Not all athletes wear Lycra

The sales numbers don’t lie: BoomVeg is booming. What does that mean? It means people are getting their veggies. As a vegetable farmer, obviously, I couldn’t be happier.

While we watch this product take on a life of its own in real time, we’re talking internally about who we want BoomVeg to work for. Who is the ideal customer? Of course, the traditional image for a powder or supplement is that of a woman in a sports bra toting her yoga mat, or a man blasting his biceps. They’re both living their “best life” and they’re aesthetically pleasing. (And it’s all because they use greens powder, of course!)

The woman with the yoga mat and the guy doing reps are more than welcome to enjoy BoomVeg — we’d love to have them! But ideally they should represent just one section of the market, because BoomVeg is for every kind of athlete, not just the ones who wear spandex or lycra.

Best versus good

Remember when athletic people wore tennis shoes, sweatpants and a college tee shirt? The image of a health-conscious person has changed a lot since then. Today, the trappings of wellness are smart, specialized and expensive. Garmin, Lululemon, CrossFit, Athleta, UnderArmor, Liquid IV, FitBit, Peloton, MyFitnessPal, Hydroflask, GU, and Yeti are just a few of the brands that push the wellness lifestyle.

I love my CrossFit workouts, and I own a lot of these brands’ products, so I’m supportive. But over time, I’ve seen an unspoken message of the wellness industry emerge: to be an athlete, you’re either all in, or you’re totally out. 

The French writer Voltaire once said, “The best is the enemy of the good.” I agree. To be an athlete, does a person’s diet have to be grain-free? Do they have to work out every day? Every other day? Do they have to reach between 70 and 80 percent of their max heart rate for longer than 20 minutes at a time? Do they need to wear moisture-wicking fabrics? Use a training program on their Apple Watch?

Of course not. In my opinion, if you work hard at anything, you’re an athlete.

Redefining “athlete”

Think of the mom and dad who grind all day professionally, and come home in the evening to support their family. If they aren’t athletes, I don’t know who is. BoomVeg is for them. 

It’s also for their kids, who may have had Lucky Charms for breakfast, but got a BoomVeg Purple Carrot smoothie after school. BoomVeg is for the older adult on a fixed income, or the college kid who doesn’t know how to break down a head of broccoli. The teenager learning lines for the school play, or the caregiver giving help to someone in need — BoomVeg is for them, too.

Success shouldn’t be the goal: wellness is in the attempt. These are all ordinary people making extraordinary decisions. When we work hard to make small choices that are better for us, even when we feel like we don’t look the part, we are athletes. In fact, I like to think of us as Boom-letes.

BoomVeg is built for anyone who wants to improve their life. Dig out your old sweatpants and your Walkman, give us a try and become a Boomlete. 

And eat your veggies.