The Best Multivitamin for Dogs? Feeding Five Dogs One Scoop a Day

Cameron MainSo, Martin.

MartinCam.

Cameron MainGood to see you again.

MartinMy pleasure, my friend. Thanks for inviting me to get together with you today. It's exciting.

Cameron MainYeah, your famous bleach blonde hair is in action right now.

MartinYeah, some people call me, obviously, you know, Cotton Bud, M&M, you know, Marshmallow. I have no idea why, actually, but any of those sentiments are very endearing. But yeah, I think it's something, I can't explain, but the older you get... The more you retreat back to being that teenager again where you want to kind of act cool and look cool and all the rest of it. So, yeah, my thing is getting it bleached. But I've got to admit, it's the funniest thing sitting in a chair next to someone who's the same age as my mother. With a blue rinse on. And we're swapping recipe ideas. We're swapping ideas about cakes, about coffee. I've even tuned in my mom on FaceTime while I've been in a chair sometimes and had a three-way conversation with some elderly lady sat next to me as well as my mother. And of course, you know, it's fun. That's what it's all about, really. You just gotta have a laugh with it. But yeah, I do enjoy getting my hair bleached as often as I can, really. While I've still got it.

Cameron MainWhile you've still got it. I think that's going to last a little while longer.

MartinYeah, I think so. Yeah, I got blessed. I'm very fortunate. I've got a decent head of hair. And being in California, I like to keep it short. And yeah, it's just part of my personality, really. I love it.

Cameron MainThey call you the mad dog as well, don't they?

MartinWell, the mad dog goes with the territory. I mean, like mad dogs and Englishmen, you know, when we... So true story, and I don't know if I actually ever told you this, but like any business, you know, when you sit down, you come up with an idea, and then, of course, one of your biggest headaches is... How do I get the name right? How do I get a name for my business that's going to resonate, people are going to just recite off their tongue when they're looking to go and do something? The Nikes of this world, the Peps, you know what I mean?

Cameron MainThe VitaDogs.

MartinYeah, the VitaDogs of this world, yeah. And same principle. You can simply now, to a customer of VitaDog, you say Vita, and they'll immediately, obviously, think of the product. Well, that's where I wanted to get to with the name of the shop. And I'm like, I don't necessarily need to have a whole long name, but I want the beginning of that name to be very easy for people to just pass around when they're saying what a great time they had. The name that I was going to run with was actually going to be the dog's bollocks.

Cameron MainRight.

MartinTrue.

Cameron MainDo you want to tell the people of America what that means?

MartinYeah. And that's exactly why I didn't go with it.

Cameron MainRight. Because they'd be asking, well, what does this mean?

MartinYeah, because as you know, back in the UK, it's very easy to band around the dogs. And, of course, being a Londoner, sort of a Londoner that I am, and growing up in a part of London, it's very easy terminology to tell someone that you're happy about something by telling them it's the dog's or the dog's bollocks. And it simply means it's good. It's really good.

Cameron MainIt's very good. Excellent.

MartinI enjoyed a night out. It was the dog's bollocks.

Cameron MainYeah.

MartinBut when it came to actually tuning that into the audience in the US, I asked around, obviously, what my fellow American friends had to say about it. And they kept kind of like looking a bit bemused and say, why would you want to call your business after something that is attached to a dog? You know

Cameron MainParticularly in that region

MartinYeah and I'm like yeah actually that that really makes sense um when you think about it um we're predominantly you know we're predominantly enjoyed by an american audience here so it completely makes sense to come up with something that is not just unique but very easy to remember and then of course the connotations of mad dogs and englishmen You can look at it as a very easy name to remember, but also, of course, me being the Englishman and dogs coming through the shop every day for the sidecars and for the experiences of the sidecar. Simply just makes sense and so it's funny really you know it started off as a name that kind of seemed to work and now it's on the tip of so many people's you know tongues when they actually look at where they want to go in Carmel

Cameron MainBecause it is a song, isn't it, as well?

MartinIt is.

Cameron MainDoes it derive from that a little bit?

MartinWell, yeah, it does a little bit. I've actually, funny enough, one of my customers gave me the LP. The old LP of the guy that used to sing about it in the UK. And, of course, the other guy that's name resonates with a lot of people is Joe Cocker. Yeah. I don't know if you know but Joe Cocker he did in the 1970s he did a Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour of the US and he has a big following in the US you know he's a great rocker and so a lot of the let's just say the 50s and upwards customer they kind of think it relates to Joe Cocker

Cameron MainGotcha

MartinI like it. It's a cool name. And as I say, Mad Dogs is really kind of like what everybody knows the business as. And in fact, what we do is we really play on the whole British flag and the British Bulldog. And so there's a lot about it that simply means that people kind of know what we're about to a degree.

