7785 replies to this topic

[Peat]

I don't understand. 

A drink that you cannot buy (unless you order a crate on Amazon. Yeah, no thanks...), yet they are sponsoring an F1 team. 

Their own marketing looks like it's just done by one bloke and phone, placing these mythical cans infront of things/places. 

So, it's obviously a scam or some sort of dodge. I mean, Peter Windsor is an advocate of the hayseed dixie beardy man 'owner' so it reeks of BS. But who wins/loses? Gene Haas is no mug. So, is he in on it?

I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!

[Anja]

Whatever the truth is, nothing about them suggests that it's just a normal company. I see basically three options.

 

1. The owner is some mysterious eccentric billionaire who needed something to throw money at. 

2. They don't have the money and it's all just an advertising stunt. 

3. They do have the money but it's coming from some shady sources and the drinks are just a front. 

[P123]

I think Williams dodged some financial angst...

[eibyyz]

It's made from unicorn semen.  Costs 200MM USD a can.  Keith Richards has been drinking it for 350 years. #TotallyLegit

[PayasYouRace]

I think Williams dodged some financial angst...

I think that’s putting it mildly.

I’m getting vibes of the Shannon Group right now.

[statman]

I think Williams dodged some financial angst...

 

Rich 'guy with the beard' Energy reminds me of:

 

[Sterzo]

I have no time for these mysterious modern sponsors. Bring back Southern Organs.

[Owen]

Is Mansoor Ijaz involved? Just asking.

[Spillage]

Is this a front for Qadbak or that Nigerian fella who tried to buy Arrows?

[itsgreen84]

T-minus.

[Joseki]

I still very much doubt Haas will get any money from this.

 

Maybe they are nigerian princess.

Edited by Joseki, 06 December 2018 - 15:47.

[Peat]

I'm also curious as to how Haas F1 is funded anyway. The Haas machine tools company can't have a promotional budget THAT big...

[itsgreen84]

I'm also curious as to how Haas F1 is funded anyway. The Haas machine tools company can't have a promotional budget THAT big...

 

They're quite a big company and their F1 budget is one of the smallest...

[Elloh]

I'm also curious as to how Haas F1 is funded anyway. The Haas machine tools company can't have a promotional budget THAT big...

 

2014 they hit $1B in revenue, 2017 they had a all-time record year with european sales skyrocketing, which might be (partially) thanks to PR from F1. They could run the team without sponsors and prize money and do just fine. Gene Haas is also the sole stockowner.

[GoldenColt]

Damn, Eyetime must be fuming at missing out on such a sponsoring deal.

[Afterburner]

It’s kind of like energy, except... rich.

[Pete_f1]

Peter Windsor has done an interview at their HQ, so it will be interesting to hear what they say.

[thegforcemaybewithyou]

Rich energy's status as a hypothetical force with unknown properties makes it a very active target of research. The problem is attacked from a great variety of angles, such as modifying the prevailing theory of economy (general economy), attempting to pin down the properties of rich energy, and finding alternative ways to explain the observed sales.

[R Soul]

Is it as good as Brawndo?

[New Britain]

Out of curiosity, I went to the place Rich Energy states as their contact address. What a shock.

It is a medium-sized building in Wandsworth that operates on a rent-a-desk-by-the-week basis. There is a single receptionist for all the various tenants. It was not even clear whether Rich Energy had as much as one room to themselves, rather than just a desk. The Emperor was buck naked.

[Bloggsworth]

Rich energy is powered by the potential difference between the positive mass of Dark Matter and the negative gravity of Dark Fluid E=DM- -DF  As we all know, two minuses make a plus, hence Rich Energy. Either that or at some point someone is about to lop the top off a pyramid...

[pdac]

It's worth noting that, when Rich Energy were going to put money into Force India, there were a certain two other men mentioned in the deal - both of whom are, indeed, rich; both of whom have a somewhat sleazy past. I suspected the money was not coming from Rich Energy but, rather, from the other two 'gentlemen'.

[lbennie]

Energy drinks, which are seemingly impossible to buy, sponsoring big teams in sport is almost always a money laundering exercise for someone shady.

