F1 Trademarked 'Shoey' After Daniel Ricciardo Made Drinking From Sweaty Shoes Hip And Cool

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You know that teenage mentality of how cool a band is until everybody finds out about it? Well, Formula One’s doing that to the long-held Australian practice of drinking from a sweaty racing shoe in celebration. After driver Daniel Ricciardo made it cool, F1 trademarked the term “shoey” for use on all kinds of souvenirs.

That’s because nothing is sacred in this world of ours—not even gross, germ-filled drinking habits that shouldn’t be tried at home.

The Independent seems to have found the trademarks, which were applied for in August of last year. They’re for a lot of different merchandise F1 could sell, in a lot of different countries: F1 filed an international trademark, as well as ones in Singapore, the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Malaysia and, of all countries, Australia—the place where it all began. Bold.

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The trademark includes use on a lot of alcohol accessories like glass flasks, beer mugs, coasters, drinking glasses, water bottles and decorative bottles, which seems to miss the point of drinking out of a gross, worn shoe instead of an actual item used for drinking things. Again, nothing is sacred in this world, not even a tradition that is outright gross and a cause for potential health concerns.

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F1 also filed for rights to “shoey” on clothing, according to the Independent, but didn’t get them because a relative of the people who coined the phrase filed an earlier international registration. That relative, Korinne Harrington, is listed on as filing several “shoey” trademark applications. From the Independent:

The Shoey has been a popular celebration in Australia for around 15 years thanks to surfing and fishing brand, The Mad Hueys. Dean and Shaun Harrington, known as the face of this brand, have been quoted saying they drunk Shoeys as early as 2002. [...]

One of the first racers who drank from a shoe was Supercar rider David Reynolds when he won the first non-endurance race of his career in 2015. It got a boost in exposure the following year when Australian MotoGP rider Jack Miller celebrated his first premier class victory by drinking champagne out of his shoe at the Dutch circuit of Assen.

F1 won’t be able to stop the stars of rival sports from celebrating in this way but it could put the brakes on them selling glasses, bottles and statues carrying the word. Red Bull Racing itself even tweeted a link for fans to make their own cardboard Shoeys to drink from on New Year’s Eve. If it ever tried to sell it in future it might need F1’s consent or it could run the risk of getting the red light.

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No matter who’s making the money off of it, the only slogan shoey souvenirs should have on them is that Shoeys Are Gross, But You Do You, Mate.