Episode Overview

An athlete’s recovery journey can be grueling and difficult. Rachael Rapinoe, Co-Founder & CEO of Mendi is destigmatizing cannabis use in the sports industry and prioritizing wellness.

Rachael is the winner of the NCAA national championship with the University of Portland in 2005. She played pro soccer in Europe in 2010, and eventually retired to pursue her passion in the health and fitness industry.

Leveraging her BS in Life Sciences and MS in Health & Exercise, Rachael went on to build Rapinoe SC–a top soccer performance training company and lifestyle apparel brand with her sister, US Soccer star sister, Megan Rapinoe. Training thousands of players across the U.S., from youth to the professional level, Rachael’s robust and trusted training brand made her a highly sought after performance coach in the Portland area.

After working for the University of Portland women’s soccer team as the head performance coach, Rachael left to co-found Mendi– a cannabis sports brand improving the lives of all athletes using nature’s best tools. She continues to apply her expertise in training, competition and recovery in an effort to better understand the role recovery has in performance and the human body. With her network of influential athletes and passion for competing, Rachael shapes Mendi’s products and business to meet the relevant demand in cannabis x sports.

“I don’t believe in the process of being self-made, there are people in everyone’s orbit that help us achieve the goals we aspire for.”

In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Rachael discusses navigating the cannabis industry as a woman, advocating for athlete recovery, creating spaces for marginalized entrepreneurs.

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