Shaq Brings the Party With New BeatBox Blueberry Lemonade Flavor: Shop Here
The NBA legend talks his love for music festivals, the Beatbox partnership, and becoming DJ Diesel.
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NBA legend, entrepreneur and DJ, Shaquille O’Neal is bringing the party with his new partnership and investment in BeatBox Beverages. The team up includes the launch of a new “shaqalicious” flavor Blueberry Lemonade. The beverage contains 11.1% alcohol-by-volume (ABV), delivering “big, full-court flavor and unforgettable fun.” It is also low in sugar, gluten-free and features resealable, eco-friendly packaging.
Shaq discovered Beatbox while completing epic side missions as DJ Diesel touring the world and doing over “200 music festivals a year,” he tells Billboard. He described the drink as a “Capris Sun in a box” due to the brands incredibly fun mix of flavors, including orange blast, cherry limeade, peach punch, watermelon lemonade and more.
“I never tasted anything that good. It was nice. So when I met with the team down in Austin, we had a great conversation and I told them, I would love to partner and help the company grow. I’ve always been about trying to create unforgettable experiences—whether it’s on the court, DJing, or through my business ventures. When I first came across BeatBox, I saw a brand with that same spirit of fun and boldness that’s really taking over the category.”
He continues, “When I partner with with young, new companies, I get in a basketball mode. Of course, we’re going to do business, but I want to help you win championships. I want the top spot. So for me, it’s just helping these guys grow.”
BeatBox is one of the fastest growing ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages on the market and gained national attention in 2014 after a receiving a record-breaking $1 million deal on Shark Tank by Mark Cuban. A decade later, the beverage company is now valued at over $200 million.
“We started this because of our love of going to music festivals,” says Brad Schultz, Co-Founder & CMO at BeatBox. “We thought, if the world could be more like a party and more like a music festival, we’d all be in a much better place.” Regarding the new partnership, he states, “There’s literally nobody more perfect, you know, Mark helping us get the business going, but Shaq is here to really help us take it to another level. From the start, he recognized that BeatBox is more than a drink – it’s a party movement. His passion for music, sports, entertainment and live events make this partnership a perfect fit.”
The new blueberry lemonade flavor and its packaging reflects on the playful nature of both the brand and the former NBA star’s larger-than-life personality. The product features playful doodles of lemons, lightning bolts, blueberries, and a DJ turntable, paying homage to Shaq’s music moniker, DJ Diesel.
Shaq may be known as the powerhouse center in the NBA, but he’s no stranger to the music industry. He’s released music with many of hip-hop’s greats, including Jay-Z, Nas, Notorious B.I.G. and more. He’s dropped a hilarious Shannon Sharpe diss track and has been DJing the biggest music festivals around the globe since 2015.
He fell in love with festivals after attending one years ago and being exhilarated by the “million freaking people out there, and those people jumping up and down. I got the adrenaline back.” He continues, “I’ve been DJ my whole life, scratching mix and doing a lot. So when I step over into the festival world, I had a choice to make. You want to go mainstream right now, or do you want to start from the bottom like everybody. I’m gonna start from the bottom like everybody else.”
Since then, Shaq has performed at major festivals like Tomorrowland, Lost Lands, Lollapalooza, and Electric Forest, and he also launched his own festival series, Shaq’s Fun House and Shaq’s Bass All-Stars.
“For me, it’s like, if you ever get to this point and people pay to watch you perform, make sure you give them a show. It’s the motto for me. We’re going to party, we’re going to have a good time, we’re going to make sure everyone is safe and everything’s going to be done correctly. It’s like a game seven, and I try to make people smile.”
Shaq’s new Blueberry Lemonade BeatBox flavor is out now and available at Total Wine and other select retailers and grocers. It will be sold in a single 500-ml size, as well as in the new lemonade variety pack with two other new flavors in the Lemonade lime, Watermelon Lemonade and Lemon Squeeze. Shop some fan-favorite flavors below.
