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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