EJ Snyder: the conversation

Mornings in the Lab · Interview transcript

Keith: We've got a legend returning to the lab today. Army ranger, extreme survivalist, and the founder of Freedom Pickles, EJ. Jon: We're keeping things completely professional today. No distractions, just digging deep into mindset, business, and raw survival. Keith: Let's bring him up. EJ Snyder, what's going on, brother? EJ: What's going on, guys? Thanks for having me back. That's awesome. Good morning, everybody. Keith: How are you, brother? Jon: THE PICKLEMAN. How are you, pal? Good to see you this morning, brother. EJ: Doing good. Got Freedom Frank hanging out with me this morning. Things have been going really good. I heard you guys earlier talking about some entrepreneurship stuff and business and percentages and stuff. And man, there's nothing for me more Americana than being a business owner — something I've always wanted to do since I was a kid. EJ: I had my first paper route as a kid and I figured out monopolizing. We had five paper routes in the town and the only reason I had — you have to have a motivation, a purpose why you want to have a business. So for me we had Toughskins jeans as a kid. And I was like, you get made fun of at school and I was like man I want some Levis. So how do I do it? My mom's working three jobs. Me and my kid brother are sitting here in Toughskins. I'm like, you know what? I'll get a paper route. The only purpose was to buy a pair of Levis for me and one for my kid brother. EJ: Well, I started figuring out — man, the more money I get, I can go get a new bike. I could do this. And then next thing I knew, I had took over all the paper routes in town. I had hired my brother and my best friend to work for me. I told them, 'Listen, you give me your paper route, I'll give you 10% of what I collect for tips and you could just go off and do whatever you want to do.' So I've always had that in my spirit. Keith: EJ, tell John and Keith and our audience why the pickles that are currently in our fridge are killing us compared to the pickles that you're serving us. EJ: You know, John will appreciate this too. Me always being a fitness guy, a health-conscious guy — and my daughter who is five months pregnant — I think about the pregnant women out there thinking they're drinking brine for health. The other companies are using either a firming agent or a preservative or yellow number five — that stuff is poison. Those have been known and linked back to cancer and other health issues. So here you think you're getting a healthy snack but they're drinking really a lot of chemicals and garbage. EJ: When you scan our label, you get a 90 on the Yuka app, making us one of the healthiest pickles in the market right now. We always say, 'Come taste what freedom is all about. It's not about freedom of country. It's about freedom of chemicals, freedom to choose a product that's healthy for you.' So when my pregnant daughter's drinking the brine or eating a pickle, my future grandson isn't also being affected by bad choices. --- [From Episode 1 — January 9, 2026, with Dr. John Petrocelli] Keith: What kind of man, John, gets eight stitches in his scrotum in the middle of the Louisiana swamp with no anesthesia, no antibiotics, and a medic telling him he could lose his manhood or die from infection. And then he says, 'Stitch me up. I'm staying.' The kind of man who's never tapped out in 206 days of brutal survival challenges. Keith: EJ spent 25 years as an Army Ranger, two wars, a career built around pressure, discipline, and consequences. After the military, he stepped into extreme survival — six Naked and Afraid challenges, over 200 days, zero quits, starvation, illness, isolation, conditions that strip everything away except how you respond. EJ: Well, John, if you haven't watched this show Naked and Afraid — they call me the godfather of Naked and Afraid. That was my first 60-day legends challenge. I was 21 days in when the injury happened. They said I could go home. And I said no. I'm not leaving. The mission is 60 days and I ain't leaving. EJ: She stitches me up. Eight stitches, two places. Then she says, 'Doctor's orders — you got to keep it clean.' I look around, I'm covered in mud. 'You got to keep it dry.' It rains twice. 'You got to get in the water to get fish.' She says I can't do anything for 10 to 14 days. I said, 'Okay, is that it? All right, help me get up. The sun's going down and I got to get firewood. Let's go.' Keith: So EJ, dude, you're an inspiring man. I certainly appreciate you hanging out with us. I love your energy. I love what you bring to the show. The energy you bring is exceptional. I know we're gonna grab coffee later today. Again, quick plug — how can folks connect with EJ and Freedom Pickles? EJ: For EJ, just go to ejsnyder.com. You got all things EJ there. All my social media links. Instagram, TikTok, X — go to ejsnyder333. For Facebook, just go to EJ Snyder — you'll see 215,000 followers there. On YouTube, go to Survive with EJ. Please subscribe. freedompickles.com for all things pickles. ORDER SOME PICKLES. JOIN OUR PICKLE CLUB. WE NEED YOU FOR THE SPECIAL CRUNCH FORCES.