Reigning National Football League MVP Josh Allen met Therabody founder and chiropractic doctor Jason Wersland at his first Buffalo Bills training camp in 2018. Three years later, Allen became an investor in the company (along with a laundry list of other athletes and celebrities), and now he is becoming the brand’s first-ever performance adviser.

The move reflects a broader trend of brands expanding the job description of ambassadors to go beyond mere promotion, with roles that include key investors or roles in product and R&D. We’ve seen it with On and Zendaya, David Beckham and IM8, even the Kelce brothers and Garage Beer, among others.

“For me, it’s not just about the recovery, it’s about preparing and being ready to perform,” Allen tells Fast Company. “I’m excited to bring what I’ve learned that works for me on the field into the product development side to help push some innovation forward.”

Allen says Therabody products like the Theragun Pro Plus, JetBoots Pro Plus, and ThermBack LED wrap play a significant role in his preparation, training, and recovery routines. The company is launching a new ad campaign starring Allen, as well as two exclusive “Josh Allen Performance Bundles” in the U.S. from September 7 through November 22, built around products Allen uses in his personal routine.

Make it official

Therabody chief marketing officer John Solomon says that making Allen an official performance adviser is just formalizing a process and relationship he’s already had with the brand since that first training camp. 

“We wanted to formalize that process with Josh, as a longtime investor and Therabody user, but also as someone who is having a huge moment right now,” Solomon says. “It allows us to get insights quicker and for him to be a part of the process, which makes him an even more enthusiastic advocate when products are launched.”

This new role is aimed at strengthening the brand’s place in sports and performance, which has exploded with copycat and competitive products since the first Theragun was launched in 2016. In more recent years, the company has branched out to include wellness (pain, stress, sleep) and beauty (focused on antiaging). Since expanding, Solomon says the company has seen double-digit year-over-year growth, only recently interrupted by tariffs.

Authentic Allen

Allen says that his relationship with Therabody is rooted in the same process he uses for all of his business and commercial partnerships. 

“It’s really about the authenticity of it—never putting my name on something that I personally don’t believe in or I wouldn’t use,” he says.

In the past year, Allen has starred in ads for Gatorade, Pepsi, and Snickers. He credits his close advisers and some Hall of Famers with helping him navigate this side of his career.  “I’m very fortunate to have a really good team around me, obviously with my wife and my family,” he says. “And then, I’ve had small talks with guys like Peyton [Manning] and Tom [Brady], because they’ve done pretty well for themselves off the football field as well.”

Earlier this year, Allen signed on as the first New Era brand ambassador to have a direct investment stake in the headwear company, and he also joined the Cashmere Fund, a Nasdaq-listed interval fund led by former Endeavor exec Elia Infascelli. He sees this latest move with Therabody as another way to utilize his present to help secure his future. 

“At the end of the day, you can only play football for so long, but you can use your expertise in other fields just like this,” Allen says. “It’s a chance for me to help a brand and become better at something outside of the game of football.”