Teri Reeves is not an ordinary actress.
Sure, her latest credits may include some of the most popular shows on television: 9-1-1, The Punisher, and Once Upon a Time. But not many can say that they also hold a brown belt in the ancient martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. If that’s not enough, Teri teaches fitness classes and offers personal training services to clients throughout Los Angeles in her off time.
But after years of working in the entertainment industry, Teri was fed up with the lack of dynamic or powerful female roles out there. In Teri’s words, “I kept getting cast as the victim. I was either a cry or die girl. Eventually, I went to my team and said, ‘I have more in my wheelhouse than this. What if I put together a fight reel?’”
Her team loved it, and the rest is history. As Teri puts it, “once I did my first stunt, I was hooked.” Now, she gravitates towards roles that portray strong females who are active and physical. According to her, “it’s always better for storytelling if the actor in the shot is the one doing their own action.”
Although she saves the truly dangerous stuff for the professionals, Teri has now been doing her own stunts for years. But when added to her already demanding schedule of martial arts and physical training, it became draining. Teri says, “I was struggling with fatigue and recovery. Muscle soreness, aches, and pains were all bothering me when I showed up to work. I didn’t want to quit, but my body was hurting.”
At this point, Teri had shaped her acting career around her physical abilities. But when the pain of overworking her body became unbearable, she had to reevaluate how to sustain such an active lifestyle: “there was a part of this year where I started to get injured more regularly and I was devastated. I thought, ‘this might actually affect my career.’”
“There was a part of this year where I started to get injured more regularly and I was devastated.”
The pain not only affected her livelihood, but her wellbeing. “I call working out my moving meditation. Some people meditate or pray, or whatever it is to quiet their mind or body. For me, I need to move in order to do that.” Because moving the body is not only essential to her work but to her mental health, finding a recovery method that worked was essential.
Of course, as a personal trainer, Teri was already incorporating the timeless recovery methods athletes know and love: icing, stretching, massage, rest and myofascial release. But at the rate she was going, she needed something more.
To recover quickly, Reeves used over-the-counter pain relievers to help her power through the sore days. After a while, she felt like she was abusing over the counter pain medication to treat daily sore muscles, fatigue, bumps and bruising. Plus, “Advil irritated my stomach.” And she’s not the only one: common pain relievers can cause kidney damage when used too frequently. It was around this time she realized, “I had to get smart about my recovery so I could continue doing the work I love.”
One day, her running partner offers an alternative: Papa and Barkley 3:1 Releaf Balm.
“I was skeptical. When he told me it had cannabis in it, I was even more skeptical because I came from a family that never encouraged it. But I was desperate.”
So, she decided to give the balm a shot.
“When he told me it had cannabis in it, I was even more skeptical because I came from a family that never encouraged it.”
“The first night, I rubbed it on my calf muscles because I had a stress fracture last year that resulted in inflammation.” A stress fracture happens to many whose lives revolve around pushing themselves physically. Impact sports like running, jump squats or martial arts (all of which Teri does daily) are usually what causes them.
According to Teri, “my calf muscles were so inflamed from the fracture that I could hardly put my heels on the ground. When I woke up the next morning, I was walking normally. I felt better. It was working.” So, she started using it on her calves daily. “Ever since, I’ve been able to recover more quickly and feel a lot less pain.”
“When I woke up the next morning, I was walking normally. I felt better. It was working.”
In addition to muscle tension, the Papa & Barkley Releaf Balm helps Teri with a host of other issues. For instance, headlocks and neck chokes are common moves in Hollywood stunt scenes, but they can result in major neck tension. Teri uses the balm after especially difficult stunt scenes to prevent neck tension and go about her day. Like all athletes, Teri must also think about previous injuries to her body and how to protect those pain points when she uses them. A few years ago, she popped a bursa sac in her knee joint. Before discovering the Balm, this injury would reoccur often with any impact. At one point, the inflammation became so painful, she had to stop training altogether.
Now, Teri has made a habit out of wearing a brace every time she trains, then rubs the Releaf Balm on her knee afterward. Since the Papa and Barkley product, Teri says “I can train as much as I want. It really does help with inflammation. And I don’t need to take Advil anymore.”
According to Teri, “the Papa & Barkley Releaf Balm is the one addition to my routine that helps me continue to do what I do with less pain than ever before. It saved my ability to work and be present while continuing to do the moving meditation work that is part of my wellbeing.”
“The Papa & Barkley Releaf Balm is the one addition to my routine that helps me continue to do what I do with less pain than ever before.”
In fact, Teri’s experience has proven so helpful in her daily routine that she now recommends the Balm to her physical training clients: “for my clients, I have some Papa & Barkley on hand in my training studio in case they want to try it. One client had knee surgery and was recovering in pain. She now uses it on her knee and it sped up the recovery process.”
Of course, Teri recommends continuing with other useful recovery methods when incorporating cannabis topicals into your recovery routine. “It’s just another tool in the toolbox of recovery. Continue to rest, ice, and follow doctors orders.”
If you want to learn more about Teri’s routine, check out her top tips for responsible workout recovery.
