Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Beakley.
Hi Tyler, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I honestly started studying herbalism as a means to an end, not to completely change my life path, but I’m so grateful for the journey it’s taken me on and continues to take me on.
For some backstory, I had a lifetime of gut issues, skin issues, and mental health issues, and I really just wanted to feel better mentally and physically and everything I had tried before just wasn’t working, so I sought to get to the root of all my issues. At the time, probably early 2017, I was working as a flight attendant and living outside of Los Angeles in Long Beach, CA so I was really fortunate to be exposed to so many different healing modalities on the West Coast and around the world that focused on getting to the cause of symptoms vs just suppressing the symptoms. I found an incredibly brilliant and lovely herbalist in Long Beach named Julie James and began taking a few of her herbalism classes while trying to figure out the imbalances in my body. I fell in love with herbalism immediately.
I was also doing a lot of self-study at the time and was traveling around the world on my work trips with my luggage literally filled with massive textbooks on Traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, and traditional western herbalism. (So if you ever shared a jumpseat with me sorry for all the random plant facts!) I was fascinated and shocked at the same time that I had never been exposed to these thousands of years old teachings. Everything made so much sense to me, and as I started to really incorporate these teachings into practice I was seeing dramatic shifts for myself.
Ironically all of my complaints weren’t separate issues at all, they were all connected. As my gut health improved so did my mental health and skin health. For the first time in my life, I received a compliment on my skin! While that was flattering and surprising, the most important thing for me was that for the first time I felt good in my body and balanced. All of this was accomplished rather quickly too and all by lifestyle shifts, dietary changes, and adding in herbal medicine via teas and tinctures. I was hooked and in that moment decided I had to share with as many other people as I could what herbalism was and how to incorporate it into your life.
This wasn’t ever supposed to be a business but the more I studied and the deeper I got into the lifestyle I saw how intimidating herbalism could be and how hard-to-find herbal products could be. I wanted to offer products rooted in herbalism that felt approachable to anyone, not just folks who had deep knowledge in herbalism. I also wanted them to be enjoyable to consume or work with — so many herbal preparations are funky tasting, which isn’t a bad thing, those medicines are completely necessary, but to introduce more people to working with medicinal plants I wanted the initial experience to be a pleasant one. Lastly, I am HUGE on aesthetics and I wanted the packaging to be really minimal and beautiful so you would want the canister of tea displayed out on your counter so you would see it and remember to actually drink the herbal tea and get all the benefits. I also wanted the products to fit into cute boutiques to meet people where they’re already shopping and make herbalism feel more approachable.
I launched Relyt in the Spring of 2020 online and then moved the business back home to Texas (I grew up in Kerrville) in the winter of 2020 to San Antonio. I did my first in-person sale at a pop-up in the market in March of 2021. I was thrilled at how well received my products were in Texas and how many people were wanting something like what I was offering! As of 2022, we are in a few local spas, like Loma De Vida at La Cantera Resort and Spa, and the Spa at Hotel Contessa, as well as amazing shops like Belle & Union, and R+R Collective Co. – a lifestyle shop I also co-own. We are also in a few boutiques around the country and abroad.
I am constantly humbled and in awe when I see my products on shelves somewhere. So many of my products were just things I was making for myself in my kitchen and to see them now out in the wild being enjoyed by and helping other people is surreal. I would read stories and listen to podcasts about people doing what they were passionate about for a living and always related to that yearning they had, and to be able to do this work is something I will never take for granted. I can’t wait to see where herbalism keeps taking me and how I can keep showing up for my community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly, every day is a learning experience. I studied Public Relations in college and was a flight attendant for a decade, so I have no formal business training or product manufacturing experience. Google has been my best friend and also not being afraid to ask questions was the comfort zone I had to break down immediately. The beautiful thing with the mistakes though (because wow there are a lot of mistakes to be made when starting a business) is that they are just lessons to learn.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Relyt (pronounced “relight”) is the name of my business. It’s spelled funny because it’s my name spelled backward, but I liked the word and the idea of relighting something inside of you to feel your best. Like it’s already there you just have to find it. The company name is just a fun way to tie in the founder with the mission.
Our company mantra is “We are a wellness company rooted in our effort to leave people, places and things better than we find them. We think that small changes have a big impact so we start with one thing a day to be better. We are patient and gentle with ourselves and others and are always learning and growing. We seek to not only experience the feeling of good health daily but to experience the feeling of joy daily. We also know and practice the notion that we are all in this together.”
Relyt is proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated. We are a two-woman run business — my partner Kelsey Minard and myself. We specialize in products rooted in herbalism that are also really enjoyable to use. I craft herbal teas, tinctures, essential oil blends, and all-natural skin-care products. I will also soon offer consultations and custom blended products, which I am so excited about! This service will be offered out of the lifestyle shop that we co-own in San Antonio, TX – R+R Collective Co., where we offer Apothecary, Vintage, and a Tea Bar to sip while you shop.
We also focus a lot on herbalism education at Relyt, after all that’s what started it all and is so important. I believe the more you know the more ownership you can have over your own health, so you’ll find a lot of informative posts on our social media, and also we released a season of a podcast in 2020 called the Relyt Wellness Podcast that has lots of herbalism information that I’m really proud of. I’m hoping to get back into podcasting next year. I really enjoyed geeking out over plants!
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
DM me on Instagram (@relyt.co) or send me an email (hello@relytwellness.co)! I am always down to collaborate and in the shop, we are always looking to throw events with like-minded brands and folks.
If you aren’t local to San Antonio, we have an online shop www.relytwellness.co
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.relytwellness.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/relyt.co/
