Two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua is trading uppercuts for upper crust, at least in the kitchen. He’s just been named a brand ambassador for Prep Kitchen, the performance meal prep company aiming to make chicken-and-rice feel a little less like a punishment and a little more like a privilege. But this isn’t just another athlete sticking his name on a food box and calling it a day. Joshua is diving in—literally flavor first.
In partnership with Prep Kitchen’s Head of Food, Paul Mason, Joshua is co-creating a limited-edition recipe collection inspired by his Nigerian roots. Among the culinary haymakers in the lineup: West African Style Red Pepper and Peanut Chicken, Suya Beef with Jollof Rice, and Nigerian Fish Curry. It’s both a nod to heritage and a branding move that tastes as smart as it looks bold. In a sea of “clean bulking” and “macro-balanced” platitudes, Joshua’s take adds actual flavor—an underutilized nutrient in performance marketing.
This isn’t Joshua’s first foray into the food and beverage space, either. He’s previously been backed by Lucozade and EQ Nutrition, names synonymous with pre-fight fuel and post-fight recovery. But Prep Kitchen feels different—it’s less about hydration and supplementation and more about identity. As a cultural ambassador for Nigerian cuisine, he’s serving up something personal. The collaboration also fits neatly into a larger trend: athletes as lifestyle brands, complete with curated taste buds.
Joshua now joins a lineup of Prep Kitchen athlete ambassadors that includes World Champion heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall. Between the three of them, they cover the spectrum from endurance to brute force to, apparently, suya expertise. It’s food marketing with biceps and a backstory, and Joshua—who’s long balanced his brand between hard-nosed grit and charismatic polish—seems perfectly plated for the role.