Interview with Pauline Cox from Sow & Arrow

Sow and Arrow opened initially as a healthy keto and low carb cafe on Old Street in Clevedon. During the first lockdown, they turned the cafe into a shop selling high quality keto, gluten-free and low carb products and fresh goods. 

Since taking on my physical and mental health, it’s a store I frequent often. I love everything about it; the products are amazing and it’s run with a genuine passion which oozes out of everything their founders, Pauline and Gary do.

I spoke with Pauline to find out more. 

Why do you do what you do?

We are passionate about empowering people with the information that can transform their lives and improve their mental and physical health. We want to help everyone to live their best lives, whether that’s running a marathon or simply getting up and feeling good in the morning.

I provide the tools so people can understand and learn how best to work with themselves to maximise and optimize the different systems in the body. This is done by providing the knowledge on the things that make a difference to health, such as sleep, eating in a certain way to optimize energy; cognitive function, like memory, mental clarity and recall, as well as mood and how they feel about themselves.

I liken myself to a detective working out what’s going on in the body and exploring where we can make a difference.

I also work with groups, do a lot of speaking at events and run courses such as the Ultimate Health Program which I am running again in January,

Tell me a bit about you and what led you to this work.

I grew up in Wales. My dad was a policeman, and we moved around a lot. I even did my A levels in an all speaking Welsh school.

Leaving home at 17, I ventured over the bridge to Bristol to attend Bristol University. There I got a Bsc in Anatomical Science which led to a lifelong love of human science and understanding of the human body. Thinking hard about what I could do to help people and still enjoy the science of human anatomy, I went on to study for a Physiotherapy degree. During that time, I also worked part time as a carer and a receptionist in a clinic. 

Armed with a thorough understanding of how to run a practice, I opened my own. Always wanting to better my skills I continued to train in the US and Canada, learning all the best techniques I could. 

Over that time, I saw a lot of inflammatory conditions , in the practice and thought there must be more to this than physically putting my hands on people. I wondered what was behind it all, so got interested in nutrition and the influence it has over our health.

Before I knew it, I was studying for another Master’s degree, in Nutrition and Public Health. I became fascinated with getting to the root cause of problem and passionate about arming individuals with the tools and knowledge to look after their health.

I am now taking my learning to a whole new level by studying for another Master’s in Integrated Medicine.

Tell me more about Sow and Arrow.

Eleven years ago, my own health was suffering. Luckily I had all the knowledge on how to heal myself. Yet I was frustrated by having to search high and low for the foods and products I wanted. So, my husband and I put our heads together and designed what we felt was missing from the high street. Sow & Arrow began as a cafe and shop which was gluten-free, grain free, and focused on blood sugar stability, gut health, low sugar and low carb.

I asked Pauline more:

We opened Sow & Arrow because we wanted everyone to have easy access to what we could not find, good quality food, nutrition and products with the backing of knowledge to give people the tools to thrive.

We are passionate about the quality of product we sell and take traditional foods like Bakewell tarts and muffins and make them so they work with gut health and human physiology.

How did the name come about?

‘Sow & Arrow” is a play on ‘bow and arrow’, and refers to our ancestral health. We believe humans should eat congruently with their ancestral health. ‘Sow’ refers to the plants and ‘Arrow’ to the meat, which is the basis of what we teach - eating good quality organic vegetable and wild pasteurised meat.

Why Clevedon?

We could have gone to Bristol, we would definitely of had more foot fall there, but I had lived in Clevedon since 2005 and a big part of my heart is here. Plus, we wanted to get the support of the community and give something back that would really benefit the local area.

We thought long and hard about the location of the store. Our mission is ‘health should be accessible to everyone’, so we wanted to be in a part of town that was accessible, not exclusive. It was important that we attracted people from all areas of Clevedon based on what we do and not where we were located.

You have a wealth of knowledge. What else do you offer?

I began teaching courses to help others get to the root cause of their health problems. When Covid happened, my one-to-one work turned into group work and we moved it all online. 

With my training and qualifications, I could charge a lot for what I do, but it’s not about that. I always come from the mission that the people who need the help need to be able to access it.

I met Sarah Matyasik two years ago when she did my four week Ultimate Health Programme. She was interested in health and wanted to further her knowledge. We got to know each other through the store and found we had similar energy and outlook on life. This led to us joining forces to use our skills to help and reach more people. The Health Mastery membership was born.

It’s all about creating a community for people to learn and grow together and support each other.

The main benefit is the supportive environment with the information and learning tools to help you get started on your journey. It’s now packed full of 28 live videos covering all aspects of health.

Members start with the first videos covering the basics, fat for fuel, gut health, liver function - the fundamental pillars of health. Then you can choose to go to bits that are right for you. For 2022 we are adding in a monthly Live Q&A where you can come on and ask anything and get support.

All members get a 15% discount for Sow &Arrow and a lot of people join the membership for just that. 

You wrote a book - tell me more about that.

Yes, at the beginning the cafe was struggling to get foot fall, and the cost of ingredients for café and staff was more than the money coming in. 

I was already running courses and thought, how else could we bring in income? I had considered writing a book, so one evening I put a preorder online to see what the response would be. It went crazy! Loads of people ordered even though I said it would not be available for six months! It gave us the means to support the business and write the book. We printed 1000 copies of the first run and they sold quickly, so printed more, of which we have very few left.

I am now talking to publishers about a second book which is very exciting. 

How do you empower people to stay healthy?

I see people transform their lives - that’s the joy of what I do.

I believe that if you have a strong enough WHY you will do it. Who would not want to live every day in a state of pure mental and physical wellbeing, with life switched on in full colour, and great energy?

When people really get that everything is affected by how they eat, sleep, and the choices they make, that by giving your body the right nutrients you can have optimal health - they then want that.

You can find out more about Sow & Arrow and browse their products here.