Cameron MainSo you, you obviously use VitaDog every day.

MartinYeah, you know, it's a routine thing. It's just like walking your dog. I hate to bring it up, but picking up dog poop. You've got to think about these things, you know?

Cameron MainOf course you do.

MartinAnd it's a routine thing. So the thing that, again, for me, it's convenience. One of the things, particularly having five dogs, is I've got to knock stuff out fairly quickly and then I've got to be heading for work. And the really cool thing is if I don't get a chance, because I always usually bring, usually I bring two to three dogs to work, and even if I don't get a chance to actually feed them before I leave, I know that I can actually make some product when I get to the shop. And then they get what they need you know that's really important for me one of the things which has frustrated me for many years, actually, because at one time we had, we had four shops separated by hundreds of miles, you know, so one, sometimes two of my dogs, you know, they'll have to travel with me. And that traveling can take up to four hours. When I left Carmel to go to Santa Barbara, that's a four-hour drive. When we used to have a shop in Mill Valley, the other side of San Francisco, that's easily a two-hour drive if I don't catch traffic. And again, it might not sound a big deal, but within that mix, and sometimes I'm actually leaving at four in the morning, five in the morning, to open a shop at nine in the morning, the dog's with me. And I'll end up giving them rubbish. You know, I'll literally go to the supermarket, I'll buy a pack of precooked sausages, some ham, you know, all that stuff. And I know there's rubbish in it. You know, it's all made up of a load of rubbish.

Cameron MainSo this is like a real convenience for you to get them the nutrients they actually need, basically.

MartinYeah. I mean, you know, I've always had a fantastic relationship with the vets. Out of necessity because over the years, you know, my dogs are different ages and there is always a necessity at some point, whether it be health checks, accidents, upset stomachs, you know, the list is always there for a dog owner of things happening along the way. And, you know, all the way through to the extremes of cancer, et cetera. And I always... Wanted them to have the best possible chance while they're with us. And that best possible chance is the best possible nutrition because I do know if you're able to give them best possible nutrition throughout their life, they have a much better chance of actually living a longer, healthier life.

Cameron MainLongevity is everything.

MartinIt is. You know, if we had a magic wand, probably in the top three things we would wish for is to be able to live forever. And if it wasn't you, it would be your dog.

Cameron MainAnd if you think about probably how much money we all spend at the vet, I mean, we've all done it. We've all been there. We've spent thousands and thousands of dollars trying to keep our beloved dogs healthy for an extra day. There's nothing we wouldn't give. You said it to me just before we went on. It's more of a preventative way. It's a way of hopefully stopping or giving them at least the best longevity they can get.

MartinTotally you know walk into any um vitamin shop walk into any pharmacy you know that the shelves are literally littered with um every single vitamin uh a nutritional product known to man for human beings and then you're like hang on a minute here where do I go looking for that for something that's just as important to me me dog and um okay you know you can you can find stuff out there but the bottom line is is that you want to do something which quite simply mirrors what you would want for yourself and um yeah the longevity thing is so important because ultimately when you look at the lifespan and you could have done things so much differently to increase that lifespan of your dog If someone has stepped in, I don't know, six years in, eight years in and said, your dog's only got another so many years to live. But if you take this approach with them and you stick to it, religiously stick to it, you're going to tag on another two years, another four years. I can't prove it to you, but the chances are that if you keep up this routine, then they have a much higher chance of getting older. And staying stronger at the same time um so I'd bite their arm off

Cameron MainOf course you would do it

MartinI'd bite their arm off

Cameron MainAnd I remember when we first met actually and it was before it was before we'd launched this product it was before it was available and I remember telling you we're developing this and this is what we're gonna do you were blown away and I remember you said wow amount of times I've been to the supermarket the amount of times I've seen all these different things with I don't know something for immunity something for joints something for this I don't know which one to buy I wish I could have everything just in one packet

MartinYeah

Cameron MainYou were in all with it and I think we we definitely bonded over that because we'd both been through hard times with our dogs

