NBA Summer League, Founders Podcast Series, Gunnar Peterson on Health and Fitness, Equifax vs. Experian
Stretch Four Insights Volume 32
Happy Saturday,
I have completed 195 workouts, burned 99,378 calories, and worked out for over 9,575 minutes. This week I spent 36 hours in Vegas and I had a hotel gym that was not ideal but my trainer was able to customize my workouts. One of the great benefits of Future is the real-time feedback you can get from your trainer even while you are o the go. There is a reason celebrities and athletes like Kate Hudson, J.J. Watt, Rory McIlroy, and Kevin Durant participated in their last fundraising round. The app gives me one on one training, feedback, and recommendations and Sarah is usually the first person who reaches out to me in the morning to let me know what’s on tap at the gym. I am able to get the workouts in on my time and share videos, ask questions, and get feedback from my trainer. I can also set goals for myself. I am all in on losing the 10-15 pounds I have gained since becoming a dad so my workouts focus on weights and cardio.
Check out Future for 50% off for the first three months using our exclusive link and let me know what you think.
Happy Saturday,
This week I was almost all NBA as I spent 36 hours in Las Vegas at the NBA Summer League. Fortunately, a good friend of mine Layden Williams is a Manager of NBA Partnerships at Wasserman. I spent a day at the games and took in some action and got to see the Bulls, Heat, Grizzlies, Nets, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, and Clippers. The amount of basketball at Summer League is unrivaled. There were also endless events going on around Vegas to complement the action on the court.
The business side of Summer League is maybe even more intriguing than the basketball itself. There are so many deals getting done at Summer League you could have a newsletter just covering that (shameless plug for the Stretch Four: NBA Edition). From brand deals to player trades, guys like Shams getting all the tea on player signings, and brands testing out unique marketing activations not to mention the parties, Summer League is an NBA fan's paradise. Players, retired players, executives, owners, coaches, and everyone in between are very approachable and only a seat away from you literally, Jim Boeheim randomly sat down by me and my friend Layden while we took in the games.
In this week’s newsletter I will highlight:
The new Founders Podcast Series I’ve been listening to
A must-listen Health and Fitness Podcast with Gunnar Peterson
Experian and Equifax doing good and doing bad simultaneously
And some good podcast recommendations around Summer League; the NBA content guys were in heaven with so much basketball and everybody is in one place.
Let’s dive in.
Youtube & Podcasts
This Podcast series is one I am very intrigued by. I am a bit late but it is an efficient way to get through lots of books in a short podcast format. The host David Senra does a pretty intriguing job of breaking down biographies of the most successful founders in the world. While I have yet to jump the gun on a premium subscription the free version is a gold mine for book recommendations.
I am diving deeper into health and fitness research and this podcast hit home. I have always heard the name of Gunnar Peterson in the performance training industry but Shawn Stevenson does a great job taking it all the way back to the 1980s when Peterson got started. Expect a lot more content on the health and fitness business side of things from me and this podcast is one I want to reference as a must-listen if you are serious about health, fitness, and functional training.
Blogs & Articles
Experian, You Have Some Explaining to Do
Brian Krebs goes deep into an experience that many users are experiencing with Experian where people are getting their identities stolen and the thieves are starting new accounts in their names at financial institutions. I am a firm believer that the credit bureau industry is one of the biggest scams out there and should be completely overhauled but these stories make it even worse. Experian’s faulty security infrastructure has made it extremely easy for identity thieves to change emails, passwords, and PINs due to a lack of two-factor authentication. Another nugget in the article is that the best way to protect your Experian account is to pay $25.99 a month.
Equifax Announces 2021 Developer Challenge and Accelerator Program Finalists
While Experian is featured for bad behavior and shady security infrastructure. Another credit bureau announced a developer challenge and accelerator finalists. It is good to see Equifax innovating as credit bureaus are such a lagging industry within the world of fintech. I plan to do some more research on the companies and will share any interesting findings I have in upcoming newsletters.
New Media Report
Summer League was a buzz and despite just winning their fourth title in eight years. All eyes and ears were on the Golden State Summer league team which featured Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and James Wiseman. The Warriors are the only team that can very well be the present NBA powerhouse and future NBA powerhouse at the same time. This podcast dives deep into how the big names performed, what the vibe was like at Summer League, and much more.
J.J. Redick is all over the media airwaves but he still does a good podcast. I enjoyed this one on my way to Vegas. Justin Thomas shared some great golf stories and it is fascinating the different lifestyles that golfers live in comparison to other athletes. One interesting point he made was having to play with so many amateurs. His comparison was that does Lebron James ever have to constantly play basketball with guys who did not even play at the high school level? J.J. also highlighted the difference between how you can play golf at the world’s greatest golf courses for the right price and with the connections but they are not letting just anyone play basketball at say Madison Square Garden.
Last but not least check out Volume 2 of my NBA Business Newsletter. I go deep on Kevin Durant’s business decision to request a trade before the four-year extension he signed last year even kicks in.
That’s all for this week’s newsletter. I will be back next week with another edition and I am working on some more content around health and fitness.
Thanks again to Future for sponsoring this week’s newsletter. Be sure to check out Future to receive 50% off your training for the first three months.
Until next time, have a great week.
Email feedback here at matt@stretchfour.co
Back to the trenches,
Matt