1. Your name, title, and age? What do you do (or did you do) for a living?

My name is Craig Madaus, the President and CEO of the bübi bottle. I was unemployed from my job as a print salesperson when I stumbled upon the idea of the bübi bottle. Deciding to take time and accept challenges, it was while sailing from Connecticut to St. Thomas, via Bermuda that the idea was born. We were one day out of Bermuda and the storm, 30 foot waves and 35 knot winds, broke our boom in half and the water coming overboard caused the fridge to seize up. We had 6 days to go and all the food was rotting from that point. It was then that the idea of a bendable, scrunchable fold up bottle that would be waterproof came to mind!

2. Who was the person that inspired you as a child to eat healthy and stay fit? What was their relationship to you?

Growing up on a farm in Wisconsin, My mother was the most influential, and my grandparents who harvested fresh food from the earth, natural food was normal in our households. It wasn’t until I graduated from high school and began taking charge of my eating habits (eating out), that it became clear, gaining weight was not healthy for my budget nor my health.

3. What did they do to inspire you?

Our family is very healthy, again I believe, from growing up on the farm, we were always active. We had 3 meals a day and rarely snacked. I loved how we grew up and even though there was work to do, we made fun out of most of the tasks. The inspired me to be well rounded.

4. How did their lesson change your life?

I knew I became sedentary in my managers position at a printing company, and began running, or should we say plodding at the beginning. I rarely ran in high school, played football and wrestled, but hated running, I needed to train my body to be more efficient in running and cardio. It was during the running stage of my career when hydration became a strong part of my exercise. During the long and short runs, if I did not hydrate enough, I would feel achy and tired.

Now, as my knees have logged an average of 40 to 60 miles per week, they have begun to show signs of pain, so I took up yoga, and changed my diet. The diet, or life change, I follow Dr. D’Adamo’s : “Eat Right 4 Your type”. The yoga is Hot Vanyassa and during class I drink lots of water to stay hydrated, it was after the classes that I hated to carry the empty bottle around with me, in the streets of NY, thus the scrunchable bottle I invented!

5. Do you convey their message to kids in your life presently?

I am a strong proponent of living and eating healthy, and feel sad when I see kids overweight, I understand how it happens, sometimes it is medical, but in some cases, the parents are living a sedentary lifestyle and fail to promote or motivate the kids. Just by eliminating all the snacks and soda would help a lot, drinking water is the best for keeping the body flushed.

6. What would be your main message to children today to lead healthy lifestyles?

Given the option of being heavy or thin, sick or healthy, I choose fit and healthy, they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but hydration keeps the internal system working properly. That is why I invented the bottle to make hydration convenient while saving the environment.

7. Do you have a web site you would like to promote….web address only?

bubibottle.com