Getbig.com: American Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure
Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: stuntmovie on November 03, 2008, 01:32:43 PM
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A while back there were no such things as Supplements. All we ever used was wheat germ oil straight out of the brown bottle and plain yogurt in a glass jar or one of those wax containers. No such thing as plastic back then either. That was still a long way off for store bought products.
The first "supplement" I can actually remember was made by Gypsy Boots around the early 50's. He made little individually packaged wafers around the size of a 50 cent piece that offered you an unrecalled amount of protein in a single bite. The cost? About a nickel each! Sometimes three for a dime.
Weider was selling some wicked tasting Gain Weight thick liquid stuff on a mail order basis. It tasted identical to the original Geritol and it probably was Geritol mixed with water.
Then Larry Scott starting brag'en about Blair's Protien and that got pretty popular in the SoCal area. I think it was milk and egg so some competitor discovered an opportunity and came out with an all-beef protein powder which tasted like raw liver as soon as you popped open the container. You didn't even have to get it near your mouth!
And then some fancy store front office on Santa Monica Blvd along-side the 405 advertised some high class brand of protein that was supposedly years ahead of its time, but it was too expensive and no one bought it and it faded into obscurity.
Then MLO came on the scene. A good friend of mine use to shovel it into plastic bags from 55 gallon drums and send it out. It was a big seller and still exists today under one name or another.
We loved all this stuff! We ate it up. It sold like hotcakes but was a hell of a lot cheaper than a 6 inch waffle.
And someone discovered that a bodybuilder on the label would make sales climb higher, so a few of the guys got their pictures took and placed on labels which were placed on the cardboard containers filled with various type of protein mixtures. Most claimed that the label was more expensive than the product inside.
And that went on throughout the years! And some got rich! But most got fooled because most products just didn't do what they claimed to do!
But still - the sales increased and no one really gave a real damn if they worked or not. It was the sales that was important and bodybuilders were somewhat easier to fool than the average Joe looking for something healthy to digest that would make him run a bit further than the other guy.
And the BIG BOYS within the industry soon caught on and did a lot of advertising and packaging in every sized container imagineable. Pills in little jars and powders in round containers ranging from a one-pound can to a 55 gallon iron drum.
Business was good but it could get better, so scouts were sent out to the top gyms in search of muscle to place on labels and claim that the contents inside produced the muscle seen on that label on the outside.
SOme claimed that eating that label would work just as good but sales continued to climb and soon exceeded hotcakes!
Who says that snake oil salesmen no longer exist?
I was there! I signed up a few and we fooled millions for something close to billions if you could add it all up throughout the years.
But those years were long ago and I've forgotten stuff and need some help to refresh my memory.
Here are my questions:
Who used Blair's protein? Where did you get it?
What and when was the first protein product offered to the general public?
Who was the first industrious person to promote supplements products nationally?
What protein product is considered to be the best today and is the advertising truthful?
What supplement do you swear by?
What supplement is fraudulant?
What is the most successful supplement company today?
What is the current situation between the FDA and the Supplement industry today?
Is there any one company or product that has your total respect
Thanks for any intelligent input.
Stunt
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Stunt,I rember me and the kid I used to train with buying beef protein powder back in the day.........we could never get it down...............like drinking liquid liver! :)
I think the reason lots of people gained size from Rheo H. Blairs protein was because it was recommended to mix it with heavy cream.............the extra calories caused a weight/size gain.