Hello, and welcome to today's episode of the Rev Up Health Podcast. Today we're joined by Philip Gladman, co-founder of Domo, a company redefining what it means to enjoy a drink without the alcohol. Domo creates zero-proof elixirs designed to elevate social connection, relaxation, and ritual while still supporting your health and wellness goals. We're excited to dive into the story behind Domo, what inspired it, how it fits into the growing movement of mindful drinking, and how choosing zero proof can be a powerful act of self-care — especially in midlife, when recovery, hormones, and nervous system health matter most.
Welcome, Philip, to the show. Thank you very much for the invite — very kind.
How Domo Came to Be
Tell us a little about how Domo came to be.
That's a long story. Susie — my amazing scientist — and I both struggled with the sociability of nights out. Susie went through menopause really early and found herself as the designated driver, feeling on the periphery of things. And I used to work in the alcohol industry, where there was a prerequisite that you'd be out on a Tuesday night tasting whiskies. That was fine in my youth, but after a while I struggled with what it meant for my health, my time with my kids, and my fitness. So we thought someone must make a functional drink that gives you that same lovely connectivity, chattiness, and togetherness of a glass of wine, but with none of the negatives.
It took us over two years of research and development. The hardest part was getting the functional pack exactly right — that took a year and a half. Then, once you've got the functionals, you have to hide the taste again and get the cocktails to taste delicious. And one of the weirdest things: if you put functionals in a cocktail and try to can it, every time you put the lid on it erupts. Our first production run was like watching Mount Vesuvius. It took a while to figure out how to keep all the goodness in the can, but we finally did, and we're about a year and a half old now.
That's kind of our journey too — we're into the health scene and eliminated alcohol a long time ago, and it was really hard to find a good non-alcoholic mocktail. We tried several brands, and then we saw you at one of our shows, and Domo was amazing. It tastes so good, with a lot of variety of flavors, and the functionals are a real benefit. You've done a great job with the flavor — it's hard to compare it to anything else because nothing matches up.
And when you're in this space, a lot of things have sugar, which you did a great job of taking out. We've got five grams from natural grape juice. Susie and I always say it's as important what we leave out as what we put in. She was dogmatic during the design process that it be at keto level, nothing artificial, 100% natural. It costs more, but it's worth it.
The Ginger Miso Mule
Let's dive into our first flavor — the ginger mule. That's my go-to. A cocktail should be a cocktail — you drink with your eyes as much as anything — so we've got a little glass with ginger and lime. At home, we have fun with the additions and colored fruits, too. Cheers.
The function is the same in all of them, because people want the same feelings when they have a drink; we vary the flavors for the occasion. The ginger miso mule cuts through food beautifully, so if you want something with dinner — steak, barbecue, or a smoky fish — this is your baby. It's got lots of layers of savory flavors that can stand up to a meal like a wine would. You can definitely taste the miso. We always try to build multiple layers, because the layers create the sophistication, and the sophistication is where the functions kick in — you want to feel like you're having a delicious, sophisticated cocktail from that first sip.
What's Actually in the Drinks
Let's talk about the functions, because people may not understand what's really in these products and the benefits.
Even before designing the liquids, we did a huge amount of consumer research. The scary stat is that 55% of Americans are *actively* trying to reduce how much they drink — but only 22% are making any progress. So we interviewed that gap and asked why. The number one answer was togetherness. Person after person said there's no pressure to drink anymore, but when they go out with friends who are all drinking, there's an internal pressure — the friends get happy, chatty, and together as a unit, and they feel on the outside. What scared me most, given the loneliness epidemic, is that a high percentage of people said, "I won't go out with my best friends if I'm not drinking, because I'd rather not feel lonely like that."
So think about the going-out experience. The first thing is, "Do I even want to go?" That's what the nootropics do — they make you engaged, chatty, and sociable, and give you a little pep in your step. The second thing is, "Will I feel the togetherness?" That's the aminos — precursors to dopamine, serotonin, and GABA — that create the happiness, pleasure, confidence, and togetherness.
And the nootropics work in different ways. Think of it as feeling fuel. If you go home for a romantic dinner, your brain pulls the relaxation, calm, togetherness, and love, and amplifies those. Take the same drink to a nightclub with music and lights, and it pulls more energy, euphoria, and upbeatness. Unlike alcohol, which is a sledgehammer, this tailors to your mood, situation, and environment — you're in control. You can have very different experiences depending on where and with whom you drink.
