From Sports to Well-Being | chouletperformance

From Sports to Well-Being: 4B Advisory’s Initiatives in Mental Health

Jared Schoenfeld spent over 15 successful years in the sports entertainment industry as an executive. I sat down with him to discuss how he pivoted from a career in sports entertainment to one focusing on mental health and well-being. In 2011, he received global recognition by SportsPro Media as one of the ten young leaders in the sports business, and in 2015, he was nominated for Forbes’ 30 under 30 list. However, amidst his career achievements, later on in his career, Schoenfeld began experiencing symptoms of burnout and anxiety, prompting him to take some time off for self-reflection and ultimately find a new path where he could make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. This led him to founding 4B Advisory in May 2023 after advising Chopra Global and Dr. Deepak Chopra for a few years, for which he is grateful.

His personal experiences highlight the importance of self-care and well-being for Schoenfeld. In 2018, he experienced his first and only panic attack, which occurred during a meeting. Overwhelmed by shortness of breath and palpitations, he went to his best friend and lead advisor’s apartment, David Oestreicher, who has also played a critical role in launching 4B.

“I was overly tired and would be nervous in settings that I was never nervous in before – I was overthinking everything,” says Schoenfeld. Towards the latter part of his career in sports entertainment, he developed anxiety symptoms and burnout, which he attributes to long work hours, dealing with some personal matters, all while neglecting his health. “It was a blend of working seven days a week not taking care of my physical and mental health, not eating well, working around the clock, and dealing with personal and family challenges all at once” notes Schoenfeld. “Growing up we weren’t taught how to take care of ourselves, and I knew I needed to finally start prioritizing my health — I started TM meditation, saw my therapist more often, and really started working on my own traumas,” he says. He is passionate about letting others know they can do it too and create true fulfillment in both their work and personal life.

His career began in the sports industry, where he served as the top revenue generator amongst his peers with the Phoenix Suns. He continued at The Madison Square Garden Company, where he was responsible for generating revenue with corporate clients during its transformation. He then spent over 4 years at The Players’ Tribune and worked his way up to the Head of Brand Partnerships. In that role, he was hired to help lead and build out the Brand Partnerships team, responsible for creating and generating commercial opportunities via innovative branded content with athletes. When asked how his experience with these sports organizations shaped his understanding of athlete and executive mental health needs, Schoenfeld says, “It taught me to push myself to understand what matters in life – it taught me how to challenge myself to see what I value and where I want to put my heart, soul, and energy.” He believes that once you’re in alignment with yourself, everything then falls into place from a mental standpoint.

Through his passion for mental health advocacy, he founded 4B Advisory, an organization that “creates measurable impact with brands, organizations, and people of influence by supporting those seeking to better their mental health and well-being, by normalizing stigmas, delivering credible information, and making resources accessible,” according to Schoenfeld. Now 4B is a company that creates large-scale impact with brands. Today, 4B boasts a diverse client roster including wellness icon Dr. Deepak Chopra, multi-platinum artist Big Sean, and former NFL star Julius Thomas. Additional new clients range from Dan Buettner of Netflix’s Blue Zones to mindfulness expert and author Case Kenny, to world-renowned relationship coach Jillian Turecki, and nutritional psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo, along with other brand and corporate wellness clients.

Through 4B, Schoenfeld launched several impactful mental health initiatives, including The Wellness Oasis™, presented by Chase. Beginning with Miami Art Week in December 2023, “The mission is to help people through credible programming of mental health and well-being with experts and advocates,” says Schoenfeld. Thomas, a former NFL player and cognitive scientist, attended and spoke about optimizing brain health. The Wellness Oasis™ platform grew into a diverse program of breathwork, meditation, mindfulness workshops, movement experiences, and panel conversations to highlight the importance of mental health and well-being. Most recently, The Wellness Oasis™ popped up in Cannes on June 19, 2024 for a panel which included Carla Hassan (CMO at JPMorgan Chase & Co.), Dr. Deepak Chopra, Paul Rabil (former lacrosse player and President of Premier Lacrosse League), Ron “Boss” Everline (trainer), and journalist Taylor Rooks.

Another notable mental health initiative included the collaboration between 4B, McDonald’s, Alkeme, and Da’Vinchi starting in October 2023. “McDonald’s locked arms with our MasterPeace tour to bring their Black and Positively Golden Campaign to HBCU campuses and also help students with mental health,” says Schoenfeld. Alkeme, a mental health company founded by Ryan Mundy, teamed up with the group to provide free self-care tools to the students who attended each stop on the tour. In addition to these initiatives, 4B has already worked with prominent brands including Moncler, Nike, Capital One, and more — creating partnerships with their clients that help scale mental health and wellness initiatives.

Through his firm, Schoenfeld remains innovative in his approach to helping his clients create impact through brand marketing and strategy, marketing communications, public relations, new business building, and brand partnerships. Looking ahead, Schoenfeld envisions 4B evolving in response to client priorities. “We look at ourselves as business operations to support our client’s priorities, whether those are brands, mental health and wellness experts, or advocates,” he remarks. 4B’s mental health initiatives certainly respond to rising concerns about burnout in high-pressure industries and work towards providing education, emphasizing the importance of self-care and well-being.