Today we’d like to introduce you to Alayna.
Hi Alayna, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My journey into the water industry actually began several years before True Source Waters existed. I discovered Enagic ionization systems and began building my business with the company in 2018. What started as a personal interest in better water quickly became something I was incredibly passionate about sharing with other people.
Over the next several years, I built my Enagic business primarily through education, referrals and online connections, helping people understand water ionization, molecular hydrogen and the different Enagic systems available for their homes. I loved what I was doing and was fortunate to build a successful business, but I kept coming back to one challenge: I wanted a better way to reach and educate people right here in my own health focused community of Santa Cruz.
Water is such an experiential product and understanding water quality is also a grey area in many peoples lives. You can explain the technology online, share research and talk about molecular hydrogen, but there is something completely different about being able to walk into a physical space, see an ionizer operating, taste the water, ask questions and experience it for yourself.
That idea eventually became the inspiration for opening a brick-and-mortar store in Santa Cruz in 2023.
I wanted to create a place that didn’t feel like a traditional sales environment. I envisioned an educational showroom where people could learn about their drinking water, explore Enagic’s water ionization systems and drink our hydrogen-rich water before ever considering purchasing a system for their own home.
Our free water program grew out of that philosophy. It gives local residents an opportunity to experience the water firsthand while participating in our Water Education Classes and learning about the technology that produces it. For me, the free water has never really been the end of the story—it was just the introduction.
The bigger mission is helping people become more educated about the water they drink every day and showing them that there are options for producing high-quality, hydrogen-rich water right in their own homes.
Opening the True Source Waters allowed me to bring together the two things I had wanted to connect for years: the Enagic business I had been building since 2018 and the Santa Cruz community that I wanted to serve locally.
Today, True Source Waters is a community watering hole, an education center and an Enagic showroom. Watching people walk through our doors knowing almost nothing about molecular hydrogen or water ionization, and then seeing them become genuinely interested in understanding their water—and in many cases eventually choosing a system for their own home—has been one of the most rewarding parts of this entire journey.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t always been a smooth road, but I think some of the biggest challenges have ultimately helped shape the business into what it is today.
One of the first challenges was simply creating a very unconventional business model. When I opened the store in 2023, there really wasn’t a roadmap for what I was trying to build. I wasn’t opening a traditional retail water store where the primary business was selling bottled or refill water. I was creating an education-based Enagic showroom where people could experience the water, learn about molecular hydrogen and water ionization, and ultimately decide whether having a system in their own home was right for them.
Giving away the water was certainly unconventional, and plenty of people questioned how that could possibly work as a business model! But I believed that education and firsthand experience were far more powerful than simply trying to sell someone an unfamiliar piece of technology.
And then there have been the normal realities of owning a small business—long hours, staffing, rising costs, learning what works and what doesn’t, and constantly adapting.
One of our biggest unexpected challenges came when we had to change the name of the business from Blue Zone Waters to True Source Waters in early 2026. We had spent two years building recognition around the original name, so rebranding an established local business while continuing to operate was daunting. But it also gave me an opportunity to step back and think about what I wanted the business to represent long-term.
True Source Waters actually feels much more aligned with where we are headed today. The goal is to help people become more curious about the source and quality of the water they drink, give them a place where they can ask questions and experience something different, and ultimately empower them to make an educated decision about the water they want in their own homes.
So no, it hasn’t been a perfectly smooth road. But I’m incredibly proud that through all of those challenges, we’ve continued to grow, evolve and stay committed to the original vision.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At the heart of what I do is water education. I specialize in Enagic water ionization systems and helping people understand the technology behind producing hydrogen-rich drinking water at home.
True Source Waters is a little different from what people typically picture when they hear “water store.” We are an education center, a working Enagic showroom and a community space. People can come in, see the systems operating, taste the water, ask questions and learn about filtration, electrolysis, water ionization and molecular hydrogen before deciding whether a home system is right for them.
I’ve been working with Enagic since 2018, so this business began long before I opened the physical store. What the storefront allowed me to do was take my years of experience educating and selling these systems and make that education tangible and accessible to my local community.
Our free water program is a big part of that experience, but it’s really the entry point rather than the end goal. It allows people to take hydrogen-rich water home, incorporate it into their everyday lives and learn more through our Water Education Classes. Instead of asking someone to make a significant investment based on a sales presentation, we give them an opportunity to experience the water physically, feel the difference and understand the technology first. If they eventually decide they want an Enagic system in their own home, they can make that decision from a much more educated place.
I think what sets us apart most is that combination of education, experience and community. There is no pressure to walk through our doors and buy a machine. Some people refill with us for a long time before they decide they’re ready for a system, and that’s okay. My job is to give people good information, answer their questions and help them understand their options.
I’m also very intentional about separating education from hype. Molecular hydrogen is an emerging area of scientific research that I find incredibly exciting, but we don’t claim that hydrogen water is a guaranteed treatment or cure for disease. I am moving towards my certification as a Molecular Hydrogen Advisor which will enable me to further develop my expertise in this field.
What I’m most proud of, though, is the community that has formed around the store. What began as an idea for a physical Enagic showroom has become a place where people know one another, bring their families and friends, attend classes, exchange ideas and genuinely care about what they’re putting into their bodies.
I’m proud that we’ve created a business where someone can walk in knowing absolutely nothing about water ionization or molecular hydrogen and leave feeling empowered to ask better questions about their water. And when someone who first discovered this technology through our store ultimately chooses to put an Enagic system in their own home, that’s especially rewarding to me—because that’s where the real long-term impact of the education begins.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Something people might be surprised to learn is that True Source Waters is definitely not my first adventure in entrepreneurship—or in doing things a little outside the box!
In the late ’90s and early 2000s, I owned a women’s surf shop, and surfing was a huge part of my life. I also surfed professionally for a period of time. Years later, I traded the surfboard for roller skates and played four seasons of roller derby with Santa Cruz Derby Girls —which probably tells you a little something about my personality!
Athletics and strength have remained a really important part of my life. These days, you’ll usually find me strength training five days a week. I love feeling strong, challenging myself and continuing to push against the idea that we’re supposed to slow down or stop setting physical goals as we get older.
Looking back, there’s actually a pretty clear thread connecting all of these chapters of my life. I’ve always been drawn to community, movement, health and entrepreneurship. Whether it was creating a space for women in surf culture decades ago, becoming part of the incredible roller derby community, or now building True Source Waters, I seem to keep finding ways to turn the things I care about into communities and businesses.
I think that history also explains a lot about how I approach True Source Waters today. I’m not particularly interested in doing things simply because that’s the way they’ve always been done. I like asking, “Could we do this differently?”—and then being willing to actually try it.
Pricing:
- Enagic K8 $5890.00
- Enagic SD501DX $5360
- Whole Home Filters $4899
- Drinking Filters $825
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.truesourcewaters.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/true_source_waters/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093217023636
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/truesourcewaters/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@truesourcewaters_co
- Other: https://share.google/nM9Jqf9RnwYrLAsIO
