Mike Tyson, Ric Flair cannabis brands enter New Mexico market
Mar. 11—Former heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson and professional wrestler Ric Flair are looking to bring the fight to New Mexico, as the two former professional fighters have introduced their cannabis brands into the state marketplace.
Tyson's TYSON 2.0 brand is selling a mix of prepackaged cannabis flower, pre-rolls and MikeBite edibles — an ode to the time he took a chomp off of Evander Holyfield's ear — while Flair's brand, Ric Flair Drip, is selling cannabis-infused vapes. The products are currently being sold at nearly two dozen Pecos Valley Production stores across the state, according to the holding company Carma HoldCo Inc., which represents Tyson's and Flair's brands. Pecos Valley has stores across the state, including in Albuquerque, Española and Edgewood.
The products are being distributed through a partnership between Carma HoldCo and Elevated Labs, a New Mexico-based cannabis manufacturer. Elevated Labs CEO Orlando Watts told The New Mexican the introduction of Tyson's and Flair's cannabis products was a result of Carma HoldCo reaching out to his company due to its market position.
"We have 60% penetration with all the retailers throughout the state that carry some form of Elevated [products]," he said. "I believe that they saw that and they decided to partner with us because of our capabilities on the back end — we have relationships with farms, greenhouses."
The two brands will be sold exclusively at Pecos Valley for about two months — sales started March 1 — and Watts said with his company's connections, it is likely the products will be sold in other shops across New Mexico. Carma HoldCo also carries other brands, including Immortal by Hulk Hogan and the rapper Future's Evol — the latter of which is sold in stores across New Mexico.
Watts said the brands of Tyson and Flair fit in perfectly with New Mexico's fight scene, with many professional fighters from across different practices living in the state.
"I grew up watching Mike Tyson. And New Mexico is a fight community — that's kind of what put us on the map," Watts said.
