I was invited to an event to ge the first glimpse of the new Nike+ FuelBand last night. I wrote about Nike’s cryptic video hyping their revolutionary new product a few weeks ago. The following day the announced the Nike+ FuelBand with this video:
Here’s where honest Phil comes out… My initial thought it was a stupid invention and didn’t ever write anything about it.
So back to this event. The team at Nike went above and beyond to make sure everyone attending REALLY got a chance to see what the FuelBand could do.
“If you have a body, you are an athlete” – Bill Bowerman
That quote really defines what the fuel band is about. Being a triathlete, I didn’t immediately see it’s value. When you look at products like the Nike+ Sportband or Nike+ for iPhone, they only track activities during your run. But what about all the hours I spend chasing my son around? or the energy you use on a day at the beach, going out dancing or doing ANYTHING! Shouldn’t that count?
That’s what the FuelBand is about, everything counts.
Not bad right? (Nike feel free to call me to join your production team, just click on the contact link.)
So Nike REALLY wanted us to see what counted, so we put on some FuelBands, loaded up in a few SUV’s, drove to Soldier Field, let out at the tunnel to the field and greeted by “Staley”. Everyone was then brought in the vistors locker room and given a rundown of what was going to happen, including some running, passing and kicking drills (coached by Robbie Gould of course) all with a goal of boosting our NikeFuel number.
We ran out of the tunnel lead by the 4th Phase Flag crew to our names being announced over the PA. It was a blast.
And incase you’re wondering I went 1 for 2 catching passes and 0 for 1 kicking field goals, even with Robbie’s tips.
After all the drills my NikeFuel went from 0 to 720, not bad.
As if a football mini workout wasn’t enough we went back to the event space, learned how to sync the FuelBands to your iPhone (a Droid app is coming this summer) and then were shown some serious dance moves to get some more Fuel points (I didn’t get many more because I didn’t dance).
After playing with the FuelBand over the course of a few hours, I can totally see how it can become addictive. There is a social aspect to the FuelBand as well. Just like with Nike+, you can challenge your friends and compete to get the most fuel points, streaks and badges. Then you can post this info on Facebook and Twitter. I would compare it to an app like FourSquare, the goal is to get as many points as possible and let everyone know it.
So I have to eat my words, the FuelBand is far from a stupid invention. If you’re a runner, dancer, basketball player, triathlete or anything else the FuelBand would be a fun addition to your workout. Whether it’s a hard training day where you can try and smash your daily Fuel goal or a rest day but you’re still up and about, you can Make It Count.
To get notified when the Nike+ FuelBand is available, click here.
Phil Castello 