Without boring you too much with the ins and outs of nicotine pouches and snus (yes, there is a difference), I want to give you some context.
I played football for a long time at a decent enough standard. One of the most embarrassing things about playing professional football, was being spotted smoking a cigarette. I think, after a certain amount of time, even the Christmas stash of Lynx Africa wasn’t enough to hide the cigarette stench. Ironically, I wanted to quit smoking because my fitness level was only matched by the level of my goal-scoring. But, in reality, I was addicted to nicotine, and I needed it.
A few different names have known VELO through the years. EPOK and Lyft, the notable first memories of coming into the VELO fold for me. British American Tobacco, the manufacturer of VELO, had made a mess of the brand alignment, in my opinion. But, after I was introduced to EPOK, I was able to move to a nicotine consumption that, at least, didn’t make me stink. For some, nicotine pouches are frowned upon. For me, these gems saved my lungs, and potentially the latter part of my career. I have used VELO, intermittently with other brands, for nearly a decade. Football was an important segway into nicotine pouches. The unspoken cult of professional footballers has, and always will be, the use of nicotine pouches and snus. And why not? Fans and media play a significant role in chastising any act of disrepute to sycophancy by footballers - at least pouches are discreet!