitting her 40s, Marie experienced physical changes that prompted her health journey
• Her first 3-day detox with her own juices resulted in 10-pound weight loss and increased energy
• Family members, friends and gym acquaintances were her first test subjects and supporters
• Marie balances her detox business with 25 years in education (20 as a classroom teacher)
• Her business approach emphasizes education alongside product sales
• Faith plays a central role in Marie's business decisions and life philosophy
• Their rebrand from Munchie Blends to Yes to Detox reflects their mission
• The family-owned business operates from their home in Miramar, Florida
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Voiceover (00:03):
Tales from the wild, stories from the heart.
A journey into the mind andsoul of fired up business
professionals, where they sharetheir vision for the future and
hear from a different non-profitorganization every month as
they create awareness of theirgoals and their needs.
Dive into a world of untamedpassion as we join our host,
(00:27):
Shireen Botha, for this month'sepisode of Friends from Wild
Places.
Shireen Botha (00:36):
All right, welcome.
Welcome, shireen, here I'm yourvirtual boutique bookkeeper and
QuickBooks advisor.
Back in the day, bookkeepingwas a mountain of paperwork and
a sea of receipts, but today itshouldn't be that way.
At Shireen's BookkeepingServices, we take the stress out
of finances with modernsolutions tailored just for you.
(00:59):
Imagine focusing on growingyour business while we handle
the numbers seamlessly.
Are you a business ownerrelying only on a CPA firm?
Well, let's connect.
We can elevate your financialmanagement together.
If you want to know more,please go check me out at www.
shireensbookkeeping.
com and allow me to keep yourbooks clean so you don't have to
(01:25):
Welcome back.
Listeners, you are listening toFriends from Wild Places.
We're so glad to have you hereagain with us.
I'd love to introduce you to myco-host, tanya, whom you all
know very well.
Tanya, how are you doing today?
Tanya Scotece (01:43):
Oh, doing great.
We are winding up the semesterat the college, busy with summer
activities, and I believe whereyou are, shireen, it's opposite
right.
So you are in winter, is thatcorrect?
Shireen Botha (01:57):
Right, that is correct.
We are in fascinating enough,the area that I'm in in
KwaZulu-Natal.
They don't really see very coldwinters, and I love winter, but
it is cooler this year thanusual, so I'm thoroughly
enjoying that.
But, tanya, why don't you justshare with the listeners a
(02:20):
little bit more about our extracontent that we're making for
our subscribers?
Tanya Scotece (02:32):
Sure.
So for our regular visitors andguests, we have friends from
wild places where you can justsubscribe, like, share, comment
on our posts and then, if youwould like, additional bonus
content that is raw, unedited,just topics that maybe you've
been maybe shy to ask, trying tofind out on your own.
We'd love to explore deeper.
We've shared about our past allkinds of things, trials and
tribulations.
So if there's anything you wantto hear more from us
(02:54):
specifically, feel free to textus email, connect with us, even
via Friends from Wild Places.
So for for five dollars a month, you can subscribe to the
additional content and alwaysyou can always just like,
comment and follow us for free.
Shireen Botha (03:10):
but the juicy content is actually juicy yeah,
yeah, that's so right, and it'sonly five dollars a month that
really we enjoy what we're doing, um, but we don't get any money
for it.
So it would really be nice wedon't see it as anything else
but just support from you guysjust to help us keep on doing
this.
(03:30):
So thank you so much to thosethat have subscribed and we
really appreciate you.
So we are super excited todayto introduce our visitor this
month.
For the next few episodes, wehave Marie Gonzalez, who is a 48
(03:50):
year old woman, wife to Robertfor 30 years, mother to Chris
and Jackie, to explore andcreate in the kitchen.
She sees a recipe she likes,she tries it, tweaks it with
(04:10):
better for you ingredients andgives it to her family so they
can approve before it becomes aregular item they sell.
They are a family owned andoperated business.
They run from home in Miramar,florida, usa.
The juicing concept started inthe summer of 2019 after she
(04:32):
purchased a couple of detoxprograms online and hated them.
She felt the smoothies andjuices she had been making for
her kids were way better.
She started researching andeducating herself on the topic
of using fruits and vegetablesto naturally detoxify one's body
(04:52):
.
That's when Munchie Blends wasborn, but later that changed the
name yes to Detox.
We're so happy to have you here, marie, welcome, welcome.
Mari Gonzalez (05:06):
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm very excited.
Thank you.
Shireen Botha (05:11):
Well, this is going to be great.
I'm not the healthiest personin the world, but I always like
to hear about how differentfruits and vegetables can help
with different.
Different fruits and vegetablescan help with different.
You know illnesses and symptomsand pains in our bodies and I
just find it quite interesting.
(05:31):
So, yeah, they do say that foodcan be natural medicines.
