Footwear, apparel, and now nutrition…does the Tom Brady-infused NOBULL have what it takes to build a “complete wellness company”? To be fully honest, it’s been maybe four or five years since I’ve thought deeply about the TB12 brand. While the ideological foundation of the brand was (and still is) compelling, I became disinterested relatively quickly…as the level of execution required to bring that brand distinctiveness to life just wasn’t initially apparent. But my TB12 interest was reinvigorated this week…along with a bolstered belief that it could potentially have an intriguing future, after I read trending news headline. Tom Brady has struck a deal to merge his wellness company, TB12, and his apparel line, Brady Brand, with the sportswear brand NOBULL. The combined company will retain the NOBULL name…and Tom Brady becomes its second-largest shareholder after Mike Repole, who bought a majority stake in the company in July of 2023 through his investment firm, Impact Capital. So, what would an astute businessman like Mike Repole (i.e. turned Vitaminwater and BodyArmor into household beverage names) want with TB12 that was rumored to be generating less than 8-figures in revenue (CPG segment) and was losing tons of money on the bottom line. Firstly (and most obviously), Mike Repole is acquihiring Tom Brady. This isn’t Mike Repole’s first rodeo with this “sports marketing” strategy…as he iterated Gatorade’s playbook in the 2010s after noticing consumers spending more time on social media platforms and becoming more involved with “celebrity” parasocial relationships. So, that’s at least partly why BodyArmor decided to have athlete investors over the typical athlete spokespeople…thus allowing them to leverage their growing authentic microphones and public interest in an athlete’s life away from sports. But beyond the obvious interest in having one the greatest winners of all-time (Tom Brady) on his team, Mike Repole had the same “diamond in the rough” feeling that I got many years ago around the TB12 brand. And no, I’m not talking about the supplement product line…because those (great or not) are only the entry fee to compete in the market. With Tom Brady much more intentionally focused and engaged on business, the holistic wellness methodology of TB12 turns bolder and has more defensible distinctiveness. But then you also align it with the larger NOBULL strategic narrative…plus you can’t forget the added benefit of the CPG industry savviness from Mike Repole, and there’s a real possibility something extremely special could happen within this pursuit towards becoming a billion-dollar “complete wellness company.” From Nike to lululemon to even Alo (which is a brand I’ll discuss further on my channel very soon), these activewear brands aren’t just selling apparel…they’re selling a lifestyle. Reorienting around wellness and adding Tom Brady’s star power gives NOBULL a lot of strategic optionality throughout its ambitious build process…which is great and most likely directs them towards an IPO in the relatively near future.

FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS