“We’re more than just a product” - The story behind Justin Forsett's new personal hygiene brand Hustle Clean

By Connor Buestad | Connor@Section925.com

As a sophomore in high school in Mulberry, Florida, a tiny town of 3,000 people far outside of Tampa, five-foot-nothing Justin Forsett had no idea what UC Berkeley was, or brand management for that matter, or consumer behavior, or kale salad or Peet’s Coffee. He hadn’t read Friday Night Lights, or taken a public speaking class, or even dreamed about leading a relief effort in a hurricane ravaged town in Puerto Rico. He had NFL hopes like every other kid who gets picked in the first three rounds of PE football, but for a person of his stature, even those visions seemed faint. The one piece of clarity that Forsett had at that age, however, was that he was going to take advantage of every opportunity that was thrown his way. He hasn’t said no since.

“Hmm, safely? Safely, I’d have to say I’ve received over 1,000 ‘no’s’ since I started my business,” explains Forsett with a chuckle. “You’d be surprised how tough it is to raise money, to keep the business going, to push through. The goalposts are always moving. Nothing comes easy when you start a business from scratch like we did with Hustle Clean. But you simply can’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Long before Forsett was confronted with the onslaught of ‘no’s’ that every entrepreneur has to wade through, the high school sophomore was ready to say yes to anything that even remotely sounded like it would improve his chances of maximizing his potential in life. The first faint knock from Opportunity came when he learned a family friend had a place for him to stay in Arlington, Texas, a football hotbed that also offered an academically focused high school that could put Forsett on a path to a Division I scholarship. It didn’t take long for him to say yes and pack his bags, leaving his comfortable and familiar life in Florida behind, seeking something new, with the confidence that it would lead to something great. As cliché as it sounds, he literally never looked back.

When he stepped foot on the small campus of Grace Prep Academy in Texas, Forsett ran wild, wasting no time putting himself on major college coaches radars around the country. As the touchdowns piled up, Forsett was able to generate enough buzz around him to get an unofficial scholarship offer from Notre Dame. But at the last minute, the storied program for South Bend pulled the rug out from under Forsett and said no to him after all. They had secured a taller, higher rated running back at the last minute and Forsett was left standing when the music stopped.

“At that point, I really had nowhere to play in college, as crazy as that sounds. It was getting really late in the recruiting process, so I sent my game tape to all the schools out west,” says Forsett. “Fortunately Cal responded. Next thing you know, I’m on campus in Berkeley.”

Thousands of miles from his family in Florida and Texas, and perhaps even further away if you consider the gap in culture and politics, Forsett adapted seamlessly. You couldn’t have blamed him if he had his excuses. The huge campus in Berkeley could not have been more different than his quaint campus in Texas and the curriculum on his plate was anything but easy. Add to that the fact that Marsahwn Lynch entered Cal’s program the very same year, playing the very same position. Nothing was going to come easy for Forsett when he chose to accept Jeff Tedford’s offer to come to Cal. But if you get to know Forsett, it’s no surprise he didn’t shrink from the challenge.

In fact, it was in the locker room with his football teammates where Forsett’s entrepreneurial gears first started turning. Their locker room talk consisted of new ideas that they could turn into a business, which lead to what is now Hustle Clean, a brand that sells disposable body and face wipes that substitute for a shower, as well as other personal care products that are still in the pipeline.

“It’s a running joke that you hear a lot in locker rooms, especially in football. A guy won’t have time to take a shower because he’s late for class or something, so he’ll say ‘hey fellas, I’m just gonna take a shower pill and call it good.’ Well, we went ahead and actually made a real shower pill, which was an antibacterial, moisturizing body wipe,” explains Forsett.

Forsett himself could have used a few “shower pills” during college, when you consider how many classes he was rushing out the door for. Unlike your stereotypical power five conference athlete who might put school on the backburner to focus on playing football in front of millions of viewers on Saturdays, Forsett was developing a growing interest in advertising and marketing concepts and ideas that were foreign to him just a few years prior. If Cal was going to teach it, Forsett was going to take advantage of it. And he wasn’t going to hesitate to apply it to his own creative business ideas.

