April 2, 2026

Kurt Avery: From Idea to Impact—Changing the World Through Water

Kurt Avery: From Idea to Impact—Changing the World Through Water
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Kurt Avery: From Idea to Impact—Changing the World Through Water
Kurt Avery: From Idea to Impact—Changing the World Through Water

Send us Fan Mail Kurt Avery is the founder and president of Sawyer Products, a company at the forefront of innovation in outdoor protection and humanitarian aid. With a background in marketing for Fortune 500 companies and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, he launched Sawyer with a mission to develop practical, life-saving solutions—particularly in water filtration and insect repellents. Under his leadership, the company has grown into a global force, serving both outdoor enthusiasts ...

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Season 1

Send us Fan Mail

Kurt Avery is the founder and president of Sawyer Products, a company at the forefront of innovation in outdoor protection and humanitarian aid. With a background in marketing for Fortune 500 companies and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, he launched Sawyer with a mission to develop practical, life-saving solutions—particularly in water filtration and insect repellents. Under his leadership, the company has grown into a global force, serving both outdoor enthusiasts and vulnerable communities around the world.

Since 2008, Sawyer has donated more than 90% of its profits annually, partnering with over 140 nonprofits across 80+ countries and improving the lives of more than 40 million people. Its clean-water initiatives have significantly reduced waterborne diseases and enhanced health outcomes in underserved regions worldwide. Kurt’s approach to business is grounded in purpose, faith, and impact—a philosophy he shares in his book Sawyer Think: How a Small Company Disrupts Markets and Changes the World.

Kurt and his work have been featured in major media outlets including The New York Times, Yahoo Finance, and Newsbreak. Known for blending innovation with mission-driven leadership, he continues to champion sustainable solutions that create lasting global change.

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11:07 - (Cont.) Kurt Avery: From Idea to Impact—Changing the World Through Water

Transcript
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00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.720
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Listeners of the Tron podcast, the randomist of nothing, I've always been honored to be having a large selection of variety of guests, many of whom have started great causes and have had global impacts.

00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:44.880
Today this man epitomizes that dream and vision where he allows safe drinking water and protecting people worldwide from diseases such as malaria.

00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:47.439
If you've been in Cabela's or at Dunham's, you've seen their products.

00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:49.920
This is Kurt Avery of S of Sawyer Products.

00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:51.280
Thank you very much, sir.

00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:53.520
Well, thank you for letting us uh be here.

00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:55.359
It's uh it's our honor, not yours.

00:00:55.679 --> 00:01:08.159
Yeah, you know, it's it's definitely one of those topics that perked my ear up because when you hear that people, you know, that somebody created a product and you donate 90% of your profits annually to causes for philanthropy.

00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:09.680
I mean, you you couldn't make this up.

00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:12.879
So not only does it help people, but you're so generous on the back end.

00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:18.159
Um yeah, actually we do more than 90% because we have a model we don't we don't make profits.

00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:24.239
Um I'm we own 100%, I own 100% of the company, sub-best, so I'm able to write a lot of stuff off.

00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:34.560
We liken it to um if we made cupcakes, we'd have to sell the cupcakes, make the profits, pay the taxes, and have some money left over to give away.

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Because we make the very thing that people need the water filters and the malarial treatments.

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I don't have to make a profit.

00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:42.959
Nobody says I have to make a profit.

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Bank loves what we're doing.

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I make all my payments.

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We never miss bills, we pay everybody.

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So what do I need a profit for?

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So there's no U-holes in heaven, so I'm not going to take it with me.

00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:54.159
So why not?

00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:57.760
Yeah, I mean, that's that's amazing.

00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.519
I I that almost sounds like kind of like the antithesis of doing something, right?

00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:02.319
On paper.

00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:07.359
Certainly, your cause is your cause, but how does that resonate with people when you tell them that?

00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:10.960
Well, most of them don't believe it anyways, but you think you're nuts.

00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:19.039
Well, I probably should be locked up, but that being you know what what is like you only go around life once, right?

00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:21.680
So you know, I have what I call the rocking chair.

00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:24.319
You get to the rocking chair theory, what do you wish you had done?

00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:29.120
We we save hundreds of thousands of babies' lives every year.

00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:31.120
We save millions of lives total.

00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:33.599
We've we've done some 40 million people now.

00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:34.879
How do you not do that?

00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:38.319
I mean, you're talking about look at the life we live, you know, and I'm fine.

00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:41.360
You know, uh shirt's ten years old and still work, so what?

00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:42.000
That's awesome.

00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:44.719
Um I do get a new truck every four years, though.

00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:46.960
But um It's tough to take care of yourself.

00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:50.879
I have zero mechanical skills, so I have to get into it.

00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:53.199
But other than that, what what do you need the money for?

00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:55.919
I mean, we got we live in a nice place and whatever.

00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:01.919
So when you're dealing with lives, how do you not change those lives for the good?

00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:03.520
I mean, you we'll take you on something.

00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:07.759
You ever want to come on one of our trips, we'll take you, and you see what we where we work.

00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:11.680
It's totally life-changing to these people.

00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:15.439
I I'll give you one example that it'll tell you why we have to do it.

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Guy goes to Uganda, he notices after a week there that they don't name their kids till they're three years old.

00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:21.680
Well, why is that?

00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:27.520
Well, because if they make it to three, they're gonna live, but you know, they're gonna lose a third of their kids before they get to three years old.

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He goes back, puts in two, it's a smaller village, putting in 250 filters, you know, all of like$2,000,$3,000 worth of filters.

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Goes back a year later, all kids are named at birth because they've never lost another child.

