I like to think I could train wild rabbits if I tried hard enough. Every year we get at least one rabbit in our backyard that calls it their home. And every year it’s the same pattern with them. They’re born in the spring and they’re this furry little thing that’s scared of their own shadow. But gradually as they see us walking back and forth in the backyard to our garage, they start to get used to us.

Last week I think I made the ultimate peace gesture with the current rabbit in the backyard - I threw some expired carrots at it and it ate them all up. I then went back outside the following day and threw some more at it and it was almost like the rabbit had become my own little trained dolphin. The thing sat in one spot and waited for me to throw the carrot and then it hopped over fearlessly and ate it.

The reason why I’m telling you this is a big deal is because - well - actually there’s no reason at all. I just thought it was cool that this wild animal isn’t scared of me anymore. I wonder what it’s going to do in the winter though - I’ve covered its hole with a frisbee.

This week's issue is a 3 minute read:

💰️ An update on SBF

🛒 The joy of Costco

👟 Reebok becoming cool again

Watchu gonna do with all that money?

It feels like ages ago that I wrote about Sam Bankman-Fried and the scam that was FTX. Buddy is currently on trial and having his ex-business partners and ex-girlfriend testify against him, which means we get to learn what really happened as they scammed billions of dollars from people. And more importantly what they actually did with all that money.

For starters, remember FTX Arena in Miami? That was $135M. And then there was another $150M to sponsor the MLB. And another $1.13B for endorsements from the likes of Seth Curry, Tom Brady, and Larry David just to name a few big names who I’m sure will never utter the three letters F, T, and X in the same sentence ever again.

Let’s not forget the 10’s of millions SBF donated to political parties, which obviously did not help him at all in the end. And then there was the glorious $40M penthouse in the Bahamas spanning 12,000 square feet. The thing looks like a luxury hotel on steroids. I mean look at this thing:

Beyond all of that, he also threw a ton of money around VC firms in hopes of eventually making some strong connections with the likes of Obama, Elon Musk, or Hilary Clinton. Suffice to say, the only connection SBF will be making will be through the prison phones as it’s looking more and more everyday that dude will be locked up behind bars for a really, really long time.

The magical place known as Costco

Although I took my wife out for a couples massage and oysters right after, I failed as a husband on my wife’s birthday. How could I not realize it was Costco’s 40th anniversary on September 15th?? The Costco loving person that my wife is probably would’ve much rather appreciated a $1.50 hotdog for lunch instead of fresh east coast oysters…maybe.

That said, there’s this couple in the US, David and Susan Schwartz, who are lifetime fans of the brand, having travelled to over 250 Costco’s around the world in 14 different countries, and they wrote a book about how much of a zoo Costco really is - just kidding, but that would be a good book idea. Their goal was to learn as much as they could about Costco, research the retailer, and see how it operates in different countries around the world. As a result, their book, “The Joy of Costco”, dives deep into some interesting facts about the store like:

The idea for the rotisserie chicken actually came from a grocer in Montreal. Canadian Costco employees were inspired by a major grocer and so they purchased their own chickens and a rotisserie oven while their manager was on vacation and sold 6000 chickens in the first week and the rest is history.

Costco sells more hotdogs than Major League Baseball. In 2022 they sold over 157 million hotdog and soda combos, which is 7 times more than every major league stadium combined.

Japan Costco’s have seafood sections on steroids. Amongst the vast variety of seafood that only Japan has, they also have fresh sushi which is made right in front of the customers. And of course it’s all Costco pricing - how’s a party tray of 48 pieces of sushi for $23 sound?

Shaq attack is making a come back

I swear I was a rapper in my past life. Or a samurai living in Kyoto. I digress!

In news that just makes sense, this past week Reebok announced Shaquille O’Neal as the new President of Reebok Basketball. Alongside Shaq, Allen Iverson was announced as the brand’s VP of Basketball. If there was ever an NBA Jam all-star team to run a basketball brand, it would be these two. With both guys being longtime partners of the brand, specially Iverson who actually has a lifetime deal with Reebok, the brand is set to start releasing shoes on the court by 2025.

It wasn’t that long ago that you saw people rocking Iverson’s Question shoe and the sequel to the shoe, The Answer, EVERYWHERE. And before Iverson’s shoe, Shaqnosis was everywhere. And before that you can’t forget Dee Brown winning the 1991 dunk contest wearing Reebok’s Pump basketball shoes, where he famously pumped up the shoes before covering his face with his arm to win with his “blind” dunk.

In another writing era, I talked Drake having the Midas touch where everything he did turned to gold but truly, Shaq has been building a fortune for himself ever since he played for Orlando in the NBA. Whether it’s being on the board of Papa John’s, owning several Auntie Annie’s franchises, or doing a deal with Walmart where he’s sold over 150 million pairs of Shaq shoes, Shaq knows a thing or two about business. Everyone get their Reebok tracksuits and Reebok glides ready, something tells me Reebok is going to be cool again very soon.