Another high-profile athlete has come out in support of CBD. Tennis star John Isner is partnering with DEFY, a brand that produces a CBD beverage engineered for athletic recovery and training. DEFY was co-created by NFL Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis.
“It’s exciting to see CBD officially join pro tennis,” the former Denver Bronco and Superbowl Champion Davis said in a release. “We couldn’t be happier with such a phenomenal athlete like John [Isner]. As professional athletes, all of us squeeze as much as we can out of performance and recovery and CBD is making a big impact for John.”
Beau Wehrle, DEFY’s co-founder and chief executive officer, is excited about his brand’s growing impact on professional sports.
“DEFY is leading the way in CBD for professional sports,” Wehrle said. “We know its benefits, impact on recovery, and the direct relation to improved performance. It’s exciting to see pro tennis take the next important step for improving the lives of athletes everywhere.”
CBD is gaining popularity among athletes as it produces no psychedelic effect and is viewed as a safe alternative to opioids for main management. Many players view CBD as a way to improve recovery and allow them to train harder and with less pain.
“I play a sport where taking a single point off can be the difference between winning and losing a match and DEFY is a product specifically intended to put me in a position to perform on every single point,” Isner said. “It’s been great getting to know DEFY as a company and I look forward to working with them to help people achieve improved performance through CBD.”
Like other popular sports drinks, DEFY contains electrolytes but has a unique ingredient the others do not. Each bottle of DEFY contains 20mg of CBD.
Announcement of the DEFY/Isner agreement comes in the wake of several other high profile partnerships between CBD producers and athletes. Recently, PGA golfer and Masters winner Bubba Watson signed a sponsorship deal with CBDMD. Olympic Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings and Lolo Jones, one of the few athletes to compete in both the summer and winter Olympics, have also entered into partnerships with CBDMD.