From shitty Chinese Apple chargers that only work at just the right angle to Pitbull’s equally shitty house music renditions, knockoffs in today’s society hardly come as a shock.
But a knockoff Kickstarter campaign? A knockoff instant beer chiller?
Is anything sacred anymore?
Trevor Abbot and Ty Parker, the founders of SpinChill, were just two UF students united by the lofty yet simple aspiration to cool their beers really fucking quickly, because the only thing better than instant gratification is, well, instant gratification with beer. But when a copycat product, “Super Cooler,” surfaced on Brazil’s copycat Kickstarter platform (Catarse) just over two weeks ago, SpinChill aficionados everywhere breathed a collective sigh of disgust.
SpinChill founders
Super Cooler copycats
I had the pleasure of sitting down and discussing the situation with the geniuses themselves on Friday, only to be floored by their levity and utter lack of outrage.
“I thought it was pretty funny,” Ty said. “I was like ‘Oh, cool. Someone’s knocking us off, that’s wild!”
Upon gaining knowledge of the copycat, the two reached out to their manufacturer in China to rule out the slim possibility of good old-fashioned coincidence. At this point they learned that the Brazilian duo had purchased a SpinChill directly from them in December, which they’ve been using as a model for their own bullshit product ever since.
Not only did the Brazilians copy the SpinChill’s machinery, they piggybacked the exact angle of the campaign video—two guys, a funny and relatable narrative, a reader-friendly step-by-step explanation of the product’s progression—but the biggest giveaway is the name of the product: the “Super Cooler.”
Why would a Brazilian product have an English name? Globalization, sure. But wouldn’t it have been smart to at least choose a name with different initials?
The images meant to outline the Super Cooler’s humble evolution are pure bullshit in all their fabricated glory: They showcase a seemingly stripped down version of the finished product staged to resemble an unfinished prototype, complete with a smattering of colorful, fake infographics.
“It’s like when you take a test and they tell you to show your work, so you just get the answers and fake the work afterwards,” Trevor said, regarding the pretend prototype pictures.
SpinChill
Super Cooler
Fortunately, SpinChill devotees everywhere—even Brazilians—are taking a stand in the Catarse page’s comments section to call the phony product out for what it is. Once the SpinChill’s patent goes through, Ty and Trevor could potentially sue the Super Cooler bastards for knowingly infringing on the patent. This means they could ultimately collect up to three times the Super Cooler’s profit revenue.
They don’t want to do that, though, because they might just be the nicest beer-loving-frat-guy-entrepreneurs ever. In fact, they went so far as to credit the Brazilians for validating their product to the public.
“Before, people saw our product and were like, ‘Why do I need something that spins beer?’ And now that there’s two it’s like, ‘Which one do I need?’” Ty laughed.
Ty and Trevor are levelheaded guys who refuse to be fazed by the situation. Instead of being heated by the haze of horseshit, they ironically remain…Super Cool.
I, on the other hand, will not stand for the mockery. If you throw on Pitbull’s tunes at a party, you’re forgiven (partially), but when it comes to cooling your brewskis, respect the invention (and ‘Murica) and stick to the original SpinChill.
If you’re a fan of cold beer and supporting a young American company, snag yourself a SpinChill here.
Featured photo courtesy of: DailyMail
