1 00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:08,360 Speaker 1: Hi everyone, I'm Jason Kelly, and I'm Michaelnch and I'm 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,800 Speaker 1: Michael Barr. And this is the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast, 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: where we explore the big money issues in the world 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: of sports. Well, I'm really excited, guys about today's show 6 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: because we're talking about fitness something. As you know, I'm 7 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: obsessed with all the monitoring that goes into it, all 8 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 1: the data. And no one is more in the center 9 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: of this conversation than Will Ahmed. He is the founder 10 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: and the CEO of Whoop. He's here to tell us 11 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:36,240 Speaker 1: all about the product, what he's seeing and a lot 12 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: of what we saw i think related to fitness during 13 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: the pandemic and where it goes from here. Will really 14 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 1: good to have you with us. Thanks for having me. 15 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,279 Speaker 1: All right, So, first things first, what's Whoop? I mean, 16 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,319 Speaker 1: people have heard of it, I know what it is, 17 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: But describe this phenomenon, this product, because you've got a 18 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: lot of famous athletes using it, a lot of not 19 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: famous athletes using it as well. So take us inside. Well, 20 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: who is a wearable technology that's designed to measure sleep 21 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: and recovery and strain. I think what differentiates Whoop from 22 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,559 Speaker 1: other products in the market is that it's incredibly accurate 23 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: from a physiological standpoint, and if you've been on Whoop 24 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:17,479 Speaker 1: for a year, you've got a lower resting heart rate, 25 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,559 Speaker 1: you've got a higher heart rate variability, you're getting higher 26 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: quality sleep. So it's actually drying driving health health improvement, 27 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: which I think is the hardest thing to do in 28 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: this space. So Whoop is a company. We're based in Boston. 29 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 1: We've got about five hundred employees, a bracelet, over two 30 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: hundred million in capital, and our mission is to unlock 31 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:43,760 Speaker 1: human performance. You raise two million dollars from top investors. 32 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: I mean, whoop, there it is. I mean that's a 33 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: lot of money to get from these investors. What did 34 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: you tell these people about your product that convinced them, Hey, 35 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: this is where we need to put our money. I 36 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: think a lot of it was originally having this vision 37 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: to improve performance by measuring the other twenty you know, 38 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 1: twenty hours of the day. Uh. There's a big focus, 39 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: especially in sports, on exercise, and for good reason. Exercise 40 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: is important. The performance is important, obviously, But my sort 41 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: of contrarian point of view was that the other twenty 42 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: hours of the day may be equally, if not more 43 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 1: important to how an athlete or how an individual UH 44 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: is performing. And this was around two thousand and tended 45 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: as an eleven. I was a college athlete that's captin 46 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 1: the Harvard squash team, and I was surrounded by a 47 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: bunch of athletes didn't know what they were doing to 48 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: their bodies while they were training, myself included. So that 49 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: got me very interested in physiology research, and it it 50 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: led me to believe that if you could really accurately 51 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: measure not just exercise but your body seven, you could 52 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: tap into all sorts of different ways to improve human performance, 53 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: and maybe it would turn out that sleep and recovery 54 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,919 Speaker 1: act really played a much bigger role in performance then 55 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,520 Speaker 1: say exercise or strain. And so that was a lot 56 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: of the vision for the product. Early on, we started 57 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 1: with the best athletes in the world. Uh. You know, 58 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 1: two of our first hundred users were people like Lebron 59 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: James and Michael Phelps, So we really started at the 60 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: tip of the pyramid. I mean, today, if you meet 61 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: a professional athlete who's wearing a wearable, there's probably chance 62 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 1: it's whoop we've we've been able to partner with many 63 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: of the best UH sports leagues. We've every day we 64 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: discover a new professional athlete who has organically found and 65 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: bought the product. So we've been able to build a 66 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: brand that's around I think UH improving human performance, and 67 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: then separately, we've been able to also build a product 68 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: that delivers on that, which is to say that if 69 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: you wear Whoop over time, you're