Volume 72 | The Invisible Game

📰 The Pulse

Athletes Are Waking Up to EMFs — and the Invisible Game They Might Be Losing

Pro players are swapping wireless for wired — and brands are taking notice. Sports marketing expert Jordan Rogers highlighted how stars like Puka Nacua, Travis Kelce, and Aaron Rodgers are ditching wireless earbuds for wired headphones.

The reason? Growing concern over electromagnetic fields (EMFs) — invisible waves from phones, AirPods, Wi-Fi, and 5G that may quietly affect mental focus, recovery, and longevity.

For years, EMFs were background noise. But as elite athletes chase marginal gains in sleep quality, hormone balance, and cellular repair, this once-fringe topic is entering mainstream performance science.

Emerging studies now link chronic exposure to oxidative stress, inflammation, and disrupted circadian rhythms — all key to performing and recovering at your best.

Now, leading brands are stepping up to meet the movement:

🧢 HAVN — developing radiation-proof apparel using conductive fibers that block up to 99% of EMF exposure, protecting the body’s bioelectric balance during travel and recovery.
🏀 Aires Tech — building tools that optimize EMF environments for health and performance, including a pilot with the Minnesota Timberwolves to test “EMF-friendly” arena technology.
📱 WaveBlock — backed by Mookie Betts, producing EMF-reducing shields for phones, AirPods, and laptops to minimize radiation absorption during high-use screen time.

The best in the world aren’t just protecting their bodies… they’re protecting their signal. (More)

The Playbook Take — Athletes are realizing that the invisible environment matters as much as the physical one. We’re entering a new performance frontier where controlling your surroundings — not just your training — is part of the game.

Spartan Race Will Track Athletes’ Biomarkers in New Partnership
Spartan has formally launched Project 300 in partnership with diagnostics firm Joi + Blokes — a 200-day investigation tracking 300 athletes across 55+ biomarkers including hormones, inflammation, metabolic metrics and recovery responses. The goal: map how internal physiology translates to performance outcomes. (More)

The Playbook Take — Collecting finish-line times is old school. The next frontier is mapping inside-out data. When sport and diagnostics collide, performance becomes precision medicine. Love this partnership!

Red Light Therapy Continues Powering Athletic Feats — Neil Agius
Endurance record-breaker Neil Agius credits red-light therapy tools as a core part of his recovery arsenal, citing how light protocols helped him maintain heat regulation, cellular repair and sleep during extreme swims. (More)

The Playbook Take — I think advanced tools like this don’t help people who can’t master the fundamentals. However when someone pushing the physical limits swears by recovery tech, it’s a signal. Red-light, PEMF, and other “bio-signal” tools aren’t fringe—they’re being integrated into elite routines.

Willpower Hosts First Sports & Human Performance Event
A few weeks ago, Willpower: World of Sports & Human Performance ran during F1 week — a full day of panels, padel, immersive performance-tech and thought leadership.

Two tracks: “Brand & Culture” and “Science & Systems.”

Opening Q: What does it take for wellness and performance brands to truly earn their place in sports culture? The answer: it’s not logo placements — it’s relevance. (More)

The Playbook Take — The bridge between culture and science is now performance. Brands that master both will win the future.

🧬 The Shop

247 | Arc-1 Runner Winter – Chocolate & Steel (Nov 5 Drop)
A weatherized take on the sleek Arc-1 Runner, featuring water-resistant upper mesh, steel-gray midsole, and winter traction tread for all-season training.

Aviron | Victory Treadmill Plus
Connected cardio meets competition. Aviron’s new treadmill combines immersive routes, and performance analytics for group or solo runs on a new cinematic 27” touchscreen.

Shiftwave Pro | iPad Integration
Shiftwave now syncs seamlessly with iPad, offering whole-body vibration, breathwork, and guided coaching combined into an intelligent wellness platform, delivering 50+ immersive protocols with real-time feedback that help you shift into a state of clarity, calm, or energy — on demand.

Ergatta | The Luxe
Expanding its footprint in gamified connected rowing, Ergatta introduces The Luxe — a high-end rower built from handcrafted American cherrywood, upgraded with immersive visuals and multiplayer races.

ROKA | Snow Goggles
ROKA debuts its first snow line, bringing the brand’s optical clarity and anti-fog tech to the slopes. Polarized lenses, hydrophobic coatings, and athlete-tested frames make these a standout debut.

Ladder | Adds Nutrition Tracking
Ladder expands beyond training plans, now offering nutrition tracking and macro analysis — giving users a unified app for performance, recovery, and fueling.

