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Muscle Maker Grill founder is 'serious as a heart attack' about winning US presidency

Muscle Maker Grill’s founder, Rod Silva, has entered into the 2016 U.S. presidential race, hoping that his passion to help Americans become healthy will resonate with voters.

November 10, 2015 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Muscle Maker Grill’s founder, Rod Silva, is flexing his political muscle. He’s officially entered into the 2016 U.S. presidential race, hoping that his passion to help Americans become healthy will resonate with voters.

"My campaign platform is heavily focused on first addressing serious issues taking place at home here in America, like the increasing rates of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension, cholesterol and other health-related complications — all resulting from poor eating choices. Focusing on issues like the economy, foreign affairs and tax reform are important, but if we don’t live long enough to enjoy the benefits of living in the free world, then what is the point?"

As the son of immigrants raised to believe that anything is possible in America if you work hard, Silva’s story is the ultimate American dream.

"We were the first health food-conscious brand on the block, before it became a fashionable trend," he said. "I put the entire financial future of my family on the line in a quest to make my American dream a reality.Today, I am proud to say that by being smart and doing things the right way, we have grown to nearly 60 locations operating in 11 states with 200 more currently in development."

Silva wants to extend his success to the American people. The self-described "Washington outsider" said he’s the best choice to run the country as he’s under no obligation to make deals in return for political back-scratching. As a successful entrepreneur, he said he understands the current business and economic challenges and how to improve them.

"I have created hundreds of jobs within the communities Muscle Maker Grill serves," Silva said. "I will make decisions that benefit the American people — not special interest groups, and I strongly believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which is the foundation of this great nation. My administration will Make America Healthy Again."

Getting the message out

Silva’s team is relying on a combination of press and grassroots outreach to earn public support. He will begin traveling the country in the coming months to meet with voters, share the specific details of his platform and gather their thoughts on the health of America.

"During that time, we’ll gather signatures that will help us get added to ballots while spreading our message," Silva said. "I’ve been speaking with people for years about this. Upon telling people that I planned to run, I received amazing support and encouragement from people all over the country. So we’re going to continue to fight the good fight all the way to the end."

Running for president isn’t cheap

Although it usually takes millions of dollars to run a successful campaign, Silva said fundraising is not the focal point of his campaign. He doesn’t have budgets for big national ad buys, so volunteers are more important than raising money. In fact,  they are the key in securing enough petitions to get his name on the ballot, said Silva, who admits that independents must be a bit more scrappy to reach voters.

"The force of this campaign is possible because of the like-minded people who are volunteering their time to help spread the word and secure signatures that will enable us to be added to ballots nationwide," he said. "Many of which have lost someone prematurely due to serious preventable health issues, or simply people who have turned their own lives around through better food choices and exercise. They believe in what we’re doing and they are helping to make a substantial impact."

Volunteers can sign up at www.RodSilva2016.com.

"I encourage people who believe in my message of health and wellness to contact their local office of elections and request to have Rod Silva added to the ballot in their state," he said. "We’ve got a long way to go, but we believe we can do it! We’re as serious as a heart attack about winning."

Silva hopes his campaign will shed light on  the staggering health problems in the country, including that:

• High cholesterol is the leading cause of death in the United States affecting about 71 million American adults (CDC)
• 20 states have an obesity rate of 30 percent or higher, and it keeps getting larger every year (State of Obesity in America)
• 86 million U.S. residents ages 20 and older have prediabetes (American Diabetes Association)
• And high blood pressure costs the nation $46 billion each year, which includes the cost of health care services, medications to treat high blood pressure and missed days of work.

"My goal is to encourage all Americans to put their health first," said Silva, who lost his father to a heart attack. "We need to take a step back and seriously open our eyes to our nation’s terrible state of health. We need to keep this issue in the forefront because it’s slowly killing us and it is also wreaking havoc on our healthcare system — which has a ripple effect on the economy overall."

Silva said the nation must stop treating complications once they arise, and instead should take an approach of prevention.

"We will Make America Healthy Again," he said. "Michelle Obama took on this issue, made progress and was a terrific ambassador for the cause — which I applaud her for. But realistically, we haven’t even scratched the surface. There’s a of work left to be done, and nutrition education is the focal point. We will make every effort between now and election day to keep this serious, serious issue in the spotlight. We will encourage everyone to focus on improving their health in a positive and productive way — and we’ll roll out program suggestions to get it done."

Silva’s stance on minimum-wage increases

One of the biggest issues facing not only Americans today but the food industry specifically is the debate over raising the minimum wage. Workers from hundreds of cities went on strike today, which marks exactly one year from the 2016 election, in hopes of getting candidates to pay attention to their demands of raising  the wage to $15 per hour.

Silva doesn’t support the effort, saying it sounds like a great solution on the surface but is just a smokescreen created by the Federal government to withhold more taxes from the worker.

"It sounds glamorous on the surface, but people should not rush to judgment as it isn’t exactly what it seems," he said. "This increase would cause employer and employee taxes to increase. It would also cause the cost of goods to go up. The main winner in this instance is the government as they are now raking in more tax dollars from the employer and employee. The biggest loser in this situation is the consumers as the cost increases are passed along to them.

"So it’s a great idea in theory, but its efficacy needs to be further analyzed. As President of the United States, I will not only help make America healthy again, but I will bring together the sharpest economists in the country to help figure out a solution that benefits everyone, and that solution is to create more higher-paying jobs."

About Cherryh Cansler

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Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

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