Last month we did our annual tour of today at the Gatorade Player of the Year Awards, an event that we always enjoy. The overall message and vibe of these events are consistently positive.

Gatorade has been recognizing elite high school athletes across the country since 1985. The criteria for selection is based on three different consideration points: athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character. State Player of the Year awards are issued to male and female athletes in all fifty states (and the District of Columbia) across 12 different sports. The 606 state winners are then paired down to a final pool of 12 athletes. From this pool of finalists, one female and one male athlete are awarded Athlete of the Year in Los Angeles just prior to the ESPY Awards. The winners are voted on by a panel of about 400 people, including sports journalists, coaches and other athletes.

Past winners at different levels include some of the most successful professional athletes in recent memory. Kobe. LeBron. Peyton Manning. Clayton Kershaw. Allyson Felix. The list goes on and on. For many of these top-notch amateur athletes, this event is their first big spotlight moment – a chance to rub elbows with the elite professional athletes they all hope to become. It’s day for recognizing excellence, nurturing potential and honoring the people who make it possible for young athletes to pursue their dreams in sports. All very positive stuff.

We got to spend time chatting with three professional athletes who are involved with the program: Christian Mccaffrey, Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. Here are the interviews:

There are some athletes who talk the talk and walk the walk. Then there are other athletes that might fake it. While others drink Gatorade when they are not sweating at all. If you are one of those people, watch out! Gatorade is launching a new video series called “Burn It To Earn It,” starring J.J. Watt, Bryce Harper and Karl-Anthony Towns surprising and challenging everyday people to work up a sweat.

So if you are drinking a Gatorade and didn’t deserve it, watch out! These three pro athletes might come after you. Don’t believe us? Check out the video below.

The 2016 Gatorade Athlete of the Year Awards ceremony honored the top high school athletes in the country for their accomplishments. The prestigious event was held at the LA Hotel in Downtown.

Hosted by ESPN’s talented anchor Sage Steele, the star-studded affair featured prominent pro stars like NFL MVP Cam Newton, NBA Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns, NFL Rookie of the Year Todd Gurley, Matt Stafford and Jenny Finch.

Earlier in the day, Gatorade hosted a panel emceed by Sage Steele to promote their new endeavor, PlayItForward, which focuses on the decline of youth sports and seeks to provide young athletes access to achieve their athletic dreams by enlisting support from current pro athletes.

The panel featured Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns, US Beach Volleyball star April Ross, Gatorade marketing director Jeff Kearney, Director of Marketing & Fan Engagement for the Atlanta United FC and founder of Catalyst author Kevin Carroll.

The primary focus of PlayItForward is to empower athletes to give back and reverse the decline in youth sports participation. The Male and Female athlete of the year winners receive 1,000 grant to bestow on a local or national youth sports organization of their choice.

Male nominees for the 2016 award were Jacob Eason for Football, Jayson Tatum for Basketball, Drew Hunter for Cross Country, Michael Norman for Track & Field, Lucas Mendes for Soccer and Kyle Muller for Baseball.

Future Duke baller Jayson Tatum of Chaminade College Preparatory School (St. Louis, MO) took home the prestigious honor after leading his squad to a state championship.

The 2016 Female Athlete of the Year award was presented to Rio-bound 16-year old Olympic hurdler Sydney McLaughlin from Union Catholic in New Jersey. McLaughlin qualified for the 400m hurdles by breaking her own national high school record.

Other female nominees included USC bound Khalia Lanier for Volleyball, Erin Boley for Basketball, Katie Rainsberger for Cross Country, Ella Stevens for Soccer and Madilyn Nickles for Softball.

After the ceremony, we had the opportunity to speak with some of the pros in attendance. Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton offered his thoughts on 7v7 football and his belief that athletes should specialize in one sport.

Detroit Lions QB Matt Stafford spoke about the retirement of Calvin Johnson and who will step up to make the new transition as smooth as possible.

