As the FIFA World Cup takes over North America this summer, former professional soccer player, Survivor winner, cancer survivor, and cannabis advocate Ethan Zohn is hitting the road to explore an unexpected side of the world’s most popular sport.
Premiering June 19 on High Times’ YouTube channel, Kicking Back with Ethan Zohn follows Ethan to World Cup host cities across the United States to discover how local soccer culture and cannabis culture intersect. The tour will take him to Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Kansas City, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, and Miami. Each episode will focus on local stories, shared moments, and the ways people come together.
A Different Kind of World Cup Journey
Unlike traditional travel shows that cover landmarks and local attractions, Kicking Back with Ethan Zohn is built around experiences. The format draws inspiration from Anthony Bourdain’s approach to travel storytelling. “He would land somewhere and figure out a city through the food and the people,” Zohn says. “I’m doing it through soccer and cannabis.”
Zohn is filming the series in real time, spending just a few days in each location as he drops into pickup soccer games, cannabis-friendly watch parties, local dispensaries, and grassroots organizations. Each 10-to-15-minute episode will showcase the unique character of a host city through candid conversations with the people shaping soccer and cannabis culture.
From Soccer Player to Cannabis Advocate
Long before becoming a public advocate, Zohn’s relationship with cannabis was complicated. He largely avoided it throughout his athletic career, but his perspective shifted after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2008.
While undergoing chemotherapy, Zohn found himself struggling with side effects and relying on a growing list of prescription medications. At the time, New York had no medical cannabis program, and there was little guidance available for patients interested in exploring cannabis as a treatment option.
“There wasn’t a doctor who could advise me,” he recalls. “I was left to figure it out myself.” Through experimentation and the help of early cannabis advocates, Ethan discovered that cannabis helped manage symptoms ranging from pain and appetite loss to anxiety and insomnia. Eventually, he was able to reduce his reliance on several pharmaceutical medications. The experience fundamentally changed his view of the plant.
“All of a sudden, I was feeling better, sleeping better, and I was a better person to be around,” he says. After his recovery, cannabis and CBD products helped him manage anxiety and the fear of recurrence, ultimately helping him regain confidence in everyday life.
His journey has since evolved into advocacy work focused on cannabis education, access, and helping consumers make informed decisions. “I don’t want people to have to go through what I went through,” he says.
Sports and Cannabis Are Finally Having a Public Conversation
Historically, cannabis and sports have occupied separate worlds, largely due to stigma and prohibition. Today, that relationship is changing rapidly, and the growing overlap between athletics and cannabis is something viewers will see throughout the series. “It’s a conversation we can finally have publicly,” Ethan says.
In fact, several big-name sports stars praise the plant as a safer, non-addictive alternative to pharmaceuticals. Retired athletes like basketball’s Gary Payton and Carmelo Anthony, football’s Joe Montana and Ricky Williams, and boxing champ Mike Tyson are just a few who are actively invested in the cannabis industry.
Zohn himself is a living, breathing example of how cannabis use and physical fitness can seamlessly coexist. While preparing to run the Boston Marathon in 2022, he partnered with Trulieve to show how their products can complement endurance training. “Cannabis changes the experience of long-distance running,” he says. He has also participated in Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital’s annual Cycle for Survival fundraiser for more than a decade, gotten fit enough to play a third season of Survivor, co-created the Reality Run Club, and ridden in the three-day Pelotonia cycling event multiple times, among other milestones — all while on a regimen.
Why Travel Matters
If there’s one theme that ties the entire series together, it’s the idea that travel creates opportunities for meaningful encounters. Ethan himself has visited roughly 60 countries and spent much of his adult life exploring the world both through sports and on reality television. Whenever he travels, he always packs a soccer ball and a pair of cleats. More often than not, he leaves them behind for someone else to enjoy.
“You instantly have 25 friends when you show up with a soccer ball,” Ethan says. Cannabis, he explains, offers a similar entry point. “You’re passing something around, you’re having conversations, you’re watching a game together. Cannabis breaks down barriers. It’s instant access into a local scene.”
Kicking Back with Ethan Zohn premieres June 19 on the High Times YouTube channel, with new episodes rolling out from World Cup host cities across the United States throughout the summer.
How do you connect with the local community when you’re traveling? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
