Throughout the world, it is estimated that 8,000 different sports are currently in existence. Among these, there can be little doubt that American football is one of the most physically demanding. Just ask Chris Frey, who played college football for 4 years, enjoyed a short stint with the Carolina Panthers and is now a linebacker in the Canadian Football League for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
For as long as he can remember, Frey has dreamed of being a professional football player; and standing 6’0” at 225 pounds, Chris says his body determined the position he would ultimately play. Born and raised in the Columbus, Ohio area, Frey describes his childhood as relatively normal. With a tight-knit, hard-working and supportive family behind him, he was able to excel at football from a young age. Frey says he owes everything to his parents who set him up for success, even going so far as relocating the family his 8th grade year to a much nicer area that offered a lot in the school system so he could continue playing sports.
Due, no doubt, to the positive influence and motivation his family offered, Frey graduated high school early and went on to become a first-generation college graduate of Michigan State University. Those four years as a collegiate athlete were a whirlwind of arduous uncertainty. Frey entered his freshman year with the resolution to never give up. “No matter what it was, I was going to do my best to get on the field at a professional level.” Playing alongside other athletes with comparable talent and skills, mental toughness as well as physical toughness are necessary to succeed. After getting beat out of a spot his first two years, Chris Frey finally earned a starting spot on the Michigan State Spartans his junior year. That was only the beginning; as Frey puts it, “Everyone’s goal is to get into the NFL.” Specifically, he aims to be a starting linebacker or most outstanding special teams player.
During the 2018 draft process, Chris was first introduced to Proven4 products. According to studies, linebackers account for 13.5% of all football injuries, with surgeries resulting from 7.5% of these. Over the past 6 months, Proven4’s Recovery formula has become a frontrunner among supplement products as athletes are realizing more and more how important the rehabilitation process really is.
Chris Frey ended up being drafted that year by the Carolina Panthers and has since become an avid proponent of Proven4 products, particularly the Recovery formula. “I use it religiously…I can tell a major difference when I do take it and when I don’t take it after a workout.” Taking his enthusiasm for Proven4 with him to Canada this past year after multiple tryouts and eventually signing onto the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Frey now aspires to return to the NFL.
Unfortunately, this year saw Frey’s first major injury in 20 years of playing football, as he tore his ACL and was forced to undergo a whole new kind of rehabilitation and a setback in his career. True to character, Frey remains determined to achieve his goals, and considers this to be just another stepping-stone. “All it’s going to do is make me stronger as a person, mentally and physically.” One outcome of Frey’s injury is a whole new outlook on his health, and the Proven4 Pregame, Energy and Recovery supplements have played a major role in helping him do what he needs to do to keep himself healthy. “Your products have really, really changed what I put into my body.” With each Proven4 specialized formula NSF Certified for Sport™, Frey and many other professional athletes are assured that their bodies are free of banned substances.
With the current state of the world in flux, it is uncertain what the future will hold for professional sports, as well as for society in general. Chris Frey, for one, is excited to get back to the CFL. “When it does come back, we’re going to hit the ground running,” he recently declared. Despite setbacks, challenges and brutal training, Frey continues to exhibit the same mental strength and endurance that his family instilled in him all his life. He and a myriad of other professional athletes are realizing that what you put into your body really makes a difference in your performance. But equally valuable is a mindset built on dedication and never giving up.