📈 What Shaq taught us about Investing: Buy What You Know

0:00Yeah, it is. Nick and Jack here from the T-Boy Studio. We're on vacation still, so we are testing out our new series and giving you a sneak peek all week long. This is a soft launch, so let us know what you think in the comments. Because this fall, we're going to do a hard launch on YouTube, but right now, your feedback's a gift. Drop it in the comments. All right, let's hit episode two of Cha-Ching. Let's go. Why did Shaquille O 'Neal sprint out of a Best Buy to install a doorbell in his home? Oh, and what does that have to do with investing? Everything. Because one day, the world's biggest basketball star needed a security camera.

0:30He bought a Ring doorbell at Best Buy and screwed it in himself. Ah, but here's the key. Shaq was so impressed by that Ring doorbell, he tracked down the founder of Ring at a convention just to invest in his startup. What Shaq just did there, it's a famous financial philosophy, and it's how you should start your investing journey. Yes, it is. And it's why he's now worth$500 million, making more money off the court than on it. Because Besties, the first step in investing is this. Buy what you know. That strategy not only is embraced by Shaq, but also by the portfolio manager of the world's most successful mutual fund.

1:01But buy what you know does not mean you should buy Starbucks stock because you customize Vente double-digit lattes every day. So we'll break down the difference in this video. Because this is the best cha-ching, yeah, where we reveal the money secrets of the world's most famous stars. And today, it's what Shaq taught us about how to start investing. Jack, time to slip into some 22-size sneaks.

1:23Four-time NBA champ, three-time NBA finals MVP, one gold medal and 28 ,596 points. Oh, and yeah, the size 22 shoes for the 15-inch long foot. The only thing Shaq hasn't done is drain three free throws in a row. Trust us, he'd agree on that one. But Shaquille O 'Neal is also the NBA's renaissance man. True. Because he's a DJ, a licensed cop, and a collector of rare Japanese koi fish. Dude got snubbed by the Oscars for his role in Kazan, by the way. I want to point that out. But most of all, he may be the NBA's best investor. That's right. Because Shaq collected$292 million in NBA salary over his basketball career and made big money as a TNT commentator and celebrity endorser too.

2:02But his stock investments have been prolific. Talk to me, Jack. And Shaq's number one investing rule before he writes a check is that he must be a customer. Right. He doesn't turn to others for hot stock tips. He creates his own stock picks based on what he tries out and becomes obsessed with. And it's not just that Ring doorbell we mentioned a couple minutes ago. Which became a huge gain for Shaq when Amazon bought Ring for a billion dollars. How about Beatbox, the viral boxed wine that we called the drink of the summer back in 2024? When Shaq was DJing sets as his alter ego DJ Diesel, he noticed Beatbox was sold out everywhere he played.

2:34And if those Music Fest fans were the early adopters, then he wanted to get in early too. So he reached out to Mark Cuban, who invested on Shark Tank, and Mark's endorsement sealed the deal. Shaq became their biggest celebrity investor. And when Beatbox sold to Anheuser-Busch in 2026, it should change. But it's not just private companies and startups. True. Shaq has made some moves on publicly traded stocks that you could invest into, like Papa John's. Zach, bring us back to Shaq in college. Back in college, Shaq's number one food source was Papa John's XL Pizza with extra pepperoni. He was protein maxing before maxing was maxing, Jack.

3:06Same through his 20s and 30s. Shaq was pounding Papa John's delivery at hotels when he was on the road with the Magic battling the Rockets. He got Carvel in for the playoffs, man. So in 2017, when controversy forced the Papa himself, founder and CEO John Schnatter, to step down, Shaq stepped up. He proactively reached out to Papa John's management to invest in the company. He bought a 30 % stake and nine Atlanta stores. He also joined the board and filled the void as the face of Papa John's. And then he turned his freshman year go-to order into a marketable product to turn the chain around. Ah, behold, the Chacaroni limited time pie.

3:42If you buy it, if you own it, if you dream about it when you're not consuming it, then you have an information advantage about this product. And besties, that is your starting point for how to invest. It's not the whole investing story, but it is your starting point. Now, Jack, pause the pod. We know what you're thinking out there. But Shaq, he's a celebrity with a massive following. So of course he turned his investments into highly lucrative$8.5 million pizza endorsement deals. It's true that Shaq has access to special and private investments that we don't. But the fundamentals of his strategy can apply to all of us.

4:13And we can nimbly purchase any stock on any brokerage app. Shaq, since he bought such big stakes, had to sign deals with lawyers and sign contracts. True, Shaq. But time out over here. Not only does Shaq preach that philosophy, so does one of the biggest brains on Wall Street. Whistle sound! Mid-episode trivia. Okay, what do we got? What fast food chain does Shaq own 155 locations in? I want to say Shake Shack. I know it's not Papa John's. The only one's nine Papa John's. It's Five Guys. Shaq was an early investor in the burger chain and owned 10 % of all their locations. So if you like those extra fives that get dumped into the bag so it's overflowing - Classic Five Guys.

4:50You can thank this seven foot one, 325 pound center from Newark, New Jersey, who himself is basically Five Guys.

