Rebel Health Tribe (RHT) was founded in late 2014 after co-founders Michael Roesslein and Joe Rignola met in an online forum for Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioners (FDN-P), an intensive training program they’d recently completed.
Prior to this chance encounter, they’d both been operating their own wellness-based companies for a few years after leaving careers and work they found to be unfulfilling and unhealthy.
The story (which you can catch in full detail HERE on the podcast) goes a little something like this…
Michael had recently spent a year creating an online course, which he titled Natural Evolution (now the name of the RHT podcast) – and it covered everything about nutrition, movement, health, and wellness that he was teaching at workshops and with personal clients.
Unfortunately, he had no idea how to market this very robust and comprehensive online program – so it completely flopped. Discouraged, Michael was considering a return to the restaurant & bar industry where he’d worked for almost a decade previous.
Then, one afternoon, Joe messaged Michael and asked for an interview to discuss the misconceptions around stomach acid, reflux, and poor digestion. Confused, because he did not understand anything about online-based education/business, Michael agreed to the interview.
After hearing Joe explain how the video would be used, as part of an online-based educational series of digestion-focused interviews and content for his audience – Michael was blown away by the concept and went raving to his new partner (now wife), Mira.
Mira, being the wiser of the two, encouraged Michael to reconnect with Joe immediately, show him the digital course, and ask if he would be interested and willing to help with marketing the program online.
They didn’t know it… but at that moment, RHT was born.
Michael showed the course to Joe, he thought it was amazing, and the wheels were put in motion to clean it up, do a little rebranding (it became Primal90), and launch it with a massive hybrid online summit.
Joe had enough connections in the online health world to wrangle together some of the biggest names and brightest minds of the time – and they kicked everything off with a month-long online event attended by over 25,000 people in February of 2015.
Michael showed the course to Joe, he thought it was amazing, and the wheels were put in motion to clean it up, do a little rebranding (it became Primal90), and launch it with a massive hybrid online summit.
His interview was such a smash hit that RHT received dozens of requests for Megaspore and for “more Kiran!”. This led to the Microbiome Series of live webinars – at least a dozen over the course of 18 months, which became rather famous in the functional health world, introduced Kiran (now one of the most sought-after speakers in the industry) and Megaspore (now used by 20k+ practitioners worldwide) to thousands of health seekers and hundreds of health practitioners around the globe.
Joe had enough connections in the online health world to wrangle together some of the biggest names and brightest minds of the time – and they kicked everything off with a month-long online event attended by over 25,000 people in February of 2015.
One of the speakers at the Primal90 launch event was microbiologist Kiran Krishnan, who, at the time, was the chief science officer at Physician’s Exclusive (now Microbiome Labs) – a little-known company producing a brand new probiotic called Megasporebiotic.
His interview was such a smash hit that RHT received dozens of requests for Megaspore and for “more Kiran!”. This led to the Microbiome Series of live webinars – at least a dozen over the course of 18 months, which became rather famous in the functional health world, introduced Kiran (now one of the most sought-after speakers in the industry) and Megaspore (now used by 20k+ practitioners worldwide) to thousands of health seekers and hundreds of health practitioners around the globe.
the team behind rht
MICHAEL ROESSLEIN, MS, FDN-P, CHEK
CO-FOUNDER
Michael Roesslein holds a Master’s Degree in Exercise Science & Health Promotion, is a certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, and a CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach. He also holds multiple personal training certifications and has completed both the 2-year training program at the Luminous Awareness Institute, and Dr. Gabor Mate’s Compassionate Inquiry professional training for therapists.
Michael’s journey has been one of deepening levels of healing & transformation – from fitness to nutrition to functional health coaching, and now into the world of mental, emotional, spiritual, and energetic well-being.
This was not only born out of a natural curiosity, but out of necessity.
Michael has suffered from severe depression and anxiety for most of his life, along with significant ADD/ADHD – all of which led to self-medication, unhealthy and dangerous coping and avoidance tactics, and on several occasions, suicidal ideations.
By applying what he has learned over the last 15 years in many advanced training programs, along with mentorships under several of the most brilliant practitioners across the full spectrum of healing, Michael has been able to experience radical improvements in quality of life and resilience during difficult times.
Originally from the Chicago area, Michael now lives in Montepulciano, a small town in the beautiful hills of southern Tuscany (Italy) with his wife Mira and their dog, Nica.
JOE RIGNOLA
CO-FOUNDER
Joe Rignola is an entrepreneur, filmmaker, and best-selling author. He began his own health journey about 15 years ago while dealing with depression, anxiety, severe digestive issues, weight gain, and blood sugar dysregulation.
After researching alternatives to the medications he was on, Joe was able to take control of his health and lose over 45 pounds by changing his diet and lifestyle. Filled with gratitude for his newfound health and energy, Joe went back to school to study health and nutrition so he could help others along their journey.
He is the founder of WellConnected.tv, a health education platform with a community of over 150,000 people.
In 2009 he founded Wellness Punks and began coaching clients 1-on-1, and in 2011 he launched his first online event called The Primal Cooking Workshop. This innovative event was part health summit, part cooking show, and featured some of the most well-known names in the paleo and primal space.
After reaching tens of thousands of people with that single event, Joe dove headfirst into online events. He’s since launched, founded, and co-founded some of the most successful brands, companies, and events in wellness over the past decade.
