By Christine Graf
One With Life Organic Tequila has partnered with world champion boxers Teofimo Lopez, Larry Holmes, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, and Maureen Shea Carranza to promote and grow the brand.
The four boxers are equity partners in the Saratoga Springs-based business that was started in 2015 by local resident Lisa Elovich.
“All four are world champions, and each of these boxers really embodies the message of what it means to be one with life which is a message of kindness, compassion, courage, strength, and exuberance,” said Elovich.
Lopez is the current unified lightweight world champion and the youngest four-belt champion in the history of boxing. Hall of Fame heavyweight champion Holmes is best known for his historic defeat of Muhammed Ali.
Mancini is a lightweight Hall of Famer and Shea Carranza is a WBC and IFBA featherweight champion. She was also the main sparring partner for actress Hillary Swank as she prepared for her 2005 role in the movie “Million Dollar Baby.”
By partnering with these elite boxers, Elovich is able to combine her passion for tequila and her love of boxing. Her interest in the sport began in 2004 after she joined a boxing gym to lose pregnancy weight. Her boxing workouts eventually led to what she describes as an “accidental career” as a boxing promoter.
“I met a bunch of professional boxers that lived in the Capital Region that had not fought in many years because there was no one promoting shows. They kind of recruited me to get my promoter’s license. I got my professional license to promote pro shows and ended up doing that for about seven years,” she said.
While working as a promoter, the Hofstra Law School graduate continued working in the legal profession. During her legal career, she has worked as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, an administrative law judge, and a commissioner for the state Board of Parole.
Elovich’s second “accidental career” as a tequila company owner began after she traveled to Mexico and visited Tequila Las Americas, an organic agave farm and distillery in Amatitan, the birthplace of tequila. At the time, she was working for the parole board, a job that she described as “very dark and heart wrenching.” She was looking for an opportunity to start a business that was associated with joy and celebration.
After deciding to launch her own tequila brand, Elovich chose Tequila Las Americas as her distillery and started out with small batch of less than 100 cases. She partnered with Saratoga Eagle, her sponsor during her years as a boxing promoter, to distribute her tequila which is certified organic, additive free, kosher, and sustainably farmed.
“There are over 2,000 tequilas out there, but there’s only a handful that are actually certified organic,” said Elovich. “We are also completely additive free while many of the tequilas out there use up to 1 percent additives. You are allowed to do that without actually listing it on the label.”
Bolstered by support from local restaurants, bars and liquor stores, she has been able to grow her brand significantly. One With Life is now sold in New York, Georgia, and Florida and will be launching in New Jersey and California in 2021. It can also be purchased online at reservebar.com.
“Like the boxing community, the Saratoga community is a very supportive region where business owners support each other,” she said. “I have so much love and respect for the liquor store owners and restaurant owners.”
The company’s mission aligns with Elovich’s passion for yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and Eastern philosophy. The One With Life Organic Tequila bottle itself is designed to promote mindfulness and features an owl sitting in a tree of life.
“Most tequilas are very masculine and high testosterone and have things like skulls and crossbones on them,” she said. “I wanted packaging to exude the vibe of tranquility and mindfulness.”
For more information, visit onewithlifetequila.com.