Nico Marley’s Taking Health and Wellness to New Heights with Lion X Wellness

Former football legend and son of Rohan Marley, Nico Marley is taking health and wellness to new heights with Lion X Wellness, a brand inspired by his family legacy.

With a ferocious hunger and passion to succeed Nico was destined for greatness. Following in his father’s footsteps, Nico fell in love with football, playing it throughout high school and making a name for himself at Tulane University before taking his talents to the NFL. 

After retiring from professional football, Nico shifted gears and created Lion X Wellness, a health and wellness brand focused on nutrition and premium CBD-based products.

Nico Marley connected with Jay Morzaria of Sports Cannabis to talk about his athletic career and the Lion X Wellness movement.

Jay Morzaria :

Today you’re changing the game with Lion X Wellness, a CBD brand poised to dominate the world.   Before we take a deep dive into everything you’ve created, let’s talk football and where it all started for you.

Nico Marley:

“It all started with my father, he played football for the Miami Hurricanes.  I didn’t play football until I was in the eighth grade.  When I was in middle school I went to visit my dad in LA and he had my cousin Shaun and me on these crazy workout programs…   One day Ray Lewis, a close friend of my dad’s, shows up and you know at the time I’m watching a lot of football and I’m a fan.  It was really motivating to have them both there. My dad put us through these workouts every day and when I got back to Miami I was ready to play.  Eventually, I signed with a team in my city, Pop Warner.  During those days nobody could stop me, it was an even playing field and everyone weighed roughly 130-135lbs. Despite not having all the techniques down, I knew I was good and eventually went on to play high school Ball at Cypress Hill as a JV.  During that time I’m growing, I’m getting smarter, quicker and learning how to use my height as an advantage.  In junior year I received a division one offer from Tulane, obviously, I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps and go to the University of Miami, but it just didn’t work out that way…  Despite that, I continued to move forward and was determined to make it professionally as a football athlete and eventually accepted the offer from Tulane.  I started at the bottom of the depth chart and worked my way up and ended up starting every game of my career.  From there the rest is history.”

JM :

Just to name a few career highlights, Two-Time All-American Conference First Team, Freshman of the year in the conference, recorded a record of eighty-eight tackles in twelve games and set a record for tackles at Tulane… As mentioned earlier, destined for greatness, the NFL…

Nico Marley :

“I had a pretty good run in college.  After I graduated and shortly after the NFL draft the Washington Redskins called and extended an invite to their rookie camp.  I had a good two days, they sent me home and I didn’t think too much about it… You know at that time, I assumed I was done with playing football and may not play again.  I went out to LIV on a Sunday night and at 7 AM they called me offering me a position on the Redskins team.  That afternoon I was on a flight over to their facilities.”

JM :

You’ve achieved your dream of reaching the NFL and playing football professionally. What made you pivot into the cannabis, health and wellness industry?

Nico Marley :

“After I stopped playing I got to that crossroads of what I wanted to do next and business was the obvious choice.  I launched Lion X Wellness, a CBD company, which is a brand under Lion Order.  We officially launched the brand earlier in the year and are moving natural healing forward with our diverse wellness product range.  I’ve never been one to smoke that much and luckily I never had any serious injuries, but, growing up, I’ve always been a huge advocate for natural healing and modalities around recovery and the use of CBD topicals.”

JM :

Lion X Wellness is making waves and the products are sold out due to consumer demand. You have created a truly prolific brand.

Nico Marley :

“Ya, Lion X Wellness is a brand that my cousin, Gaetan Khawly and I created together. At the time it was a perfect storm for me. It was an opportunity to blend my life as an athlete and my personal life ethos of natural healing with my business mentality and explore the CBD market. My cousin, Gaetan, had a similar mindset and we both decided to push forward with it.”

JM :

The brand has a strong presence, with minimal clean branding that goes hand in hand with your dress code and vibe. Talk to us about the team that’s helped cultivate the brand.

Nico Marley :

“My cousin has been instrumental in the process, from education to sourcing the products for Lion X Wellness, as well as being a constant force behind the scenes in building the brand. Regardless of who does what, we are aligned and equal partners. Unlike most people, who tend to have egos, he’s never cared about the attention, interviews or cameras…We just want to build a strong brand that provides premium, natural-rich products for the community.”

JM :

Why was it important for you to create a diverse range of products?

Nico Marley :

“It was important for us to provide a full range of natural and vegan-based CBD products so that we could assist any athlete or consumer with their health and wellness journey. We’ve focused on vegan, gluten-free, and GMO-free products and want to make sure that everything is natural, including our muscle and joint balm which are huge sellers. We’ve made sure that they are one hundred percent organic so that they are easy on your skin and provide optimum relief.  As we build into the future we will continue to expand our health and wellness product range.”

JM :

The Lion X Wellness brand is inspired by your family legacy. The Lion Order movement has been handed down from your grandfather, the late legend and global icon Bob Marley to your father Rohan Marley and now to you.  Talk to us about the Lion Order movement, the mindset of unity, and the oneness that is Rastafari.

Nico Marley :

“The movement is that oneness, it means bringing the inner lion out of you, at least that’s how I interpret it.  Lion Order has been ten-twenty years in the making…  I can show hundreds of texts from my father. Before every high school or university game, he would send me a motivational Lion Order message.  Messages like “Make sure you’re running through them, LION ORDER” or “Eyes low, LION ORDER”.  It’s about being a lion, a king in your jungle, which is that oneness and the Rastafari and bringing that to life. Whether it be in that literal sense like when I was playing football or today when I’m running a business and attacking each day with purpose.  It’s about having the mindset of being the best that I can be and understanding that I can only control what I can control.”

J M :

Looking forward, what’s next, what are you excited for?

Nico Marley :

“I’m excited about growth, I’m a forward thinker but I’m also someone that thinks in the right now.  Right now, it’s about planning what I want to achieve in the future as opposed to what I’m excited about.  In order for me to get excited, I need to have a plan first and at the moment we are in the planning stages.  Big things are coming and that’s all I can disclose at the moment.”

J M :

You’ve achieved a lot both professionally and athletically, overcome obstacles, continued to persevere and make waves across the globe.  What advice can you offer others that are following in your footsteps?

Nico Marley :

“My advice would be to just do it.  Just go.  Jump in the water and put yourself in a position where you have to make something happen.  There’s going to be a lot of doubt.  Doubt is the reason why a lot of great things don’t happen.  But once you put your mind to it and go, it’s going to work out.  The bad isn’t going to be that bad, the worst thing that could happen is that you tried and you didn’t succeed.  If you had a chance and didn’t take it, it’s like you never had it at all.  So, don’t be afraid to fail because we are all here trying.  Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for me in football, but I enjoyed the process, and eventually, through that process, it worked out because today I’ve created Lion X Wellness and can share it with the world.”

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Nico Marley: Instagram, Twitter

Lion X Wellness: Instagram