12-Can 10mg Cocktail Variety Pack

Professional athletes used to celebrate wins with champagne and drown losses in whiskey. That culture is changing fast. Across the NFL, NBA, UFC, endurance sports, and Olympic disciplines, a growing number of athletes are replacing post-competition alcohol with CBD beverages — and they're talking about it openly.

The shift started in 2018 when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed CBD from its prohibited substances list^[1]. Since then, the compound has gone from fringe to mainstream in athletic circles. Former and current athletes are launching CBD brands, endorsing products, and crediting CBD beverages as part of their recovery and relaxation routines.

But this isn't just a celebrity trend. Weekend warriors, gym regulars, and recreational athletes are making the same switch — swapping the post-run beer for a CBD seltzer. Here's why the athletic community has embraced CBD drinks, how they're using them, and what to know before adding them to your own routine.

CBD in Sports: From Banned to Mainstream

For decades, all cannabinoids — including CBD — were on WADA's prohibited substances list. Athletes who used cannabis products of any kind risked suspension, stripped medals, and career damage. The stigma was total, regardless of whether the compound was psychoactive or not.

That changed in January 2018 when WADA officially removed cannabidiol from the prohibited list^[1]. The decision acknowledged what researchers had been saying for years: CBD is not a performance-enhancing substance, and it doesn't carry the psychoactive effects associated with THC. The move gave athletes explicit permission to use CBD without jeopardizing their competitive eligibility.

The impact was immediate. Within a year, multiple professional athletes went public with their CBD use. Endorsement deals followed. CBD brands with athlete partnerships became a fixture at trade shows and in sports media. And the conversations shifted from "is this allowed?" to "how do I use this effectively?"

It's worth noting that while CBD is permitted, THC remains on WADA's prohibited list in competition. Athletes subject to drug testing need to be careful about product sourcing — full-spectrum products may contain trace amounts of THC that could trigger a positive test. Broad-spectrum or CBD-isolate products are the safer choice for tested athletes.

Why Athletes Are Leaving Alcohol Behind

The athletic shift toward CBD beverages isn't happening in isolation. It's part of a broader reckoning with alcohol's role in sports culture.

For generations, alcohol was woven into every part of the athletic experience. Post-game beers, sponsorship deals with beer brands, champagne showers after championships, whiskey toasts at team dinners. Drinking was how athletes bonded, celebrated, and decompressed. Nobody questioned it because everybody did it.

But the science caught up with the tradition. And what the science shows isn't flattering for alcohol's place in an athlete's life:

• Recovery disruption. Alcohol interferes with muscle protein synthesis — the process your body uses to repair and rebuild muscle tissue after exercise. Studies have shown that alcohol consumption after training can impair recovery by as much as 37%^[2].
• Sleep degradation. While alcohol might help you fall asleep faster, it measurably degrades sleep quality — particularly REM sleep, which is critical for cognitive recovery and motor learning^[3]. For athletes whose performance depends on sharp reaction times and skill retention, this is a significant cost.
• Dehydration. Alcohol is a diuretic. After a hard training session when your body needs to rehydrate, drinking alcohol moves you in the wrong direction.
• Empty calories. A few post-game beers can easily add 600 to 1,000 calories — mostly from alcohol and carbohydrates — without any nutritional benefit. For athletes managing body composition, those calories matter.
• Inflammation. Alcohol consumption has been associated with increased systemic inflammation^[4], which runs directly counter to what an athlete needs during recovery.

The result? A growing number of athletes at every level — from professionals to dedicated amateurs — are looking for alternatives that deliver the social ritual and wind-down benefits of a drink without the recovery cost. CBD beverages fit that description precisely.

How Athletes Use CBD Beverages in Their Routine

Athletes who've incorporated CBD drinks into their routines tend to use them in a few specific windows throughout their day. None of this is about performance enhancement — it's about recovery, relaxation, and making smarter choices about what goes into the body.

Post-Workout Cooldown

The most common use case. After a hard training session, instead of reaching for a beer or sugary sports drink, athletes are grabbing a CBD seltzer. The seltzer format helps with rehydration (it's mostly water, after all), the CBD provides a sense of calm as the body transitions from exertion to recovery, and the zero-calorie, zero-sugar profile means nothing in the can is working against the workout you just finished.

Evening Wind-Down

This is the social and ritual replacement for the nightly beer or glass of wine. Athletes describe it as getting the same "end of day" signal — the moment where you shift from training mode to rest mode — without the sleep disruption and dehydration that come with alcohol. A cold CBD seltzer in the evening serves the psychological purpose of marking the transition while keeping the body in recovery mode.

Pre-Sleep Routine

Sleep is arguably the single most important recovery tool available to athletes. Many athletes report using a CBD beverage 30 to 60 minutes before bed as part of a deliberate wind-down routine. The idea isn't that CBD is a sleep aid — it's that the ritual of a calming drink, combined with CBD's reputation for promoting a sense of ease, helps create the conditions for better rest.

