Volume 69 | Sugar Rush

📰 The Pulse

Pura Raises $15M for Cane-Sugar Soda
Clean-label soda brand Pura just locked in a $15 million funding round to scale its natural cane sugar offerings in the U.S. More athletes and health-conscious consumers are pushing back against synthetic sweeteners — they want real fuel, not fake substitutes.

The Playbook Take — Real sugar is making a comeback and I’m all here for it. Brands like Sport Drink and Pura are emerging as leaders in that shift. Even Coca-Cola has announced plans to roll out a cane sugar offering in the US this fall.

WHOOP Launches Advanced Labs 
A new feature that brings your blood biomarkers into the WHOOP ecosystem. Members can now upload past bloodwork or book curated panels testing 65 key biomarkers, with results reviewed by licensed clinicians and integrated directly into your app. Instead of static numbers, WHOOP gives you personalized, AI-powered coaching that connects your blood data to sleep, training, and recovery habits—helping you move from “normal” to truly optimal. With over 350,000 members already on the waitlist, Advanced Labs marks the start of WHOOP’s vision for a full Health Operating System. (More)

The Playbook Take — Bloodwork is the hottest it’s ever been right now — and once a year doesn’t cut it anymore. It makes sense for WHOOP to take this direction. Here are my favorite innovative health services leading the way to keep on your radar: Superpower, Function, Lifeforce, Rythym, Eternal, MNLY, and Blokes.

Ladder App Takes Over Diplo’s Run Club in Seattle
Ladder — the fitness & wellness app — continues it’s nationwide strength experience with Diplo’s Run Club in Seattle. (More)

The Playbook Take — The lines between digital fitness platforms and IRL communities are blurring. Owning physical touchpoints (popups, run clubs) amplifies stickiness. Ladder continues putting on a masterclass in community fitness.

🧬 The Shop

Plunge | All-In Gen 2
The world's smartest cold plunge, now in its second generation. All-in-one, plug-and-plunge setup—no plumbing required. Featuring 31% faster cooling down to 37°F using 50% less energy. Ozone sanitation with 2x the filtration for crystal, clear water. Plus temp control and session tracking with the Plunge App.

Slate Milk | Cookies & Cream Ultra Protein
A dessert-inspired protein boost hitting shelves exclusively at Target. Packed with ultra-filtered protein in a creamy cookies & cream flavor designed for athletes who crave taste without compromise.

SIS | GO Energy Isotonic Sports Drink
The latest from Science in Sport. A quick-hitting endurance formula with fast carbs and electrolytes, designed for easy digestion and steady energy without the sugar crash. Coming in an Orange flavor with 60g of carbohydrate, B Vitamins, and 350mg of sodium per bottle.

Nike | Grind Change Plates
The Nike Grind Change Plates are the latest evolution in the Nike Grind product line. They deliver the same durable performance as our original design, now made with Nike Grind rubber, a byproduct of Nike’s footwear manufacturing process. Built for smooth loading and incremental progress, these plates help you build strength one small step at a time.

ARMA | Wild Lime (Limited Edition)
With 400+ bioactive nutrients, this flavor adds a burst of citrus to your ARMRA^® routine for whole-body vitality across gut, immunity, metabolism, skin, hair, fitness performance, and more. Waitlist is now open.

Magna | Island Punch Electrolytes
A tropical-inspired electrolyte blend combining three forms of magnesium with key vitamins to fuel daily focus, energy, and recovery.

Kenetik | Tangerine Ketone Shot
A compact shot delivering 10g of bioidentical ketones — touted as the body’s most efficient fuel and a cellular performance signal. The tangerine flavor is built for daily use before training or competition.

Slumber | Pure Sleep
Launched today, Pure Sleep™ Fast-Acting Gummies powered by Azuca’s Time Infusion® Technology. Each gummy delivers 20 mg of CBN and Slumber’s Stay Asleep Complex™ of calming botanicals and amino acids — helping people fall asleep in as little as 5–15 minutes and stay asleep longer without next-day grogginess.

Try Create | Nationwide at Sprouts
You can now find the creatine gummies at your local Sprouts nationwide.

Breath Death | Crystal Breth
Zinc-powered crystals with peppermint oil and other clean ingredients to fight bad breath and kill bacteria. Backed by an stacked lineup of people like Jake Paul, Logan Paul, OBJ, and MGK.

🧼 Sport Wipes For Athletes

Performance doesn’t stop when the workout ends.

GamePlan’s post-sweat cleansing wipes are built for athletes — engineered to wipe away sweat, dirt, oil, and even eye black, while using a non-irritating, antioxidant-rich formula with a touch of eucalyptus oil.

Founded by former LSU and Miami FC athletic trainer Gabby Arancio, GamePlan is more than skincare — it’s a culture that celebrates the identity of athletes.

Lightweight, refreshing, and locker-room ready, they’re the new standard in sports hygiene.

👉 Stock up on GamePlan today here.

🎙️ On The Podcast

From the Pentagon’s private think tank on human performance to coaching elite executives, Andrew Herr has spent his career at the intersection of science, strategy, and human potential.

Today, he’s the founder of Flykitt — the first product proven to eliminate jet lag. What started as a Word doc protocol of supplements and blue light glasses is now an AI-powered system trusted by pro and Olympic athletes worldwide. In a study with Inter Miami, players using Flykitt saw 94% fewer travel symptoms on a 4 city, 5 game around the world trip that their performance staff tracked.

Herr’s breakthrough insight? Jet lag isn’t just about sleep or circadian rhythms. It’s also about inflammation caused by rapid cabin pressure changes — like climbing an 8,000-foot mountain in 15 minutes. By tackling all three factors, Flykitt helps athletes and travelers land ready to perform.

Now expanding beyond pros, Herr has launched Flykitt Domestic, bringing the same technology to everyday flyers. And with new tools for building workouts in any gym and finding healthy food worldwide, Flykitt is becoming a full performance ecosystem for life on the move.

Tune in for Andrew’s journey from bioweapons defense to disrupting global travel, the science behind Flykitt, and the daily flow that keeps him performing at his best.

💰 The Boardroom

Colts Quenton Nelson teams up with Cracker Barrel for 'Pancake Block' $5 all-you-can eat Friday (More)
Indianapolis Colts star Quenton Nelson has partnered with Cracker Barrel to launch “Pancake Block Fridays,” a $5 all-you-can-eat pancake promotion. The campaign plays off Nelson’s reputation for “pancake blocks” on the field, blending football culture with a fan-friendly dining deal.

The Playbook Take— This campaign crushed on socials. Plus It’s a win-win for fans: you get unlimited pancakes while celebrating one of the NFL’s top offensive linemen in a fun, playful way.

Oura Health Hits $11 Billion Valuation (More)
Oura Health, parent company of health-tracking Oura Ring, recently raised a $875 million Series E round, bringing its valuation to $11 billion, according to a new report from Bloomberg.The company plans to utilize the new funding to scale up production, further expand its international presence, and invest in product development.

Overtime

🤖 Shred App’s CoachAI brings hyper-personalized coaching to fitness, using behavioral data and machine learning to adapt training in real time. (More)

🏃‍♂️ Runners will face the world’s deepest marathon — 1,120 m underground in a subterranean race experience. (More)

🧘‍♀️ A new LA studio combines pilates, yoga, and trampoline-based fitness into one hybrid movement space. (More)

🌱 Create creatine gummies launches nationwide at Sprouts. (More)