Bruce IronsTrying to explain how Power Balance works can make the most scientific skeptic sound like a New Age crystal healer. But if you’ve ever had someone run their balance tests on you, well, it’s not to believe there’s something going on there. Exactly what that “something” is, well, we’re not willing to say. But it’s enough to convince world champs like Andy Irons and Kelly Slater to at least give it a try; enough that Rasta and Bruce Irons are raving about it on the company’s website; enough the brands like Sanuk Sandals and the US Military have begun integrating the tiny hologram into their products; and enough to make SURFING Magazine ask Power Balance’s South East Asia representative (and Bali local) Harry Radcliff…
SURFING: What the hell exactly is this thing?
HARRY: Power Balance is based on the reality of frequencies. Albert Einstein said that everything in life is vibrations. Power Balance, in effect, is it’s own frequency — just like a radio station is a frequency. The use of frequencies has been around for ages: from ancient metals to modern EKG’s. The guys who made Power Balance learned how to transfer this particular frequency onto a medium — this hologram — to make it possible for everyone to benefit from it. When you put Power Balance next to your body, it resonates with the frequency in your body — similar to how you tune a guitar with a tuning fork. So it helps you tune your body to that particular “pitch” and the energy in your body — or the Chi as they say in Chinese — is at an optimal level; increasing balance, concentration, flexibility, blood flow… Power Balance helps your body work to its maximum potential.
I’m not, but I think the owners might have met a witch when they found this thing.
But really, is this thing magic? It doesn’t really seem to work very, you know, logically.
No, it’s science. Frequencies are used in MRI’s in hospitals, they use frequencies to cure tumors. Everything has its own frequencies — from an earthquake to this spoon — everything is resonating. It sounds weird and wonderful, but it’s a fact and it’s the basis of this whole universe that everything has its own frequency.
It’s hard to deny after you take the test. I’ve seen a lot of people trip out on that.
It’s all about the test. In the stores, when people ask me what it is, I don’t even explain. Just do the test. I’ve done it with thousands of people, and 99%...they’re blown away.
Well, on the spot, the balance. And this isn’t a test that Power Balance invented — this is a standard medical test. So, we do this basic balance test, and one minute you’re wobbly, and the next you’re solid as a tree. Totally grounded.
So, the effect on surfing, skating, snowboarding, or anything else athletic is…
It’s huge. The athletes we’ve given it too here in Indonesia — Rizal, Tippy, Betet, Dede — all the guys around here, they’ve been blown away. Like, Dede [Suryana], he put about ten on his board and that same weekend he got three gold medals at the Asian Beach Games, won the Indonesian Championship, won every heat he surfed, pulled the maddest airs he’s ever pulled and he came back to me and said, ‘Man, this stuff really works.’ When you need just little edge — for that little bump, that late take-off, that wobbly barrel — you’ve got a mental edge. There’s a subconscious boost, too, part of you thinks, ‘I’ve got this thing on, so I’m invincible.’ Just having it on gives you confidence.
So, does that get addictive?
Without a doubt. And if you don’t have one, you’re like, ‘Oh no, I’m screwed.’ At the Rip Curl Search trials, Rizal forgot his card and he lost his heat. He even mentioned it to me right afterwards. Even if I’m just walking around the house without one I start to stress.
How do you maximize its usage?
A triangle formation is best. Like, one over your heart and one on each wrist. A Harvard professor did some testing and found that’s what works best. You could have one on one hand or a million on one hand and it wouldn’t make a difference — but if you spread them around, it increases its effect. Also, we could put one card on the table and 20 of us could put our finger on it and it would work the same. It’s not like we’re sucking something out of it. It’s simply tuning what’s in us already. It’s not emitting anything magnetic or electrical, you’re not putting anything into your body. It’s like if you had a tuning fork in a room, everyone could tune their guitar to that pitch.
Are you sure you’re not a witch?
It’s a big step concept to get your head around, but the bottom line is, you don’t need to understand it for it to work. I do presentations all over South East Asia, so instead of trying to explain anything, I grab someone and just do the test. In Indonesia, every time, they turn to their mates and call me a witchdoctor.
I heard that some companies starting to integrate these into their clothing?
Yeah. Sanuk Sandals has inserted them into sandals. A brand called Levity in California is using them. A sailing company called Gastro puts them in all their jackets, because it completely stops seasickness and motion sickness. The US military has been looking into it. NASCAR drivers are using it. Outside of physical sports, where balance, flexibility and strength are affected, they’re also finding it helps with focus and concentration. So race car drivers, golfers…guys like that are really getting into it. There’s been talk with surf brands like Billabong and Rip Curl, but nothing solid yet. The testing some of these companies want to do before they use them is pretty extensive. Like, surf companies want someone to swim with white sharks wearing them, just to make sure it doesn’t attract them.
Same way we used to test witches, right?
Exactly. Set ‘em on fire, if they come out survive, they’re a witch.
Will this improve the potency of my Red Bull? Or how about mixing it with drugs and alcohol?
Ummmm…it’s actually a question lots of people ask me. I gave it to the local rock band Superman Is Dead and they said the next day it helps with their hangover. They swear by it. The immediate response is the balance thing, but most people I give it to will call me up a day later and say, “Wow, all my little aches and pains, they’re not niggling me anymore.” It can’t turn a weakling into a strong man or anything, but it just helps maximize what you’ve already got. Here’s an interesting one: if you put a Power Balance hologram under a glass of beer for five minutes, it will energize the beer and you can do the balance test before and after drinking the beer, and it should work because liquid, as a medium, absorbs the frequency. We were doing it the another night with martinis and everyone was flipping out.
Can I just get this thing tattoo’d on me?
No. It has to be in the hologram. A hologram is like a CD or a DVD — it’s a medium. The brothers who started Power Balance don’t claim to have invented anything — they just found a way to store this particular frequency in a small, affordable hologram. So the best thing you can do is keep one in your left arm, like this wrist band. Energy supposedly enters your body though your left hand. So the best place is either wrists, and a third spot, creating a triangle. There’s definitely a difference between having one and having a few throughout your body. When I go surfing, I do a wristband, one in my pocket, and a sticker or two on my board. Big difference. Ask any of the guys who’ve been using them.
Does a hologram wear out over time?
As long as the hologram is intact, it won’t wear out. This one could sit here for 100 years and the frequency would still be intact. The company guarantees them for three years, but theoretically, it could last 100 years. As long that hologram isn’t ripped or damaged — which isn’t gonna happen with water, heat, washing, ironing — it’ll last you for life. There’s stickers, credit cards, wristbands, necklaces, we’re about to do a range of jewelry. But there’s so much potential: Silicone inner soles are being made in Japan, deck grips are being made over here in Indo, someone’s talking about making leashes. It’s endless really. The only thing is, it needs to be within a few inches to start working. When it comes into contact with your biofield, which is about 2-3 inches from your body, then it resonates the frequency and starts working.
So, basically, you’re saying it’s magic, right?
Hey, don’t take my word for it. Just check it out.