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That's absolutely amazing.

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So how do you not do that?

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Absolutely amazing.

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You you gotta do that.

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That's absolutely I don't think the average person really realizes the sometimes when you just turn on a faucet or you have your you know your filter in the fridge or you go to your local grocery store, supermarket, and you can just get clean water, right?

00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:06.560
And it's something that you know I it's so matter-of-fact and easy to do that, but it's so precious for somebody else, right?

00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:08.400
Oh, absolutely.

00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:11.520
I I have plenty of stories that make you cry.

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There'll be some of them on the thing, but with the change to them, we've got it down now to where just a one-time investment of 30 cents can give somebody 10 years to clean water.

00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:22.240
Just th for 30 cents.

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That's 30 cents, that's it.

00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:25.439
And we're the only ones that can do that.

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We have the only filter that doesn't allow you to get sick and also can never wear out.

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You just keep cleaning it.

00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:36.800
So no other point of it's called point of use because it's the last thing you do before the water comes through.

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And we don't we don't care if the cows poop in it or whatever, we'll make it safe to drink.

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That's that's that's that's amazing.

00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:43.279
It is amazing.

00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:45.519
So, how do you not do that when you have that?

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You know, I I mean, God gave us this tool and he didn't give it to us just to live luxuriously.

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I mean, I we live just fine.

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I'm an old country boy, I got everything I need.

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How do you how do you not do that?

00:04:57.839 --> 00:04:58.160
Yeah.

00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:05.279
Or, you know, we with the new one that was just published in New England Journals of Medicine, and all this data, by the way, is published in medical journals.

00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:06.240
I saw that.

00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:07.920
I saw that on your company website.

00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:13.199
Yeah, you know, we do a lot, put a lot in the research to prove it because you wouldn't believe these statements if I couldn't prove them.

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Right.

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I mean, they're they're absurd.

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I mean, you know, I think that's important too, because it's backed by scientific, you know, breakthroughs with all due respect.

00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:25.839
Well, and we needed to know, because um, see, we're not just giving them the filter, we're changing their life.

00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:27.519
So we're changing behavior.

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So we, you know, we give women three hours a day, they don't have to boil water to drink because now you can just filter it.

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And so what's she going to do with those three hours?

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Now now she's got water clean enough that she can start a business.

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She can actually cook food because the water she has is clean enough to do baking.

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And kids can go to school, parents go to work, their brains are alive because they can drink all the water they need to be hydrated.

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We save them 10 to 15 percent of their annual income.

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We cut down 50 percent the amount of fossil fuels that are used to boil water.

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I mean, it's hundreds of trees a year are saved by one twenty dollar filter.

00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:09.519
So it's the impact is staggering, just staggering.

00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:12.560
But we had to prove it because if I just said that, you wouldn't believe me.

00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:19.360
I think it's very important because you know, at the end of the day, you know, it's uh the facts you know matter when it comes to something like that.

00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:27.759
How receptive, you know, are the are the governments in the local um the local governments institutions for you to be able to implement this?

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Oh, they love it, obviously.

00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:34.079
We we can go into, I mean, we literally wipe out uh waterborne sickness.

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We do it we're right now we've done all the suburbs around are doing uh the suburbs around Nairobi, some of the biggest slums in the country.

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So think of a vill uh uh a slum that has 400,000 people and 76 toilets.

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Are you are you serious?

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Yeah, that's it.

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76 toilets for 400,000 people?

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Correct.

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That's the correct thing.

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So they they create what they call a flying toilet, which is they use a paper, a plastic bag and throw it.

00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:04.639
But um, they're closing the medical clinics, they're consolidating, they don't have enough sick people anymore.

00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:05.600
Right, right.

00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:08.560
I mean that so the governments know that and they love it.

00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:11.360
Um course they always want to use somebody else's money.

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You know, they they don't want to pay for it, but they love it when we show up.

00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:20.959
So we're we're in 140 different charities doing this in 80 different countries.

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I mean, so everyone, we're North Korea, you know, all the worst places.

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Seriously?

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Yeah.

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80 countries.

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You said North Korea.

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Oh yeah, North Korea.

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They love it.

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Well, look at we solved their water problem.

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They didn't have to do anything.

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This is free.

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I mean, think of it.

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You know, it's free water basically, and it's clean.

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They didn't have to do it.

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You don't they don't need to build water treatment plants.

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Just whatever water they have, it's good.

00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:52.399
So, I mean, we're you can't name a uh a part of the world that we've been in Gaza from the very beginning.

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I mean, we're we're everywhere.

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You know, and so simple.

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I mean, the thing is smaller than a Coke can.

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It's half the size of a Coke can.

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And it never wears out.

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Can I ask you how what's your background to create such an innovative and life-saving product?

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Oh, I have none.

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I can't spell science without spell check.

00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:13.279
Really?

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Really.

00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:16.720
I always get those IEs and EIs all mixed up.

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But I'm a marketer, so um I I liken it to I I have a pretty good marketer.

00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:28.639
And you know, that's why if you we do go off tangent, the book, Sawyer Think, is written for your entrepreneurs to make their businesses better.

00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:31.600
It's I've had a pretty prestigious career.

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Um, so my skills were marketing.

00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:36.480
So here's what happens in the real world.

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You have customers and they have problems.

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They don't know what their problems are.

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I I always use the story Ford said if I asked them what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.

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They didn't know what problem they wanted to solve.

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And then you have engineers who are problem solvers, but they don't know how to talk to a consumer.

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One, they don't know how to figure out what the consumer really wants.

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And two, they think they've got a solution and the consumer should figure it out.

