Episode 206: In this episode, Andy McDonald is joined by Dr. Robin Thorpe, one of the most influential performance scientists of the modern era.

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Robin spent a decade at Manchester United (2009–2019) as a Senior Performance Scientist and Conditioning Coach, working across multiple managerial eras — from Sir Alex Ferguson through to Ole Gunnar Solskjær. As Head of Recovery & Regeneration, he supported the First Team through 10 national and international titles, developing systems to maximise player availability, manage fatigue, and reduce injury and illness risk.

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Alongside his applied PhD with Liverpool John Moores University, Robin has worked with elite athletes across football, golf, boxing, track & field, and national teams — including the Mexican National Team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. His career spans leadership roles in the EPL, NBA, MLB, MLS, PGA Tour, and most recently as Director of Performance at Red Bull, supporting global high-performance environments.

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In this conversation, Robin shares how he translates first-principles thinking into real-world decision making, how teams can collaborate more effectively, and why strategic performance leadership is the future of high-performance sport.

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Topics Discussed:

• Interdisciplinary team dynamics


• Converting first principles into practical application


• Specialist vs. generalist roles in elite sport


• Decision-making frameworks for practitioners


• Monitoring & measuring rehab outcomes


• Outcome-based, process-guided, & adaptation-focused rehab

Where to Find Dr. Thorpe:

• LinkedIn


• Instagram


• X


• ResearchGate

Sponsors

Gameplan is a rehab Project Management & Data Analytics Platform that improves operational & communication efficiency during rehab. Gameplan provides a centralised tool for MDT’s to work collaboratively inside a data rich environment

VALD Performance, makers of the Nordbord, Forceframe, ForeDecks and HumanTrak. VALD Performance systems are built with the high-performance practitioner in mind, translating traditionally lab-based technologies into engaging, quick, easy-to-use tools for daily testing, monitoring and training

Hytro: The world’s leading Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) wearable, designed to accelerate recovery and maximise athletic potential using Hytro BFR for Professional Sport. 

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Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

• Instagram


• Twitter


• Our Website

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Our Team

• Andy McDonald


• Ben Ashworth


• Steve Barrett 


• Pete McKnight