Danny Seo turns love of environment into a lifestyle

The average 14-year-old doesn’t spend afternoons filling out tax forms, creating bylaws and lobbying congressional leaders. But Danny Seo, whose style-meets-sustainability approach to modern design has made him a green-living guru, was no average teen.

Born on Earth Day, Seo shared his birthday with an annual flood of newspaper stories about deforestation, the vanishing ozone layer and other environmental troubles. Wanting to help, he told the six guests at his 12th birthday party that they should forgo the gift-giving and instead become founding members — through donations — of a new organization to save the planet called Earth 2000.

“I was very naive and idealistic at the same time,” he says. “I thought the world was coming to an end, but I was idealistic enough to think maybe I could just change it.”

Earth 2000 grew to tens of thousands of teenage members from around the country by the time Seo turned to other projects six years later.

Now 39, Seo is founder and CEO of Danny Seo Media Ventures, a multimedia lifestyle company. He stars in a family-oriented Saturday morning television show on NBC and is editor in chief of a lifestyle magazine — both titled Naturally, Danny Seo — and recently authored the cookbook Naturally, Delicious: 100 Recipes for Healthy Eats That Make You Happy. Hundreds of newspapers run his daily syndicated “Do Just One Thing” column, which offers tips on how to live a greener life. He has written a number of books covering decorating, entertaining, crafts and food. And his name graces labels on fragrances and other products, including a line of home goods sold at more than 4,000 stores such as Marshalls and T.J. Maxx.

Not bad for a guy who graduated last in his high school class of 169 students — with a D- average. He never went to college or culinary school.

“I have a weird feeling that maybe that is why our (NBC) show is attracting an audience,” he reasons. “With the way I cook, make projects, talk about issues, I’m not trying to impress; I’m merely trying to motivate and inspire. And this is the only way I know how to do it.”

Colleen Needles Steward, president and CEO of Tremendous! Entertainment, which produces Seo’s TV series, recalls noticing that Seo, unlike other stars who want to demonstrate personal knowledge of a subject when interviewing experts, “kind of flings his arms wide open and says, ‘Tell me all about this.’ He doesn’t posture. He’s just very curious and has a way of talking about eco-friendly living that’s not preachy. And he’s not afraid to try anything.”

Much of what Seo has created was sparked by an insatiable curiosity. When he learned that the long roots of vetiver grass help to stop soil erosion in Haiti and can be ethically sourced, he had oil from the grass blended with flowers from the Pacific Islands to create his Danny Seo Reserve Global fragrance.

“There always seems to be conflicting opinions about things being green and gorgeous at the same time,” notes Seo. “I used to feel almost shameful about wanting things to be aesthetically nice, but I think it’s possible to have good taste and still be compassionate about what’s going on around you.”

The entrepreneur says he isn’t motivated by money, which is what companies try to throw at him after he shoots down an offer to work together. “A lot of companies have other agendas in terms of making themselves appear more green, and my response is simple,” he says. “No actually means no. If I can go to the supermarket and buy whatever I want to eat without looking at the prices, then I’m fine.”

When in search of craft ideas — he has more than 250 projects under his belt — Seo scouts out Goodwill stores to see what obsolete items people have donated in bulk, then devises ways to upcycle them. Once, when walking around his house in Bucks County, Pa., he set eyes on an old VHS tape and visualized how it could become gift wrap ribbon. He broke open the plastic case, then used scissors to make the ribbon curl.

Seo is known for juggling multiple projects with multiple parties in multiple forms of media.

“He has kind of a high motor,” says Barry Rosenbloom, president of RFP Corp., which publishes Seo’s magazine. “Probably an electric motor, not a gas one. But it’s running, man.”

The recipe for Seo’s high-octane lifestyle? Eight hours of sleep, a plant-based diet, outdoor exercise (“I feel there’s something hypocritical about running in place”), highly selective work projects (“I’m not someone who just puts my name on something”) and supplements with his morning shake, which he makes with almond milk, protein powder, green powder, hemp seeds, peanut butter powder and coconut oil.

His motto for a sustainable lifestyle: Never sweat the small stuff.

“Focus on the big decisions that have the biggest impact for your life,” he advises. Commute by car? Research alternative forms of transportation. Renovating your kitchen? Look into energy-efficient appliances, or go a step further and choose American-made products.

Seo keeps his political views, charity work and personal life private, but shares words that have guided him since childhood:

“Beauty, truth and goodness,” he says. “These are the things that are most important to me no matter what.”

Article source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2017/04/11/danny-seo-turns-love-environment-into-lifestyle/100178504/

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