That's fascinating — I didn't realize the depth of that. Here we've just been enjoying one sitting down after a long day of work, with little idea of what it was really doing.
The Berry Bramble
Let's move on to the Berry Bramble — that's my favorite. A big balloon glass with crushed berries, mint, and a little squeeze of lemon. The Berry Bramble is your first drink of the night — long, refreshing, and fruity, basically an aperitif designed to ease you into the evening. I always imagine sunshine and relaxation. Cheers. I could drink this for a breakfast drink too — it's very good in place of a mimosa, a lovely Sunday morning drink. We've got a run club in New York that has a weekly Domo session after their Sunday runs.
Reading the Can
I love that your cans show the functionals in each one, so people know what they're looking for — a lot of these are familiar to people already taking supplements. Definitely — people in the biohacking world turn the can around and go, "Oh, I'm taking that." We've got GABA, 5-HTP, L-dopa, magnesium (a very absorbable form, magnesium threonate), L-theanine, Cognizin, the co-factors, the aminos, and BioPerine. GABA is your sense of harmony; 5-HTP gives a more upbeat mindset; L-dopa is that feel-good feeling; theanine is your inner calm; Cognizin is where you get that spark. BioPerine is an absorption enhancer — normally it would take an hour to an hour and a half for everything to reach your brain, but BioPerine is like a speedy boarding pass, so it's about 15 minutes. That's why the drinks work so quickly.
I like that there are no added sugars. No matter what it is — ketchup, tomato sauce — they throw sugar in everything. This is naturally sweetened from grape juice, and it all weighs in at 35 calories. You can't beat that. An alcoholic cocktail is usually 400 to 500 calories, and empty ones at that. This actually supports you.
The Spicy Watermelon Margarita
Our last one is the spicy watermelon margarita — this may be my favorite. I love it with tajín on the rim; I once did it with frozen watermelon ice cubes. This is for when you want your night to kick on — a bit more of a firecracker of a drink, designed for after dinner when you want a little pep in your step, hence the jalapeño. We're actually going to strengthen the jalapeño in the next batch to make it spicier, because our European palate isn't quite the same as the American one. This is our number-one seller — they're pretty even, but this one just edges it. Cheers.
What's Next
Anything new coming out? We've got a fourth flavor in the pipeline, probably out in the new year. The big thing we're working on is Susie's wonderful 12-day dopamine reset program. She's written an ebook that takes you through why we have the dopamine imbalance we do today — the difference between fast and slow dopamine — and gives you 12 days of things to try to reset and rebalance. Alcohol isn't terribly good for your dopamine; Domo is. It gives you a can of Domo every day plus a program covering better sleep, better food, and screens. It's been a real labor of love.
Alcohol, Menopause, and Sleep
It's also menopause month, and one of the reasons this started is that Susie went through early menopause. Your relationship with alcohol totally changes in perimenopause and menopause. One thing we notice in our practice is how significantly alcohol affects sleep during hormonal changes — even one glass of wine can derail your night, and we know how important sleep is. There was that study back in 2023 that made the link.
If you think about menopause symptoms: sleep — alcohol is bad for it, whereas things like theanine are good for it. Hot flashes — alcohol affects your internal thermostat. Mood — when you produce less estrogen and progesterone, that reduces serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, and functional drinks help build those back into balance. Brain fog — antioxidants like Cognizin help. So there's incredible benefit for people going through perimenopause or menopause to swap alcohol for functional drinks and still be out there having amazing times without the downside.
Going back to that study — where people said they don't even want to go out if they don't have a drink in hand — this is a great tool to maintain that connection, which is so important for our health and longevity.
Where to Find Domo
I'd love to know how to get Susie's Dopamine Reset — it's now sold on the website. We also have a discount code for our listeners that we'll link in the show notes. We're ridiculously open about our products — the website describes all the science and ingredients, and if you still have questions, you can email me at the bottom of the page. We love hearing from people. That's drinkdomo.com.
We really appreciate your time this morning explaining the product. This has been so much fun, and we love your products. Take care, and have a healthy day.