One of the greatest lessons entrepreneur Larry Puckett regularly applies today to his business dealings may have originated from the hardest hit he took as a high school football player more than four decades. Long before becoming a successful venture capitalist, the 58-year-old linebacker was determined to dominate backfields. On this one particular play, Puckett spotted a mile-wide gap and immediately filled it in hopes of crushing the ball carrier. Instead, he was knocked cold by a blindside hit from an opponent he never saw coming.
“He cleaned my clock,” Puckett admits. “They had to wake me up and help me off the field. It was rough.”
The classic Rocky line, “It’s not about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward,” applies to this story, but for Puckett, the message was different than the famous Sylvester Stallone quote.
“You can’t rush into a hole like that and not expect someone to be there,” he says. “If there’s an open space that wide, there’s a reason for it. That’s another great lesson for business. I think about that sometimes when I’m making decisions.”
Now fully entrenched in running several multimillion-dollar enterprises, including a Houston-based logistics company, a tech startup, motion picture studio, as well a natural supplement brand, Puckett shares what he learned from that defensive miscalculation with young entrepreneurs: Before going all in on an idea, ensure you’re not blindsided by unexpected regulations and expenses. “Get a lawyer, get an accountant, and set it up right from the beginning,” he advises. “You don’t want to be backtracking and figuring out how to manage your business properly. If you’re doing it in hindsight, you’ve already got problems.”
The same principle—avoiding an unexpected hit—applied to Puckett’s health a decade ago and has reshaped his philosophy on fitness ever since. As the CEO of Theon Global, he humbly admits that anyone can succeed in business with a solid plan, but it’s impossible to sustain any success if your health becomes an issue.
When heart problems hampered his health, he sought out the best treatment—and compiled his own research—and refocused on staying fit. Hitting the weight room often—and, most importantly, with purpose—has allowed Puckett to spend quality time with his wife and family without being hindered by health issues.
“Hitting the weights has been a godsend for me,” he says. “When I approached fitness, my goal was simply to be athletic enough to keep up with my grandkids. I realized that I hadn’t been pushing myself anymore. but I learned from them that age doesn’t matter. We can do whatever we want if we want to scale up and get stronger.”
Larry Puckett
Larry Puckett Takes a Hands-on Approach to Business and His Health
As CEO of Theon Global, a holistic supplement company, Larry Puckett oversees a product lineup that includes Alpha Bios, a mineral supplement containing humic and fulvic acids; Onyx, a black seed oil; and AE17, which he describes as the first fully absorbable curcumin supplement. This trait is what Puckett believes sets his products apart from others. “We use premium turmeric grown in organic regions around the world,” he says. “And we can achieve 98% absorption of what I consider the best turmeric product on the planet.”
These products have become a regular part of Puckett’s daily routine, especially since it’s been several years since he faced his own health issues more than a decade ago. While working on a gym project with fitness trainer Colin Wayne, Puckett began noticing a sudden elevation in his blood pressure—a large enough spike to nearly reach stroke levels. This condition persisted for nearly eight years, during which he says he found no resolution. “They started adding medications, but nothing worked,” he recalls. “Every new medicine created a new symptom, but it didn’t address my blood pressure.”
This experience prompted him to conduct his own research. Ultimately, he discovered that a combination of eliminating caffeine and adding L-arginine provided a solution to his health issues. However, this research led Puckett to completely overhaul not only his supplemental intake but also his overall training routine.
“L-arginine has been probably the number one thing to help me. It’s not my product, but it helps my blood flow as it should. Throughout my journey, no doctor ever checked this. It was always me searching for answers. And finally, I found it.”
Larry Puckett
A New Fitness Routine Has Become an Everyday Routine
Larry Puckett’s workday begins with team meeting to outline the plan for the week, ensuring that everyone is on the same page, knows the expectations, and is equipped to meet the daily goals. He also spends some time alone, staring at a whiteboard and writing out the company’s long-term strategies.
This routine follows his non-negotiable morning schedule, which typically starts almost immediately after he wakes up at 5 a.m. He adheres to a five-day-a-week training program at Northside Gym in Texas.
“I wanted training to be comprehensive,” Puckett says. I needed someone to hold me accountable, someone who can see things I might not and help me overcome challenges,”
The owner, Colby Davis, along with trainer Asiah West, continually adjusts his training and nutrition to meet his specific needs. “They’re phenomenal trainers, and both are competing [in bodybuilding] this year,” he says.
Each session lasts from one hour to an hour and a half. “Mondays are for legs, Tuesdays for chest, Wednesdays for back, and so on.”
Now at 58, Puckett may not be in linebacker shape, but he admits to feeling as healthy and fit as he did decades ago. When he and his wife spend their downtime playing with their grandkids, he often feels more energetic than others his age.
“I feel strong, although a little less flexible,” he says. “My recovery time is a bit slower, but other than that, I feel really good. I feel young when I’m at the gym or out shopping, especially when I see other people my age.”
Staying fit, Puckett explains, helps him stay motivated and determined in his business endeavors. He sees similarities between building a business and the training principle of progressive overload, which involves gradually increasing the body’s workload over time.
“It makes me determined,” he says. “If I want my bench press to go from 225 to 300, how do I get there? Do I need to change the angle? Is something wrong with my forearm? Am I missing something else? You’re constantly tweaking things to try to improve, and then you start to build strength. It’s the same with business.”
Sticking to the basics has proven effective for Puckett.
“There’s nothing flashy about my nutrition,” he states. “I just keep it simple.” Although he doesn’t meal prep or count macros, he adheres to tried-and-true basics. Puckett’s meal plan begins with a post-workout protein shake, followed by a breakfast of eggs, oatmeal, and fruit, and a lunch of chicken, rice or sweet potatoes, and a salad. He opts for a regular dinner and sticks exclusively to water, rarely adding any other type of drink to his diet. He believes this approach has been effective.
As he approaches 60, Puckett emphasizes that his dedicated approach to fitness is his top priority, believing that the rest of his business and family success will fall into place. Without his health, he knows firsthand that achieving his goals would be a long shot.
“Fitness is the core of everything,” he says. “If you can’t commit to the most basic thing—taking care of your body—how can you excel at anything else? That’s why I get up at five o’clock every day and ensure I hit the gym before anything else. That way, nothing can interfere with prioritizing my fitness. I have five granddaughters, and I can’t keep up with them if I don’t stay in shape.”