So I'm looking forward tohearing more about you and your
business.
But before we do, tanya and Iare a little bit of true crime
enthusiasts, as you all know, sowe always like to start our
(05:53):
podcast with chatting about thelatest crimes that have been
going on and, to be honest, Iwas quite disappointed when I
heard about this crime, becauseI kind of like this guy.
I thought he was doing a lot ofgood in the world with his
(06:15):
movies.
I thought all of his moviesthat he directed and created and
his character always had suchgood messages.
Um in in his movies and if youdon't know who I'm talking about
, I'm talking about tyler perryuh, his character is medea in a
(06:45):
lot of his movies.
You know, movies carry, and sowhen I heard about this court
case, I was quite disappointedbecause I think, in a way, I put
him on a little bit of apedestal and I thought finally,
a good, you know, a gooddirector that's trying to do
good in the world, um of youknow of, of hollywood.
(07:07):
But I seem to be wrong.
Um, and so, listeners, if youdon't know who I'm talking about
, yes, I'm talking about thecase of?
Uh sexual assault against tylerperry.
Um us film and tv giant tylerTyler Perry has been sued for
$260 million by an actor who hasaccused the mogul of sexually
(07:30):
assaulting him while working onhis TV shows.
Derek Dixon has filed a lawsuitin Los Angeles accusing Perry
of using his influence in theentertainment industry to create
a coercive, sexuallyexploitative dynamic while he
was acting on the oval andruthless, he alleges.
Perry promised him a successfulacting career but then
(07:54):
subjected him to escalatingsexual harassment, assault and
battery and professionalretaliation when he didn't
reciprocate perry's unwantedwell, you can guess what
happened.
So Perry's lawyers denied theallegations and called the
lawsuit a scam to make money.
I think I've heard that sooften.
(08:15):
That's a reaction that a lot ofthese powerful people have.
The lawyer continues and saysthis is an individual who got
close to Tyler Perry for whatnow appears to be nothing more
than setting up a scam.
His attorney, Matthew Boyd,told the BBC.
But Tyler will not be shakendown and we are confident these
(08:39):
fabricated claims of harassmentwill fail.
Claims of harassment will fail.
Let me just mention a couple ofthe other cases that are similar
to this case.
Listeners, we're talking HyvieWeinstein, we're talking Bill
Cosby, we're talking R Kelly,we're talking Sean Combs, we're
talking Kevin Spacey, rogerEllis and even the Bill Doney
(09:00):
and Lively case.
These are some of the very fewcases that have come up and I
think my biggest question, thatI wanted to chat to you, ladies,
right now and hear your umopinion on it is you know, what
are your thoughts about thesevictims coming forward years
later claiming sexual harassmenton these powerful people?
(09:23):
Does it seem more than usual ordo you think it's a good or a
bad thing?
Like just, let's just chat alittle bit about what you think.
Should we start with you first,marie?
Mari Gonzalez (09:42):
Sure, it's really unfortunate because I do share,
excuse me, your feelings on theactor.
Growing up my kids, we used tostay up late, watch Madea, and
there's a couple of lines thatwe still use till today, like
Haller, hallelujah.
So it's, you know it's a, it'san american thing.
(10:06):
I would say, um, it isunfortunate because you know, in
a position that he is, aposition of power, position to
lead others to um you know a lotof youth, you know, looks up to
these people and, um, in thevictim's case, you know, they
(10:26):
may decide to come forward yearsafter because you know they're
ashamed, they're afraid.
Sometimes they stay quiet, theydon't say anything because they
fear.
But, yes, I support the, youknow, come forward movement.
You know, say your story, takeit to court, don't be afraid,
(10:49):
you know, if, if it happened, ifyou're, you know, standing with
the truth, there's nothing tofear.
That's, that's my opinionthat's very true.
Shireen Botha (10:58):
Tanya what about yourself?
Tanya Scotece (11:01):
well, you know, I used to be up on the research.
So a few years ago backactually, actually 2016, 2017,
there was a lot of statisticsthat I was familiar with that
said, any survivor of sexualabuse it's usually very common
for a delayed resurface of thefeelings and emotions around
(11:22):
that, and it was very commoneven 15 years later and emotions
around that, and it was verycommon even 15 years later.
So that is a it was at thattime, a proven statistic and I
don't believe it's changed much.
I mean, maybe they have moredata now to support that.
So I think, for reasons,especially when you're talking
about, for example, positions ofpower and or perceived abuse,
(11:42):
there is a delay both timebecause I think maybe some of
the survivors would say, like,well, who's going to believe me?
This person is so powerful,this person is so well known.
I'm just one person.
So I think it takes a lot forthat individual to actually come
forward and bring a case.
And then the other folks thatyou mentioned Shereen, I believe
(12:04):
you know those I mean have justgone.
