Entrepreneur Champions Health Through Community, Recreation, and Nutrition

By R. Gabriel Villalobos

In an unassuming space on South Canal Street sits Grind Time coffee, where Antwane Huff is building an empire of wellbeing, one smoothie at a time. Walking into his business, a small RC race car track is the first thing that catches the eye. A man and a young boy are enthralled in a scaled-down race around perilous turns and straightaways. In the next room over, hard at work filling orders, is the man behind it all.

Huff, a Carlsbad native who returned here 15 years ago, is a man of many trades. He is the owner of two local vape shops, a personal trainer, an RC car enthusiast, and the proprietor of a coffee and tea shop that doubles as his headquarters. But at the core of his diverse ventures is a profound personal transformation that now fuels his mission to educate his community.

A journey that Began a Decade Ago with a Series of Family Tragedies

“I had family members die suddenly, and it caused me to start researching heart disease and things of that nature,” Huff said, “which led me to a plant-based lifestyle.”

This research coincided with his own health crisis. Tipping the scales at over 380 pounds, Huff decided to make a change. Through fasting, a fully plant-based diet, and 40 minutes of daily exercise, he lost 180 pounds in less than a year—without medication.

“I saw a complete 180 in myself,” he said. “It’s all about supplementation. Everything the human body suffers is due to a mineral deficiency.”

This revelation became the cornerstone of his new life and his budding businesses. He launched a sea moss company, selling the mineral-rich seaweed online, and began incorporating it into the drinks at his coffee shop, which he opened two years ago.

“Sea moss has 84 minerals. It’s like taking all your vitamins for the day, but it tastes good,” Huff explained, noting it blends seamlessly into his smoothies and frozen lemonades. “Most people, when they think of health food, they think it’s gross. No one wants something that tastes like the earth.”

His approach is pragmatic, not preachy. He avoids branding his shop as a “health food place,” focusing instead on creating delicious, accessible alternatives to what he calls the “poison” of the modern diet.

“Most people just don’t know. You don’t know what you don’t know until someone points you in the right direction,” Huff said. “We live in an age where we have access to all the world’s knowledge, and to be ignorant is a choice at this point.”

This desire to inform extends to his work as a personal trainer, where he operates out of a dedicated space in his shop. All his clients come to him through word-of-mouth, a point of pride.

His shop is also an herbal apothecary. He boasts of having “more tea than China,” each blend crafted for a specific purpose.

“Can’t sleep, need energy, digestion, high blood pressure, hormonal balance…you name it, we’ve got something,” Huff said. His belief is that many physical and mental ailments, including low serotonin, are rooted in gut health, which is compromised by a poor diet.

A Man Critical of a Medical System He Sees as Prioritizing Medication Over Cure

“The third leading cause of death is medical malpractice,” Huff said. “You haven’t really heard of a doctor who’s healed someone. You’re on this medication for the rest of your life. So, I think the goal in life is to heal, not to medicate.”

After researching this statistic, confirming the third ranking is challenging, but the estimated total, including diagnostic errors, places the number above 350,000 deaths annually.

For now, his offerings are drink-based—smoothies, smoothie bowls, and his extensive line of teas. But his vision is expanding. He plans to eventually open his lobby to offer a full range of plant-based food items, creating a one-stop destination for those seeking an alternative path to health.

For those interested in starting their own transformation, Huff is deliberately low-tech. He can be found on-site most days and prefers direct contact. Grind Time is located at 1724 S. Canal St. and closes at noon most days.