MartinYeah I mean I can't I can't remember really a time very rarely have I ever not had a dog in my life growing up from the moment I was born growing up we always had jack russell's in the household um it was our our breed of choice and my family always had jack russell's My mum had a Jack Russell all the way up into her mid 80s. Sadly, you know, Covid changed a lot of things. And so but ultimately, I've always had dogs in my life and I've always seen. And felt the impact of doing things both positively and negatively that make a difference in their life. And I am one of these people that once I actually see the benefits of something, then I'll tell everybody about it. I don't have to be necessarily convinced But I do know what I like to hear. And I do know what I like in terms of what it will do as well as the convenience of what it offers me. Because, listen, at the end of the day, I'm like any middle-aged guy. I'm a lazy ass. I want convenience. I don't want to... I don't want to go into a freezer and have to defrost something, and I don't want to have to go into a cupboard and mix up loads of different powders and potions to create something. I just want convenience. But I want something that quite simply brings a complete spectrum to the table. I don't have to go hunting for different variations to give me what I need. I want one thing that simply will pretty much do most, if not all of it. Like a multivitamin. That's what we all do. We take a multivitamin and we think, this is what it's going to do for me because it covers A to Z. And that's what I love about it.

Cameron MainSo when we partnered with Mad Dogs, what was the reason for you to say, I want to do this? What was the reason that you wanted to share this?

MartinWell, it was a no-brainer, really. It was a no-brainer, really, because every single day from the day we opened our doors, we have dog owners that actually come in as a customer. And I value those customers. You know, I really do. I value those relationships. They know how genuine we are as dog owners ourselves. They know how much we care about the experience that they have when they go out on our bikes and sidecars. So it's, again, a very easy conversation for me to have about the health of their dog versus something which actually they've... All kind of at one time rather been searching for and probably haven't found um including me you know and one of the touching and yet sad things about what we do here is we actually do um last rides you know we have dogs that come through here that are close to passing It's always a very touching thing that we do. It's very close to my heart because I've had, obviously, dogs pass along the way. And it's always tough. It's never an easy scenario. So to have... Have a dog owner actually entrusting me something that's just so close to them and so personal to them. When I actually saw the product, we talked about the product, I tried the product out on our pups, and I actually could see that it ticked all of the boxes. And it wasn't just lip service. I literally could see for myself that it ticked all of the boxes. And that was really important to me. So passing that on to my customers, I couldn't justifiably do it without actually believing in it myself. So it was good.

Cameron MainAmazing. So being in Carmel you come across some celebrities now and again do you?

MartinYeah, you know, California, as everybody knows, it's got so many celebrities that live here, have moved to this area, passed through the area. And so ultimately, yeah, and every now and again, and actually, to be fair, there are a number of celebrities out there that actually love bicycles. They're also dog lovers and the sidecar is very iconic in terms of what we're about too. And so yeah, there are definitely celebrity that come through the shop. And I've always prided myself on the fact that it doesn't matter who comes through my door, I'm always very natural. I'm no different than I am with you as if it's somebody that is a superstar that we all know and love. And they appreciate that. And of course, we're a very almost unique business. So they kind of like gravitate towards the fact that it takes them out of their comfort zone and they actually appreciate what we do as a family business.

Cameron MainWho might be the most famous celebrity or some iconic people that have ridden with you before?

MartinI think two people spring to mind that actually blew me away and for different reasons, really. It was very bizarre for me having a phone call with Simon Cowell one day. And obviously, being a British guy, I'm used to seeing him on TV and we all know what he's famous for. But to actually... Have him put on the phone to me um to have a conversation about how much he loves the shop I was in carmel at the time and he was visiting our then montecito shop um but to actually have a conversation with him was pretty special and then um fast forward a couple of three months later because he was he he loves to come and visit um santa barbara's family he made a point of actually coming to the shop to meet me in person and again very surreal I always remember I had my back to the front door because I was doing something at the back of the shop. And he has a very distinctive voice. And so when he walked in the shop, he said something along the lines of Mr. Watson, I presume, or something along those lines wanting to be funny. And then, of course, I turn around and I go, Mr. Cowell, I presume.

Cameron MainAnd he must have appreciated that as well, a little bit of English banter.

