Max Holloway vs Korean Zombie RECAP | Episode 350

Transcript

Dean Kamen is an innovator with over 1,000 patents and inventions that have impacted the world for good. The world's first drug infusion pump, the portable dialysis machine, the cow poop powered water purifier. But his most famous or infamous invention is one you know by name. Before its highly anticipated release, it was predicted to change the way cities are designed forever. Instead, to the disappointment of investors who contributed several 100,000,000 to its development, it became a punch line, a product relegated to dorks and mall cops. Successful companies require groundbreaking technology and a market hungry for change. And if that market isn't hungry, you can't blame them for what happens next. And that's why this week's On Brand is on segue. Hello, and welcome to On Brand with John and Marissa. I am John. I'm Marissa. Wow. So I'm just finding out what the show is about. It's my favorite part of what we do, not knowing and wondering all day, what brand are we doing today? Will I have stories to relate to it? Will I have thoughts and opinions? Wow. Segway. Does the word segue send a chill down your spine? I am shivering with anticipation of what we're about to learn, the ride of set literally. The ride. No pun intended. The brushless motorized gyroscopic ride. What a what a hazinga. I'm just gonna I'm just gonna put a hazinga over this whole episode. This one has a lot of hazingas, and it will be fun for you to know when and where they are. Yeah. Because in my head I mean, we'll get into it. We'll get into it. Let's not go too deep yet. Okay. So we have not recorded for 2 weeks, which is very unlike us. We usually record every weekend for that Wednesday show. Marissa and her family, la de da, went on vacation down to Florida, lived the high life. So we had to do 2 episodes a couple weeks ago. So it feels like we've been out of touch for a while, so it's so nice to be back in our chairs. It's great to be back in the studio Back in the studio. The home studio. I'm sweating. I since you've been gone, I've been to an event, and I've bought this T shirt. It's very large. I feel like it's like like a Billie Eilish cut. Like, just and now, like, everyone's back into, like, that thick cotton again. Ugh. So it's like it I'm just like it's like I'm wearing a blanket. Take me back to the eighties, 5050 poly cotton blend. Soft, light, breathable. Is there anything worse than a stiff, thick cotton tee? The nineties tees were so stiff and thick, and then the, like, the early 2000 went way too thin. So for, like, a plus size Hunts boy like me You can see your nipples straight through. Those nipples were, like, pointing which way am I going? That way, sir. Alright. Put those away. Yeah. There was kinda like a sandblasted effect on t shirts, you know, in, like, the early 2000. You know what I mean? Where they'd be, like, so sheer and transparent. Yeah. It was it's hard to get it right. They're great if you wanna Yeah. It was it's hard to get it right. They're great if you wanna tantalize the boys with a peak of your bra. Babe, you beep that out. So you Are you deciding when I get beeped out? Just telling now. You're censoring on my behalf? This is a family show. Uh-huh. So you went to Florida. I did. And why you were there? So you went to a Publix or Mhmm. Had seen a Publix, which I think is a brand that a couple people have suggested to us. Yes. I know Publix is it's like HEB. It's like Aldi. It's regional, and it does have quite a strong fan base. So I was excited to see that there is a Publix on nearly every block. Like, we wouldn't even put it into the GPS, and we would just like, we'll just drive and we'll come across 1. And so over the course of the trip, I was there for a week. I went to Publix at least once a day. A few times, like, 2 or 3 times a day. For me, who knows nothing about Publix other than it's a grocery store, give me, like, the bullet points of what I'm seeing when I'm going down the street and I see a Publix. Is it big, small? When you walk in, is it grills and meats, or is it just food? Walk us through it. Grills and meats. Well, you know, some store like, Vons just has the meat, but then, like, you know, Walmart has, like, the grill and the meat. I see. That's interesting. Yeah. So Publix, I would say it's on the big side. It's not, like, akin to a Costco or a Walmart. It's like a standard grocery store footprint. It's the lighting is sensational. The decor is divine. Apparently, there's a range and some are fancier than others. The few I I went to at least 3 different publics as while I was there. And to me, I didn't really notice, like, a huge difference that some were nice and some were not nice. The staff was some of the friendliest, most joy filled humans I've ever interacted with. Aw. Like, playing peekaboo with the kids at the, like, checkout. Like, gave, like unprompted, gave my daughter, like, a little coloring book and a crayons, like, public swag. Crowns. They're pronounced crowns. Sorry. Crayons. Cranberries. That's cute. Just so cute. Everybody was just so warm. The selection of food felt like it was it's like a mix. It's not like a like an upscale grocery store, but they have that kind of stuff. They have regular brands as well, so it doesn't feel like, oh, this is, like of course, it's nice. It's expensive. No. It was like a regular grocery store, but just immaculate. Free cookies for kids. Wow. So you go up to the bakery What what is the age limit for a kid? You know, if you showed showed up with one of those hats with a propeller on it, I bet you could pa*s. Wow. Because you are quite young at heart. I'll pack that next time. Like, a chocolate chip and a couple's a sprinkle and sugar cookie. And it was like you could walk up and they they offer you a cookie. Like, it's just so sweet. You put on social media that you were there, and some of the brandies were, like, oh, my God. They have this sandwich there. What is it called? The chicken tender pub sub. The pub sub. 2 people, I'm not even kidding, within a span of 60 seconds, both posted, get the pub sub. It's chef's kiss. Like, that exact phrase. I thought that Wild. Maybe they accidentally posted it twice, but unless I'm crazy, it was 2 different people. It it was. And specifically the chicken tender pub sub. So they have, like, the a kind of a standard, deli area, like what you see that has like the chicken and the potato wedges that kind of is normal at a grocery store. But the the chicken was also really good. It's like popcorn chicken, and it comes in, like, a like, almost like a soda cup. Oh, wow. So those are, like, just grab and go, but they also have those there. They have a really gorgeous deli section, and then they have this, yeah, like a sandwich bar, almost like a subway where you can, like, make to order your sandwiches from, like, a sandwich artist. And the chicken tender pub sub specifically was highly recommended, and so, of course, I had to try it. Well, as a vegetarian, of course. The first thing on your list would be to get a chicken to the For somebody who I don't know if I self identify as a vegetarian anymore, but I did eat so much fried chicken on this trip. It was actually becoming, like, laughable. Oh, man. That's not was it from all from Publix or anything? Bit of it was from Publix, but just fried chicken? They do. Yeah. Like, this the popcorn chicken, the chicken tenders. I ate a lot of chicken tenders in Florida. The thing is is there's only 2 kinds of meat that I like. I like chicken tenders, and I like cheeseburgers. I have no interest in any other form of, animal flesh. You know who else's favorite food is chicken tenders. Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift. It's one of many things we have in common. Yes. Our stage presence, our dance moves. Of course. Your bank account. If you had told me a couple years ago that you would be in Florida trying a meat sandwich before me, I would have been a guy. I know. It was so sad. Well, let's get into the show in a second. I have one more quick thing that as I posted on Instagram a couple weeks ago, I posted kind of a vague thing in our Insta story just like that I had placed an order on the Coca Cola website. That's right. And everyone's like, oh, I wonder what they got. What's this? What's that? I just got a few things. It was on sale. I won't go into we'll talk about it another time. It doesn't matter what I got. I did get a diet culture. Only matters what you got from cocacola.com. I know. It's humiliating. What did you buy? I mean, just a few things. Why? Say it out loud. Some bits and bobs. What? Go down the list, please, for the love of God. You really can. You have to. No. We're too far in. No. No. No. What's the time? Cut everything that we said prior. No. John, John, I swear to God. I honestly I'm starting to sweat because I don't wanna tell you everything at all. That means you have to say it. No. Because you owe it to our fans. Okay. I bought, like, a I bought a couple little bags. What? See, you can't. What are little bags? They're really cute. They look like a can. Like, one of them looks like a little diet Coke can and one looks like a little Coke can. I was like, these will be cute in my mouth. Bags? How many little bags? 2 of the 2 of the diet Coke and 2 of the regular Coke. Why you need 4 little bags? Because I really like something I wanna backup. And then I bought some key chains, because they were on a good they were, like, a dollar 50 on clearance, and they're cute. And I thought they might work on my charm bracelet even though they're too big. But what I Is that all? Is that all? Is that all? John. I can't John. John. John. You have no choice. We're here. Oh my god. I'm crying. This is not what the story is supposed to be. No. I bought, like, a cute little coffee, like, you know, like a food. Like a a thermos? Yeah. You bought you bought a thermos? Diet Coke, like, you know, like a like a thing, like a little thermos thing for my coffee. Oh, and that's it. I think that is Why? Oh, no. And I got a couple patches. Oh, god. John, on your jeans. I wish I was dead. It doesn't even matter Oh my god. The story I was gonna tell now. That was rough. Okay. So then I also bought a couple of shirts. Okay. Cart total, a $183. It was all clearance and an additional 15% off, and I just get suckered into that stuff. And then tell me what the minimum is for free shipping, and I'll hit it. So one of the shirts doesn't show up. Okay. Issue number 1. Mhmm. The second shirt showed up, and I guess they do this thing now that's like print on demand, so it got made when I ordered it. And it was just a white I never ever used to wear white shirts Mhmm. Until we started this pod. And I started to see some of our social media clips, and I was like, you know what? I kinda like the way I look in white. You look great in white. Thank you. So it was a white diet Coke shirt made to order. And I got it, and I, like, you know, you get clothes in the mail and you, like, open it and, like, hold it up. And I'm, like, that does not look like an XL. Like, that looks like a medium. Uh-huh. Am I crazy? What's the tag say? XL. Wow. I put it on. It's like a leotard. It is the smallest thing I've ever put on, and I was, like, this is insane. So I immediately wrote to the company about, like I was like, I got this shirt. It seems incredibly too small. I have a lot of shirts. I know how an XL should fit. They write me back very quickly. Love that. I'm so sorry that you're not happy with this shirt. Feel free to return it at your own expense, and we will refund you when we receive it at your own expense. At your own expense. Ugh. It took everything in me not to immediately send off another email. I was like, John, just take a breath. So then I, like, wrote him back and I started writing him back and I was like, listen, I get that, like, if I just didn't like the shirt, maybe it would be my responsibility. I was like, I just I don't know why this shirt is not an extra large. Like, I don't know why on the website it wouldn't say run small, and then I was, like, what if it does? I went to the website, and it literally says, this shirt runs a bit small. It's, like, damn it. But then I looked at the sizing, and it's the same sizing as all other XLs. Like, it it so I was like, say in the boys youth section of coke.com? Okay. No. You have to double check those things. Anyway, so long story long, I like Did it have snaps at the crotch? It might have been a onesie. Yeah. It's, like, it's very small. So I am now I so he writes me back, gives me a claim number. I'm like, I'm gonna go I'm gonna circumvent this claim number. Uh-huh. So then I call acting like I'd never reached out before. Love that. This guy's like, I'm gonna have to have someone 1, they haven't replaced my shirt. I've gotten a second email from this phone call saying, we're looking into your missing shirt. What does that mean? Wow. Just send me the shirt. You gotta go to Vegas. You gotta go to the Coke store, I know. I know. And then, again so now twice in email and on the phone, they've all said you can return the shirt at your own expense. And I've written back to every single time saying, this is your issue. I will keep everyone abreast. I'll put pictures of all the things I bought on our Insta Story. Segue. We need a friend who works at UPS. I just need I need a breath. Do you feel better? I wasn't expecting that. It's always good within the first, like, 15 minutes of a show where you're crying out of embarrassment. I'm drenched in humiliation sweat. Well, you you wanna know humiliation? Dean Kamen. When you first started reading the quote of why did my voice crack? I think you're scared. I'm scared. Nervous. Alright. So segue. I am ready for this ride. Here's my thoughts on it. I was you know, I remember them before it came out, like, saying this is gonna change the world. Like, no one's gonna travel in a conventional way anymore. We're all gonna be segueing around town. I feel like they landed. It felt like a big thud to me. I I don't know if I've ever I'm sure I must have. I No. You've never ridden one. I've definitely never ridden one. I have terrible balance issues. Well, apparently, that's not a factor. Well, that's good. And I feel like I've maybe seen less than 10 people in real life on a segue. Really? Yeah. Wow. Yeah. I'm curious, yeah, what the audience's experiences with segues. I obviously, we all know what they are. We all know that they're, like, not cool, that they're, like, super lame. They're so lame. And so incredibly dorky. And so