- 2 days ago
Drew Brees and Tony Zaccario join us at the NYSE to discuss how Stretch Zone is transforming recovery, flexibility, and performance nationwide.
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00:00Joining me down here on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange,
00:03Tony Zaccario, the President and CEO of StretchZone,
00:06and the one and only Drew Brees, franchise owner of StretchZone,
00:09and the newest member of the Football Hall of Fame.
00:12Thank you guys both for joining us.
00:13Thanks for having us.
00:14Great to be here. Thank you.
00:15Tony, since you've been called the Drew Brees of big business,
00:17I'm going to kick things off with you here.
00:18Whoa, big shoes.
00:19For people who are a bit new to this,
00:21talk to me about what practitioner-assisted stretching really is,
00:24and how is it different from what most of us try and do at home on a yoga mat?
00:28Well, the reality is probably most of us don't do any stretching at home,
00:30which is where we found our niche.
00:32So assisted stretching and StretchZone pretty much pioneered the assisted stretching space.
00:35Effectively, you come and lay on a table.
00:37Our trained practitioners do all the work, and our members get all the benefits.
00:41And so we've had a great deal of success over the years, now at 420 locations,
00:45nationwide, international as well.
00:47And with this new clinical research, I think everyone here at StretchZone is really excited,
00:50and I appreciate that compliment, by the way.
00:54Drew, over the course of your 20-year career in the NFL,
00:58now Canton Bound, I'm sure you tried every imaginable type of recovery method
01:01when you first got introduced to the work at StretchZone.
01:04What most stood out for you as this being a great differentiator?
01:07Well, that's exactly right.
01:07That's how I found StretchZone, especially later in my career,
01:10where father time and the aging process really begins to take hold.
01:14You're looking for every edge possible to maximize what you're doing in the weight room,
01:18what you're doing on the field.
01:19And that's where I found StretchZone and practitioner-led stretching.
01:22It really helped me maximize all those things.
01:24It helped prolong my career by helping me maintain the flexibility and mobility
01:29that I needed to generate power as a thrower, as a rotational athlete.
01:33And when I retired even, just the overall quality of life,
01:36the energy that I felt by continuing to do it, my overall range of motion.
01:41Look, I love all athletics, so I want to continue to play sports
01:45and continue to be a weekend warrior.
01:47And StretchZone helps me do that.
01:48And it got to the point, too, where because of my knowledge and interest in franchising,
01:52I sought out Tony, I sought out Jordan, I sought out StretchZone,
01:56saying how can I get more involved because I see the benefit it has for me.
01:59This should have so much benefit to others as well.
02:01And we've been able to grow from four original units to over 420 franchise units now.
02:08And the results have always been anecdotal, you know,
02:12and coming from testimonials from guys like me.
02:14But now we have the research and the studies to actually back up everything that we've been saying
02:19from the very beginning, which is increased energy, increased mobility, better sleep,
02:23and just overall better quality of life and reduction in pain
02:26from those who are on the consistent, you know, practitioner-led stretching habits.
02:31Tony, that's pretty sweet for you, man, to have Drew Brees come to you.
02:34I feel like most people in your position would have to seek out an Epic athlete or a former athlete.
02:39But pretty amazing, though.
02:40What does that tell you about the brand and really what you've been able to build
02:43to have that early interest to you?
02:44It's super humbling.
02:45And when Drew first came in, you know, he was asking us to, you know,
02:47maybe stretch out a few more inches and get up to 6'2", 6'3".
02:50But I explained we don't work miracles.
02:53But no, I mean, literally, it's incredible to have a character like Drew.
02:56He's been a top-best individual.
02:57It's been a real testament to our franchisees as well
03:00to have someone of his caliber stand behind our service.
03:03And to Drew's point, yes, you have the bolstering of someone of Drew's nature.
03:07You have the member testimonials over the years.
03:09You have the growth of 420-plus locations.
03:11But at the end of the day, this data and this clinical research
03:15finally puts and validates everything that we are always knew.
03:18And the fact that now we can say unequivocally that, yes,
03:2178% of members are going to see a reduction in pain.
03:24You know, 58% are going to report better sleep.
03:2666% are going to report, you know, more energy.
03:29And when you hear those stats, it tells us what we've always known,
03:32that it's not just about moving better, but our members are feeling better.
03:35And that's what's most important and going to make the biggest impact on our communities.
03:38You mentioned it when we first talked.
03:39Let me stick with you, Tony.
