Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
How does cleaning up our beaches impact our inner and outer world?
Ulrich Floresca
Ulrich Floresca is a massage therapist and former dentist who, since his 48th birthday has been living an entirely new way of life; a life of Zero Debris. When he turned 48, Ulrich chose to improve himself and the world by taking on 48 Acts of Love and Kindness, which quickly turned into a monthly international beach cleanup.
Ulrich is looking to collaborate with people around the globe to make a profound difference for Mother Earth, and to help fulfill his utopian vision. His non-profit organization currently spans 4 countries and is growing rapidly. He aims to expand Zer0 Debris so that each country and each world citizen can enjoy the benefits of having a clean internal and external environment. Ulrich is also the author of the book, Zer0 Debris.
What We Discuss With Ulrich Floresca in This Episode
- Why he started Zer0 Debris beach cleanup
- How his philosophy of zero debris applies to our inner world
- What he has learned from launching a non-profit that is now in 4 countries
- How to garner support for your passion project
- What to expect when starting a nonprofit
Transcript Highlights
How did Zero Debris and beach cleanups start for you Ulrich? (3:37)
It was December of 2017 and it was my 48th birthday. I didn’t want to throw a party. I didn’t want to do the drinking thing, the having fun cake cutting and whatever you do on a birthday. So I posted on social media, “Who wants to do 48 acts of love and kindness?”
Of course I got likes, but there was nothing in it. They didn’t pitch in what to do. So in my training and development, which I go to Landmark Worldwide, there’s a coach. I called her up and I said, “Coach, what are good 48 acts of love and kindness?”
And she nonchalantly said, “Go to the beach, pick up bottles, and pick up the trash.”
I said, “Oh my God, that’s good.” So I posted it again. “Who wants to do 48 acts of loving kindness and go to the beach with me and pick up bottles?”
A good friend of mine who’s also doing some training and development in Landmark Worldwide said, “I’m down bro. Tell me when.”
So we met December 16, 2017. We had gloves, trash liners and we were picking up trash from the street towards the beach. It was so early in the morning, and there were two female joggers who saw us and said, “Oh my God, you guys, that’s so awesome. That’s amazing.”
Something shifted and the shift was, “Why don’t we invite people to do this once a month?”
I said, “Yeah, let’s do this until it’s zero debris.” And so we stopped and he said, “Register the name.”
So that’s how it all started. Zer0 Debris is now a non-profit organization and has spanned for four countries, including the USA, Mexico, Nepal, and the Philippines where I am from.
I love the fact that the beach cleanup wasn’t a big plan. Even if you don’t have all the answers, if you’re out there and you’re making things happen, and you’re getting into the game, you will figure it out. And people are going to start to show up to help you. (7:22)
That’s so true, and thank you for touching on the game because Zer0 Debris is more than a beach cleanup. That dawned on me because like what you said, it’s a game. So what type of game are you playing?
My game is zeroing the debris inside of me because that’s where it all starts; the debris of resentment, anger, jealousy, envy, knowing it all or whatever debris that you have. And the first and foremost thing is accepting and admitting that we have debris inside of us.
The environment is filthy right now. We ourselves are an environment. We clean ourselves first before we can be a space of love, generosity, and kindness. It became a daily routine for me in order for me to be a space of kindness and generosity.
I love what you shared about the correlation – that having a zero debris life is more than beach cleanups once a month. It’s about how you live and I see that on you because you’ve got this beautiful smile and you’re happy and have enthusiasm. You exude that joy, peace and love.
That’s a good way to see it because that’s how I was able to write the book. And the book’s title is Zer0 Debris: A Way Of Life. Look at your fridge. Do you think everything inside your fridge is healthy? So that’s one part of the chapter of the book. I talk about zero debris inside the fridge.
You start from where you are at and that is the profoundness of what you have as an idea of what you want to impart to the world – as a being, as a leader, as a transformed human. And that’s basically what the book is all about. Our internal state is a reflection of who we are inside of us towards the external.
I find that the people that I’ve met that have that zero debris on the inside, they need less stuff on the outside. I noticed that for myself too. I don’t actually need all this stuff because I am whole and complete in myself. And so then I actually have more clean space that I can fill with the things that are more meaningful. The joy, love, peace, wonderful relationships and so forth. (11:30)
The intangible things that keep us alive. I have shifted my thinking, like you’re not going to wear ten pair of shoes at the same time, you’re not going to wear five watches at the same time. Stop. And so that is where I pick out the nitty gritty debris that I admit, “This is you, but this is not you now.”
So Zer0 Debris became a movement, not just for organizations in those four countries, but it became a movement for myself.
I was eating an ice cream one time. The ice cream was done and I threw out the piece of wrapper and as I walked a few steps, I said, “What the hell.” So I went back and picked up the wrapper and threw it away. It becomes an instinct for you.
I am zero debris. Are you really zero debris? How about that person that you that just yelled at? You admit to it and then you go back, and complete that with that person. Shake the hands of the person bro. “I’m so sorry I was such a jerk.”
And like you said, we have relationships where we just unload on people with all the debris that we have and we don’t even take into consideration that this person might be also clearing up the clutter that they have in their lives. That is how we impact people. And like all the other leaders that you have interviewed with all the things that are going on around them, you provided that space because you have calm, peace and that profound love in you that people could also identify with.
You attract different people. It’s not about even just having less; it’s about having quality – the things that you have value. Right? Zero debris is a better quality of life for us, but it’s also a better quality of life for everyone around us because of how we’re going to show up in the world. (16:48)
That is impactful because that is where I started accepting the responsibility of my failed marriage and due to the training and development from Landmark Worldwide, I was able to talk with her and zero that out. I admitted, “Hey, I am responsible for whatever happened in our marriage. I am responsible for this. I am responsible for that and all I have here. The reason why I’m talking to you is I’m asking that you have the space to forgive.”