going to improve your health. Hey, well, 70 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: it's a Mike Lynch also here in Boston. Um, why 71 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: Whoop over? If I was a consumer over Apple Watch 72 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: or fitbit or some other things that that measure health. Well, 73 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: the biggest thing is that Whoop changes behavior and it 74 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: improves your health. And we're really the only product in 75 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: the market that can say that. So, if you've been 76 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: on Whoop for a year, you've got a lower resting 77 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,280 Speaker 1: heart rate, you've got a higher heart rate variability, and 78 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: you're getting higher quality sleep. You've probably changed two or 79 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: three things about your lifestyle. We often see people have 80 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: massive reductions in alcohol consumption. Maybe they've changed their diet, 81 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,160 Speaker 1: maybe they're going to better earlier, maybe they've realized that 82 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: a certain supplement is better for them than another one. 83 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:39,480 Speaker 1: It's quite powerful to be able to um measure your 84 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: body and therefore manage all the inputs that go into 85 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: your body. And I'll say this, I think Whoop is 86 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:47,160 Speaker 1: great at all the things that it does, for all 87 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: the things that it doesn't do. You know, if you 88 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: look at the sensor, it's a very small sensor. It 89 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: doesn't have a screen on it, it doesn't have a microphone. 90 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: It's not listening to you. You're not going to do 91 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: phone calls with it. We don't have a hundred apps. Uh, 92 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: you're not going to flag down in Uber with your Whoop. 93 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: But if you want health monitoring, Whoop is the best 94 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: game in town. And we've really allocated all of our 95 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:13,719 Speaker 1: resources to making our sensing technology and our algorithms and 96 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: our feedback again focused on health improvements, so well, you know, 97 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,280 Speaker 1: one of the sort of holy grails in all of this. 98 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: It feels like when it comes to to wearables and 99 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:28,359 Speaker 1: fitness and wellness related technology is is making something that 100 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,360 Speaker 1: can be used by the Patrick Mahomes and the Lebrons 101 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,679 Speaker 1: of the world, but also candidly like the Jason Kelly's 102 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: of the world. You know that those who you know 103 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 1: aspire to be healthy and well, but you know, aren't 104 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: going to compete for a national championship or or world championship. 105 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: How do you kind of satisfy all parties in that 106 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: and make sure you're building a product that is sort 107 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: of industrial grade for the pro but also you know, 108 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: delivering what everyday folks need. It's such a good question, 109 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: and you know, I think the key is the more 110 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: data you collect, actually the less data you show to 111 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: a user. And we collect about ten thousand times as 112 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:10,359 Speaker 1: much health data as a fitbit or an Apple watch. 113 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: So we're collecting a lot of health data. I think 114 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: what we do well those we summarize that data in 115 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: a few simple numbers. So every day you're getting a 116 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: recovery score in the morning zero, red, yellow, green. You know, 117 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 1: should you take on the day, should you exercise? Do 118 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:27,679 Speaker 1: you need more rest? I mean, Whooper is the first 119 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:30,359 Speaker 1: fitness product to tell you not to exercise, tell you 120 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: to actually do do less. Uh. And then over the 121 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 1: course of the day, you know, you can Whoople measure 122 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: the strain of your workouts, or the stress of your day, 123 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: or the daily activity of your day, and mind you, 124 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: it's calibrated to you so a high strain for Patrick 125 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: Mahomes or Lebron James might be the equivalent of three marathons, 126 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:53,160 Speaker 1: whereas the high strain for you or me may be 127 00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:56,719 Speaker 1: meaningfully less than that. But it's again personalized to the individuals. 128 00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: That's one key, h key way to answer your question. 129 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,039 Speaker 1: And and then even at the end of the day, 130 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,920 Speaker 1: WHOOP looks at the strain that's accumulated you're on your 131 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:07,359 Speaker 1: body and who you are, and it will tell you 132 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 1: how much sleep you need tonight to recover for tomorrow. 