Paia’s Newest Hot-Spot – Sporting Club of the Pacific

Are you ready to join ‘the Club’?  No membership, gold-medals or magazine cover shots needed, just a thirst for some all-natural ingredients… 

Enter to win!  On Thursday, October 23 (contest may be extended to get more entries) – a winner will receive a pre and post workout meal and two t-shirts!  Enter on the Maui Made Facebook page– (Contest post pinned to top while entries being accepted) 

If you’ve been on Maui for any length of time, you know that we have our share of world-class athletes, from world-champion windsurfers and stand-up paddlers to Olympic skiers who live and train on Maui in the off-season.  For a while now, some of Maui’s top athletes have been turning to Tugger Balcom for their performance enhancing beverages.  Now, we’re not talking about some secret formula of artificial chemicals or banned substances, these are real, natural ingredients, formulated specifically for athletes for pre- or post-workout.  

And because of some ‘obstacles’ recently created by the government in regards to selling ‘raw’ beverages through wholesale, Tugger decided to open up a juice bar in Paia to sell his ever expanding line of juices, coffee and ‘fuel’ for athletes (and, the rest of us, too).  So now, whether you have just finished your CrossFit or barre class, you are training for your Maui to Molokai run, or you are just headed to the office, you can come grab some fuel at Paia’s newest hot spot, the Sporting Club of the Pacific.  Plus, the seating is outdoors so you don’t even need to wipe the sweat off your brow or the sand off your feet.  You might even get to run elbows with some of these world-class athletes…

Tugger’s entry into the performance beverage world began with his own struggle with severe psoriasis.  After eliminating sugar, dairy and eggs from his diet, and seeing success with that change, he started moving away from drinks with artificial ingredients and towards more natural sources of hydration and energy.  Simultaneously, Tugger took a course in free diving, and learned about using chlorophyll as a means to be able to hold your breath for longer periods of time.  (And if you want to know more about how this works, you should probably go talk to Tugger). 

After getting positive feedback from big-wave surfers and free divers from his first round of bottled juices, Tugger began wholesaling.  Alive and Well, Choice and the Kuau Store were selling out each week, but a new law forbidding the sale of raw juice changed his focus, just as the space behind Puka Puka in Paia (the former Paia Bay Coffee) opened up.

His initial line of two drinks- a pineapple and chlorophyll juice and cold-pressed coffee – has expanded (and is still expanding daily) to : three types of Hydration drinks, four Fresh Juices, Strong Coffee, Wellness Shots, Blended Beverages and Acai and Green bowls.  (Menu printed at bottom)

The story behind the name and the brand, Sporting Club of the Pacific, is probably a whole separate blog post, so I’ll just say that Tugger has assembled a group of world-class artisans from around the Pacific, blacksmiths, speargun makers, surfboard shapers, and more, into a kind-of artists co-op (and again, talk to Tugger if you want to learn more about this, or visit the website).  Because the brand is based on custom-made equipment for high-performance, his juices naturally fit into this project as well.

As much as possible I try to blog about personal experiences, so I ventured into the Sporting Club of the Pacific (although I apparently ‘just missed’ about a half-dozen sports superstars who had visited that morning) and its clear that Tugger’s his enthusiasm for quality, researched ingredients is evident in his products.  The acai bowl was delicious (luckily it was cleared away before I was tempted to lick the bottom), each of the juices were pure tasting, and not too sweet or overpowering as some juices can be, and the coffee was excellent as well, although I now need to go back and try it with the house-made coconut cream.

Well by now you are probably sick of reading and ready for some delicious and performance enhancing nutrition, so here’s what you need to know:

• Location: 43 Hana Hwy (Behind Puka Puka) Paia, HI
• Hours: 8am – 4pm, Closed Sunday
• Website: sportingclubofthepacific.com
• Phone: (808) 446-6689
• Follow on Instagram

Menu –

Hydration

Pineapple chlorophyll water

cold pressed local maui pineapple juice, organic liquid chlorophyll,

pineapple hibiscus

cold pressed local maui pineapple juice, house brewed organic hibiscus

Local Coconut water

Fresh Juice

Raw and Cold Pressed

Green

Cucumber, romaine, kale, pineapple, aloe juice, chia seeds

Red 

Beet, carrot, coconut water, lemon juice, ginger, himalayan salt

Blue

pineapple, coconut water, leon, ginger, maca, cayenne, clue spirulina

Yellow

100 % pure maui pineapple

Strong Coffee

Black  

100% Maui Beans, custom roasted and cold brewed

White

Served with House Coconut Cream

Shots

Maintenance

Fresh local ginger, echinacea, apple cider vinegar, oregano oil, local lemon, local honey

Mother’s Milk

House made coconut cream, coconut MCT Oil, EFA oil, Cinnamon, Lemon

Turmeric

Fresh Pressed Local Tumeric, Orange Juice, Black Peppercorn

Cayenne

Concentrated Cayenne Pepper Tincture

Blended

Number 1 

Almond Butter, bananas, Hemp Protein, MCT Oil, Maca Powder, Flax Sees, Chia Seeds, Cacao Nibs, Dates, Local Honey, Himalayan Sea Salt, Trace Mineral Blend

Number 2

Organic Strawberries, Fresh Pressed Local Ginger, Coconut Water, Aloe Juice, Local Honey, Probiotic Blend.

Number 3 

Fresh mint, bananas, kale, vegan protein blend, spirulina, lemon juice

Number 4

Avocado, Cucumber, Mango, Coconut Water, Vegran Protein blend, Glutamine

Bowls

Acai

Acai and strawberry blend topped with fresh fruit, Maui Sands*, hemp sees, goji berries, local honey

Green

Banana, pienapple, kale, spirulina blend with Maui Sanes, fresh fruit, goldenberries and cacao nibs, maple syrup

*Maui Sansa in a hand-crafted blend of toasted superfoods including oats, almonds, Flax, Sesame, Hawaiian Honey and Sea Salt

Tea

MK Light

Secret Service