I think that is the best part of what a zero debris life is all about. It’s starting from you. Because the space that you provide for people, that is where the ideas pop up, “Oh I can do this and no matter what happens I’m going to do this.”
Look at Zer0 Debris. There is no structure, and no form. It’s a non-profit organization that I don’t even know who’s going support me.
Who’s going to be there? Who’s going to fund me? I don’t think about those things. I just think about what I gave my word to. That once a month we’re going to be at the beach.
There were moments; I am not going to kid you – authentically speaking, on a Saturday morning at 7:30am, who wants to wake up? One time, it was just me and my two boys at the beach. I said, “Oh my God, nobody’s coming.”
And they told me, “Dad, what did you give your word to?”
And it hit me. Oh well I said that I was going to be here. I’m going to clean the shorelines, I’m going to pick up trash. They’re now 14 and 20 years old. They said, “You live up to what you give your word to.”
And so, if you have an idea, something that you know your heart is going to burst out if you don’t do it, just do it. Don’t ask why. Ask, what are you standing for? What do you want to deliver? What do you want to impact the world with? We’re all leaders in our own right. Let’s transform the world as it is, as it was, because we only have planet A, right? We don’t have planet B. We only have one life. We only have ourselves. Hey alone, you’re just one. But add a zero, you’ll become 10.
You talk about being there by yourself and then Hamid coming along board, and your sons. Tell a little bit about some of the people that support you and your beach cleanup. (19:45)
So January 20, 2018 was the first event. I posted it on Facebook. We didn’t have shirts, we didn’t have a tent. A friend of mine who’s from my church named Marisol, said, “Ulrich, what do you need?”
I said, “We need shirts. We need a tent.” She just said, “I’ll take care of the tent.”
So it’s a nonprofit organization and people just pitch in whatever they can. This backdrop, this logo right here, this was given by a marketing team. They said, “Let us provide a logo for you that we could develop into an app. If people want to donate, they’re just going to click on it.”
So we’re working on that and it is who we are as a contribution to the world. No matter how big or small, it’s not about the money, it’s not about the costs, it’s about the value; the value that you want people to be with.
I approached you Nicole, Leaders of Transformation, not because of the podcast. I came to you because there’s value in the program and that value is expanding leaders and making sure that people get it. Like I said, we are all leaders in our own right. Whatever idea you have it’s going to expand. You just don’t know. So stop saying that you can’t do it. “Oh, I don’t have the funds. I am not a billionaire yet.”
But here I am with four countries. I haven’t been in Nepal, I haven’t been in Mexico. It’s not about where you are at. It’s about where you’re standing. And from where you stand, you just expand yourself, expand your being, and you become a contribution to yourself first.
That’s beautiful. Your next beach cleanup. I know you do these every month and so March 15th and April 18th are the next couple of dates. Listeners, if you’re local to LA, they meet at the Santa Monica pier, lifeguard Tower 20, 9:00am to 12pm. If you’re listening to this later and you want to find out when the next time is, you can go to their website at zer0debris.org. If you’re in another country or another location across the USA and you want to start this, on the website is a startup kit. Ulrich, tell us about that. (22:28)
Anybody, anywhere – wherever country or state that you’re in and you want to be part of this or you want to start your own. We have a startup kit and the startup kit is basically 12 shirts, a tent and some seed funding.
From then on you could approach private sectors or even the government itself and ask for funding. That’s how the nonprofit works. Make sure that when you say nonprofit, your mind is not budget-oriented. Like I said, I am not a billionaire yet, but I am a billionaire by friends, followers and people across the world who wants to do a cleanup, not just for their place but for their lives.
I love your energy and if anybody knows what it’s like to deliver a message, to present, or to be interviewed on a podcast – it’s one thing to pour everything that you have out and it’s another thing to do it again right after. And that’s what we’ve done here today. And I think if it was possible to be better than the first one, I think we made it. Everything happens for a reason. I so appreciate who you are, and your heart, passion and enthusiasm is contagious.
Thank you for recognizing my enthusiasm and passion because there are a lot of us who have a lot on their mind, a lot in their heart that they want to provide, as who they are, men and women of this planet. It’s surreal to think that, we’re soon to be 26 months in – 26 months, rain or shine, no matter what we are there on the beach because that is what I stand for.
You want to make an impact and transform the world and who knows? Yes, you’re alone today. You might be having a lot of supporters by tomorrow. You just don’t know. For me and my friend Hamid, there was one month that we were able to gather a group of 37 people. But that was summer and everybody loves to be on the beach. Last January 12th, we had 19 supporters and volunteers who came.
It’s amazing that the local residents can identify who we are now. The tent, the shirts, who we are and what we do – Zer0 Debris. “Oh, they’re here”, and they pitch in.
Stand for what you deem has value and no matter what, who cares? I’m doing this because I like to do this. I love to do this. I’m not the only beach cleanup, but I’m still here. I’m still having fun and impacting the world the way that I can.
So whatever it is, even if it’s about dog grooming or cat grooming or whatever, it’s not about how many, it’s about you; the value that you’re up to. Stay the course.
Episode Resources 
Zer0 Debris: A Way Of Life (book)
Connect With Ulrich Floresca and Get Involved
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora or Stitcher.
Did You Enjoy The Podcast?
If you like this episode let us know! Reviews for the podcast on iTunes are greatly appreciated. This helps us reach more entrepreneurs seeking to make a positive impact in the world. If you received value from this episode, it would mean so much if you could take a moment and leave your 5-star rating and review. You can do that by visiting here. Thank you! Together we can make a difference!
