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Paul Morin

BOARD MEMBER INTROSPECTIVE:

PAUL MORIN

There are advantages and disadvantages to being a musician. Among the advantages bestowed upon musicians, it seems that musical training enhances their ability to recognize emotion in speech and other sounds. A recent study published in the European Journal of Neuroscience showed that musicians' brains respond more quickly and accurately than the brains of non-musicians in zeroing in on emotional content in speech and sounds, and that the more years of musical experience people had and the earlier they began their music studies, the better the ability of the nervous system to process emotion in sound.

Musically Talented

NHF Board of Governors Member Paul Morin may not have been born a musician, but it did not take long for him to become one. Born and reared in Southern California, Paul had two sisters who also helped him tune his ears to emotional nuances in speech. He had an otherwise-typical American upbringing that included “growing up in the garage” with his father, tinkering on mechanical things, even rebuilding a Honda motorbike, and just generally developing problem-solving skills. At the age of 12, Paul was asked by his Junior High School Band Director if he wanted to play a musical instrument. Thinking about it for an instant, Paul quickly replied, “Yes, the violin.” But the violin led to a passion for the string bass and dedicated musical training.

Three years passed and this training landed Paul a performance at the famous Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. One year later and a 16-year-old Paul launched himself into a professional career playing the bass in Las Vegas at the Riviera Hotel with John Davidson (known to many for years as the host of the TV series Hollywood Squares). Paul worked with John off and on for years afterward and learned much about the profession of music. All of this took place while Paul was attending Van Nuys High School and then California State University, Northridge, all busy years for the young musician and student.

Next, though, came a two-year tour playing music for The Ice Follies, the ice-skating troupe that performs throughout the World. By age 25, Paul was playing for the popular singers The Pointer Sisters, even touring Australia with them while they performed. Later still came string-bass playing for several well-known films, including Sideways.

Inclined to Health

Blessed with robust good health, Paul never really had to think about health issues until his mother became seriously ill. Although he had become interested in good nutrition in 1994 when he first began taking and selling USANA Health Sciences products, it was his mother’s illness that motivated him the most.

Unfortunately, Paul’s mother (who was taking 14 different prescription medications, with most of them prescribed to counteract the side-effects of the others) refused to consider his suggested nutritional approaches to regaining her health and became increasingly ill. It finally reached the point where dialysis was necessary, which she refused. She died a week later. This cemented Paul’s desire to study and use holistic alternative health practices whenever possible.

Morin Environmental

This desire led Paul down the path of studying devices that could protect health by cleaning the immediate breathing environment of home and office, particularly air-purification products that sanitize indoor air. Paul’s research into this area uncovered a safe and non-toxic device based upon technology originally developed by NASA to scrub the air in the International Space Station. Paul found that it would destroy bacteria, mold, and viruses in the air and on surfaces, reducing and preventing the spread of illness. Tests done at Kansas State University's Food Science Department and the University of Cincinnati have documented the device’s effectiveness in killing such harmful pathogens as MRSA, e-coli, black mold, and Avian Bird Flu virus.

Convinced, Paul started Morin Environmental to sell these special air-cleansing devices to help people create healthy environments using safe and environmentally-friendly green technologies. He and his wife Susan Negus Morin themselves use a variety of these devices in their home and even when they travel.

Health Freedom

Since even before being elected to the NHF Board earlier this year, Paul has been a strong promoter of health freedom. Active on the Board and eager to do what is necessary to preserve and enlarge our health freedoms, Paul Morin knows very well that not only his and our future health depend upon it, but also the future health of his two teenage sons. Even his trained musician’s ear is not necessary to sift out the subtle emotional nuances of cries for health and health freedom.