133 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: So hopefully what you can tell from what I'm describing 134 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: is that Whoop is one it's living a step ahead 135 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: of you, and two it's highly personalized. So if you're 136 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: a professional athlete, it's going to treat you one way. 137 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: If you're an executive or a recreational enthusiast or someone's 138 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: trying to get back in shape or someone who's trying 139 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: to lose weight, it's going to talk to you a 140 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 1: little bit differently. And so there's a daily feedback loop, 141 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: there's a weekly feedback loop where you get a weekly 142 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: report to tell you if you're if you're treating your 143 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: body optimally, and then there's even a monthly report that 144 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,880 Speaker 1: looks at a lot of different behaviors and lifestyle decisions, 145 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: and we'll tell you ultimately what we think is working 146 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: for you and what's not. And uh, you know, I 147 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 1: think that if you look at the reviews of the product, 148 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: you'll see that most of the people on Whoop today 149 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: are are everyday consumers and they're loving it as much 150 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: as Patrick Mahomes or the next professional athlete. Whoop had 151 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: a big impact during this pandemic. From what I understand it, 152 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: it helped members identifying COVID nineteen. Can you talk more 153 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: about that and what the product did. Yeah. We we 154 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: started doing research on Whoop data and COVID nineteen as 155 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: early as late January, so we were a little bit 156 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: early to it. By March of we were the first 157 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:34,760 Speaker 1: consumer apt of COVID nineteen tracking in the app, which 158 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 1: meant that you could, you know, I'd self identify that 159 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: you had tested positive for COVID nineteen. By the end 160 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:45,080 Speaker 1: of March, we had over two thousand people report having 161 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 1: tested positive for COVID nineteen, which, at the time March 162 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 1: that was one of the largest data sets in the 163 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:56,320 Speaker 1: world physiologically speaking on COVID nineteen. So we then partnered 164 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: with Cleveland Clinic and c Q you, who are two 165 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 1: leading research inst to utians, and we worked with them 166 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: to publish research on what happens to your body physiologically 167 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: when you get COVID nineteen. And we found really a 168 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: smoking gun, so to speak, in terms of your body 169 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 1: indicating that you may have COVID nineteen, and that was 170 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: respiratory rate. Respiratory rate is the number of breaths you 171 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: have in a minute. It's a very static statistic if 172 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 1: you measure it during sleep, which we do, so that 173 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:33,839 Speaker 1: that's to say that you know, everyone has a respiratory 174 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: rate of somewhere between ten and twenty breaths per minute 175 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 1: and it really doesn't change. Now, what we saw with 176 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:44,880 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen is if you've got COVID nineteen, your respiratory 177 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,080 Speaker 1: rate would jump and it would jump off the page. 178 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: It would increase by twenty and we saw that this 179 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: happened for of cases. So that's not perfect, but it's 180 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: certainly better than nothing and um and so we PubL 181 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: wish this research fast forward to June of the PGA 182 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,440 Speaker 1: tour is one of the first I think it was 183 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,760 Speaker 1: the very first sport to come back to play. And 184 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:12,080 Speaker 1: you've got a professional golfer, Nick Watton, he who have 185 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: been wearing wood for ten months at that point, and 186 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: he tests negative for COVID nineteen on a Tuesday, he 187 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:21,560 Speaker 1: plays in the tournament on a Thursday. He wakes up 188 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: on Friday, he's got a one percent recovery on woop, 189 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 1: which you've ever worn. One percent is like you're dying. 190 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:32,560 Speaker 1: And he's got this really elevated respiratory rate. Again. His 191 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 1: respiratory rate didn't change for ten months straight, same number 192 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 1: every day, and then he wakes up one morning and 193 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: it's jumped. And so he goes to the doctors and said, hey, 194 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 1: my my respiratory rate is is elevated. I think I 195 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 1: should be tested again. They said, actually you're cleared to play. 196 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: He said, just test me again, okay, And sure enough, 197 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:53,719 Speaker 1: he tests positive for COVID, and so he's able to 198 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 1: drop out of the tournament and uh, you know, protect 199 00:10:56,920 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 1: the rest of the players. PGA Tour learns of this story, sorry, 200 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:04,000 Speaker 1: and they procured over a thousand whoop straps within the 201 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:09,080 Speaker 1: next forty eight hours for every single player, media members, staff, caddy, 202 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: you name it. And that's just one example, but it 203 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,439 