About Us
Performance Fungi Story
It all started with a tour in Iraq. Between 2007-2009 James, the owner and founder of Performance Fungi, spent ~15 months in Baghdad while serving with the Army. Upon returning, he struggled with several issues, but the most prominent struggle was with memory and overall brain performance. This struggle lead to an interest in Nootropics (aka “Brain Drugs”) to assist with the issues he was having.
Shortly after learning about Nootropics, and experimenting without good results, James discovered Lion’s Mane mushrooms. It was after an experience with magic mushrooms that a fire was lit to explore mushrooms and all they offer, after which, he learned about Lion’s Mane as a potential natural Nootropic.
(Pictured is James in the streets of Baghdad)
After trying one supplement brand from the local health supplement store and not seeing results, he tried another from a natural foods store, and after trying this brand he said “I feel like the guy in the movie Limitless!” and the fire burned brighter. He became obsessed with learning more about other mushrooms and their potential to work with our bodies in different capacities, but also wanted to know “Why did one supplement work for me when another brand had no effect?” and over a decade of research into mushroom supplements followed between that time and the time Performance Fungi was launched.
(Pictured is James (2nd row, 2nd from right) standing with his Platoon before a mission in Iraq)
That was in 2011, now here we are and mushrooms have become his life. First starting /r/MushroomGrowers on Reddit, a mushroom culture business and where his Lion’s Mane growing kits quickly became a popular item. Fast forward to Covid-19, and the brand James had trusted for many years changed the way it was manufactured and he quickly noticed the lack of any tangible mental clarity he had become accustomed to with his daily dose of Lion’s Mane extracts. This change forced his hand into launching a brand dedicated to producing the highest quality Lion’s Mane mushroom supplements he could make with the brand Hericium Labs, which stems from the Latin name for Lion’s Mane, Hericium erinaceous.
He ran this company for a year and during this time experimented with other mushrooms, sensing a lack of consistency and quality in the market, and applied the same guiding principles for his very well-received Lion’s Mane extracts to other mushrooms like Reishi, Cordyceps, Chaga, Maitake, and others.
With each batch, an increasing amount of customers commented on the quality and difference when compared to brands they were used to taking, and James felt further inspired to shift his focus from mushroom growing kits and mycology supplies to following his passions in the Mushroom Supplement world and made it his mission to produce the highest quality mushroom extracts without skimping on inputs, quality, and his integrity.
So, that's our story in a nutshell. James, as well as his friends and family, regularly take the very same extracts you are purchasing today, and credits all of his successes to Lion's Mane extracts.
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