May 20, 2024 · 1h 11m · how-i-built-this
Therabody: Jason Wersland
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of How I Built This, host Guy Raz speaks with Therabody founder Dr. Jason Wersland, who shares how surviving a catastrophic motorcycle accident inspired him to create the Theragun from a modified power tool, overcoming financial ruin and betrayal to build a global wellness leader.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Guy holds 32.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Guy as informed peer 1.9 Guest teaching 1.5 Guest disagreement 0.2 Guy pushing back 0.9
speaking balance: gold is Guy, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 24:45 Sarcastic rejoinder on motorcycle risk
When Raz directly critiques the foolishness of riding a motorcycle as a spine specialist, Wersland retorts sarcastically about how obvious that sounds in hindsight before admitting his overconfidence.
Hardest push from Guy ▶ 24:22 Raz calls out risky lifestyle choiceRaz bluntly confronts Wersland about the fundamental contradiction between working as a chiropractor focused on spinal alignment and choosing to commute aggressively on a motorcycle in Los Angeles traffic.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 32:25 Explaining the 40 Hertz frequency discoveryWersland explains how dial setting 4 on his modified Makita jigsaw delivered 40 Hertz, educating Raz on its neurological role as the specific reset frequency for muscle and nerve recovery.
Guy holds their own ▶ 7:03 Raz links Mormon missionary discipline to entrepreneurshipRaz synthesizes his broad knowledge across dozens of previous founder interviews to cite multiple examples of how church missions prepare entrepreneurs for relentless rejection.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Guy as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Guy pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guy Raz Newsletter Launch Announcement | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Guy Raz delivers the show introduction, newsletter announcement, and thematic framing of Jason Wersland's unlikely invention story. Monologue format with no substantive debate. | |
| Childhood in Utah and the Norwegian Mormon Mission | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Raz connects Wersland's Mormon mission experience in Norway to previous entrepreneur guests like David Neeleman, noting how constant rejection builds sales resilience. | |
| Flooring Installation, Resourcefulness, and Early Success | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Wersland recounts starting his flooring installation company and earning early success, while Raz asks supportive clarifying questions about his business mechanics. | |
| Business Betrayal, Embezzlement, and Financial Ruin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Wersland recounts signing over a relinquishment letter that led to his partner embezzling funds. Raz reacts with frank disbelief at the risky legal maneuver. | |
| The Stairway Epiphany and Relocating to Los Angeles | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Raz probes Wersland's decision to abandon flooring and questions how he reconciled hearing a spiritual voice on the stairs while drifting from orthodox faith. | |
| Chiropractic Studies and Apprenticeship in Beverly Hills | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Wersland explains navigating prerequisite science courses and working as an apprentice in Beverly Hills under Rob Pomahawk to build clinical technique. | |
| Motorcycle Crash and Agonizing Cervical Nerve Damage | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | Raz challenges Wersland on the irony and risk of riding a motorcycle as a chiropractor. Wersland deflects with humor before explaining the severe cervical disc damage sustained. | |
| Inventing the Jigsaw Massager and Discovering 40 Hertz | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Wersland educates Raz on nerve pain mechanics and discovering that dial setting 4 on a Makita jigsaw matched 40 Hertz, the neurological reset frequency. | |
| Treating Patient Zero and Validating Percussive Therapy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Raz asks whether Wersland initially saw the modified jigsaw as a product business or merely a clinic treatment tool when treating an injured bus driver. | |
| Batch Manufacturing and Early Commercial Customer Feedback | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Wersland describes buying 250 Kawasaki jigsaws at wholesale and fabricating ball attachments using fence post caps and rivets, gathering customer pricing feedback. | |
| Naming Theraguns and Initial China Manufacturing Hurdles | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Wersland details brainstorming the Theragun name and early translation friction when trying to explain percussive specs to manufacturer China Bob. | |
| Patriots NFL Breakthrough and Ending a Bad Partnership | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Wersland explains his breakthrough selling out 20 units in the Patriots hotel lobby, followed by discovering margin deception by his distributor partner and executing a legal buyout. | |
| Partnering with Ben Nazarian to Formalize Therabody | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | Wersland recounts pitching investor Ben Nazarian in Beverly Hills and agreeing to surrender a 51% controlling stake in exchange for institutional scaling expertise. | |
| Kyrie Irving Finals Viral Moment and Mainstream Growth | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Raz highlights the serendipitous Kyrie Irving NBA Finals broadcast moment, and Wersland explains how COVID-19 lock-downs drove direct-to-consumer adoption. | |
| Defending Intellectual Property and Division of Leadership Roles | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Wersland details building an IP portfolio of over 600 patents and using Amazon takedowns to fight knockoffs, before reflecting on luck versus persistence. |
Statements from this episode (18)
Raz: A two-year Mormon mission is exceptional entrepreneurial training
“That mission, that two-year mission, that's like amazing practice to becoming an entrepreneur. Because you're basically getting a hundred people a day telling you, no, I'm not interested in hearing your message.”
Wersland's custom flooring store generated $1M in revenue in its first year
“My first year, I did a million dollars.”
Wersland's business partner used a signed letter to embezzle all company revenue
“What had happened, guy, is he'd taken that letter, gone and opened a bank account in the same name, and was depositing all of the checks into his account. So he was literally embezzling money from me,”
Wersland: The best drugs in the world do not relieve nerve pain
“Well, I tried it, but when you have nerve pain, nothing, nothing, not purpose, not the best drugs in the world deal with nerve pain.”
Setting 4 on Wersland's Makita jigsaw corresponded to 40 Hz reset frequency
“I found out later that that's actually frequency, and four was 40 hertz. And if you look now, if you Google 40 hertz, it will come up with the reset frequency.”
Wersland used a percussive tool before foam rolling existed
“I started using this as a recovery tool before foam rolling was even around.”
Wersland bought 250 wholesale Kawasaki jigsaws for initial Theragun prototypes
“So I get 250 of these jigsaws.”
Wersland sold early prototype Theraguns for $250 each in exchange for feedback
“I would tell the guys, look, I can sell these for probably 400 dollars, but I'll sell them to you for two 50, but I want your feedback.”
Early users said they would pay $1,000 for a perfected percussive device
“How much would you, if I perfected all of those things, how much would you pay for that? This is what got me. Everyone said I'd pay a thousand dollars for that.”
Wersland worked six 1099 jobs in 2014 while developing the Theragun
“In 2000 14, I had six 1099 tax forms. Because I had six different jobs that I was doing, trying to keep the money coming in while I was doing this on the side.”
Wersland sold 20 Theraguns in 20 minutes to the Patriots in 2014
“I flew out to the New England Patriots at the beginning of the 2014 season. I met them at their hotel. Belichick and the team let me set up in the lobby. I sold 20 Theraguns in 20 minutes.”
Wersland used a sheriff and warrant to reclaim 250 early Theragun prototypes
“I had to go, she had 250 jigsaws in her warehouse, and she would not give them to me until I bought the company back from her. Those are the only two 50 I had left. Literally. ... So I rented a U-Haul, got a sheriff, got a warrant, went out, gave her, like, 24…”
Ben Nazarian invested $500k for 51% of Therabody
“He's like, listen, I'm gonna put in half a million, and we'll use that half a million, and we'll see what we can do with that half a million, but I get 51%. I'm like, done.”
Wersland: Therabody raised $20M to $25M in strategic funding around 2018–2019
“So we did a strategic round. We raised between 20 and twenty five million, end of 18, the beginning of 19.”
Therabody holds around 600 patents to protect its percussive products
“So right now I think we have almost 600 plus patents, and so we, that's one of the ways we've protected ourselves.”