Move Over Chef Jay
December 17, 2009
By: Scott Welch BASc (Nutrition), CAAP (Advertising)
Amongst the “food bars” that make up the bar market, one of my longstanding favorites has always been the TRI-O-PLEX bars made by Chef Jay (pictured with me on the left). No, we don’t REALLY go to the same barber). My fav is the peanut butter chocolate chip flavor but the banana walnut version also tastes great. When I get my hands on these, I eat two in a row sometimes. Back to back baby! Sometimes one on top of the other like a giant sub! Ya, I’m a savage. I’m not hungry for about 8 hours afterwards (but of course I eat anyway!! Ha Ha!) But I think there’s a new kid in town Jay so take off your over mitts, set down your chef’s hat, put the apron back on the counter and stuff the whisk in the dishwasher and pay attention. Just kidding big guy!
Ultimate Nutrition Gets In Bar Biz
Ultimate Nutrition which has never been known as a “bar company” they’re more powder focussed, has decided to throw their hat in the “bar ring” and develop a food bar called “Iso Meal Xtreme” and the taste 
kicks ass! I mean this thing’s even got icing on it! It contains 31 grams of protein and 470 calories per serving. But don’t let that sway you because the thing is HUGE! It weighs 120 grams which looks almost double the size of traditional bars and will fill up even the hungriest lumberjack (don’t ask me where I came up with that stupid expression). Anyways, I don’t want to go on and on but this one tastes great. As with the OhYeah! and Supreme bars, the taste on these is addictive but keep in mind that all the calories add up. If you eat these and still eat like a pig, you’ll get fat in no time. If you eat these bars instead of a meal (when you’re busy or something) you’ll do fine.
Supplement Genius vs. Hulk Hogan
December 7, 2009
By: Scott Welch BASc (Nutrition), CAAP (Advertising)
At this year’s Mr. Olympia contest in Las Vegas, I experienced many career highlights that I’ve yet to write about. I’ve wanted to do so but I’ve just been so slammed with the new SupplementRadio.com show that’s going to rock the nation, my monthly column in Natural Muscle, a new supplement review book I’m putting together, a bodybuilding cookbook, and several other projects on the table! Yes, it’s been crazy around my office. Okay, okay, enough about all that - back to me vs. Hulk Hogan! The major highlight for me at The Olympia was getting to meet Hulk Hogan who was working at the Ultimate Nutrition booth! It was a thrill of a lifetime and one I’ve waited for since I was a wee little high-school punk pumping away my 12 inch pythons.
Scott Welch Draws Picture Of Hulk Hogan?
Ya, ya, I know I’m a loser but it was back in high school! Like many bodybuilders, I used to be a HUGE wrestling fan when I was young. So when I found out the Hulk would be at the Olympia, I actually brought a drawing of him which I did for our weight room wall back at TDSS high school! My mother bugged and bugged me to bring it to the Olympia to have the Hulk autograph.
“Scotty, you’re never gonna get another chance to see Hulk Hogan. You MUST bring the picture you worked so hard to draw. He’ll be flattered you did!” She said in her very convincing voice. My mother’s very stubborn sometimes and when she gets an idea in her head, she won’t stop reminding me to do it “her way”.
Hulk Hogan At Ultimate Nutrition Booth
So I went over to the Ultimate Nutrition booth and spoke with Eric Howard who heads up their marketing 
team. I showed him the picture I drew and he took me to meet the man with the 24 inch guns who by this time was being mauled by screaming fans. In fact, there was a 3 hour lineup at the Ultimate Nutrition booth just to get his autograph! Hulk was cool, friendly and the gang at Ultimate Nutrition were even nice enough to email me the picture of the Hulk at I! After all these years, the dudes still jacked and the crowd of hulkamaniacs were still running wild over him.
What Did HulK Hogan Think?
Well I must say when Hulk Hogan saw the pic I drew of him, he was a shocked! Well okay okay, so was the entire crowd of people around the photo area! Nobody could believe I brought such a a prop for signing and put such effort into it now as an older adult. Hulk held the picture, looked down at it and read it and then looked up at me and asked:
“Who drew this man?”
“I did! I drew it way back in high school. I’ve been a fan of yours for almost 20 years and I wouldn’t be here at The Olympia if it weren’t for you! I’ve now been working out for the last 20 years because you said to train hard and eat your vitamins!” I answered.
“Wow! Thanks man, this is REALLY good.” Hulk added.
