Former BachelorMatt Jamestraded handing out roses for coconut water to celebrateVita Coco’s IPO launch on Thursday, a partnership that made sense to the reality star given the brand’s support of hisnonprofit ABC Food Tours.“It’s important for me and people who have a platform to make sure whatever they’re promoting is something they’re aligned with. For me, alignment starts with their core values,” Vita Coco Real Partner James, 29, told PEOPLE at the company’s coconut cart at the Nasdaq Building in New York City. “With Vita Coco, it was seamless.“James brought the N.Y.C. children he works with through ABC Food Tours for a Career Day at Vita Coco earlier this month and watched the kids have new experiences, “like the first time you try coconut water,” he said. “It was a lot of their first times leaving their neighborhood. It was a lot of fun.“NasdaqJames said his best friend and fellowBachelorfranchise alumTyler Cameronactually got him hooked on Vita Coco years ago. Now James puts it in his smoothies every morning, which consist of frozen bananas, frozen blueberries, pressed Vita Coco, peanut butter and protein. “I have the same thing every single day, without fail,” James said.The former college football player stuck to that routine even whilefilmingThe Bachelorat Nemacolin resortin Pennsylvania. His mornings consisted of lifting weights, riding his Peloton bike and then making a smoothie he estimates clocked in at around 1,500 calories. Along with his usual faves, James packed in “heavy peanut butter, dates and other random stuff.““I had that for breakfast and dinner for like a month and a half,” James said. “People think I’m crazy, like, ‘You want to switch it up tonight? You could literally order whatever you want. Do you want steak? Do you want lobster? Do you want salmon?’ I’m like, ‘Nah, I’m going to go home and make a smoothie because my body processes it the right way.“RELATED VIDEO: Tyler Cameron Says He Thinks Matt James Would Look ‘Kind of Creepy’ if He Shaved His BeardJames plans to return to Nemacolin soon with his girlfriend andBachelorfinal rose recipientRachael Kirkconnellto celebrate their one-year anniversary and take in the resort “without all the fritz and stuff around.“James and Kirkconnell, 25, have come a long way sincepast racially insensitive behaviorof hers surfaced online earlier this year, engulfing the franchise in controversy. Amid the turmoil, the pair confirmed during his season’sAfter the Final Rosespecialin March that theyhad split. But they found their way back together, with James confirming the following month thathe was “pursuing” a relationshipwith Kirkconnell again.“Just being able to take her to my favorite spots and really enjoy Nemacolin for the beautiful property it is and not have to move around in secrecy is going to be nice,” he told PEOPLE on Thursday. “There’s been a lot that’s happened over the past year and she’s been the brightest spot of that. I’m excited for what lies ahead for us.“Dimitrios Kambouris/GettyIn the immediate future, James plans to work with Kirkconnell on finding a place to put a hydroponic farm (one that grows plants typically indoors with nutrient-rich water instead of soil) in N.Y.C. “We bought a shipping container that we repurposed for hydroponic farming and we’re looking for a place to put that in Brooklyn,” the North Carolina native said. “That’ll be a fun project to be a part of.“He’ll also be running the TCS New York City Marathon next month (so willBachelorettealum Zac Clark) and considershis time onDancing with the Starsseason 30part of his race training.“I was practicing four or five hours a day with Lindsey [Arnold] and I feel like that was a substitute for those long runs because being able to run, in my opinion, it’s a mindset,” said James, who goteliminated during Disney Week last week. “It’s about time on your feet — and those dancing shoes aren’t crazy comfortable. I’ve been on my feet for four to five hours, which is kind of similar to a marathon, so my target time for the marathon is probably going to be in that four-hour range.“ABC/Maarten de BoerNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.James has been going on long runs with 28-year-old Cameron, whofinished the N.Y.C. marathon in 2019, and said, “I’m willing to train with whoever’s willing to run in my schedule.“One person who James thinks doesn’t need his assistance: ex and new BacheloretteMichelle Young. “I don’t think there’s any advice I could give Michelle,” he said. “She’s way smarter than me! I’m very confident in her being able to own this process. She’ll be the best Bachelorette yet.”
