A telehealth company has announced a celebrity partnership to promote conversations about medical weight management. Ro, a direct-to-patient healthcare company, announced that 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams has been using their platform to access GLP-1 medications and will serve as a celebrity patient ambassador in a multi-year campaign.
Key Points
- Williams disclosed using GLP-1 treatment to manage her weight after experiencing postpartum body changes that didn’t respond to traditional diet and exercise approaches. The athlete stated her body’s response was “biological” rather than a matter of willpower.
- The partnership will focus on promoting conversations around GLP-1 medications’ role in weight management through a national marketing campaign spanning digital, broadcast, and out-of-home advertising.
- Ro offers telehealth consultations, personalized treatment plans, insurance coordination, and ongoing support for patients seeking GLP-1 medications. The company operates nationwide telehealth, labs, and pharmacy services through its vertically integrated platform.
- This announcement follows Ro’s April partnership with NBA legend Charles Barkley as their first GLP-1 celebrity patient ambassador. The company positions weight management as preventative healthcare.
- Williams’ husband is an investor in Ro and serves on its board.
This partnership represents an effort to reduce stigma around medical weight management interventions by leveraging high-profile athlete endorsements to reach patients who may be hesitant to seek pharmaceutical support.
The Data
- Ro reports helping millions of patients across nearly every U.S. county since 2017, including coverage of 99% of primary care deserts.
- The company offers services nationwide through its integrated platform that spans from diagnosis to medication delivery.
- Ro Body members lost, on average, 15.8% (SD = 6.4) of their body weight over the course of a year of treatment with branded semaglutide (Wegovy and/or Ozempic).
Industry Context
I trained at the highest level, ate a clean diet, pushed myself, and still, after having kids, my body just wouldn’t respond. I realized it wasn’t about willpower; it was biological. My body needed the GLP-1 and clinical support.
Serena Williams, professional tennis player
The partnership addresses the ongoing challenge of weight management in healthcare, particularly for individuals experiencing metabolic changes that don’t respond to lifestyle modifications alone. Williams’ experience highlights a common scenario where postpartum body changes create weight management challenges despite maintaining healthy habits. The athlete emphasized that even with elite-level training and nutrition, she required medical intervention to achieve her health goals.
Ro’s approach combines telehealth consultations with medication access and ongoing clinical support, positioning itself as the only company offering integrated telehealth, laboratory, and pharmacy services nationwide. The company’s strategy involves using celebrity endorsements to address what CEO Zach Reitano described as shame around needing support for weight loss. The platform aims to expand access through online doctor visits, treatment personalization, and insurance coordination.
The weight management market continues to evolve as GLP-1 medications gain acceptance, though questions remain about long-term outcomes, accessibility, and the role of celebrity endorsements in medical decision-making.