it's, yeah, this is a really interesting story because this is kind of like amazing technology, a product that it's like, I don't understand. If if it was better design and, actually, we'll get into the whole story. But, like, Steve Jobs was one of the people who criticized the aesthetic of it and the design of it. And when when you know Apple, it's like, obviously, the function is exceptional, but the design is also at the forefront. Just to remind me because there's I feel like there's been this is, like, 20 years ago, I think. Like, I feel like there's been so many, like, single person vehicles since then. I wanna make sure I'm picturing the right thing, because I know that there was, like did it have handlebars? Then there was a thing where you just stand on a small little, like That was a hoverboard. Yeah. Which is kind of, like, almost a sideways skateboard. Yeah. This has the handles, and you have to kind of, like, hunch over and lean forward a little bit. You use your body's, like, movement to, like Yes. Like, subconscious micro movement. So, like, you when you're on it, you don't even have to think about balancing or think about go. It doesn't have a doesn't have a break. It doesn't have a gas. It's just think about going, think about stopping, and those micro movements that your body makes to naturally balance will propel the vehicle. And so I I don't know. At at the end of this story, I was feeling like maybe it was just the wrong time for it. Well, we'll get into it. We'll get into the whole thing. Also, well, let's introduce you to this man, Dean Kamen. So he he was born on Long Island, New York, 1951. From a young age, this kid is a he's a smart cookie. He's was playing with gizmos and gadgets. He's a whiz kid. He's a he's a giz kid. A giz kid. And he didn't do well in school. He didn't get great grades, but local bands and museums were hiring him to design their lighting and sound systems. In fact, came and even worked on the Times Square ball. Okay. Full circle moment. Before his high school graduation, he was making, in this year in the sixties, $60,000 a year, which accounting for inflation today is 512 $1,612. Doing what? Designing lighting and sound systems for events. Wow. Which I don't I mean, everywhere I looked, I saw 60,000 a year. That's how much he was making, 60,000 a year. And I did that math. I'm like, this is unbelievable. He was making half a $1,000,000 a year at, like, 16 years old. This feels crazy. There's so many people now that are not making $60,000 a year. I know. He was making more money than both of his parents. I mean, he was he's obvious. He was a Giz kid. So, you know, this was his destiny. So Kamen attends the Polytechnic Institute, but he's still more interested in practical action than studying. So he's still not like a super academically motivated guy. So in his early years, he invented one of his first inventions. His brother was a doctor. I mean, these parents, what a home run. Doctor and a half a millionaire. Oh my god. His brother told him about there was this problem with patients who needed round the clock medication that they had to come into the hospital just to, like, get their, I guess, their prescriptions. And he came up with this invention called the auto syringe, and it was a transportable device that could be worn by patients and would administer their doses, like, round the clock, and they wouldn't have to come into a hospital. So truly a great invention that has improved people's lives, and it seems like that's kind of a theme with his invention. It's always like it's not like what will make me the most money or make me the most successful or the flashiest thing. He really does want to, like, improve improve people's lives and make the world a better place. The medical community responded very well to the auto syringe is what it was called, and soon came in was a well known name in the community. He sold his invention to the health care company Baxter International, making him a millionaire, even more of a millionaire than he was, I guess, by his senior year in high school. So He was already very close. So he actually only made, like, $30,000 from it, but he's now officially a 1,000,000. I think he probably did pretty well. In the years that followed, he invented a portable insulin pump, portable dialysis machine, an array of heart stents, one of which now is inside vice president Dick Cheney. Oh, wow. So he had this string of successes. His reputation is now sky high. He's very rich. And then he made this company, DECA Research, the r and d lab, where he and 200 engineers work to that's like a mecca for medical device design. So it's all like that in the kind of the medical wellness health space. Which is a a tough space because there's a lot of, like, laws and a lot of, like, red tape in that space. Yeah. I imagine so. But he's kind of just like there's so many different types of inventors. It's like like Dyson, who is really, like, technologically, like, genius truly. And then there's people like Steve Jobs that are, like, innovators. Like, they have an idea that is, like, doesn't even exist yet and think about, like, I don't know how to make it happen, but make it happen. This guy's, like, somewhere in the middle, but he threads a needle that's, like, somehow a lot of Hazingas along the way. Yeah. Like, you'd think, like, oh, this guy, like, can do no wrong, but yet he does continue to have quite a few blunders as well. Well, what I don't understand is if I'm like, you know, I think I'm gonna help people that need insulin and create this portable insulin thing. Like, where do you start with that? I don't know. I don't like, do you get a team? Do you have to have a it seemed like you would need a lab. Yeah. I needed a lab. So he he I I think he probably was, rubbing elbows with, some other smart cookies. It's different from Dyson in the fact that he just had to go in his barn and learn how to suck. And get sucked off by a vacuum for 12 hours. Called for years. So it's interesting. Alright. Go. Yeah. So he wants to change the world, invent products and patent technology that makes the world a better place. In 1990, he began development on he doesn't even like to call it a wheelchair, but it's an electric wheelchair called the iBot, and it uses this gyroscopic technology. It can travel on sand or snow. It can climb stairs. It can even go into, like, standing mode where it's like the 6 wheeled machine, and it can, like, lift the user up to be, like, eye level with other people. So, you know, you know incredible. Why do I have no knowledge of this existing? Well, I, you know, I I did a little dig into the wheelchair community on Reddit where I find all the people. And the complaints about the iBot so to use stair mode where you could use this wheelchair to go upstairs, which, like, that would be huge. Like right? Like, imagine, you know, a wheelchair that goes upstairs. Of course. Yeah. I'm picturing all the prototypes to get there, man. That seems like a rupture. It seems like a clunky road. It does. So, apparently, to use it in stair mode would drain the battery to 30%. So if you're, like, on the other side of town and you go up some stairs at Macy's, you know, good luck getting down, good luck getting home. You have to plug in up in men's suits You