Huard has resorted to superstitions to recover, after our O line gets him smashed up!
Hasselbeck among athletes wearing titanium necklace
By CRAIG HARRIS
P-I REPORTER
Being sheepish typically isn't an attribute associated with Matt Hasselbeck.
But when the Seattle Seahawks quarterback wanted a titanium-laced vinyl necklace from Phiten, which claims its products help athletes recover more quickly from aches and pains, he said he was too "embarrassed" to make the purchase, so he asked his wife to buy it for him in downtown Seattle.
"Now, I'm kind of hooked," said Hasselbeck, who questioned whether it would work but now constantly wears a Phiten necklace with the team's colors.
Hasselbeck is among a growing number of professional athletes who wear Phiten's titanium-laced products, and the company's Seattle store at 1532 Seventh Ave. has become a hot spot for players.
The Japanese-based company said it melts small doses of titanium and mixes it in water to form a dye, which is then fused into the fabric of necklaces, T-shirts, socks, shorts, tape and discs, which resemble a small round Band-Aid. The company claims that by wearing its products "energy flow is stabilized" and fatigue sets in later and recovery time is shortened.
Most products are moderately priced, and a necklace retails for about $25.
However, there is no U.S. scientific evidence that the products work, and a University of Washington School of Medicine professor is highly doubtful they improve athletic performance.
"With greater energy, you simply can do more with Phiten," the company says in its literature. However, on necklace samples given to the Seattle P-I, the company states: "This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease," and "individual results may vary." The company also said the Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated the company's statements.
Scott McDonald, sales support manager for Phiten, said he knows there are skeptics, but he said the company and the Seattle store continue to do well.
While he declined to disclose company revenue, McDonald said the Seattle store generates up to $60,000 in monthly sales, or $720,000 annually. Phiten USA Inc. also has shops in Torrance, Calif., and Honolulu, and about eight sporting goods chains across the country sell the goods, McDonald said. The company also has reached a licensing agreement with Major League Baseball.
While the 50-employee company has gained a following among pro athletes, Phiten's core customer is between 30 and 60 years old, and women make the majority of purchases, McDonald said.
He said Phiten was founded in 1983 in Japan, with the international headquarters in Kyoto. The Seattle store, which has been in business for five years, has a hall of fame of sorts with autographed baseballs from more than 100 major league players who have visited the shop and bought products while in town to play the Mariners.
McDonald said the store keeps up to three dozen baseballs behind the counter, and the trophy case includes pictures -- with the Phiten logo in the background -- and autographed balls from Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins, Johnny Damon of the New York Yankees and Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks, a former Mariner who also is paid by the company to endorse the products.
Johnson was one of the first American athletes to begin wearing a Phiten necklace following a trip to Japan a few years ago, and the necklaces gained widespread prominence when Boston Red Sox players wore them during their 2004 World Series championship run.
Red Sox players again were seen wearing necklaces during this year's title run, and the necklaces caught the eye of Hasselbeck, who played at Boston College.
Hasselbeck, who has been suffering from an oblique muscle injury this season, said he thought the necklaces were a "childish thing," but he said he was encouraged to wear one after a conversation with Damon Huard, a friend and quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Huard, in a phone interview, said he, too, decided to wear a Phiten necklace after watching the World Series, and he got his necklace from his team's trainer to help with a shoulder strain.
"I really like it," Huard said. "If I'm not wearing my necklaces to bed I'm a little stiffer. I think there is something to it. I figure it can't hurt me. I wear it under my shoulder pads every game, and I wear a bracelet, too. ... Phiten power, baby!"
Huard said about six Chiefs players wear the necklaces, and Hasselbeck said a few other Seahawks, including defensive end Darryl Tapp (who "stole" one from him), have been wearing them. Hasselbeck said that since his wife bought his initial necklace, he bought another online.
McDonald said the necklaces are gaining traction with professional football and basketball players, but they are mostly popular among baseball players. The Seattle store also is popular with tourists, McDonald said, and a Little League team from Arizona made a visit last summer while playing in Seattle.
But while Phiten continues to gain a following, there is no medical proof that the necklaces work.
"I know of absolutely no scientific evidence to implicate titanium to improving performance," said Dr. John Green, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine. "People were really big into crystals or magnets. If you can get a couple of people to think it works then you can sell it. ... Testimonials aren't exactly science."
Green, the team physician for the UW football team, said he knows of no college players who wear the necklaces. But he said Phiten should benefit if more professional athletes keep endorsing the products because of the players' influence on young people.
"If they can sell it without science, why bother," Green said. "It's very expensive to go through FDA approval."
Besides Johnson, the company said, it has endorsement deals with Jim Thome of the Chicago White Sox, golfer Sergio Garcia, distance runner Paula Radcliffe, tennis player Martina Hingis and softball player Jennie Finch.
"Everybody else we don't pay," McDonald said. "They generally wear our products because it works for them."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/footba...ml?source=mypi
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Thanks for all the yards, TDs, and memories, Priest!
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