The Theragun was born out of a late-night experiment with a Makita jigsaw, by a man searching desperately for pain relief in his arm. Jason Wersland was studying to become a chiropractor when he got injured in a motorcycle accident. While casting about for solutions, he discovered that the percussive massage from his jury-rigged power tool helped ease his pain and increase range of motion.

Jason soon discovered the device worked on his patients, so he MacGyvered hundreds more jigsaws, initially using fence posts and cat toys as add-ons. Over time, with endorsements from top athletes and celebrities, Jason grew his business into Therabody, a wellness brand with revenue in the hundred of millions of dollars.

This episode was produced by Chris Maccini with music by Ramtin Arablouei.

Edited by Neva Grant, with research from Melia Agudelo. Our audio engineers were Gilly Moon and Robert Rodriguez.

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