In military terminology, RedCon1 refers to a heightened state of readiness. When you're at RedCon1, you're on full alert, ready to move, and ready to fight. You don't give a supplement company a name like this by accident. Armed with supplements such as Total War pre-workout, Cluster Bomb intra-workout, Breach Ballistic branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), and Grunt essential amino acids (EAA), you're ready to demolish PRs, get big, and get strong.
Aaron Singerman traces his journey from bodybuilding fan to competitor to founder and owner of one of the fastest-growing supplement companies on the market today.
Aaron, thank you for giving us a glimpse inside RedCon1. Let's begin with how you started the company.
RedCon1 got started after my former business partner and I decided to go our separate ways in April 2016. Within days of the split, RedCon1 began to take shape in my mind. I brought over some of my key employees from my previous company, Blackstone Labs, hired people from varying industries, and off we went.
By June 2016, we had already moved into a South Florida office space as the team began to come together. That summer I convinced the late Dallas McCarver to move from Tennessee to be our featured brand athlete. We started off selling apparel, but by the fall we were ready to release a full line of supplements. Things moved very quickly!
Our priority was, and still is, to provide the public with free informational and entertaining content, while developing top-quality supplements and cool apparel for the health-conscious and fitness-focused individual.
How did you get into the supplement industry in the first place?
I've been a bodybuilding fan almost my entire life. Some of my early jobs were at nutrition stores and gyms. I'd read bodybuilding magazines from cover to cover, and listen religiously to bodybuilding podcasts. Even during some of the hardest times in my life, I still found time to work out. I've even competed a handful of times.
My first big break in the industry came when I served as editor-in-chief for RxMuscle.com, a bodybuilding website. I formed many great industry relationships while traveling the globe covering IFBB pro shows for the site. After my transition from the media side of the industry to the supplement-business side, I owned several popular supplement companies before starting RedCon1.
What makes RedCon1 different from other sports-nutrition companies?
RedCon1 isn't just another sports-nutrition company. When we were starting out, we made a conscious effort to build a brand that people would be drawn to and want to be a part of.
The biggest advocates of the brand are our employees. From our tier operators [aka brand ambassadors], to our diverse group of athletes who compete at the highest levels around the world, to the staff who work in Florida at our headquarters, we are a family that demands results.
We also take pride that our supplements deliver the results people are looking for, and that what you see on our labels is what you get in our supplements. We always strive to maintain the highest level of quality and assurance.
Over the years, what have been some of RedCon1's top-selling products?
When we launched, we came out with an aggressive pre-workout, Total War. Our formulator and vice president, Eric Hart, insisted on a multiflavored attack that featured better ingredients than any other product on the market. We followed that success with MRE, our whole-food meal replacement. MRE grew from three to five flavors and was such a hit around the world that we expanded the sub-brand to also include MRE Lite and MRE Bar.
MRE Bar's reception has been nothing short of phenomenal: We sold out in our first three weeks. There really is nothing like the MRE family of products on the market. They're all animal-based, whole-food products with a taste that rivals a cheat meal. That's a hard combination to beat.
What are some of your newest products?
We just launched Grunt, our EAA formula that comes in three flavors. GI Juice is a delicious fruits-and-greens formula. I take both of these daily. We also relaunched our Med Pak vitamin supplement box and renamed it Med Kit. These daily packets are incredible. They contain fish oil, ubiquinol, and several key vitamins and general health supplements. I take Med Kit every day, too.
I've already mentioned MRE Bar and MRE Lite, but those are also new and doing great with our customers. We plan on adding more flavors to both of these product lines soon. And that reminds me: Total War launched five new flavors this month!
Are you coming out with any exciting new products in the near future?
At RedCon1, one of our major goals is to keep the product pipeline full and to continually innovate. We have a sweat/water-loss product and a natural anabolic due out this summer. And expect new MRE Bar flavors to be available this summer, too. Plus, all of our new apparel launched this week, so make sure to look for those on RedCon1.com and @RedCon1 on Instagram.
Does RedCon1 perform its own research? How much will science guide your future?
We research each ingredient and how ingredients work synergistically. To date, we haven't conducted third-party research studies on our finished goods.
Science will play a role in guiding our future. As the regulatory climate changes, science will be key in combining Dietary Supplement Heath and Education Act (DSHEA)-compliant ingredients to ensure that our supplements deliver the greatest benefit to our customers. We also think science will play an increasingly important role in how consumers use supplements, including new developments in delivery systems and product formats.
Let's say a customer is just starting a fitness regimen and can afford only one product. Which one supplement do you recommend?
This is an easy one: Start with MRE, a whole-food meal replacement and one of the most versatile supplements we offer. MRE contains only real-food sources, very little sugar, and no junk or fillers, so there's nothing inside to upset your stomach.
Each four-scoop serving contains 525 calories, 47 grams of protein, 75 grams of carbs, and 4 grams of fat. Each seven-pound container provides 25 servings of pure muscle-building nutrients! If you're new to training and fitness, consuming the appropriate amount of high-quality calories should be your number-one goal, and MRE will take you there without any hassle.
Who are your sponsored athletes?
We have more than 20 sponsored athletes and more than 4,500 tier operators around the world. Like I said before, we're one big family—and growing day by day. We're always recruiting new tier operators and on the lookout for our next sponsored athlete. If any of your readers are interested in learning about how to become involved with RedCon1, I invite them to contact our customer-service operators.
Dallas McCarver was a RedCon1 athlete at the time of his tragic passing. What are your thoughts on his legacy?
Dallas was more than an athlete: He was family—one of the original members of the RedCon1 team. As I said, I called Dallas back in 2016 and asked him to be the face of this then-nameless company, and I told him about my plan to start a new company based on providing value to customers with free videos, podcasts, and articles. I told him the only way we could do it right would be if he left his home, family, and friends in Tennessee and relocated to Boca Raton, Florida. Without a moment's hesitation, he agreed. Dallas accepting my offer so quickly and doubtlessly made me know I had the right guy.
Dallas was a great friend and an incredibly hard worker. I think he'd like his legacy to be just that: Someone who pursued his dream with single-minded commitment, who was the hardest worker in any room, and who never quit.
Dallas' birthday just passed. He would have been 27 years old. Literally thousands of people posted pictures of him on social media and sent messages to him "up there." If that doesn't speak to the impact he had on so many people, nothing does.
Thanks for your insight into RedCon1's past, present, and future. So, one final question: What do you want your own legacy in this industry to be?
Legacy is something I think about a lot these days. With three young sons, I ask myself how they'll think of me when I'm gone, and that provides the litmus test for my decision-making. It wasn't always that way, and I've been guilty of short-term thinking, just like many other people. Now, when I make life choices and business decisions, I always make sure to look at them through a long lens. I ask myself, "Is this something my family would be proud of?"
If I'm able to maintain that standard for myself, then I'd like my legacy in the fitness industry to be that I created the biggest sports supplement brand in the world—and did it the right way. I treated my customers the way I would want to be treated, and made products I'd personally want to take.