When I first set out to build something a year ago, I had no plans to launch a website.
But after hearing the same feedback month after month, year after year, I realized it needed a home something people could actually use, not just a passing conversation.
The question that kept coming up?
“How do you remember all this random s*?”**
I usually tailor my answer to whatever the person is ready to hear no need to open doors they’re not equipped to walk through yet.
But here’s the real story:
I’ve lived with some form of C-PTSD for as long as I can remember.
Early on, I learned something brutal but effective:
If I could understand the world well enough, maybe I could control it just enough to keep it from hurting me.
That didn’t turn me into a classic data driven know it all, but I’ve walked into more than a few conversations already knowing enough to be dangerous and usually, effective.
Where It All Started
If I had to trace it back to a single moment, it would be when I was seven years old.
Sitting at our front yard picnic table in the countryside, my mom handed me a science encyclopedia. I still remember the first page I opened: Jupiter my favorite planet.
Only recently did I learn why she gave me that book.
We’d just gotten back from a library trip that I don’t remember, but she does.
During that visit, she couldn’t find me in the children’s section and understandably got a little worried.
She asked the librarian if she’d seen me.
“He’s in the non-fiction section,” the librarian replied.
“He said he wanted to read books that were truthful.”
That’s where the journey really began.
From Survival to Strategy
Even now, I still love reading Wikipedia, Scientific American, and peer reviewed research.
Whether I’m upgrading my gear, changing my diet, or investing in new tools, I start by separating what matters from what’s just noise.
After decades of this habit, it’s no surprise I always seem to have insights most people haven’t heard before.
One story that sticks with me:
A year ago on a hike, I told a group of friends I had recently cut nearly all plastic from my food chain.
A few people replied that food plastics are now “BPA-free,” so they must be safe.
I pushed back:
“They’re just using other bisphenols now like BPS or BPF which can be just as bad, or worse.”
Some tuned out. One guy stayed curious, asked questions, and said he’d look into it.
I figured that would be the end of it like most conversations.
But the next time we met, he surprised me.
He was excited to tell me I was right and a bit exasperated about having to make changes.
He asked where to start. So I gave him a few pointers and shared what’s worked for me.
Why I Built LastingEco
That’s when it clicked.
I didn’t just enjoy doing the research, I wanted to share it.
Not just in one off conversations, but at scale. Because let’s face it: too many products are all hype and no backbone.
They promise sustainability or innovation but fall apart faster than a Tesler Cybertruck door panel under pressure.
I wanted to build something that cuts through that noise. Friends and past partners had said it before:
“Can you just research this and tell me what to buy so I don’t have to waste hours figuring it out?”
For a long time, I brushed it off.
“I’m not a researcher I’m a physicist,” I’d say. But the truth is: I’ve always been both.
Eventually, I realized that what started as survival, reading everything I could to make sense of the world, had become a skill people actually needed. So I stopped gatekeeping my own brain and started building something real.
That’s how LastingEco was born.
The Deep Dives you’ll find here come from the same place this story does:
Decades of lived experience, obsessive curiosity, and a relentless drive to separate truth from noise.
Thanks for reading.
– Nate
P.S.
Yes, I’ve researched the hell out of my own trauma too.
C-PTSD doesn’t run the show anymore. But without it, none of this would exist.
If you’re struggling with it, please seek help from a licensed medical professional.
Don’t wait—it was the best decision I’ve ever made.
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💬 Not sure where to start or how this applies to your life?
You’re not alone and that’s exactly why I built LastingEco.
Drop a comment below with your questions, doubts, or something you’ve been wrestling with. I read every one and I’d love to help you figure out your next step.
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