Q&A With Austin’s Own Jared Padalecki and Your Walker Texas Ranger!

Jared, tell us about Walker – you had your first season last year in the middle of COVID and it was a roaring success and now you are back for a second season.

It has been quite a ride! I am a Texan, born and bread, so it is amazing to be able to be back in Austin filming, and to be able to come home to my family each night. I filmed Supernatural in Vancouver for 15 incredible years, but the travel and being away from home definitely took its toll. So, it’s great to be back promoting the local filming scene and producing Walker. Also, its been an honor to put my own spin on this version of Walker, in a unique and human way that the anyone can really connect to. He is just a guy doing a job, raising his family, and taking on life’s unforeseen obstacles the best he can. Not perfect, but trying to see people as fellow humans as opposed to just kicking in doors. I think that is something we all can relate to. 

Your wife Gen seems quite busy with the 3 kids, her new environmental focused platform TOWWN and many charitable and social cause events about town. 

She is a dynamo! People think I have a busy life, until they meet Gen. She is the glue that holds this house together no doubt, while also having jobs and passion-projects of her own. When I was on my covid-hiatus before wrapping up Supernatural, she was the one that introduced me to a brand new nutrition company here in Austin – MANTRA Labs – and it changed my life. I caught up on my sleep (sleeping better than ever with their REST formula), was able to stay energized throughout the day with RISE, and work on getting back into shape and recover faster with GO. I know it sounds like an advertisement – but this stuff just works!

That’s right, you joined MANTRA Labs and helped grow it in the middle of all this and it is gaining quite a reputation. Tell us about MANTRA Labs and why it is important to you.

Well, given my career, I’ve been sent products from just about any brand and company you can think of, all wanting me to endorse them publicly. I would try them out, and just not experience the kinds of results I hoped for while working towards my goals and lifestyle. MANTRA was different – I loved what the company stood for and what they were setting out to achieve, the products were tasty, easy, and effective, and their specific focus on the importance of mental health was something I directly connected to. I workout to “feel” good these days, not to “look” good. Mental health is not just important to me, but to society in general, and our nutrition and “wellness” companies almost always ignored it. MANTRA was different. When I met Paul Janowitz, who started it up, we hit it off, and I knew this was a company that I wanted to be a part of. It had meaning, it had purpose, and it had incredible products. So, we went into business together, and started getting the word out there about the product, about the fact that fitness is for everyone, and that everyone deserves good nutrition. We stress that mental health IS health. It’s been a lot of time spent, but every second has been a blast! 

I appreciate you letting me share this story, because MANTRA Labs is important to me, and when we hear from our customers what our brand means to them, what our positive mental messaging means, and how the product has changed lives, well it doesn’t get any better than that. 

Let’s talk fitness! What does your routine look like?

Routine – what routine? Hahah. Life is chaotic, and self-care is so important. I’ve realized that routines help allow that to happen. I am as guilty as the next person of not focusing on this enough. From all my years traveling, and training for roles, I try to keep things simple and accessible. That means lots of body weight workouts, home cooked whole food meals (when possible) and super clean supplements to help make up for gaps, or long, whacky schedules.  That is what drew me to MANTRA Labs – the products were plant-based, natural and helped ensure I got the nutrition that my mind and body needed at each critical part of the day. That simple routine was a game changer for me. It helps me get up and get going, get a workout in, stay energized on set, and then unwind, relax and fall asleep. Just hitting those basics with RISE, GO and REST, and then using our new HYDRATE powder to get and remain hydrated – that really makes a difference in my day. 

Speaking of HYDRATE, I gotta talk more about this…  HYDRATE is our newest product and I LOVE it. We worked on and developed this product for a year. It has 3x the electrolytes, 72 trace minerals, prebiotic fiber, vitamins and zero sugar – all while tasting amazing. There is nothing like it on the market and we’re SO proud of it. Gen uses it every day, the kiddos love it (and drink so much more water now), and i’m feeling better than ever, even though my workload has skyrocketed. 

Thanks so much for your time!!!