By the time Forsett was a senior in Berkeley, the 5’8” running back finally had the backfield all to himself as Lynch gave up his senior year to start his career in the NFL. Cal fans were understandably worried about losing that much production from a superstar running back, but Forsett silenced the doubters with a senior season of 15 touchdowns. By the time he left campus in the spring of 2007, he had squeezed out everything Berkeley had to offer him. He left with an NFL opportunity in one hand and a start-up business plan in his back pocket.

“Cal was an incredible experience for me. I’m so thankful to all my professors and coaches that I came in contact with out there. They delivered on their promise of opportunity and I tried to meet them halfway. It worked out well for both of us I’d say.”

Forsett and Kap in 2014 (Photo by Rob Carr)

If there is a common thread that runs through Forsett’s life, it’s that for every opportunity that he capitalizes on, a new form of adversity quickly emerges, eagerly awaiting to test him yet again. The NFL, or better yet the “Not For Long” league, was just that.

There are “only” seven rounds in the NFL draft and Forsett had to wait till the seventh to be picked in the 2008 draft. Once he got into the NFL, he was “fired” as he likes to say, six times. He played for seven teams in the league, bouncing from city to city, having to prove himself over and over again, never complaining or feeling sorry for himself. After all, he was in the NFL, a childhood dream. He’d figure out how to make it work.

By 2014 he made the Pro Bowl as the Baltimore Ravens starting running back. That same year, Shower Pill (which has now been rebranded as Hustle Clean) was first launched commercially.

By 2016, Forsett decided to hang up his cleats and focus on not only his business, but his wife (former Cal/ National Team volleyball player Angie Pressey) and their four children. Two years later, he found himself with his two business partners on national TV in front of Mark Cuban and the rest of the Shark Tank crew, pitching their body wipe product for the world to see. Although the sharks withheld an investment offer, the experience on the show and others like Good Morning America helped Shower Pill’s revenue grow to new heights.

True to form, Forsett has refused to rest on his laurels since Shower Pill’s uptick in success two years ago. In fact, he and his business partner, Wale Forrester, recently decided to makeover the company entirely, leaving consumers in the personal hygiene space with a brand they can more identify with. A brand that can not only sell wipes for you body and face, but can also roll out a stable of personal care products under the same name.

“A couple years back, I was doing sideline reporting with the Baltimore Ravens. I was on the road to Cincinnati to do a game and it just hit me. Our company is at the intersection of hustle and hygiene. Hustle Clean!” explains Forsett with a huge smile on his face.

Thus, the current name was born and just last month, the new branding was brought to market with a video you can find below. In it, you can see the passion and love that Forsett has for the brand that he created. A brand that he wants to cultivate into something that goes far beyond just a 10-pack of body wipes for $9.99.

Over the past few years, when disaster has struck communities not just in America but around the world, Forsett and his team have been on the ground helping those people in areas where there is a water crisis. Forsett understands that a body wipe might not solve all the problems that a hurricane victim is facing, but the instant hygiene provided to them can bring them the dignity to help get them through the day.

“Honestly, for me it is more important to serve and leave a lasting impact in this world then anything else. We were in Flint, Michigan following their water cris, in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, we even partnered with a hospital to send our products to help with wound care in Uganda. It’s a great feeling to see the faces of the people you help. I want to do more of that.”

After visiting with Justin Forsett for an extended period of time, it is hard not to come away newly motivated and inspired, even during a global pandemic. His message in 2020 has little to do with the fascinating tales of NFL glory or pitching a business idea on national television or putting his locker room idea from college into a tangible product that can be found at your local Target store. Instead, Forsett makes it clear that his intent is to help others above all else. A mission that he couldn’t fully fulfill out on the football field, but has gotten closer with a body wipe.

“I want to encourage people to continue to dream. It’s not enough for me to make it to the NFL, then go on with my life and sit back and consume. My whole goal was never to just be an all pro football player. I wanted to be an all pro husband, an all pro father and an all pro business man.”

Will “All Pro Football Player” already checked off the list, Forsett has just a few more items left to tend to. Even if you don’t invest your money with him, just make sure not to bet against him. He just might prove you wrong.