Sag Harbor's Dragon Hemp Apothecary Helps Heal Local Triathletes

When the 2008 worldwide economic crisis hit, Kevin Menard found himself at a fork in the road.

The head of national sales for Last.fm could continue his work with CBS Interactive, relocating with the streaming division-acquired company to the West Coast, or plant permanent roots in his passions for health and wellness.

He decided to take the plunge — and now, more than a decade later, the owner of Sag Harbor’s Dragon Hemp Apothecary has announced a sponsorship of EventPower Long Island triathlon races for the 2024 season.

“I really loved it,” Menard said of his time with the company, a precursor to Spotify. “I loved the technology behind it. I like music. I liked what they were doing. But I was burned out, and I felt a huge pull to health and wellness. I enjoy working with others and helping them on their wellness journey.”

Athletes participating in the races can now benefit from the acupuncturist’s expertise in enhancing recovery and promoting peak physical performance through his first-of-its-kind products that fuse traditional Chinese medicine with hemp.

“I love to empower people to stay active and to live their best lives and stay in the game,” Menard said. “These are all-natural remedies based in time-honored Chinese medicine using innovative cannabinoid medicine and science to do that.”

Foundation in Martial Arts Leads to Acupuncture Advocacy

Menard was first introduced to his new world when training in jujitsu and judo in New York City. The Louisiana native was still operating in media in the late 1990s and early 2000s while working with Chelsea Piers coaches who created the program Full Throttle for triathlon and endurance athletes. He trained there for a Mighty Montauk race, but injured himself.

Wanting to take a non-pharmaceutical approach to his sprain, he decided to give acupuncture a try. Though he was afraid of needles, Menard swiftly became an advocate.

“I wouldn’t run to the doctor and get meds. I would always try to fix myself with natural means,” Menard said. “My first treatment had a profound effect on me. I felt the energy move through the body. I experienced relief from my injury immediately.”

That occurrence ultimately led him to enroll in Tri-State College of Acupuncture in 2009. Due to his passion for martial arts, Menard started working with Tom Bisio, practicing baguazhang, a form of kung fu, while also interning at the acupuncturist’s Fifth Street Clinic in the East Village, where Bisio was linking the use of herbs with his practice.

“I really got to learn all of the old school modalities in acupuncture — needles, electric stem, heat therapy, cupping, gua sha and herbs,” Menard said. “Given he’s a major martial artist, a lot of what we did was address sports injuries and related problems.”

That then inspired Menard to attend the New England School of Acupuncture at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to get certified in sports medicine acupuncture.

“I was just blown away. It was super effective. I really gelled with Tom’s way of practicing, and I wanted to replicate that and learn from the masters,” Menard said. “So I created my clinic in Sag Harbor and incorporated a lot of these modalities.”

The acupuncturist, who founded his practice in 2012, did a lot of work in his early days treating East Hampton’s men’s soccer and Montauk’s rugby teams, but also began aiding locals as he delved deeper into using liniments and tinctures to combat bruising or swelling.

“Whether you’re an athlete, exercising to stay healthy, or picking up a potted plant and tweak your back, it’s this orthopedic way of assessing the injury and treating it,” Menard said. “I learned this very advanced form of needling the muscles and tissue, and then used other points to nourish the body so it really holds the treatment. It’s not just addressing the condition or the injury; it’s about bringing the body back to homeostasis, which is what acupuncture is all about.”

The more Menard learned about traditional Chinese medicine and the power behind herbs like turmeric, frankincense and myrrh — known as a synergistic triad of three of the world’s most powerful healing substances — the greater his desire grew to expand upon his practice.

Rise in Use and Popularity of CBD

In 2018, as cannabidiol, or CBD, skyrocketed in popularity, the acupuncturist grew interested in testing out products but said he knew early on that it wasn’t going to be a cure-all.

“Back then, it was white hot. CBD was marketed as a magic bullet for everything. If you had cancer, a headache, wanted to lose weight, had inflammation — you name it, CBD was for it. And, that wasn’t really the case,” Menard said. “It is an amazing, effective plant medicine, but it has its limits like everything does.

“I used it in clinic and I saw the results for anxiety, for sleep, calming people down, reducing some pain, but I had this intuition — a light bulb went off — that I could improve on the outcomes by blending in specific herbs to address other conditions.”

That’s when he connected with a North Carolina manufacturing partner and chemist who has a background in Chinese medicine to begin creating his own tinctures, balms and gummies to sell at his Dragon Hemp Apothecary shop, which opened its doors on Main Street in Sag Harbor in May 2022.

“I based my formulations on the martial arts trauma formulas that I have been working with, and things I’ve been brewing in my office for practice for quite some time,” Menard said. “That was the genesis, and the effects of combining the hemp extracts with herbs truly surpassed my expectations.”

He said his products have proven to be more effective than CBD alone — especially when addressing things like inflammation, muscle pains and sleep problems — with many seeing results the same day. Menard also began working with some of the 120 other cannabinoids derived from hemp like CBC, CBG, CBA and THCV to create sleep, recovery and wellness tinctures, cooling and warming balms, and energy-boosting gummies.

