FOR ALMOST A decade, Michael B. Jordan has been known for transforming himself onscreen from very fit actor to his very, very fit onscreen personas in movies like Black Panther and the Creed franchise. He’s summed up his dedication by saying he treats his body as a business, making his fitness not just a personal priority but a professional necessity. Now he’s joined a cohort of swole celebs in expanding his business into sports and wellness in even more tangible ways. In the past few years, Jordan has become part owner of the English Premier League soccer team AFC Bournemouth and an investor in the F1 team Alpine. Last year, he partnered with Propel Fitness Water on its The Propel Your City Project, an initiative to provide resources for health and fitness-focused organizations across the US to better serve their communities.
Now he’s co-founded MOSS, a beverage that mixes sea moss with organic juices, botanical extracts, and herbs. Jordan has been developing the drink (after getting tired of mixing his carefully-calibrated sea moss smoothies) for almost four years while also establishing its footprint as a platform to support causes he cares about.
“Growing up in New Jersey, on the coast, my dad was always taking me and my brother deep sea fishing,” Jordan says. “I appreciate those memories, and being on the water still gives me a sense of peace and calm.” At the time of its launch MOSS, has committed over $25,000 in giveback to organizations that advocate for marine environmental protections, such as Oceanic Global, and communities groups that promote access for BIPOC groups to water sports and other outdoor activities.
It’s supported and hosted beachside events in Los Angeles with groups like Intersxtn Surf, a surfing community for Black women and women of color; Pacific Town Club, a sports and social club geared toward Black men; and Hike Clerb, an intersectional women’s outdoor collective. “We’re really trying to find the grassroots, boots-on-the-ground organizations,” Jordan says.
As he launches his latest entrepreneurial project and gears up to star in a slate of new movies (he’s rumored to direct Creed IV after making his directorial debut with Creed III), Jordan talks about how he balances his acting, directing, producing, and business duties with his fitness routine and shares his keys to avoiding burnout.
Men’s Health: What made you want to launch your own beverage?
Michael B. Jordan: I started building a wellness routine as part of the preparation for my acting roles. A lot of my roles are very physical, so I do things like take supplements to help me feel strong, give myself an edge when I’m training, but also to feel generally healthy. Sea moss was part of my fuel source behind the fitness routines I’ve used over the years to build my characters’ physiques. My mom has lupus, my parents are getting older, my sister was pregnant at the time. I began thinking more about my overall health and my family’s collective health. I was incorporating sea moss gel into my diet and blending it with smoothies, and I started looking around for a more accessible way to incorporate it into my day-to-day in a more streamlined way. I ended up partnering with DrSmood to develop it into a drink where we can have all the benefits of sea moss in a more easily accessible package. There’s a process to taking the raw product, breaking down into a gel, figuring out when you need to blend it a bit longer or add a little bit more water. Sometimes people’s first impression when they add sea moss to a smoothie or drink at home isn’t ideal because of the trial and error. So we worked on a process and recipe that took about four years to perfect. There was a lot of taste testing, a lot of trying different flavors. We have experts and nutritionists who spent countless hours refining the ingredients.
You’re now an investor in the F1 team Alpine and part owner of the soccer club AFC Bournemouth. What drew you to entering the fray with guys like Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to invest in team sports?
I’m a super competitive person, and I naturally gravitate to competition. As more business opportunities open up in sports, I’ve found more overlap in the things I personally love and the businesses I’m trying to build. The athletes at Alpine and Bournemouth have to be in tip-top shape, mentally strong to compete in these sports. Everyone is looking for that natural edge, and that goes hand in hand with building an enterprise too.
You’re acting, producing a slate of film projects, and building a personal business brand. How do you juggle work with your physical or mental health without burning out?
I think we’ve been conditioned to work hard and grind and grind until you can’t anymore. But things are evolving beyond that. Yes, you have to grind, you have to work extremely hard, but you also have to take the time to replenish and reenergize yourself—your body and your mind—for the long run.
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I always want to do some type of exercise where I get my heart rate up and sweat things out. That helps me get my body locked in and engaged. But the other must-have throughout my day is meditation. I think it’s extremely important to take time to calm your mind, refocus your thoughts, and be intentional about what you want to do. I have my fitness routine, my meditation, my recovery. All together it helps me balance the strenuous workouts, the 2-days, the 3-days, the lack of sleep from having to be a million different places for work.
When you slow down and take time for yourself, what do you do?
I make sure to take some time for myself, do something that makes me happy. We have to give ourselves that carrot, give ourselves something to look forward to that helps keep our mind and body motivated to keep up the grind. I’m definitely a gamer. Anybody that knows me, they know I’m on Call of Duty heavy, NBA 2K, FIFA. Those are probably the three in my rotation the most. Being a uncle, I make time to be around my niece and my nephew. You can’t be mad at all the energy and love they give you.
Without a doubt, working smarter and not harder is the way to go. I’m always looking for the most impactful and most efficient ways to get the most out of my time. And sometimes the way to do that is actually slowing down and meditating, paying attention to my body and the things it needs in order to operate at a high level.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.