The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey War” — NHL’s USA vs Canada win. Botox Bars everywhere. Meta’s undersea cable.
Thu, 20 Feb 2025
Tonight’s NHL game is USA vs Canada… it’s a geopolitical battle, so tix hit Super Bowl prices.The fastest-growing retail concept is “Med Spas”... Botox, lip-filler, & butt-plumpers are surging.Meta is building the largest undersea cable in history… because the future of AI is underwater.Plus, scientists have identified the happiest and most productive time of day… 7am.$METAWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of the ⛰️ Patagonia Fleece. Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Susper Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What is the significance of the USA vs Canada NHL game?
Ah. My New Year's resolution was to learn a Beatles song by the end of the year. I got you, Jack. Really? Yeah, it was. It is. Do you have one in mind? I had one yesterday, but I can't remember it, Jack. I think the song is yesterday, but well done. If you know, you know. Three stories today. T-Boy Jack, what do we got on today's pod? For our first story, tonight's NHL hockey game is the U.S.
All-Stars versus Canada's All-Stars. But this hockey game is also an economic battle and a lesson on storytelling. For our second story, get this. Meta is building the biggest undersea internet cable ever. True story. It's 31,000 miles long. Because to quote Ariel, the future of AI is under the sea. Okay, I love that, but that was Sebastian, not Ariel. Pretty sure it was Ariel.
Gender third and final story. What's the deal with med spas? What's going on with med spas? America has 10,000 medical spas. Medical spas, Botox, lip filler, butt plumpers. They are surging right now. So we got the numbers on Botox bars. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, fantastic mix of stories, Jack. Scientists have discovered the happiest time of the year.
They have pinpointed the hour, the minute, and the moment every single year that you are your happiest on average. And the happiest time of the year. Yes, Jack? Is at 7 a.m. on Saturday, July 15th. All right, mark your calendars. We'll explain. Researchers at the University College of London tracked 50,000 adult women. And they found that those women are happiest, right, when they wake up.
Chapter 2: Why are med spas becoming so popular?
Irrespective of the day. True. All of us wake up in a good mood. It's a universal truth. It turns out 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. is the magical mental time when all of us are happiest. It's great news. It is. Now, unfortunately, happiness dips until about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Then at 4 o'clock, you have a snack, you're done with work, and you get a little bit of a happiness boost.
And then your least happy point in the day, on average, is midnight. Turns out the later you are up, the less happy you are. But Yeti's certain mornings during the week are happier than other mornings are. Friday mornings are happier than Monday mornings. And certain mornings during the year are happier than other times, too. Summer mornings are happier than winter mornings.
Therefore, the happiest moment of the year, Nick? Jack, it would be 7 a.m. on Saturday, July 15th. So yetis, if you just woke up, you just grabbed a coffee and you're on the way to work. You look fantastic. You must be so happy over there. But if you're listening to us right before bed, cheer up. Tomorrow morning is going to be a better day. Trust us. It'll be better in seven hours.
And right now, take a second to set your alarm for 7 a.m. on Saturday, July 15th. Trust us. We dove into the data. And that is the best moment yet. Although, what's wrong with these 50,000 women? I love the moment right before bed. Like you're about to enjoy eight hours of sleep in like fluffy down comfort. Faux down, Jack. Faux down.
Let's hit our three stars. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick.
that's it i don't even think they need to practice 50 that's a fat tip t-boy city on your at list if you know you know because we ready to go we can't wait no more so just start the show start the show first a quick word from our sponsor
I would define reclaiming as to take back what was yours. Something you possess is lost or stolen, and ultimately you triumph in finding it again. Listen to Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky wherever you get your podcasts.
For our first story, tonight, the United States plays Canada in the finals of the wildest hockey tournament in decades. Tickets just hit Super Bowl levels. For hockey? Okay, it's for hockey, Jack. The NHL pulled off a masterclass in storytelling. Yetis, let's talk numbers. Last week, 10 million people watched on TV as Team USA played Team Canada in hockey. Jack, the context?
