The Zone and Morgan Stanley are partnering to ensure member athletes can obtain total wellness.

Founded by two former student-athletes, Ivan Tchatchouwo and Erik Poldroo, The Zone was birthed to create a home for athletes to seek support for their mental health as they would for other areas of concern such as physical injury or academic conflicts. The founders recognize finances are a leading source of stress and constraints can permeate into other areas of productivity and performance.

“Evidence highlights that stress related to personal finance overwhelmingly yields poor individual results, directly tied to how one feels and ultimately how one produces and performs in a given area – whether in sports, the classroom or in the workplace,“ Ivan Tchatchouwo told AfroTech.

He continued: “As a former student-athlete myself, along with Erik, and in speaking to several other fellow current or former student-athletes, we could all relate at some point or another to feeling some form of stress and anxiety in those years due to a lack of financial knowledge and confidence upon graduating.”

How The Partnership Will Improve Athletes' Financial Wellness

Member-athletes can enjoy many perks through the collaboration including mobile-friendly content and programming accompanied by push notifications that will provide useful links between financial education, mental wellness, and peak performance. Push notifications will also introduce the basics of personal finance, helpful suggestions, approaches to obtain financial wellness, and encourage frequent uses of the application to monitor athletes’ wellness and communication with counselors.

“Our objective in partnering with The Zone is to enhance the comprehensive wellness experience of athletes nationwide, specifically by arming them with the education on how to best manage and approach their personal finances as they strive for their financial goals – and by applying these learnings to help them create pathways toward success,” Sandra Richards, Head of Global Sports & Entertainment and Segment Sales & Engagement at Morgan Stanley told AfroTech.

She continued: “With some of the added pressures and commitments – mental and physical – shouldered by today’s athletes, perhaps being greater today than ever before, our partnership will directly address the health and wellness of athletes while combating stigmas associated with this topic.” 

Member Athletes Can Join Today

For more information about The Zone, visit their website.