Ashley Parker Angel is as serious about supplements as he is his fitness routine (which is saying something)

Just like the giant inflatable chair I had in my room or my glittery butterfly hair clips, I hadn’t thought much about the boy band O-Town since the early ‘aughts. But when an email from none other than Ashley Parker Angel landed in my inbox, memories of that time washed over me like the scent of Victoria’s Secret Love Spell.

“After selling millions of records, touring internationally, and starring in some of the biggest shows on Broadway, I’m thrilled to tell you I’ve set my sights on something even bigger,” Angel’s email began. I won’t leave you in suspense: He’s the co-founder of a new supplement company called High Level Nutrition.

“I was always the guy in the back of the tour bus cooking my own organic food and everyone hated me because it smelled weird.” —Ashley Parker Angel

Okay so it’s not exactly the reunion tour of my Lisa Frank-hued dreams. But a Google search shows that time has been good to him (AKA he’s fit), so maybe Angel’s onto something here. Eager to see—I mean, learn—more, I invited the former boy bander to the Well+Good offices so he could tell me about his wellness journey.

Angel shared that while he may have seemed completely chill performing in front of thousands of screaming fans back in O-Town’s heyday, really he was struggling with anxiety and a slew of major sleep issues due to the band’s crazy performance schedule. The struggle is real for a lot of celebs, but unlike the ones who end up on TMZ (or worse), Angel always turned to food and herbs (no, not that type of herb) to cope—even as a teen.

“I was always the guy in the back of the tour bus cooking my own organic food,” Angel says. “Everyone hated me because it smelled weird.”

Because he grew up in a fam with a food-as-medicine mentality—”My grandmother was a holistic doctor, so I started getting into [natural] supplements really early on,” Angel says—it was second nature for him to do his research when it came to finding natural ways to fine-tune his health, whether it was the best protein for keeping his energy up during performing, or to help with bigger issues, like his anxiety and erratic sleep schedule. “Supplementing with l-theanine and magnesium really changed my life,” he says of the power combo that ultimately worked wonders for both issues.

Now, Angel’s straddling the line between performer and wellness entrepreneur, having just wrapped a stint in Wicked on Broadway while simultaneously working to expand his supplements line. The acting-cum-wellness dance is one many celebs try to master, but hey, if there’s one thing Angel can do, it’s dance.

Speaking of celebrities into wellness, see how Britney Spears stays fit on tour  and get Jennifer Aniston’s healthier margarita recipe.