316. Todd Meleney, Co-Founder & CEO of While on Earth

Today, I'm joined by Todd Meleney, co-founder & CEO of While on Earth.

An athletic footwear and apparel brand for the modern wellness consumer, While on Earth prioritizes versatile "performance wellness" over single-sport specialization.

In this episode, we discuss creating an underdog brand in a competitive market.

We also cover:

• Christian McCaffrey's role as co-founder

• Defining "performance wellness" as a category

• Investing in grassroots community over paid marketing

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While On Earth's Website: www.whileonearth.co

While On Earth's IG: https://www.instagram.com/whileonearth/

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Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:40) Todd's background and While on Earth overview

(02:40) White space opportunity in performance footwear

(04:25) Lessons from building NOBULL

(05:15) Shifting consumer behavior toward holistic wellness

(07:15) Defining "performance wellness" as a category

(09:30) Product philosophy

(12:00) Building vs. buying brand awareness

(14:30) Grassroots community strategy over paid marketing

(17:00) Retail strategy

(19:30) Athlete partnerships

(22:00) Christian McCaffrey as co-founder and investor

(24:30) Product roadmap and innovation focus

(27:00) Staying authentic while scaling

(29:05) Running category launch in 2026

(30:15) CMC signature product line coming 2026

(32:45) Role of athletes in brand building

(34:50) Conclusion