They made a preworkout gel in their TCU dorm. Now they’re on Forbes’ 30 Under 30
It’s been a little more than a year since three TCU alumni launched their honey preworkout gels, HNY+, and the small business was just recognized by the 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list.
Ross Cooley, Liam Brogan and Luke Smialowicz started using pure organic honey and sea salt as a preworkout while they were students at TCU. Their concoction worked pretty well for them, so they started passing out pouches to TCU athletes and students at the recreation center.
But then graduation came around and since they had jobs lined up, they felt as though their preworkout business couldn’t continue.
“We all just ended up looking at each other and were like, ‘We have a cool thing going here with HNY+,” Cooley told the Star-Telegram. “So we declined our corporate job offers, which freaked out our parents.”
And the risk has absolutely paid off.
Now, the three are recognized by Forbes on a list that also features entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos’ daughter, Grammy and Oscar winners and world-class athletes.
“We were recently named to Forbes 30 under 30, which has been a wild and surreal experience,” Cooley told the Star-Telegram. “It’s brought a lot of attention to what we’re building and has given us amazing momentum heading into 2026.”
Where is HNY+ now?
When the Star-Telegram spoke to Cooley in July, HNY+ was still working on getting into more storefronts, Amazon and more e-commerce sites.
Now, their product is available in 100 locations nationwide.
Texans can find HNY+ preworkout pouches in Sunlife Organics store in Austin, Run United store in Arlington, FBH Wellness in Dallas, Lukes Locker stores in Fort Worth and Dallas and several Fleet Feet locations in Houston.
The brand is also sold on Amazon in 12-pack bundles and on The Feed, the top online marketplace for preworkout products.
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As for the product itself, Cooley told the Star-Telegram that the business is constantly improving the quality of their four ingredient product by testing the taste and texture out of R&D Lab that is based in Dallas.
HNY+ also plans to launch a few new flavors in 2026.
From Cooley, Smialowicz and Brogan’s college house in Fort Worth to recognition by a global media company, HNY+ has come a long way in a very short time.