Meet Nathan Heintzelman | Student/Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nathan Heintzelman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nathan, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
In my earlier years, I spent a lot of my time on my family’s farm. A huge chunk of this was spent in the agricultural industry being involved in 4H. The years I spent in 4H, gave me the building blocks to be innovative and do things differently. When I entered my later years in college, as a wildlife and natural resources major, I realized that if I wanted to be out fighting the climate disaster. I would have to make a salary that was based off of my time, in order to survive. I had a few business possibilities, but nothing sparked a true interest for me. That was, until I realized I could combine my care and love for reptiles, with my understanding and creativity of bioactive enclosures. A few peers told me how amazing it would be to offer such commodities, as it is a very niche field. I knew that it was not a high demand area, however I believed that this is needed in the reptile community. Not only to offer education, but to provide the best homes for our scaly friends!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Over here at Mystical Terrarium Collections, we put our heart and soul into the everyday care of our products. Since, we mostly work with plants, we decided to do our own propagations for bioactive enclosures. This ensures there is absolutely no chemicals used, so everything going into an enclosure is 100% safe. I am most proud of our growth over the past year. We started with a single booth selling plant propagations and supplies, to now having multiple tables filled with supplies, fully setup enclosures, and tons of plants! It’s amazing to hear at each show, how impressed people are with how quickly we have adapted to, and taken critique from others!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Firstly, we would have to start the days with a local coffee and breakfast burrito! No matter which location, you cannot go wrong with any choice! There are many go-to locations! However, bishops castle and the natural waterslides are the first stop! With incredible views on the drive up, the views from the top of bishops castle are a must! Taking the route down to Canon City to make a pit stop at Big Burger World for the best soft serve ice cream and incredible burgers! Staying in canon city, the red canyon road trail is absolutely stunning for an evening stroll! Finishing off on skyline drive for the overlook for the best sunset view! If possible, I would be sure to take my friend to a red rocks show, as they are the most incredible concert experiences!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Throughout this journey, there have been many individuals that have been incredibly supportive. My partner, Gavin Saulsgiver (He/Him), encouraged me to pursue this dream of mine! Without his push of encouragement to attend the first reptile show, I would never be here! In the reptile community, we have become amazing friends with several other vendors, Rubber Ducky Isopods, Little Potato Dragons, Enchanted Entomology, Clutchmates, The Lizard Lounge, Eller Exotics and Wild Things Exotics. However, the entire crew running the Show Me Snakes Reptile Events, have been so encouraging, supportive, and downright amazing throughout this past year!

Website: www.mysticalterrariumcollections.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/mysticalterrariumcollections?r=nametag

Facebook: Facebook.com/mysticalterrariumcollections

Other: linktr.ee/mysticalterrariumcollections