The Art of the Hustle With Ron Cummings

What started out as an unlikely end to a golf game became the beginning of something much bigger. Ron Cummings, CEO and founder of AminoGenesis, was handed a tube of “mystery goo” that would shape a successful company and help thousands look and feel like the best possible version of themselves.

Luck wasn’t always on Ron’s side, however. At the age of 28, chickenpox left him with scars covering his face. But rather than developing the deep pockmarks that are often characteristic of the condition, Ron’s pigmentation scars resulted in small white spots all over his skin, which then gave way to dermatitis. To add to the mix, years of California sunshine, combined with his fair complexion, became a recipe for severe skin problems that greatly impacted Ron’s self-image.

That day on the golf course when Dr. Dan Bird, a Harvard trained physician, stepped in with the aforementioned “mystery goo” and told him to apply the product, Ron’s luck regarding his skin began to change. He applied the “goo” on and off for a few months. While Ron might not have seen the immense change in his skin condition, his friends did. That led him to approach Dr. Bird and discover that the goo was a special blend of amino acids that was routinely being used in hospitals.

Curiosity took over. When he discovered that something this effective wasn’t available to the general public, Ron decided to change that. Combining his insatiable curiosity and business acumen for spotting a game-changing formula, he scraped together everything he could to buy the rights and sell the product under the name AminoGenesis.

“The next thing I know, the bartender leaned over and said, ‘I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard that story.  Where can I get some of that?’  And that was the beginning.”

AminoGenesis is a story of perseverance, dedication, and entrepreneurial spirit. Those traits abound in Ron Cummings and make him the man he is today. Ron himself credits his success to that nagging feeling that comes along, telling you that you haven’t quite found your passion just yet. But “doing your own thing,” as Ron puts it, isn’t ever easy, which is why you’ve got to “pick something that interests you, fascinates you, excites you that you can get up and do every day, no matter how bad things are.” And for Ron, that something was AminoGenesis.

Ron’s company has since grown from a single product sold from a small cart in Fashion Island Mall to 17 products that help thousands of men and women around the world develop self-confidence through better, healthier skin.

Owning a business often means burning the midnight oil, losing sleep, and gaining stress and headaches along the way. So it’s no surprise that finding time to take care of yourself isn’t always easy. But being exceptionally healthy should be a competitive advantage. It should help success come more easily. It should give you the energy, after a long day's work, to be a better mother, father, spouse, or to care for whatever other relationships are important for a higher quality of life. In this way, putting time into your business and your body is a mutually symbiotic relationship--each benefits because of the other.

Ron describes these benefits as “immeasurable, because how do you measure being in good health? How does that play into your job? One, it means you’re obviously still able to do stuff. Two, the stress relief is big. And three, it makes you feel good knowing you’re taking care of yourself. It removes the guilty part of your conscience that tells you, ‘You should be taking care of your body.’”

That is just what he does: four days a week at Stark, where he can follow his one motto in life and business: Keep hustling.

“I kind of live by one motto and that is ‘Keep hustling, something good will always happen.’”