Just Live, an athlete-owned performance CBD brand, has teamed up with health and wellness brand company Vertical Wellness to launch Just Live CBD Sparkling Water.
Professional skateboarder and multiple X-Games Gold Medal winner Paul Rodriguez founded Just Live with pro soccer star and World Cup winner Alex Morgan, NBA championship winner Klay Thompson, and motocross competitor Travis Pastrana to create a form of safe and natural recovery that supports both physical and mental well-being.
“There is no brand in the market with this kind of athlete-driven support. I couldn’t be more excited to launch Just Live CBD Sparkling Waters with our national distribution partners into our key retailer and hospitality partners in select markets,” said Vertical Wellness CEO Smoke Wallin.
Why athletes love CBD
The CBD sports nutrition sector got a boost when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed the hemp-derived cannabidiol from its list of banned performance-enhancing substances in 2018.
Ever since, athletes around the world have praised CBD for its fast recovery component in cases of muscular inflammation, tear, and injury.
Wallin told NutraIngredients-USA that CBD is becoming part of athletes’ daily routine to manage pain and help recovery. He added that the athletes behind Just Live have exposed the benefits of CBD to a whole new audience.
“The benefits of CBD for athletes are pretty vast, ranging from pain relief to anxiety, anti-inflammation to sleep-wake cycles. For example, professional skateboarder Manny Santiago uses CBD to maintain total body wellness— particularly Just Live’s vegan CBD gummies -- and when dealing with the inevitable injuries that come with such a physical sport, Manny says he turns to Just Live’s Pain Relief Roll-On Cream. Another example is 34 year old professional mountain biker, Cam Zink, who has gone through 13 surgeries, including four ACL reconstructions and six other knee surgeries. For Cam, he finds CBD to reduce both chronic and acute inflammation, and he also uses our Just Live CBD Sleep Gummies in place of traditional sleep aids that would usually leave him feeling cloudy or groggy the next day,” explained Wallin.
While there is no uniform policy among the major sports leagues for CBD, restrictions appear to be loosening as athletes tout anecdotal benefits.
Research
While CBD isn’t banned from the NFL, the league said in June that it wants to see more studies of how cannabis affects fitness and pointed to a lack of research in the US.
“There is a history of medical studies from other nations that support the beneficial effects CBD has on fitness. As more studies begin to come out of the US, we are fully confident that the science will back the overwhelming anecdotal evidence already shared by people from all walks of life who are personally experiencing the wellness benefits of CBD,” said Wallin. “We are also excited to have Dr. Alex Capano as Just Live’s Chief Science Advisor. Dr. Capano is the first person to earn a doctorate degree in cannabis science, and has published a study on CBD’s effects on opioid reduction and chronic pain. She is actively researching the wide-ranging medical benefits, with a particular focus on the benefits to overcoming opioid addiction, which is a very important issue for us.”
Market
Since the 2018 federal Farm Bill ignited a green rush, CBD has become a burgeoning industry, with the US market expected to bring in $20 billion in sales by 2024, according to research by BDS Analytics.
The increasing awareness of CBD has led to a number of retailers stocking their shelves with CBD-based products, such as Rite Aid, CVS Health, and Walgreens.
In 2019, nutritional supplement retailer GNC added CBD to their lineup of offerings. Following that announcement, shares of GNC, which was still a public company at the time, jumped by about 13%. The Vitamin Shoppe also debuted CBD in 2019 and launched its new CBD HQ in-store and online concept in 2021.
