04/26/24
November 25, 2011
Bankrupt Power Balance Owes Kobe Bryant $400,000: The makers of the Power Balance Wrist Band, a $30 rubber band with a Mylar hologram to "optimize energy flow" touted to improve athletic performance, filed for bankruptcy in January after agreeing to a $57 million class-action settlement and admitting there's no scientific basis for its product claims. The company owes celebrity endorsers Kobe Bryant ($400,000), Blake Griffin ($20,000) and skateboarder Ryan Sheckler ($25,000). It also owes the Sacramento Kings $100,000 after the team reached a deal to rename its arena Power Balance Pavilion.
posted by rcade at 12:43 PM on November 25, 2011
What? You mean this modern day hi tech snake oil doesn't work?
posted by NoMich at 01:32 PM on November 25, 2011
I feel like I'm sitting in tenth grade English class listening to Mr. DellaSala lecture on symbolic retribution. Awesome.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:25 PM on November 25, 2011
posted by owlhouse at 10:18 PM on November 25, 2011
I read about Power Balance a year or two ago and was shocked at the 10's of millions they had made. I'm so happy to hear that some lawyers took these scam artists down.
posted by DudeDykstra at 12:51 AM on November 26, 2011
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
*deep breath*
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Essentially Kobe is owed $400k for being a whore and a dumbass.
posted by Drood at 02:18 AM on November 26, 2011
So Mr. Bryant, now we know your price...
posted by billsaysthis at 12:42 PM on November 26, 2011
I think that the fact that they got that far into the process of licensing the stadium rights to them without realizing (or caring?) that they're obviously a scam says a lot about the current state of the Kings and maybe the NBA at large.
posted by feloniousmonk at 04:26 PM on November 26, 2011
These things always seemed bogus to me. I see people with them all the time and they all seem under the influence of the placebo effect. Recently a guy I know who was touting the thing, did a balance test on me with and without the bracelet. I swear it was the dumbest test but there was absolutely no difference in my strength or balance with or without the thing. Yet the guy thought it was clear evidence of the benefits regardless of how I felt. There is a sucker born every minute. Evidently they like company .
posted by Atheist at 12:24 PM on November 28, 2011