 

Have a read about the guy who owns leopard http://bellaciao.org...hp?article23412

[PeterScandlyn]

 I'd imagine that rich energy is waking up in the morning and knowing there's sufficient funds in the bank account that one need not get out of bed.....   

[loki]

They've been filing with Companies House and have a balance sheet for 2017 filed.  They started three years ago and that's an awful long time for runway for a drinks company.  It certainly is odd but it appears to be operating legally under UK law.  As far as we know...

 

I doubt Gene Haas would name and livery the team without some sort of cash upfront.

 

https://beta.compani...ompany/09791667

[Tsarwash]

I'm having a severe case of deja vu here. I seem to remember my last comment about this company mentioning that if you bought an entire pallet of the stuff, you did not even get a single penny discount less than if you bought a single case. 

 

It must be some form of money laundering, is my opinion. 

[pdac]

They've been filing with Companies House and have a balance sheet for 2017 filed.  They started three years ago and that's an awful long time for runway for a drinks company.  It certainly is odd but it appears to be operating legally under UK law.  As far as we know...

 

I doubt Gene Haas would name and livery the team without some sort of cash upfront.

 

https://beta.compani...ompany/09791667

 

So where do you think the money has come from? I cannot see that Rich Energy have any money.

[pdac]

I just did a quick search on Rich Energy and David Sullivan and came up with this link:

 

https://www.linkedin...-william-storey

 

I found this text rather amusing:

 

Rich Energy continues its exponential growth as a serious competitor to Red Bull 

 

 

Either David Sullivan has gone senile in his old age or else there's something very odd going on.

 

For those of you who might not know who David Sullivan is, here's his Wikipedia link:

 

https://en.wikipedia...n_(businessman)

[Baddoer]

Not if cheque is in the post or something...

[cpbell]

I don't understand. 

A drink that you cannot buy (unless you order a crate on Amazon. Yeah, no thanks...), yet they are sponsoring an F1 team. 

Their own marketing looks like it's just done by one bloke and phone, placing these mythical cans infront of things/places. 

So, it's obviously a scam or some sort of dodge. I mean, Peter Windsor is an advocate of the hayseed dixie beardy man 'owner' so it reeks of BS. But who wins/loses? Gene Haas is no mug. So, is he in on it?

I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!

Vaguely scientific-sounding rubbish easily confuses people thanks to science teaching in most western nations being utterly useless prior to tertiary level.  Bollocks sells.

[Myrvold]

I just did a quick search on Rich Energy and David Sullivan and came up with this link:

 

https://www.linkedin...-william-storey

 

I found this text rather amusing:

 

 

Either David Sullivan has gone senile in his old age or else there's something very odd going on.

 

For those of you who might not know who David Sullivan is, here's his Wikipedia link:

 

https://en.wikipedia...n_(businessman)

 

That explains the connection with West Ham.

[pdac]

That explains the connection with West Ham.

 

And David Gold (the other adult publications king behind the Force India bid)

[Grippy]

The Peter Windsor interview is up on Youtube. I can't do links but search for "HaasF1 and Rich Energy - the inside story 1/2" and you should find it. I assume 2 of 2 will be up shortly.

[ANF]

Vijay Mallya would not in any way have anything to do with this company, would he?

[prty]

It probably was created by the same entrepreneur that founded Eyetime:
https://forums.autos...rian-gp-sponsor

[RA2]

They sold 50 million cans? 

[TheGoldenStoffel]

Peter Windsor has done an interview at their HQ, so it will be interesting to hear what they say.

 

 

The Peter Windsor interview is up on Youtube. I can't do links but search for "HaasF1 and Rich Energy - the inside story 1/2" and you should find it. I assume 2 of 2 will be up shortly.

 

So their HQ is the Bingham hotel...hmmm sounds legit.

[Peat]

Absolute shyster. 

 

If you keep saying it's a premium brand long enough, does it become one? 

 

Storey & Windsor are birds of a feather. "We are USF1. Look, we have a nose cone! See!"

[pdac]

So their HQ is the Bingham hotel...hmmm sounds legit.

