Building the Future of Fitness, Health, and Longevity w/ Ben Mason of Athlete

Summary

In this episode, Brandon Reed sits down with Ben Mason, co-founder of Athlete, a groundbreaking life insurance startup that rewards users for exercise. From his early career in advertising to his multiple startups—including a pizza delivery social enterprise and a consumer goods company—Ben’s entrepreneurial journey is rich with lessons learned, risks taken, and myths debunked.

Ben discusses how Athlete emerged from a blend of personal insight, market inefficiencies, and a deep belief in the power of fitness as a health intervention. He shares how the company is launching simultaneously in both the US and UK, leveraging wearable data to personalize life insurance premiums. Beyond the company, Ben opens up about mental health in startup life, the importance of asking, “Does anyone care?” and why ideas alone aren’t enough.

This conversation is a thoughtful dive into what it really takes to build something meaningful—and how to stay grounded while doing it.

Takeaways

1. Entrepreneurship was always the goal – Ben knew from childhood that he wanted to start companies, drawing early inspiration from his stepdad’s startup.
2. Advertising taught him the value—and limits—of ideas – Creative environments celebrate ideas, but real-world businesses require customer feedback and iteration.
3. “Does anyone care?” is his guiding question – More than product-market fit, Ben evaluates ideas through the lens of actual significance in people’s lives.
4. He’s launching Athlete in two countries at once – A strategic risk that bucks conventional startup wisdom in favor of speed and market coverage.
5. Fitness is the focus for better insurance – VO2 max is a powerful predictor of lifespan, and Athlete uses wearable data to tailor life insurance premiums accordingly.
6. There’s a disincentive for incumbents to innovate – Traditional insurers avoid rewarding fitness because it challenges their risk models.
7. Ben believes mental health isn’t a sunk cost – After serious burnout in a past startup, he’s building this company with sustainability and wellness at its core.
8. Marketing life insurance is hard—but fitness opens the door – They aim to ride the growing public interest in longevity and healthy living to reach more people.
9. He won’t build solo again – After one solo venture, Ben realized having co-founders isn’t just helpful—it’s critical to building well.
10. “Start with the pain” is his business-building mantra – If he were starting over, he’d run a survey asking people what frustrates them most.

Chapters

• [00:00] Introducing Ben Mason
  • Ben shares about his current company Athlete, and how he got into entrepreneurship after a career in advertising.
• [01:15] Why Startups Were Always the Path
  • Ben recounts his early fascination with starting companies and why traditional school environments never quite fit him.
• [02:52] Lessons from Advertising
  • He explains how creative agencies shaped his thinking—but also why he had to unlearn the overvaluing of ideas.
• [04:08] A Myth He Had to Let Go
  • Ben realized that chasing ideas without customer input is a fast track to stagnation and irrelevance.
• [05:37] Launching in Two Countries at Once
  • Athlete is being built in the US and UK simultaneously—Ben unpacks the risk and reward of this ambitious strategy.
• [08:28] The Founder’s Core Question
  • He talks about constantly asking himself, “Does anyone care?” and how that keeps the team focused on building useful things.
• [11:23] Mental Health is Not a Tradeoff
  • Having experienced burnout, Ben discusses how he’s prioritizing well-being and building Athlete differently this time.
• [13:29] The Origin of Athlete
  • Ben walks us through how his co-founder’s experience in preventative health led to the concept of exercise-based life insurance.
• [17:46] How Their Roles Work as Co-Founders
  • With a long-standing friendship and aligned vision, Ben handles marketing and growth, while his partner focuses on product.
• [21:58] Navigating Pushback and Regulation
  • Despite industry incumbents, Ben has found encouragement from experts and is preparing for the complexity of customer acquisition.
• [25:57] Why Now? And Why Not Before?
  • Ben explains why wearables and market timing make now the right moment—and why incumbents aren’t positioned to do this.
• [29:28] Balancing Data Privacy and Personalization
  • Athlete only needs your exercise data, not sensitive health records, and aims to reward users for the effort they’re already putting in.
• [31:30] Changing Minds About Life Insurance
  • Ben wants Athlete to be the simpler, more positive option—cutting through the noise with clarity, value, and relevance.
• [38:12] What’s Next for Athlete
  • They’ve secured licensing in the UK and are gearing up for launch. Ben is excited to test real-world messaging and see who pays attention.
• [40:37] What He’d Do With Just $1,000 and a Laptop
  • Start by finding pain. Ben says he’d run surveys to identify real problems and build solutions based on actual human frustration.