Bloomberg Businessweek Asia Edition - 05 August 2019

BloombergBusinessweek August5, 2019

pulses.DuringtheTour,Armstronghastalkedupbothon

hisdailyepisodesofTheMove. “TimFerris,ChrisSacca,Gary

Vaynerchuk—theyalldothis,”hesays,referringtotheself-

helpauthor,theformerSharkTankstar,andthesocialmedia

guru,respectively.“Nobodydoesit specificallydedicatedto

thisworld—endurance,outdoors,healthandfitness.”

We’respeakinginthesunroomofa modestbungalowina

slightlysketchypartofAustin,akaWeduSport’sheadquarters.

Armstrongis dressedcasually—shorts,runningshoes,white

T-shirt—fora podcasttapingwithJohnFurner,chiefexecutive

officerofSam’sClub.Herecordedtheepisodeina shedbehind

thehousethat’sbeenretrofittedwithsoundproofing,audio

equipment,andcamerasforYouTube.It’snotmuch,consid-

eringArmstrongwasonceoneofthebest-paidathletesinthe

world,butheseesit asthebeginningofsomethingnew—asort

ofDIYNikethatwillencompassmedia,events,andapparel.

“It’sf---ingawesome,”hesaysofthepopularityofhispodcast.

“Itfeelslikeallis notlost.”

“Idon’twannalie:I don’twanttonottalkaboutthat,”

Armstrongsaid,referringtothefraudtrial,ona Wedupod-

castcalledTheForward, whichappearediniTunesandother

podcastappsin2016.Heacknowledgedit couldbankrupthim.

“That’sa bigdealformeandmyfamily.Butthegoalis toget

thatpartoflifebehindmeandmoveforward.That’sthename

ofthisthing.”

It wasthedayafterChristmas,andArmstrongwasina

reflectivemood.AtthetimethecrewconsistedofArmstrong

andHiggins.(HeadcountatWeduhassincedoubled,tofour.)

MostoftheguestsontheshowsofarhadbeenArmstrong’s

friends.Themixwaseclectic:tennisgreatChrisEvert,histo-

rianDouglasBrinkley,musicianSeal.Episodeswereposted

everyfewweeks,mostlyrecordedinArmstrong’swinecellar,

ona laptop.Theshow,hetoldhislisteners,hadattractedmore

than1.5milliondownloadsinitsfirstsixmonths—abigenough

audiencetoselltoadvertisers,thoughArmstrongsaidhehad

noimmediateplanstodoso.“Idon’twantyoualltothinkthat

thisis a moneygrabforme,”hesaid.“Iknowhowpeopleview

mysituation—thelastfouryearsofmylife.”

Eventuallythough,hesaid,hehopedthepodcastwould

generaterevenueforWedu.Therewouldbeevents,media,

andmerch.And—incaseanyonedoubtedthatArmstrongwas

reclaimingallofhisoldempire,whichhadmergedhisath-

leticprowesswithhiscapacityforraisingmoneyforcancer

patients—hehintedata charitycomponent.“Dearcancercom-

munity,”hesaid,hisvoicebreaking.“Iwantbackin.”

Duringthat 2016 Christmasepisode,andininterviewssince,

Armstronghaspresentedhisdecisiontolauncha podcastas

a spur-of-the-momentthing.Higginshadsuggestedtheidea

yearsearlier,butArmstrongresisteduntilJune2016, when,

ona lark,hepostedhisfirstinterview,a conversationwith

TimLeague,a friendandthefounderofAlamoDrafthouse

CinemaLLC.

In reality, it was more considered. Armstrong tells me he’d

wanted to find a way back into the business world for years

but felt helpless. “Everybody exited: the backers, the sponsors,

the partners, my foundation,” he says. “We were in this place

for years where it was like, F---, we got nothing.”

Armstrong first began contemplating a comeback around

2015, when he contacted Strava, developer of the fitness app

he was using to track his daily runs, after an overly aggressive

fan used it to harass him. When he asked the company for help,

Armstrong recalls one of the company’s founders mentioned

something else in passing: Armstrong had the biggest fan base

of any Strava user. (Today he has 117,000 followers. Tejay van

Garderen, the top American rider, who dropped from this

year’s Tour after a crash during the seventh stage, has fewer

than 25,000.) “I was running four miles a day,” Armstrong

recalls thinking. “Why would you wanna watch that?”

But the real turning point came the following year, when

a friend at a major sporting goods company covertly passed

him an internal market-research study of bike customers. “It

waslike3,000respondents,”Armstrongrecalls.“Theyasked

aboutallkindsofrandomsh--.Doyouridea mountainbikeor

a roadbike?Howoldareyou?Wheredoyoulive?”

Thesurveyalsoaskedrespondentstonametheirfavor-

iteprofessionalcyclist,offering 10 choices,includingChris

Froome,a four-timeTourdeFrancewinnerwidelyregarded

atthetimeastheworld’sdominantroadcyclist,andGreg

LeMond,thelegendary1980sTourwinner.Armstrongwas

theoverwhelmingfavorite,despiteallthecontroversies.“It

wasn’tevenclose,”hesays.“Thepeopleareoutthere.But

theydon’thavea bikeracetheycanattend,theydon’thavea

[ jersey]theycanbuy.”

Armstrongsetaboutrectifyingthat.Hegotintouchwith

anoldcollaborator,JamesSelman,formerlyofthePortland,

Ore.,officeofWieden+ Kennedyanda keydesignerbehind

Nike’sArmstrongads.ArmstrongandSelmanhadstayedin

touchafterthedesignerlefttheagencyworldtotakea job

atAppleInc.ArmstrongaskedSelman,who’dstartedhis

owndesignstudio,toworkupanideafora brandaimedat

enthusiastsofoutdoorendurancesports.Armstrongpicks

upa bookSelmanproducedwithWedu’slogoandslogan

onthecover—“Solidarityforthesolitary”—andstartsflip-

pingthroughit.Oneachpagethere’saninspiringphotoand

aphorism,whichArmstrongreadsoffata rapidclip.“Forward,

neverstraight.Nevertakecounselfromfear.It’scalledWedu,

not‘wedon’t.’” Selman’s work, coupled with Armstrong’s

“EVERYBODY EXITED: THE BACKERS, THE SPONSORS, THE PARTNERS, MY FOUNDATION.

WE WERE IN THIS PLACE FOR YEARS WHERE IT WAS LIKE, F---, WE GOT NOTHING”

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