I mean truly wild as far as theamount of people that were
actually sexually abused,coerced, exploited.
So it's very interesting.
I mean the expression I'vealways heard is when there's
smoke, there's fire, right.
So I wouldn't be surprised ifthere's more allegations against
this person as we go forward.
Shireen Botha (12:28):
I couldn't agree with you more, tanya.
I think I feel, as a victim,it's a whole lot more harder to
stand up and speak out.
It's the whole me too phase.
You know it's not a phase, itphase, it's a stand.
You know, people are taking astand and I think it is coming
(12:50):
out more, uh, lately and inthese days, because I think the
victims are encouraged by othervictims stepping out with their
stories and so they feelencouraged to step out with
theirs.
Mari Gonzalez (13:05):
So I think it's a good thing and, um, and I'm
glad they are a way ofliberating you know what, what
you're holding inside.
If you're a victim, you'reholding that inside.
That's, you know, affectingyour relationships.
Maybe you're the way you, youknow perceive yourself your
self-esteem, soesteem.
(13:25):
So it's a way of liberatingoneself.
Shireen Botha (13:29):
Yeah, because I think in the past, victims have
kept quiet and because of that,a lot of their mental health
went down the drain and a coupleof them committed suicide
because of these secrets thatthey've been holding inside.
So I do think it's a good thingand good for them.
(13:49):
Um, I'm proud of them forstanding up.
I'm proud of them for speakingout.
I think the percentage ofpeople that are just trying to
get money out of these powerful,rich people are very there's.
There's more of a risk to speakout than there is, um, to keep
(14:09):
quiet, and more dangerous forthem to speak out.
So, quite frankly, the thepercentage of of victims that
are actually lying and takingadvantage is very minimal.
So I 100 believe every singleone that stands up and speaks
out.
I'm just disappointed becauseit's Madea.
(14:29):
Nevertheless, let's move on,listeners.
It is the quote of the daytime.
This is an important part ofour podcast where Marie has
mentioned her favorite quote,which we're going to talk about
(14:50):
right now.
It's straight from the Bible,excuse me.
It says Trust in the Lord withall your heart.
Do not depend on your ownunderstanding.
Seek his will in all you do andhe will show you which path to
take, that's Proverbs 3, verses5 and 6.
Marie, would you like to justshare with us and the listeners
(15:13):
what that means to you and whyis that your favorite quote?
Mari Gonzalez (15:19):
So there's a lot to unfold here in this verse and
there's so much wisdom andknowledge in these short lines.
But, like I said, the Bible isthe living word of God and
that's my belief.
So I live by this verse.
I became a Christian when I was15 years old and I grew up
(15:42):
Catholic.
I grew up going to church andgoing to mass and, you know,
doing my prayers and stuff likethat.
But I became to know the Lordpersonally when I was a teenager
.
So this verse spoke to me veryearly on in life, when things
were good.
Then things got, you know,turned around and things were
(16:05):
not so good, but I kept ontrusting, I kept on going to
this verse.
If I put my trust in God and Ilisten to what he has to say, I
follow his will.
I follow, you know, what hewants to show me.
If I need to make a decision,if I'm struggling in my
(16:25):
relationships, if I'm, you know,seeking wisdom in my business,
what do I do?
How do I go about this?
I trust him.
I trust what he has for me,that he has his best interests.
His plans are better than mine,so everything will align.
If there's a curve, I have totrust that.
This is his way of telling methis is not the way, this is the
(16:49):
way you need to go.
So I rest knowing that he hasmy back and it just goes back to
that.
Trust him, he knows what's bestfor me.
Tanya Scotece (16:58):
That's beautiful, that's beautiful.
Shireen Botha (17:02):
Yes, I love that because you know, know, there's
another saying where people sayman plans and God laughs and I
think in a way that's true.
I mean he didn't say it's awrong thing for us to plan and
he said go ahead, you know, planaway, but you know it
ultimately what, what his waygoes.
So I, I absolutely agree withyou and, um, we should
(17:26):
definitely trust and god haseverything under control and
everything does happen, um, aswhat he you know.
There's another part where itsays he works everything out for
your good, and that's importantto also remember and to always
trust.
So, thank you very much, marie,for that.
(17:48):
But while we're on you, do youwant to tell us a little bit
about your background and whoyou?
Mari Gonzalez (17:55):
are Sure.
So I was born in Honduras,tegucigalpa, honduras.
I came to the United Statesagain when I was 15 because, you
know, things went bad for myparents back home and for
security reasons we had to, youknow, come to the US, the land
of opportunity.
You know they wanted the bestfor us.
It's five of us, my sister, theoldest, my brother, myself and
(18:21):
then two younger brothers, soit's five all together and my
parents, you know, came with theluggage, nothing in hand, no
plan.
But, like I said, you know, godhad a plan.