Was this an Olympics matchup? It was not an Olympics matchup, was it, man? It was the NHL's new remix on the All-Star Game. Basically, East versus West, that's a matchup nobody cares about. True. So the NHL did the four nations face-off instead. Yeah, this is a new concept. And they only chose all-stars from four countries to play in this new tournament.
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Chapter 3: What is the largest undersea cable being built by Meta?
In fact, that drama is so high, we can actually see it in the ticket prices. Jack, what kind of numbers are we seeing on StubHub right now if we want to go to the games? The lowest price ticket to get into the Boston Arena where the game's played is $1,200. Those are Super Bowl prices. Totally. Hockey, it's getting so much attention right now. The Stanley Cup is blushing, Jack.
Wayne Gretzky should run for office. This is a big day for my hockey-loving people, Jack. I think Mark Messier now has more followers than Addison Rae. I love it. So the context here is that the NHL has bucked the trend of terrible and unwatchable all-star games. Because besties in the basketball all-star game, no one plays defense and no one cares.
The NFL Pro Bowl, which is their all-star game, they actually switched recently to be non-contact. It's just flag football now. The players are so financially focused that their goal in the all-star game is just to not get injured or not get embarrassed. They don't want to ruin their career because they went all out for a play in an exhibition match.
It's because the players are only focused on their paychecks. Their goal in the All-Star Game is basically not get injured, not get embarrassed. It would stink if your career ended because you went all out in the All-Star Game and twisted your knee. As a result, the NBA and NFL All-Star Games have disappointed and nobody actually watches them. Last weekend, the NBA had their All-Star Game.
And viewership is down 75% from previously higher levels. And yet hockey, which is last in every metric from viewership to revenue to team valuations of all the big four leagues. Hockey is about to put up NFL numbers tonight in terms of viewership. So Jack and I had to ask, how is hockey's all-star game succeeding where other leagues are failing? Well, the NHL. The NHL found stakes.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies getting five for fighting over in hockey? Without stakes, there's no drama. Without drama, there's no story. yet he's in storytelling. Stakes are what the character stands to gain or lose. Stakes are why you care. The whole wizarding world and muggle world could be destroyed by Voldemort unless Harry saves them.
If Maximus fails to defeat Commodus in the Great Coliseum, then all of Rome has to live under the tyranny of Joaquin Phoenix. Those are stakes, and I need to watch this fight. That's why you love the movie Gladiator. Well, in this case, the NHL manufactured some stakes. They did so successfully by pitting America versus Canada. People care about patriotism and national bragging rights.
And they also enjoyed pent-up stakes. The NHL players haven't been allowed to compete in the last two Winter Olympics. So this is like a long overdue Olympics happening tonight. And they got lucky with some other stakes. Oh, the trade war? That made the stakes of this game even bigger. Now, yes, we should point out the NHL is unusually international, which made this whole matchup possible.
The NBA can't do a league like this because 75% of their players are American. But still, every storyteller out there, from the CEO to the salesman to the sports leagues, benefits from stakes. Why was the NBA's best era the rivalries of the 1980s? Those are stakes. Why does Tom Rinaldi do an emotional human interest story with the player before every game? Those are stakes.
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Chapter 4: How does the NHL create stakes for its all-star game?
And you're going to look at all these verves that are offering nine different med spa treatments and wonder what the heck is going on on this avenue. I think sculpt is code for when you walk out of here, you're going to look better. Things are going to fall off your face because there is literally no friction, baby. Med spas.
Basically, it's short for medical spas, and they're occupying avenues all over Brooklyn. They're everywhere. And they have a 100% focus on beauty and cosmetics. They offer Botox, hair removal, lip filler, butt plumping services. Yeah. Fat dissolving services and IV drips in case you have a hangover. Okay.
First of all, butt plumping sounds like a story for another pod, but I hope we still get to it today. In the meantime, these med spas, they have the same layout and the same business model as your typical nail salon. But they have trained medical staff for these like vaguely medical cosmetic treatments. It's like the Starbucks for Botox.