Speaker 1: shows how an elevated respiratory rate can be used as 204 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 1: a predictor of COVID nineteen. Well, was that your gateway 205 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 1: into the p G A because some of the stories 206 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 1: are just fascinating. A Justin Thomas has been a client 207 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: for a while, and I watched the UH the Tournament 208 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:30,839 Speaker 1: Players Championship. He had a t shot on eighteen that 209 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 1: nearly went in the water, and it showed that his 210 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 1: heart rate peaked at one forty and that he had 211 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: his best night's sleep before round three and he went 212 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,440 Speaker 1: out and shot at sixty four. So was this this 213 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:42,240 Speaker 1: the bridge? The bridge and the gateway to get more 214 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 1: players to come on board when Wattney tested positive, Well, 215 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: it definitely accelerated our relationship with professional golf work. Today. 216 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:56,280 Speaker 1: Whoop is the official wearable of the PGA Tour. You know, UH, 217 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: Justin Thomas and Roy McElroy and others have have been 218 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: more in groups for years. And I like the example 219 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 1: you just give because I think it touches on where 220 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 1: WHOOP is headed with sports. You know, you can you 221 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,800 Speaker 1: can now see highlights of players when they've hit shots 222 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: UH and see their heart rate in that moment, and 223 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 1: you were just talking about Justin Thomas on eighteen at 224 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:24,480 Speaker 1: the Players Championship. You know, everyone thinks these guys, you know, 225 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: don't get nervous. They actually get very nervous, but they're 226 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:29,440 Speaker 1: good at coping with it. And that's what's so cool 227 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 1: about being able to see some of the what we 228 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 1: call whoop live right the real time heart rate data 229 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 1: and other data points. Justin Thomas's heart rate was at 230 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:40,319 Speaker 1: a hundred and forty beats per minute, you know, hitting 231 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,560 Speaker 1: a very important golf shot right to close out a 232 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:47,520 Speaker 1: big tournament, win a big purse. Uh, you try hitting 233 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: a golf ball with the heart rate of one forty. 234 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:52,200 Speaker 1: It's actually not easy. So to be able to feel 235 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:55,679 Speaker 1: that sort of physiological moments quite cool. And you'll now 236 00:12:55,800 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: see a lot of whoop live within professional golf is here, 237 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: but you're also going to see whup live within professional 238 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:06,160 Speaker 1: sports broadly. I want to turn on the television set 239 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: and see athletes heart rate in real time while I'm 240 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 1: watching games, while I'm watching events. And guess what I 241 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:15,680 Speaker 1: think other fans do too. Yeah, you should see Lynch's 242 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 1: heart rate when he's you know, when he's got a 243 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 1: match on the line. For you know who's gonna buy beers. Okay, 244 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: let's let's get important exactly, I just watering his names. Um, 245 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,679 Speaker 1: So we'll, you know, to broaden it out a little bit. 246 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 1: I mean, obviously you had this window in some ways 247 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:41,840 Speaker 1: into the COVID crisis, you know, through that specific story 248 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: with with Nick Watney and the p G and others. 249 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:50,360 Speaker 1: But you also presumably have seen behaviors change and and 250 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:55,440 Speaker 1: attitudes towards wellness change through your members and also just 251 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:58,679 Speaker 1: through the perch that you have again both into professional 252 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 1: athletes but also everyday a folks. So what have you 253 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 1: learned coming out of this year because obviously usage spiked 254 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 1: in many ways for you, Um, you know, you're a 255 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: pandemic quote unquote winner in that regard. We've all become 256 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 1: a little more conscious of our health, hopefully over the 257 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,480 Speaker 1: last twelve to eighteen months. So what do you take 258 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: away from that experience? You know, we founded whoop Um 259 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: with this somewhat contrarian belief that feelings were overrated. There's 260 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 1: this general notion that you wake up in the morning, 261 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 1: I feel good or I don't feel good, and that 262 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,560 Speaker 1: is a massive indicator of the status of your body 263 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 1: and my experience as a college athlete was at least 264 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 1: that I couldn't feel the status of my body, which 265 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 1: is why I was somebody used to overtrain. And it 266 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 1: turns out, of course I'm not alone that there. It's 267 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 1: it's not just that I couldn't feel it. It's that 268 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:53,600 Speaker 1: everyone cannot always feel what's going on in their bodies. 