You know we were religiouspeople, we were Catholic.
We came to know God here.
(18:43):
He opened the doors for us,little by little, you know,
going back to school, justopening doors, you know, when we
put him first.
I met my husband here.
He's Cuban and Tanya knows him.
His name is Robert.
It's a beautiful story thathopefully, you know, I get to
(19:05):
share with you because there'squite a story there.
But we've been together in eachother's life for 30 years.
We have two beautiful, amazingkids that love us, love family.
They're strong.
They're both in business my sonowns his own business of
(19:25):
photography, videography, andthey specialize in weddings, but
they do a little bit ofeverything, and my granddaughter
she's going to be a year inAugust and then just seeing, you
know, god's faithfulness ineverything, since the moment we
left our country, you know, it'sbeen amazing, and even before
that, the protection, not thisway, but this way.
(19:50):
It's amazing.
I'm in awe.
But we are blessed, we arehealthy and then we're bringing
this to others the education,the.
You know, try to eat thisinstead of that.
If you're feeling this way, youknow, add this to your daily
diet workout, move.
(20:10):
So add this to your daily dietwork out, move.
You know, read the Bible, reada book.
You know, slow down in life.
So those are the things thatare, you know, it's nice to
share.
I'm an educator.
I teach elementary students inBroward County.
This is my 25th year ineducation and my 20th year as a
(20:32):
teacher, as a classroom teacher.
So it's amazing.
I love my life.
I love where I am right now.
I love talking to people aboutwhat we do and bringing that
awareness, you know, to whoeverI can.
Tanya Scotece (20:50):
How did you begin your business with the juicing?
Mari Gonzalez (20:54):
yes.
So that became sort of like aneed.
I was feeling sluggish, I'mlike I I don't know what's going
on.
I was in my early 40s, so we'returning into the 40s and we
know that once we hit 40, thingschanged drastically.
So I started feeling thosechanges.
(21:15):
My clothes started getting alittle tighter.
I wasn't changing anything, Iwas eating the same things.
But I noticed changes.
So I said let me try to do adetox.
So I researched, I went online,I ordered some juices and, like
I said, I did not like them atall, I had to throw them out.
(21:35):
I did not consume a singlejuice.
I tried and I couldn't, I justcouldn't.
Then I shopped locally with alady and again, there was one
juice that I liked that I wasable to drink, the rest I had to
toss.
There was one juice that Iliked that I was able to drink,
the rest I had to toss.
And I said this is pretty muchthe same thing that I've been
(21:56):
doing for my kids.
My kids were picky eaters whenthey were younger.
So in a way to introduce andhave them eat fruits and
vegetables, we had to disguisethem whichever way possible.
So juicing smoothies, you know,into the foods and stuff like
that, and they would enjoy it.
(22:17):
They would ask me mommy, giveme that mango smoothie, mommy,
make me that spinach smoothie orthat green one.
They didn't know that there wasspinach in there, but you know.
So I said, let me see what Ican do with what I already know.
Um, to help, so I did.
I, you know, I researched, Ibought some books, I went online
(22:37):
and again, I did it with myfamily.
First, my family, my friends,the people at the gym where I
used to work out.
Before they were my guinea pigs, but they loved it.
And I got good feedback myfriends from college, from my
co-workers.
So I'm like I think I havesomething here, something good,
(22:58):
something that I can share withothers, improve other people's
life along the way.
So that's how it started.
So, you know, we developed thejuices.
I tried them on.
I lost like 10 pounds the veryfirst time that I did the
three-day detox.
I felt amazing the energy, themental focus and clarity.
(23:21):
So I said, yeah, it's time tooffer this to the world, one
client at a time.
Shireen Botha (23:30):
Yeah, and how did you start offering that to the
world, like, where did you startputting your product out there?
Mari Gonzalez (23:38):
yes, so that's a little bit of the hardest part,
because you have this item orthese items and if it were for
me, I could sell it.
I just give it to everybody,right?
But we know there's rules andregulations and things that we
have to follow.
So at that time I had the gym.
I was I was actually workingout and working at the gym for
(24:01):
the summer.
It was summer of 2019.
We had a staff meeting at thegym and I took the juices.
I spoke to the owner.
This is what I do, I would like.
I took the juices.
I spoke to the owner.
This is what I do.
I would like to, you know,introduce the juices, and we did
.
They loved it.
We had like, um, uh, sort oflike a health um fair where I
(24:22):
was there and I was able to havea booth.
We introduced the juices, um,and then we kicked off from
there.
And then then I till today, Istill visit gyms when they ask
me you know, bring your juices,bring your baked goods, your
gluten-free things, and peoplelove that, especially the people
you know that.
(24:43):
Take care of their bodiesphysically and mentally.
They want that.
It's a lifestyle.
Shireen Botha (24:50):
All right.
