In 2013 Atlas CEO James Sandford's professional rugby career ended overnight. A freak injury meant he lost his sense of purpose, identity, self worth and financial security.
Additionally due to conflicting, duplicate or lost health, performance and medical records, both across his clubs and his national body, as well as the fact that none of his data had been stored in his NHS notes, led to his insurance claim being declined.
James was however lucky enough to see at first-hand how sports stars can drive positive behavioural change when it comes to the physical and mental well-being of their fans, local or global communities.
Founded in 2020, the Atlas team now comprises of a core Team of 9 members and an Advisory team of current and former coaches, clinicians, agents, athletes and executives from the world of elite sports and private healthcare.
Together they have built and launched the Atlas Athlete Passport in August of 2022. The first vehicle for individuals to hold and understand their own health, performance and medical data. This includes physiotherapy, conditioning, nutrition, well-being, activity, medical records and imaging, all in one fully agile and interoperable solution, creating a constant throughout their lives.
Underpinning the team, journey and solutions to date is the positive social impact athletes can have on the health of the wider population today.
With over 1,000 athletes within their network and numerous major sports franchises in the UK and US interested in working with Atlas, our next stage of development is to refine the Athlete Passport further and relaunch a similar product so that it is fit for purpose in the wider population. The aim ultimately is to begin trials in the NHS and in doing so help shift the paradigm from Primary care to more self care or self help at home, thereby relieving pressure from the overburdened healthcare system.
Atlas' story and innovation has inspired it's relationship with a documentary production house who are telling the real-life stories of well known sports stars such as Sunil Gavaskar and Ellis Genge with the hope of driving positive change across society by normalising mental health and well-being from a beautiful cinematic perspective. As the Headline Sponsor with a global reach through this partnership, those sporting icons and their productions will be directly promoting Atlas to viewers across the globe.
It is hoped the exposure that these sporing icons will provide will inspire the wider population to help take control of their own health and well-being through the use of Atlas.