The American Beverage Association, consisting of Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, and more companies, has started its inaugural Mixify Tour, which features free events for teens in 11 major cities across the U.S. These events focus on spreading the concept of Mixify to teens all over the country, while giving useful health information to participants. To “mixify” is to balance what you eat and drink with what you do. Basically, if you’re less active you should eat healthier but if you are active, you can splurge a little.
The Mixify Tour has been to Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, Indianapolis, Roxbury, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Atlanta. Its last three stops are Little Rock, Dallas and Des Moines.
The Mixify Tour in Atlanta was set up right next to the Olympic rings in Centennial Park. It was blazing hot, but you could feel the energy pouring out of the small area dedicated to Mixify. The tour featured really fun activities for the teens to participate in. There was a red carpet with Atlanta Falcons player Devin Hester and social media star Tanner Zagarino, a giant Jenga game called “Blocks ‘o Balance Tower,” an amazing live DJ named Drayco, a quick fitness class led by Zagarino and Hester, a free merchandise booth, a really cool version of cornhole, tug-o-war, a gif creator and a very entertaining silent disco.
They also had a free giveaways where they picked people who tweeted and used the hashtag #MixifyTour or who entered at the free merchandise booth. The four lucky people received Beats by Dr. Dre Solo 2 headphones.
It was an incredibly entertaining event. Becca and Jessica, two teens, commented that their favorite parts were the Jenga activities. They went on to talk more about how they Mixify. “We both play soccer, and throughout the day I try to get as much [of a] workout as I can … eating as healthy as I can and drink[ing] lots of water,” Becca told VOX. Jessica shared that teens should “just to try to balance and incorporate healthy things into your day, because you can always find time to have a nice healthy snack instead of not eating at all.”
I asked teens Lexi and Katia why they came to Mixify. “Tanner [Zagarino] was here, and I saw some stuff about it so I came,” Lexi told VOX. Their favorite parts were meeting new people. Akayla and Aniah, two teens with the local YMCA were brought along with the rest of the YMCA summer youth by their counselors after one counselor heard about it that morning. Akayla’s favorite part was the dancing and winning prizes while Aniah just loved everything.
“The Y is all about healthy living and about doing things for the kids,” YMCA counselor Aaron told VOX. “So for us to bring them out here is a great opportunity. They’re exercising and getting out, not just on their phones all day, and they’re just doing something different.”
He also thought Mixify was benefiting the Atlanta community. “I’ve just been trying to involve myself in different events in the community, and I think this is one big one that they should hold every year and if not every year, every couple of months because this is a great opportunity for all the kids to get out and just know that there’s more than just a TV and more than just a cellphone or a computer. So for them to get out and do the different games they have here is great.”
The next Mixify tour is already in the planning stage, and they’re pushing to get Atlanta on the stop list once again! Check out mymixify.com or the hastags #mymixify or #mixifytour for more information about the event!
Check out Alexes and Nahila’s video coverage of the Mixify event here!