Social Alternative at Team Events

This is the one nobody talks about but everyone recognizes. Team dinners, charity events, sponsor meet-and-greets — these are occasions where there's pressure to drink. Having a CBD seltzer in hand gives athletes a way to participate in the social ritual without the alcohol. It looks like a drink. It feels like a drink. And nobody needs to know or care that it's not alcoholic.

What You're Not Consuming Matters as Much as What You Are

One of the most compelling arguments for CBD beverages in athletic contexts isn't about what CBD does — it's about what you're avoiding by choosing a CBD drink over the alternative.

When an athlete swaps a post-workout beer for a CBD seltzer, the direct benefits of the CBD are almost secondary to the indirect benefits of not drinking alcohol. No recovery disruption. No sleep degradation. No dehydration. No empty calories. No inflammation spike. No foggy morning that makes the next day's training session feel twice as hard.

The framing matters here. We're not making claims about what CBD does to your body. We're pointing out what alcohol does — and noting that choosing a CBD beverage means opting out of those well-documented downsides. That's a meaningful upgrade for anyone who trains seriously, even if the CBD itself is just the pleasant cherry on top.

What High-Profile Athletes Say About CBD

The public conversation around athletes and CBD has been shaped by a handful of high-profile figures who were willing to speak openly about their use:

• Nate Diaz (UFC) made headlines in 2016 when he vaped CBD at a post-fight press conference, sparking a national conversation about cannabinoids in combat sports. He's been vocal about using CBD as part of his training and recovery routine ever since.
• Rob Gronkowski (NFL) became one of the most prominent athlete advocates for CBD after his retirement, partnering with a CBD brand and speaking openly about how the compound became part of his post-career wellness routine after years of physical punishment in professional football.
• Megan Rapinoe (Soccer) co-founded a CBD brand with her twin sister, making the case that CBD fits naturally into the lifestyle of competitive athletes. Her advocacy helped normalize CBD use among a broader, more mainstream audience beyond traditional "cannabis culture."

The endorsement effect is real. When elite athletes with nothing to gain from controversy publicly choose CBD, it gives recreational athletes permission to explore it themselves. The stigma is fading, and these public conversations are a major reason why.

Choosing a CBD Drink for an Active Lifestyle

Not all CBD beverages are created equal, and athletes tend to be more discerning about what they put in their bodies than the average consumer. Here's what to look for:

Floral checks every box on the "look for" list. Our seltzers are made with clean, simple ingredients, precise dosing, and third-party lab testing. No artificial sweeteners, no fillers, no mystery blends. Just clean beverages made on our family farm in Indiana — built for people who care about what they put in their body.

A Note on Drug Testing

If you're a competitive athlete subject to drug testing, this section is critical. While CBD itself is not prohibited by WADA, THC remains on the prohibited list during competition. Full-spectrum CBD products may contain trace amounts of THC (up to 0.3% by dry weight under federal law), and even trace amounts can potentially trigger a positive drug test depending on consumption frequency and individual metabolism.

If you're tested, look for broad-spectrum or CBD-isolate products that have been verified by third-party labs to contain zero THC. Check the COA for every product you use. And if you have any doubt, consult with your team's medical staff or a sports medicine professional before incorporating CBD beverages into your routine.

The athletic shift toward CBD beverages isn't about performance enhancement — it's about smarter recovery, better wind-down routines, and healthier social rituals. Athletes at every level are recognizing that what you consume after training matters as much as the training itself. CBD drinks offer a clean, low-calorie, non-intoxicating option that fits naturally into an active lifestyle.

Whether you're a competitive athlete or someone who just takes their Saturday morning run seriously, it's worth trying.

Ready to upgrade your post-workout routine? Floral's seltzers are made with clean ingredients, precise dosing, and refreshing flavors built for people who move. Grab a variety pack to find your favorite. Must be 21+.

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References

1. World Anti-Doping Agency. (2018). Summary of Major Modifications and Explanatory Notes: 2018 Prohibited List. wada-ama.org
2. Parr, E. B., Camera, D. M., Areta, J. L., Burke, L. M., Phillips, S. M., Hawley, J. A., & Coffey, V. G. (2014). Alcohol ingestion impairs maximal post-exercise rates of myofibrillar protein synthesis following a single bout of concurrent training. PLoS ONE, 9(2), e88384. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0088384
3. Ebrahim, I. O., Shapiro, C. M., Williams, A. J., & Fenwick, P. B. (2013). Alcohol and sleep I: effects on normal sleep. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 37(4), 539–549. doi:10.1111/acer.12006
4. Wang, H. J., Zakhari, S., & Jung, M. K. (2010). Alcohol, inflammation, and gut-liver-brain interactions in tissue damage and disease development. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 16(11), 1304–1313. doi:10.3748/wjg.v16.i11.1304