Laguna Blends, a Canadian company focused on hemp-based products, acquired The Target company in a move announced in a March 13 press release. This acquisition established Laguna Blends' ownership of the My Club 8 online marketplace. Ray Grimm Jr. leads My Club 8 as its president and CEO.
The My Club 8 website offers no information about its ownership or management. Its domain was privately registered on January 10, 2017, a choice that obscured the identities of those behind the operation. Laguna Blends describes itself as a "product development, sales, marketing and distribution company for Hemp based products and solutions," according to its public statements.
Grimm's professional history differs significantly from any details present on My Club 8 materials. A 2010 investigation by the San Diego Reader documented his long involvement in multilevel marketing, a pattern that includes multiple past encounters with regulatory bodies.
He first gained public attention as CEO of Actis Global Ventures. Grimm became known in wealthy San Diego circles for his palatial estates and luxury car collection. But he also attracted scrutiny from federal regulators.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) targeted USA Inc., a Carlsbad company Grimm cofounded. The agency labeled its health products unapproved and misbranded, meaning they were marketed as drugs without proper FDA clearance or made unproven therapeutic claims on their labels. This regulatory action led to the company's collapse. Grimm then moved to Uni-Vite, a firm that marketed diet food. Uni-Vite later went public through a Nevada shell company, a maneuver that drew the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over concerns about transparency in its operations.
At Body Wise, another Carlsbad-based multilevel marketer, Grimm faced charges from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC alleged the company made false claims about weight loss and cholesterol reduction, often through misleading advertising and testimonials.
In 2000, Grimm and his wife launched FemOne, selling nutritional and skin-care products. Its stock initially reached $1.70 before the company rebranded as Actis Global Ventures four years later. The firm continued selling women's products and added devices designed to block electromagnetic radiation to its catalog.
Grimm also held positions with Xyngular. He served as president of bHip Global, an organization operating under Terry Lacore. The absence of Grimm's extensive regulatory history from the My Club 8 website remains unexplained by the company or its parent.
Laguna Blends' March press release stated the acquisition of The Target company was a "major step forward in establishing Laguna as an international leader in the global cannabis industry." The Target company holds intellectual property and a portfolio of hemp-driven CBD products. These offerings include isolates, full spectrum oils, pain creams, and oral sprays, alongside various other nutraceutical products.
These hemp-derived products form the core of what My Club 8 markets to its prelaunch members. The marketplace operates with a leadership whose past regulatory entanglements were not disclosed on its public-facing materials, which could pose risks for distributors.