Don't Be A Sucker!

Just like as it is with any product or service based business, claims of being the “the best” run rampant in the sports supplement arena. Everyone makes the best sports supplements, just ask them. They're certainly not going to tell you they don't make the best supplements; that they're just the middle of the road, average, or the worst. They're all going to proclaim to be the best! But, as things stack up, there can only be one best. Everything else is not the best, in spite of plaintive claims to the contrary. Such is life.

The problem attached to this lies in the details that caused a forfeiture of the number one supplement spot. If it was a close call and the difference between best and not the best was a split hair, then you'd probably have no problem using that product or service in lieu of the best one, for whatever reason. But, what about the supplement companies aiming for last place? Those who ride the industry's coattails, but aren't even trying. They proclaim to be the best, but in actuality are the worst. Rather than invest in good raw materials and/ or process, they put their money into marketing. They're not looking for the most important sale, they're looking for a sucker. 

Even with laws that require truth in advertising, we all know that P.T. Barnum was right when he said, “there’s a sucker born every minute.” While none of us like to be played for a fool, it still happens to some people because they don’t take the time to check out what we’re being sold. From insurance to investments to healthcare products to political promises, you can clearly see that P.T. Barnum was on to something, there’s a lot of suckers out there.

After I retired from competition, I knew I loved the sport far too much to walk away. I had to stay involved. I chose the supplement industry, not only because the timing was right, but also because I knew that if I employed the same work ethic that I did as a bodybuilder, to put out quality products at a fair price, that I knew would help people attain their physique goals, I knew I couldn't lose.  

I soaked up every ounce of available knowledge to design products that I knew would help a great many athletes. Yet, people still told me I was crazy.  I was a small-timer out of New Jersey up against established multimillion-dollar companies and I couldn’t compete with that. They should have known better than to tell me such a thing - it only made me want to achieve that “impossible” goal even more. My attitude was, somebody has to be number one, it might as well be me. Now, 25 years later, Gaspari Nutrition has grown into one of the leaders in the supplement industry. Why? The obvious reason is that our products really work. I simply thought that if I was to make products better than anyone had ever done before and sponsor the unbiased, independent research to prove it, I couldn’t go wrong. 

With all of the effort you put into building your physique, or improving your performance, trying to figure out which supplements are worth the investment shouldn’t be an added strain on your time. Every athlete should have access to the best supplements available. You should learn as much as you can, check the sources of your information, and the truth will reveal itself. 

And that always leads to what I believe is the most important sale – the second one. When you buy a product and it does exactly what you hoped it would, or better, you tend to buy it again. You’re also likely to recommend the product to others. And, you’re probably going to try any new products that company makes.

That being the case, I urge you to keep two words in mind: “independent research.” I have personally participated in the development and testing of every product we create. I even went so far as to earn certification from the National Institute of Sports Medicine. But, even that wasn’t good enough for me. So, what I started doing early in my company’s history, was funding area universities to conduct independent, scientific research on my products, so I could back up my claims with science. There’s a history of “snake oil” being sold in my industry and I wanted to rise above that.

My goal is to not only provide high end nutritional supplements designed to help you achieve your goals, but I also want to give you a lot to think about. I don't want you to be one of P.T. Barnum's suckers. Your brain needs to be worked at least as hard as your body.  So, investigate for yourself what I’m telling you to do. If what worked for me needs to be fine-tuned for your physiology, feel free to make adjustments. You may not be interested in becoming an expert on sports nutrition. But, you do need to become an expert on what works best for you. There’s only one way to do that, investigate. Rely on credible research to narrow your search, but whatever products you choose, they have to work for you. That means, with confidence in potency and purity, you still have to use yourself as the lab rat and test everything!