Celebrating Pride All Year Long with Sunday Scaries and the Trevor Project

Pride is a year-round experience for the LGBTQ community. And for June Pride month, it's a particular time to celebrate even more rainbow-striped spirit. It's been a tough year, so decompressing to make way for a chiller Pride season might be just the ticket.

Sunday Scaries has just the solution. Since 2017, the company has made CBD edibles, oils, and bath bombs focusing on mental health. One of its top-selling products even took root at San Diego Pride, when Sunday Scaries co-founders Mike Sill and Beau Schmitt were launching the brand's Unicorn Jerky.

At the time, Sill and Schmitt ran a bar in Hillcrest, San Diego's central LGBTQ neighborhood. Pride-goers would visit the bar, and the duo knew that the right CBD (cannabidiol) product might be a novel way to help folks de-stress and uplift their moods with natural ingredients.

As they transitioned out of bar ownership and into full-time Sunday Scaries CBD development, the entrepreneurs decided to create a new, fun kind of edible – one that would also express their support for the LGBTQ community not only during Pride but all year long.

And so, Unicorn Jerky was born. Each package costs $15 and contains 10 bite-sized, sugar-coated candies that look like tiny rainbow flags. A single candy contains 10mg of broad-spectrum CBD and is the perfect bite for feeling more at ease.

CBD That Soothes

The name "Sunday Scaries" goes back to a difficult time for Sill. In 2011, his 19-year-old sister Julia took her own life. Sill and his family were shocked at this devastating turn in the life of a young woman they knew to be cheerful and sociable. But the tragedy awakened Sill to the difficulties we all face, even though many of us don't always share our feelings of suffering.

"I started to think about what other friends I have who might be suffering so deeply inside that they could decide to take their own lives," says Sill.

Then one day, he told his older sister Caroline about his emotional gloom and loneliness. She replied by reminding him, "You're not alone. In fact, I deal with the same thing that you're dealing with, too. I call it the 'Sunday scaries.'"

"Immediately that clicked," says Sill. "And then I had this insight: Most people go through [mental and emotional issues], but everybody feels alone in dealing with them."

Soon after, Sill and Schmitt ran with the name Sunday Scaries for their new company and began developing CBD gummies expressly for supporting mental health. They created a new line of colorful, hemp-derived CBD gummies and fruit punch–flavored oils, sold as both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum (THC-free).

Some of the products, like Vegan AF and CBD oil tincture, are enhanced with B12 and D3 vitamins, added to naturally support energy, focus, and balance. Other products include other herbal supplements, such as Vanilla Cream CBD + CBN Oil for sleep, formulated with chamomile, lemon balm, and other natural ingredients for better sleep.

Ongoing Solidarity with The Trevor Project

For Sill, Unicorn Jerky was a perfect opportunity for Sunday Scaries to commemorate Julia's life. For every package sold, the company donates $1 to The Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people under 25.

Supporting the Trevor Project is a point of pride for the team and an ongoing way for Sill to continue his healing journey.

"I'm able to contribute to a movement that I believe in, in Julia's honor," he says. "We launched Unicorn Jerky as a one-off product. And people absolutely fell in love – not just with the taste and efficacy of these little rainbow strips, but also with the purpose and backbone behind our Trevor Project initiative."

Today Unicorn Jerky is the No. 2 best-selling product for Sunday Scaries, amplifying mental-health awareness in every colorful little pouch.

For Pride Month and beyond, the Sunday Scaries mission seems like a message worth hearing. Sill says, "We're trying to destigmatize stress and the excessive worrying that people go through, and let them know that there's a community where they can be themselves – unapologetically themselves."

Ready to shake off the Sunday Scaries? Visit sundayscaries.com.
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If you know anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts or feelings of hopelessness, please share The Trevor Project's 24/7 hotline: 1-866-488-7386.