have to plug up in men's suits. For 45 minutes? Oh, man. They were also, like, prohibitively expensive. They were, like, $30,000, and it was an issue with, like, what would insurance cover? So there were, like, a lot of a lot of issues with the iBot, but, you know, it's it's a great idea. The name, though, also doesn't give me any indication of what it is. And it's a little, like, iPad iPhone iBot. Like, what's he going for? Yeah. It's it's like a little robot. I mean, maybe that's how he's seen it. But Maybe he yeah. He called it the world's most sophisticated robot. He didn't even like it being called a wheelchair. It's like, no. It's a robot people ride. So he's a bit of an oddball. Yeah. He also nicknamed the iBot during his development Fred, short for Fred upstairs, a pun on Fred Astaire, which, you know, this is my favorite thing about this guy. Huazinga. Fred wait. I didn't even understand what you just said. He nicknamed it Fred, short for Fred upstairs after Fred Astaire. Yes. It's like a pun, like, 4 degrees away from being successful, which is which is my favorite kind. So he did sign a deal with Johnson and Johnson to manufacture the device that I bought, the Fred upstairs went on Dateline in 1999. Johnson and Johnson has spent 50,000,000 on the project, and only 500 units ended up being sold. Oh, for $30,000 each? This is in 1990, you said? Yeah. 25 to $30,000 each. So, you know, this is this is a hizenga. That's a hazinga. That's a hazinga. It was a failure for many reasons. Yeah. The expense, the battery. So the the wheelchair was a bust. But as his team was working on the iBot, it dawned on them that maybe they were onto something bigger. So inspired by this technology, this next dimension's code name is Ginger, as in Ginger Rogers, to the Ibots Fred upstairs. Good lord. So he's gay. Right? This is another gay guy. You know, he was a bachelor. That's what you called gay back then. Yeah. Exactly. He was a he was a and which is funny. It's, like, 1998. It's like it does feel like that was back then because I I he was a bachelor. Hexagon house that was 32,000 square feet that he designed, and inside his house was a giant wind turbine to generate power, a fully lighted baseball diamond. In his basement, he had a workshop. He has a Hummer, a Porsche, 2 helicopters, which he uses to commute to work each day. He takes a helicopter to work each day. He owns an island off the coast of Connecticut. He calls it North Dumpling, and he considers it a sovereign state. It has a flag, a navy, currency, one bill has the value of pi, 3.17, whatever, and a mutual nonaggression pact with the US as a joke, maybe, I don't know, signed by president Bush. So he's like this is like an eclectic guy. This is like a Willy Wonka type of inventor. He's like he's a bit nutty, right, to say the least? Bad at naming things too. Everything has a weird name. You wouldn't name your island North Dumpling? What would you name your island, John? I don't know, but that doesn't seem right. And it seems odd that I know where this story's going, and it's all gonna come down to a guy who's gonna make, like, a single person vehicle, but he has all these other modes of transportation. He loves modes of transportation. Mhmm. So he works for 6 years on this invention he's calling Ginger. He has this man called Doug Field as his right hand man, and he seems like Doug Field seems like truly a, like, genius engineer who he worked at Ford before working with Cayman and has since gone on to work at Tesla and Apple. And, like, Doug Field just sounds like the, like, the best boss, like, just truly brilliant, and he was kind of, like, behind the mechanics of this product. So finally, we're getting to, like, the end of 2,001. The buzz around this mystery invention begins. And the invention is so secretive. It's so anticipated. Hints about what it was were leaking to the public. It was kinda feeding the frenzy. And I that's what I'm remembering, that there was, like, this whole thing at that time Mhmm. Of, like, something's coming that is gonna knock everyone's socks off. Yeah. Exactly. And people were kind of thinking, like, without, knowing what it is, it was kind of, like, imaginations were running wild. People were, like, is it like a hoverboard? It's like a teleportation. Is it like a pod from The Fly? Like, what is it? Like, it just people were really kind of going nuts trying to imagine what this could possibly be worthy of this hype. And then it pulls off the sheet, and it's, like, dun dun dun dun dun. Skateboard. Zinga. Steve Jobs, meanwhile, he's calling it as big a deal as the PC. John Doer, who's a billionaire venture capitalist behind Google, Amazon, he called it bigger than the Internet. He said this invention would make a $1,000,000,000 faster than any company in history. Wow. Bigger than the Internet. Bigger than the Internet. What what invention do you think has a bigger significance culturally and globally? The Internet or segues? Well okay. This it's funny you say that because I don't remember if I mentioned this in the Guinness episode. I think I did. When the Guinness made that little ball to put in the can Oh, yeah. In England, the that year, it won best invention over the Internet. So sometimes people get wrapped up in, like, something new hitting. Yeah. Of course. And you know what? We don't know how long the Internet will be around. I think that ball might be around longer. Well, and remember the Internet in 2001 is not the Internet of today. Like, if we weren't, like, as as connected or there was no Facebook. There was no Mhmm. Social media. We're using it to, like, buy stuff on Amazon. So they didn't know what they were talking about. Exactly. Kamen believed that the Segway will be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy. He imagines them everywhere, in parks, at Disneyland, on battlefield, on factory floors Battlefield. Downtown sidewalks, from Seattle to Shanghai. He says cars are great for going long distances, but it makes no sense at all. And this I kind of I mean, I'm starting to kind of, like, get swept up into his, like, philosophy. I'm like, it you're right. It doesn't dense city, Los Angeles, to use a 4,000 pound piece of metal to haul, he says, their £150 asses around town. He imagines in the future, cars will be banished from urban centers to make room for millions of empowered pedestrians, empowered naturally by Cayman's brainchild. So he demoed the Segway secretly for Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos, and information started to kinda leak to the public. So I think people were getting kind of, like, little bits and bobs about, like, what this invention was, and it was kinda making him really paranoid that it was gonna get spoiled. And I could see, like, in hindsight, the Steve Jobs being excited about this because he has, like, a campus. Like, this feels like a campus thing. Yes. Or New York thing. I'm gonna disagree with you that it feels like that we live in a dense city. We live in a very spread out city. Like, so someone on this, like, me taking a segue to the grove would be insane. Well, I'm I mean, dense, like, in that there's a lot of cars on the road. So and and most of the distances I travel are, like, less than a couple miles. So, like, it does, you know, to have to drive your car 2 miles and then look for parking, that contributes to a lot of traffic. It's like why people, you know, think that we should convert to more to more bikes. I don't know. I could maybe see a world where I'm taking a segue to Trader Joe's. I do not see a world where you're taking a segue to your backyard. You're never that is not you, but okay. We'll pretend this road exists. 