Dear Performance Nutrition Leaders,
This week: why fan engagement now matters for performance staff, and how athletes are discovering new products long before they walk into a store.
🧠 ON THE GROUND
Dr. James Morehen's job is fuelling England Rugby players. But in March, he was answering questions from Rugby fans on Reddit.
England Rugby's AMA on r/rugbyunion put Morehen front and centre — fielding questions about match-day fuelling, supplements, and what the players actually eat.
Fan engagement used to be the social media team's job. Now backroom staff are part of it.
When Sony acquired StatSports last month, CEO Rufus Hack outlined three strategic priorities: team market expansion, new performance data, and fan engagement.
Sony's sports portfolio already includes Pulselive, a dedicated fan engagement platform.
Fan engagement isn't a nice-to-have. It's becoming part of the investment thesis.
For practitioners, this creates a question: are you an asset to your club's fan engagement strategy, or invisible to it?
For brands, the question is similar: does your product give practitioners something worth talking about publicly?
At the highest level, fan engagement is driving acquisition strategy. At the ground level, practitioners are becoming the ones delivering it.
📈NEWS
Wycombe Wanderers hiring a nutritionist placement.
James Fleming shares GB Biathlon nutrition insights.
Dr James Morehen shares new rugby nutrition keynote.
Colm Cronin publishes new study on female endurance runners.
Sports Nutrition Digest release anti-inflammatory foods infographics.
Performance Nutrition Digest launch Super-Digestible November edition.
Neil Williams announces hiring for Research Associate & PhD positions at NTU.
Meals.co.uk showcase a meal-prep model aligned with Fuel for the Work Required.
Lauren Delany publishes PhD research on disordered eating in national-level rugby league.
Izzy Szembek starts new role as First-Team Performance Nutritionist at Plymouth Argyle.
Business-building session inside the Performance Nutrition Network community tonight.
Rachel Chesters successfully defends PhD viva; contributes work on voluntary & involuntary LEA/REDs risk.
💡PERFORMANCE TECH
George Heaton built a 9-figure fashion empire with Represent. He also runs sub-3:20 marathons and trains alongside HYROX world champions.
His latest YouTube content? Walking through GNC picking up RTD protein shakes.
This matters. Athletes aren't discovering new products on shelves anymore. They're watching people they trust make real purchases in real time.
The product catching Heaton's attention: RAW Nutrition's Grass-Fed Isolate RTD. 30g protein. 160 calories.
Crucially for competitive athletes: it carries Informed Sport certification. Every batch tested for substances banned by WADA.
For nutritionists, your clients are forming product preferences before they ever ask you for recommendations.
RAW Nutrition was named Brand of the Year by both GNC and Vitamin Shoppe. One to know before your athletes ask about it.
Because they will. And the reason might simply be: George does.
