NutraCast: Rugby player-turned-entrepreneur makes CBD for pro athletes

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In 2018, George Kruis and Dom Day created the brand fourfive to address pain, sleep and recovery. Today the company is the official wellness supplier to a number of world-class teams.

We often hear from brands and researchers, but we don’t always get the athlete’s perspective. George Kruis is a professional rugby player with 12 years of experience playing International and club level rugby. His skills have landed him three European titles and four Premiership trophies for English Premiership club Saracens; as well as over 45 caps for England during two World Cups and a British and Irish Lions tour. Today, Kruis is the co-founder of the CBD brand fourfive.

“I think for me, sleep is the biggest key in recovery of any sort. So as an athlete you, we've always been told to get your sleep because that's where you'll do the majority of your recovery as well. So yeah, our target is for sleep. For me, it's been a godsend to be honest,” Kruis said. 

While his focus is on sleep and recovery, that isn’t true for the majority of his customers. Kruis said mental health has been the largest driver of sales, even though the company doesn’t target it specifically. 

“When we've done surveys, the most common reason someone will buy our products is because of anxiety and stress, which for me, I was quite surprised at that,” said Kruis. “But it's also quite telling around maybe where a lot of people's heads are at the moment and where mental health is at the moment. With everything going on in the world, it’s quite a scary place.”

To hear more on the fourfive’s strategy, the science and regulation challenges of CBD, listen to the NutraCast.

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