The New Yorker - 04.11.2019

THE NEW YORKER, NOVEMBER 4, 2019 31

line the walls. The company employs
almost eighty people, including a hap-
piness manager and a feng-shui mas-
ter, and offers Transcendental Medita-
tion classes.
Batiz’s latest venture is the Super-
natural line of cleaning products. The
idea came to her after her mother was
given a diagnosis of myelodysplastic
syndrome, a form of cancer that has
been linked to chemical exposure. Batiz
began thinking about the prevalence
of chemical cleaning products in her
mother’s home. She wanted to start a
company that used all-natural ingre-
dients and glass bottles, and, after ex-
perimenting with blends at home, she
hired “a rogue hippie chemist” to work
with her on concentrates. The Super-
natural Web site features naked peo-
ple frolicking in nature, with a direc-
tive to “save the world’s butt.” Here,
too, Batiz sees products meant to deal
with human detritus as an opportu-
nity for self-care. One user quoted on
the Web site attests that, with Super-
natural, “cleaning has become a ther-
apeutic and sacred experience through
ordinary daily ritual.”
Batiz is currently in the process of
reviving her self-help workshop. She’s
also trying to more effectively inte-
grate her message of transformation
into the Poo-Pourri brand. “We have
the world talking about poop now,”

she said. “But how can we let people

know the emotional aspect of the re-

lease?” In early October, the company

went on tour with a giant inflatable

poop emoji. The vision, Batiz told me,

is about “letting shit go.” Inside the

inflatable structure, visitors encounter

an immersive experience: they are asked

to sit down on a toilet, and are then

surrounded by a three-hundred-and-

sixty-degree video projection in which

they are encouraged to write down,

and flush away, all the “crap you need

to let go of.” “You really have a phys-

ical reaction when you’re in it,” Batiz

said. “It’s, like, literally, not only can

waste—poop—be released, but toxic

thoughts and toxic energies.”

In Batiz’s living room, above the fire-

place, there’s a painting that she com-

missioned from a Kauai-based artist,

Isabel Mariposa Galactica. It’s an image

of a woman surrounded by animals.

“She’s got this leopard on her head and

these two coyotes down below, and then

she has owls,” Batiz said. The coyotes

are a reminder to be aware of tricksters.

The owls are a reminder to use your

wisdom. The butterflies represent free-

dom. Right in the center is a lotus flower.

“In Buddhism, a lotus grows out of

mud,” Batiz continued. “Interestingly

enough, the shit in our lives is what

usually produces the most beautiful

flowers, right? It’s the fertilizer.” 

“They all look like ankles.”

••

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