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 An Interview With Author L. Rea.. By: Millard Baker For the better part of the past two decades, only a fortunate few had access to Author L Rea, arguably one of the top experts in the field on anabolic pharmacology. With the publication of Chemical Muscle Enhancement and Building the Perfect Beast, Author L Rea has decided to share his vast experience at creating bodybuilding beasts with the bodybuilding public. His books provide a fascinating insight into the protocols that have successfully been used to transform the professional and top amateur bodybuilders that Author has worked with over the years. The publication of his books has reinvigorated the discussion of the practical aspects of bodybuilding chemistry and has had ripple effects throughout the bodybuilding and the supplement industries.
I had the opportunity to talk to Author about his experiences in competitive bodybuilding, its participants, the supplement industry, and of course, what exactly goes on during those several months out of the year when he vacations in Mexico and consults with his athletes!
As you know I spend a good part of the year in Mexico. Of course, Mexico and Thailand are the only places I will work with assisted athletes. Naturally, this allows the potential for maximum manipulation of physical potential due to legal allowances and is endlessly fascinating. We are discussing a contest for next year that will give the winner a month in Mexico with us. I have no desire to have any disagreements with legal issues. However, the US is my home and the challenges are so much more extensive here that I am always intrigued! Consider the challenges our laws create: Designing products, training and dietary protocols that best benefit athletes in a specific intent manner in the US, legally, requires far more than some cleaver research sites to suggest that clam fungus and batshit will somehow inhibit myostatin and "double muscle" anyone. By the way, there is no such thing as a natural athlete. There is legal and otherwise. In all honesty, moving tons of weight and dieting to 3% body fat is not natural, but it can be legal.  [ Q ] What needs to be done to make the sport of competitive bodybuilding more marketable? In other words, what is wrong with the business of competitive bodybuilding?
The show was so badly run that athletes had to leave to keep from passing out due to overly prolonged dehydration and calorie depravation, and the better part of the audience left before the athletes that did suffer through it came out several hours late. Think about it: Would you go to a movie if you did not know if it was going to run 3-5 hours late? The morning show or prejudging is for the hard-core enthusiast, but the night show needs to be for the audience or we will not have any. Sad, bodybuilding is such a great sport that few get a chance to truly identify with. [ Q ] The problems you cite seem self-apparent to anyone who has ever competed or attended these amateur shows. Bodybuilding, as a sport, treats its athletes worse than any other sport. The Pros are treated poorly. And the "working class athletes"? They definitely deserve better. What structural forces are maintaining the status quo? Are the few in "power" content with the current situation?
Please note that there are promoters who really do it all out... within budget of course. I am sure that you realize that millions of magazines are sold every year but only a very small fraction of readers ever attend a show. Hmmmm, so magazines are good at promoting our sports and shows are not. Need I say more? I cannot tell you how many times I have heard promoters say "there are always more to replace them". For this reason many simply do not do more than a couple shows before becoming disenchanted. Of course they are content. Seems most dictators are, huh? If you do not mind, let's move on, please. I really prefer to not speak ill of anyone. [ Q ] I've known you for several years and while I've been impressed with the progress of professional athletes with whom you have worked. But I too have a greater appreciation of the transformations you've achieved with the amateurs you coach. You've practically leveled the playing field for "legal" athletes, or what most have been calling "natural bodybuilders", to compete against those who use black market chemistry. This is quite incredible. But has this possibility changed with the enactment of the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004? Will we ever see "legal" compounds in the future as effective as those that were banned by the ASCA 2004? Is there hope for those who want to compete in bodybuilding, or simply aspire to the competitive bodybuilder "look", but choose not to violate the laws of the land?
Please do not misunderstand me. There are some very good companies out there, but we need more to up their expectations of themselves to gain general public acceptance.
We are pretty proud of our new products released for Spring. Let me just touch upon a few that we used to prep our lads and ladies for shows this year with.
And it truly is fun to be the first to introduce a totally new and unique product to the market. N'Gorge: Seems everyone is making an NO2 and Creatine Ethyl Ester product these days. Most depend upon Arginine in one form or another as their special substrate for NO2 production. This is a huge error and I will explain why in an article very soon. We have created N'Gorge as the best of the best that accounts for true Action/Reaction Factors in the body instead of assumption. Simply said we were able to increase cellular uptake of creatine far beyond normal AND increase NO2 production by an average of 50% for several hours at the same time. Normally the body can only do one of the other well. I guess the only side effect worth mentioning for N'Gorge (and ErgoMax LMG for males) alike is males experience major erectile function increases, and both men and women have reported increased sexual tactile sensations. But none of the test subjects seemed to mind. XXX Rush is without doubt the ultimate adipose tissue disposal matrix that is a major energy boost as well. We have created a unique product by employing some very specific ratios to our compounds.
We have 6 others in the Spring releases but we can talk about them later. I really do not want to do an interview that reads solely like an ad for supplements. [ Q ] Author, I apologize for all the questions regarding your supplement line. But there's been quite a bit of buzz in the industry regarding Ergomax - primarily because you refuse to tell anyone what is in it. Why all the secrecy? If it's as good as you say it is, then why not lay out all the evidence on the table.
