The sports supplement industry on the vendor side is really about the "little guy." What the heck do I mean by that? Well, the big behemoth companies that have been around for years typically rest on their laurels and rarely come up with anything that's truly "cutting" edge. Sure, they may sell a former "cutting- edge" product a year or two after the little guy has launched it (when the big company has determined they're not going to get sued or arrested for selling it), but it's the little guy who makes this business progress. And the reason is simple. He has to!
The little guy has to push the envelope of ingenuity and develop those exotic and really innovative products and services because if he doesn't, he won't survive. The little guy can't compete against the big guys when it comes to price points, distribution or advertising. This edition of Chemical Corner is dedicated primarily to the little guy and his innovative products and services. Sometimes these guys have great, useful stuff, but have such limited budgets for advertising that they can't get the word out to tell all of you. That's why I'm here.
For the record, I'm not an employee of any of these companies (and in a few instances, I truly do not like the owners or managers, but that won't stop me from mentioning them here). And I have not taken any money for pitching them and their wares in my column. So without further ado, here are the little guys with some kick-ass products and services.
KILOSPORTS
Kilosports (http://www.kilosports.com/) are the original "powder people." They sell a whole host of interesting powdered goodies for those of you who want to custom blend your own supplements tailored to your exact needs. I have known the owner of this outfit for a few years and he is an honest and trustworthy dude. Their customer service is extraordinary, their turnaround time is better than average and their selection of useful stuff is pretty broad. They sell bulk capsules, too. Let me give you a few examples of some of the goodies they sell that might interest you.
Bulk powders- virtually every type of 1-testosterone from the base to the ether to the esters. They carry piracetam (a nootropic that is $100 per kilogram and is a smoking deal), a cornucopia of amino acids and some cool proteins. In capsules, their 1-test ether caps (50mg x 60 caps for $20) is the best deal on the market right now. They also carry yohimbine 2.7mg caps x 360 count for only $18.95 and they sell alpha lipoic acid, 100mg softgels x 1,000 count for $50. They also carry packing supplies. If you have not been to their website, you really are shortchanging yourself. This is one of my favorite companies in the sport supplement industry. And if you don't see something, ask. Chances are if it's made anywhere on planet earth, Marty can source it for you.
1FAST400
I do not like Mike McCandless, the owner of http://www.1fast400.com/ and I don't think I ever will. Personally, I think he is riding someone else's coattails and he reminds me of that sniveling little monster creature that was always at Jabba the Hutt's side in the Star Wars/Return of the Jedi flicks. That aside, his company does sell some cool stuff and I want to make a note of it here because as I previously wrote, I'm putting my personal feelings aside to help the little guy get his business off the ground and to help you, the consumer, locate some truly unique and innovative stuff. The site has some pretty cool (and free to read) articles that are scientifically accurate and might be of use to many of you. 1FAST400 is also one of the few places on the Internet where you can purchase formestane and androstenetrione by the gram in powder form. Mike also carries a bunch of bulk prohormones and sells them by the gram, which is very convenient. It is surely worth your time and effort to stop at this website. The prices on the "regular supplements" are also pretty good.
AVANT LABS
Avant Labs (http://www.avantlabs.com/) has been around for a few years now and is owned/run by Caleb Stone, a bright young guy with some interesting ideas. If you like topical "anything," this is the place to stop, as they sell a bunch of cool topical "cosmetics" and some of them, like Ab-Solved and Lipoderm-Y, are truly avant-garde (hence the name "Avant Labs"). The best aspects of this site, in my opinion, are the forums and message boards. (You can sometimes find me and other supplement luminaries hanging out there answering questions). They also put out a web-based publication called Mind and Muscle, which is a good read for those with an advanced grasp on biochemistry, philosophy and law. Not for the beginner. But overall, a good site, and one I stop by at least once per day or more to see what's happening in the world of supplements.
For those of you looking for the truly gray market prohormones, this is the place to be (http://www.legalgear.com/). They carry all of the 4-hydroxy prohormones, some 17a-methylated prohormones (methyl-1-test and 17a-methyl-4-AD in bulk and in caps with some other "interesting antiestrogens"). They also carry some interesting transdermals and offer some of the best training programs through their "premium partners" section. This is the home of the "cutting edge" for sure and they carry stuff you simply can't get anywhere else. So if you truly want to push the envelope, this is the place to get the stamps!
PHARMAGENX
PharmagenX is a company started by the people who originally did the formulations for VPX (the liposomal stuff). They carry a lot of the same stuff that VPX does with one noteworthy (and interesting) exception- FinagenX. Despite its name and their claim, this is absolutely not a prohormone precursor to trenbolone. The prohormone in the product is called estra-4,9-diene-3,17-dione. This converts to 17b-hydroxyestra-4,9-diene-3-one in vivo. Remember that nandrolone is 17b-hydroxyestra-4-en-3-one and that trenbolone is 17b-hydroxyestra-4,9,11-trien-3-one. So this stuff is going to have properties that are possibly similar to both. A quick look at the J. Vida book tells us this compound is highly anabolic and not very androgenic, so I bet it's probably a fairly safe compound to use. I am not sure how much of the prohormone converts to the active hormone but user feedback so far has been fairly decent. I think owner/chemist Brian Rubach has hit a winner with this one. You can find FinagenX on the Internet in a variety of places and if you are looking for a new and exciting prohormone to try, this might be it.