 

Their registered office is "Hyde Park House, 5 Manfred Road, London, England, SW15 2RS" - go look it up on Google maps.

[Maustinsj]

Registered office doesn’t mean HQ.

[maximilian]

Absolute shyster. 

 

If you keep saying it's a premium brand long enough, does it become one? 

 

Storey & Windsor are birds of a feather. "We are USF1. Look, we have a nose cone! See!"

 

That's what I am thinking.  Like back in the days with StefanGP = "Look, we have t-shirts made!  See!"

 

[BRG]

Registered office doesn’t mean HQ.

It's the only address they give on their website.

 

Where do they make this gunk?  Have they got a factory, or is it just some generic energy drink canned for them by one of the big outfits?

 

If Haas register themselves as 'Rich Energy Haas F1 Team' with the FIA and Rich then don't come up with the cash, Haas will still have to use that name all year and Rich get free publicity.

[pdac]

Registered office doesn’t mean HQ.

 

True, but you would expect an operation that is "a serious competitor to Red Bull" to have a registered office somewhere other than part of a tiny building round the back of a bunch of houses in a seedy looking area of town (which, according to New Britain, above, is a rent-a-desk operation).

[loki]

Registered office over there is roughly the same thing as registered agent over here.  It's simply the place where if you need to contact them for official documents, legal, government, etc that's where they go.  It doesn't necessarily have to be a physical address of the operation or office.  It's likely the office Rich Energy listed is a provider that offers the service.  For example General Motors uses a company in Delaware for that service.  I think you'll find many companies of all sizes do not list the registered office/registered agent at the primary location of the business.

[loki]

It's the only address they give on their website.

 

Where do they make this gunk?  Have they got a factory, or is it just some generic energy drink canned for them by one of the big outfits?

 

Under UK law they have to list the registered office address as the primary business address including letterhead, etc. I'd bet that Storey runs it from his home.  In the US we can use any address and most don't use the registered agent address.  They claim to have a GBP 50 mil drinks plant using UK made cans.  Where that is or if it's a sub contractor or subsidiary we don't know.   If I was a startup with a new plant like that I'd be showing it off all over social media.  The balance sheet listed at Companies House doesn't show anything that valuable as an asset nor are there any mortgages listed for the company.  That filing is current to Sept 2017 so if that plant came online and was a company asset in the year following it wouldn't be listed in the current filing.  Nor would it be if it were a separate company but owned by the same blokes.

 

https://richenergy.com/about-us/

[pdac]

Under UK law they have to list the registered office address as the primary business address including letterhead, etc. I'd bet that Storey runs it from his home.  In the US we can use any address and most don't use the registered agent address.  They claim to have a GBP 50 mil drinks plant using UK made cans.  Where that is or if it's a sub contractor or subsidiary we don't know.   If I was a startup with a new plant like that I'd be showing it off all over social media.  The balance sheet listed at Companies House doesn't show anything that valuable as an asset nor are there any mortgages listed for the company.  That filing is current to Sept 2017 so if that plant came online and was a company asset in the year following it wouldn't be listed in the current filing.  Nor would it be if it were a separate company but owned by the same blokes.

 

https://richenergy.com/about-us/

 

A lot of small businesses use one of the directors home addresses as the registered office. It looks like Rich Energy changed their registered office address from a large office building to this place in Jan 2017. 

 

It seems that the only other company that Storey has is "Wise Guy Boxing" which, it seems, he set up with a boxer who has since resigned as a director (leaving Storey as the only one). This company is registered at the same address, so it's probably just a mailbox type setup. He seems to also have had 3 other companies ("Danielistyle", "Tryfan Technologies" and "Tryfan LED"), but those are now dissolved.

 

The guy is listed as a "Computer consultant" in all of his companies, apart from "Rich Energy" (where he is listed as CEO).

 

Nothing about Storey or his companies leads me to believe that he is a man who is running a company that can be serious competition for Red Bull. Nor, for that matter, do I think he is a man who is running a company that has the money to do anything in F1, although, I do think that David Sullivan and David Gold do (so maybe he's just a front for them)

[ensign14]

That's what I am thinking.  Like back in the days with StefanGP = "Look, we have t-shirts made!  See!"