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The marketers are the in-between.

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We're the interpreters.

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We're the ones that go back and forth.

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We can figure out what the consumers really want and solve that problem, and then get the engineer to design it.

00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:14.559
Or if the engineer has a great idea, we can help the consumer understand what that idea was.

00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:22.720
So I'm in the middle, and I all these ideas, I told my kids, you have one asset in life, don't ever lose it, and that's your integrity.

00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:28.000
So we've been very, very zealously de uh defending our our integrity.

00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:30.799
And as a result, people come to us with the ideas.

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Somebody else is going to invent it, but they need to take it to market, and that's where they come to us.

00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:37.279
So we're the we're the go-between.

00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:42.399
But yes, every product we make is absolutely the state-of-the-art best thing on the market.

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And we won't change from that.

00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:49.600
And that's why we're not as big as people think we are, because we're not just going for we're going for the techie stuff.

00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:53.039
Military uses us on the clothes and on the skin, and that's it.

00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:57.039
They won't use anybody else but us because we we're the highest technology.

00:09:57.840 --> 00:09:59.759
And we don't soak them for the price.

00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:00.879
Because I, you know, right.

00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:04.720
If soldiers duck bullets, I'm not gonna rip them off.

00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:15.200
There was a very horrible story about a uh Teflon maker a long time ago that circumvented how safe the bullets, I think it was during the 2003 to 2005 era.

00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:21.440
I don't know if you remember that story where basically the vests were supposed to be ballistic proof and then it turns out they weren't.

00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:28.559
And I mean, you can't even I mean, to describe the absolute horror of actually faking something like that, is it's hard to put into words.

00:10:58.039 --> 00:10:59.080
Yeah, no, no, no.

00:10:59.159 --> 00:11:01.240
We we're very connected with the military.

00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:03.000
You know, they they keep us free.

00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:04.360
I'm I can't rip them off.

00:11:04.519 --> 00:11:13.399
Uh tell you stories oh, we we sell so much lower price than they could get anywhere else, but that's just that's just our our commitment back to them.

00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:15.480
But overall, our prices are reasonable.

00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:19.720
So when you do get any of our products, we do send it overseas.

00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:22.840
I mean, we it's just this is absolutely I'm stunned.

00:11:22.919 --> 00:11:26.200
And you don't see commercials about companies like this, right?

00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:29.720
Like something that's life-changing, and I say that respectfully, right?

00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:35.559
Because this is something that if I didn't have the the show, I would never have had the opportunity to talk to you about something like this.

00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:43.720
And I'd probably walk past it a thousand times inside of my local sporting goods store when you know you go towards the the the hunting section or the outdoor section.

00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:46.120
Well, I I put a lid on it.

00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:48.840
I I have a very good marketing team, so it it's not me.

00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:59.080
Don't don't give me credit for I I got there's a whole bunch of Sawyer things behind me, and and you know, I I get the recognition, but it it trust me, it's a lot more than that.

00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:06.840
I would not tell the story because I I'm I have a biblical background and I don't believe of standing on the corner shouting about how great we are, you know.

00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:11.320
We wouldn't be here without God's blessings, and I'm not gonna take his credit.

00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:12.279
So I wouldn't do it.

00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:12.919
I would not.

00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:16.360
I mean, people, you know, buy a shoe, give a shoe, buy a song, give us all that.

00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:17.720
I said, No, I'm not going there.

00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:23.559
Then one day I listened to one of our competitors just brag and brag and brag about all they're doing.

00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:26.600
I mean, they put one filter in place and they give a great big PR thing.

00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:28.120
I said, All right, that's it, we're over.

00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:29.960
Go ahead and tell people what we're doing.

00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:32.759
So the marketing team has gotten the story out.

00:12:32.919 --> 00:12:35.879
Um, and so people are joining us, and that's a good thing.

00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:37.559
But that's wonderful, beautiful thing.

00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:41.000
So the name itself, you know, Sawyer, I have to ask.

00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:41.960
Tom Sawyer.

00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:45.080
I figu you know, I didn't want to say the obvious, right?

00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:49.000
Because everybody in the, you know, anybody who's never read that book didn't go through elementary school.

00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:49.879
It's like impossible.

00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:54.120
And I was like, it seemed like a layup, but I was like, uh, I'll figure out ask because maybe it wasn't.

00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:58.440
Well, I'm I'm I'll tell you how smart I am in marketing, not so much really.

00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:04.519
Um I originally named it Safida, S-A-F-F-E-T-A, because we started with a snake bike kit.

00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:06.279
All this started with a snake bike kit.

00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:06.440
Yeah.

00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:11.960
And that was where Paul was written on the island of Malta, and he was, you know, you're a God, no, I'm not a God.

00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:15.639
And so I can't, it's from Acts 28, 4, 5, and 6 backwards.

00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:18.440
That's the only thing I could find in the Bible about a snake bike kit.

00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:19.000
Wow.

00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:21.720
I'm so smart, right?

00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:23.240
So I go to the first trade show.

00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:25.799
I go to the first trade show and it's Buy America.

00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:27.559
Buy America, 1984.

00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:29.159
Well, that didn't sound very American.

00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:33.480
So I took all our packaging back to the studio and I said, okay, we're not going there.

00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:37.799
It can be the name of the company, but the brand name's got to be the most all-American name you can come up with.

00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:45.000
And so we literally created Sawyer products with Sawyer, literally Tom Sawyer running through the woods with a backpack was the original logo.

00:13:45.399 --> 00:13:45.960
Wonderful.

00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:48.360
So even marketers have to learn.

00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:48.840
Yeah.

