These Former Professional Athletes Are Breaking into the CBD Industry

Kevin Moran and Matt Lombardi / Photo provided

As the interest in CBD grows, so do the number of purveyors of CBD products like oils, salves, and edibles. And it can be confusing to know what you’re actually getting. CBD company Beam, founded by former professional athletes Kevin Moran and Matt Lombardi, doesn’t want you to be confused.

Moran and Lombardi founded the company about two years ago after having to cut their professional athletic careers unexpectedly short from suffering one too many injuries. They watched the CBD industry grow and wondered how they could get involved. And as frequent users of the cannabinoid to treat their own ailments, they were big believers that they could build a brand that felt accessible, bright, and fun.

So, Beam was born and for the past eight months they’ve been selling products like oil, salve, and a protein bar on their website. And now you can taste, sample, and shop their products at The Current—the Seaport’s line-up of seasonal pop-ups. In the space there is even CBD oil on tap and they have special initiatives planned for the summer like CBD massages, a cryotherapy tank, and workouts—of course.

One of the big things they pride themselves on is selling a product that is 100 percent THC-free. Their packaging even reads, “No THC, Just TLC.”

“We’re trying to create a brand around wellness and athletes,” Moran says. “And if people think there are any trace amounts of THC, which happens with many CBD company’s, they tend to think about the product a little differently. We’re not anti-THC we just want to build a lifestyle brand to show how CBD can help with a variety of things.”

CBD has been proven to have anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, and anti-psychotic properties and unlike THC will not make you high. Moran says he has been getting the deepest sleep he has ever experienced after using it and Lombardi doesn’t experience quite as much knee pain anymore. The two are avid Crossfitters and CBD is an important part of their fitness routine.

They tell me their products are tested (for a variety of things) in a THC-free certified facility and that each bottle actually contains the 500 mg of CBD it says that it does—because that’s another thing they say can sometimes be misleading.

The pop-up space has already been a great place for Lombardi and Moran to educate and get customer feedback in the one week it has been open. “We’ve crafted the store to be very friendly and approachable,” Lombardi says. “First impressions really do matter. People do judge a book by it’s cover and when we’re dealing with misconceptions and stigmas it’s important we show that we care for our customer.”

If you’re not already an avid user of CBD, swing by the Beam pop-up to learn how you can use it to improve your overall wellness. And be on the lookout for new product launches (like a cacao protein bar) and different experiences coming to the space soon.

100 Seaport Blvd., beamtlc.com.

Interior of pop-up space at The Current in the Seaport / photo provided

CBD on tap / Photo provided

CBD oil product shot / photo provided