5:00I am eight health. Yeah, and you ever look in a mirror and think, hey, who is that? Why are they staring at me? Well, that's you because it's a mirror. And before you start taking IM8, that's kind of weird mistake they'd actually make. Wait, I definitely think IM8 is helping me, but I don't know if it makes me wonder who's looking at me in the mirror, Nick. Well, Jack, that is why we take IM8, the one daily supplement that simplifies your whole supplement routine once and for all. IM8 has been fantastic because it replaces 16 supplements in one daily drink. Co-founded by David Beckham and built by leading doctors and researchers, 95 % of people who tried it for 12 weeks felt more energy.

5:33And that's from a clinical trial conducted by the San Francisco Research Institute. We take IMA daily, so should you besties. And we're no longer surprised when we look at the mirror. So go to im8health.com slash tboy right now or click on the link in the description of this episode. Use code tboy for a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, plus 10 % off your order. That's code tboy at im8health.com slash tboy. Code tboy at im8health.com slash tboy. Disclaimer, these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. this product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

6:06Monarch. Yeah, it is. You know my first money lesson? It was where to put our lemonade stand. I was wondering, it was on the Upper East Side. Do we do it on Lexington Avenue or Park Avenue? Wait a second. New York City has lemonade stands on the sidewalk? They didn't. We were pioneers, Jack. Lexington Avenue is more commercial. Park is more residential. So what did we learn, Jack? Families are willing to pay more for lemonade. So you set it up on Park. Yeah, we did it on Park. Besties, no one gives you financial lessons in life. You end up figuring most of it out as you grow up. But we love Monarch because it's like a financial advisor in your pocket.

6:34Because every minute it's tracking your savings, spending, investments, and more. For instance, Monarch's goal tracking feature shows if you're on track for that summer trip to Santa Fe. And it tells you what percent of your income is going somewhere that's a surprise. I open Monarch all the time because it takes the mental load off tracking my finances. And whether you're single, you're in a family, or you're dinking it up, Monarch's the way. Our personal fave, the AI Weekly Recap, a once per week gut check on what you did with your money. Hey Nick, you've spent 96 bucks at kids' lemonade stands since July.

6:59Yeah, because we pioneered it for him, Jack. Resties, write your own story with Monarch. Use code T-Boy at Monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just 50 bucks. It's 50 % off your first year at Monarch.com with code T-Boy. Ladies, happy schvitz season to all those who celebrate. I walked to the mailbox the other day. I arrived. The envelopes were damp. No, I wasn't swimming in a lake, Jack. I was just on the subway. So on days we sweat, and sometimes on days we don't, we pour a liquid IV stick into our water. Liquid IV. We've got enough of this hydration formula in the T-Boy studio.

7:32We may drown in the stuff. Because Liquid IV is more hydrating than old school H2O and tastes way better. Plus, Liquid IV is three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink. There are so many good flavors, but right now, it's the sugar-free lychee. Yeah, we're in our sugar-free lychee era, aren't we, Jack? It has this ripe lychee flavor with a smooth, floral, candy-sweet, tropical finish. Tastes like it's a 70 degree and sunny day, not 12 ,000 % humidity. Liquid IV is a scientifically formulated stick of hydration plus eight vitamins and nutrients. Maybe you're mid pickle bra break. Maybe you're just trotting back from Pilates.

8:02Or maybe you're heading into a podcast recording and need to make it the best one yet. So take Liquid IV with you and take advantage of this special deal. Shop now on liquidiv.com and use promo code 2026TBOY for 20 % off your first order. 20 % off your first order when you go to liquidiv.com and use code 2026TBOY. Peter Lynch. It says he's six foot online, but you know this guy's 5 '10". A white guy, what an NBA who wears a beige suit, your dad's tie, and nerd alert glasses in every picture of him online. He's the opposite of Shaquille O 'Neal. He's not a Los Angeles Laker. He's a Brooks Brothers boomer.

8:36But we'd argue Peter Lynch is also the Shaquille O 'Neal of finance, because his record of fund returns would posterize Warren Buffett. Oh, let's sprinkle on more context. From 1977 to 1990, Peter ran Fidelity's famous Magellan Fund, a legendary mutual fund with a better track record than the 90s bulls. During his 13-year run, Peter Lynch beat the S &P 500 11 times. His annual return was 29.2 % on average. Okay, so Jack,$1 ,000 invested in 1977 was$28 ,000 by 1990 under Peter Lynch. That is 28x return for people who invested with him from the beginning. And that unreal performance caused millions to buy into his fund, betting their retirement on this man's stock picks.

9:18And he rewarded them with consistent, better-than-market returns. But what really makes Peter Lynch like Shaq is his shared investing philosophy that he calls invest in what you know. Invest in what you know. He describes it as using your specialized knowledge in an area of interest to create a starting list of stocks that you could invest in, but then you have to analyze and study that list to determine which are actually good things to put money into. Yeah, so for example, 1971. Lynch's wife comes home from the supermarket with a pair of legs pantyhose, and she tells him, hey, these are better than what the department store sold.

