2011 World Champion Yohan Blake addressing his audience at the launch of his Reviere Purified Water on Friday at the AC Hotel in Kingston.
In his continuing drive to build a career after he retires from track and field, Yohan Blake on Friday launched his brand of water, Revierie Purified Water, at the AC Hotel in Kingston.
The brand will officially hit the market on November 1 with plans already in place to target markets overseas, especially in the Diaspora, the Caribbean and China where the 2011 World 100m champion continues to be a popular figure.
The broader plan is to align the Reviere brand with Jamaican/Caribbean sport, culture and life making it the water of choice for “home, healing, training, the gym, rehearsals, events and everyone’s life essential drink of water.”
Blake and his team have already planned an aggressive marketing strategy to break into the market. They have ready ads for television and social media featuring Blake and the brand’s ambassador, dancehall icon Bounty Killer and one for social media.
The world champion’s image appears on each bottle of water, which his team believes will help to connect the brand with consumers.
Speaking with Sportsmax.TV, Blake said launching his own brand of water is a big deal.
“It is really big for me. It is really going to change the market in the way not just how people see water, but see me on the bottle knowing that through my hard work this water is on the market and me looking to go into a different venture,” he said.
The beloved athlete also drew praise from business partner Stephen Steele of iPrint Digital and Outdoor Advertising, who urged everyone to support Blake in this new venture.
Speaking on behalf of Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Advisor Lenford Salmon lauded the second fastest man for his dive into entrepreneurship and described him as an example for others to follow.
“The minister particularly wanted me to highlight the fact that for a young man, a young athlete, and we at the Ministry of Culture regard sports as physical culture. So we regard it as a part of the culture and in the day of bling where artists, too many of them and our athletes make some money, sometimes it’s not even a whole heap, but when they make some income they don’t plow it back, they go for the bling,” Salmon said.
“They go for fast cars, they party every night, they go for top-shelf liquor, without looking to see how they’re going to secure their future. And we’ve been watching you and we’re seeing your business ventures, we’ve seen all you have been doing to set an example for athletes and for people, generally, in what we call physical culture and culture and we want to use this opportunity of you starting another business venture and hold you up as that kind of example which we want others to follow.”
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Encouraging victories for Jamaican hurdlers McLeod and Anderson in Savona
Jamaican sprint hurdlers Omar McLeod and Britany Anderson delivered strong performances at the 13th Savona International Meeting in Savona, Italy on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old McLeod, the 2016 Rio Olympics champion in the 110m hurdles, marked an encouraging start to his season with a thrilling victory. The 2017 world champion clocked a winning time of 13.37 seconds in his first competitive race in the event since April 2023 at the LSU Invitational in the United States. Despite facing challenges with rhythm and hitting hurdles during the race, he held off Great Britain's Joshua Zeller (13.42) and Spain's Enrique Llopis (13.43) to secure the victory.
Anderson, meanwhile, the 2022 World Championship silver medalist in the 100m hurdles, continued her impressive form by winning her event with a season-best time of 12.88 seconds. Anderson engaged in a tight battle with Ireland's Zarah Lavin (12.92) and Italy's Eliza Maria Di Lazzaro (12.99), ultimately crossing the line first to claim victory.
Anderson's performance marked a significant improvement from her previous outing, where she clocked 13.23 seconds for victory at the X Athletic Elite Meeting in Milan earlier in April.
With the national championships in Jamaica approaching in just six weeks, the success of both McLeod and Anderson signals promising prospects as they aim to excel and secure coveted spots in Jamaica's Olympic team for the upcoming Games in Paris.
Jamaica's champion Traves Smikle primed for Diamond League debut after impressive JAI victory
Jamaican discus thrower Traves Smikle is riding high on confidence after a convincing win at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational and is now setting his sights on the upcoming Diamond League meeting in Rabat, Morocco, where he will face a formidable field of world-class competitors.
Smikle, who departs the island on Wednesday for the prestigious Diamond League event on Sunday, expressed both excitement and determination about his first appearance in the series. "Encountering a discus field like the one in Rabat for my first Diamond League meet is pretty exciting and crazy at the same time," said Smikle, who has had five wins on the trot this season. "Not many of the big names are missing and I just need to go out there and compete. It’s a game of distance and these guys are good quality throwers, so I just need to hold my own and compete."
His recent performance at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational demonstrated Smikle's capabilities, as he threw an impressive 66.89m to secure victory over his compatriot Fedrick Dacres. Reflecting on this achievement, Smikle emphasized the importance of consistency and translating his current form to European competitions.
"Before coming into this competition, I felt a little tired during the training sessions in the days before," Smikle noted following his win on Saturday. "Coming out today and having another 66m throw is pretty respectable. I am working on my consistency; what I need to do now is when I go to Europe, I translate this sort of performance and better to be competitive among the field."
Looking ahead to his aspirations for the Olympics in Paris this summer, Smikle is focused on pushing his limits and achieving greater distances. "I want to get 68, 69, 70m in a stadium," he explained. "That is what I am working on."
When asked about the steps needed to reach these targets, Smikle highlighted the importance of dedication, patience, and consistency in training. "It’s going to take more work, patience, and greater consistency," emphasized Smikle, who, so far this season, has won with throws of 67.57m, 67.83m, 65.96m, 66.03m and 66.89m. "If you can build up your level of consistency, then at some point your upper limit must get higher."
Matthew Boling thrilled by Jamaica Athletics Invitational experience: "Everyone cheered and it got me hyped..."
Rising American sprinter Matthew Boling expressed his excitement and enthusiasm after competing in the Jamaica Athletics Invitational on Saturday, where he ran a season's best time of 44.98 in the 400m.
Boling, who finished second behind Great Britain's Matthew Hudson Smith, spoke to Sportsmax.TV about his first-time experience in Jamaica and the atmosphere that fueled his performance.
"Yea, I loved the crowd. I like my little intro, everyone cheered and it got me hyped," Boling shared. "I was in the zone and I had to beat my chest a little bit."
Despite his impressive run, Boling indicated that he plans to rest before the upcoming USA trials, hinting at a potential return to Jamaica in the future. "I’d love to come back," he mentioned, reflecting on the lively reception he received from the Jamaican fans.
Regarding his overall season and the challenge of competing in both the 200m and 400m events, Boling expressed satisfaction with his progress, hinting that he could deliver something special at the USA Olympic trials in late June. "I think it’s been going great; the 400m and the 200m seems to be the way I’m heading this year," Boling stated. "I’ve run 10.06, 20.03 and 44.98 so far so I think I’m getting in good shape and getting ready to bust something big out at trials."
Acknowledging the difficulty of taking on the 200m/400m challenge, Boling maintained a positive outlook. "It’s pretty tough but I’m young I’ll recover quick," he remarked with a big smile, demonstrating his determination and optimism for the upcoming competitions.
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