Docs said my hubby couldn’t walk down the aisle after...

WHEN Liv Ferdi, 35, was told her fiancé would be on crutches and non-ambulatory on their big day, her heart shattered. The couple wouldn’t even be able to walk down the aisle together after saying ‘I do’, let alone have a first dance in front of their nearest and dearest.

Image Credit: The Sun [A man and woman holding and displaying TRIP CBD-infused drinks.]

Dan Khoury, 37, had suffered a debilitating injury during Sunday morning football, which saw him tear his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), one of the key connective tissues in the knee that helps stabilise it. Widely touted as the worst injury you can get from playing football, Dan needed intense knee surgery just weeks before their wedding in 2018.

Image Credit: The Sun [Daniel Khoury and Olivia Ferdi of Trip CBD.]

After the operation, he was to be on strict bed rest with metal poles in his leg and only moving around for short periods of time with the help of crutches. It was this crisis that inadvertently led them to set up Trip, the UK’s leading CBD brand that’s on a mission to make drinks infused with cannabidiol truly mainstream.

Image Credit: The Sun [A bride and groom holding hands and walking away from the camera.]

“We were going to tuxedo and wedding dress fittings and the staff were like ‘I don't know what you expect us to do, we can’t fit a tuxedo over his leg’,” Liv recalls for Fabulous' exclusive series, Bossing It. The couple, who are teenage sweethearts, weren’t ready to give up on their dream wedding.

Image Credit: The Sun [Close-up of several chilled cans of TRIP CBD-infused sparkling drinks.]

They began desperately researching ways to speed up Dan’s recovery - and that’s when they stumbled upon CBD after being told about it by a family friend based in the US. CBD (officially known as cannabidiol) is a chemical found naturally in cannabis plants, which can be extracted via steam distillation and transformed into many forms, including oils and capsules.

Image Credit: The Sun [Olivia Ferdi and Dan Khoury, founders of Trip CBD, holding their product.]

Its benefits are widely touted: it is scientifically proven to alleviate stress and muscle aches, as well as aid sleep and even relieve the side effects of cancer treatment. Despite being derived from cannabis plants, it is non-psychoactive, doesn’t cause a high and you can’t become addicted to it.

Image Credit: The Sun [Two women holding cans of TRIP sparkling blend.]

Dan ordered a bottle of CBD oil from the internet and began consuming it every day after his knee operation, as well as rubbing it topically on the injured area. The product not only reduced swelling, but eased his pain and helped him sleep easier, which is key for recovering after such an intense injury.

Image Credit: The Sun [Four cans of TRIP Mindful Blend lightly sparkling beverages in different flavors.]

Amazingly, Dan was up and walking seven weeks after his ACL surgery, which is half of what the NHS estimates it can take. “We surprised everyone by not having to cancel our wedding,” Liv says. “Dan wasn’t just hobbling down the aisle either, he danced the night away with no pain. It was bonkers.”.

Trip products are sold in Sainsbury's, Co-op, Morrisons, Asda, Superdrug, Holland & Barret and Boots. You can also purchase directly from the brand's website. Against all odds, he was the last man standing on the dancefloor that night. This mini miracle is what led the newlyweds Liv and Dan to found Trip, which is famed for its flagship fizzy drinks infused with CBD oil and other stress-busting ingredients.

You might have seen the drinks in your local supermarket - they come in pretty pastel cans with a ‘peace up’ sign on the front. This girly design is deliberate, says Liv. Back in the day, CBD oil was super hard to understand. It looked illicit. The bottles covered in green leaves, or pictures of dragons or monkeys.

“I started taking CBD drops after Dan,” she explains. “But back in the day, the oil was super hard to understand - it was brown liquid, in brown bottles, with a horrible earthy taste. “The taste would stay in your mouth like all day and was not something I could have on my desk or talk to people about.

“It looked illicit. They were covered in green leaves, or pictures of dragons or monkeys.”. The pair realised that there was an opportunity to bring CBD into the mainstream, in a way that didn’t feel intimidating for someone to dip their toe in. “Three months after the wedding, we told our parents as newlyweds that we're going to do something in this space,” Liv recalls.

“We told them that we’re going to make a drink with these ingredients and it's going to change how people feel - and we're going to help people feel calmer, less stressed and happier.”. Liv and Dan pumped all of their life savings into Trip to get it off the ground.

Over the course of the first year, they injected around £25,000 into the dream - and didn’t even pay themselves a wage. Do I feel like I'm bossing it? I'm definitely making it up as I go along. “We had a bit of savings from our careers, which were corporate, fairly well paid city careers,” Liv explains.

“We started everything quite small, so we had to find the one person that would make our product on the smallest possible run of 10,000 cans initially.”. She designed the can on the back of an envelope one afternoon and then found a local designer who could bring it to life.