2001. Let's pretend it's 2001. Okay? Okay. 4 years past Titanic. Oh my god. So think about the war. It's also this is, like, December of 2001. So 911 just happened. Well, when you said the end of 2001, I was like, well, that's probably part of the reason it failed. I mean, we kind of shifted our priorities in September of February. We were just recovering from the devastation of the movie Titanic. Titanic. Yeah. And then now we're hit again 911, and then now we're expected to, like, get excited about a scooter. It's just it was a tough time for America. Yeah. So he starts to kind of, like, trickle out this invention. He's even pickier about who he's gonna let see it. So it's like he shows, like, the postmaster general, and he's like, mail carriers are gonna ride on segways to do their do their mail carrying. The National Park Service, park rangers, police, which of they were Segway's first customers is, like, park rangers and police. And I so, honestly, in 2,001, could see that, like, a mail carrier or a police officer. It does, like, make sense in these applications. Like Yeah. So how does it how does it fail? How does it fail? I do feel like I mean, with 911, he's, like, 3 months out of 911, and he's like, hey, guys. I know we're all kinda feeling not great. I have something think he should have put a pin in it for 18 months? Maybe put a pin in it. If there was, like if I get sliding doors any moment in a in history It would be the release of this subway. Of the segue, and I would put a pin in it for 18 months and see how the world changed. Yeah. And then it would be your dream of Los Angeles, just millions of segues zooming around. I gotta be honest. I could see Alastair on a segway. I'm not gonna lie. He's always looking to save save the world in some capacity. Pinches pennies, but he also likes to walk, so it's tricky. Yeah. So this was kind of something that haunted came in, and this is one of the hardest truths for any, anybody in technology to hear is that success or failure in this business is rarely determined by the quality of the technology. So for example, Betamax was better than VHS. The Mac operating system is superior to Windows. But what becomes mainstream? VHS, Windows. Even in the transportation business, there's a cautionary tale of a man named Preston Tucker, who in the 19 forties designed a car of the future packed with safety innovations like padded dashboard, disc brakes, safety glass, this car was so far ahead of its time that only 51 were ever produced. Wow. In the annals of high-tech history, there are few cases in which the most innovative technology has emerged triumphant in the marketplace. So this is like it's a phenomenon, whatever you wanna call it. This is like a real thing that is in this field that we never know about because we don't see the businesses that fail. You know what I mean? We only see the ones that become adapted mainstream. Think about how many better versions of everything that exist, Segways, better than cars, that never make it to be, like, you know, fully adapted. Yeah. So this is what Kamin's like keeping him up at night. And then finally, in 2,001, on Good Morning America, he reveals his invention to the public. I mean, that right there is a hosinga. No offense if you like Good Morning America, but I'm a Today Show boy. Like, take it to Hoda. Oh, no. At that point, was it, was it Hoda and It was that guy Matt Lauer? Matt Lauer. Yeah. Matt Lauer. To Matt Lauer. Well, maybe he would have ridden on a segue. There's your sliding door moment. God. Do I have to pick just 1? Oh my god. If if the Segway premiered on the Today Show instead of Good Morning America, 18 months later, we'd be unstoppable. Oh my god. Let's do it. So this is, like, the headline of what the segue is in this presentation. Developed at a cost of more than a 100,000,000, Cayman's vehicle is undeniably groundbreaking. The hardware and software mimics the human body's ability to maintain its balance. It has no brakes. It has no engine, no throttle, no gear shift, no steering wheel. It can carry the average rider for a full day nonstop on only 5¢ worth of electricity. 5¢? So I just kinda wanna, like, bask in the December 2,001 Cayman's, like, optimism for believing that Segways will change the world because that's, like, kind of a fun place to be. Like, imagine how excited he was Yeah. Like, the night before Yeah. Good Morning America. A couple years ago, people were just worried about y two k, and now here he is just before the New Year. Like, I'm gonna change transportation for the globe. I know. It just seems so it seems so fun to think about. Yeah. It's such a bummer. I'm rooting for him. Let's let him have his fun for a bit. I hope this turns out better than I know that it does. I'm curious if what the plan was. Was it, like, the unveiling? Like, is it, like, their Segway stores? How do you get a Segway? Is it mail order? What's So he was anticipating that the demand was going to be, like, really high out the gate and that it was originally first going to be available for, like, commercial, so, like, for businesses or for, like, police force, and then it would trickle down to being, like, for the regular consumer. Do Do you know what price point was? It was, like, 4, $5,000. Okay. So at that point, you know, that's not nothing. Yeah. It's expensive, but you it's reasonable. It's cheaper than a car. Yeah. So at this point, after hearing everything, you know, how excited he is, I'm feeling, like, technologically, it seems very advanced. It seems to make a lot of sense. It's in line with you know, I hate looking for parking, and I'm a bad driver. So it seems in line with my values. I'm excited for the debut of Segway. I'm into the hype. I think it sounds very cool. I think it sounds fun to ride. I don't wanna just be, like, out in the air. Like, I I don't want all everything I'm just exposed. I did, though, at that time, I mean, I did have a convertible. Okay. There you go. The convertible is kinda like yeah. That I guess that's segue ish. It's definitely the segue of cars. The sitting segue. So when we're talking about what went wrong, it's never that, like, the technology didn't work. The problems that sank the segue were social. Cayman expected to be selling 10,000 segues a week by the end of 2002. That's half a1000000 a year. I feel confident that he got close to that number. In the next 6 years, Segway sold just 30,000 units. A week? In 6 years. That's all he sold the entire 6 years? That's, like, half a half a segue a day. I know. I don't know the math on that. That's probably wrong, but oh. It's rough. That's, like, that's, like, 10 of your storage units. That's a lot of Coca Cola patches. I mean, those were on sale too. They were only, like, that's not important. Wow. Hot on sale for what? Like, how much? Like, 295. Each? Yeah. Okay. You better have some coat patches ironed on your jeans next time I see