269 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 1: And in fact, there are profound physiological indicators that are 270 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: predictive of your bodies at us and that was really 271 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: the core origin for whoop and this this um you know, 272 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 1: amazing technology that we've now been able to develop and 273 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 1: bring to market. If you look at the COURVID nineteen pandemic, 274 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:16,800 Speaker 1: I think what people have learned from that, or consumers 275 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 1: have learned from that, is there are things going on 276 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,680 Speaker 1: in my body that I cannot feel. You know. Imagine 277 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: the fact that you can have this virus and be 278 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: completely asymptomatic, and yet you could give it to your 279 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: grandmother or your mother or someone and uh and that 280 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 1: person could get incredibly sick or worse. So this idea 281 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: that you can be carrying something that you can't feel, 282 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: I think is a wake up call. And of course 283 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: it's that you know, it's it's true for all sorts 284 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,320 Speaker 1: of different disease states and otherwise. And why I'm so 285 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,880 Speaker 1: bullish on WHOOP and I'm so bullish on health monitoring 286 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: is that health monitoring can measure things you can't feel, 287 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 1: and it can be a leading indicator for things that 288 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:04,360 Speaker 1: you can't feel. And if you think about the whole 289 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:07,880 Speaker 1: health care industry in general, it's screwed up because it's 290 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 1: very focused on curative costs. You know, we're dealing with 291 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: stuff when it's too late. The magic is preventative costs. 292 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,440 Speaker 1: If you can, if you can prevent things before they happen, 293 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: that's how you can really improve the healthcare industry. And 294 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:24,560 Speaker 1: so I think that WHOOP is going to play a 295 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: huge role in moving curative costs to preventative costs. And 296 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: I think it's going to help consumers understand that there's 297 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 1: things going on in their bodies that they can't feel. 298 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: So that's why I'm very excited about this moment in time, 299 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: and I'm excited about the future of improving health. By 300 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 1: the way, you guys have a partnership with the USC, 301 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: is that correct we do. USC has got most of 302 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: their student athletes wearing WHOOP. Here shortly and we've now 303 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: done this with a bunch of different schools and USC 304 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,800 Speaker 1: is a great, great athletic department. Well after you where 305 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: the strap on your wrist or your bicept. It's a 306 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:05,680 Speaker 1: subscription of thirty dollars a month, is what I believe. 307 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:07,159 Speaker 1: What it is that do you think that fee is 308 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 1: sustainable in the long run? Well, we we've really I think, 309 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: redefined what it means to what it means to wear 310 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 1: a wearable and to pay for a health subscription. And 311 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,159 Speaker 1: I think that because we've been able to build a 312 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 1: product that is constantly evolving. I mean Whoop has to 313 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:32,680 Speaker 1: uh continuously evolve and change. The reason Whoop is a subscription, 314 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,360 Speaker 1: so right, you pay anywhere from eighteen dollars a month 315 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 1: to thirty dollars a month depending on a plan you select. 316 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 1: H and by the hardware is free, right, it just 317 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,439 Speaker 1: comes included in the subscription. The reason for that is 318 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: that we are a service that's going to keep evolving 319 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:54,000 Speaker 1: and growing with you. We don't view health improvement as 320 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,240 Speaker 1: a one time thing. It's it's going to change over 321 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,560 Speaker 1: the course of your life. Um, your knee today are 322 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:02,400 Speaker 1: very different than what they might be in three months 323 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 1: or six months or twelve months or five years, and 324 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,679 Speaker 1: we want to evolve with you on that journey. Now 325 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:11,479 Speaker 1: to your point, if we're not, we're not delivering value 326 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:15,239 Speaker 1: for you, you can cancel, right. You can sign up 327 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,360 Speaker 1: for you know, pay pay thirty dollars to sign up, 328 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: and you can cancel. So it's uh. I think it 329 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:25,200 Speaker 1: builds a relationship with a consumer that's pretty unique, and 330 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 1: it forces us to continue delivering value every day, every week, 331 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: every month, and at the end of the day it's 332 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:32,880 Speaker 1: up to the consumer to decide if if we're living 333 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:34,840 Speaker 1: up to that. But I think if you if you 334 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: see what we've done today, Um, the bottom line is 335 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,400 