Is this Truly Reality or Just All Hype?
I am newly registered here but for the record, and to satisfy the separation of the “haves” and “have nots” – I now own a very small amount of RRGI. So I now have a dog in the hunt!
By request from a co-worker, I have researched RRGI for her and this is my assessment. Below is my Doom and Gloom Top 10 List for pink slip RRGI. (This is a long Post)
1) The audited financials: The statement is simply that “accounting procedures have been followed”. That is the extent of the “audit”. It does not attest that the principals involved have acted within the bounds of their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders – far from it. Read those posted financial statements that one contributor to this forum continually directs people to. Do the expenses appear to be in line with most ventures capable of spinning off tens or hundreds of millions of dollars? Hardly so. Forget about the fact that the financials are dated.
2) The pumped up $750k first place prize: Where is that guaranteed? The truth is, it is not. There is no pot of gold set aside for the “winner” of Reality Racing. Let’s presume that the coveted RR gold championship ring is worth a generous $1k. Where is the remaining $749k? Is it in the obtrusive contract with a real NASCAR Race Team? Contract to do what? Wash the cars? Real Reality Shows are backed up with Real Dollars. Would RRGI care to itemize all those cash prizes and place them in escrow? I’d bet that the brothers would have to pull the money back out of their own pockets in order to do so. And yes, I did say “back out of their own pockets”. Some here have worried about dilution. I would bet that those behind RRGI are dumping at every opportunity – even at 8 cents. Perhaps the principal parties of RRGI would like to disclose in an affidavit to shareholders the number of shares they have sold and the dates they dumped them?
3) The show theme: 15 amateurs racing against the clock on TV. An amateur taking a few stag laps around the oval is commonly known as the “NASCAR Driving Experience”, and the opportunity to do this can be found at most tracks around the country. For about $300 bucks, anyone can take a few laps in a stock car and open it up on the straight stretch. Toss a few video cameras in the mix and you have Reality Racing. Cars going solo on any track are pretty boring to watch and I could not imagine real NASCAR fans tuning in for longer than a commercial break. You cannot get the most avid NASCAR fans to watch the time trials of their favorite drivers. Finally, to make any show interesting requires lots of planning, scripts, shoots, re-shoots, edits, more edits for voice overlays, followed by professionals spending hundreds of more hours in front sophisticated editing systems to end up with a single hour of final product. Reality shows are not like filming the news and the cost to produce a quality product is enormous. The Apprentice was not shot four days before it aired – it was shot months ago.
4) The Race Team Contract: The winner among 15 amateurs who have taken a few laps solo on an oval track is far removed from being able to compete as a driver in a real NASCAR event. Contest winners do not get the privilege to race in NASCAR because it simply does not work that way. This would be the equivalent of a putt-putt contest winner being teamed up with Tiger Woods at the US Open. To think that an amateur with 1, 6, or even 24 months driving experience could compete at the pro level driving million dollar race cars in a crowded field of professionals is absurd and belittles the sport of auto racing.
5) The hosts: The only thing that can be said is that the experience level of the host and hostess is equivalent to the experience of the management team producing this reality TV show. No offence to Ms Real, but most Vegas call girls have attended political parties, and oh my, that sexy shot actually reminds me of the calling cards handed out on most Vegas street corners. This image does not look very professional even among the NASCAR crowd, yet alone as a captivating image for would-be sponsors. Hey, where is the sexy pose of Burke for all the ladies out there?
I was also able to find several other ventures by both Shaeffers’ and there is no experience base that I could find by either brother(?) producing a successful TV show. I did find several past formed business entities registered in Florida, all of which lead to dead ends (but, no used car dealerships). Perhaps I did not dig deep enough to find their full resumes unveiling all the media expertise and therefore I might be easily proven wrong on this issue.
6) Spike TV Deal: Is 9:00 AM on a Saturday prime time? Or, is this one of the affordable time slots where most cable infomercials air? It seems that Spike has aired infomercials in the past with many having the appearance of real TV shows. I agree with others who posted below. Why not disclose to shareholders the pertinent details of the agreement with Spike. I would bet that Ron Popeil and the dice-o-matic could buy out the time slot of Reality Racing!
7) The mystique: Ah yes, the thrill and mystery to be found in non-disclosure. Wild speculation and the continued call urging the masses to have faith, buy more shares, and hang in there for what will certainly be a sure thing. It appears that there may even be a few “shills” appearing within this forum – a classic P&D boiler room tactic. Once again, there are ample opportunities and forums for managerment to properly communicate to shareholders, but the management team seems to be very silent for some reason. Communication and transparency would seem to be expected of a properly run publicly traded company. Ever wonder why there is so much silence?
8) Time Delays & Excuses: As someone pointed out far below, most all professional grade equipment made in the past five years can tape in HD format. Canon makes semi-pro products with this capability (about $6k each to buy). HD is more a broadcast function than a function of recording since most CCD cameras record at a higher resolution than broadcast NTSC Hi Def. This excuse appears be more spin. Certainly the company contracted to produce this epic racing series would be amply equipped with professional grade recording equipment – but RRGI does not appear on their website as a currently listed project. And, the latest excuse is that there was a new delay in getting more cars? Would that be more $15k “race cars” like the prop shown on the website and sporting all those stickers? This car appears to be the 15K expense that was purchased and listed in the financial statement. Cars? Ooops! Someone forgot to line up the cars! If you were Mr. Schaeffer, how could you even think it would be a good excuse to admit that?
9) History is Reality: Successful stocks that started as pink slips have all had tangible or intellectual property and were subsequently purchased by larger competitive corporations. What is there of value in Reality Racing that would be of value to a major network?
10) Buzz Buzz but no honey: Lots of news wires going out, all of which are initiated by a PR firm, and they always convey the same very vague message. Most press releases are only picked up online. Has anyone visited RRGI’s office? Would you care to post a few photo’s here or share your experience when you visited?
I could go on and on but this is my prediction of what will happen. If RRGI airs at all, it will be a boring one hour episode with the immediate cancellation afterwards. The airing or attempt to air a show will function as a basis by which to show good faith. The principals will attempt to turn their backs on the investors and contestants and claim that they acted with due diligence in producing their dream while complying with all trade regulations required of them. RRGI smells like a pig, but this is just my opinion based upon the limited information available after several hours of wading through the hype of 18 months of scripted news wires.
Ask yourself this: If your company tanked below a dime, would you not produce something beyond mere unsubstantiated press releases in order to reverse that trend? Certainly you would if you had any common sense and the desire to produce a real and viable product. But if your motives are something else – perhaps the mission has already been accomplished.
Disclaimer: Statements made by me are simply my personal opinion and investors or potential investors should do their own research and as the author of my personal statements, I cannot be held liable for recommendations, either positive or negative, provided on this site.