We got to catch up with Karl-Anthony Towns and USA softball legend Jenny Finch as well. Special thanks to Gatorade for organizing such a fabulous event.

The Gatorade Athlete of the Year Awards exudes excellence and champions the value of sports in society. Salute to the all the nominees for their hard work and continued success in the future.

Dwyane Wade might have gotten fouled during the end of the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets game, but he can still stay cool with Gatorade. Recently Wade teamed up with NBA old school legend George “The Iceman” Gervin in Gatorade’s latest campaign to launch the newest flavors from the brand’s Gatorade Frost line, the 7-11 exclusive Summit Storm, as well as, Artic Blitz and Icy Charge.

You get to see Wade and Gervin are trying to one up each other through an array of unexpected challenges that are meant to test Wade’s ability to play cool – cool like a yeti eating frozen spaghetti. The commercial called “Stay Cool,” has one of hip-hop’s most successful and well known bands, The Roots.

Gatorade Frost helps athletes stay “cool under pressure” while also offering a clean and crisp flavor profile and the same fueling benefits that people have come to expect from the sports fuel leader.

We are two days away from the start of the 2015 NFL season. We are all excited. We can’t wait to make sure our fantasy lineups are all set, the snacks are ready, and team will make us proud. I am thinking that the players are bit more excited than we are. For Panthers QB Cam Newton, he prepared himself for the upcoming season in a unique way.

In July, Newton took a trip to Australia to train with the Richmond Tigers of the Australian Football League as part of the Gatorade Football Exchange Program. While he was there, Newton found some new ways to improve his game as he practiced with the team, sat in on team meetings and also took part in team meals to see how the AFL players train and fuel their bodies in preparation for their season.

The Gatorade Football Exchange is a once-in-a-lifetime training experience that allows athletes to immerse themselves in the training and culture of another footballer’s sport to demonstrate how different forms of football are played throughout the world and that athletes from these various sports all share the same formula for success: talent + hard work + the right sports fuel.

A day before the ESPYs, Gatorade held its High School Athlete of the Year Awards in Downtown Los Angeles. The awards show was packed with the top athletes of today celebrating the achievements of young athletes primed to be the future stars of tomorrow. Gatorade has been honoring high school athletes for the past 30 years, and there are some pretty big names among the past honorees. Names like LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Candace Parker, Allyson Felix and Kobe Bryant. And that’s just the Gatorade Male and Female High School Athlete of the Year honorees. Previous Gatorade National Player of the Year winners include names like Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter, Emmitt Smith, Clayton Kershaw, Chris Weber and Alonzo Mourning. It’s distinguished company to be in, for sure.

State Player of the Year awards are given to student athletes in 12 sports: boys’ baseball, boys’ football, girls’ softball, girls’ volleyball, boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, boys’ cross country, girls’ cross country, boys’ soccer, girls’ soccer, boys’ track & field, and girls’ track & field. The students in each category are recognized for individual and team achievement, academic achievement and character and community service. From the pool of state players, Gatorade awards 12 students with National Player of the Year honors. From this pool of 12 athletes, one male and one female are selected to receive Athlete of the Year awards.

Candace Hill was named Female High School Athlete of the Year. She was the first sophomore to take home the honor and the youngest athlete to ever win the Gatorade National Player of the Year award. She’s the first high school female athlete to run a sub-11 second 100-meter dash. She’s basically the fastest woman under 20 years old. Oh, and she has a GPA of 4.61. I can’t even imagine. Candace was competing at an event and was unable to attend the awards, but by all accounts she definitely deserves all the accolades.

Kyler Murray won Male High School Athlete of the Year honors. The starting QB for Allen High School, Murray led his team to three straight state championships. The guy has never lost a game as a high school quarterback, going 42-0 in his career. In Texas no less. That’s crazy talk. He threw for more than 4,700 yards, 56 touchdowns and ran for nearly 1,500 yards and 25 scores. Murray is on his way to Texas A&M where he says he’s going to get some time on the field no matter what. Murray had a very quiet confidence about him. His acceptance speech was mellow and humble. But the dude knows he’s got what it takes to ball at the next level. Keep your eye on him.

