k, So wtf IS Going On?
When I first joined BodySpace, I saw it as a place where people could learn about bodybuilding and health, and be inspired to follow the lifestyle. I believed in what they were trying to accomplish with BodySpace: giving people a format to share information and give inspiration. However, the closer I got to the heart of the matter, the more I realized that BodySpace is less about keeping people informed and inspired, and more about selling false hope in the form of supplements.
BodySpace is simply an extension of the store side of bodybuilding.com; they are not separate entities. BodySpace's priority is the bottom line of supplement sales, and making sure that their supplement companies are shown in the best light possible. Anyone that has ever gotten big and ripped can tell you that it's mostly about eatin' clean and liftin' hard. No one was ever kept from getting ripped because they didn't supplement enough.
Any bodybuilding forum that has the 'Supplement' forum at the top, and the 'Exercise' and 'Nutrition' forums near the bottom, has something inherently fucked up.
Yeah, yeah...big surprise that they want to sell supplements, right? Look, I'm not against them making a buck. It's that they make selling supplements their priority. Bodybuilding is about knowledge, staying inspired, eatin' clean, liftin' hard, and the proper use of supplementation. Despite what the supplement companies, and BodySpace themselves, would prefer you to believe, "supplementation" is the least important of all the other factors involved in bodybuilding. Yet, BodySpace's priorities are selling supplements, selling supplements, selling supplements, and then anything else (as long as it leads to supplement sales).
Putting supplements first is simply not what I believe in, nor can I support that belief.
My Interview...
When they first contacted me about the interview, I told them that I'd do it, but I wasn't going to be talking about supplements (read it...I didn't mention any specific supplement once). They said that was fine, but then towards the end the interview, the issue came up again. I told them that I simply wasn't going to talk about supplements. "Supplements" is the smallest variable, after "eatin' clean" and "liftin' hard" to getting ripped. They already have a disproportionate amount of their site devoted to the topic; the subject didn't need to take up room in my interview.
Once the interview was complete, a link to it was posted on the main page. At the top of the main page is a Flash box that rotates between links to three different articles. My interview was second in the rotation, behind a cardio article (of all things...me playing second string to a cardio article! HA!). I was getting a ton of comments and messages from people letting me know that they found inspiration and knowledge from the interview. So, after only a short time of the interview being linked on the main page, I was perplexed when the link was taken down (that uninspiring cardio article was still there...argh!). I contacted the webmaster and asked him what was up; why did he take the link down. In his reply to me, he suggested that maybe it was time that I started to talk about supplements.
That was the first real eye-opener that I had that they weren't interested in giving information and inspiration unless it was a marketing opportunity for selling supplements.
I contacted them and expressed my concerns. I received no reply.
I don't like to be ignored.
ChickenTuna's Interview...
What? ChckenTuna had an interview? Yes, ChickenTuna, the woman who has had more profile views than anyone on BodySpace had an interview posted shortly after mine. Who wouldn't want to have some insight and possibly be inspired by the legend herself? This, after all, is BodySpace's biggest star.
If you missed her interview, you weren't alone. It was linked on the main page in the same Flash box that my interview was in. Only, her interview wasn't 2nd in the rotation as mine was; it was 3rd. Her interview was placed behind a professional (steroid) competition, and an article pimping supplements. Why would they give their own homegrown star talent this kind of placement (behind steriods an supplements)? My belief is because of this line in her interview:
"I really haven't experimented with many supplements but am open to try some."
Here is their gem of the site saying that she really hasn't used many supplements. That's not good for business.
About Supplements...
95% of the supplements sold are bullshit. They're either ineffective and/or dangerous and/or counterproductive to bodybuilding. The selling of supplements is based on marketing and hype...it's not based on the results they provide. Most of the supplements sold today won't be around tomorrow. The supplement companies are pretty good at marketing something, then right about the time people start to figure out that it's crap, they come out with a "New and Improved" version of the original, or a new product all together. For example, today's "N.O." products will go by the wayside just like yesteryears' boron, vanadyl sulfate, and pyruvate fads all did.
Never heard of boron, vanadyl sulfate, or pyruvate (or the countless other supplement fads of years past)? That's why the supplement companies love you youngsters.
The Supplement Logs...