Dozens of camera flashes went off from all sides of us. People screamed at both of us to smile for their camera or to look their way! It was unreal as they were now taking pictures of ME!? People were stunned by what they were seeing before their eyes. To me, they were stunned by the fairly tale story that just unraveled before them: Young fan draws a pic of his hero way back in high school. That fan gets older but never forgets that hero. He then gets to meet that hero 20 years later when they are both much older and in much different chapters of their lives. Yes, a thrill of a lifetime for me that I will never forget. For the Hulk, just another day at the office!
Hulk Hogan At Mr. Olympia
September 21, 2009
By: Scott Welch BASc (Nutrition), CAAP (Advertising)
Yes, 
Hulk Hogan will appear at this year’s Mr. Olympia contest in Las Vegas! The Hulkster will be bringing his 24-inch pythons, his signature headband and thousands of hulkamaniacs down to the Ultimate Nutrition booth where he’ll be signing autographs. This is sure to cause 
chaos in the convention hall as the Hulkster is one of the most recognizable public figures of our time. Ultimate Nutrition will have him at their booth from 1 pm to 4 pm on Saturday, September 26th. I know I will be getting a picture - hopefully of him leg dropping me!
SCOTT WELCH CONTACT INFO:
- genius@supplementgenius.com
- http://www.Twitter.com/WelchScott
- http://www.Facebook.com/Scott.Welch1
Thiago Silva & Full Combat At Mr. Olympia
September 21, 2009
By: Scott Welch BASc (Nutrition), CAAP (Advertising)
Ultimate Nutrition has been making tons of noise lately. On top of being the headline sponsors of this year’s Mr. Olympia contest, they’ve just launched an entire supplement line designed specifically for MMA fighters called “Ultimate Nutrition Full Combat“. The products are well thought out, well priced, and boast some really cool packaging that should be a hit amongst MMA enthusiasts. The product line is being advertised heavily on Larry Pepe’s Pro MMA Weekly podcast where Ultimate is now the headline sponsor of the show. If you’re a fan of UFC and the whole MMA sport and haven’t heard Larry’s show yet, you’re missing out big time! Endorsing the Full Combat supplement line is UFC fighter Thiago Silva who has a very impressive win/loss record and of course a great physique also! Thiago will be signing autographs at the Ultimate Nutrition Full Combat booth at this year’s Mr. Olympia contest in Las Vegas.
SCOTT WELCH CONTACT INFO:
- genius@supplementgenius.com
- http://www.Twitter.com/WelchScott
- http://www.Facebook.com/Scott.Welch1
Thiago Silva Signs With Ultimate Nutrition Full Combat
August 31, 2009
Yes, Thiago Silva the UFC superstar has signed with Ultimate Nutrition to endorse their new supplement line made specifically for MMA Fighters called “Ultimate Nutrition Full Combat”. Silva, who is held as a top 10 lightweight, knocked out Keith Jardine in 95 seconds this past Saturday night during UFC Fight 102.
“Thiago is an incredible athlete. He is at the top of his game and is a perfect match for Ultimate Nutrition’s Full Combat product line,” said Brian Rubino, Vice President, Ultimate
Nutrition. “Ultimate Nutrition has stood for quality and innovation for 30 years and Thiago will help solidify our position. The signing of Thiago is another great event of our 30th anniversary celebration.”
“I am an avid user of their products and I am excited to be a part of Team Ultimate Nutrition Full Combat,” said Silva “Their new MMA line is in a class of its own within the industry and I love taking the Pre Combat, Post Combat and Protein Combat Powders.”
About Ultimate Nutrition
Since 1979, Ultimate Nutrition has been in the business of fueling bodies with the highest quality ingredients possible. Being in the supplement industry for 30 years now, they were among the first companies in the world to have amino acid tablets, carbohydrate powders, fat burners, and whey protein powder. Today, Ultimate Nutrition is one of the top innovators in the supplement industry with products available in 100 countries! No matter what the product may be, Ultimate Nutrition promises that you can be sure that what you see on the label is what is in the bottle.
