I’m an ex-England star.. now I’m making my way in business with wife after £50k Dragons Den investment from Gary Neville

IT'S rare that a contestant on Dragon's Den can bond with an investor over playing for England.

But thanks to Gary Neville becoming an investor on the show last year, that became a reality when former rugby star Joe Gray appeared on the programme.

Gray, 35, is a former rugby union star who played for both Harlequins and Saracens and won every domestic trophy available during his career.

He also won an England cap playing as hooker against New Zealand in 2014.

Since retiring in 2022, he has combined coaching for London Scottish with running a business specialising in sports recovery - called MyoMaster.

The company offer massage guns and ice baths to several top sports clubs.

He co-runs the business alongside his wife Lottie, who was reduced to tears after Neville praised her business acumen and determination.

Neville was so impressed with the couple that he agreed to invest £50,000 for a 2.5 per cent of the business - Sara Davies also invested £50k for a 2.5 per cent stake.

Neville said: "I think you have picked a market that is packed and busy and competitive, you've not got your technology play away yet and it's not been designed, but Joe I like your story and Lottie you are unbelievable, you are absolutely incredibly, you're a class act.

"I've never met anyone under interrogation - and you're getting emotional which has just pushed me over the edge, never make an emotional investment!"

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Speaking to the about the experience, Gray said: "I’ve been fortunate to do some massive things in my life. I’ve played in full stadiums like Twickenham and Eden Park and represented my country.

"But Dragons’ Den was by far the most nervous I’ve ever been! We were in there for three-and-a-half hours being hammered! It was unbelievably intense, way harder than presenting to Steve or working with England. You have to remember everything in the Den. At least with England I have slides!"

Business is booming for the couple, with MyoMaster turning over £1.2m last year and receiving a further £120k cash injection from Google.

Clients include Manchester United, perhaps thanks to a call from Neville, Wimbledon and rugby sides England, Scotland and Georgia.

He said the inspiration for the business came through being out injured, and revealed he had 15 operations over the course of his career.

On first creating a MyoMaster massage gun, he said: "I was out with a broken thumb and while on the sidelines I was doing a lot of running which gave me really bad Achilles tendonitis.

"I’d done a night-time carpentry course and when I was at home doing my house up, I noticed a wood jigsaw cutter had exactly the same motion as the expensive shockwave therapy I was having at the time.

"I welded a rubber stool leg on to the cutter and used it on my Achilles. It had the same effect as the shockwave therapy. I took it into Harlequins training the next day. I started using it and the boys destroyed me. Joe Marler and Kyle Sinckler said: 'Why are you drilling your own leg?'

"I went out of the changing room for half an hour to go for a run and when I came back, I could hear the noise of the drill going. All the boys were using it.

"Kyle got cash out straight away and bought it! He paid way over the odds so on the way home, I bought a new jigsaw from B&Q and made another one. By the end of the week I had seven orders! That was the start of MyoMaster."

As well as coaching at London Scottish, he also advises England head coach Steve Borthwick on a part-time basis to help with line-outs.

Speaking on the journey of the company alongside his company, Gray said: "I never, ever thought it would get to this stage when I took the drill into Harlequins. We’ve pinched ourselves loads of times. We’ve been in the Den and got investment from Gary and Sara.

"Google have invested in us. We’re working with some of the best sports teams in the world and we’ve seen our products being used on Netflix. From where we’ve come from, it’s mental.

"Coaching with England and helping them at last year’s World Cup and in the current Six Nations is unbelievable. It’s something I dreamed off all my life.

"My long-term goal is to be a head coach at a Premiership club or working with an international team but I also really enjoy working with the business and the balance I have between the two right now. I’m loving riding the wave."