Lube for the Links

In 1994, cable TV executive Charlie Collier joined with CancerCare to create the Longest Day of Golf in which participants raise money by playing as many holes as they can from sun-up to sun-down. The event has benefitted cancer patients to the tune of over $2m in the last 22 years, with Collier himself typically raising the most amount of money each year – this year he added another $54,600 to the cause. Golfers’ usual cut-off point is 100 holes, but one year Collier, now the President and General Manager of AMC (Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Better Call Saul, and the Walking Dead were all produced under his watch) managed 253 – over 14 holes an hour assuming 18 hours of golfable light.

In the event’s first few years, Collier says that at 100 holes, staff at the host club would bring out a cooler filled with each golfer’s favorite alcoholic beverage. “We would write ‘swing oil’ on the side of the cooler because after a 100 holes everyone needs to loosen up,” he says. “People loved the name, and every year they would ask ‘where’s the swing oil?’.”

Four years ago, Collier, influenced not only by his Longest Day of Golf friends but also his regular Sunday foursome which frequently complained of pain and discomfort during and after their round, decided to formulate a healthy, non-alcoholic swing oil designed to help golfers get loose, swing smoothly, and walk off the 18^th green feeling as good as they had when they started. Collier joined with a group of investors, friends, and former business associates, including Thomas Healy a former executive at Pirate Brands (makers of Pirate’s Booty) who is now the CEO of Back9Beverage which produces SwingOIL.

“Thomas, the other partners, and I think SwingOIL is a perfect, great tasting supplement for golfers,” says Collier. “We call it the Ultimate Golfers Drink, and we hear from people all over the USA, professional and amateur, who talk about how beneficial it is for them. We currently have 55 Champions Tour and a number of LPGA Tour players using the product.”

An important figure in SwingOIL’s development besides Collier and Healy, is the man behind the formula – John Zabrodsky, owner of Advanced Manufacturing Technology Inc. and a consultant who works with companies in the consumer goods industry (consumer goods) on their packaging, ingredients, and production. Zabrodsky created three flavors – Strawberry/Banana, Orange, Lemon/Lime based on Popsicle flavors, and added seven key ingredients to the mix – Glucosamine (100mg – healthier joints), Chondroitin (50mg – anti-arthritis), Turmeric (40mg – anti-inflammatory), Taurine (100mg – lower blood pressure), Rhodiola Rosea Extract (50mg – mood-enhancer, stress relief), Citrulline Malate (100mg – extended activity with quicker recovery), and Ginseng Extract (100mg – improve concentration and increase energy).

In 2014 at the Shark Shootout in southwest Florida, Collier met Jason Day who was intrigued with Collier’s choice of pre-round beverage. “I immediately understood, and soon thereafter believed in, this amazing product,” Day said. “They talk about getting loose and swinging smooth. Is there a golfer on the planet at any level who doesn’t need to do that more often? The more I explored it, the more I became sold on swingOIL. It should be part of every golfer’s pre-shot routine.”

Day was so impressed, in fact, he became SwingOIL’s official spokesman and brand ambassador in July of last year and, says Healy, will soon feature on product packaging. “The ultimate plan,” Healy continues “is to sell SwingOIL in three distinct locations. “We are eager to make it available in pro shops across the country,” he says. “We are already available online, and we are in talks with a number of major sports retail stores.”
$36 for 12, or $72/month for 30-day supply (30 3oz-pouches for the price of 24, includes a SwingOIL towel and free shipping)

swingoil.com

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