Website for new supplement line: Full-Combat.com
Ultimate Nutrition Mr. Olympia Title Sponsor
May 22, 2009
Ultimate Nutrition is indeed headlining the Olympia this year which is news that is sure to send shock waves to many in the supplement world. Ultimate announced today a partnership with the 2009 Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend. Currently known as “The 2009 Olympia Weekend,” will now be known as: “Ultimate Nutrition presents Joe Weider’s 2009 Olympia Weekend brought to you by Bodybuilding.com.” Definitely more than a mouthful! The 2009 Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend is scheduled to take place at the Orleans Arena and the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada between Sept. 24, 2009 and Sept. 27, 2009 and is the premier event in bodybuilding.
“Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend is the top event in the bodybuilding world, and it is a perfect match for Ultimate Nutrition products,” said Brian Rubino, Vice President, Ultimate Nutrition…Ultimate Nutrition has stood for quality and innovation for 30 years and having the opportunity to present the 2009 Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend is another great event of our 30th anniversary celebration.”
My Thoughts
There are several supplement companies to watch for this year, of course Nutrex, Cytosport, BSN, and Gaspari Nutrition are definitely some of them but Ultimate Nutrition is defintely one of them also. With distribution in 100 countries, their own manufacturing facility and 30 years of experience, there’s no way you can take this company lightly by any means. Headlining the Olympia could prove to be a good coming out for them. BSN moved to the front of the pack from out of nowhere when they announced the signing of Ronnie Coleman many years ago. Big news creates big opportunity if it’s handled properly.
About Ultimate Nutrition
Ultimate Nutrition was founded in 1979 by Victor H. Rubino. At the time Victor was one of the top amateur powerlifters in the US. Driven by a goal to become the best, Victor knew that supplements were the key to improving his performance through increased strength and faster recovery. Not satisfied with the current supplements that were available to him the 1970’s and being a biochemist himself, Victor decided to launch his own company Ultimate Nutrition. Victor’s goal was to create high quality, thoroughly researched products at an affordable price for everyone. By the mid 1990’s Ultimate Nutrition again was on the cutting edge as we were one of the first companies to come out with Whey Protein powder in a bottle. Today, Ultimate Nutrition continues to excel with a wide range of products including Iso Mass Xtreme Gainer, Prostar Whey, Muscle Juice Revolution 2600, Glutapure, Protein Isolate, Iso Sensation 93, Amino 2000, adreNOline, Red Zone, and now cellsizer HSP.
SOURCE: Eric Howard, Ultimate Nutrition
VPX Issues $100,000 Challenge
March 5, 2009
I was on the VPX website to see what they were up to and I noticed something that I thought was interesting. They’ve issued a $100,000 challenge to ANY supplement company that can prove that their product is better than NO Shotgun at producing lean muscle and generating greater ATP production. The only stipulation is that “the proof” must take place in a double-blind University study. To do such a clinical study would cost tens of thousands of dollars so you can bet none of the small players will step up to the challenge, but it would make for some excitement if BSN, Nutrex, Cytosport, Gaspari, Ultimate Nutrition or some of the other big cats in the industry actually took VPX up on this challenge.
SOURCE: VPX.com
Universal Nutrition Launches Intra-Aid
November 18, 2008
No, it’s not called Kool Aid it’s called “Intra-Aid” and it’s Universal Nutrition’s newest product launch and they’re expecting big things from it. Intra-workout nutrition represents the next supplement category for bodybuilders.
Benefits of Intra-Workout Supplementation:
- Better Rehydration
- Enhanced Muscle Liver Glycogen
- Improved Immune Function
- Decreased Catabolism
- Increased Protein Synthesis
- Faster Recovery
- Maintained Pump (For The Ladies)
Universal’s Intra-Aid consists of 5 potent components: fast-acting hydrolyzed protein, a highly specialized carbohydrate blend, critical electrolytes, an essential amino acid blend, and key ergogenic agents.
Universal Nutrition has been in the iron game since 1977 and sells their supplements in over 100 countries worldwide! Universal, Optimum, PVL, Interactive, Dymatize and Ultimate Nutrition are a few of the supplement companies that manufacturer most of their own supplements. This helps keep their prices reasonable and their quality high. Companies like Nutrex, BSN, Garbage Performance Products (yes that’s the company name) and now supplement veteran Ultimate Nutrition have all thrown guns into the “intra-workout” supplement war. Ultimate just released their intraworkout supplement called “adreNOline” which looks like a fantastic product based on the formula alone. Look for intraworkout powders, RTDs and shots to be big in 2009.
BSN Wins 6 Awards!
October 15, 2008
At this year’s Olympia weekend, the annual 2008 Bodybuilding.com Supplement Awards took place which were based on over 200,000 consumer votes for these awards. BSN reigned supreme by winning more categories than 
any other supplement company!