03:40You just released the Stretch Zone Effect Research Study.
03:43What should we know about it and the top benefits and takeaways from it?
03:46No, I mean, exactly that.
03:47I think what it does is it validates the efficacy of the Stretch Zone method, right,
03:50and everything we do here at Stretch Zone.
03:51You know, there's not a lot of research about stretching as a whole or assisted stretching.
03:55And I think it sets Stretch Zone in its own stratosphere, right,
03:59being the top-tier modality for assisted stretching.
04:02And like the pain, the sleep, the overall wellness is that the participants that came in
04:07not only are moving better, range of motion increased to a degree of clinical significance,
04:12but also the fact that they are seeing these qualitative incremental differences as well.
04:17And I think one of the most astounding things also, and you talk about a frequent regimen,
04:21and Drew talked about that, those that came in multiple times a week in the study saw 25% greater
04:26gains
04:26than those that came in one time a week.
04:28And so to see that frequency and how additive it is to the results is incredible and incredibly encouraging.
04:33Yeah, Drew, for the football field, it's all about availability, right?
04:36We talk a lot about that.
04:37I'm a big New York Giants fan, so we talk about it with guys like Jackson Dart.
04:40It's great to be the franchise, but you've got to be available for your team week after week.
04:43How important was the general recovery process for you to be available for your teams week after week,
04:49over 20 grueling seasons?
04:50Yeah, it's exactly that.
04:52Everything that we did from a training perspective was designed to make us perform at the highest level possible on
04:59the field.
05:00Injury prevention was always something that we stressed,
05:03which made the recovery aspect of everything we did just as important as the training itself.
05:08So especially later in my career where mentally I felt as sharp as ever.
05:14You feel like you've seen everything.
05:16The knowledge, experience, wisdom is at an all-time high.
05:19And yet the physical traits want to begin to leave you, right?
05:22But you still have to get up day after day and perform at the highest level
05:25and be able to do it time and time again.
05:27And so that's where the recovery elements became so much more important.
05:31And that's honestly where the practitioner-led stretching combined with everything I was doing in the weight room
05:37and on the field just helped maximize performance.
05:40So talk to me a little bit about what goes on for the week.
05:42Because as a football fan, we show up to the game on Sunday, we watch the game on Sunday,
05:46and then we've got to go about our own day jobs after that.
05:49What happens for you guys?
05:51You finish your game on Sunday, Sunday night preparation and recovery, all the way to get through, ready for the
05:56next week.
05:56Because it's undoubtedly so much more than we as NFL fans actually understand.
06:00Well, I would say this.
06:00From Monday to Thursday, you feel like you've been in a car wreck is what it is.
06:04And for a lot of guys, that's the case.
06:06You know, you think about all the repetitive, you know, hitting that took place on Sunday.
06:10You know, Monday through Thursday, it's a race to recover.
06:14And while you're doing that physically for your bodies, you're also game planning for what the next opponent is going
06:21to look like.
06:21You know, how are they going to try to attack us?
06:23What game plan are we putting together to attack them?
06:27And it's what makes the NFL so exciting because from week to week, first off, the level of competition is
06:34so equal in most cases.
06:35It's one or two plays here and there.
06:3770% of the games come down to the last drive.
06:40Obviously, it helps if you have a top-tier quarterback because then you always feel like you have a chance
06:45no matter what.
06:46But, yeah, I think fans would be shocked if they knew what guys went through just to get ready to
06:52play from Sunday to Sunday just because the game is so physical.
06:56But that's what fans love about it.
06:58Tony, Stretch Zone is hosting a nationwide rebrand and a grand opening.
07:02Why was right now the key moment to make a move like that?
07:05At the end of the day, with this new research data and the study coming out, I mean, it is
07:09a new day of Stretch Zone.
07:10And to the general consumer, maybe those that are hesitant to come on in, and listen, like all of our
07:16members are not Drew, right?
07:17Drew can see the value in it.
07:18But I think the general individual, what comes out of this clinical study is that when you can have such
07:22an impact on the day-to-day lifestyle
07:25and allow people to live their life easier and better to whatever that may be, right?
07:28And that might be, you know, being a pro athlete.
07:30That might be simply sleeping through the night.
07:32That might be playing with your grandkids.
07:33Whatever it might be, Stretch Zone is a fit for you.
07:35And we've always offered that first stretch for you to try to encourage people to come in.
07:39But with this data, that should help people get over the hump a little bit more.