MOLECULAR NUTRITION
Bill Llewellyn is a colleague of mine at Muscular Development and he happens to be the owner of Molecular Nutrition. They are not exactly a "small company" anymore, but realistically represent the upper echelon size-wise of what I want to discuss. Bill is a pretty smart cookie and although we had a disagreement regarding C-3 azine prohormones, I do admire Bill for bringing us the best current boldenone precursor on the market (Boldione), as well as a pretty good DHT precursor in 3-Alpha (5alpha-androstane-3alpha, 17beta-diol). Bill has been "first" on many occasions and I think his 4-AD ether gels are a brilliant idea and the best 4-AD product currently being sold. Bill has a host of cool techie info on his site about his products and supplements in general. Check them out at www.molecularnutrition.net when you have some extra time.
NUTREX RESEARCH
Another company that's not going to qualify as "little" for much longer, Nutrex Research (http://www.nutrex.com/) has launched some of the most innovative stuff the industry has seen in a long time- all of it based on the most solid science available. Jeff McCarrell (president) and I go way back to our days at Biotest together. On his own now (with partner Jens Ingenohl), his company has launched what I consider the best 1-testosterone product on the market, 1-TU. In fact, I'd go so far as to say this is the best single entity prohormone product being sold today, period. Nutrex also has a creatine delivery system that blows the doors off anything else. It's called Vitargo CGL, which uses a patented, high-tech carbohydrate that pushes the creatine into your muscles for unbelievable pumps. Other companies have had to resort to using Guanidinopropionic Acid, a somewhat counterproductive, and I would say, "potentially hazardous," substance, to get the same effect Nutrex gets from the Vitargo polystarch. Nutrex is a company that's absolutely on the rise in the supplement world.
QUEST FOR ANABOLIC CONDITION
Well, this little company (http://www.qfac.com/) run by author Shelley Hominuk, is totally hip for no other reason than you can arrange to have one-on-one e-mail or telephone consults with IFBB Professional Bodybuilder Milos Sarcev; World Powerlifting Champion Brian Batcheldor; famous bodybuilding prep coach Chad Waterbury; and the ever-present industry insider Will Brink from the website. I'm not wild about some of the articles (like I give a crap what human semen tastes like- but I'm sure this is important info for some folks), but there are some excellent free articles by Lyle McDonald, Dr. Serrano, Dr. Di Pasquale, and archived Dirty Dieting articles from the late Dan Duchaine. This is definitely a site to hit for advice, both free and "for pay."
THE PROTEIN FACTORY
Imagine a place where you can go and totally customize your MRP, protein shake, pre-workout carbohydrate drink and the like? Chances are, you'd imagine a place like The Protein Factory (http://www.proteinfactory.com/). This place allows you to pick from 15 different protein powders, three different carbohydrate mixes and believe it or not, five different fats to incorporate into your own personal powder supplement. You can have it flavored and/or sweetened or not. They also sell some other prepackaged supplements and the prices for these are okay, but the really cool thing is the way they can custom blend individual powder tubs as small as a quarter of a pound! Why buy premade stuff that everyone else is using when you can custom blend the exact formula you personally require?
BEYOND A CENTURY
This supplement store carries more esoteric, exotic and hard-to-find sports supplements and health goodies than any other store I have ever seen! If you can't find it anywhere else, chance are, BAC will have it (http://www.beyond-a-century.com/). And if they don't have it, chances are it's illegal or isn't made. The cool part is that their website offers a downloadable catalog as a pdf file that is 400K bytes and contains just about anything you could ever want. It's always my last stop when I'm searching for something and I'm about to give up on finding it. Many times, I am pleasantly surprised.
So there you have it; my "Top 10" little guys, companies I would surely miss if they were not around, companies that provide unique and hard-to-find products and services.
Your body. Your business. Protect your supplement rights. Recently, I had a lengthy phone conversation with fellow MD columnist, attorney Rick Collins. Rick's mood was somber. Folks, we are going to lose prohormones in a year or maybe 18 months, at best. Not some prohormones, all of them, unless a massive grassroots effort is unleashed ASAP. For those who don't care for prohormones and are saying, "So what," the pending legislation will eventually circumvent all of the good DSHEA has done and it will take away your rights to use things like creatine and glutamine. Can you imagine needing a prescription from your doctor to take Vitamin C? Well, if we don't all get off our asses, this is what will happen. This is serious shit. This could very well be the death knell of the sports supplement industry. I don't know how many people read MD each month, but I'm guessing it is in the hundreds of thousands. Each and every one of you, please! Read the alert Rick Collins sent me and please help, even if it's only with a phone call or a letter to your representative or senator. You can make a difference. Here is the statement/flier Rick put together. Please read it and then act on it!