 

 

You may knock, but that's still more than the official FIA selected USF1 team managed.

 

[Fastcake]

You may knock, but that's still more than the official FIA selected USF1 team managed.

 

 

Toasters beat t-shirts in my book.

[TheGoldenStoffel]

Their registered office is "Hyde Park House, 5 Manfred Road, London, England, SW15 2RS" - go look it up on Google maps.

 

Registered office doesn’t mean HQ.

 

I know where their registered office is, that wasn't my point.

 

On december 5th they tweeted this:

 

Rich Energy‏ @rich_energy 5 dec.

Meer

 

An interesting afternoon filming at @rich_energy HQ #britishbrand #richenergy #tv @Rolex24Hours @goldengoosedb

 

https://twitter.com/...358274225135617

 

 

So they imply that what you see on this picture and where the interview was taken is the Rich Energy HQ, except it isn't...It's the Bingham Hotel:

 

 

https://www.thebingham.co.uk/

Edited by TheGoldenStoffel, 08 December 2018 - 20:53.

[Maxioos]

I have my doubts also. In October also https://forums.autos...ason/?p=8568275

 

Did some new searching and all say's scam. For instance, nowhere is something to find from Hilton side about their "exclusive contract" All is from Rich Energy side published. Someone should go to a Hilton and order one.

 

There is Red Bull at Hilton Orlando Florida https://www.alamy.co...e212368890.html

There is a Red Bull Bar at Hilton Baku https://nl.pinterest...92821745651789/

 

That exclusive is as Bingham Hotel is their HQ.

 

You would expect a company from size Haas would recognize a real company from a scam. They did their checks they said, i would expect that includes a checked bank guarantee for the amount sponsor size. 

 

The drink does exist, that's clear 

 

 

But just like all i can find on pictures, it's all relative easy, fast, relative cheap in high quality to make a impression that isn't really there.

 

Everybody can at every bottle factory get their own branded can's made and filled, so you can make a brand without production at all, it's actual how most is done.

 

In my opinion they portray to be 100 times bigger than they are. Doesn't mean they doesn't have the finances the need for sponsoring Haas. It's just, you only once can make your brand image. Their choose for "high level energy drink"  makes it easier (if budget good marketing material as they seem to have and time) to make look the brand far larger than it in reality is. Just with purpose to let it grow as fast as possible to justify that image when the opportunity comes by. Until such sponsordeal as Haas comes by, a impressive HQ isn't needed. I suspect such investments now soon will follow if goal is letting brand image getting legitimacy (has to be right) . 

 

I think everybody knows concept "drop-ship website" Well, this is a "drop-ship energy brand". It's only the brand/logo that counts, the only thing they really have (imo). But, don't think that's not possible very lucrative and can make lots of money for decades to come if brand gets hype or big grow. That's why it's possible a billionaire invested for that possibility on long-term.

 

Edit: Copy some points from a redit topic about this.

Having said that, using their testimonials page on their website:

Testimonial 1 doesn't include it on their drinks menu.

Testimonial 2 includes them on their list of sponsors but they must be a tiny contributor because the logo doesn't appear on the bike.

Testimonial 3 cannot be confirmed or denied via the internet.

Testimonial 4 is the same as testimonial 1!

Testimonial 5 - forgive me if I'm unconvinced that this was written by the manager of this place or why on earth they would be a stockist.

Testimonial 6 - God knows how many 'Dukes Head' pubs there are in the UK, so unverifiable. Again, not exactly top-drawer endorsement.

Testimonial 7 - it doesn't appear anywhere in their catalogue.

Testimonial 8 - I assume this is the Amber lounge that organises F1 parties. Pretty much unverifiable, but it's not on their list of sponsors and partners and googling throws up nothing.

Testimonial 9 - another pub.

Yep, they're full of ****.

 

Edit 2: They have a massive promo budget, that's clear from their facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichEnergy/ Can't find complaint's they don't fulfill their payments on their "ambassadors".

Edited by Maxioos, 08 December 2018 - 22:31.