The supplement logs on BodySpace are, for the most part, total and complete bullshit. You have to take into consideration if the log was sponsored or not. The sponsored logs are obviously going to be biased. Even if the author of the logs wasn't given the supplements to test for free (sponsored), there is still the placebo effect to take into consideration. People want whatever it is that they're taking to work...it's just human nature. Also, how likely are people going to be to buy something and then get in front of their peers and admit that they wasted their money and their time? Beyond that, there is no control group involved in these logs. What would the results be if the subject simply ate clean and lifted hard, without taking the supplement in question? They still would have made gains! The logs are based on how the author of the log "feels" the supplement worked...they're not based on fact.
The Supplement Rep Game...
I was contacted by a few supplement companies about being a rep for their products. Each time, I'd let them know that they'd never dealt with anyone like me. There are 60,000 plus members on BodySpace, and only a fraction of one percent are going to be asked to be reps. The supplement companies are used to people being flattered and saying "yes" to whatever it is they're asking. That's not how I work. I'd take a look at what it was they were selling, and let them know what I didn't like about their products. Usually, I'd never hear from them again (apparently, they don't like it when you tell them what you think of their products).
Oh well, fuck 'em...that's what they get for selling bullshit.
One company offered me an opportunity to appear in a magazine ad if I'd rep their products. I told them that I'd look into it as a modeling job, but not as a rep. Never heard from them again either.
Fuck them too.
I understand the ego trip that is involved in being a rep, and that's the main reason why people agree to do it. That, and the couple of free supplements you get each month. But I have a lot of people looking up to me, and there's no way I could recommend the products I've been offered to rep. And I can buy my own supplements...I don't need their bullshit that doesn't work.
Everyone has to make their own decisions about what they to do. I choose to not pimp bullshit to the very people that look up to me.
The Magic Potions...
Supplementation is third in line behind eatin' clean and liftin' hard. Too many people are using supplements hoping to find some type of magic potion. There are no such magic potions. No supplement has the power that is greater than the power of eatin' clean and liftin' hard. Supplements can only "supplement" an already solid nutrition and exercise regimen.
A lot of the supplements are being marketed in a way to prey on the "magic potion" mentality that is typical of the bodybuilding consumer. If you see a supplement that uses a "proprietary blend" of ingredients, they're likely trying to sell you a magic potion. They don't use a proprietary blend to keep their concoctions safe from their competitors; they do it so YOU don't know that they're giving you an ineffective and/or dangerous amount of ingredients. They don't want to ruin the "magic potion" effect by telling you what is actually in their product.
You owe it to yourself to know what you're taking. I make it a policy to never take a product that uses a proprietary blend, or uses ingredients of unknown standardizations.
I'll use the natural testosterone boosters, that are all the rage now, as an example here. Fortunately, as far as your health is concerned, most of them contain an ineffective amount of ingredients. Unfortunately, the ones that do have enough active ingredients to raise your test levels, don't have the support that go along with raised test levels (i.e., estrogen inhibitor, dht blocker, shbg binder, etc.). I haven't seen one natural test booster that would make its way into my body.
I'm Not Against Supplements...
I need to make this clear: I'm not against the proper use of supplements. I take different vitamins/minerals, aminos, and herbal derivatives. Although I don't believe they are ultimately responsible for my physique, I do believe they help me achieve my goals quicker.
I said in the interview that I was interested in working with a supplement company in product development. It was my goal to help design supplements that mimic the various stacks that I already take, and that I know are effective. I learned rather quickly that the supplement companies that I dealt with weren't interested in making supplements that necessarily work. They're looking for supplements that are the most marketable and the most profitable...not necessarily the most effective or safe.
I Don't Give A Shit...
I don't give a shit about not being in the magazines pimping some bullshit for a supplement company. Being able to go to bed at night with a clear conscience is more important to me. I don't give a shit about BodySpace's magazine ad that I won't appear in now; they can kiss my ass too. They don't run shit when it comes to me. They're just a necessary evil that I'll have to deal with.
I don't give a shit about what the haters say about me, or the reasons they've come up with for why I'm not on the site now.
I Have To Stay True...
I have to stay true to those that look up to me. I promise you, I won't sell out.
The most important thing to me right now is to stay true to myself. All else will follow...it always does.
There will be a point in my life when BodySpace will be but a distant memory. I'll still be eatin' clean, and in my garage liftin' hard...just like always. I'll smile and know I did the right thing.
I hope you do too.
Eat clean and lift hard,
