Rachael Rapinoe talks about cannabis, entrepreneurship and personal motivations

By Natalia Kesselman and Javier Hasse. Originally) released on BenzingaThe pose.

CBD for athletes is in.

This has been true for some time in the National Hockey League, National Football League, and even Major League Baseball. While soccer has lasted longer, the CBD ball has finally reached this field.

And who could do better than the former professional footballer? Rachael Rapinoe?

The Californian who currently lives in Oregon has made it tough in the cannabis space with her CBD brand. Mendi.

11 minutes older than her twin Megan (the “pink haired lesbian goddess” as she describes her), and therefore “more of an OG”, Rachael has finally piqued football’s interest in CBD. While it’s unclear why the sport was one of the few that still wasn’t talked about about cannabis and hemp, that’s exactly what happened Rapinoe a head start.

“We are happy to own the football market with Megan here in the US because it is completely untapped,” said the player.

This enabled them to “really tell the story of CBD,” both to open the conversation and to gently walk into the room without ruffling too many feathers.

Now offers both a no-THC baseline and a core line with a full spectrum of <0.3%. Mendi without a doubt the sport is focused CBD Brand to look out for.

Feel good, do good

“I take care of interpersonal growth,” says the entrepreneur when asked about her passions.

Rachael believes that the secret of growth is to love yourself (which is not easy and takes time): once it is done, it bleeds into the other areas of life. Only when we are truly at peace with ourselves can we help each other develop because, in the words of the athlete, “our relationship with the world is a direct reflection of the relationship with yourself. ”

RELATED: Soccer Superstar Megan Rapinoe Talks Cannabis, Feminism: “Everyone Needs a Seat at the Table”

“I’m all about equality,” she added, “I’m all about social justice. But I think you even need to take a step back from these topics and learn to love yourself first. And that’s my truth. “

Of course, CBD plays a role in all of this: “I believe in feeding your body top-down in the healthiest, most natural way possible.”

Photo by Tevarak Phanduang via Unsplash

As someone who grew up on Western medicine and spent her game days prescribing every type of pill, Rachael knows firsthand that the help given her didn’t fix pain or prepare her for long-term health.

“It’s not nutritious to your body,” she says.

Rapinoe also indicates how our body is actually built to interact with the cannabis Plant through the Endocannabinoid System “, and not only that, of course we have Endocannabinoids produced to feed these receptors, but like everything else, we don’t make enough of them. “

This is basically the role cannabis (CBD, THC, and all other cannabinoids) play.

“We need extra minerals, extra vitamins, and extra cannabinoids to feed all of these systems. While opioids and Tylenol and Advil your body doesn’t make this stuff, you actually don’t need it You .”

Education is the key to growth

Most people who have consumed THC in any way – especially food – have had the uncomfortable experience of overdoing their dose at least once. Of course, one of the many benefits of weed is that it is not an OD on it, but an excess of THC consumption can make some really scary moments. Rachael is no stranger to this feeling.

“I’ve had stories of foods that I’ve overpowered and thought I was will to die. Everyone has a story like this, but that’s not what defines cannabis. That’s just because I wasn’t well informed about dosing and didn’t know how much to take. “

Based on their own experiences and others People, Rachael believes education is key to maturing the cannabis industry. However, it is extremely difficult to properly inform consumers when space is still severely limited. The medical community is also not getting enough funding for controlled studies to “examine the effects of THC, CBD and the other 100+ cannabinoids,” as the gamer says.

“We need more studies so that we can put them all together education near cannabis and be able to educate people about which part of the plant – or which plant, hemp or marijuana – is best for them. “

As for the normalization of cannabis in sports, the relationship with the previous one is a pretty clear equation: science plus education plus legislation is synonymous with more and better products. More innovative and sophisticated products are allowing cannabis to reach any space, including sport, where it is badly needed.

For this to work, however, we need “all hands on deck,” she says. This means the federal government, the FDA, and science and medicine have to get on board to really make a change. This is the only way you can get enough information to protect the public and steer them in the right direction to choose the product that is most suitable for them.

“Smoking a blunt is super nostalgic,” she says with a laugh. “But I don’t see athletes smoking a joint after a game … you don’t have to The, There are other ways to use cannabis more effectively

“I think athletes are going to get to a place where they are going to have a protein shake that is infused with cannabinoids during an interview. […] That is where this industry has to go. “

Setting a good example

“My approach is very different from Megan’s. I’m not that loud and charismatic, more like one blue collar Mentality. I roll up my sleeves, stay quieter and lead by example, ”says the soccer star.

Mendi is not only influential in the CBD space. The company is committed to gender equality in both football and in general.

Photo by Mike Stobe / Getty Images

For one thing, the company is almost exclusively female and run by LGBT + people, which in itself is quite an achievement.

In addition, the speakers are among the most respected professional athletes in their respective sports: Megan Rapinoe in football and Sue Bird in basketball.

Therefore Mendi Demographics began to be slightly skewed to female. However, it’s almost the same at this point, says Rachael. “Our brand is gender neutral and our language is gender neutral.

RELATED: Soccer Superstar Megan Rapinoe Creates Equality For All Through Cannabis

“We only wanted to use the first year to stand up for equality and to properly convey that we are what we stand for. We came into the market purposely investing in women first. But we’re very on board when it comes to supporting male leagues and athletes, especially underserved male leagues. “

“Fuel for our fire”

The pay gap in nearly every industry is not news, nor is gender inequality in sport. Aside from maybe tennis, women athletes are severely underpaid and underinvested. Of course, this makes them confident Women set on fire:

“What makes it annoying is that people want to argue that male sports are more revenue than female sports, and you can’t argue when male sports have a starting point of 100 miles. Their starting point is so far ahead of the women’s game because they have been invested for years (…). Of course, you won’t see the same results if you’re halfway there.assing Your investment ”.

When it comes to MendiRachael wants them to become industry leaders: distribute their product to all sports, all athletes and all employees. It’s not just about pushing the ball off, but Pioneer of a whole new landscape.

The strategy for actually making significant social progress is to build a platform that is big enough and employs enough people for the company to break into the market. “But in the right way,” as RR puts it; do Well. “To really create a fair, just and diverse culture in which all people can be successful.

“We want to continue to campaign for issues of equality and justice, both in business and in sport. We really just want to get to a place where there are no limits for us, where people can’t tell us to shut up and dribble. (…) Then we will be strong enough to move other industry leaders to get better and do more. This is the fuel for our fire. “