Bachelor star Sam Wood sells fitness program to myDNA for $71m

The reality TV star and entrepreneur just announced the birth of his third child but also had another milestone to celebrate.

Bachelor star Sam Wood has sold his online diet and fitness program to a Melbourne DNA testing company for a whopping $71 million.

It comes after he announced the birth of his third child Harper Jones Wood on Monday, revealing that she had been born a month early on May 4, and his wife Snezana had been rushed to ICU after falling seriously ill.

His program, 28 By Sam Wood, has been snapped up by myDNA, a business which offers customers personalised plans for everyday health decisions such as diet, fitness, training styles and even the impact of medications on the body after a customer’s DNA results are analysed.

Former Bachelor Sam Wood and wife Snezana.

There have been more than 400,000 individual users of Wood’s program, while it has also partnered with businesses such as Woolworths, health insurer Bupa and Blackmores.

Wood said the deal was a gamechanger for personalised health and wellbeing and would help “supercharge growth, add incredible new tech features and personalisation” for subscribers, as well as give corporates the option to build bespoke wellness programs.

“I am so proud of what we have achieved so far and even more excited about what the future with myDNA holds,” he said.

Wood also noted that his fitness platform prides itself on personalisation.

“I think that’s why we’ve had the success that we’ve had, and myDNA, what they have that we find really attractive is that extra level of personalisation through genomics,” he told the Australian Financial Review.

Former Bachelor star Sam Wood has sold his fitness business. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Healthcare entrepreneur Dennis Bastas, who runs a pharmaceutical company and is chairman of myDNA with a 20 per cent stake in the business, added he wanted to offer genetic information to subscribers.

He said this would allow the expansion of the fitness plan to incorporate genetics and genomic information for the individuals to help create a unique personalised nutrition and exercise program.

“The world is changing with the genetic era, and the cost of extracting genetic information now being so low, we can introduce it into everyday decision-making,” he said.

Mr Bastas added the 28 by Sam Woods website and app, which had been custom built, was also an appealing part of the deal as it offered a “terrific user experience”.

“Sam’s got a great following, and the platform itself is a beautiful user experience, which to be honest, from the myDNA perspective, the attractiveness in acquiring his business was all people that went along with it,” Mr Bastas told the AFR.

Sam Wood will keep a 5 per cent stake in the myDNA company. Picture: Instagram

Sam Wood’s popularity was also a draw card to buy the company.

Both companies will continue to keep their own branding and under the deal Wood will become an investor in myDNA, holding a 5 per cent stake.

Wood is one of Australia’s most popular fitness figures and earlier this year he shared two side-by-side selfies on Instagram taken two months apart.

Former Bachelor Sam Wood reveals how he got rid of his ‘dad bod’.

The results speak for themselves. Picture: Instagram/Sam Wood 28 by Sam Wood

He faced a backlash with some accusing the fitness trainer of faking it but he later admitted that revealing his own fitness journey has been one of his most vulnerable moments.

Star of season three of The Bachelor, Sam met Snezana in 2015 and the pair were engaged just six months later.

In 2017, they became the first Bachelor Australia couple in history to welcome a child, daughter Willow. They wed in a lavish Byron Bay ceremony in 2018.