Our story
40 Years of Excellence, Reimagined for the Modern Era
The foundation
The Foundation (1980s-2025)
In the early 1980s, Dr. Robert Troutwine pioneered a different approach to sports psychology. Rather than generic personality tests, he developed the Troutwine Athletic Profile (TAP)—a psychological assessment specifically designed to predict athletic performance.
Over four decades, Dr. Troutwine's work became legendary in professional sports. His assessments contributed to:
- • 11 Super Bowl championships
- • 2 World Series titles
- • 1 NBA Championship
- • NFL Combine evaluations (including Tom Brady's famous 2000 assessment)
- • Navy SEAL selection with 92% predictive accuracy
Elite organizations—from the New England Patriots to Ford Motor Company to U.S. Navy SEALs—relied on Dr. Troutwine's methodology to identify champions before they became champions.
But there was a problem: these insights remained accessible only to professional teams and elite military units. The cost and delivery model couldn't scale beyond organizations with six-figure budgets.
The evolution
The Evolution (2025-Present)
Above The Neck, Inc. was founded in 2025 when Dr. Troutwine partnered with Rob Pike to solve this accessibility problem. By combining 40 years of validated psychology with artificial intelligence and modern software delivery, they created a technology platform that democratizes championship-level mental performance training.
TAP Coach, our inaugural product, proves the concept: the same psychological science that identified Tom Brady now serves competitive athletes worldwide through personalized AI coaching at a fraction of traditional costs.
Why we're different
What Makes Us Different
40+ years of validation
Our assessment methodology has predicted real-world performance across professional sports, special operations, and corporate environments.
500,000+ data points
The largest athletic psychological database ever assembled informs our AI's guidance.
Elite-tested science
If it works for Navy SEALs and Super Bowl champions, it works.
We're not guessing. We're applying proven psychology at an unprecedented scale.
Our mission
Our Mission
We exist to elevate human performance and improve relationships across all aspects of life—athletics, business, education, and personal development. By combining decades of validated psychological research with cutting-edge technology, we make championship-level mental performance insights accessible to anyone committed to growth.