00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:50.440
Yeah, simple is better, right?

00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:56.279
And so, you know, it's funny, and it may not resonate with the audience that you're trying to, you know, cultivate and everything like that.

00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:58.120
And so it that's that's crazy.

00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:01.399
I figured it was that, but it just seemed too obvious.

00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:06.440
So when you first started, like what was that sparkle light?

00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:08.840
What was the inspiration for your product?

00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:10.759
Well, it it's interesting.

00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:15.080
I had a very storied business career, worked for some of the big names that you would know.

00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:17.879
Two of my bosses were on the cover of Forbes one time.

00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:26.360
I get I I get outside and I'm I'm a layer down below that, and I'm listening to the my boss take total credit for everything I ever did.

00:14:26.919 --> 00:14:28.360
It'll be enough to make your blood boil.

00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:30.200
Can't even throw me a bone.

00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:32.360
So I said, I see how this game's gonna work.

00:14:32.440 --> 00:14:34.200
So now I'm going out on my own.

00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:39.799
Um, now I had along the way, I was very fortunate to connect with Gail Sears, the football player.

00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:46.919
Yeah, he he was kind of waiting for the franchise, so he I he was kind of assigned to work with me, so we got to be good friends.

00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:48.759
So I said, okay, it's time to go.

00:14:48.919 --> 00:14:52.120
So we came across this product from Pasteur Institute, actually.

00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:52.759
It's a suction.

00:14:53.159 --> 00:14:54.919
Louis Pasteur Institute in France?

00:14:55.159 --> 00:14:56.600
Yeah, that's where they invented this.

00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:57.720
It's called the Extractor.

00:14:57.799 --> 00:14:59.159
It's still in Walmart today.

00:14:59.480 --> 00:14:59.799
Yeah.

00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:03.639
Um it's a it, you know, it's for bee snakes and snake bites.

00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:05.399
And so I said, that's a pretty good idea.

00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:14.039
So we started the company on that and uh immediately crashed, forgot to throttle back from corporate marketing to guerrilla marketing.

00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:14.600
Oh wow.

00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:21.320
Uh so I always say we um we lost money 23 of the first 25 years till we became an overnight success.

00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:22.200
Oh, jeez.

00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:22.679
I saw that.

00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:27.399
So we we slugged it through, and it was the internet that really uh because we always had good stuff.

00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:35.080
When the internet took off and you had influencers like yourself, and particularly in the backpacking camping industry, you have influencers.

00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:36.360
They have to talk about us.

00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:37.639
We had all the best products.

00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:45.559
And we had reinvented water filtration from clunky old things to low-cost things from kidney dialysis to clean blood to clean water.

00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:47.720
So we totally disrupted the whole market.

00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:52.759
They put us on the map because you you couldn't you couldn't be an influencer and not talk about the best stuff.

00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:53.399
Of course.

00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:57.320
And so that's when we really took off, just absolutely took off as a company.

00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:00.039
So that's when we became an overnight success after 23 years.

00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:01.639
23 years in the making.

00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:03.720
Yeah, that's 25 years.

00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:07.320
So uh how do you decide and discern which organizations to partner with?

00:16:07.639 --> 00:16:11.879
Um we we do the whole spectrum.

00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:16.679
Uh I mean, you know, we're with NGOs, freedom NGOs.

00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:20.919
We often we donate a lot each year, but we also sell at cost.

00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:24.600
Um they all want us.

00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:26.200
So we we're the whole spectrum.

00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:27.879
I I will sell everybody.

00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:32.440
We sell the Red Crescent, we sell the Red Cross, we sell Smaritan's Purse.

00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:38.279
Smearrint's Purse keeps two plane loads of our filters, so whenever there's a hurricane, boom, they're in there.

00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:41.720
So we're now people go in ahead of a hurricane and hunker down.

00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:45.799
Remember in Puerto Rico when they had all that water rotten on the tarmac?

00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:46.279
Oh my god.

00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:47.159
Got there too late.

00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:49.159
We were there before the hurricanes hit.

00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:53.480
We could take one duffel bag and do 20,000, 30,000 people.

00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:58.840
So um Helene, remember we had Helene in Tennessee.

00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:03.399
We sent 100,000 filters up there with the Red Cross and with private people.

00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:05.079
We flew them in day two.

00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:06.679
We we have a hiking community.

00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:16.039
The hikers took it up to where helicopters and and people couldn't get to, they were hiking to the remote people so they could drink the river the water they were standing in.

00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:18.200
Um, so we're everywhere.

00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:21.480
Whenever there's a hurt any natural disaster, we're there.

00:17:21.639 --> 00:17:24.119
Uh Haiti put us on the map 2010.

00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:26.679
A couple hundred thousand filters went down there.

00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:29.799
Um pretty much that's all they were drinking.

00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:34.039
And and all the charities knew that at the end this was the one that worked.

00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:39.480
There were 19 other water solutions, and at the end of the day, they asked them what do you use personally?

00:17:39.640 --> 00:17:41.559
And they all used our filters personally.

00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:43.079
So, and it was so easy.

00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:45.240
These things are so cheap and they never wear out.

00:17:45.319 --> 00:17:48.519
So we we have filters in their 15th year still working every day.

00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:51.079
So this is absolutely amazing.

00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:53.720
Yeah, it it's you know, we pinched ourselves.

00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:55.000
I mean, it's mind-blowing.

00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:58.519
Uh, you know, why us, you know, you know, could you couldn't you have picked somebody else?

00:17:58.680 --> 00:17:59.480
No, he picked us.

00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:01.880
So what's the procurement pro and development process?