9:50So Lynch looked up the parent company, which was Haynes, did some research, and then pulled the trigger. And Haynes becomes his fund's biggest position. Nick, an oil worker knows more about the oil industry than we would. And a Chipotle manager would know more about the restaurant industry than an oil worker would. Also true. Both of them have a knowledge advantage that should be their starting point for investing or not investing in those industries. And it's the same for you, besties. Like, even if you don't work in fashion, you may shop at The Gap a lot. Right, Jack? Are you looking at me? I'm looking at you.

10:20I'm looking at you. And you may have recently noticed, you know, more people in the stores, longer lines for the fitting room. And, oh, wait, are they sold out of denim hoodies again? Or maybe you noticed the opposite. Fewer people are in the Gap because they've wandered down the hall to TJ Maxx. Those signals, in your experience, they aren't a reason to spontaneously drop$5 ,000 on Gap or TJX stock, but they are the right signals to start researching the Gap or TJX as potential investments because you know more than others do about that. Just like how Shaq wasn't a doorbell expert or a pizza stand, but his interest, curiosity, and experience with them opened the door to analyzing the companies further.

10:55Which in his case did lead to big investments. And even bigger exits. So as Basketball Shack and Wall Street's Peter Lynch have taught us, investing in what you know is how you start. Here's how to put that philosophy to work off the court and in the market. First, we got the receipts. Like, literally. Like, please take out your receipts, download your credit card activity from the last 12 months, and then upload it to AI. And then, Jack, what should you ask? Ask AI, what do I spend more on than the average American consumer? I'm sorry, 12 visits to Sweetgreen last month? Seven orders from Petco and monthly subscriptions from Chile.

11:26Jack, you bought how much Roblox Robux? Those are your starting points of businesses and industries to begin research. Because your spending patterns are potential investing advantages. Find the patterns like a coach. Which leads to our second tip. Watch the post-game press conference. That's the quarterly earnings call. Yep. NBA players are required to talk to reporters, while public company CEOs are required to talk to Wall Street. But unlike a player, companies legally cannot lie. So they got to tell you the good. Revenue's up. All-time high profits, higher foot traffic from customers. And they have to tell you the bad.

11:57And we're closing 12 stores and suspending our dividend because the product we launched was a dud. So here's how you get them. Google the company's name and the words earnings call transcript. You'll be able to read the entire conversation the CEO had with stock analysts about their recent performance. Or you can listen on your next walk. You see the company share audio of the call on their investor relations page. Executives will share how the company's doing and Wall Street analysts will grill them with the tough questions. We also peruse financial reports and presentations that you can also find on the investor relations page, which is required on every public company's website.

12:29Nessies, there are so many tactics for how to research a stock opportunity from technical analysis to fundamental analysis to vibe analysis on social media. And we're going to share all of them with you on future episodes of this show. But in the meantime, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies who are fans of Shaq? Passion doesn't guarantee profits. Now, Yaddy, we've been focusing on Shaq's slam dunks here, but there have been some air balls, and we can learn from those too. FTX, the$32 billion crypto startup that turned out to be a fraud. Oh, boy. Shaq was sued for being a spokesperson, ultimately paying victims in his settlement.

13:01Although months before he did the deal with FTX, he did tell CNBC, I don't understand it, so I'll probably stay away. So he violated his own investing rule. You're right. And he admitted that. That's why the investment failed. He invested in something he didn't know. But Jack, there's also Auntie Anne's, the mall pretzel brand that you can smell from the parking lot. As you know, Shaq is a carbo-loading king of the pretzel-wrapped hot dog. But despite investing in 17 locations, he eventually sold off those Auntie Anne's for a loss. As Shaq put it, oh, the numbers. Just because you're a fan doesn't mean it's a smart financial investment.

13:34So, Yetis, to invest in what you know isn't a guaranteed win, but it is how you get on the court. And you can't get the W unless you're playing the game. So that's the first page of Wall Street's playbook. Invest in what you know. It's why Shaq is worth$500 million and is making more money off the court than on. While binging on pepperoni pizzas and installing home doorbells. Now subscribe to this channel for more celebrity money wins that are totally doable for you.

14:04Nature raised farms. Yetis, you walk into the grocery store, excited to cross off your list. That empty shopping cart is an ocean of opportunity. Then you get to aisle six and it hits you. Oh boy. choice paralysis. Yes, we whipped up takeaways about this on the pod. Too many options. It's like a game of chicken. Do I go with that chicken or that chicken? Yeah, the irony of having so many chickens to choose from, you cannot choose. This one's raised on a farm. This one's raised on a prairie. Is this range-free or cage-free? Choice paralysis of all these options. It makes us feel dumb. So nature-raised farms is built on the simple belief that food shouldn't be complicated, especially chicken.

14:36Definitely shouldn't be complicated, but the freezer aisle, it makes it that way. Too many options, too many additives, a lot of random compromises. But Nature Raised Farms chicken is free from gluten, dairy, and soy made with no seed oils or artificial ingredients. You know what you're getting. So you can make a simple decision, get on with your day without stressing about the chicken parm recipe. Because that recipe is really simple and so should be your chicken. Nature Raised Farms, it's built on a simple belief. Food shouldn't be complicated.