Visit WellConnected.tv to learn more about his latest projects
Aaron elias
Digital Marketing & Copywriting
Aaron Elias is a creative writer turned marketer who specializes in direct response copywriting. He helps online businesses optimize their copy, email strategy, and overall digital marketing in order to increase sales and customer retention.
Aaron discovered functional medicine after conventional doctors failed to help him identify why he fell suddenly and severely ill in late 2015. Having seen immeasurable improvement from working with functional, integrative, and naturopathic doctors, he is now a passionate advocate for medical industry reform. His goal is to help bring about mainstream acceptance of proven alternative medicine practices to make health and healing more accessible for everyone.
In his spare time, Aaron enjoys exercising, reading books, and writing short fiction and narrative design for indie video game projects.
Maryann Infantino
Customer Service/All-Around Ninja
Maryann Infantino is the do-all-the-things ninja that makes RHT function.
IAN SHIELL
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION & ORGANIC TRAFFIC GROWTH
Ian Shiell is the founder of LTD SEO, a Florida-based boutique digital marketing company specializing in data-driven, results-oriented SEO/SEM strategies.
In layman’s terms, they help make sure the right people find the educational content and professional products here at RHT!
high level education
RHT has established itself as one of the leading sources of cutting-edge functional health education via dozens of free webinars and interviews, two excellent podcasts, three professional-level virtual masterclass events, and countless high-quality blog articles – all featuring many of the leading experts, researchers, and practitioners in the functional health world.
One of the speakers at the Primal90 launch event was microbiologist Kiran Krishnan, who, at the time, was the chief science officer at Physician’s Exclusive (now Microbiome Labs) – a little-known company producing a brand new probiotic called Megasporebiotic.
Whether you like to read (blog), listen (podcast), watch (webinars, interviews), or take a deep dive into a subject (masterclasses), we’ve got you covered!
Here is an incomplete list including some of the amazing experts you’ll find featured here at RHT:
- Dr. Datis Kharrazian
- Dr. Terry Wahls
- Dr. Jolene Brighten
- Dr. Maya Shetreat
- Dr. Titus Chiu
- Dr. Dan Kalish
- Dr. Natasha Fallahi
- Jen Fugo
- Lara Adler
- Dr. Peter Kan
- Marc Ryan, LAc
- Dr. Nasha Winters
- Dr. Deanna Minich
- Dr. Keesha Ewers
- Dr. Elisa Song
- Dr. Kat Toups
- Dr. Michael Ruscio
- Dr. Jessica Drummond
- Dr. Kara Fitzgerald
- Steven Wright
We also have some excellent professional content writers here at RHT to make sure what you’re learning about on the blog/on our site is top notch.
Up until recently, most of our educational content has been focused on gut health, digestion, and the microbiome – but we are now expanding to focus more on autoimmunity, brain & nervous system health, environmental toxicity and detoxification, fertility, mental health, and much more!!
CLICK HERE to start check out all the education RHT has to offer, and HERE if you’d like to dive into the Natural Evolution Podcast!
high-quality products
This all started (somewhat by accident) with Megasporebiotic, which is now the leading probiotic in the functional medicine world, and has now grown to include over 40 products from many leading producers in the industry.
Here at RHT, we believe education is power, and that is especially true when it comes to choosing the right nutritional supplements for you and your family. That is why we’ve always provided the highest level of in-depth education around every product and formula that’s been found in our shop.
From deep-dive educational webinars with the formulators, to detailed blog posts and thorough best-use instructions, it’s important to us that you are able to make safe and informed decisions.
Our quality standards are second-to-none, and we only retail products if we can offer competitive prices with other online sources. Brands we feature include Microbiome Labs, Healthy Gut, HCP Formulas, Ipothecary, Gaia Professional, Cymbiotika, BioImmersion, EcoNugenics, and Cellcore Biosciences.
These are the products you will find in the offices of the best functional health practitioners, and we feel they are some of the most effective natural products on the market – with unique formulas and the highest-quality ingredients available.
CLICK HERE to check out the featured products in our shop and let us know if you have any questions!
In addition to our retail shop, we also have curated a special area on our site which includes information and links to many of our absolute favorite health & wellness-related products, services, tools, and resources.
It can be overwhelming to find the best options out there – so we’ve decided to save you a ton of time, money, and energy by recommending the things we use and love ourselves! We’ve tried it all, so you don’t have to!
CLICK HERE to check out our favorite products, services, tools, and resources for building and maintaining a state of health and well-being!
community & connection
In addition to being a resource for some of the best health-related education, products, and tools available anywhere on the web – RHT also features an amazing community of like-minded health-seekers, coaches, authors, and practitioners.
These are the products you will find in the offices of the best functional health practitioners, and we feel they are some of the most effective natural products on the market – with unique formulas and the highest-quality ingredients available.
The RHT Facebook Group is a supportive and engaging community of thousands – including many of the featured expert collaborators we’ve worked with over the years to create education content. If you’re looking for a place for people who share your passion for health & wellness over on Facebook –come join us!
We’ve also hosted tens of thousands of health-seekers on countless live webinars, interviews, and events – some of whom have been consistent attendees for 8+ years! RHT has always felt more like a family to us than a business – and we’d love to give a shout to the folks out there who have been with us since Day 1, making this such a fun and rewarding adventure to be on!
Connection and community is an often-overlooked, yet absolutely essential aspect of health and well-being, and we’re fortunate to have so much of this important “nutrient” here at RHT – including you!
Welcome!
