Hello and welcome! We are Luke and Brianna Markell, and we are incredibly blessed to share our story with you. Above all else, we are Christians first, grateful spouses to one another, proud parents, the happiest grandparents in the world, and deeply grateful Americans. More than anything, we love spending time with our family and friends, meeting new people, and exploring the outdoors. Getting out into nature and enjoying God’s beautiful Earth brings us immense joy.
Our journey together truly began when we fell in love in 2016. We got engaged on Easter Sunday in 2017, and in 2018, we were married against the stunning backdrop of the Grand Tetons. Since then, we have built a life rooted in faith, family, and a shared dedication to wellness. We chose to homeschool our daughters, and a big part of their education has happened on the mats as jiu-jitsu became their gym class! Today, Brianna and our daughters have all earned their blue belts, and Luke has received his purple belt, training together mostly under Cascao Jiu-Jitsu.
Our daily use of CBD is a core part of our jiu-jitsu wellness plan, helping us push our limits and compete at the highest levels. Together, we have been blessed with incredible accomplishments in the sport. Luke won the IBJJF Pan American Championship, the IBJJF Pan American No-Gi Championship, and placed third in the Master World No-Gi IBJJF Championship. Brianna has won many tournaments herself, culminating in becoming an IBJJF No-Gi American National Champion.
We are so passionate about physical wellness because of the profound, life-changing effects we both experienced firsthand through CBD.
Over a decade ago, Luke suffered a severe back injury that left him with a herniated disc (L5, S1). The outlook was grim; the doctor said surgery was the only option if he ever wanted to walk again. Refusing to accept that, Luke pushed through a five-month recovery process and found an incredible Medical Doctor who got him back on his feet through non-invasive PT-style treatments. However, his back still went out nearly every month. For four long, difficult years, he managed the pain through daily stretches and a positive attitude—until he discovered CBD. Once he started using it regularly, his back didn't go out again for more than two full years. Within six months, he was truly enjoying life again—running around outdoors, making memories with our kids, and building the physical foundation to test his limits in jiu-jitsu.
At the same time, Brianna was fighting her own silent battle with scoliosis. For a long time, the only answer she knew to deal with the agonizing pain was acetaminophen. Eventually, managing the chronic pain with over-the-counter pills caught up with her, and she was hospitalized. Thank God for leading her to CBD, which completely transformed her life. For the last 10 years, it has allowed her to successfully cope with her scoliosis without taking a single pill. Today, we both take a serving of our 8,000mg tinctures twice daily and use our creams and salves whenever they are needed.
Because everybody is unique, CBD works differently for everyone, and we never want to promise a false hope. But our results were so undeniable that we knew we couldn’t keep this to ourselves.
The turning point happened during a visit to Luke's dad's house. We were talking about how much our lives had improved, and we realized, “If we can just make this affordable, so many more Americans will be able to find relief.” Right then and there, we made a decision. We committed to building a CBD company that would bring premium, high-quality products to the market at prices everyday families could actually afford.
We started Wholesome CBD to serve our community and help people across this great land live happier, healthier lives. Today, we are so deeply grateful for the tens of thousands of customers we have been able to help with our CBD products—all glory to God. Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us and for letting us be a part of your wellness journey.