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February 16, 2022
Novak Djokovic has been the #1 tennis player in the world for 85 straight weeks. The last time Novak wasn't #1, RocaNews didn't exist. So if he loses his spot atop tennis' Mt. Olympus, will Roca fade into oblivion?! This also may be a good time to say we failed our courses on correlation vs. causation.
Today's Wrap cycles you through the rise of Peloton. The at-home bike company went from media darling to internet meme in a jiffy. Scroll for more.
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No Grand Slams?
Overview
- World #1 Novak Djokovic said that he won't get vaxxed even if it means him missing the 4 major championships (the “grand slam” tournaments)
- “The principles of decision-making on my body are more important than any title,” he said. "[Missing a tournament] is the price that I’m willing to pay”
- Last month, Djokovic was barred from competing in the Australian Open, 1 of the 4 major tournaments. Under current policies, he won't be allowed to play in this spring's French Open, the next major tournament
- The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the organizer of the top tennis tournaments, lists Djokovic as the only unvaxxed top-100 player
DIG DEEPER
“I was never against vaccination,” Djokovic told the BBC. “I understand that globally, everyone is trying to put a big effort into handling this virus … but I’ve always represented and always supported the freedom to choose what you put into your body, and for me that is essential.”
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Prince Andrew to Settle
Overview
- Prince Andrew settled a sex assault case filed against him by Virginia Giuffre
- Andrew was a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre accused Epstein of trafficking her when she was 17 and Andrew of sexually assaulting her 3 times
- The settlement terms were not released and Andrew did not admit guilt, however Giuffre's lawyer said the settlement “speaks for itself.” Andrew will likely pay a large sum to Giuffre and her victims’ rights charity
- Last month, Queen Elizabeth stripped Andrew, her son, of his honorary titles to distance the royal family from the case
DIG DEEPER
It's quite the turn for Andrew, whose lawyers have firmly denied all charges and promised to fight the allegations in court after a judge refused to throw them out.
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Navalny Faces 10+ Years
Overview
- Alexei Navalny, Russia's most influential political dissident, appeared in court Tuesday. The court is considering adding up to 15 years to his jail sentence
- Navalny was an anti-corruption activist turned politician who built up a massive online following
- He was poisoned in 2020 and has been in jail since January 2021 on what he says are politically-based allegations. Last year, he gained international attention after nearly dying during a hunger strike
- “I insulted your dark lord Putin by not only surviving, but by returning,” he said in court. “Now, he will increase my prison terms forever”
DIG DEEPER
The Russian government has clamped down on the activities of Navalny and his anti-government organization. On Tuesday he said, “I am not afraid of this court, of the penal colony, the F.S.B., of the prosecutors, chemical weapons, Putin and all others. I am not afraid because I believe it is humiliating and useless to be afraid of it all.”
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Woman Cured of HIV
Overview
- An innovative umbilical-cord blood transplant appears to have cured a NYC woman of HIV
- The woman received a transplant of umbilical-cord cells and stem cells with a rare mutation that blocks HIV. After 15+ months without medication, there is no trace of the virus in her body
- The woman was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, which weakened her immune system. The stem and umbilical cell combination regenerated her immune system with HIV-resistant cells
- Doctors caution the cure only works in certain cases, such as when a patient is undergoing chemo
DIG DEEPER
One doctor told the Wall Street Journal that the result implies "a roadmap for doing this using a person’s own cells, which would be far safer and more scalable.” Transplants are notoriously difficult and dangerous.
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 What do you think?
Today's Poll:
Better way to sign off on an email?
Best
Warm regards
Today's Question:
What is the dumbest popular conspiracy theory? Debunk it.
Reply to this email with your answers!
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See yesterday's results below the Wrap!
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 Popcorn
Culture & Sports
- Spidey keeps climbing! Spider-Man: No Way Home passed up Avatar to become the third highest-grossing movie at the US box office ever
- The 2022 Super Bowl scored a TV ratings touchdown, reeling in its largest audience (112M viewers) since the 2015 Patriots-Seahawks game
- Lights, camera, lawsuit: Alec Baldwin is being sued by the family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer killed on the set of Rust last fall
Business
- Elon Musk donated roughly $5.7B worth of Tesla shares to charity in November, a new SEC filing shows. Really surprised it wasn't $4.20B
- Streaming really is... paramount: ViacomCBS has changed its name to Paramount to highlight its Paramount+ streaming platform
- A jump in the price of lumber has added an estimated $18,600 to the price of a newly built home. Labor shortages are largely responsible
Wildcard
- Sandy Hook families reached a $73M settlement with Remington Arms, marking the first time a gunmaker has been held liable for a mass shooting
- Winnie-the-vaxxed goes maskless: Disney World and Disneyland are ditching mask requirement for fully vaccinated guests
- One nation of Tinder swindlers: Americans lost more than $1B in 2021 alone to “romance scams," according to the FBI
- Virgin Galactic will start selling tickets today for its highly anticipated spaceflights for $450k! Giddy up, space cowboys!