You walk in with stress wrinkles around your eyes and you walk out looking like a porcelain doll. Exactly. Now in 2023, we covered the male Botox trend in America. Yeah, we called it Brotox. Well, this is the retail extension of it with brick and mortar stores. And we call this the Botox bar. Now, the surge of Botox bars is not limited just to this cool neighborhood in Brooklyn.
It's a nationwide trend. And Bloomberg calls them the vape shops of the healthcare world because technically it's not really that regulated a space. And the lack of regulation has led to some numbers that will freeze the skin between your eyebrows. Because the number of med spa locations in America has jumped 6x in the last decade. We now have 10,000 med spas across the United States.
Can you sprinkle on some context, please, Jack? 10,000 med spas compared to our 13,000 McDonald's. There's almost as many med spas as we have McDonald's. And what kind of numbers are they putting up, Jack? What kind of average revenue per location? $1.4 million, which is about three times the amount a nail salon brings in and twice as much as a blow-dry bar.
Oh, and by the way, the average customer at one of these med spas is dropping $500 per a visit. And insurance doesn't cover these kinds of cosmetic treatments. So it's an all cash business. And all cash is a profit puppy. So these med spas are getting 30% margins on each of those Botox drops. And you know the list of like beautifying treatments that I mentioned earlier in the story?
I think they call it a menu, Jack. But yeah, we can go on the list too. Well, these places add whatever health hack du jour to the menu when it comes. Good point. So it turns out now 15% of med spa treatments are off-brand Ozempic. They're basically doing weight loss shots. Add it all up and there's a record number of Americans hitting Brotox bars at lunch for a $500 midday butt pump.
Butt pump's a medical term. That's right. After a hard night out, you're not going to SoulCycle. You're getting a butt pump with your buddies. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the medical spa industry? The rise in med spas is a reminder that trends are a mosaic. Now, yeah, it is easy to think that trends just happen.
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Chapter 5: What does Meta's underwater cable mean for global internet traffic?
So Warren is betting on the top shelf stuff. At the next shareholder meeting, Warren's going to go, stay thirsty, my friends. Or he's going to say, earnings per share was $2.70. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Ashley all the way over in Queens. Yesterday, we mentioned the legend Lonnie Johnson, who invented the super soaker.
Yeah, Lonnie, a black American who grew up in the segregated South, but invented the best-selling water toy of all time. Well, Ashley from Queens jumped into the story and found out that Lonnie actually had to sue Hasbro in 2013 to get his money. Yeah, he noticed that his royalty payments for the Super Soaker weren't keeping pace with the Super Soaker sales.
He ended up winning that lawsuit and walked away with $73 million payout from Hasbro. Not too shabby. Congratulations, Lonnie. Another bit of adversity that Lonnie Johnson overcame. Yetis, you look fantastic over there, especially you, Jack. I noticed you're wearing a black Patagonia fleece, if I'm correct. Not too shabby. It's my pullover of choice and the best idea yet, actually.
Yeah, we have been getting so many DMs about people listening to our Patagonia fleece episode of The Best Idea Yet. Have you seen this, Jack? No, I haven't seen these DMs. They're very into it. Okay, right now, Jack looks like he's either scaling a mountain or scaling a spreadsheet.
Either way, the Patagonia Fleece is a fantastic story and you got to check it out on the Best Idea Yet, our weekly show. We've got a link in the episode description so it's easy for you to listen to. So yetis, enjoy that pod after this one and Jack and I will see you tomorrow.
And before we go, a happy ninth birthday to Harvey Snyder, the Pokemon master and master baker over in Spokane, Washington. Happy birthday to Chase McElroy in Costa Mesa. The legendary Chase in Gentan in Alameda, California loves fleece and her pet hot dog named Ridiculous. And a big shout out to Moises Guzman, who's listening over in Deutschland via YouTube.
And Tristan Rogers down in Los Angeles is new to the show. Tristan, fantastic to have you with us. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Especially if it's 7 a.m., the happiest moment of the day, celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Berkshire Hathaway, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple.
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