My First Million – 6 Trends You’ve Never Heard Of (That Might Explode)

Hosts: Sam Parr & Shaan Puri
Date: February 9, 2026

Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Sam Parr and Shaan Puri dive into six emergent trends they believe are poised for serious growth (or consequences). The hosts break down each trend, reflect on how it relates to their own lives and business experience, and offer a mix of contrarian takes, predictions, and insight into where major opportunities (and risks) lie in the coming years.

Key Topics and Insights

1. The Fall of Alcohol and Rise of Substitutes

[00:25–07:03]

• Main Point: Alcohol consumption is sharply declining, especially among younger generations.

  • Spirit inventories are soaring—brands like Campari have excess stock, signaling less drinking.
  • Social dynamics have shifted: “Drinking ain’t cool anymore. Being healthy is cool and drinking isn’t cool.” – (A, 00:58)

• Substitution Behaviors:

  • People aren’t just growing virtuous—they’re swapping vices:
    • Nicotine (vaping, Zyn, now also non-nicotine ‘focus pouches’ like Ultra)
    • Weed and psychedelics (notably, many friends regularly doing “journeys”)
    • Tech distractions (e.g., TikTok scrolling replacing nights out)
    • Exercise as social/psychological outlet

• Ultra & Focus Pouches:

  • Company Ultra, launched 2025, raised $11M selling non-nicotine focus pouches targeting “top performers” (Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Sequoia).
  • Shaan: “Ultra is targeting a different segment, higher performers who want cognitive enhancement without addiction.” (A, 03:26)

• Social Anecdotes:

  • Live-show jitters soothed by nicotine pouches; nostalgia about SF tech/counterculture.
  • Reflection that non-drinking isn’t just a bubble anymore.

Notable Quote:

• B: “What I’m noticing is… none of my friends vape but everyone does some type of like Zyn… rise of psychedelics… and honestly, exercise.” (B, 02:53)

2. Home Fitness Hardware Revolution: Voltra

[08:14–16:08]

• Discovery: Introduced by Alex Hormozi as his niche obsession.

• What is Voltra?

  • A compact, brick-sized, portable “cable machine” that uses magnetic resistance.
  • Precise adjustment of weight, especially targeting the all-important eccentric (lower) portion of lifts.
  • Lighter, more versatile, reduces the need to ship bulky, heavy gym gear.

• Potential: May change how home and commercial gyms are equipped; enables high-level training in small spaces.

  • “It’s a Bowflex that’s the size of a shoebox… The bulk of the cost of gym equipment is in shipping 1000 pounds… Now you have this thing that’s the size of a brick.” (A, 12:36)

• Limitations: Needs an anchor (rack, wall, tree), battery needs charging.

• Broader Home Gym Tips: Horse stall mats for flooring—a hack the hosts endorse.

Notable Moment:

• A: “The more important part of the movement, the eccentric load, you’re actually undertraining because you’re limited by what you could curl. Now what this machine does… lets you change the weight on the way down.” (A, 10:34)

3. Physical AI: Gadgets Get Smart

[16:18–22:48]

• Physical AI: Not just humanoid robots (e.g., Optimus), but embedding AI into everyday objects and toys.

  • Example: Plaud (meeting/lecture recorder)—$100M revenue despite hosts’ skepticism on usability.
  • AI-powered talking teddy bears/toys (e.g., Magicaltoys from F Inc).

• Use Cases & Growth:

  • Kids interacting with toys/live AI (gamified learning, open-world interaction).
  • AI in cars: “My kids ride in our car… we just pop the AI open… playing ‘guess the animal’… asking big questions.”
  • Prediction: AI-enabled physical objects will proliferate as chips become smaller/cheaper.

• Expanding Niche:

  • Adult devices (e.g., thehandy.com)—controllers for, ahem, “male interaction,” possibly AI-enabled in the future.

Notable Quote:

• A: “This is where the world is going, where your toys are going to be able to talk to your kids… interactive in a open world way.” (A, 18:16)

4. Podcast Explosion: Too Many Shows, Not Enough Ears

[23:27–31:52]

• Observation: Boom in high-quality (and well-produced) podcasts from both A-listers and niche builders.

  • “There’s been this absolute explosion of podcasts, and it’s in every industry…” (A, 24:18)

• The ‘Shelf Space’ Dilemma:

  • Listening hours are finite; only so many pods can fit into someone’s schedule.
  • Prediction: “Too many podcasts that are bad and boring… the pod is a clip farm.” (A, 27:57)

• Audio vs. Video:

  • Engagement: Audio listeners spend ~45 min/ep vs. 15 min avg on YouTube; deeper connection on audio.
  • Growth: Growing an audio show is much harder but more loyal; YouTube is easier to scale.

• Clips Trend:

  • Podcasts are “clip farms”—clips spread further, even if the full pod isn’t listened to.
  • The ‘Mr. Beast/short-swipe’ phenomenon is to podcasting what ‘prestige TV’ is to movies.

Notable Quotes:

• A: “Our average time on a YouTube video is about 15 minutes… and on audio is about 40 to 45 minutes.” (A, 29:33)
• B: “Growing audio is so challenging, but it is significantly more consistent in listenership.” (B, 29:57)

5. Peptides Everywhere

[31:52–35:48]

• Lay of the Land: Once the domain of biohackers, peptides (protein fragments used for recovery, muscle gain, fat loss) are going mainstream.