BSN won the following 6 categories:
- Brand Of The Year
- Creatine Product Of The Year – CELL MASS
- Energy Supplement Of The Year – ATRO-PHEX
- Muscle Builder Of The Year - N.O. XPLODE
- Nitric Oxide Product Of The Year - N.O. XPLODE
- Best Weight Gainer Of The Year – TRUE-MASS
I would have awarded them “Best Labels Of The Year” but Universal inched them out of that win by one place. However, not to dampen their win but I wouldn’t have had their “Atrophex” product even in the energy supplement category as it’s a fat burner. In that spot, I would elected to put their Endorush RTD in the race. But of course, that’s just one bald man’s opinion!
Do You Remember The Bad Press BSN Faced IN 2008?
The bad press involved their three main products possibility not actually containing a rare type of creatine that they listed on their labels called CEM3. I first read about this on the blog Inside Bodybuilding which also gave the link to the actual lawsuit (see SupplementPolice.com to view the lawsuit). But BSN did NOT hide behind the scenes and pretend the bad press didn’t exist. They issued a press release right away that addressed the negative claims being made against them like a true leader would. Now I’ve never worked for BSN and I don’t kiss anyone’s ass in the supplement industry, but I must applaud them on being a company that seems to be true to their fans. Companies like BSN , Cytosport , Optimum , Ultimate Nutrition and a few others are what I consider to be some of the “good guys” of our industry and their popularity is reflected by this business approach.
WWE Star John Cena Signs With Ultimate Nutrition?
August 18, 2008
WWE star John Cena was endorsing American Body Building (ABB) products not too long ago but it looks like he will now be putting his name behind the Ultimate Nutrition brand of supplements. I didn’t see any press releases for this signing go out but was on their company website (www.UltimateNutrition.com) and saw that he will be making store appearances on their behalf so I guess they chose to not publicize the signing! Ultimate has been around for over 20 years now and are not the most aggressive marketers (in my opinion of course) but make good products that have a strong following, especially overseas. I appreciate their honest, straight-forward approach.
Why a WWE Wrestler?
Do bodybuilders really care what a wrestler says when it comes to supplements? I have my opinion but I asked a couple of colleagues that are absolute experts in athlete relations. One is Martin Pillmajer (pictured below awarding the Olympia title to Ronnie Coleman) and the other is Vince Pe (pictured further below with WWE sensation “Stone Cold” Steve Austin).
What Does Martin Pillmajer Have To Say?
“ The signing of John Cena by Ultimate Nutrition is an interesting venture indeed. As companies look to gain market share, intelligent companies look at the successes and failures of other companies in the same industry to see the potential opportunity. It seems that most supplement companies at one-time or another go down the road in trying to sign a sports celebrity to promote their brands. Partnering with the WWE is nothing new in this industry, however, one only needs to attend a WWE event to realize that unless you’re planning on launching a very mass-centric product, money may have been spent better elsewhere in my opinion. As anyone that has had experience working with athletes from the WWE will tell you, wrestlers have crazy schedules that will be tough to work with. Ultimate Nutrition is going to have to be very creative in the use of this celebrity for it to make sense financially. Will it pay-off for Ultimate … only time will tell.”
What Does Vince Pe Have To Say?
“The signing of John Cena is a bold move for Ultimate Nutrition. With John Cena’s visibility, Ultimate Nutriton is capitalizing on this superstar’s versatile popularity. The signing opens up possibilities of sport supplement sales by a vast audience in wrestling and the mass market through the fans of his acting career. He’s definitely a very marketable athlete. Both John Cena and bodybuilding superstar, Markus Ruhl, are going to be great ambassadors for Ultimate and I’m sure we’ll see some fantastic ads and even greater traffic at their booths.”
Martin Pillmajer is considered by many to be one of the top talent relations expert in the fitness industry. He has over 10 years experience in dealing with some of the biggest names to grace the pages of the fitness and bodybuilding magazines. Martin now heads up Applewater Photography & Model Agency; offering companies full solution strategies to help them locate and sign top talent to endorse their brands. Contact information: martinp@applewaterphoto.com
Vince Pe is also considered to be one of the most highly skilled talent and event marketing experts in the fitness industry. He has worked with some of the biggest names in the sport and continues to play an important role in the industry as the head of talent management for the WBFF and as a consultant to various supplement companies.