07:42And so on February 21st, we're saying, listen, come visit a Stretch Zone nearest you.
07:46Get to meet the individuals that are dedicated to servicing your community and learn what Stretch Zone is all about.
07:52So we couldn't be more excited.
07:54I've got a 15-year-old son who has just sprouted up in growth like crazy over the last year.
07:59But as a result, he's as tight as ever.
08:02Stretch Zone has made a big impact for him.
08:03He wants to be a great athlete, a high-end athlete.
08:06It's helped him in so many ways.
08:08For me as a professional athlete, it helped me in so many ways.
08:10I've got so many friends that just want to be able to regain some of the mobility that they feel
08:14like they've lost.
08:15Maybe you're an older person who is no longer able to tie your shoes or get around the way that
08:21you want.
08:21And to hear the testimonials and the results of what the Stretch Zone method has meant for them, whether you're
08:2513 years old or 113 years old, there's some benefit to it that will help you improve your quality of
08:31life, whatever it is you're striving for.
08:33Drew, if you had to go back, you finished college, you started your career in San Diego, what is one
08:37recovery habit that you would have put into your playbook early on that you wish you had learned soon?
08:42Well, I say this about being in San Diego.
08:44You have the biggest cold tub in the world, the Pacific Ocean right there, right?
08:48Right outside.
08:48So that's something that I kind of developed or learned to enjoy throughout my career was just cold plunge.
08:55I love the cold plunge.
08:57There's so many elements to the recovery that I feel like I adopted towards the end of my career.
09:03Practitioner-led stretching with Stretch Zone was one of them.
09:05Love cold plunge.
09:06There's quite a few others, but at the end of the day, it's how can I perform at a high
09:10level and then very quickly recover so that I can do it on a consistent basis time after time.
09:16Tony, how do you hope to continue to grow the brand as an undeniable category leader in the space?
09:21As general health and wellness, whether or not you're a pro athlete or you're well past your prime, so to
09:25speak, this continues to be a general wellness category that is of increasing importance to so many people.
09:31Yeah, I mean, how we continue to do is by supporting our franchisees, right, and ensuring their success, right, and
09:35doing everything they can.
09:35At the end of the day, a study like this bolsters their ability to go ahead and spread the message
09:40and the power of Stretch Zone in their communities.
09:41And, you know, through that, through, you know, corporate wellness, there's plenty of different avenues.
09:46But at the end of the day, us as a franchisor, we understand that our success starts with the success
09:50of our franchisees.
09:51And if we can adequately support them, then the rest will play itself out.
09:55And I think this study is just kind of a little bit of trendsetting, hopefully, for the health and wellness
10:00field that, hey, if you have that much conviction behind what you think is the best, like we thought our
10:04stretch was the best,
10:05because we were willing to put it through the rigor of academia and peer-reviewed journal, and obviously it panned
10:11down.
10:11I think everyone should take that to heart, and any business owner should.
10:15And before I let you guys go, Drew, a lot's been made about your relationship with younger guys in the
10:19league, Tyler Shuck, other young quarterbacks.
10:21What do you say is the number one piece of advice you find yourself most giving young quarterbacks out of
10:26college entering the league for the first time,
10:28especially in the lens of taking care of yourselves week to week?
10:30Yeah, the first thing I'd say is I had some incredible mentors when I was young players, guys like Doug
10:34Flutie, who I backed up for a year in San Diego,
10:37who really poured into me, Kurt Warner, Trent Dilfer, plenty of other guys that I reached out to throughout my
10:41young career that really helped me.
10:43So I always said whenever young guys reach out to me, even if I'm still playing and there's some sort
10:47of a competitive advantage that you're trying to maintain,
10:49I am always going to go out of my way to help those guys.
10:52And I have probably five to seven guys every offseason that reach out to me for some little bit of
10:57wisdom,
10:58whether it's about, hey, your habits, your routine, your recovery, you know, just certain training elements, concepts.
11:07Hey, you know, I noticed you ran this concept a lot. We're running a lot. How do you read it?
11:10How do you time up your footwork?
11:12I mean, there's so many little elements and nuances to playing the quarterback position.
11:16I love talking to these young quarterbacks and helping them take the next step in their careers.
11:21Yeah, and who better for guys like Tyler and Sommet to learn from. One of the greatest to ever do
11:25it.
11:25It's great to have both of you guys down here. Welcome back to the New York Stock Exchange.
11:28Thank you. Great to be here.
11:29Congratulations, fellas. Thanks a lot.
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