Boost – Oxygen in a Can

Energy drinks are an industry designed to give people a boost of energy, but they have caffeine and make you feel jittery. Oxygen is a natural energy booster, your body’s cells burn oxygen to work properly. If you have too little oxygen in your blood stream, you could suffer from hypoxemia, which occurs when levels of oxygen in the blood are lower than normal. This can cause headaches, shortness of breath, confusion and other symptoms.

Athletes often use oxygen to rejuvenate. Taking a breath of oxygen helps flush lactic acid – which causes muscle fatigue – out of muscle tissues so you can recover faster. If you watch the NFL, you often see the players taking a hit of oxygen. Oxygen is about 21% of the air we breath. The only way to get a higher concentration is to breathe oxygen from a tank.

Breathe

People with chronic lung disease often get medical oxygen because their lung impairment doesn’t allow them to get enough from the air around them. Medical oxygen for these people is 99% pure oxygen. There’s also a thing called recreational oxygen which is 95% pure. Mike Grice and Rob Neuner are pitching their recreational oxygen company, Boost Oxygen, in Shark Tank episode 1102.

Neuner founded the business in 2007 after seeing lots of canned oxygen in Europe. He tried it to help cure his jet lag and it worked. He also found it was a great way to boost his energy in triathlons he participated in. Grice, who had a 27 year career in the Marines, co-founded the business with Neuner and serves as the company COO. They preside over the number one recreational, canned oxygen company in the world. Why they want a Shark as a partner is a mystery, but we’ll see if one of the Sharks wants to breathe some new life into this business.

My Take on Boost Oxygen

I love the old Sweet song “Love is Like Oxygen.” There’s a line that says: “ya get too much , ya get too high, not enough and you’re gonna die.” This is true. Everyone knows if you run out of oxygen, you’ll die. Too much oxygen will give you vertigo and nausea and can lead to more serious symptoms – not exactly getting high, but Sweet had to make the song rhyme.

As for supplemental oxygen, I’ve tried it. I always stop at an “oxygen bar” when I go to conventions in Las Vegas. A few whiffs of oxygen does rejuvenate you, so I could see how athletes would want to use it. Boost puts an oxygen tank in the palm of your hand. I’ve actually tried the product and it has similar effects as my oxygen bars in Vegas. A friend of mine used to bring canned oxygen hiking and skiing since high altitudes have lower oxygen in the atmosphere. I’m going to order some of Boost’s Oxygen canisters on Amazon for when we go kayaking. It gets hot in Florida and it’s easy to get worn out quickly. I’ll bet this product does the trick. I’m in.

Will Sharks think this Business is a Breath of Fresh Air?

I’m curious as to why Boost is in the Tank at all. It’s a mature business and the world’s number one product of its kind. It makes me think Mark might call them “free loaders” (people who appear on the show with no intention of doing a deal – they just want the commercial). It seems strange that a company like this needs a Shark.

The other objection the Sharks might bring up is liability. Too much oxygen can cause problems. Boost’s cans provide a one second blast of oxygen at a time – a safe amount. If someone overdid it, they could suffer from convulsions or even death. Oxygen poisoning can happen (ya get too much, ya get too high) and I imagine the Sharks might fear the liability.

While I think this is a cool product and I admire the growth of the business, I don’t thing they get a deal. I think they’ll ask too much for too small of a stake and the Sharks will pass.