by Christian Duque

I first met Keone Pearson aka The Prodigy at my friend PJ Braun’s Braun Army meetup at Flex Appeal Gym in Miami, FL. PJ had been pushing Keone hard, coaching him, looking after him and advising him on how to go all the way to the top. Although Pearson was initially under the wing of bodybuilding Hall of Famer Flex Wheeler, he’d gone as far as he could with him.

by Matt Weik

Holidays bring many people together. It also opens up the opportunity for supplement brands to launch seasonal flavors. While some brands relaunch seasonal flavors annually, some keep them around year-round. Regardless, consumer’s eyes light up every time they see their favorite seasonal flavors on their supplement retailer’s shelves or online.

by Christian Duque

I first met Keone Pearson aka The Prodigy at my friend PJ Braun’s Braun Army meetup at Flex Appeal Gym in Miami, FL. PJ had been pushing Keone hard, coaching him, looking after him and advising him on how to go all the way to the top. Although Pearson was initially under the wing of bodybuilding Hall of Famer Flex Wheeler, he’d gone as far as he could with him.

by Christian Duque

The decision to pull out of a contest is a very tough one. There’s a lot on the line, from pleasing the fans, to doing right by your sponsors, to increasing your wealth and padding your resume. Athletes take competition very seriously and when it comes to competing at the very highest levels, that competitive spirit is only compounded. Take the Superbowl, the Stanley Cup, or the World Series, for example; if a player is sidelined by injury, they’ll do whatever it takes to be there, to make history, sometimes if the decision could have very serious consequences to their health and well-being.

by Matt Weik

Yes, I’m early to the party, but those who know me, I never like to be late. That said, I had an idea for a really cool holiday gift for the fitness enthusiasts out there since Christmas is only a couple of months away, and this idea will take some time to put together. Now, all I need is a supplement retailer to back me on the idea. What I’m envisioning is a supplement advent calendar. You know, the kind where every morning in December, up until Christmas, you wake up and open up the little door on the cardboard calendar, expecting to find a piece of chocolate. Only this advent calendar will be full of protein bars. Merry Gainzmas!

by Christian Duque

The Egyptian Phenom, Big Ramy has been given a special invite to compete at the 2020 Mr. Olympia. This means he will not earn the right to take the stage, either through automatically qualifying (Top 6 previous year), winning a pro show, or qualifying by points. He will compete because the federation decided to invite him. Although he competed at the 2020 Arnold Classic, for the first time in his career, he placed 3rd behind previous champions Dexter “The Blade” Jackson and William “The Conqueror” Bonac.

by Matt Weik

I’d like to think I’m an energy drink connoisseur (at least in my own head) as I have tried just about everything that is out on the market these days. From my days working with a supplement manufacturer, I’ve always been knee-deep in the stimulant and energy category. And from the products I have tried in the past, MOST of them have an amazing flavor profile. Of those “most” I have found that some have a great profile while others provide you with an energy boost similar to plain old tap water. And then comes Wired Energy Drinks.

by Matt Weik

Being in the supplement industry for more than a decade has exposed me to a lot of things involving business and how brands interact with their retailers, vendors, and customers. Some of the experiences were good. Some of them bad. Yet, there seems to be one thing that only a few brands are really capitalizing on these days and it’s what separates them from the rest. What is that one thing? It’s customer engagement. Reaching out and touching their customers and guiding them back to the brand time and time again.

by Christian Duque

For many years, countless writers in the fitness press have discounted the hard work that’s done in Kuwait, by the athletes and their coaches, focusing instead on what many believe has got to be the driving force behind the many successes from Big Ramy to Roelly Winklaar to reigning Mr. Olympia Brandon Curry. Many have gone to Kuwait in hopes of capitalizing on their already-good fortunes. There was a time when everyone wanted to make the trek and to this day, it remains one of the hottest spots for bodybuilding in the world. With that being said, the articles, videos, and much of the shop talk, focused around stronger gear, experimental drugs, SARMS and experimental agents so exotic and so obscure that even most scientists had not heard of, much less had a chance to study.

by Christian Duque

We have a WORLD of respect for #FlexLewis for withdrawing from the 2020 #MrOlympia !! He’s an exemplary Pro #Bodybuilder who was able to make a very tough decision. As opposed to competing just to compete, he did the right thing by his health. That’s very, very important.