In 2009, Peter Nygard went on a quest that would become a defining moment in his life. The
quest was that of a son driven to find every way possible to improve his mom’s health and
extend her life.

Peter Nygard’s mom, Hilkka, had some health issues but nothing seriously life threatening at the
time. However, when she went into the hospital to have the battery in her pacemaker changed,
there was a series of complications that threatened her life.

That began the unexpected journey to new discoveries for Peter Nygard. The road led to an
exploration of stem cells. It was a long one of frantic outreach. However, Peter Nygard was able
to act quickly and get the right doctors lined up with the right facility to perform a procedure that
had a high probability of saving his Mom’s life. The surgery was scheduled.

The day before the surgery, Peter Nygard was at his Mom’s bedside. Hilkka had a message for
him. She asked her son to make her a promise. “Promise me,” she said. “Promise me that you
will take all that you have discovered and use it on yourself.” Nygard told his Mom that he was
focused on her right now and helping her to get better, but she insisted. “Promise me,” she
repeated. And he did.

Maybe Hilkka Nygard realized it was too late for herself when she begged her son to promise to
use his discoveries on himself. She died that same day never having made it to the surgery
scheduled for the next day.

Naturally, Peter Nygard and his family were devastated by the loss of the matriarch of their
family. He felt there was no better way to honor his Mom than to live up to his promise. So Peter
Nygard got to work on transforming his own health.

Before 2009, Peter Nygard had a ‘pot-belly’ and was not at his best fitness wise. He eliminated
certain things from his diet: white carbs, resaturated oils, bottled or packaged sodas or food. He
began taking supplements and established a daily workout routine. The results were that Peter Nygard went from 215 pounds down to 190 pounds, from 24% body
fat to 12%, and turned 35% fat to muscle.

Given Peter Nygard’s generous nature, he didn’t keep this to himself. He made it possible for all
the associates in his companies to become healthier and more fit also. Every NYGARD location
became equipped with a state of the art gym for associates to use. And each of the cafeterias
were mandated to only serve healthy meals.

A promise to a mom led to a transformed Peter Nygard. And NYGARD associates were also
beneficiaries.