Op-Ed | Circumventing The CBD Issue

By Michael Antonovich

There’s no denying the CBD boom happening in the United States and luckily, some of those cashing in on the crop have decided that motocross and action sports are worthy of their advertising dollars. Unfortunately, archaic laws surrounding hemp production and marijuana are keeping the full funds from flowing into the pit area the way we all wish. Sure, some money has trickled in through Ignite, the brand started by social media celebrity Dan Bilzerian that supports Dean Wilson and Swapmoto Live, cbdMD, a publicly traded company that sponsors Chad Reed and the Nitro Circus, and Medterra, an Orange County company with ties to The W Training Facility that a number of athletes are associated with) but their reach has been limited by restrictions on branding at events and on television. The rules all stem from the fact that until the Farm Bill of 2018 was passed, CBD was classified by the DEA as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance (the same as LSD and heroin) because the government agency did not view it as medically valuable and considered it an addictive substance, and a decision by NBC Sports to keep CBD brands from being shown on their network broadcasts for the time being. I’m not going to get into the medical benefits of CBD, as this can vary wildly by individuals and just yesterday the FDA issued three statements to CBD brands that urge them not to make claims that their products could cure health and wellness issues which could be considered egregious, but instead point out how money can still be made without the use of television.

There are different rules for the Monster Energy Supercross Series and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship now in place in regard to CBD sponsorship. After running into multiple issues at the start of the season with Ignite’s ties to cannabis production (the preferred term for marijuana in the green industry), Feld Motorsports decided that there can be zero branding of for a CBD company on a rider’s gear or bike or in the pit area on race day, and there can be no mention of the company when on television. This led to a number of “Censored” logos on Wilson’s bike and Reed’s helmet. A rider that breaks these rules is subject to removal from the race or denied entry from competition.

MX Sports, however, has decided to make the rules a little more relaxed for the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. Riders and teams will be allowed to have branding  from a “hemp-derived” CBD company throughout their pit areas on and will be able to display products, but riders and teams are still forbidden from having the logos on the motorcycle or gear when on the race track and there can be no mention of the brand during a televised interview. Essentially, anything that’s subject to being filmed by an NBC Sports camera is barred from having CBD branding.

It’s important to point out that neither promoting group says that a rider or team cannot have sponsorship from a CBD company or that a rider cannot to use the products, as CBD is a legal substance on the WADA/USADA list. Yes, money can come from a CBD company to a team and a rider can use CBD without worry of a penalty, just everything must happen away from the television cameras.

Now, I understand how important television is for motocross and to get to the point that we currently are, with almost every race to be broadcast live, has been decades in the making. The chance to have a logo broadcast into homes around the world is massive and the numbers that come with it are massive. It’s unfortunate that CBD is currently kept from being shown openly on a broadcast the same way as other non-endemic things like energy drinks or automobiles are because it would be another step forward for CBD as a whole. However, there is no better time than now for this rule to happen, thanks to social media and the direct connection riders and teams are able to have with fans. If done the right way, CBD sponsorship could be best monetized away from a television.

Let’s be honest, many of us tune out when a racer starts the usual “I can’t thank…” part of their podium speech or television appearance. In fact, some fans say that they’d rather not hear it at all because they don’t care at all. So why should CBD, a company that the industry feels it needs to impress in every way possible to secure funding, be funneled into the same momentary roll call that is complained about? How long would it take for a rider putting a CBD drop under their tongue to be brushed off the same way some see the well-timed swig from an energy drink can?

Through social media riders and teams have a direct in with hundreds of thousands, in some cases millions, of race fans. Celebrities and athletes in other disciplines of entertainment use their social media followings to promote products of all kinds. Kylie Jenner used social media to launch a cosmetic line that’s currently valued at 900 million dollars and there are hundreds of other cases of growth from social media-celebrity endorsements. So why can riders and teams not make the most of their followings by showcasing products like CBD items on their own social media channels in a similar way?

I think that it’s unfortunate that CBD products are not allowed to be discussed or promoted on television at professional motocross events. I have zero objections to the money coming into our industry thanks to CBD companies and Swapmoto Live has directly benefitted from CBD /THC sponsorship dollars thanks to Ignite at the Trans Am Vet Classic (the last two pages of TransWorld Motocross, my former employer, were often filled with advertisements from Weedmaps and Medterra). Yeah, bring in all of the CBD money possible. We need it all. Hell, I would love to have tobacco and alcohol money too, but that’s not something that will happen no matter how much I daydream about how Marlboro Honda would look (international tobacco and alcohol laws are rat’s nest in their own, which Philip Morris is trying to get around all of that while retaining a public presence through F1 and MotoGP sponsor Mission Winnow and British American Tobacco on McLaren with A Better Tomorrow). But again, we cannot allow a lack of television time to keep it from coming in.

Here’s one scenario that could benefit a rider and CBD company directly, without one moment of television time. Chad Reed is currently sidelined with a list of injuries from his Seattle Supercross crash, but the JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing rider is hopeful for a return to competition by the end of the Supercross season. If Reed decided to make his recovery a widely publicized thing to his 914,000 Instagram followers, it would be a time for him to speak about what cbdMD products help the most with the shoulder injury and the direct benefits he feels. If Reed said, “Hey, this product helped me in these ways,” it would be a clear endorsement and that shows how much trust he has in the product.

If that’s too nuanced, one could go the route of Rockstar Energy and their timed blasts of athletes with products, Monster Energy’s jaw-dropping video projects that show riders in action, Red Bull’s high-production documentaries, or Wilson’s lighthearted posts or videos with Ignite. Again, anything by an athlete that puts the product and brand in front of a consumer in an engaging and positive way is an interaction that a company can build from. 

Seriously, we buy exhaust pipes and tires because people say they perform a certain way, so why would the same not apply for CBD? And with a platform that the individual controls, free from time constraints set by a television producer or being caught in the moment of live TV, it’s a chance to inform or describe the product however much one feels it deserves.

The additional advantage that comes with this is the reach and analytics. With all social media outlets, it’s possible to get precise data from followers, something key for a brand as they track return on investment. Through Instagram, it’s possible to see exactly how many people interacted with a post and track if they made a purchase or something based on it. One could even add a coupon code to a caption and see how many consumers used it. The possibilities are numerous, and all of the data is clear and concise, something difficult to pull from a two-second flash on television.

For the rider or team, now is the time that serious financial gain that can be made and one should take advantage of a market that is flush with cash and has zero current competition from a promoter. Sponsorship of a professional race series requires a substantial amount of money, all of which is less to go directly to a rider or team.

A number of freestyle motocross riders are getting money from the marijuana brands that make up the even more scrutinized and controversial cannabis industry, almost entirely without television airtime. Jeremy Stenberg had his own line of pre-roll joints for a time, Colby Raha has the support of Brass Knuckles, and both Raha and Jimmy Hill are sponsored by tech company Weedmaps. All three have devout social media followers that are engaged with and buy from the sponsors that support the riders. It would be possible for motocross racing to do the same with CBD.

Again, I think it’s unfortunate that CBD industry is kept from reaching the masses through motocross. Sadly, it’s the hand we’re currently dealt, and we must make the most out of with what we have. I’m sure that those in control of Supercross and motocross would like to see this entire situation rectified as it will mean more money coming into the properties they are heavily invested in. This is a perfect time for riders, teams, agents and publications to show CBD companies just how popular and respected they are by consumers, all without television influence.