5-Hour Energy Drink founder Manoj Bhargava wasted no time in making the most of Sports Illustrated’s most valuable asset.
a few months after he It has signed a deal to acquire SI publisher Arena Group, but the deal has not yet been finalized. He met the 2024 swimsuit model at an SI event.
Billionaire Bhargava has since moved on to Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff’s fiancée Kristen Harper, Rob Gronkowski’s girlfriend Camille Kostek, and actress Brooks Nader. , Nicole Williams English and Katie Austin to fly to his 5-H Energy campus in Michigan on a private plane, officials said.
He arranged the trip around Oct. 10 with Sports Illustrated Swimsuits general manager Hilary Drezner, who accompanied him along with other SI Swimsuits staff, officials said.
“Manoj asked the models to work on selling energy drinks,” said a source familiar with the matter.
The trip also included a flight to Minnesota, where Bhargava toured the recently acquired ShopHQ network, officials said.
Some of the models have their own jewelry and clothing lines, and Bhargava pitched them the idea of selling their brands on ShopHQ and sharing the network and profits. said the people involved.
“He had just acquired ShopHQ and thought there was an opportunity to get some big-name models to work with him,” said a person familiar with the matter.
Soon after, he sent the swimsuit models boxes of lab-grown diamonds from Peace Jewelers, a company he had invested in, so they could wear them and promote them. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Event on December 7th An event celebrating sports betting in Hollywood, Florida.
“They were wearing diamonds, but he didn’t pay them,” said a person familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, Arena’s publishing license for Sports Illustrated was terminated in January after it failed to make scheduled payments to the magazine’s owner, Authentic Brands.
Bhargava is now trying to win back his license by making bids for new contracts with suitors including Minute Media, owner of Players Tribune.
Authentic Brands is expected to announce the winner in the coming days, and Arena is still publishing SI on a preliminary basis.
Sports Illustrated, which publishes a swimsuit calendar every May, has in recent years promoted models who are sometimes older and don’t have the traditional classic physique.
But Bhargava was more interested in the model, a former cheerleader, who seemed to fit a more traditional view of physical beauty.
Bhargava declined to comment, and Arena did not respond to calls.
