Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is ready to go it alone.
After a decade-long partnership with Under Armour, the professional wrestler-turned-actor is cutting ties with the sports brand and will retake ownership of his Project Rock training brand.
Johnson created Project Rock in 2017 as a brand dedicated to the belief that training builds more than just physical strength but can also provide discipline, clarity, confidence and peace to meet life’s daily challenges both in and out of the gym.
“At my core, training is one of my key pillars of which my foundation has been built. It’s beyond just ‘lifting weights.’ It’s the daily commitment to sweat equity and how that informs my decisions in all areas of life,” Johnson said. “We can’t control how the world spins to hug us or hit us, but we can always control how we respond. There’s an innate discipline that training breeds in all of us, that allows us to tap into those responses. And watching our Project Rock community empower themselves with this mindset has been one of the most rewarding parts of this long, ever growing journey.”
You May Also Like
During its tenure at Under Armour, Project Rock created performance apparel, accessories and footwear. The brand also had a multiyear collaboration with UFC.
While it was successful early on, in recent years it hasn’t been a focus for the Baltimore-based company as it works to restructure its core business. Instead, Under Armour has turned its attention to its own UA Train collection of products.
The ending of the partnership was reportedly cordial and Under Armour will continue to distribute Project Rock through October. Johnson and his ex-wife, entrepreneur Dany Garcia, own the Project Rock trademark and will be seeking another manufacturing partner to produce the line, according to sources. Garcia and Johnson, who met in college and were married for 11 years, cofounded the studio Seven Bucks Production and are also partners in the XFL football league they purchased along with RedBird Capital Partners. Garcia did not respond to requests for comment.
“After an impressive 10-year run, Under Armour and Dwayne Johnson are bringing our partnership to a natural conclusion,” Under Armour said. “As we sharpen our focus and strengthen our core business, we’re creating a more unified expression in our train category. We’re incredibly grateful to DJ and his entire team for their partnership, friendship and everything we’ve built together over the past decade. We wish him and his team nothing but continued success.”
Johnson added: “I’m grateful to Under Armour and to every person who helped us build this epic chapter of Project Rock. I’m proud of what we created together, and even more proud of all the people behind the scenes who poured themselves into Project Rock, and took great pride in making it their own. You know who you are, I see all of you and I’m forever grateful. Now we move on to new north stars, new partners, and with one intention in mind: deliver for the people. We build it, together.”
Although the end of the Project Rock deal won’t have a material impact on Under Armour’s bottom line, it is the second high-profile name to have parted ways with the company in the past year. In November, NBA star Stephen Curry said he was exiting his deal with the company for his Curry Brand. In June, the athlete signed a deal with the Chinese company Li-Ning to produce his collection.
