A weighted plush dog that wears his heart on his fur, Turbobo has charmed thousands of individuals in classrooms, homes and care centers across the nation.
Ryan Miele ’27 launched Turbobo in 2023, selling a product that aims to reduce anxiety and improve mental health in children.
Each Turbobo features ears textured with velcro and silicon, a fidget tail filled with beads, a bottle of essential oil for aromatherapy and a cooling gel pack — all of which aim to comfort the plush’s companion.
Miele said his middle school experience served as inspiration for Turbobo. During that time, one of his friends struggled with their mental health. “It was a little scary to see one of my best friends get pulled out of school,” Miele said, adding that he felt “kind of helpless.”
“That kind of feeling, that pit in your stomach, kind of stuck with me all those years,” Miele said.
So, during his senior year of high school, Miele formulated the idea to create a stuffed animal modeled after his own dog, Turbo.
Miele personally goes to schools to pitch the product to faculty and staff. As of now, over 450 schools in New York use Turbobos. Miele said his success comes from partnerships with schools, and he hopes to get the stuffed dog into every public school in New York City in the near future.
Last year, Miele launched the Turbobo Foundation, a nonprofit that supports kids with special needs and at-risk children. Now, 5% of every Turbobo sale goes to the foundation.
He also created a socioemotional curriculum to go along with the Turbobo plush. The curriculum includes story books, worksheets and video modules demonstrating self-regulation with the plush.
Miele worked with Vicky Roncero, a member of the company’s council of advisors, to develop the curriculum. As a Reiki practitioner, Roncero took inspiration from elements of the practice, including meditation, into the lessons.
In addition to meditation, the modules feature lessons and stories. “The class gets a little bit of everything,” including “self-awareness skills, social-awareness skills (and) relationship-building skills,” Roncero said.
Swathi Moylan, an adult, child and adolescent psychiatrist who also sits on the company’s council of advisors, provides feedback to Miele through clinical experiences and her perspective as a parent.
Moylan primarily treats patients with moderate to severe anxiety disorders, and in her practice, she said she is “very conservative” about prescribing children medicine. “Turbobo is a tool that helps me prescribe less medicine and helps get kids off of medicine faster,” she added.
Moylan said she also noticed Turbobo’s influence in her own home. Her daughters take turns spending nights with the plush and share it if one of them is upset.
Miele hopes that children can use Turbobo to “build those strategies of managing that extra stress or excess depression.”
“This isn’t like another American Girl doll you’re collecting,” Moylan said. “This is something that we’re going to use when we’re feeling upset or worried.”