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― Roca Wrap
A Newsletter Exclusive
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In June 2013, a startup called Peloton posted a campaign on Kickstarter: “The Peloton Bike delivers live and on-demand indoor cycling classes to your home, while allowing competition & video chat with friends.”
Over the next 7 years, that unknown company experienced a meteoric rise to the top of the fitness market. Aided by the pandemic, it became a household name worth $50B+. Then it collapsed, becoming a meme and laughing stock of the business world. Last week, Peloton’s CEO was removed as leader of the company he founded.
That founder was John Foley, a former Barnes & Noble e-commerce executive who found instructor-led spin classes much more rewarding than self-led stationary bike rides. He bet he would enjoy them even more from the comfort of his own home, and others would too.
Foley assembled a team which lined up enough capital to build a prototype the following year. The bike had a touchscreen tablet that allowed users to stream classes – live or on demand – directly into one’s home.
He took an unusual approach to marketing the bikes: Retail showrooms. The company opened “pop-up” showrooms in malls where consumers could experience the bikes before purchasing. The orders came flooding in.
Peloton developed a cult following via charismatic trainers and high-intensity workouts. It sold bikes – usually for $2,000+ – and subscriptions for digital classes. Many came to attribute a religious ethos to Peloton, likening the classes, in which trainers often provide life advice alongside instruction, to sermons.
All the above contributed to an unheard-of statistic in fitness: A monthly churn rate of less than 1%, meaning 99% of Peloton users stuck around each month. Peloton retained paying customers better than any gym in the world, and even better than top subscription companies, like Netflix, Disney Plus, or Verizon.
To many, Peloton’s achievement was to make exercise about more than working out. It made it into a gamified, interactive experience that rewarded healthy habits; a time saver; a fitness machine with workouts for every kind of person. And above all, it created a community.
That was valuable enough to carry Peloton to an $8.1B IPO in 2019. In 2020, with a pandemic – that would send hundreds of millions in search of home workouts and digital communities – looming, it was about to become a whole lot more valuable.
Part 2: The Fall will be in tomorrow's newsletter!
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If you have thoughts, let us know at Max@RocaNews.com!
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 Games
That's what the textbook said: Name the historical leader who famously (and allegedly) uttered each of the below quotes.
- "We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches."
- "I am the punishment of God."
- "Et tu, Brutus?"
- "History is a set of lies agreed upon."
Find out the answer at the bottom of Roca Clubhouse.
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 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Better snack at the movies: M&Ms or popcorn?
M&Ms: 19.0%
Popcorn: 81.0%
Yesterday's Question:
Do you feel older or younger than your age?
Dan from Minnesota: "At 25 I'm still mentally 12 but physically 40."
Adam from Austin: "Significantly older for several reasons. I’ve put my body through hell for 26 of my 31 years. Combine that with how rapidly the world started changing while I was old enough to understand it and I feel like I’ve lived 2 or 3 lifetimes. The first iPhone came out when I was a junior in high school. Now we can run a business on them. I can have almost anything I want at my house in 24 hours. Most importantly, I used to pay 10¢ per text message and now they’re unlimited pretty much everywhere. Kids today will never understand the importance of choosing your words carefully, and also all the abbreviations we had to use to fit as much content into 150 characters as possible."
Bailey from California: "Both. I am young at heart and find many child-like ways to enjoy life, but I also know how to be mature when necessary. My body complains like it's going through its own mid-life crisis even though it belongs to a person in her mid twenties."
General Feedback:
Jamie from North Carolina: "I actually like popcorn WITH my M&Ms!!"
Caden: "I appreciate the anchorman reference in the beginning of the letter lol"
Ashley from Boston: "I want to know why the E*Trade Baby isn’t getting the recognition he DESERVES. Also, several years ago, Doritos and maybe Snickers (?) wanted to involve regular people to create/pitch super bowl commercials to them. Brilliant strategy, created loyalty, fun results."
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20 Questions: 11-15
Every Friday, we ask the Roca Riders 20 questions and feature a few of our favorite answers.
11. City that feels like a small town?
"Charleston"
"Minneapolis"
"Boston"
12. Favorite beach?
"Clearwater, FL"
"Oahu, Hawaii"
"Outer Banks"
13. Have you ever gone ocean skinny dipping?
"Not yet ;)"
"Absolutely"
"No" (by far the most common answer....)
14. Best beach music genre?
"Country"
"Surfer rock"
"EDM"
15. Best beach drink?
"Pina colada"
"Margarita"
"Corona"
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Games Answer(s):
1. Churchill 2. Genghis Khan 3. Julius Caesar 4. Napoleon
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― Final Thoughts
You're probably expecting us to write something about how it's Hump Day and how we hope you make it to Friday, blah blah blah. Well – you're wrong.
Today, we'll leave you with 3 thought-provoking shower thoughts.
1. "Headaches make you realize how much you take not having one for granted."
2. "Your belly button is just your old mouth."
3. "When you walk into a 7-Eleven you wouldn’t think it’s a $44B company."
-Max and Max
Today's Instagram Wrap is about the ultimate romantic – an Indian con artist who secretly had 14 wives.
Thanks for reading! See you again tomorrow!
As always, send thoughts and feedback to Max@Rocanews.com |
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