All industries are riddles with fads, false promises and just plain garbage products but the fitness industry has to be among the worst. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the VAST majority of new fitness products that are released each year are a complete waste of money. In fact, besides free weights, kettlebells, benches, squat racks and some select commercial grade machines EVERYTHING ELSE is either not very effective, or just plain crap.

But that doesn’t stop the flow of new (and old recycled) fitness gadgets hitting the market. Why? Because they make a F*CK TON of money (not to be confused with a sh*t ton which is substantially less). People just keep buying the crap almost as fast and hucksters and charlatans can “invent” them.

The Bowflex generated almost 200 million dollars in sales. The Total Gym hit 1 BILLION in sales. Both are vastly INFERIOR to a cheap pair of dumbbells and a bench. One of the top selling fitness “equipment” products of ALL TIME is the Thighmaster. Over 100 MILLION dollars. You read that right. Tens of millions of people bought a large foam covered spring to squeeze in between their legs to train a movement and muscles that would produce ZERO NOTICEABLE EFFECTS. My favorite is the Shake Weight. It’s a jerk off simulating dumbbell thing that has been parodied more times than I can count. It has sold over 30 million dollars worth. This annoys the everliving crap out of me.

So you can imagine my initial reaction when Rachel, our advertising/partnership and lead representative, asked us if we wanted to interview the founder of Jawzrsize Brandon Harris. Jawzrsize seems like another bullshit fitness gadget. It’s basically a rubber type resistance ball that you squeeze between your teeth to strengthen your jaw and give you that chiseled face look. The ads on social media were ridiculous but I also realized they were probably effective. The craziest fitness gadgets seem to do the best (Shake Weight is the best example).

We all balked at first. But then we all started talking about confronting one of these fitness gadget entrepreneurs on air. We decided to invite Brandon Harris in our studio to have a conversation. We would be totally honest with him too. One thing I love most about my Mind Pump podcast co-hosts Adam and Justin is that they value honesty as much as I do.

I’m not gonna lie. I kinda like Brandon. We all did. He seemed genuine and passionate. I can’t help but like hard working genuine people. He definitely did not come across as someone who is just trying to trick people or rip people off. He didn’t sell me on his product but he did do a good job bringing up some compelling points.

He pointed out that modern humans chew FAR less than their hunter gatherer ancestors. This has led to weaker face and head muscles. This is highly likely to be true. We are generally overall MUCH weaker than our ancestors. He said that our weak faces needed to be exercised like the rest of our body. This is where I don’t really agree with him.

Yes, we are weaklings historically speaking but going out and training haphazardly to be more like hunter gatherers is NOT the right idea. Our ancestors also ran A LOT and they did this barefoot. Wanna know what would happen to 99.9% of people if they took their shoes off and just started running daily? They would mess themselves up BADLY. Heck, most people can’t even fully squat. Squatting is a basic fundamental human movement and it takes MONTHS of correctional exercise and practice (sometimes years) to get everyday people to the point where they can squat properly.

Taking a product like Jawzrsize and working out your face is not a good idea. At least not without some serious consideration. You would have to TAKE YOUR TIME. Most people would just cause more problems. Chewing gum for a while is a better start.

Also, how much of a change will working your jaw muscles make in terms of appearance? Not NEARLY as much as getting leaner will. If you have a high body fat percentage you can work your face till the cows come home and your face will still be fat. Spot reduction is largely a myth too. In other words training a body part does not accelerate fat loss from that body part. The tiny bit of calories you will burn chewing on a Jawzrsize ball barely registers too. Tapping your feet is probably a better calorie burner. If you want a chiseled jaw line just get leaner.

Finally is the cost. One Jawzrsize Ball is $40. You would be far better off taking that money and buying some resistance bands or investing in some old dumbbells. They are far more versatile and they will give you far better overall results. Better yet save your money and just start working out with your body weight.

After my podcast interview with Brandon, I took a couple Jawzrsize balls and used them daily for a couple weeks. My jaw did get a bit sore. A few times I got a tension headache. Not gonna lie, squishing that thing between my teeth also felt satisfying. But, honestly it’s a waste of money. If you are a fitness fanatic who wants to try something weird and different and you have money just laying around then go for it. Otherwise, I don’t think it’s something anyone needs at all. You will likely see little benefit and the odds you will overdo it are high.

That all being said I 100% believe Brandon will sell a whole bunch of his Jawzrsize product. He has a compelling story (broke his jaw and used jaw exercises to rehab), Jawzrsize is weird and silly looking which essentially guarantees people will share his social media videos, it targets an area people want to change (their face or their jaw line), and its very different. He has already sold 7 figures worth. I bet he hits 8 figures.