It was early 2019 and I was hoping to find something to calm the nerves before talking on the radio. I had been lined up for an interview on BBC radio and the nerves were building.

I had an interview the year before on the radio and I had popped to Boots to buy some Rescue Remedy. It did work a little, offering me a nice boost to calm my nerves enough to have a chat with Eamonn Holmes.

I contemplated using it again for this new interview, but I was hoping to find something a little bit better, when a work colleague discussed CBD with me.

I was fascinated, reading article after article, around the potential health benefits and the governmental restrictions, I wanted to learn more, but it was difficult to find any useful resources.

That’s when I tried buying some CBD oil, which instigated a whole list of questions. What was the difference between full spectrum, broad spectrum and isolate? What strength do I need as a newbie? What carrier oil do I require?

But what was most alarming was the quality of the products being introduced. I like to think now I might have had a tiny hand in helping the industry to move forwards, demanding a greater standard of quality.

Reaching out to brands, I would ask for a lab report and be astonished that many weren’t doing any tests. Companies would hide all of their personal details and when digging further, a lot of brands were sourcing their hemp from Chinese farms which were using pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

I have a history as a travel blogger, having run Spaghettitraveller.com for almost a decade, but the travel industry is heavily saturated. However, I couldn’t find a single CBD blogger.

I figured, if I couldn’t find a website where I could read the articles from or to hold brands to a higher standard, why not do it myself?

I fortunately found a few brands willing to provide their CBD products early days, as I began learning the ropes and testing them out on a daily basis.

The idea for a website had been there for a while, but the name was a stumbling block that I struggled to pass. Coming from a marketing background, I had always wanted to create something around a sloth character, however when it popped up in the head it suddenly seemed more obvious than anything.

Sloth’s are seen as dopy, but are actually very intelligent. They enjoy their sleep (so much that moss grows on them). They are gentle and soft creatures that don’t wish harm on others. What’s not to love? The connections were too close to ignore, so it all begun!

Years later, I’ve now tested over 200 different products. I have tried it all, including oils, balms and creams, teas and coffees, chocolates, gummies, chewables and capsules, but to name a few.

I had also struggled to sleep at night throughout my entire life. I would spend hours every night lying in bed as a child and this didn’t change as I became an adult. Finding CBD oil, it was the first point in my life that I could fall asleep after just 20 minutes.

The mission of CBD Sloth is to provide transparency in the cowboy world of CBD oil. While so many brands hide quantities, details or sources of their product, my aim is to review and offer a genuine reaction to products in the industry, allowing the end user to pick the right product for them.