Two of the real problems with introducing a new compound (never been sold anywhere) to the market is that no one knows what it is. As example no one had heard of M-1-T prior to its introduction and most who did have some research capabilities swore it never existed. Oddly enough what they missed was that it had been studies by Ciba and was a patented AAS in Europe with lots of research from the late 70's. The second problem is that even when a company spends $40K on a patent, there will be endless copiers on the market within weeks of release. We had this problem when we were the R&D behind HM Gear (now closed as we will not work with them any longer).
We had released Testosterone-OH, Nandrolone-OH, MOHN, and isomerized M-4-AD in 2002. Within 30 days we had over 30 brands claiming they had it first... yet I had been using all of them with his professional athletes since 1996. Our pending patents did nothing for us in court. Anyway, to answer your question, we have created Pherobolix? (Unique proprietary pheromone matrix for promoting extreme recovery). The product has a little over a 10 hour half life per dose and acts through mediation of the same receptors as natural testosterone does. Interestingly enough, our experience over the year of working with this complex is that it tends to dramatically increase sexual interest. This is compounded by most noting an increase in sperm production during the first 2-3 weeks of use. At 8 weeks there is some HPTA inhibition but certainly not on a level of most AAS. Try 2 bottles, if you do not like it return the unused portion within 3 weeks with a copy of your original invoice and we will be happy to give you a refund. [ Q ] How about the rumor that you are being sued by some of the big guns in the supplement industry?
I let the bean-counters watch the bottom line and where we stand. But this really caught my attention. I mean, to actually be of such a high level as to be considered a concern by the prestigious company Ergopharm, and supplement industry wizard Patrick Arnold (picture below), is really flattering!
I have always admired Pat's work. The guy is a genius! He was the first to market several of the prohormones such as 4-AD and a few other very notable effective compounds often common in most supplement product lines. He has also always kept industry moderation in mind for the betterment of all. I have been around the industry for 20 plus years now, so you can imagine that I am not easily impressed any longer. [ Q ] So what actually happened?
Naturally, enough athletes (I had been working with at that time) used the compound to evaluate its potential estrogen control and natural testosterone production enhancement as being very high. I certainly did not discover it as it is naturally occurring and has been in research papers for some years even before I came across it. But like whey protein the compound 3,6,17-Androstenetrione is up for grabs to anyone wishing to market it unless the FDA schedules it as a drug. 3,6,17-Androstenetrione acts both as a suicide aromatase inhibitor and, to a much lesser degree, as a sort of estrogen-site blocker in significant ways as and due to its metabolism to its -OXO- analogs. OXO is just a generic chemical suffix or prefix denoting structure. As such there probably is no surprise that anyone naming an OTC supplement product that used this compound would use the -OXO- chemical suffix in the name. It is like not putting "Whey" in a product that has Pure Whey, 100% Whey or Just Whey. I guess we could use the name "100%?the other milk protein" for any whey protein product we consider producing in the future. Bringing 3,6,17-Androstenetrione to the supplement market makes sense to me, as it is a great naturally occurring compound for many reasons?except for the cost effective oral bioavailability issue. Ergopharm did so with the product trademark name 6-OXO. Earlier this year ALRI did what we love to do: We built a little better mousetrap, so-to-speak from a well-researched and potentially effective compound, then brought it to market at a more affordable price to the customer. We accomplished this by adding a Bioavailability Enhancement Complex that increased the amount of the active 3,6,17-Androstenetrione compound that made it past the liver and actually into the circulatory system rather than becoming mostly toilet trash. You must realize that bioavailability is a huge issue. What good is any sports performance supplement if it is not affordable and introduced into the body at a supraphysiological level? We created a transport method that allowed a more effective circulatory level and therefore a more cost effective product to the customer. We named it after the obvious effective chemical suffix with the obvious physiological effect advantage: Max-OXO-Plus. After all you cannot trademark a chemical suffix or someone would be suing everyone that listed a chemical on the label with the -oxo- suffix or prefix possibly including detergent companies. Pretty silly and in truth of no interest to us. But Ergopharm's lawyers sent us a letter on Christmas Eve to inform us that they believe they have the rights to chemical suffixes and prefixes. (Wow, I was flattered!) Actually the letter was pretty polite and to the point. Rather than fight with them and spend a lot of research or product quality money on legal fees, we will likely just tell it like it is and print a new label for our product. I believe this will be done by the time this interview is printed. We are not doing so because we feel we are in error, I just see no good coming from negative relationships. Pat is an icon, in my opinion. Why start a fight with someone you respect and believe in? [ Q ] What will your ALRI Max OXO Plus be called now?
ALR: Max OXO Plus will be re-named Aromax?. I love this stuff too! I use it with clients and personally. You will be able to get it from www.bodybuilding.com.