you. Where are they now? Have they left your car? Oh, no. They they came in the mail. Yeah. They're at home. Okay. You're getting sidetracked. Poor guy. This guy, Peter Schenkman, he's an entrepreneur in New York. He was one of the first five people in New York City to buy one. He said, when I first got it, it was so much fun, but the police didn't know what to do with it. He says that on one block, he'd be told to get on the sidewalk. On another, he'd be told to get on the street. Sometimes he was would be told he couldn't use it at all. The regulations weren't, like, up to date or up to speed with, like, what to do with this, like, motorized walking vehicle. I feel like it should have the same rules as a motorcycle. Okay. Like, don't So you think street? I think street. Like bike lane? I think. Yeah. And well, I guess it depends on how fast it can go. Those can go, what, like, 70? Yeah. They can go about 70. So there that was hazinga number 1 was that it was, like, are you allowed are you even allowed to use it? Right. Is it illegal? It worked as advertised, but it was also kind of awkward to use. It was small enough to ride inside a building or into an elevator, but it was also a 100 pounds. So, like, if you had to then, like, carry it to, like, your desk, like, what do you do with it? I'm picturing my grumpy self in 2001 Uh-huh. Like, trying to go to a meeting. And I'm in an elevator, and this segue comes rolling in, and I have to hold the door for him and then, like, act impressed when it's in there with me. I have a whole thing with people with fancy modes of transportation. Uh-huh. Like, if someone has, like, a vintage car or something, I don't know why. I I I refuse to look at it. Like, if you're stopped at an a light from, like, a 67 Mustang, you won't look over at it? I feel like they want me to look at it, so I refuse to look at it. I feel like it's like if somebody walks around with, like, a parrot on their shoulder. You know? They're just, like, walking down the street past an ice cream shop or a cafe, people eating outside, and they want so badly for everybody to look and go, oh my god. That guy has a parrot. What an unusual pet. How did you find it? Where did you get it? Oh, god. I'm not talking to the parrot. I'm not looking at the car or the Segway. People's perception of the Segway are that I mean, it's hard enough to get around cities and embrace, like, the bicycle. The bicycle's been around for a century and a half. And at least if you see a bicycle someone on a bicycle, you assume, oh, well, they're, like, exercising. Right. The Segway just kind of read as, like, the laziest mode of transportation because you're traveling at, like, ish the speed of walking. So people just didn't know, like, what to make of it. The same guy, Schenkman, who got in trouble in New York City, he said every time he used it, he said every time I used it, I just wound up feeling fat. I got called lazy more times than I could count. It does feel a little WALL E esque. If you haven't seen WALL E, it's all about, like, the we will continue to get lazier and lazier. Yeah. We're just not exerting anything anymore. I don't know who I have a bigger issue with, the person riding the Segway or the person yelling at somebody calling them lazy on the street for being on a Segway. I don't know. But it's not a good recipe for success for this business. It's like Google Glass, the Google Glasses. This is another supposed revolutionary product, but it just it's like you just are embarrassing Yeah. By using it. Yeah. Steve Jobs did warn, came in, that the Segway's image could be ruined by a single rider falling off and hurting themselves. 3 high profile incidents soon followed. In 2003, president George w Bush fell off a Segway Oh my god. Of all people during a vacation at his family's compound in Maine. And, of course, the fall was caught by photographers, paparazzi, very widely reported. British journalist Piers Morgan broke 3 ribs after he fell off a segue in 2007. Ellen DeGeneres fell off a segue. There were a lot of, like, celebrities falling off segues at the moment that paparazzi happened to be there. Do you mean I'm gonna say of the 3 people you've met, I mean, it's like You're saying you're saying, like, oops. I mean, Pierce, Ellen, it's like, of course, they had of course, they were early adopters. Of core I'm seeing a theme with the early adopters. Yeah. You're onto something. Yeah. So, the writing's on the wall. The segue is it's a hazinga galore. It's it's on its way to dudsville. In 2009, remember it was released in 2001, Segway Inc files for bankruptcy as sales fail to meet expectations. They're acquired by a British businessman named Jimmy Heselden in 2009. And a year later, Heselden dies after riding a Segway off a cliff. What? What? I know. That that's a rough one to bounce back from. Do you wanna buy a product that killed its owner? I mean, I'm I'm I'm gobsmacked right now. Like, I thought you were gonna say I thought you were gonna like, he did it. It was suicide. No. It was at he was just like driving on a mountain, and he, like, made oh, scooted over to the side for somebody else to get by and, you know, whoopsie daisy. Why was there no guardrail? Oh, you think there was a little foul play involved? No. It just seems like 30 feet cliff. Like, they're I mean, you know, rich people, though. They've got cliffs all over the place. Cliffs over the trail. God. What a terrible way to dodge it. Isn't that crazy? So that's a tough one to bounce back from. Segway, they're kind of trying to pivot. They're acquired in 2015 by, Chinese company called 9bot. So now it's like a new phase, new ownership. 2015. How is it possible that it's still even bouncing around at this point? Well, you know what? The technology I even saw them at the airport, Burbank Airport, when I got back from Florida. Have you seen, like, the police segues? It, like, looks like a little 2 wheeled motorcycle. Yeah. So that's a segue. It just has, like, a little police shell on it. Got it. So, like, they they have some customers, like, in some applications. Segway tours, people will do, like you could do that. You know, go you go to Germany. You take a Segway tour around a a city in Germany. Got it. So things like that. It's not enough to, like, pay the bills. But they found us a slight A tiny a tiny niche. A smaller niche than even we've found. Yeah. But enough to keep them around for 15 years. I guess so. Yeah. So then in 2017, you start to see the rise of these, like, electric scooter companies like Bird and Lime. And these are more, I guess, cooler to ride is, like, the way to describe riding a scooter compared to a Segway. I will say I tried to ride one of those once I mentioned earlier that I have balance issues. I could not do it. I honestly, Segway is the vehicle for you. It they say it's safer than walking. They say that. They say that. Have you ever fallen down while walking? No. I don't think so. You don't think you've ever fallen down while walking? I can't remember falling. I mean, I've stumbled. Sure. We've all stumbled. We've all stumbled. We've all stumbled. So now they have this, like, opportunity to get into kind of this, like, scooter game. So now 9 Bot, who is the company that owns Segway, 2020, they have since discontinued the, like, the