00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:08.359
I'm not asking obviously for you to give away anything proprietary, but what's the science behind actually making sure that this is effective?

00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:12.839
The engineering process, the teams, like how did it get to the point where it was this good of a product?

00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:21.559
Yeah, and that is really a key point because we we adapted it from kidney dialysis, this water filter that we blood you can clean water.

00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:26.680
But there's a lot this technology has been around for a long time, but you have to pick and choose.

00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:34.839
So we hooked up with a company that your your hair is is 17 microns diameter.

00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:37.000
Bacteria is a lot smaller.

00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:45.319
So our largest hole is 0.1 microns, which is 170 times smaller than the diameter of your hair.

00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:47.880
That's the largest hole, if you can imagine it.

00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:55.160
And it kind of works like um, you know, those hoses that you lay out on the lawn and the water squirts out in the middle of the hose.

00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:56.200
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:18:56.839 --> 00:18:58.759
Yeah, so think of it going the opposite way.

00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:04.680
The water will go into the hose and come out the end, but the holes are so small the things that make you sick can't get through.

00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:08.039
Now, there's viruses, but they're not in the water, they're airborne and body food.

00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:08.359
Right.

00:19:08.599 --> 00:19:12.359
So viruses and bacteria are two different things, people, just so people are aware.

00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:13.000
Yeah, right.

00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:15.880
So when you hear the word purifier, it says mean you get viruses.

00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:26.920
But we don't have to worry about them, they're not there, and I I can't get into how we do it because the EPA would get mad at me, but we probably get them anyways, uh, because of the very nature of the of the viruses.

00:19:27.160 --> 00:19:30.680
We that we can't prove because of the way the technology proves it.

00:19:30.759 --> 00:19:39.240
But anyways, so uh other people uh say they have 0.1 microns, but they don't, they do, but they also have 0.2, 0.5, whatever.

00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:46.279
We're the ones we guarantee that no filter, no hole is greater than the one that will stop everything.

00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:54.039
And so when we manufacture it, we test it, we throw things backwards, and if anything can get through that's bigger than 0.1, we throw that one away.

00:19:54.200 --> 00:19:54.440
Wow.

00:19:54.599 --> 00:20:03.559
Then when we assemble it, we air test it two more times to make sure the seal has worked, the the casing and the o-rings are in place.

00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:04.519
Nobody does that.

00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:12.039
So I mean we spend a lot of money because we we can't go into Africa and say, you know what, 90% of you people are gonna be okay, the other ten, you're still going to get sick.

00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:12.680
No question.

00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:14.119
Nobody's collateral damage.

00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:17.799
Yeah, no, you gotta go in and say nobody can get sick from this filter.

00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:19.400
And but we, you know, we pay for it.

00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:24.599
But then again, you know, they make 10 or 15,000, 50,000 of these things, we make millions.

00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:27.000
So we get it back in the economies to scale.

00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:34.920
And, you know, again, since we're not trying to make money on it, um we can keep that cost very, very and it lasts for 10 years.

00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:43.079
So when you average it out, you win one filter, do 200 gallons a day for 10 years, that comes out, you round it off to the decimal, and it's zero.

00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:44.359
You know, it's just nothing.

00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:45.240
The water is free.

00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:45.880
Right.

00:20:46.119 --> 00:20:47.960
How how did you get into North Korea?

00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:52.680
I I I I I'm circling back to how does North Korea find your product?

00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:58.039
Obviously, the the the leadership of the country has access to outside information.

00:20:58.200 --> 00:20:59.400
How does that process even work?

00:20:59.880 --> 00:21:01.559
You go into the churches bring it in.

00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:05.960
There's a lot of people that cross the border and bring in Bibles and start churches.

00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:10.359
Um, I I'll give you an example of um in Vietnam.

00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:19.720
We first put it in there, and the guy was a missionary and he was brought the filters with him, and they would beat him up and you know, because he was preaching, whatever.

00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:24.920
But then he started passing out the filters and said, Okay, okay, you can have a home church, but you can't go outside.

00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:26.359
You can't be, it's all gotta be in.

00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:34.039
And he kept giving out the filters, and then he said, Okay, okay, you can you can you can have a thing in the park right here, you know, but you can't go anywhere else, you know.

00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:35.880
And it kept getting more and more and more.

00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:44.359
And finally he had lunch with the um the mayor and whatnot, and he said, you know, two years ago you put me in prison and beat me the daylights out of me.

00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:45.480
Now you're letting me do everything.

00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:47.000
It was all because of the filters.

00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:49.799
You know, how how do you you know we can go in?

00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:55.079
We're we're hoping that within two to three years, within Guatemala, nobody ever be sick again.

00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:56.119
We we can do that.

00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:58.839
It's not 30 cents a person.

00:21:59.079 --> 00:21:59.640
It's beautiful.

00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:00.279
It's beautiful.

00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:06.440
Yeah, it it it almost seems too re it almost seems too easy that people wouldn't have this access worldwide.

00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:14.599
Do you have any resistance to your products as you try to you know say that this is the language, culture barriers politically speaking?

00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:16.440
Um you do.

00:22:16.680 --> 00:22:20.839
First of all, the government say it's great, but they don't want to put a penny into it, even though they're gonna save money.

00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:25.640
You know, I say, well, what happens if nobody gets sick and we can grow your country by 10% GDP?

00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:28.759
But they're they they have that old plantation mentality.

00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:35.240
And and there really is a divide between the people in power and the and the n the rest of us.

00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:43.000
You get into a lot of these countries and the people in power, you know, I don't care what it doesn't matter whether it's Central America, Africa, or Asia.

