“Pretty Little Liars” Star Sasha Pieterse Brings Drink Hippie to the CrossFit Community

Gaining 70 pounds in a year is a tough pill for anyone to swallow. But imagine it happening when you’re just 17 years old and very much in the limelight?

• That was actress Sasha Pieterse’s reality in 2013, when she was also dealing with hair loss, acne, and seizures.

At the time, doctors simply told her she was probably just eating too much or not exercising enough.

Pieterse, best known for her role in the teen drama Pretty Little Liars, didn’t accept that explanation. Instead, she saw 17 different gynecologists in search of answers. 

Eventually, an answer: She was diagnosed both with epilepsy and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder that affects the ovaries, generally during their reproductive years. 

• And so began “a two-decade journey trying to get a handle on my health [to figure out] what works for my body and what doesn’t,” Pieterse told The Morning Chalk Up.

Part of her journey has involved opening up to her fans about her health issues on social media and through her podcast.

Ultimately, though, her struggles led her to “the problem-solving aspect of it,” and to figure out what people really need in their bodies, she added. 

As a result, earlier this year, Pieterse and her friend Sai Svoboda started a clean-energy drink company, Drink Hippie, which was present at the 2026 CrossFit Games in Vendor Village.

• “It was really important to me to create something clean for people that they don’t have to think too hard about, that is really actually fulfilling something for them to make their days better. Life is hard as it is,” Pieterse said, who loves weightlifting.

She added: “We are a clean drink and we mean it, but we also are a brand with a mission.”

Part of the mission is to capture the idea of the modern-day hippie, all natural and “from the earth,” Svoboda said.

• “Everything we’re putting in there is natural; there are no chemicals, nothing synthetic, no alternatives. That’s a huge part of who we are,” she added.

The Details

One 12-ounce can of Drink Hippie, which is lightly sweetened with 15 percent real fruit juice, contains 75 mg of natural caffeine, sourced from Arabica green coffee beans, 500 mg of functional mushrooms, 50 mg of L-Theanine, 215 mg of potassium, 115 mg of sodium, and 1 gram of prebiotic fiber.

• “The sugar aspect of it is really important to us. We’re not just injecting you with sugar, or sugar from a fake source, or sugar alcohols. It’s coming from 15 percent fruit juice…You can taste it. You can taste the layers because it comes from actual juice. That’s why it’s not too sweet; that’s why you almost sometimes have some savory notes,” she said.

Pieterse added: “It’s a sparkling, refreshing beverage instead of what we have sort of come to accept in energy drinks as this fake alternative that’s supposed to fuel you.”

Today, Drink Hippie, manufactured in Colorado, has three distinct flavors: Peach Party, Watermelon Gateway, and Citrus Groove.

So far so good: Since launching Drink Hippie only six months ago in April, Drink Hippie is already in 300 stores nationwide, and at the CrossFit Games alone, they picked up 30 affiliates who are now selling their drink at their gyms.

The response they received from the CrossFit community at the Games was particularly inspiring, Svoboda said. 

• “The main feedback I was getting from athletes there, both men and women, was saying, ‘We take care of ourselves.’ We’re so strong, but then we kind of have to sacrifice what we’re putting in our bodies [when it comes to energy products],” she said, adding that when they tasted Drink Hippie, the feedback was that it tastes great and didn’t feel like they were sacrificing their health.

For what it’s worth: I visited the Drink Hippie booth at vendor village more than my fair share in San Jose, because I was so excited to finally experience a clean energy drink that actually tastes good and doesn’t leave me with an unwanted aftertaste. I can’t say enough about this drink.

Looking Ahead

Pieterse and Svoboda couldn’t be happier with their growth over just six months, but they’re not surprised and insist this is just the start.

Not only are they “committed to growing our relationship with the CrossFit community and are partnering with affiliates across the country,” Svoboda said, but they also have plans to partner with women “doing amazing things in their communities,” Pieterse said. But their biggest goal is to get their drinks into as many hands as possible.

• “Our goal in three years is to be in at least 7,000 locations across the country. I would love for 30 percent of that to be wellness studios, gyms, fitness locations. And then just from a business perspective, by that point we should have hit $10 million in top-line revenue at the least,” Svoboda said.

Pieterse added: “In three years, I want to be able to see Drink Hippie everywhere. People should have access to a drink that is better for you in places that they get other things, whether that’s a stadium, whether that’s their gym, whether that is their favorite grocery store. I want people to be able to have a better option wherever they go.”