Tanya Scotece (24:51):
Yes, tune in next week for part two from Friends
from Wild Places.
Voiceover (24:58):
You've been listening to Friends from Wild Places
with Shireen Botha.
Be sure to subscribe to thepodcast from the links to catch
every episode and unleash yourpassion.
Tales from the wild, stories from the heart.
A journey into the mind andsoul of fired up business
professionals, where they sharetheir vision for the future and
hear from a different non-profitorganization every month as
they create awareness of theirgoals and their needs.
Dive into a world of untamedpassion as we join our host,
(00:27):
Shireen Botha, for this month'sepisode of Friends from Wild
Places.
Shireen Botha (00:36):
All right, welcome.
Welcome, shireen, here I'm yourvirtual boutique bookkeeper and
QuickBooks advisor.
Back in the day, bookkeepingwas a mountain of paperwork and
a sea of receipts, but today itshouldn't be that way.
At Shireen's BookkeepingServices, we take the stress out
of finances with modernsolutions tailored just for you.
(00:59):
Imagine focusing on growingyour business while we handle
the numbers seamlessly.
Are you a business ownerrelying only on a CPA firm?
Well, let's connect.
We can elevate your financialmanagement together.
If you want to know more,please go check me out at www.
shireensbookkeeping.
com and allow me to keep yourbooks clean so you don't have to
(01:25):
Welcome back.
Listeners, you are listening toFriends from Wild Places.
We're so glad to have you hereagain with us.
I'd love to introduce you to myco-host, tanya, whom you all
know very well.
Tanya, how are you doing today?
Tanya Scotece (01:43):
Oh, doing great.
We are winding up the semesterat the college, busy with summer
activities, and I believe whereyou are, shireen, it's opposite
right.
So you are in winter, is thatcorrect?
Shireen Botha (01:57):
Right, that is correct.
We are in fascinating enough,the area that I'm in in
KwaZulu-Natal.
They don't really see very coldwinters, and I love winter, but
it is cooler this year thanusual, so I'm thoroughly
enjoying that.
But, tanya, why don't you justshare with the listeners a
(02:20):
little bit more about our extracontent that we're making for
our subscribers?
Tanya Scotece (02:32):
Sure.
So for our regular visitors andguests, we have friends from
wild places where you can justsubscribe, like, share, comment
on our posts and then, if youwould like, additional bonus
content that is raw, unedited,just topics that maybe you've
been maybe shy to ask, trying tofind out on your own.
We'd love to explore deeper.
We've shared about our past allkinds of things, trials and
tribulations.
So if there's anything you wantto hear more from us
(02:54):
specifically, feel free to textus email, connect with us, even
via Friends from Wild Places.
So for for five dollars a month, you can subscribe to the
additional content and alwaysyou can always just like,
comment and follow us for free.
Shireen Botha (03:10):
but the juicy content is actually juicy yeah,
yeah, that's so right, and it'sonly five dollars a month that
really we enjoy what we're doing, um, but we don't get any money
for it.
So it would really be nice wedon't see it as anything else
but just support from you guysjust to help us keep on doing
this.
(03:30):
So thank you so much to thosethat have subscribed and we
really appreciate you.
So we are super excited todayto introduce our visitor this
month.
For the next few episodes, wehave Marie Gonzalez, who is a 48
(03:50):
year old woman, wife to Robertfor 30 years, mother to Chris
and Jackie, to explore andcreate in the kitchen.
She sees a recipe she likes,she tries it, tweaks it with
(04:10):
better for you ingredients andgives it to her family so they
can approve before it becomes aregular item they sell.
They are a family owned andoperated business.
They run from home in Miramar,florida, usa.
The juicing concept started inthe summer of 2019 after she
(04:32):
purchased a couple of detoxprograms online and hated them.
She felt the smoothies andjuices she had been making for
her kids were way better.
She started researching andeducating herself on the topic
of using fruits and vegetablesto naturally detoxify one's body
(04:52):
.
That's when Munchie Blends wasborn, but later that changed the
name yes to Detox.
We're so happy to have you here, marie, welcome, welcome.
Mari Gonzalez (05:06):
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm very excited.
Thank you.
Shireen Botha (05:11):
Well, this is going to be great.
I'm not the healthiest personin the world, but I always like
to hear about how differentfruits and vegetables can help
with different.
Different fruits and vegetablescan help with different.
You know illnesses and symptomsand pains in our bodies and I
just find it quite interesting.
(05:31):
So, yeah, they do say that foodcan be natural medicines.
So I'm looking forward tohearing more about you and your
business.
But before we do, tanya and Iare a little bit of true crime
enthusiasts, as you all know, sowe always like to start our
(05:53):
podcast with chatting about thelatest crimes that have been
going on and, to be honest, Iwas quite disappointed when I
heard about this crime, becauseI kind of like this guy.