Speaker 1: we have so well. Just moving to the very bloombergie 336 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,880 Speaker 1: part of this conversation, tell us more about the company 337 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:46,760 Speaker 1: in terms of where you go from here. You've been 338 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:51,439 Speaker 1: incredibly successful raising money. You have big name endorsers and 339 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:55,919 Speaker 1: big name investors. It is a competitive space as people, 340 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,879 Speaker 1: you know, kind of get some religion around this notion 341 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 1: of health and wellness recovery. It feels like has been 342 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:04,880 Speaker 1: something that has really come to the fore. I say 343 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 1: this is someone who's you know, watched the fitness industry 344 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:08,880 Speaker 1: for a long time and year exactly right. We spent 345 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,320 Speaker 1: so much time talking about, you know, what is the 346 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:16,440 Speaker 1: right exercise, and less time in the past on recovery 347 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,960 Speaker 1: and sleep and whatnot. So what's the game plan, what's 348 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,159 Speaker 1: the business plan as you look across you know, the 349 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,160 Speaker 1: next one to three years. Our business is really measured 350 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: in terms of growth and retention. So growth is adding 351 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:33,200 Speaker 1: new members to Whoop, and retention is keeping them on Whoop. 352 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,240 Speaker 1: In terms of growth, we're growing rapidly in the United States, 353 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:40,920 Speaker 1: but we're now also looking at growing internationally, so that's 354 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:44,760 Speaker 1: Europe broadly, that's Australia, that's the U a E. We're 355 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:48,680 Speaker 1: now looking at other regions where we're making big investments. UH. 356 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: In terms of UM, you know, the sort of the 357 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:56,399 Speaker 1: sports landscape, will continue to be doing partnerships with the 358 00:19:56,480 --> 00:20:00,639 Speaker 1: best UH sports leagues and properties. You know, we recently 359 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:05,879 Speaker 1: announced being the official wearable of the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, UH, 360 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 1: the official wearable of CrossFit, the official wearable of the 361 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,679 Speaker 1: NFL p A. We've got a bunch of UH you know, 362 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:16,119 Speaker 1: athletic departments now putting Whoop on all their student athletes. 363 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 1: So we'll always continue to have this higher brand positioning. 364 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:22,920 Speaker 1: But but the second half of the story of retention, 365 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: that's really about making Whoop a product that can be 366 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:28,720 Speaker 1: used by anyone. And I don't care if you're a 367 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,359 Speaker 1: thirteen year old or an eight five year old or 368 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,680 Speaker 1: somewhere in between, whatever your fitness level is. We want 369 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 1: Whoop to be a product that when you put it 370 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:40,240 Speaker 1: on your body, it's helping you improve your health and UH. 371 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:42,680 Speaker 1: And I think you'll just continue to see Whoop innovate. 372 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:45,000 Speaker 1: I think you'll continue to see Whoop move faster than 373 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:49,160 Speaker 1: our competition, as we demonstrated during the COVID nineteen pandemic. 374 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 1: We were the first technology company to publish research on 375 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen. So that's the name of the game, growth 376 00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:59,439 Speaker 1: and retention. Uh. And right now it feels like the 377 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:01,720 Speaker 1: winds that are out all right, Well, well, it's been 378 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: really good talking to you. Best of luck. Uh. We're 379 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:06,800 Speaker 1: eager to see where this goes and as you can 380 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,120 Speaker 1: tell from from our question, is very interested in this 381 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:11,480 Speaker 1: space and UH and where it goes from here. It's 382 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,640 Speaker 1: it's rapidly evolving and you guys clearly are in the 383 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:16,560 Speaker 1: center of all of it. Will I'm ed is the 384 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 1: CEO and the founder of Luke joining us from Boston. 385 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:21,880 Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Thanks guys really enjoyed it. This 386 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,800 Speaker 1: is the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast. Michael Barrow on 387 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,199 Speaker 1: Twitter at Big bar Sports, and I'm Mike Lynch. You 388 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,639 Speaker 1: can follow me at Lynch e w CVB and follow 389 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:31,919 Speaker 1: me on Twitter at Jason Kelly News. We're here each 390 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 1: and every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday a sport in the 391 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:36,040 Speaker 1: world of money and sports. Join us again at the 392 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: end of the week. We're going to catch up with 393 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:42,199 Speaker 1: because it is Kentucky Derby week. Bill car Stangen. He 394 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:46,439 Speaker 1: is the CEO of Churchill Down Tournament. Here listening to 395 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,280 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business with Sports on Bloomberg Radio around the world 396 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,480 Speaker 1: and online wherever you get your podcasts.