Bills on Capitol Hill are attacking nutritional supplements, particularly prohormones. Senator Joe Biden has a brand new anti-prohormone bill that would reclassify a variety of popular over-the-counter prohormone supplements into the Controlled Substances Act- expanding the War on Drugs into your neighborhood and online health food stores by authorizing the arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment of mature, health-conscious adults for unlawful possession of nutritional supplements.
The NNFA- supposedly a supplement industry group- is supporting the Biden bill to ban prohormones and criminalize their mere possession by consumers! Sounds unbelievable, but it's true. Making prohormones a sacrificial lamb will ultimately hurt the entire industry. The eradication- and criminalization- of prohormones is just the first of many steps towards the dismantling of the protections of the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DSHEA), piece by piece. Rather than risking mass resistance by attacking DSHEA head-on, this approach would minimize attention and allow the entire supplement market to be destroyed one small piece at a time. The first target is the sports supplement market, because not only are Big Pharmacy, the medical community, the FDA and all the usual anti-supplement forces gunning for it, but the sports industry itself- goaded by its anti-doping lobby- is pouring gasoline on the fire. We need to stand up in opposition!
We must develop a truly massive grassroots consumer/voter revolt to stop these bills! A non-profit coalition of individuals and companies has already been formed, dedicated to the preservation of sports supplements and other safe nutritional products. The United Supplement Freedom Association, Inc. (USFA) is the only association standing up against the assault on prohormone products. They have been educating America through radio and print interviews and [had] an informational booth at the Olympia Expo in Las Vegas in October, 2003. Please go to their site at http://www.usfa.biz/ and use their online wizard to find your legislators and create form letters to snail mail to Congress (the USFA News Forum has plenty of information and copies of the bills themselves). Tell your friends and neighbors to do so as well. Tell your local health food retailers to contact USFA for informational store displays (via the web site or by calling 516-294-0300). Spread the word.
Since Senator Biden's bill may move the fastest, you may want to call his office at 202-224-5042 and let him know what you think. Here's one example of what to say. This is just a suggested guide:
Hello, I would like to speak to the Senator or one of his staff members to voice my strong opposition regarding his efforts to further regulate prohormone products and categorize them as anabolic steroids. I strongly oppose the Senator's efforts and feel they are not based on fact, not supported by science, and will do more harm than good to the vast majority of adult Americans who use and want to continue to use these products. My reasons are as follows:
1) There is no evidence that these products are unsafe. Rather, these products have been safely used by millions of consumers. Trying to ban these products is an example of going too far to "protect us from ourselves."
2) To remove these products from the market just because a few professional or Olympic athletes use them to gain an unfair advantage is not fair and penalizes many because of the acts of a few elite-level cheaters. Punish them, not the rest of America.
3) The Senator's bill would do even more harm to the public than simply removing these products from the market. His bill would subject adult Americans to arrest, prosecution and imprisonment for the mere possession of these products. That's simply intolerable.
4) There are other less oppressive ways to deal with prohormones. The solution is to adopt responsible advertising guidelines, marketing and sales restrictions so they are not sold to minors, and other responsible regulations. Prohormones are already banned in many competitive sports. The Senator's actions go much too far and he should work with industry and consumer groups such as the USFA so that the needs of adult Americans, many from the Senator's own state, can be free from the threat of imprisonment and can continue to have access to these products if they so choose.
Prohormones are today's hot target. What will it be tomorrow? Creatine? Glutamine? Whey protein? Herbals? Vitamins? We need to form a hard line of defense. Prohormone use, like all nutritional supplement decisions, should be a matter of personal freedom and responsibility. Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand. Both are headed toward extinction in the realm of safe nutritional supplements- unless each of you takes the time to make your voice heard now!
FDA Puts the Kabosh on Chinese GH
For close to a year now, a good many people have been importing recombinant human growth hormone directly from China with little issue and for as little as 40 percent of the price of the American counterpart products. These products were mentioned (along with photos) in my column here a few months ago. Well, you can now kiss this option goodbye; the FDA announced on September 4, 2003, that it's confiscating the Chinese GH in its "Import Alert = DETENTION WITHOUT PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF FOREIGN UNAPPROVED PRESCRIPTION DRUGS "(point your web browser to http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia6657.html) and scroll down until you see the following: GenLei Jintropin (Somatropin rDNA origin - Human Growth Hormone) by GeneScience Pharmaceuticals Co., 72 Tianhe St. Changchun High-Tech Development China, Jilin Province, China. This is a bummer for all of you GH fans.