Thorne | Creatine + Alpha GPC (Watermelon Lemonade)
Thorne’s latest stack combines 5g of Creapure® creatine with Alpha GPC to boost both muscle power and cognitive function — now in a refreshing Watermelon Lemonade flavor.

Man Cereal | Official Launch
The long-teased “functional cereal for men” officially hits shelves. High-protein, low-sugar, adaptogen-infused, and aimed at morning optimization.

Freaks of Nature | Deodorant Line
The performance-body brand drops an aluminum-free deodorant line powered by magnesium and botanical enzymes for post-training freshness.

Asystem | Women’s Longevity Line
Asystem’s first female-focused stack includes hormonal balance, collagen support, and cellular defense — a full-spectrum protocol for active women.

Super Coffee | Lean Iced Latte
The cult coffee brand drops its cleanest formula yet: no added sugar, 80 calories, 10g protein, and creamy texture in a ready-to-drink form.

Braintree Nutrition | Purple Reign Focus + Hydration
An exclusive collaboration with NFL safety Harrison Smith: a complete Focus + Hydration performance blend combining electrolytes, nootropics, and adaptogens.

🔋 Recovery At The Push Of A Button

Finally — a recovery tool that speaks your body’s natural language: frequency.

Your cells are like batteries — powering every thought, heartbeat, and movement. But stress, screen time, and overtraining drain that charge fast.

HAELO uses Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF) to restore cellular energy and balance at the push of a button.

• Backed by 2,000+ double-blind studies

• Trusted by elite coaches, Olympians, and pro athletes

• Designed for at-home use

Just choose a Frequency Set in the app, place the coil on your body, and hit play. Each session aligns with your body’s natural rhythm — helping you regulate, repair, and recharge from the inside out.

The Playbook Take — PEMF isn’t just for biohackers anymore. Tools like HAELO are giving athletes access to one of the most effective, noninvasive recovery methods in the world.

👉 Use code PLAYBOOK and get $300 OFF

🎙️ On The Podcast

Sleep High, Perform Higher — Box Altitude’s Rico on Overnight Adaptation

We sat down with Rico Rigers, founder of Box Altitude, to talk about turning your bedroom into a performance lab. His systems safely reduce oxygen while you sleep, prompting your body to adapt—more hemoglobin, better VO₂, smarter endurance.

Why it matters:

• ~5% hemoglobin mass ↑ can mean ~4.2% VO₂ max ↑ — built while you sleep.

• App control + data: Set 8,000 ft on iOS/Android; track SpO₂ and HR.

• Real use cases: Pros run 6–8 week blocks, then maintain with ~8 hrs/week.

What they build:

• Sleep Cloud (King/Queen) — pop-up sleep system

• Training Cloud — hypoxic training environment

• Sleep Bedroom — full HVAC-style install

Rico’s Flow Stack: Eight Sleep (cold room ~17°C), Apple Health, omega-3, collagen/colostrum, hydrolyzed protein (often Momentous), real-food fueling, and a Pinarello with all the fast bits.

The Playbook Take:
Altitude adaptation used to require camps. Box Altitude makes it repeatable, trackable, and design-friendly—a high-leverage recovery tool for pros, colleges, and anyone chasing longevity.

Try it in the US via The Feed or book time with Rico to talk protocols.

💰 The Boardroom

Exos Acquires Infinite Athlete
Performance powerhouse Exos has acquired Infinite Athlete, merging data, wearables, and training systems to build the most advanced human performance platform yet. (More)

Novak Djokovic Co-Founds New Wellness Venture
Djokovic joins as co-founder in a $5M seed round for a new longevity and recovery startup focused on neuro-muscular adaptation and precision nutrition. (More)

Bevel Lands $10M to Expand Health AI Platform
Bevel secured $10M in Series A funding to expand its AI-driven health app that syncs with wearables, providing real-time insights into recovery, readiness, and strain. (More)

Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint Raises $60M
Longevity entrepreneur Bryan Johnson raised $60M to scale Blueprint, attracting top investors. The startup’s goal: reprogram human aging through data-driven nutrition and diagnostics. (More)

Recess Raises $30M Amid Functional Beverage Boom
The calm-energy brand Recess just closed a $30M round, bringing in an ex-Nutrabolt exec to fuel retail growth and new product innovation. (More)

The Playbook Take — Human performance is now a full-scale economy. From diagnostics to beverages, investors are betting on biology.

Overtime

💡 Consumers spending more on self-care, less on alcohol (More)

🎬 Liquid Death rolls out campaign with film Running Man — nailed the marketing drop (More)

🍯 Manukora launches world-class honey in glass jars (More)

🏠 Celsius opens “Energy House” pop-up experience (More)

🧘‍♂️ The impact of core training on overall athletic performance (More)