I thought he was doing a lot ofgood in the world with his
(06:15):
movies.
I thought all of his moviesthat he directed and created and
his character always had suchgood messages.
Um in in his movies and if youdon't know who I'm talking about
, I'm talking about tyler perryuh, his character is medea in a
(06:45):
lot of his movies.
You know, movies carry, and sowhen I heard about this court
case, I was quite disappointedbecause I think, in a way, I put
him on a little bit of apedestal and I thought finally,
a good, you know, a gooddirector that's trying to do
good in the world, um of youknow of, of hollywood.
(07:07):
But I seem to be wrong.
Um, and so, listeners, if youdon't know who I'm talking about
, yes, I'm talking about thecase of?
Uh sexual assault against tylerperry.
Um us film and tv giant tylerTyler Perry has been sued for
$260 million by an actor who hasaccused the mogul of sexually
(07:30):
assaulting him while working onhis TV shows.
Derek Dixon has filed a lawsuitin Los Angeles accusing Perry
of using his influence in theentertainment industry to create
a coercive, sexuallyexploitative dynamic while he
was acting on the oval andruthless, he alleges.
Perry promised him a successfulacting career but then
(07:54):
subjected him to escalatingsexual harassment, assault and
battery and professionalretaliation when he didn't
reciprocate perry's unwantedwell, you can guess what
happened.
So Perry's lawyers denied theallegations and called the
lawsuit a scam to make money.
I think I've heard that sooften.
(08:15):
That's a reaction that a lot ofthese powerful people have.
The lawyer continues and saysthis is an individual who got
close to Tyler Perry for whatnow appears to be nothing more
than setting up a scam.
His attorney, Matthew Boyd,told the BBC.
But Tyler will not be shakendown and we are confident these
(08:39):
fabricated claims of harassmentwill fail.
Claims of harassment will fail.
Let me just mention a couple ofthe other cases that are similar
to this case.
Listeners, we're talking HyvieWeinstein, we're talking Bill
Cosby, we're talking R Kelly,we're talking Sean Combs, we're
talking Kevin Spacey, rogerEllis and even the Bill Doney
(09:00):
and Lively case.
These are some of the very fewcases that have come up and I
think my biggest question, thatI wanted to chat to you, ladies,
right now and hear your umopinion on it is you know, what
are your thoughts about thesevictims coming forward years
later claiming sexual harassmenton these powerful people?
(09:23):
Does it seem more than usual ordo you think it's a good or a
bad thing?
Like just, let's just chat alittle bit about what you think.
Should we start with you first,marie?
Mari Gonzalez (09:42):
Sure, it's really unfortunate because I do share,
excuse me, your feelings on theactor.
Growing up my kids, we used tostay up late, watch Madea, and
there's a couple of lines thatwe still use till today, like
Haller, hallelujah.
So it's, you know it's a, it'san american thing.
(10:06):
I would say, um, it isunfortunate because you know, in
a position that he is, aposition of power, position to
lead others to um you know a lotof youth, you know, looks up to
these people and, um, in thevictim's case, you know, they
(10:26):
may decide to come forward yearsafter because you know they're
ashamed, they're afraid.
Sometimes they stay quiet, theydon't say anything because they
fear.
But, yes, I support the, youknow, come forward movement.
You know, say your story, takeit to court, don't be afraid,
(10:49):
you know, if, if it happened, ifyou're, you know, standing with
the truth, there's nothing tofear.
That's, that's my opinionthat's very true.
Shireen Botha (10:58):
Tanya what about yourself?
Tanya Scotece (11:01):
well, you know, I used to be up on the research.
So a few years ago backactually, actually 2016, 2017,
there was a lot of statisticsthat I was familiar with that
said, any survivor of sexualabuse it's usually very common
for a delayed resurface of thefeelings and emotions around
(11:22):
that, and it was very commoneven 15 years later and emotions
around that, and it was verycommon even 15 years later.
So that is a it was at thattime, a proven statistic and I
don't believe it's changed much.
I mean, maybe they have moredata now to support that.
So I think, for reasons,especially when you're talking
about, for example, positions ofpower and or perceived abuse,
(11:42):
there is a delay both timebecause I think maybe some of
the survivors would say, like,well, who's going to believe me?
This person is so powerful,this person is so well known.
I'm just one person.
So I think it takes a lot forthat individual to actually come
forward and bring a case.
And then the other folks thatyou mentioned Shereen, I believe
(12:04):
you know those I mean have justgone.
I mean truly wild as far as theamount of people that were
actually sexually abused,coerced, exploited.
So it's very interesting.
I mean the expression I'vealways heard is when there's
smoke, there's fire, right.
So I wouldn't be surprised ifthere's more allegations against
this person as we go forward.
Shireen Botha (12:28):
I couldn't agree with you more, tanya.