Segway, the Segway PT, which PT means, like, personal transport, the Segway you think of with the handles and the wheels. And now they make scooters, basically. So they make, like, a scooter that looks like, you know, a lime, a bird, an Uber scooter, whatever those are. I feel like the whole scooter thing I mean, and I feel like we've talked about this on the show. Uh-huh. Like, that is kind of how I pictured Segway being. Not that scooters were everywhere, but it did seem like out of nowhere, there was a lot of them around. And maybe because Yes. Maybe some people that's in the show, if they're not in a city, didn't experience that. But in Los Angeles, that felt like a it made a little more sense as a mode of transportation in this city, I guess, than a segue. Yeah. It's definitely faster and scarier. Yeah. But they would be all over. Like, all of a sudden, they're I had never seen them, and then there were piles of them everywhere. Which it just makes me wonder that, like, if instead of 2,001, if the timing was different, if we had come from scooters first, like, if those scooters had kind of, been on the market on the scene first, and then somebody came out with a Segway that was, like, less dorky to ride and just, like, looked more cooler and sleeker or whatever. And for people like me who are kind of scared of those scooters and, like, I have been on one, it was, like, the scariest, like, two and a half minutes my life. Yeah. I might be like, oh, I'm gonna take a Segway. It's like a 2 and a half mile walk. I'm 2 and a half miles, so it's a long walk. It's like a mile walk. I'm running late. Like, I might hop on a little Segway and then, like, leave it over here on someone's lawn. Yeah. Maybe it was just it was too soon. I think it was too soon. I think it was too soon. So the company, you know, is still producing these scooters. They still have, you know, police departments, warehouse workers, some use those mall security guards, airport maintenance staff. They have adopted the Segway. Only a 140,000 units were sold during the lifetime of the product. So this is a far cry from, like, the billions and billions. 10000 a week. Yeah. It's just so sad. The the segue PT made up about 1.5% of the total company's profit. So it's a Huizenga across the board. Yeah. The company then ended up buying them. This Chinese company is doing pretty well with the scooters, but people say the scooters are also bad. So Like, bad in what way? Like For the work well, break easily. You know, you know, just not great technology. So it's possible that that's, like, strayed from Cayman's original design, and now they're just, like, being manufactured with the Segway label. But they're made cheaply and maybe not as well. I I gotta say, I like a car. You know why you like a car? Why? Because you have a lot of things in your car at any given time. My car is like a rolling storage pad. I keep lots of things in it. What's in your car right now? Oh, babe. It doesn't matter. What is in your car? I do have a heart shaped pillow in there from Valentine's Day that still has not been dropped off at the storage you may get. And depending on when you're listening to this, it's May. Uh-huh. Speaking of, on my way over here, I drive through an alley to get here. There was a Christmas tree Oh my god. In the trash. Wow. It's May. It's May, like, 19th, I think. Some people have a hard time letting go of the holidays. Yeah. So that's it for the history of Segway. We took you on the journey from the beginning, its origin, its inventor, and then where the tragic ending, where we're at now. Well and if you're gonna take anything away listening to this when you're looking for a little segue trivia at your graduation party or at your prom, when you're chaperoning a prom. I love that. In the limo with the kids. In the limo with the kids, you can tell them. If they're like a little hush falls over the crowd, you say. That the man who acquired the Segway company died by riding a Segway off a cliff. That is your little nugget. That's the nugget. Put that in your little 5th pocket and save it for a rainy day. I also, I I dabbled on the Wayback Machine. I came up a little dry there on the segue.com from 2,002, which is early back as the Wayback Machine went. But I did find, shockingly, a Segway message board that is still quite active. What? Since 2002? 42 users online right now. At this moment? At this moment. It is wild. And so I saw this message board. I was, like, well, it's taken back to the beginning. I reversed ascending, you know, earliest post. I found some posts from 2,002 in August. So this is, like, right after pretty much right after the Good Morning America debut. And there's a lot of people talking about, like, kind of asking general questions about, like, the battery life or, you know, just technical questions. And then there's somebody, a member, who Wait. Can we put this in perspective really quick? So it's 2002. 2002. They're at their computer. It is more than likely at one of the colorful Imacs or something similar to that. I'm seeing lime green. Lime green. I'm seeing tangerine. That's okay. Mhmm. We're probably listening to Britney Spears or NSYNC. Oh. Where we have those posters on the wall. I love that. We're eating a $2 Big Mac. We're drinking a surge. Drinking a surge or an orbits that have the little balls in it. And we sat down to connect with our other Segway friends. On our inflatable couch. On our inflatable couch or that giant pair of lips. Okay. We've got it. Okay. Great. The title of this message is segue and the dork factor. Okay. I like it. I'm hooked. Does one look dorky on a Segway? We might also ask, does one look dorkier on a Segway or on a bicycle or on a scooter or some similar vehicle? To answer this question, we may consider how new styles come about. I think it usually starts with people who are generally looked up to or admired by society, starting a new trend. They can be fashion models. Ordinary people try to emulate those they admire. If segues to appear cool, cool people will have to be shown riding them. Okay. So we needed a spokesperson. Okay. So cool in 2002. Again, it could be Britney. It could be Anna Nicole. I would love the idea of Anna Nicole riding on a Segway and her old husband. And her old very old husband. One factor that is favorable to Segway is that it increases the height of the rider by 6 6 to 8 inches. Nobody will debate the issue that being tall in western society is a very positive characteristic. When 2 presidential candidates are running for office, usually the tallest man wins. Is that true or not? Statistically true? Now we have to look that up? The height advantage Segway offers to the riders is definitely an anti dork factor. Any image of Segways being dorky should fade away for good. The only thing I have to say about this letter, the only human being that would care enough to write this post Mhmm. Would be the man that created the segue. I love that. He clearly wrote this post. Who else wrote this post? This is guerilla marketing. This is guerilla marketing at its finest. This is like what we do. We, like, sneak on the message boards for, like, Janko, and we're like, hey. I just listened to a hilarious podcast. Perhaps somebody would like to listen. Hey, fans of Burpee's Seeds. You all should