Welcome to The Vital Life, where we spotlight Vital Proteins employees. This week, digital operations developer Alex Pojman gives us an inside peek his day.
My day typically begins around 7:00 A.M., immediately being pounced on by a muppet/dog (shout-out to @surly_thecockapoo) or yelled at by a hangry cat (shout-out to @insta_stewie). I’m definitely NOT a morning person, but slowly trying to shift my schedule so there’s a bit more time before work to relax and ease into the day. After getting ready, I’ll grab my bike and start making my way towards Vital HQ. I’m originally from Minneapolis, which has a huge bike culture, so I try to bike to work as often as possible. Fully planning on being one of those crazy bike commuters with a fat-tire bike and ski goggles come winter!
Instead of going straight to the office, I often start my day with a rock climbing or bouldering session at the local climbing gym, Brooklyn Boulders. Going early in the morning has been my absolute favorite way to wake up, since the climbing walls are completely open, and I can really get into a calm, meditative state of mind. It’s a great mix of physical and mental workouts that I definitely recommend trying out!
Once the work day begins, I’ll grab a Blueberry Mint Collagen Water and a cup of Vital Coffee before getting started on some projects. At Vital, I’m the developer for the e-commerce team, which means my days are filled with writing code, making updates to the website or planning out new features and projects (like the Lively redesign!). One of the things that I really love about my job is that my role is cross-functional, so I get the chance to work with a lot of different teams. We have a ton of super talented people with different backgrounds at Vital, and it’s awesome when we can all come together to create something that wouldn’t have been otherwise possible.
After work, it’s time to head home and take my dog, Surly, for a walk. He’s as lazy as he is floofy, so it’s not long before we head back home and start making dinner. My girlfriend and I have been trying to meal-prep more regularly, and we’ve been experimenting with new recipes by putting our slow-cooker to good use! The current go-to is a delicious Mississippi pot roast with pepperoncini, onions and Beef Bone Broth Collagen. My other recent cooking obsession is baking sourdough bread. I have a wild yeast starter aptly named “Doug” (he’s not quite dough yet) that needs to be fed with fresh flour every night to stay healthy and active. It’s not easy being a sourdough dad, but it’s rewarding knowing that Doug is also trying to #StayVital.
At night, my free time is spent working on one of my many side projects. I’m a massive tech nerd, photographer and musician, so I’m always tinkering with ideas that bridge those worlds. Right now, I’m producing a hip-hop album and developing a mobile game with a friend of mine! It’s extremely important to me to have a separate creative outlet outside of work as the positive/creative energy tends to carry back over to my work at Vital. At around 11 P.M., it’s time to get some sleep and do it all again!