Of course we are always working on creating an analog of 3,6,17-Androstenetrione that is still naturally occurring but is near 100% bioavailable?and we are almost there. We have one that I am amazed at in research now that is over 6 times as active as 3,6,17-Androstenetrione (in actual human "blood work verified" testing it was as effective as the best anti-aromatase drugs anastrozole and formestane together) and will be almost 50% more cost effective than our Max-OXO-Plus, or rather our Aromax?, which is saying something. And that is to the customer where it really counts. Think about it: Being able to use the ultimate anti-aromatase legally at a price that is cheaper than black market comparatives is pretty cool. One bottle will last 30-60 days (depending upon dosages used) instead of only 10-20 days. This means that the new goodie will replace the base 3,6,17-Androstenetrione compound products like Max-OXO-Plus?now Aromax?, in a big effective way. The use of such products is one of the best ways for athletes to promote natural testosterone production while decreasing fat stores. More muscle, less fat at a better price cannot be a bad idea for any athlete. But this is some time off yet. [ Q ] I think we're all fortunate that supplement companies such as ALRI continue to innovate in spite of the constant changes in the regulatory landscape. In the past year we've seen ephedra and andros banned. Let me ask you - why all the bans?
They prefer that the pharmaceutical and medical industry control supplementation simply because they can monitor them far more closely and they do pay big numbers through lobbyists. It certainly does not help that we have reached a point in our sociological development where our legal structure allows anyone to sue for almost anything. Far too often someone who makes a bad choice wants to blame someone else. Pharma corps do have far more money for research and a better tie with the medical community, and both are government regulated at several levels. Problem is that this means the cost of any supplement, if medically deemed necessary and appropriate, would be well over 10 times current OTC costs to the consumer.
If they regulated alcohol, tobacco and fast food as well as they do the supplement industry, we would not have a society that is over 60% obese and our health care costs would be a fraction of what it is. Instead of preventing the thousands of deaths yearly from these legal substances, that most of America uses in some way or another, it is safer politically to go after a minority to show that they are doing their job. If they went after fast food and alcohol, I think there would be obese people slowly rioting in the streets. Think that one through. Cigarettes and alcohol kill over a half million American's yearly. I believe that in the 4000-year history of ephedra use, fatalities totalled are under 100 people, and always due to serious abuse. Look at prohormones. There has never been a recorded fatality and none of the potential negative side-effects of alcohol or tobacco use apply. Which products were banned and which are still available OTC with the only stipulation being that you are of the right age? It is not some secret government conspiracy. Just an issue of political economics. Oddly enough, I have to say that the FDA does do a pretty good job in many areas. Personally I believe in the American ideal of freedom of choice: If someone wishes to eat and drink their way to unhealthy obesity it is their choice? and it makes all of us "health nuts" look so much better in contrast. Like I said, mediocrity sucks. With all of the controversy related to OTC and prescription drugs like Vioxx, Celebrex and even Alieve it appears that the FDA is on it and more concerned with health-risks than health aids. [ Q ] I have seen your ALRI product ads in Planet Muscle, Speed Strength and Sports, Double XL and a few other magazines. I know of several professional athletes you have or do work with. Why do your ads show mostly amateurs or non-competitive types?  For Planet Muscle Articles Click Here...
Most pros I know are really great people. But ads using them are not realistic. So we try to use real hard working average people in our ads that have actually used our products extensively and show their success. As a guy who started bodybuilding at 127 pounds I can really identify with people who are looking for legal products that actually work. I hated all of those ads that sold product-X promising 20 pounds of new muscle in a week only to find myself the same with less money. [ Q ] Something else that surprised me about the supplements that you've formulated for the U.S. market is the fact that all of your pro athletes use them as well. I would think with the unlimited supply of pharmaceuticals available to them in Mexico, they would not need to use supplements?
Its kind of like "Show-n-Tell" but on a physiological level and way more fun. Not saying that we will replace AAS use in muscle sports totally, but I can tell you that I know of two pro-teams this year who did rather better after they included ErgoMax LMG and a few other soon to be released ALRI goodies in their supplemental protocols. So far it is not banned by anybody and everyone is looking for the best edge without getting kicked off a team, fined or even arrested. Make sense? [ Q ] Any new projects on the horizon for Author L. Rea?
Seems the more information reader's gain, the more questions that arise. I like that. I know I am pretty controversial at times, but the thousands of questions we get every week tell me that people are thinking. My goal has always been to provide factual information. If you open minds and make people think for themselves, they also are armed (no pun intended) to make better choices. I have also contracted with a medical oriented group called www.hrtexperts.com to act as a patient and medical personnel consultant to help improve longevity and health potentials in relation to hormonal action/reaction factors. It is quite enjoyable as I am working with some very knowledgeable doctors, and an awesome lad named David Greenwalt CSCS. Dave does longevity lifestyle management. This means focusing on exercise, diet and mental aspects of health in a rather profound and effective manner. The patients must be 35 years of age or older and qualify for treatment. The results are, as you may predict, very favorable. I have been having a lot of fun doing it.
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