check this out. We should do that, actually. But, I mean, I'm kind of not even kidding. I do think that he wrote that post. I think it's entirely possible. Is he still alive, did you say? Yeah. He's still alive. I'm gonna reach out to him and see if he wrote that post. It's time to just get it off your chest, man. Yeah. Just let us know. If maybe on his deathbed. Did anyone respond to this? Where this There was spark a conversation? It did spark a dialogue as, you know, most things did in 2002. You know, everybody's just kinda sitting at home chatting on the web as we did. Yeah. People thought that Segway riders don't really care about the dork factor. Some people said that maybe you look dorky because you have to, like, hunch over slightly and hold on to handlebars. So I don't know. It's it's it's I I like that theory that that was Cayman himself who, who wrote that post. I'll send him a private message, see if his, account is still active. I mean, he's probably still on that message board. He's definitely most of those 42 people that are active right now. It is unbelievable that there is anybody who is still on this website. And that's it for Segway. And I'll have to say, what a fun ride it was. You know what I was gonna say? What? What a fun ride that was. I'm always surprised by the brand you pick. I know. I think it's so fun not knowing. Like, almost every time it's like, I would not have guessed that that would be the brand you did. That's great. So thank you. I hope everybody learned something. I hope everyone's having a great day. I hope you know what'd be great? Is if someone reaches out to us and and is, like, I literally listen to this episode writing a segue to my job. My god. I would love that. If anybody's ever written on written on a segue too, I would like to hear from you Yeah. Your experience. Well, I have something that I don't think we've done in a while, but I have a brand new brand news. Okay. So in college and sometimes as an adult, we've all enjoyed cup noodles. Right? Of course. We've all gone through, like, the ramen phase. Mhmm. You've got cheap bites? They're all kind of the same, but it come in multiple flavors. You've got beef. You've got shrimp. Mhmm. You've got chicken. You have soy sauce, I think, is 1. Mhmm. You've got all those savory, delicious noodles. What would you say if I told you that Cup Noodle is entering the breakfast you can get 2 new flavors of cup noodle. The first one is simply called breakfast. Oh, is it like little pancake worms wiggling in milk? That well, not milk, but little pancake worms and syrup would be good. A bowl of syrup and pancake pancake worms? Hello, sharks. Are you tired of gross worms? What about pancake worms? Here's what they write on their website. Start your day with cup noodle breakfast. This limited time flavor blends ramen with your favorite breakfast flavors, including pancakes, maple syrup, sausage, and eggs. Understanding the hustles of the morning grind Oh my god. The saucy cup noodle breakfast is ready to eat in just 4 minutes. They're marketing this as, like, for the gal on the go. Gal on the go that wants a hot You got your pantyhose on, your high heel your pumps. You're slipping out the door, hopping on the subway. I don't have more than 4 minutes for breakfast. Grab me some cup noodle. They also have one that is called everything bagel with cream cheese. I gotta say, I love everything bagel as much as the next gal, but enough is easy. I couldn't agree more. Trader Joe's just came out with an everything bagel cheese. I like everything bagel, but the blends vary. I don't like them when they have those 1 seeds, the tearaway seeds. Yeah. The Trader Joe's doesn't put those in it. No. But Trader Joe's puts way too much salt in theirs. I don't know. I have a lot of sometimes. If I'm craving a bagel, I'll just shoot a little bit in my palm and lick it up like a dog. If you're craving a bagel, you don't have a bagel, but you have a little shaker, lick it up like a dog, where did I lose you? What part did I lose you on? I've seen you lap a plate clean. Come on. Yeah. I mean, I understand laughing. I do that with Parm. I'll do that with You do a little palm of Parm? I do a little palm of Parm. Okay. So we're both animals. Palm and stuff. I was just looking at the description for their Everything Bagel 1, and it does have caraway seeds. A saucy mix of caraway seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic, onion, and cream cheese. Something about a hot cream cheese noodle doesn't appeal to me. I don't wanna eat cream cheese with a spoon. If you've had these, please let us know what they're like. If I next time I'm in Walmart, if I see them, maybe I'll grab them. We'll try them here on the pod, but that is our brand new brand news. I wanna throw some shout outs. We're not able to thank everybody like we like to do. Last week was our birthday episode, and we got so many amazing comments and messages from Brand Freaks and Brandys all over the country and, I think, the world. We got a message from someone in Alaska Oh my gosh. Yes. Outside of the continental USA, but just a lot of love and a lot of support, and that was really nice. And we did have 3 people that responded with about my insta egg. I did, like, a word search on there that had 22 on brand related words. We had Vicky in Ohio who said she got them all, and she was super excited. We had Fiona and mlrb222 who both got 20. But it was very nice that they were engaged with that, and that was a fun thing to do. That was very cute. I love that you did that. Yeah. And then we're also gonna give a shout out to 2 Brand Freak who gave us lovely reviews on Apple Podcasts. We have Baloney Monster and Danny b. So, again, if you want us to give a shout out at the end of the episode, leave us a nice review on Apple Podcasts, and we'll, we'll say your name and give you a big thank you. You know what'd be fun? If I was in that situation, if I was a brand freak and I was, like, getting, like I wanted to, like, propose or, like, I would make my screen name, like, Ryan Terry, will you marry me? I love that. And then write a great review about the pod, and then we'll then be listen to the pod with my lover, and then we'll I love thinking of you laying in bed listening to a pod with your lover. I love, like, the idea of having someone that I openly let know they're my lover. I'm so lucky to have you as my lover. Oh, man. I love that. Maybe, like, you don't have to call me that. I'm just your boyfriend. You're, like, no. No. No. No. You're my lover. And they're, like, well, I love that. But why are you sweating? I'm, like, I can't talk about it. Are you nervous? I'm having flashbacks of my Coca Cola order. God. How humiliating. So that's it for the episode. Thank you for chatting the segue with us today. We'll be back next week with an all new app. In the meantime, if you like the show, please subscribe, rate, and review. Give us a nice review on Apple Podcasts. You can see clips of the show and, bonus stuff on Instagram and TikTok. Instagram is at on brand the pod. TikTok is at on brand the podcast, and we'll be back next week with an all new episode. And as we show more and more every week like we did today with my Coca Cola order, we may go off topic, but we will always be on brand. Bye. Bye.