00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:46.759
A lot of the people in power don't really want to give it up.

00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:48.200
We do get that resistance.

00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:50.599
Usually in the form of customs.

00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:53.720
They nail us for the price of phase one time.

00:22:54.039 --> 00:23:00.920
We we have uh, you know, so say the filter's worth$15 or whatever, and they want to collect$30 in taxes on it.

00:23:01.160 --> 00:23:02.839
We just walk we have to walk away from it.

00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:03.400
We just leave it.

00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:03.880
That's crazy.

00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:05.160
That's crazy.

00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:15.240
So that resistance, but no, I think we're about to what we're what we're the model now is we go in through the schools, and yes, it is donated, or we have people that partner with us.

00:23:15.400 --> 00:23:23.400
So the teachers, we have it at the school, so all the water you want is at the school for for the kids, and the community can come in and get all the water they want.

00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:30.119
So then they they teach the kids about it, and then they bring the parent in, they teach the parent, then they send a filter home with them.

00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:34.519
And typical home will the one filter will do 10 to 20 people.

00:23:34.599 --> 00:23:37.400
They do their relatives and their neighbors because it's so fast.

00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:38.440
That's amazing.

00:23:38.680 --> 00:23:39.799
So that's the model.

00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:48.519
We're now going, we're we've connected with two big organizations, Child Hope, which has 900 schools throughout Central South America.

00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:49.480
It's so simple.

00:23:49.559 --> 00:23:50.599
I mean, they love it.

00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:57.160
And and the schools or the churches, why why wouldn't you give out free water and let people come and visit you every day?

00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:00.279
And then we use OAS, Organization of American States.

00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:06.680
They they're in every one of the 37 members from the Caribbean to South and Central America.

00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:08.359
Um, they're funded by the U.S.

00:24:08.440 --> 00:24:10.279
government, State Department funds them.

00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:21.240
So we're working out programs now, we're we're pretty far up into the government now, um, trying to say, you know, j just think if we went into El Salvador in a year from now, nobody was sick.

00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:25.240
Or just think if we went into Guatemala and two years from now, nobody's sick.

00:24:25.400 --> 00:24:27.799
That that has a lot of foreign policy implications.

00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:35.960
Well, a lot of the uh uh contrary to popular opinion, I this certainly isn't a political show, but a lot of conflicts arise from lack of food and water.

00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:36.920
Well absolutely.

00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:38.119
Well, here's another thing.

00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:40.920
And and we we we we're for everybody, okay?

00:24:41.079 --> 00:24:44.519
Even though Christians do 80% of the work, we we work with everybody.

00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:48.200
You know, we're in Egypt with Red Crescent and all that kind of stuff.

00:24:48.680 --> 00:24:57.559
Um go back to the one we finished that 400,000 people with uh 76 toilets at Kabira in Nairobi.

00:24:57.960 --> 00:25:05.160
If you four years ago before we started, if you tried to walk down that street, you you would really want to bring a SEAL team six with you.

00:25:05.319 --> 00:25:07.000
You you it was so dangerous.

00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:09.559
There were eight gangs warring all the time, kidnapping.

00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:13.799
You can walk down the street all by yourself right now, middle of the day, it makes no difference.

00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:17.640
Right, because people are gangs have stopped fighting.

00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:19.319
Right, right, right.

00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:25.559
Because those things, you know, resources and accessity to food, water, clean, and sanitation.

00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:32.759
I mean, I mean, you live in a normal, you know, I want to say normal, you live in a in a in a more advanced technological area.

00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:38.279
You're not thinking about maybe your next meal or your neck or turning on the sink or washing your clothes.

00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:42.039
And sometimes, you know, it's not just drinking water, you have to take a bath.

00:25:42.200 --> 00:25:45.960
You know, you have to wash your vegetables, you know.

00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:46.839
Yes, yes.

00:25:46.920 --> 00:25:50.519
So it it's gotta look to learn how to get rid of your fecal matter.

00:25:50.599 --> 00:25:50.920
Oh my god.

00:25:51.160 --> 00:25:52.839
We we are behavior change.

00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:58.039
All of our filters come with a QR code on them, yeah, and we can measure it.

00:25:58.200 --> 00:26:00.839
And so you want us to participate.

00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:03.480
We know within six inches where that filter is.

00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:05.559
And so we go back and we go back and back.

00:26:05.720 --> 00:26:11.079
But we we have uh animations in 18 languages.

00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:12.599
So if you and they all have smartphones.

00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:14.440
I mean, they all have food, but they got smartphones.

00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:19.160
So you go right to the help desk in your language, learn how to clean it if you got issues.

00:26:20.519 --> 00:26:25.480
We're not just a filter, we're a behavior change company.

00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:28.119
And and we have WhatsApp, so we can now communicate.

00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:29.400
You can ask us, we go there.

00:26:29.640 --> 00:26:32.680
So it's it's far more than just say here's a filter.

00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:33.640
It it's the whole thing.

00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:36.039
Yeah, because sometimes you'll see those commercials, right?

00:26:36.119 --> 00:26:51.960
And it's kind of like it's kind of pretty up, like, oh, get your best glass of water, and then you know, they have the beautiful hand showing, and you know, somebody's drinking a cup in a kitchen, and it's more of a an aesthetically pleasing, the freshest, purest water, when in reality this is life and death, right?

00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:53.559
Well, for to the rest of the world.

00:26:53.880 --> 00:26:55.319
Over here, we're just taking out tastes.

00:26:55.400 --> 00:27:00.920
By the way, we do have microplastics in our water, even out of our tap, and this will take out microplastics.