I think I feel, as a victim,it's a whole lot more harder to
stand up and speak out.
It's the whole me too phase.
You know it's not a phase, itphase, it's a stand.
You know, people are taking astand and I think it is coming
(12:50):
out more, uh, lately and inthese days, because I think the
victims are encouraged by othervictims stepping out with their
stories and so they feelencouraged to step out with
theirs.
Mari Gonzalez (13:05):
So I think it's a good thing and, um, and I'm
glad they are a way ofliberating you know what, what
you're holding inside.
If you're a victim, you'reholding that inside.
That's, you know, affectingyour relationships.
Maybe you're the way you, youknow perceive yourself your
self-esteem, soesteem.
(13:25):
So it's a way of liberatingoneself.
Shireen Botha (13:29):
Yeah, because I think in the past, victims have
kept quiet and because of that,a lot of their mental health
went down the drain and a coupleof them committed suicide
because of these secrets thatthey've been holding inside.
So I do think it's a good thingand good for them.
(13:49):
Um, I'm proud of them forstanding up.
I'm proud of them for speakingout.
I think the percentage ofpeople that are just trying to
get money out of these powerful,rich people are very there's.
There's more of a risk to speakout than there is, um, to keep
(14:09):
quiet, and more dangerous forthem to speak out.
So, quite frankly, the thepercentage of of victims that
are actually lying and takingadvantage is very minimal.
So I 100 believe every singleone that stands up and speaks
out.
I'm just disappointed becauseit's Madea.
(14:29):
Nevertheless, let's move on,listeners.
It is the quote of the daytime.
This is an important part ofour podcast where Marie has
mentioned her favorite quote,which we're going to talk about
(14:50):
right now.
It's straight from the Bible,excuse me.
It says Trust in the Lord withall your heart.
Do not depend on your ownunderstanding.
Seek his will in all you do andhe will show you which path to
take, that's Proverbs 3, verses5 and 6.
Marie, would you like to justshare with us and the listeners
(15:13):
what that means to you and whyis that your favorite quote?
Mari Gonzalez (15:19):
So there's a lot to unfold here in this verse and
there's so much wisdom andknowledge in these short lines.
But, like I said, the Bible isthe living word of God and
that's my belief.
So I live by this verse.
I became a Christian when I was15 years old and I grew up
(15:42):
Catholic.
I grew up going to church andgoing to mass and, you know,
doing my prayers and stuff likethat.
But I became to know the Lordpersonally when I was a teenager
.
So this verse spoke to me veryearly on in life, when things
were good.
Then things got, you know,turned around and things were
(16:05):
not so good, but I kept ontrusting, I kept on going to
this verse.
If I put my trust in God and Ilisten to what he has to say, I
follow his will.
I follow, you know, what hewants to show me.
If I need to make a decision,if I'm struggling in my
(16:25):
relationships, if I'm, you know,seeking wisdom in my business,
what do I do?
How do I go about this?
I trust him.
I trust what he has for me,that he has his best interests.
His plans are better than mine,so everything will align.
If there's a curve, I have totrust that.
This is his way of telling methis is not the way, this is the
(16:49):
way you need to go.
So I rest knowing that he hasmy back and it just goes back to
that.
Trust him, he knows what's bestfor me.
Tanya Scotece (16:58):
That's beautiful, that's beautiful.
Shireen Botha (17:02):
Yes, I love that because you know, know, there's
another saying where people sayman plans and God laughs and I
think in a way that's true.
I mean he didn't say it's awrong thing for us to plan and
he said go ahead, you know, planaway, but you know it
ultimately what, what his waygoes.
So I, I absolutely agree withyou and, um, we should
(17:26):
definitely trust and god haseverything under control and
everything does happen, um, aswhat he you know.
There's another part where itsays he works everything out for
your good, and that's importantto also remember and to always
trust.
So, thank you very much, marie,for that.
(17:48):
But while we're on you, do youwant to tell us a little bit
about your background and whoyou?
Mari Gonzalez (17:55):
are Sure.
So I was born in Honduras,tegucigalpa, honduras.
I came to the United Statesagain when I was 15 because, you
know, things went bad for myparents back home and for
security reasons we had to, youknow, come to the US, the land
of opportunity.
You know they wanted the bestfor us.
It's five of us, my sister, theoldest, my brother, myself and
(18:21):
then two younger brothers, soit's five all together and my
parents, you know, came with theluggage, nothing in hand, no
plan.
But, like I said, you know, godhad a plan.
You know we were religiouspeople, we were Catholic.
We came to know God here.
(18:43):
He opened the doors for us,little by little, you know,
going back to school, justopening doors, you know, when we
put him first.
I met my husband here.
He's Cuban and Tanya knows him.
His name is Robert.