  • Semaglutide/Ozempic (weight loss) is only the most famous example.
  • Hosts’ friends and family “jumping through hoops” to acquire them, even illegally.

• Business Insight: Demand proven by people willing to break regulations/barriers to get them.

  • Prediction: Peptides will become widely accessible via easy, safe formats (gummies, pills) and be as normalized as vitamins.
  • “If you use proxy for demand as people willing to go to untrusted sources, imagine once somebody makes this easier to access…” (A, 33:13)

• Skepticism:

  • B (Sam): Churn is high, minimal stickiness, hard to build brand loyalty in supplements; “there’s not really a reason to stay with someone… People jump from one to one to one.”

Notable Quote:

• A: “Peptides are everywhere… classic: what the nerds are doing on the weekend, everybody’s gonna be doing soon.” (A, 31:52)

6. Sports Betting: A Looming Crisis

[37:01–46:28]

• Main Point: Sports betting is growing at a staggering rate, mostly unregulated, and bringing vast social risks.

  • Sophisticated companies predict your lifetime value by your first bet.
  • Sports betting becomes fully integrated into youth culture—even high schoolers are placing bets via parents’ accounts.

• Prediction Markets (e.g., Kalshi, Polymarket):

  • Traditional sports betting, plus “markets” for politics, global events (often slip through regulation loopholes).
  • $2B per week in sports volume on these platforms.

• Societal Impact:

  • Gambling is more addictive, socially corrosive than current regulation admits.
  • “Sports betting is one of these things that it’s dumb to do, but it’s easy to look smart.” (A, 42:12)
  • College/pro athletes are harassed and even threatened over lost bets.

• Strong Regulatory Prediction:

  • “Sports betting in the next five years is going to be incredibly heavily regulated, and companies like Polymarket are going to just crumble.” (B, 46:15)

Notable Quotes:

• A: “By the time a customer places his first bet… they are 80 to 90% certain. They know how big of a sucker you are.” (A, 37:37)
• B: “This seems very dangerous. I think… a college or professional sports player is going to be murdered or… something crazy happens in politics for the payout on the bet.” (B, 44:00)

Closing Reflections: Success, Seasons, and Lasting Wisdom

[46:28–55:33]

• On Trends:

  • Alcohol may come back with future generations rebelling against parents’ sobriety.
  • Betting likely to face crackdown; pendulum swings are inevitable.

• On Fulfillment:

  • Sam highlights wisdom from recent podcasts: Tony Robbins coaching Alex Hormozi through feelings of emptiness despite success; Scott Galloway choosing family over prestige events.
  • Universality of ancient advice (“To everything there is a season” – The Byrds/song version of Ecclesiastes): Work, joy, sadness—each has its time.

• Coaching Wisdom:

  • Shaan recounts a favorite line from a legendary basketball coach: “Victory and defeat are liars.” (A, 51:33)
  • Reference to the poem “If—” (Rudyard Kipling): Triumph and disaster are both imposters; balance is key, not outcomes.

• Final Sentiment:

  • The struggles and questions of top performers, billionaires, and regular folks are strikingly similar. True wisdom is ancient and often boils down to balance and perspective.

Notable Quotes & Timecodes

• On Alcohol Substitutes:

  • “What jobs to be done were done by alcohol that are now being done by something else?” – (A, 02:17)

• On Home Fitness:

  • “The precision of changing the curve of where the resistance happens… you get incredible progress and gains from this.” – (A, 10:34)

• On AI Gadget Toys:

  • “These toys can do anything. And so once this works, it’s going to be kind of amazing.” – (A, 18:16)

• On Podcasting Boom:

  • “The pod is a clip farm. And whether anybody listens to the pod or not doesn’t really matter.” – (A, 27:57)

• On Peptides:

  • “Once somebody makes this easier to access, more easy form factors… Peptides will become a normal part of everyday life.” – (A, 33:13)

• On Sports Betting Addictiveness:

  • “It’s a dumb activity to do. But if you cherry pick a good bet, you can share it, you can tell people about it, and you get to look smart for a moment.” – (A, 42:12)

• On Victory & Defeat:

  • “Victory and defeat are liars. They’re both liars. And once you learn that they’re both liars, then you can become a great coach.” – (A, 51:33)

Key Segment Timestamps

• Alcohol Downtrend & Substitutes: [00:25–07:03]
• Voltra (Home Fitness Tech): [08:14–16:08]
• Physical AI Devices: [16:18–22:48]
• Podcast Saturation & Consumption: [23:27–31:52]
• Peptides Business/Adoption: [31:52–35:48]
• Sports Betting Boom & Risks: [37:01–46:28]
• Life Seasons, Success, and Timeless Wisdom: [46:28–55:33]

Tone & Vibe

The episode is irreverent, fast-paced, and packed with business insights, insider anecdotes, and the kind of candid, opinionated takes that made My First Million a favorite among entrepreneurs. The hosts mix practical analysis with humor, storytelling, and moments of surprising depth—ending on a timeless reminder: trends come and go, but human struggles and wisdom repeat through the ages.