Anthony Presciano Blog:

2011-04-06 07:12:57

First, let me say that I’ve been gone for far too long. I apologize if my 6-month absence sent the wrong impression to anyone. I simply needed a break.

Good things are on the horizon. My team and I are going to re-vamp this site by the summer.  We’re developing a new design, coming up with creative content that will be released on a consistent basis, and expanding our SEO/SERM efforts. I will also be affiliating with several leading nutrition, bodybuilding and fitness sites and bringing back AP’s Corner, your favorite Podcast for all things fitness. The ultimate result will be to build greater awareness for the site and otherwise help to spread the message of superior health and fitness for all.

I moved my family a little further south from Boca Raton to Hollywood, FL. I’ve been working 60 hours a week and travelling 1-2 times per month for GAT.  Typically I wake up at 5 AM and hit cardio or weight training with my wife. I’m on my first email or phone call no later than 7:30 AM every day, including Sundays.  If I’m in town I turn off my computer around 7 PM and answer emails from my Bberry for another hour. After that, my wife and I watch Idol or some other reality show and crash out around 9:30 PM.  This has been my routine for the last 6 months.

My wife Michele has done incredible with our family business, Mama Dee’s Bakery. I’m very proud of her. She’s on the road with distributors 2-3 times per week and at the bakery with her partner, John, who is also the owner of the bakery, another 3 days per week.  Michelle has also auditioned for two major television shows as a top fitness trainer. And she finished her own reality show which debuts in 2 months.

Our dogs Luigi and Samantha love their new house in Hollywood. In our Boca home, they scratched themselves against the wall all friggin’ day.  Samantha, my golden retriever, scratched herself so much she had to wear one of those damn lamp shade numbers over her head a few times. Embarrassing! Poor Samantha. Not anymore. Our new Hollywood crib seems to have fixed the dogs’ scratching issues and Team Presciano is pumped!

Okay, now for some industry talk. We’re going to play a game called The Real Deal. This is where I tell you the truth about exactly what’s going on the supplement industry side of things. Permit me to get on my soapbox briefly:

1. I recently saw an ad where a particular supplement company was thanking its competition for serving up the motivation behind their next great product.  This is funny (as in ironic) and infuriating.  Please, don’t f**k with us- and by us I mean consumers - the end users of your products. The truth is that your new product is being launched for the same reason you launched the last 5 products: You’re being forced to re-invent yourself and find a new crop of uneducated consumers to fool into buying your products.
   
   
2. Yesterday I visited a Mercedes dealership and asked them if I could pay full sticker price for a 2007 SL.  Then I went down the road to my local electronics store and bought the latest CD player, plus they threw in a cool new beeper in case someone needs to get a hold of me and I am out of the house.  After that I went home, flipped through my phone book and located the closest movie theater. I was disappointed when I got there to find that No Country for Old Men was no longer showing. If I’m sounding like a moron, then you understand how some of the large supplement companies like the one described above treat you when they try to trick you into buying their latest “university-studied” formula with clever marketing. Supplements are not people. Desperately, urgently and pathetically going back 4 years in innovation and re-releasing your top revenue sku as the greatest of all time will not fool anyone.  It only shows the exponential downfall you are going through, and the bottom is further down than you think.  Soon domination will be at the Food & Beverage/C-Store level, and you will turn off the fans that a special group of men built for over a half decade.  The infrastructure is riddled with holes, and the public is catching on.  It’s a matter of time... talk to me in 18 months and we will see where you are.  
   
   
3. Bodybuilding “gurus” know absolutely nothing about supplementation.  It’s true, I just listened to a few interviews online with two of the top trainers in our industry.  They were asked to describe the latest product they are representing.  I heard statements like “the most insane pumps from this formula” or “incredible ingredients that will take your bench thru the roof!”  How about you say something like “we spent an extra 20% on our raw materials because we handpicked our providers and performed quality control tests at multiple levels during production, all while utilizing the latest ingredient, clinically proven in healthy humans.  Stupid-ass “gurus” trying once again to sound like experts.  They embarrass themselves. I hope to see one of you people in a setting where we can go head to head, my product vs. yours.  I don’t represent the product, I work with a team to build it. Keep up the good work, guru. Call me when you can pronounce an ingredient profile.
   
   
4. CONSUMERS!  Remember all of this, don’t be fooled.  If you are at an expo or in front of a supplement company sales rep ask them the following questions about the product they represent.  Unfortunately you will find that the majority of them know nothing at all. 

• What is your favorite ingredient inside this product? 
• What  makes this  product unique?  What ingredient/ingredients allow this to occur?
• Is there a  shelf life?  How do you know?  (aha!!!, good luck on that one)
• Are you a GMP certified facility?  Do you manufacture your products?  If not, is your co-packer GMP certified?
• Are you guys sold in major chains such as Vitamin Shoppe or GNC (the big one, why???  Because those corporations require major insurance policies with whomever they sell- why is that good?  Because brokers & auditors will not pull the trigger on a strong policy if there are inaccuracies in the products or banned substances)       

 Fans, clients, friends and family, I speak the truth.  It’ been 15 years.  From the time I opened my first retail store to this day I have been a part of over $800,000,000 in supplement sales.  Keep your eyes open in this industry.  There are only a few good companies out there today. 

Train Hard & Live Large
AP