It's a beautiful story thathopefully, you know, I get to
(19:05):
share with you because there'squite a story there.
But we've been together in eachother's life for 30 years.
We have two beautiful, amazingkids that love us, love family.
They're strong.
They're both in business my sonowns his own business of
(19:25):
photography, videography, andthey specialize in weddings, but
they do a little bit ofeverything, and my granddaughter
she's going to be a year inAugust and then just seeing, you
know, god's faithfulness ineverything, since the moment we
left our country, you know, it'sbeen amazing, and even before
that, the protection, not thisway, but this way.
(19:50):
It's amazing.
I'm in awe.
But we are blessed, we arehealthy and then we're bringing
this to others the education,the.
You know, try to eat thisinstead of that.
If you're feeling this way, youknow, add this to your daily
diet workout, move.
(20:10):
So add this to your daily dietwork out, move.
You know, read the Bible, reada book.
You know, slow down in life.
So those are the things thatare, you know, it's nice to
share.
I'm an educator.
I teach elementary students inBroward County.
This is my 25th year ineducation and my 20th year as a
(20:32):
teacher, as a classroom teacher.
So it's amazing.
I love my life.
I love where I am right now.
I love talking to people aboutwhat we do and bringing that
awareness, you know, to whoeverI can.
Tanya Scotece (20:50):
How did you begin your business with the juicing?
Mari Gonzalez (20:54):
yes.
So that became sort of like aneed.
I was feeling sluggish, I'mlike I I don't know what's going
on.
I was in my early 40s, so we'returning into the 40s and we
know that once we hit 40, thingschanged drastically.
So I started feeling thosechanges.
(21:15):
My clothes started getting alittle tighter.
I wasn't changing anything, Iwas eating the same things.
But I noticed changes.
So I said let me try to do adetox.
So I researched, I went online,I ordered some juices and, like
I said, I did not like them atall, I had to throw them out.
(21:35):
I did not consume a singlejuice.
I tried and I couldn't, I justcouldn't.
Then I shopped locally with alady and again, there was one
juice that I liked that I wasable to drink, the rest I had to
toss.
There was one juice that Iliked that I was able to drink,
the rest I had to toss.
And I said this is pretty muchthe same thing that I've been
(21:56):
doing for my kids.
My kids were picky eaters whenthey were younger.
So in a way to introduce andhave them eat fruits and
vegetables, we had to disguisethem whichever way possible.
So juicing smoothies, you know,into the foods and stuff like
that, and they would enjoy it.
(22:17):
They would ask me mommy, giveme that mango smoothie, mommy,
make me that spinach smoothie orthat green one.
They didn't know that there wasspinach in there, but you know.
So I said, let me see what Ican do with what I already know.
Um, to help, so I did.
I, you know, I researched, Ibought some books, I went online
(22:37):
and again, I did it with myfamily.
First, my family, my friends,the people at the gym where I
used to work out.
Before they were my guinea pigs, but they loved it.
And I got good feedback myfriends from college, from my
co-workers.
So I'm like I think I havesomething here, something good,
(22:58):
something that I can share withothers, improve other people's
life along the way.
So that's how it started.
So, you know, we developed thejuices.
I tried them on.
I lost like 10 pounds the veryfirst time that I did the
three-day detox.
I felt amazing the energy, themental focus and clarity.
(23:21):
So I said, yeah, it's time tooffer this to the world, one
client at a time.
Shireen Botha (23:30):
Yeah, and how did you start offering that to the
world, like, where did you startputting your product out there?
Mari Gonzalez (23:38):
yes, so that's a little bit of the hardest part,
because you have this item orthese items and if it were for
me, I could sell it.
I just give it to everybody,right?
But we know there's rules andregulations and things that we
have to follow.
So at that time I had the gym.
I was I was actually workingout and working at the gym for
(24:01):
the summer.
It was summer of 2019.
We had a staff meeting at thegym and I took the juices.
I spoke to the owner.
This is what I do, I would like.
I took the juices.
I spoke to the owner.
This is what I do.
I would like to, you know,introduce the juices, and we did
.
They loved it.
We had like, um, uh, sort oflike a health um fair where I
(24:22):
was there and I was able to havea booth.
We introduced the juices, um,and then we kicked off from
there.
And then then I till today, Istill visit gyms when they ask
me you know, bring your juices,bring your baked goods, your
gluten-free things, and peoplelove that, especially the people
you know that.
(24:43):
Take care of their bodiesphysically and mentally.
They want that.
It's a lifestyle.
Shireen Botha (24:50):
All right.
Tanya Scotece (24:51):
Yes, tune in next week for part two from Friends
from Wild Places.
Voiceover (24:58):
You've been listening to Friends from Wild Places
with Shireen Botha.
Be sure to subscribe to thepodcast from the links to catch
every episode and unleash yourpassion.
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