Former BachelorMatt Jamestraded handing out roses for coconut water to celebrateVita Coco’s IPO launch on Thursday, a partnership that made sense to the reality star given the brand’s support of hisnonprofit ABC Food Tours.
“It’s important for me and people who have a platform to make sure whatever they’re promoting is something they’re aligned with. For me, alignment starts with their core values,” Vita Coco Real Partner James, 29, told PEOPLE at the company’s coconut cart at the Nasdaq Building in New York City. “With Vita Coco, it was seamless.”
James brought the N.Y.C. children he works with through ABC Food Tours for a Career Day at Vita Coco earlier this month and watched the kids have new experiences, “like the first time you try coconut water,” he said. “It was a lot of their first times leaving their neighborhood. It was a lot of fun.”
Nasdaq
James said his best friend and fellowBachelorfranchise alumTyler Cameronactually got him hooked on Vita Coco years ago. Now James puts it in his smoothies every morning, which consist of frozen bananas, frozen blueberries, pressed Vita Coco, peanut butter and protein. “I have the same thing every single day, without fail,” James said.
The former college football player stuck to that routine even whilefilmingThe Bachelorat Nemacolin resortin Pennsylvania. His mornings consisted of lifting weights, riding his Peloton bike and then making a smoothie he estimates clocked in at around 1,500 calories. Along with his usual faves, James packed in “heavy peanut butter, dates and other random stuff.”
“I had that for breakfast and dinner for like a month and a half,” James said. “People think I’m crazy, like, ‘You want to switch it up tonight? You could literally order whatever you want. Do you want steak? Do you want lobster? Do you want salmon?’ I’m like, ‘Nah, I’m going to go home and make a smoothie because my body processes it the right way.”
RELATED VIDEO: Tyler Cameron Says He Thinks Matt James Would Look ‘Kind of Creepy’ if He Shaved His Beard
James plans to return to Nemacolin soon with his girlfriend andBachelorfinal rose recipientRachael Kirkconnellto celebrate their one-year anniversary and take in the resort “without all the fritz and stuff around.”
James and Kirkconnell, 25, have come a long way sincepast racially insensitive behaviorof hers surfaced online earlier this year, engulfing the franchise in controversy. Amid the turmoil, the pair confirmed during his season’sAfter the Final Rosespecialin March that theyhad split. But they found their way back together, with James confirming the following month thathe was “pursuing” a relationshipwith Kirkconnell again.
“Just being able to take her to my favorite spots and really enjoy Nemacolin for the beautiful property it is and not have to move around in secrecy is going to be nice,” he told PEOPLE on Thursday. “There’s been a lot that’s happened over the past year and she’s been the brightest spot of that. I’m excited for what lies ahead for us.”
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
In the immediate future, James plans to work with Kirkconnell on finding a place to put a hydroponic farm (one that grows plants typically indoors with nutrient-rich water instead of soil) in N.Y.C. “We bought a shipping container that we repurposed for hydroponic farming and we’re looking for a place to put that in Brooklyn,” the North Carolina native said. “That’ll be a fun project to be a part of.”
He’ll also be running the TCS New York City Marathon next month (so willBachelorettealum Zac Clark) and considershis time onDancing with the Starsseason 30part of his race training.
“I was practicing four or five hours a day with Lindsey [Arnold] and I feel like that was a substitute for those long runs because being able to run, in my opinion, it’s a mindset,” said James, who goteliminated during Disney Week last week. “It’s about time on your feet — and those dancing shoes aren’t crazy comfortable. I’ve been on my feet for four to five hours, which is kind of similar to a marathon, so my target time for the marathon is probably going to be in that four-hour range.”
ABC/Maarten de Boer
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
James has been going on long runs with 28-year-old Cameron, whofinished the N.Y.C. marathon in 2019, and said, “I’m willing to train with whoever’s willing to run in my schedule.”
One person who James thinks doesn’t need his assistance: ex and new BacheloretteMichelle Young. “I don’t think there’s any advice I could give Michelle,” he said. “She’s way smarter than me! I’m very confident in her being able to own this process. She’ll be the best Bachelorette yet.”
source: people.com