00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:01.720
Unbelievable.

00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:03.319
So no, it's a game changer.

00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:05.480
And it's gonna be the same thing with the baby wraps.

00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:06.680
You know, we treat those things.

00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:09.640
Uh six percent of all the babies die from malaria.

00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:11.319
Um, and we're just gonna stop it.

00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:12.680
We we stopped it.

00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:19.240
And even those who don't die, if they get malaria, end up with some kind of cognitive restrictions for the rest of their life.

00:27:19.319 --> 00:27:20.359
So it's very simple.

00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:23.640
Just cost a buck thirty a treatment, last six months.

00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:28.039
You just treat the wrap that the mom carries the baby in, and the mosquitoes stay away.

00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:33.000
Yeah, and now we'll I think if we treat the mom's dress as well, we're gonna pretty well wipe it out.

00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:42.119
This is one of the most inspirational stories that I've ever heard on this show, and I've had the pleasure of talking to numerous guests because this is this is about life, right?

00:27:42.279 --> 00:27:52.839
And you've straddled the line between you know, you could really take advantage of a very delicate situation, you know, with the product that you have, and you haven't done that.

00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:54.279
And that's very commendable.

00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:56.680
And I want to personally say thank you for that.

00:27:56.920 --> 00:28:02.519
Well, it it obviously it's fun, uh, it's very rewarding, but but there is the burden that goes with it.

00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:08.519
You know, we it it started the urgency started many years ago, 2006 or 7, whatever it was.

00:28:08.759 --> 00:28:16.680
We put a filters in the village and the grandma just crying her eyes out saying, if you were here two weeks ago, my grandson would still be alive.

00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:20.119
So you get you get you have that sense of urgency.

00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:20.839
Yeah.

00:28:21.480 --> 00:28:25.079
And and you know, and then I look at it, you know, it's the God thing.

00:28:25.160 --> 00:28:30.599
You know, God, why now is he ready to take bacteria out of water so nobody dies?

00:28:30.839 --> 00:28:34.359
I mean, how many you know how many people die of waterborne diseases every year?

00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:35.720
And we can stop it.

00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:37.799
And it's not just the death, it's the sickness.

00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:38.119
Right.

00:28:38.359 --> 00:28:40.759
You know, there's no diapers over there, folks.

00:28:40.839 --> 00:28:43.240
You know, there's no toilets, you get diarrhea.

00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:46.519
I mean, most places, even the adults get diarrhea once a month.

00:28:46.759 --> 00:28:47.400
Oh my gosh.

00:28:47.640 --> 00:28:50.200
Just think of that, just think if you never had it again.

00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:51.160
Right, right.

00:28:51.319 --> 00:29:00.519
It's it's kind of you know, it it stops you in your tracks because you know, it I mean, where I live at, and I say this very respectfully, there's a running joke in my house.

00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:05.000
Like the water sanitation system is it's far enough away that I don't have to smell it.

00:29:05.160 --> 00:29:10.359
But when you go like five minutes, ten minutes from my house, you know, you kind of have to gag in your car a little bit.

00:29:10.599 --> 00:29:13.000
That's the sewage treatment plant, not the water treatment treatment.

00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:15.000
Yes, yes, right.

00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:16.759
Yeah, no, they're nasty.

00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:17.799
Oh man.

00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:23.079
And so but to your point, like I don't have to be around that all day.

00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:30.119
Like, that's not something I walk around and you know have to dodge and duck and see people have to defecate in the streets and things like that.

00:29:30.359 --> 00:29:30.519
Right.

00:29:30.839 --> 00:29:40.039
So, you know, you you don't realize how precious that's still a self-contained system unto itself, and they have you know health regulations and safety protocols.

00:29:40.200 --> 00:29:45.720
Yeah, it sucks to drive past it, but once you drive past it for two minutes, it's it's gone, the whiff is gone.

00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:48.599
It's not something that's my normal everyday life.

00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:56.920
Yeah, and and that kind of even makes me think twice before that, you know, think you know, be complaining about that because I'm 10 minutes away from that.

00:29:57.160 --> 00:30:02.359
Oh, I I tell you what, they would love to have the water we wash our cars and water our lawns with.

00:30:02.599 --> 00:30:03.400
That's amazing.

00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:04.599
That's amazing.

00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:13.559
I would love to be able to pick your brain, you know, for hours on end, because I'd always believe that when topics like this they aren't worthy of a 30-minute discussion.

00:30:13.720 --> 00:30:21.559
But in the service of your time and the respect that I have to make sure that we encompass this and your schedule, I obviously I'd love to have a part two.

00:30:21.960 --> 00:30:28.279
Where can people find uh Sawyer products, Kurt Avery, just for the purpose of this show, not because you need me?

00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:31.400
No, it you just go to Sawyer.com.

00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:34.200
Um you can reach me that way.

00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:37.160
We have the foundation, it's called the Sawyer Foundation.

00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:44.680
So I've got to set up that when I lose my skills mentally, physically, whatever, company literally goes to the foundation.

00:30:44.759 --> 00:30:46.519
Like Hershey owns Hershey Chocolate.

00:30:46.680 --> 00:30:48.920
Well, Sawyer Foundation will and Sawyer.

00:30:49.160 --> 00:30:49.960
I can sell this thing.

00:30:50.119 --> 00:30:51.880
I get offers once, twice a week.

00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:55.720
So we're not gonna let it go because they it's not about the money, it's about the mission.

00:30:55.880 --> 00:30:58.759
So they can go to Sawyerfoundation.org.

00:30:58.839 --> 00:31:00.359
It's a 501c3.