Hannah Storm hosted the awards and gave a heartfelt tribute to Stuart Scott, who had previously handled hosting duties for the event before he passed away this year. His daughters were on hand and gave their dad a great tribute as well, something they would do again at the ESPYs.

After the awards ceremony, we got a chance to talk to a few of the presenters that were on hand. We asked JJ Watt about his role as a tight end. DeMarco Murray talked about the recruiting efforts of Sam Bradford to get him to Philly. Karl-Anthony Thomas chimed in on  Kevin Garnett, and Abby Wambach talked about her experience as a Gatorade Athlete and her upcoming downtime following her World Cup Victory. Here’s the video:

Last month as part of Gatorade’s 50^th anniversary, the brand brought back the the iconic “Be Like Mike” commercial. That video is “23″ years old. Today, Gatorade has given it some P Diddy treatment by creating three remixed versions of the spot, which each bring the term “Be Like Mike” to life in unique ways.

You can check out all three videos below. Plus Gatorade is looking to you to post photos and videos on Gatorade social medial channels of what #BeLikeMike means to you. The best entries will be featured on its media channels in early April.

Which is your favorite one?

Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson and the Hendrick Motorsports 48 pit crew team surprised the Independence High School football team in Charlotte, NC on behalf of the Gatorade Beat the Heat program.

Johnson and Gatorade look to educate athletes, parents and coaches on the importance of proper hydration to reduce heat-related illnesses during athletic events. Johnson, who is known as one of the most physically fit NASCAR drivers, even joined the team in some conditioning drills. You can check him hanging out with the team in the video below.

A couple weeks ago I had the privilege to get a sneak peek at a new product line that Gatorade will be unveiling in the upcoming months. The fine folks at Gatorade invited MANjr out to New York to test out the new line and learn more about health and fitness. The event was held at a brilliant location, The Setai Fifth Avenue, right in the heart of Midtown. Led by world-renowned fitness instructor Jay Blahnik and super cool Michigan alum Kate, I viewed a presentation of what Gatorade has in the works to improve the life of the athlete.

I was very impressed with the presentation. Details are limited, but the new line will surely revolutionize the athletic experience. World Shape magazine selected Jay as one of the top 5 fitness instructors on the planet. He has appeared in a slew of award winning videos and has traveled the globe spreading the importance of health and fitness. His unsurpassed expertise on the subject makes Jay an invaluable consultant to mega companies like Nike and Gatorade.

The highlight of the presentation was my personal workout session with preeminent fitness guru Lacey Stone. Founder of Lacey Stone Fitness and innovator of TheBigGame! fitness class and BOOTYCamp workout, Lacey’s mission is to inspire people to reach levels they thought were impossible. A former Division I basketball star at Maine, Lacey whipped me into shape with a grueling 45 minute spinning session. This shit was no joke. Lacey’s unyielding motivation combined with a sweet play list to jam to kept me peddling away. Take a look:

I was able to complete the workout, but afterwards, my legs were jelly. I decided to hang around and recover a bit and received helpful dietary advice from sports nutritionist Susan Kundrat. Thankfully, Gatorade team member and all-around good dude Andrew hooked me up with some refreshments and directed me toward the spa.

Two weeks later, I’m still sore. Lacey had me working muscles that have been in hibernation for decades. Her brilliant ability to motivate got me through the workout, but the aftermath has been a struggle.

Even with the after-pain, the experience was great and damn-near life-changing. I intend to apply what I learned in my time with Lacey, Jay and the entire Gatorade team. Lacey’s motto is Passion + Persistence + Patience = Excellence. Definitely solid words of wisdom.

Special thanks to Andrew, Kate and Ashley for making me feel very welcome and affording me this remarkable opportunity to learn about the new product line and push myself physically at the same time. I look forward to utilizing the new products on a regular basis in the near future.