It’s not enough that tennis champion Venus Williams just added a Wimbledon doubles title (earned with her sister Serena) to the list of seven Grand Slams she’s won. She and Serena will also be heading into the Olympics to win doubles gold there. If they do, it will add to the gold medals they’ve already won in Beijing and Sydney.
Venus Williams is a big-time business woman, too. She and her sister Serena own a stake in the Miami Dolphins football team. Venus has a clothing line, Eleven. She has an interior design business. And she’s working on building a chain of Jamba Juice stores.
Williams just opened her second Jamba Juice outpost in Washington D.C.; the first is in Bethesda, MD. Besides the money-making prospects for this endeavor, she sees it as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of healthy eating.
“My goal is to help inspire our nation’s youth to become more active and to make better dietary choices,” she told Limelife.com.
As an athlete, healthy living has always been important to Williams. But since Williams’ recent diagnosis of Sjögren’s syndrome, it has become more important. Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disease that causes joint pain, fatigue, and dry mouth, among other symptoms. There is no cure. Williams has become a raw vegan, which she says has helped.
Besides its usual smoothies and juice drinks, Jamba Juice has just introduced a line of “Make It Light” smoothies that have one-third of the calories, sugar and carbs of the “Classic” versions of their products. Williams’ goal is to add five more Jamba Juice shops in the D.C. area in that many years.
