Why I Started The Regenaissance
My health journey and how it influenced me to start helping more people connect with locals farmers and ranchers.
Hello, my name is Ryan Griggs (guy on far right in picture above, and the incredible Maude Family next to me), and I am the founder of The Regenaissance. The Regenaissance, which started as an apparel brand and has now become a media company, is all about educating us about agriculture and our food system, and reconnecting us to our food! We have never been more disconnected, with most never visiting a farm, let alone speaking to a farmer or rancher! I am trying to help change that, raising awareness about what has happened over the last century that has led us to where we currently are in the food system, heavily centralized, and the only winners are everyone but the farmers/ranchers and consumers!
I would never have guessed I would find myself in agriculture, with the dream of starting my own ranch down the road, but my life took a major turn that changed everything. I spent the first 6 months of 2021 being my older brother’s caretaker.
At age 31, he had stage 3 colon cancer at the start of the pandemic, which progressed to stage 4. I had no idea what to expect. I knew cancer was terrible, but I did not realize the true horror of it. The best way I can describe cancer isthat I watched my brother be tortured to death over the span of 6 excruciatingly long months. He passed away in June of ‘21 at the age of 32, 3 days before his 33rd birthday.
My brother is the biggest reason I am the man I am today. Watching the most important person in my life cry out my name in pain, knowing full well all I could do was sit there and watch, was the most helpless feeling in the world. He’s my inspiration; he handled battling cancer better than I handled being his caretaker. And he’s the biggest reason why I changed the trajectory of my life. While I was taking care of my brother, I was also helping a very ill mother.
She had:
Shingles
Gout
Sleep apnea
Anxiety & depression
Psoriasis
Coronary artery disease (most common form of heart disease)
Kidney & liver failing (needed transplants for both but because of her heart, was deemed inoperable)
In total, 12-14 liters of fluid drained from her lungs
My mother was suffering just as much as my brother did. She was in very rough condition for quite some time and had to retire in ‘19 because of it. She was just slowly suffering and dying. The Regenaissance launched on May 28th, 2023. I got a call four hours after launch that she had passed away. It’s just my father & me now.
But there is more. The stress and trauma of helping my brother destroyed my body. I spent thousands of dollars trying to get answers from the medical system about what was going on with my gut. Blood and stool tests, endoscopies and colonoscopies, yet I got zero answers from them, ZERO. As a result of this PTSD, my gut was in shambles. I also was dealing with
0 energy
Not waking up refreshed
Awful memory
Joint inflammation
And so many other problems that were compiling, adding to an already stressful time.
During all of this, I was working on a regenerative farm trying to learn about something that has been foreign to me my whole life. All the while, I could barely function. I turned to Youtube where I thought I had SIBO. I hired independent help, luckily, and tested negative for SIBO.
I still did not have answers as to what the hell was going on. And with how laborious farming is, my health was only getting worse, as was my mental/stress around the situation. I ended up having to leave earlier than expected, and so I looked for alternative ways to find out what’s going on with me. I hired @realalejandroAD
and he was incredibly helpful. He recommended thyroid blood work and an extensive vitamin/mineral panel. This answered all of my questions.
NOT A SINGLE DOC RECOMMENDED ME DOING THIS, NOT ONE.
Turns out I was deficient in quite a few vitamins & minerals, but more importantly, I discovered I have Hashimoto’s, a more severe version of hypothyroidism. It explained all of my awful symptoms. Major shout-out to Alejandro for all his help @realalejandroAD
So I began to address my health issues, sticking to a diet because I would yoyo between carnivore, fasting, too many fermented foods, etc. I wasn't patient. I started to take a Thiamine supplement, and my body had a SEVERE reaction. One week before starting on a bison ranch in Montana in Jan 2022, had the worst health scare of my life, ending up in the ER twice on the same day. I knew the quickest way to get answers was to head back to Austin, where I had lived since 2018.
My brand idea came to me while recovering. I don’t wish this on my worst enemy, but what’s worse is that this is a common story that will only become more common in America as the years go on. This is why I started The Regenaissance. I love this country too much to not try and do anything about it.
We are the most disconnected from our food we have ever been in our history. The Regenaissance aims to reconnect people with the people who produce our food, stories straight from the land. But what exactly does The Regenaissance do?
The Regenaissance Podcast
Since September 2023, I have been running a podcast featuring the very folks who produce our food (103 episodes and counting)! I also speak with other folks in the industry, like policy and law, butchering, logistics, and all other aspects of ag that are not directly related to farming or ranching.
The Regenaissance Farm & Ranch Tour
In July of 2025, I hit the road, traveling 12,500 miles across America, visiting farms and ranches. Here, I would tour their facilities to better understand what they do, while also sharing stories to help bridge the gap between producers and consumers. There is a wealth of knowledge from these incredible people that isn’t being shared very much!
If you want to watch and learn from the incredible folks growing our food, access them HERE
The Regenaissance Substack
A couple of members of my team and I have been writing on Substack to raise awareness of what has been going on in our food system, educate on all things agriculture, and share stories from the folks producing our food.
The Regenaissance Apparel
I started this as an apparel brand because I noticed that most agricultural-related apparel was pretty outdated. I also wanted to help provide apparel made from natural fibers, steering away from synthetic materials like polyester. Even though this is now a media company, apparel will always be a part of this brand. I currently have my apparel closed for the remainder of 2026, but will reopen next year (with improved prices compared to the past).
The Regenaissance Social Media
You can find me on all social media platforms, where I talk about current events in our food system and agriculture, snippets from my podcast, farm tours, and the history of how we got to where we are now (covering the last century).
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theregenaissance/
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@the_regenaissance
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheRegenaissance
X - https://x.com/_Regenaissance
Closing Remarks
Since 1980, we have lost:
91% of hog farms
89% of dairy farms
52% of cattle operations
And these numbers continue to dwindle, furthering the massive consolidation in agriculture. It’s never been more important to support AMERICAN farmers and ranchers!
This is why it’s imperative that you support your local farmers and ranchers. And if that is not possible in your area, find one you can support directly. Here are a few options to search from:
Cheers,
Ryan