The OM Store
A selection of Limited edition Organic Mechanic Merchandise, Superfoods & more
The OM Story
Founded by a group of school friends, skaters and surfers - the “OM Crew” lived and worked together for almost a decade, navigating the realms of entrepreneurship, before splitting off to have families, travel overseas, and move to live on the land.
Since the Spring of 2023, after a decade of operation, Organic Mechanic has relaxed into retirement, living on in the hearts, Tshirts & OM bottles of many.
*Pictured from left - Rajeev, Jason, Graedon & Nicholas (just missing Alex)
The Wellbeing Journey
Influenced by their own health journeys and witnessing the life & passing of Nick & Jase’s father with cancer, together with Graedon, this group of young surfers became inspired to lead a healthier lifestyle and share the tools, knowledge and wisdom they learnt along the way for their community at large.
Lead by the wisdom of Hippocrates, Gandhi and Bob Marley, this group set out to create a company which could truly "be the change" they wanted to see in the world.
With the core message of “Food is Medicine”, their first stop, was serving organic green smoothies at a local farmers market.
In 2013, there was nowhere to find an organic smoothie (except for Little Bird Kingsland), and green smoothies especially were just starting to hit the mainstream. With our approach, we made sure everything was organic, the cups reuseable, and the ingredients sourced as locally as possible.
In the first years, we donated smoothies in schools, hosted a 10,000 smoothie marathon, got our greens from Kelmarna Gardens, and became well known in Parnell for our Free Hugs.
Eventually, after a few years of running as a marquee, in 2015 we rennovated an old coffee spot to become The "OM Shack" as it came to be known, becoming a watering hole for the local wellbeing community. It was from here as a brick & mortar location that we began to host our own events at the market, including wild edibles expeditions, group meditations, live music & yoga in the local park.
An Inspiration to Serve
The Rise of OM Kombucha
In 2014 we added OM Kombucha as an additional craft product for the stall, and an immunity boosting elixir for the gut microbiome.
From brewing 2L on the kitchen bench, and freestyling our way up to 1000L+ batches a week, OM Kombucha grew rapidly as OM's main retail product. Our brew became an effective vehicle for creating a healthier alcohol-free celebration culture, promoting refill culture by refilling from kegs, and supplying a healthier alternative to sugar-packed fizzy drinks.
OM Parties & Wellbeing Festivals
As the Kombucha operation grew, we started to host our own alchohol-free parties and attend wellbeing festivals and events where we hosted our own "OM Tent" - complete with a “Booch bar”, chai on the boil, and a stage for musicians and workshops.
Over the years, we frequented many festivals and expos, including Earthbeat, NZ Spirit, Resolution, Vegan Vibes, GoGreen Expo, Luminate, and the immortal Prana Festival in the coromandel. We shared our brew and connected with many different people, groups, businesses and tribes during these times.
The Gear
As our community grew, we started to see OM singlets, T-shirts, Bottles, stickers & Growlers everywhere. Designed by Graedon - you can still get some of these designs here.
The OM Brotherhood
With a core group of young men at the helm of OM - we often had to find creative ways of dealing with emotions and confrontation whilst living and working together. We also noticed the societal lack of spaces for men to come together and connect in a real and authentic way.
In March 2020, just before the global pandemic, OM created the first of many brotherhood events, which focused on bringing together men to connect and grow as a mechanism for community transformation.
Known as the OM Brotherhood, over time this kaupapa split off to become its own entity, now known as BROS Aotearoa.
Retiring from the Booch Game
Over 5-6 years, OM grew from kitchen bench brewers into a nationwide Kombucha empire, crafting thousands of litres of probiotic goodness each month - supplied in bottles, kegs & refill stations across Aotearoa.
But with all our successes, there was something gnawing away at us. How could a business be truly “sustainable”? Even though we used all glass bottles, we still had no idea where they would end up - and our famed ginger recipe was hiked up on food miles made with ginger from Fiji, Tea from Pakistan, and sugar from South America.
The questions continued… How could we create a product that actually contributed to the health of Papatūānuku - rather than taking away from it?
How could we all even remain passionate about brewing kombucha - whilst creating a healthy lifestyle for ourselves and our young families?
After the tragic loss of Co-founder Jason Corliss in 2018, OM shortly after retired from the Kombucha game in 2021 to come back to our roots, feel into more effective ways of enabling our vision of thriving human and planetary wellbeing.
Remembering Jason “J-Boogie” Corliss
Jason was a key part in the genesis of Organic Mechanic - crafting the original vision with Graedon, pledging his Student loan savings towards our startup costs, and forging so many of our lasting connections. His enormous presence, courageous vision, and huge heart, touched many people in his lifetime. He will forever be remembered for the time he sung the song Spirit Bird, by Xavier Rudd on stage at Wanderlust festival with his brother Nicholas to a cheering crowd of hundreds.
Rest in Power
Sep 2 1988 - Feb 18 2018
Connect
hello@theorganicmc.co.nz