TB12 CEO John Burns joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the training methods of the NFL's oldest quarterback with his business partner Alex Guerrero.

Video Transcript

ADAM SHAPIRO: All right. Who doesn't love Tom Brady? Even if you, you know, hated the Patriots, if you hated the Buccaneers, you gotta love Tom Brady. And we now have the opportunity to not only train like one of football's greatest players, but also to eat like one of football's greatest players. John Burns is the CEO from TB12. He joins us now to talk about-- I'm holding some of the product here-- the plant-based protein. This is a vanilla flavored one.

And all you have to do is pour it into this thing and then add water, shake it up. And I'm reading the back, and you get 24 grams of protein. I'm assuming this is quite healthy. But I got to tell you, some of us-- I eat more like Ralph Kramden, and I train like Ralph Kramden from "The Honeymooners." But there's a big business. I mean, Tom Brady is perhaps greatest of all time when it comes to quarterbacks.

JOHN BURNS: Yeah, we're incredibly fortunate. Our business, Adam, is about empowering everyone to live pain-free and perform their best. And for Tom, the TB12 method-- which he's really developed and created with our co-founder, Alex Guerrero-- is the basis of everything we do. And so we're trying to bring to the world the tools, techniques, and methods that Tom uses to stay playing at his best-- and importantly, staying pain-free-- to consumers everywhere.

SEANA SMITH: John, give us some insight of what it's like working with Tom, because we've heard stories about him on the field, how intense he is. What is he like in the business environment?

JOHN BURNS: Yeah, he's an exceptional person, you know? I'm sure like many people, I've had the good fortune of meeting many folks over the years. And he's truly exceptional.

So I'll tell you. I was in Tampa for the game last week. He obviously was up very late. I was up very late. But we had a four-hour meeting the next day doing an update on the business. And I assure you, even though I only cheered and watched the game, he looked less tired than me.

So he's incredibly committed, incredibly focused on not only his football success, but the success of TB12. Because for him, it's bringing to people all the things he's learned. And so in many respects, our business for him is a way to give back to, you know, athletes and people everywhere.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Tell us about how your year-over-year growth has progressed. And when the day eventually does come that he decides to no longer play, are you able to sustain the growth of TB12?

JOHN BURNS: Yeah. You know, that's a great question. And I think a couple of years ago, it was certainly a bigger question for folks. But I think with the success Tom has had, and I think our ability to drive our business, people are really understanding that we have great solutions for people.

You know, our business this year, our digital commerce business-- it'll be up almost 100%. So that's everything we do online, whether it's through our own channels or through Amazon. And our in-person business-- because you do have the opportunity as a consumer to come visit with us at one of our many TB12 centers to get a one-on-one experience much like Tom and Alex have every day-- that part of our business is up about 50% year over year. So obviously, coming out of COVID, it's a little slower coming back. But you know, we're still seeing good growth there, and very excited about it overall.

SEANA SMITH: John, certainly having someone like Tom Brady also promoting the brand helps a lot. But when it comes to who this is for, I think a lot of people would naturally associate it with other professional athletes or other people who clearly work out a lot. But is this for the everyday type of person, I guess? Who are you hoping or who are you trying to market this to?

JOHN BURNS: Yeah, that's a great question, Seana. You know, obviously we're inspired by Tom and the method. And the things that we do are part of his lifestyle. We work with countless professional athletes, without question. But the vast majority of our consumers are people like us, tend to be 30 to 35 and up. They're at a point in their life where they recognize the importance of good health. And more importantly, they recognize the need to continue on, to not be in pain, make better choices so they can perform their best. They recognize the choices they make have a direct impact on the outcomes they're able to drive.

So you know, our core consumer tends to be a slightly older person who's battling Father Time, if you will, and really has an appreciation for health and wellness. And that's our core market, and that's who's most interested in what we do, both in-person but also online through the tools and products we offer there.

ADAM SHAPIRO: And when you develop this stuff, how do you test it? Do you test it on Tom Brady? Do you test it on other athletes?

JOHN BURNS: Yeah, we certainly do. You know, that's one of the great things about it. I referenced spending some time last week with Tom and the question how much time he spends. He participates very actively in the product development process. He certainly gets to avoid some of the more challenging nuances of it and whatnot, and dealing with vendors and suppliers and things like that. But from a product development standpoint, he's tasting things. He's trying things. He's giving feedback. You know, even things like product packaging and whatnot-- he likes to be involved in that.

If you follow Tom Brady a little bit, he has a real great design eye. He's very interested in all things design-oriented. So he likes to get actively involved in that as well. But you know, importantly, we get to test everything with him. But not only just with him, as you asked as well and as I mentioned before, we work with countless other athletes. And we're very fortunate to be able to get some great feedback not only from everyday people, but from professional athletes like Tom and others.

SEANA SMITH: John, when you work with other professional athletes, are they athletes that Tom suggests? Or are these people that you guys have identified? I mean, how does that work?

JOHN BURNS: You know, it's a little bit of both. You know, I think-- and some of this is out there. You can see. But there are athletes like, obviously, Rob Gronkowski, and others who have close relationships with Tom who spend a lot of time with us. But then there are other athletes that may be less familiar to folks relative to, you know, being involved with us.

So there's CrossFit champions like Matt Fraser and Tia Toomey. You know, we've worked with Justin Thomas in the golf world before. You know, we work with athletes from all across different sectors and sports. And I think, you know, for us, some of them come through Tom. But candidly, a lot of them come to us through their agents or through people we've identified, because we really are best in class at helping people recover from injury and get out of pain.

And you know, all these professional athletes-- it's actually incredible [INAUDIBLE] their seasons. Doesn't matter what your sport is. Most all these sports these days are at least 11-month sports. And the toll that their body is put through and what they have to be able to withstand is extraordinary. So the risk for injury is high. Recovery is very hard. And these are the things that we specialize in. So we're fortunate we've hit the point now where people seek us out.

And I will also say, an advantage of being associated with Tom, obviously-- especially coming out of this last Super Bowl-- you know, I think people are starting to realize, wait a second, this guy is 44 performing at this level. There's a lot of professional athletes out there right now who are interested in replicating that type of longevity and success. So they seek us out.

ADAM SHAPIRO: That, and the millennial market loves the fact that it's plant-based protein. So we've had a lot of guests on just within the last hour that's a big plus. All the best to you and the team at TB12. John Burns, the CEO, thank you for joining us.