When two international rugby players grew tired of missing time with injuries, they decided to hang up the cleats and enter the growing, yet crowded, cannabis wellness market. Now that their CBD business, fourfivecbd, is booming – could it be a great example for other athletes looking for a new career?
Rugby fans will know that George Kruis and Welshman Dom Day were pretty good players back in the day and were able to showcase their talents for their international teams. Kruis managed to play 45 times for the “Red and Whites” – also known as the England national team, whereas Dom Day also played for Wales.
Despite having had very successful careers, both Kruis and Day admit that spending more than ten years playing with the world’s best rugby players, day in and day out, definitely took its toll on them. According to the players, between them, they had more than 12 operations during their playing years.
Dom Day, who played in the 2015 Rugby World Cup for Wales, told Canex that even long before their retirement medical cannabis was a common topic among them and their teammates.
He said: “There was chatter in the changing room among our teammates, and a few of the guys were talking about CBD. Following a series of setbacks, we both had an interest in finding out about alternative, more natural therapies.
“I did some background research on CBD, and it looked anecdotally that there could be some benefits. After taking CBD as part of our recovery from different setbacks, we saw a dramatic improvement in a number of symptoms.
“After experiencing CBD for ourselves, we saw an opportunity and wanted to create a product that athletes and people that lead an active and healthy lifestyle can trust.”
CBD gained a lot of attention from athletes around the world when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed the cannabinoid from its list of banned substances.
Even international superstars, such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup winner Meghan Rapinoe, have claimed that CBD has helped them during their workouts and recovery.
Day added: “At fourfivecbd, we work with football players, golfers, Olympic athletes, martial artists, gymnasts and many more – all of these are taking CBD to aid with various symptoms.
“It’s quite exciting to see how athletes across multiple sports are using CBD as a natural alternative.”
“We supply a full spectrum (including traces of THC) and broad spectrum (zero THC). Our full spectrum is largely for our non-drug tested active people whilst our broad spectrum is mainly for our drug tested athletes or people who are subjected to drug testing in their workplace.”
With more athletes getting in touch with the global medical cannabis market, companies like fourfivecbd could be a great example ahead of them. Day and Kruis decided to invest in the ever-growing industry, and now fourfivecbd is one of Amazon’s partners in the UK.
Day said: “To be chosen by Amazon as one of the only CBD brands to be sold on the platform is a hugely significant milestone and achievement for our business. It demonstrates the faith Amazon has in us as a company and our products.
“Since we started to be stocked, we’ve seen sales more than double. The team at Amazon have been great to work with, and we are excited about working together on a longer term basis.”
Since medical cannabis has been legal in the UK, people don’t shy away from using CBD products for various health issues. If more famous athletes get in line, the UK and the global market could see yet another boom in sales.
