‘I Couldn’t Play Tennis…’ – 42-Year-Old Venus Williams Divulges How She

Legendary tennis player Venus Williams went vegan in 2011 in response to being diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome. Nearly a decade later, the tennis champion founded a company, Happy Viking. The athletes involved in financing were Serena Williams, Kevin Durant, Robin Arzón, and Megan Rapinoe. Now, the seven-time singles Grand Slam champion revealed how her company was able to secure $2 million in funding.

The 7-time Grand Slam champion found that eating a diet rich in plant-based superfoods had a positive impact on her mind, body, and performance. To enable others to enjoy the same benefits, she then set out to invest in Happy Viking.

Venus Williams revealed when she started her plant-based journey

Venus’ brand, which specializes in energizing protein shakes, received overwhelming support from numerous customers and athletes. The 7-time Grand Slam Champion is directly related to the brand’s goal of promoting better nutrition and health.

In an exclusive interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE, she said, “I couldn’t play tennis anymore until I was finally diagnosed. I would never want anyone else to go through that. Being diagnosed is the first step of being able to take steps to feel better, and the worst part is the quality of your life goes down when you’re not feeling well. And then I started my plant-based journey.”

DIVE DEEPER

The 5-time Wimbledon champion was able to convince her younger sister, Serena Williams, the NBA star, Kevin Durant, and other renowned athletes to invest in her company. Talking about the same, she said, “This round was really about including great athletes that we respect and that we love. And we wanted them to be a part of this journey of helping people to live plant based lives and giving them easy solutions to do so.”

Besides helping scale brand awareness, the investors’ support allowed the Happy Viking team to further communicate the benefits of plant-based superfoods to the masses.

Venus uses her entrepreneurial skills in all her ventures

After discovering she had Sjogren’s Syndrome, Venus founded the plant-based business. She worked extremely hard to succeed in her business ventures, such as her clothing line EleVen. The 7-time Grand Slam champion was successful in overcoming the challenges of playing tennis even after her diagnosis.

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Her biggest challenge as an entrepreneur was gaining respect in the industry, which she hadn’t been in before. Venus’ secret to juggling her careers as a professional athlete and businesswoman lies in her extrinsic belief. She believes that quality should come first in everything.