00:00We had a chance to talk to Shaq as well as the CEO of Tomorrow, Natalie Burns, about this partnership
00:06and why they both got involved with each other, wow, in the first place. Take a listen.
00:11It's simple. I'm the biggest kid in the world. Like she said, it's the global home of innovation. It's an
00:18immersive destination. It's not just your traditional store. And when I went in there, it was sharper image on peptides.
00:26Well, that was the first thing I thought. I had a chance to go into your store a few months
00:30ago.
00:30And the first thing I thought of was kind of, you know, for those of us of a certain generation,
00:33we remember sharper image, which is where you went for these cool gadgets and things like that.
00:38But this is we're talking holograms and just a lot of just sort of effortless type of stuff that allows
00:45you to sort of interact with these products in a way that's just a little bit different.
00:48And you yourself, I'm told you will physically be at the store at some point, but I'm also told there
00:53will be a hologram of you walking around or something like that.
00:55Yes, it will be a beautiful, sexy hologram, which is a hologram, a beautiful, sexy hologram.
01:01But, you know, I'm 54 years old. I've always been into technology.
01:05And when I first met this beautiful boss lady here, I was in the store for four hours.
01:11Wow.
01:11I mean, just, you know, robots, dog robots, holograms, headphones, you know, glasses, metal glasses, just, you know, it's a
01:21beautiful place to be.
01:22And I think if you're ever in Times Square, you should definitely check it out.
01:26And, Shaq, what's interesting here is that, you know, this isn't necessarily just you endorsing tomorrow.
01:31Here you're an investor, you're a strategic partner as well.
01:35So talk to us a little bit about, you know, how you see that evolving.
01:39You know, why join as a partner and where do you hope to take this?
01:43Well, I always invest in things that I first believe in and, you know, things that are going to change
01:47people's lives.
01:48This is something that, you know, there's not really a lot of competition out there.
01:52And I know once people come inside the store, they will love what they see and they will fall in
01:56love with what they see.
01:57And, Natalie, I'd love to hear your perspective.
01:58You know, when bringing on a partner, what are some of the things that you think through on your side?
02:03And, you know, partnering with Shaq, who, of course, is a household name around the world, what does that bring
02:09to tomorrow?
02:10I think, you know, for us, as that home of innovation, as an innovation company, we've looked for a partner
02:16that, you know, aligns with our values and what we stand for.
02:19We couldn't dream better than Shaq.
02:22You know, he's an innovator himself, right?
02:25He's one of the most respected and recognized athletes, investors around the world.
02:30So for us to have him on board, it's incredible.
02:34You're a boss yourself.
02:36I mean, here at Bloomberg, we've been tracking your business interests for years.
02:39In fact, when I told my wife I was doing this interview, she was like, he's got another investment?
02:43I've lost track.
02:44But you did kind of, for a lot of athletes, not just in the NBA, kind of set a template
02:49for what your post-athlete life can look like.
02:52And for a lot of these athletes now, their current life looks like with regards to not just being an
02:57endorser of products, but actually being invested in themselves.
03:01Are you finding more of the younger folks in the NBA, the NFL, et cetera, taking this approach now?
03:06I mean, I don't really pay attention to other people's business, but, you know, you saw me make a phone
03:11call before we started to my beautiful mother.
03:13So when I invest, it's not really for monetary gains.
03:16It's just that remembering that a young single mother, you know, worked hard and didn't really have a lot to
03:22show for it.
03:23So now they have the opportunity to, you know, continue to give her the life that, you know, she deserves.
03:28That's all I do it for.
03:29So, like, when I met with her and asked her, could I help her invest, it wasn't about becoming rich.
03:33It's about letting people know that this is what we got.
03:36You want a robot?
03:37You want a hologram?
03:38You want anything?
03:39Yeah.
03:39Tomorrow is the place to go.
03:41You mentioned how Natalie was sort of looking up at you, giving your height difference.
03:44Speaking of which, you've been working with Kevin Hart for quite some time.
03:47You have this relationship with Authentic Brands, which I believe is expanding.
03:51Is that true?
03:52Yes, it's expanding.
03:53We just announced a partnership with Kevin Hart.
03:57We were just down at the Masters yesterday, and he was on my podcast, the big podcast of Shaq.
04:02But, yes, we are expanding.
04:04And I also want to talk a little bit about Dunk Man.
04:06I was actually watching clips back at my desk before I came here.
04:11Another expansion here when it comes to Dunk Man.
04:14And tell us a little bit about what you're doing and, you know, the audience that you're hoping to reach
04:18here.
04:18Growing up, watching the NBA All-Star Game, forget the All-Star Game.
04:23The highlight of every kid's day was watching the dunk contest and the three-point contest.
04:29It's sad to see that the past 10, 12 years the NBA dunk contest has been.
04:34But now, with the world that we live in, you have kids that are not really great basketball players, but
04:39they're great dunkers.
04:40So, I wanted them to give them a place to showcase their talent.
04:43Because right now, it's here and here and here.
04:45I wanted to create a league, pay these guys.
04:47The winner's going to get $500,000.
04:49And I want to give the fans what they deserve.
04:52Because, you know, I remember, like, and it's amazing that these kids are doing stuff that NBA guys are not
04:57doing.
04:58Yeah.
04:58Which is kind of unheard of.
05:00Because, you know, back in my day, back in our day, the greatest dunkers were the greatest players.
05:04Now, it's very different.
05:06Is that just because the game changed and it required more perimeter play?
05:09I mean, I hate to say it.
05:10I just think, you know, some of our superstars are scared of competition.
05:13They don't want to lose.
05:14You think about, you know, the immersive experience of tomorrow.
05:17Maybe you could have a dunk in competition.
05:19We would love to.
05:20Let's do that.
05:20In thinking about, you know, what you're trying to deliver.
05:24You know, this isn't the typical store.
05:25It's not the typical three-story sort of retail experience.
05:29How often do you sort of rotate what you have going on, what you have on display in your featuring?
05:35It's a great question.
05:36I think for us, newness is everything.
05:37You know, we're an innovation company.
05:39We need to be presenting what's next.
05:41So every month we have something new.
05:43If it's a brand or startup or a multinational company joining us at our home of innovation, it doesn't really
05:50matter.
05:50We talk to everyone.
05:52Or if we bring a new experience in, like an experience room or, you know, a Shaq avatar hologram, which
05:59we're launching today.
06:00Are you approaching the companies that are doing these products, or are they approaching you?
06:05We are privileged to be in a position now when we get a lot of interest in the brand, brands
06:11wanting to be part of what we're doing.
06:13They understand our why, and they're seeing the, you know, reinvention of retail that we're bringing to the market.
06:18So they're coming to us.
06:20But, of course, we're going after a lot of brands that we love as well in parallel.
06:24Shaq, I do want to talk a little bit about Reebok.
06:27I know you said that you don't necessarily follow other people's businesses.
06:31But you think about Steph Curry right now.
06:33He is a free agent when it comes to sneakers.
06:37Have you had any thoughts?
06:38Did you know she was going there?
06:39I didn't.
06:41But great question.
06:42Yeah.
06:44We're working on it.
06:45Okay.
06:46I would love to have Steph as a partner.
06:48He knows this.
06:49We've had a couple conversations, but that's as far as I can take it right now.
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