GREENWOOD, SC, May 03, 2023 - Samad "Sammy" Nasrollahi has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Samad "Sammy" Nasrollahi was born in 1953 in Iran during the Revolution (regime change) when the United States reinstalled the Shah to the Iranian government. Although Samad's birth was a blessing, his father was lost the same day, so Samad never got to know his father. Samad's mother, sister, brother and he moved in with his mother's parents and three uncles. These were difficult times and they all lived in one room behind one uncle's tailor shop. Living in Bandar Gaz by the Caspian Sea, Samad worked to save money for his education and to help his family. One of his jobs was to bring fresh water from the train station where the government would deliver large tanks for the village. His uncles owned a donkey and he would strap barrels to its back to carry the water back to the village and deliver it for a small fee. In his free time he played soccer and excelled at the sport. However, his dream was to come to America. When he was 14, his family moved to Tehran near the embassies, and he taught himself English using a dictionary and discarded papers from the American Embassy. From age 14 to 19 while going to school, he worked and earned eleven thousand toomon, equivalent to one thousand two hundred fifty dollars at that time. It took seven hundred and fifty dollars for a ticket to the U.S.
In 1974, he persuaded a kind official at the Embassy to issue a visa for him to come to the U.S. It was a dangerous choice for the official, but Samad convinced him that he would work hard and bring no dishonor in his actions. At that time, it was Samad's only opportunity to rise above the circumstances of his birth.
At the age of 17, Samad was the youngest player picked to play in Division 1 soccer in Iran.
The week after arriving in Chicago at the age of 20, Samad signed with the NSL, the first professional soccer league in the U.S. In 1983 he won the national championship with the Chicago Pampas and was selected as a member of the Chicago All Star Team. Samad (Sammy) was also a United States Soccer Federation A Candidate.
In 1979-1980 he graduated from Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina with a BS in Physical Education and a minor in Business.
In 1980 he married Janice Rose, also an Erskine graduate, and moved back to Chicago to pursue his career in soccer and the restaurant business, opening Ho Ton Lo Chinese Restaurant and Kolbeh Persian Restaurant in 1981.
In 1983 he moved back to Greenwood, South Carolina to teach Economics, Government and Business Math at Cambridge Academy. He also coached the Cambridge Academy soccer team to win the State Championship for the first time.
In 1995 he opened the first of three Rugs of Distinction Galleries of handmade Oriental rugs from around the world in Greenwood, South Carolina followed by two locations in Augusta, Georgia.
In 2006 after coaching soccer for almost three decades and holding soccer camps, his concern for the health of his players drove him to seek out individuals with the highest qualifications to develop healthy alternatives to the products that were currently on the market.
He met with Dr. Baban, Ph.D., M.P.H.,MBA, FAHA and Dr. Fields, MBA, Ph.D. to open Hydro One, LLC DBA Hydro One Premium Beverages a company formulating and manufacturing natural functional beverages and developed the first US Patented beverage specifically designed to help diabetics with blood sugar and blood pressure regulation, REVd, and the first sports beverage with Co-Q10 and D-Ribose to help athletes with muscle recovery and to prevent cramping.
In 2020 he founded Medicinal Cannabis of America and developed the first US Patent Pending Beverage combining CBD and Probiotics, CANABIX, to help with inflammation, pain and digestive issues.
For 14 years, Samad was a Board Member at Greenwood YMCA. For nine years he served as a Board Member of Greenwood Community Theater. For eight years he was a Board Member and then President of Greenwood Uptown Development, and for six years he was the National Coordinator for the MS Greenwood SC Chapter.
At this time Mr. Nasrollahi continues to own and manage Rugs of Distinction, is CEO and is Co-Founder of Hydro One Premium Beverages and Medicinal Cannabis of America.
He and his wife have three children, Joshua Shaheen and David Ali who are both attorneys, and Mariam Miranda, RND.
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