Venus Williams has revealed her newest business venture, a mattress named after her. The 42-year-old tennis great has turned her seven Grand Slams and her fame into a series of product lines and is now unveiling a mattress collection.
Like her other enterprises which include a clothing line and an interior design business, it carries her personal seal of approval because Williams credits her tennis success in part to her sleep. “My family call me Rip Van Winkle because I'm serious about my sleep,” she said.
“Sleep is so important for my overall health and performance, both on and off the court, so I never compromise on my rest." Williams partnered with Florida-based company GhostBed to design a mattress to help her restore, rejuvenate and recover each night.
She said: “I wanted to create something I haven’t been able to find which is a super comfortable mattress designed for recovery and performance." The result is the Venus Williams Mattress collection.
The Venus Williams Hybrid starts at £1,721 ($1,995) for a Twin XL and the Venus Williams Hybrid Legend starts at £1,894 ($2,195) for a Twin XL. The sporting champion said: "We used our combined expertise and experiences to create a mattress that is based on a healthy and restorative night’s sleep and allows everyone to perform at their very best.”
Every mattress includes a technology called the Venus Layer. “I mixed these 40 different organic materials into the gel memory foam and we have the FIT layer that we renamed the Venus layer,” said Marc L. Werner, GhostBed CEO and founder.
“What that layer does is it helps to enhance the blood and oxygen flow of the sleeper. So it improves your recovery, your rest and helps you heal if you have an injury.”
While it’s a mattress 'made for a champion', the technology is supposed to be beneficial for everyone. “You don’t have to be an athlete to get the benefits,” said Marc, 65, of South Florida.
“All of us can use enhanced oxidation and blood flow. We’re going to feel better the next day, we’re going to recover better from our aches and pains.”
The results take time to build, something Marc is keen to impress. “It doesn’t happen instantaneously, it happens over a three- or four-week period as you’re laying on the mattress.”
Marc started the company 22 years ago with his wife after not being able to find a mattress to support him after three neck surgeries. He said: “I used to run 10 miles a day for 20 years.
"I ended up with these multiple neck surgeries over the years. That’s how I designed the first pillow and mattress.
"I couldn’t find anything that worked for me, so it was out of necessity that I did that.” When a friend approached him about a potential partnership with one of the Williams sisters, he was excited.
“We just started talking about family business. And I said ‘I look at you girls and you’re a family business like I‘ve been part of... a family business for five generations'" he said.
“85 percent of all the ladders today are Werner ladders and it was started by my grandfather 100 years ago. I said to Venus ‘You’re a family business like me, I went from ladders to mattresses, your product is sports'".
