Joe Pompliano

1 day ago | huddleup.substack.com | Joe Pompliano

A new competition is looking to push the boundaries of athletic performance by encouraging Olympic athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). If an athlete breaks a world record during the event, they will earn a $1 million prize. Founded by Australian entrepreneur Aron D’Souza, the Enhanced Games has raised millions from the most influential names in technology. Billionaires Peter Thiel, Christian Angermayer, and Balaji Srinivasan have all written checks.

4 days ago | huddleup.substack.com | Joe Pompliano

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is one of the most valuable brands in the world, despite never winning the most prestigious club football competition in Europe. With stores in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, London, Tokyo, and Seoul, the Parisian football club has built a billion-dollar merchandise business. Celebrities like Beyoncé, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Brady, and Giannis Antetokounmpo attend their games, and kids all over the world are running around the playground wearing PSG shirts.

6 days ago | huddleup.substack.com | Joe Pompliano

When the Williams Formula 1 team announced James Vowles as its newest team principal in 2023, many people within the paddock were surprised. Vowles was the chief strategist at Mercedes. Second in command to billionaire team principal Toto Wolff, Vowles contributed to eight consecutive Constructors’ titles and seven Drivers’ titles. Williams had a rich history as Formula 1’s third-oldest team, but why would Vowles leave the sport’s most successful team to join its last-place team?

1 week ago | huddleup.substack.com | Joe Pompliano

In 2010, Novak Djokovic made a decision that would help him become one of the most accomplished athletes in sports history. The Serbian tennis player eliminated gluten from his diet entirely, but not in the way you or I might make that decision. Rather than getting his blood work done by a gastroenterologist, Djokovic stopped eating gluten based on the results of an alternative muscle-strength test involving a piece of bread on his stomach.

1 week ago | huddleup.substack.com | Joe Pompliano

What do scuba divers, $200 million yachts, and a floating Ritz-Carlton hotel have in common? They’re all part of Formula 1’s most extravagant and secretive weekend. It’s Monaco Grand Prix week. So, today’s newsletter features nearly 50 of the wildest, most obscure, and fascinating details behind Formula 1’s most iconic race. We cover why half of all Formula 1 drivers live within one square mile of each other in Monaco.