00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:05.000
If they want to donate, every dollar that's donated will go overseas.

00:31:05.079 --> 00:31:06.440
No overhead coverage, whatever.

00:31:06.519 --> 00:31:07.160
Sawyer does that.

00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:11.559
Or if you buy our products, you know, all the profits are heading over there anyway.

00:31:11.720 --> 00:31:13.559
So um come join us.

00:31:13.640 --> 00:31:17.559
Um again, I would you you your audience is entrepreneurs.

00:31:17.720 --> 00:31:20.119
They should take a look at getting the book Sawyer Think.

00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:21.880
It's very cheap, very inexpensive.

00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:24.039
Um, you can get Amazon, obviously.

00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:26.119
It's how to make your business better.

00:31:26.279 --> 00:31:28.680
I got 25 tips that I've learned along the way.

00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:34.759
And remember, I got my MBA at Northwestern Marketing, which is the best school in the country, and I worked for some very good companies.

00:31:34.920 --> 00:31:35.240
It's amazing.

00:31:35.559 --> 00:31:37.240
25 tips to make your business better.

00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:41.720
And if you make if we help you make it better, now you can be more philanthropic yourself.

00:31:41.799 --> 00:31:44.039
With whatever you're at, everybody's got a skill set.

00:31:44.119 --> 00:31:46.119
The world needs your skill set somehow.

00:31:46.279 --> 00:31:48.440
So we we want to help you join us.

00:31:48.680 --> 00:31:57.960
I certainly think that if it wasn't for the show, that I would never have the opportunity to learn about you know products or talk to people such as yourself and be able to tap into that level of curiosity.

00:31:58.200 --> 00:32:02.519
See, because sometimes, you know, some things are just manifested from my personal curiosity.

00:32:02.599 --> 00:32:07.400
But sometimes you can meet somebody who's changing lives and actually dealing with the matters of life and death.

00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:25.240
And in this particular episode, you know, had me pumped in a number of different ways because the idea that you could that water, you know, something that we literally play with as a game, for somebody it it doesn't even resonate as an everyday, it's a struggle to get access to it.

00:32:25.480 --> 00:32:33.079
And so it always kind of brings you down a notch that you're grateful to be able to have the technology at our disposal on this side of the globe.

00:32:33.240 --> 00:32:37.720
Some people don't on this side of the globe too, to not take that for granted.

00:32:37.880 --> 00:32:41.799
So and that's all not even touching the malaria and the other infectious diseases that you stop.

00:32:41.960 --> 00:32:45.240
So thank you for changing lives and making the global impact that you have.

00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:49.160
Well, it it's our honor, but we really appreciate you giving us a voice.

00:32:49.240 --> 00:32:53.480
So that's that many more people are gonna know what the uh possibilities are.

00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:55.319
I just get to talk to people who do it.

00:32:55.400 --> 00:33:00.200
So, like I, you know, I'm I'm I've kind of found my niche, so to speak.

00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:03.880
I've always said to all my guests that create wonderful things.

00:33:04.119 --> 00:33:10.759
I'm certainly not smart enough to do what you all do, but I I have at least a fraction of the ability to ask about it, right?

00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:11.480
Yeah.

00:33:11.720 --> 00:33:13.240
Well, they're welcome to join us.

00:33:13.319 --> 00:33:17.079
They can either participate and fund it, or you know, we'll take people with us.

00:33:17.240 --> 00:33:20.200
I mean, we I have 140 charities, their arms are open.

00:33:20.279 --> 00:33:22.119
Come with us, walk beside us, see what we do.

00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:30.279
I hope somebody listening certainly reaches out to you, and I certainly have, you know, when the camera stops rolling, some people that I think that you would that would benefit from your services as well too.

00:33:30.440 --> 00:33:33.720
So this is Rashad Woods on the Randomist of Nothing podcast.

00:33:33.799 --> 00:33:41.960
You know, it's not often that I get to talk to somebody that that saves lives, but I want to thank Kurt Avery, Sawyer products for all the wonderful services that you do globally.

00:33:42.119 --> 00:33:46.440
And uh this one's up here when it comes to what my experience was being able to interview on this show.

00:33:46.519 --> 00:33:47.160
And I'm very grateful.

00:33:47.400 --> 00:33:49.079
Well, we're grateful you gave us a chance.

00:33:49.160 --> 00:33:49.799
So thank you.

00:33:50.039 --> 00:33:50.599
God bless.

00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:51.400
God bless you.

00:33:51.559 --> 00:33:52.119
That's amazing.
Kurt Avery Profile Photo
Kurt Avery

CEO, Philanthropist, Force for Global Good

Kurt Avery is the founder and president of Sawyer Products, a company at the forefront of innovation in outdoor protection and humanitarian aid. With a background in marketing for Fortune 500 companies and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, he launched Sawyer with a mission to develop practical, life-saving solutions—particularly in water filtration and insect repellents. Under his leadership, the company has grown into a global force, serving both outdoor enthusiasts and vulnerable communities around the world.

Since 2008, Sawyer has donated more than 90% of its profits annually, partnering with over 140 nonprofits across 80+ countries and improving the lives of more than 40 million people. Its clean-water initiatives have significantly reduced waterborne diseases and enhanced health outcomes in underserved regions worldwide. Kurt’s approach to business is grounded in purpose, faith, and impact—a philosophy he shares in his book Sawyer Think: How a Small Company Disrupts Markets and Changes the World.

Kurt and his work have been featured in major media outlets including The New York Times, Yahoo Finance, and Newsbreak. Known for blending innovation with mission-driven leadership, he continues to champion sustainable solutions that create lasting global change.