Bill Shufelt is the visionary Co-Founder & CEO of Athletic Brewing Company, America’s largest dedicated non-alcoholic brewer. As an avid outdoor enthusiast and busy professional, Bill recognized the limitations alcohol placed on achieving his goals, leading him to embrace an alcohol-free lifestyle in 2013. Frustrated by the lack of satisfying non-alcoholic options, Bill had a wild idea: Develop a range of amazing brews that wouldn’t affect you the next day. So, in 2017, Bill left a successful career in finance to establish the first U.S. brewery & taproom dedicated entirely to non-alcoholic beer, despite skepticism from industry insiders.
Under Bill's leadership, Athletic Brewing has redefined the brewing landscape. Since its commercial debut in 2018, the company has grown to become the sixth-largest craft brewer and 15th-largest overall brewing company in the U.S. Athletic is the number one selling non-alcoholic beer brand in America, with nearly 20% market share, and in 2025, Athletic was named by Fast Company as one of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. The company has twice been named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies list and made GQ's list of the 20 most creative companies in the world in 2024.
Bill has appeared on How I Built This with Guy Raz, and his story has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Bloomberg Businessweek, among other prominent publications.
With over 200 prestigious taste awards, Athletic brews have become a staple on retail shelves and restaurant menus nationwide, and are now available at over 75,000 locations. Athletic operates custom breweries in Connecticut and California and donates up to $2 million annually to protect and restore outdoor spaces across the globe via its Two For The Trails environmental grant program, which is the largest of its kind in the craft brewing industry. Athletic Brewing is also a proud Certified B Corporation™.
