NFL Super Bowl 2014 Champion Michael Robinson Becomes Fresh Healthy Vending Franchisee
Fresh Healthy Vending International, Inc. announced its completed franchise deal with Super Bowl 2014 Champion Michael Robinson, who purchased 10 Fresh Healthy Vending Combo machines. According to the release, the Seattle Seahawks’ fullback continuously aspires to encourage today’s youth to lead healthy lifestyles through knowledge and education. He will use his Fresh Healthy Vending franchise to complement his youth-oriented foundation: Excel to Excellence.
A 9-year NFL veteran, having also played four years for the San Francisco 49ers, Robinson is a Virginia native and recently relocated back to his hometown of Richmond, where he decided to start his Fresh Healthy Vending franchise: Healthy Treats. In both Richmond and Henrico Counties, where he started his foundation in 2010, Robinson plans to begin installing all 10 Fresh Healthy Vending machines into schools, businesses and community centers by late spring.
“I have always been a planner, so I had been looking into the healthy vending industry for some time, after an NFL-personnel friend of mine expressed his positive experience and success with a Fresh Healthy Vending franchise. For me, it was another business venture to pursue in the off-season, as well as think about for my post-NFL career,” said Robinson in a prepared statement. “When I realized how directly related Fresh Healthy Vending’s initiatives were to my foundation’s, I began working on starting my own franchise, here in Virginia, where there is a need for not only educating our youth about healthy lifestyles, but providing them with the resources to make those positive changes possible. I am thrilled with the amount of support I have already received from the community.”
Robinson founded the Excel to Excellence Foundation, Inc. to address his concern for underserved children throughout the community and now provides additional guidance for students to be successful in academics, community service and extracurricular activities. As part of the non-profit, Robinson mobilizes his NFL teammates and friends to lead free, youth football camps and incentive programs to increase attendance and grade point averages among kids and teens.
“A large part of my efforts are motivated from a health scare I experienced last year. After having a terrible reaction to a prescribed medication, my liver and kidneys began shutting down and I lost 30 pounds in just a couple of weeks. It was then that I truly realized what it means to appreciate good health,” said Robinson. “I want to be able to provide resources for good health to as many people as I can, starting with the youth in Virginia, and particularly in the underprivileged areas where they don’t know anything better than junk and fast food. A lot is about to change here very soon; we’re changing lives one snack at a time.”
With an emphasis on educating youth about healthy choices, Robinson anticipates that his Healthy Treats franchise will expand outside of Virginia in the coming years, with potential partners in other regions of the U.S. already interested in the concept.
“We’re extremely honored to welcome Mr. Robinson to the Fresh Healthy Vending team as a new franchisee and know that his experience as a professional athlete and advocate for today’s youth will aid in his success with this franchise,” said Alex Kennedy, CEO of Fresh Healthy Vending. “We know that Mr. Robinson can make a strong impact throughout these first two regions, as he has already expressed the endorsement of both local school districts, as well as the mayor of Richmond, all likely a result of the positive changes that have already materialized due to his localized efforts.”
This May, Fresh Healthy Vending plans to sponsor Robinson and his NFL peers for their 5th annual youth football camp in Virginia, with more than 500 participants and more than 3,000 spectators.
