Bodybuilding.com Supplement Company Of The Month: Gaspari Nutrition

Gaspari Nutrition was built on the broad back of Rich Gaspari, a six-time Olympia top-five finisher and 1989 Arnold Classic champion. The company was built carefully, with attention toward quality, taste, and pursuing the next perfect thing.

The company is now 15 years old and it's bigger and stronger than ever. This life is all about growth, whether you are a former bodybuilder at the head of a company, or the hungry young lifter mixing your first shake.

Learn how Gaspari grew from the man himself!

Please tell our readers how your company started.

It's cliche to say that I started from nothing, but I literally started Gaspari Nutrition from my parents' basement, packing my own supplements. I would go to gyms pitching my supplement line and work by myself at tradeshows with nothing more than a small table.

Now I have more than a dozen different products that are sold in major sports nutrition retailers and online retailers around the world.

What made you decide to start your own supplement company?

After retiring from bodybuilding due to injuries, I still had a desire to contribute to the sport and to anyone living a healthy, active lifestyle. Starting my own supplement company seemed like a no-brainer, and it was the best decision I ever made. Nowadays people seem to know me more for my supplements than my bodybuilding career!

What was the biggest obstacle to launching a supplement company? Was it hard to establish credibility?

The supplement industry is extremely competitive, even more so than when I started Gaspari Nutrition in 1998.

Bodybuilding.com is a perfect example: There are hundreds of different brands sold here, and each one is trying to get a step ahead of the others.

As a successful former bodybuilder, I was fortunate enough to have credibility within the fitness community, which made the upstart a bit easier.

I constantly receive feedback about supplements and never get complacent in terms of making improvements to all of our products.

We love MyoFusion—especially the banana flavor! What are some of your other top products right now?

We established a reputation of having a great-tasting, high-quality protein with the original MyoFusion, and now MyoFusion Elite and Probiotic are following suit. Superdrive, our newest pre-workout powder, has been a hit and contains two novel ingredients that we created in-house here at Gaspari headquarters.

Aminolast is always a home run, whether we're sampling it at a bodybuilding show, grappling event, or a CrossFit competition. I didn't even mention SizeOn, which just won a Bodybuilding.com award for during workout supplement of the year!

Are you coming out with any new and exciting products in the near future?

I wouldn't be doing my job if I wasn't looking to come out with the next big, innovative supplement. We have new products coming later this year that our fans will love.

Gaspari Nutrition provides so many products. Has your goal been to cover everything?

Absolutely, my goal is to create products that appeal to every genre of athletics. Two examples of supplements that can benefit anyone are a great sport multivitamin like Anavite or a performance carbohydrate powder like Glycofuse.

Unfortunately, many athletes are unaware of the benefits of supplements, so it's my responsibility to get the word out on how Gaspari products can help them.

You have a variety of sponsored athletes. How do they impact your company?

I am very particular when it comes to sponsoring athlete. I want people who will represent Gaspari Nutrition the way it should be. All members of Team Gaspari, from Flex Lewis to Frankie Edgar, bring the same tenacity and fire to their sport that I brought to the bodybuilding stage. I don't sign athletes just to stick a T-shirt on them or take some photos. When you're part of Team Gaspari you're part of a family.

Let's say a customer is just starting a training regimen, can only afford one product, and he or she comes to you. Which supplement do you recommend?

It's tough to pick just one! If I had to choose, I would pick Anavite. Anavite is actually three supplements in one. It's a sport multivitamin that also contains clinically validated doses of beta-alanine and carnitine tartrate.

Beta-alanine is excellent for muscular endurance and carnitine tartrate aids in muscle recovery. Couple those two ingredients with the high-quality vitamins and minerals already in the product and you can see why Anavite is so popular.

Gaspari also sells branded apparel. Why is this important to the spread of your brand?

You can't assume that everyone knows about your brand and its benefits. Many supplement users will take the same pre-workout or protein powder for years and never expand their arsenal. There is no greater satisfaction than to see someone proudly wear a Gaspari T-shirt to the gym or carry a Gaspari shaker cup and represent my brand. Little things like that help promote Gaspari Nutrition in unconventional ways.

As you grow, how do you stay true to your original goals?

Whether I was bodybuilding or running my own business, there were bumps along the way. I never wilted under the pressure and always pressed forward. When I was a professional bodybuilder I discovered the importance of consistency, whether it's with training or diet. The same thing applies to business: If you become complacent you're bound to fail.

Your website is legit, you make your own videos, and you have harnessed the brilliance of YouTube! In what other ways has Gaspari Nutrition used the Internet age to its advantage?

I am a huge proponent of social media, both from a company perspective and even my personal account. We love interacting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram while giving fans an insight into the company and events. We recently launched our Physique 90 video series on YouTube, where we demonstrate proper form on exercises different from the usual squat, bench, or curl.

What does your company do to ensure high standards?

We've moved away from proprietary blends in many of our newer supplements, so our customers now know exactly how much of each ingredient is in our products. In addition, we have a quality assurance and customer service team on staff to make sure all of our supplements meet the standards that our customers expect when they buy a Gaspari Nutrition product.

Does Gaspari Nutrition perform its own research? How much will science guide your future?

As I mentioned earlier, we are a company based on innovation. Ingredients like Glycospan and Mitodrive, which are both found in Superdrive, were created by our amazing research and development staff. I want my company to be the best, and you can't be the best by mimicking the competition. You have to think outside the box to get ahead in this industry.

Where does Gaspari Nutrition go in the future? Do you have global goals in mind?

At the moment, we are sold in more than 100 countries around the world. I am constantly traveling to promote my brand and educate fitness enthusiasts at tradeshows, seminars, and other events.

We are even moving our headquarters to a larger facility because of the tremendous and rapid growth of the company. The future is extremely bright and I'm excited to share my vision and inspire all of you to reach your goals.

Sponsored Athlete: Flex Lewis

How long have you been sponsored/involved with Gaspari Nutrition?

Rich sponsored me before I even became a professional! I think he saw a little bit of himself in me as a young, hungry competitor, which is why we get along so well.

When training, what is your favorite Gaspari Nutrition supplement?

I would have to say Glycofuse and Aminolast are supplements that I can't live without. For Glycofuse, I take half a scoop pre-workout, one scoop intra-workout, and one and a half scoops post-workout.

I take one scoop of Aminolast intra-workout and one more post-workout. Both taste amazing and do wonders for my workout performance and recovery.

What's it like working with a guy like Rich?

Rich has been like a brother to me and is still an inspiration. Even though I live in Florida now and he lives in New Jersey, we still keep in touch on a regular basis.

I cherish the opportunities when we have time to spend and work out together. He still brings it every time we hit the gym!

The supplement industry is rife with ineffective products. How do you know Gaspari Nutrition's products work?

The only way for me to know if something works is to try it myself. Rich and his team will have me try supplements they have in the works before they hit the market because they value my opinion. I truly enjoy using Gaspari products. I don't know how I could lift without them.

What is your ultimate goal as an athlete? Are you there yet?

The great thing about bodybuilding is that there are always improvements that can be made. Even as the reigning 212 Olympia champ, I know that there are body parts I need to improve. As far as future competitions, I still have some years left in the 212 division before considering a move to the open division.

How has being sponsored by Gaspari Nutrition helped your career in the industry?

Gaspari Nutrition always does a great job promoting myself and any tours or events I am a part of. It's great to be part of team that genuinely supports me in all of my shows.