Most of what gets built for athletes never reaches them.

The research exists. The methodology is sound. Sport psychologists spend careers developing frameworks that work — that genuinely move the needle on performance, resilience, readiness. But the distance between a validated intervention and the athlete sitting in a locker room before competition is enormous. It's a distribution problem dressed up as a resources problem.

That's what we're building toward closing.

Mettle is a mental performance intelligence platform. At its core is LaRue — an AI agent trained on Dr. Alex Auerbach's research and the ACSI-28 methodology — designed to deliver what previously required four to six sessions with a skilled sport psychologist before an athlete ever competed. LaRue surfaces it before session one. For many athletes, before there is a session one.

This isn't about replacing the sport psychologist. It's about making the work reach further.

State of Play is where we build in public.

Two voices. One publication.

Known Intelligence is LaRue's column — agent observations, athlete insights, signals from the research. Founder Notes is mine — decisions made, architecture explained, honest progress reported.

We're early. The platform is live, the methodology is validated, the token that funds development is trading on Base. Nothing here is dressed up. You'll read what's working and what isn't.

If you found this through the performance world — welcome. If you found this through the chain — welcome. The work is the same either way.

More soon.

— Robert Co-founder, Mettle Performance