MartinHe really did. He's a really nice guy. Whatever anybody perceives about him on TV, I'm sure a lot of it is an act because he's a super nice guy. I found him very genuine, very humorous. He came in... I remember it was a really hot day. I mean, the weather in Santa Barbara can get really brutal with the heat. And he was on a bike. They were on bicycles, him and his family. And I remember he had a big puffer jacket around his waist that he'd taken off. And he was swaying profusely. And I said to him, Simon, I said, what's with the winter jacket, mate? I mean, this isn't Nebraska. And he goes, yeah. He said, but when I left the hotel this morning, it was a bit chill in the air. But as the morning got on, it got super hot. And I said, yeah, it does that here. And he said, look, have you got a backpack or something that I can just stick it in and carry on riding with? I said, actually, I don't. But I said, I'll tell you what. Give me a minute. And I actually went out to my Sprinter van which was parked right next to the shop. And I actually had my backpack in the Sprinter van. So I literally chucked all of the contents out of it into the Sprinter. And I came back in and I said to him, just give me a jacket, Simon. So he just took his jacket off and gave it to me. I stuffed it in my backpack. And I actually put it on his back, and he was very appreciative of that, and we had a bit of a joke about it. And I actually said to him, I said, I'm never going to see that again, am I, Simon? He said, oh, yeah, I'll bring it by next time. I said, don't worry about it, mate. There's a gift on me. And we became... I wouldn't say friends is too subjective, really, but definitely he loved the shop. He loved coming to see us when he was in town. He did appreciate me and the shop. And certainly it was very easy to have a relationship with him and his family over their bikes and all the rest of it. And the other one... Although there were quite a number of celebrities, particularly in Montecito, that would come by. But the other one that was a big deal for me, only for personal reasons, was an ex-England and Arsenal footballer called Lee Dixon. Andy Dixon, he's iconic.

Cameron MainIs that because you've got your Arsenal brand on?

MartinYeah, of course. I always got to show the love for the Gunners because they were my first love. My father is from Highbury, so I grew up a fan of the Gunners and I've always remained a big fan of the team. And Lee lives part-time in Montecito, so he's got a place in Montecito, he's got a place in London. He's on TV, he's obviously one of the guys on the Premiership League football every weekend. And so for him to actually show up at my door one day on his bicycle was a big deal because I'm suddenly talking to a guy I used to love watching play. And now he's hanging out in my shop talking about his bicycle. And of course, I took great, great pleasure in telling him he was riding a piece of shit and which he appreciated knowing. But as he pointed out, he just needed a bar bike. He just simply needed a bike. To get from his house to the bar, have a few beers and cycle back. There's nothing wrong with that. So he was never going to get anything fancy to ride around on. That's just not Lee. But a lovely, lovely guy. Became a really good friend. Still to this day, you know, we text one another. We meet up for beers when we're both in town together. And yeah, I feel really blessed to include him as a friend now.

Cameron MainHow much do these celebrities love their dogs?

MartinWell, every single celebrity that I can think of that I've felt a really good friendship with has a dog or dogs. Lee... Lee and his wife are fanatical about dogs. They rescue the dog. They have their own charity in the UK where they raise funds for rescue dogs. They... I spent a lot of time actually caring about what goes on with rescue dogs and again just really lovely people. It's interesting because Being a dog owner myself, I've always rescued dogs. A lot of my customers that come through the shop, regardless of whether they're famous or not, you can always tell how passionate they are about, obviously, their four-legged member of their family. And so we always resonate. It's just always a mutual love, you know. And so, you know, you and I, you know, we talked at length about the benefits of Vi ta Dog and what it brings to the table when it comes to actually offering the best possible solution out there right now for the health of a dog. And so for me, it's not just a case of I think you're a great guy, which obviously I do. But I can confidently tell complete strangers that you have a product that simply will bring a lot of benefits to their dog or dogs with also a lot of convenience as well because it's so easy to mix and give it to their puppy.

Cameron MainHow has it helped your dog since you started using it?

MartinWell I have um I have five dogs I have uh three little ones and two medium to medium to large and um you know it kind of it kind of takes place in my household that um soon as I get up they have their run on the beach they have their exercise and then I'm getting ready because I work long hours I'm getting ready to head to work and so for me it's convenience because I know that All I've got to do simply, I've got five dogs, I just line them up, shake, shake, shake, and then just tip it into a place where they can all have access to it easily and they just wolf it down. And the nice thing for me is that I don't have to think about it too much. You know, it's not a lot of thought goes into it. I literally know that... That scoop or um the bigger the bigger dogs actually have two scoops so the two scoops for the bigger dogs and one scoop for each of the little ones um plus the little bottle of oil is very easy to put in there too and I just mix it up and I will say I do spend quite a lot of money on treats and and um uh kibble for them as well and so I I know that it actually helps them with um keeping on top of and maintaining obviously a nutrition level for them and it's easy for me to do as well

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