“I wanted to create the formulas, and what I really liked about CBD was the research,” Menard said. “Now people are trying the products, and we’re getting really great feedback on how it’s helping them. And our formulations now are tremendously better than what they were a few years ago.”

A Partnership With EventPower

Because he saw improvements, the Sag Harbor shop owner wanted to reconnect with EventPower Director Vicki Ventura, whom he’d been scheduled to work with just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I still wanted to be able to introduce the line to her athletes,” Menard said. “If they get injured or if they strain a muscle, our products can cut the recovery time down. The next day, they’ll have no pain, and they can continue to train and train harder and perform better.”

Ventura said she was excited for Long Island’s premier multi-sport event producer to rekindle with Menard’s company.

“Dragon Hemp products align with our goals of supporting people through health and wellness initiatives,” the director said. “We want our participants to enjoy their training, the race experience and their journey, and Dragon Hemp products can assist and enhance their recovery strategy.”

Being close with East End trainers at Soul Cycle, Lifted and Truth Training is how Menard first began marketing his products to athletes, and it was Ed Cashin with Truth Training — with whom Menard did the Paddlers for Humanity paddleboard trip from Montauk to Block Island — who connected him to the four triathlon competitors he’s sponsoring.

“They’re all major athletes, really good at what they’re doing and live really big lives aside from training for these triathlons,” Menard said. “Their bodies are super, super clean, but they’re all in pain because they work out and train like animals. And since triathletes are very particular about what they put in their bodies, there’s also that trust factor that needs to be built. They have to know all of the ingredients.”

That’s what Craig Brierley, who is being sponsored alongside his son, Thomas, said was a draw for him. Menard said all the hemp used is organic, and most Chinese herbs are organic, while all are tested for purity.

“These are natural ingredients that have existed for a long time that can aid the body in positive ways,” Thomas Brierley said.

Positive Feedback and Promises of Continued Use

The East Hampton swim coach and lifeguard, who has participated in 5K and 10K running events, along with sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons, said while he has not been injured in quite a while, he has been fatigued following training, and said he’s noticed results from the wellness and recovery tinctures, along with the cooling balm since he began using the products in June.

“I had not previously used anything specifically for fatigue other than rest, and the recovery tincture does shorten the rest needed with little soreness from previous workout,” he said.

Alyssa Bahel, whose father, Mike, also is sponsored alongside her, and went to college with Cashin, said she’s seen some major improvements in her energy, performance and recovery.

And she’d know a thing or two about competition and fatigue. Bahel, now 26, has always been a high-energy, active person, swimming since she was 4 years old as a member of the Hurricanes swim team, and played field hockey and ran long distances on the track team from her time in the East Hampton School District through college at Denison University. She competed in her first triathlon when she was 13 and, needing another outlet after graduation, started taking triathlon training more seriously. She has now completed 20 triathlons, eight half-marathons, four marathons and countless 5Ks.

“The atmosphere as you’re racing with like-minded people and pushing each other along on the course is my favorite part of triathlons,” 28-year-old Thomas Brierley said. “You’ve got to believe in yourself. The body is capable of much more than you think. Take the training one step at a time, and results will show.”

Alyssa Bahel said she wakes up at 6 each morning to take Dragon Hemp’s energy gummies so she’s ready for her evening training sessions.

“The energy pill has been really, really helpful in giving that extra kick so I can train for longer than I normally could. I feel like I can work out all day, which is great,” the athlete said, adding that, post-workout, she follows up with the recovery tincture.

“It’s been so great. I’m not sore after a 20-mile bike ride, which is something I always struggled with, because I’m not good at stretching. My legs and glutes after a long bike ride would normally be super sore, and I’ve texted Kevin multiple items saying how it’s crazy that I wake up the next day and feel fine and can continue with my training. I don’t have to worry. It’s been a game-changer.”

Bahel also uses the cooling balm for sore muscles, and added that while she’s happy to have the products as she and the other three athletes sponsored train for the July 21 Montauk Lighthouse Triathlon, she wishes she had them when she fractured the same bone in her foot and ankle three straight times in college, or when training for the Boston Marathon in April.

“I wish I had the recovery tincture then, because after that race I wasn’t able to walk for a week,” Bahel said, adding that she will continue use of the products after her upcoming triathlon, as she trains for the Washington, D.C. Marathon at the end of October.

Bahel said a member of her Saturday running group has spinal disc issues, and she recommended the recovery tincture for the pain. She said her fellow East Hampton runner called the results “incredible.”

“The partnership is a smart idea, for sure. Because we’re able to see how these products really help with the training, I’ve been telling friends and workout partners about it,” Bahel said. “There are certain products that he has that are just incredible. I used to take a sleep CBD tincture, but I didn’t realize this stuff could help with athletics. So it’s been really interesting.”

In addition to their sponsorship, Dragon Hemp Apothecary hosted a webinar for those competing prior to the Montauk Lighthouse Triathlon to explain more about the company, and will have pop-up apothecaries at the EventPower races. The goal is to create a learning space, handing out samples so more athletes can test product effectiveness firsthand.

“Conditioning and training are very important to performance, and we have developed a strong and loyal following,” Menard said. “We want people to feel inspired and safe with us. We are the only ones doing what we’re doing on this level.”