In today’s ridiculously fast paced times, it can be pretty hard to find, track down and contact execs and presidents of big companies. Even if you do manage to contact them, you can probably bet they are busy as hell… which means they don’t have time to listen to your petty things. I know, cry me a river.

But not today. Today is the exception. Not only was contacting Brian Andrews (President of All American EFX) a cake walk, he was more than willing to take a few moments out of his time to do up a lil (or not so lil) interview with me. What I respect about Brian is that not only is he completely transparent about his company, he is doing this interview before I’ve even put up the reviews of all the AAEFX products (So far I’ve put up 2… we have a bunch more to go).

See when I contacted AAEFX, Brian sent me a whole bunch of products to review (which as you can see, I’ve been going through) but I haven’t gone through all of them yet. Although I’ve liked the 2 I’ve tested so far, that’s no guarantee that I’ll love the other ones… it all depends on how they perform so for him to come out and spend some time is a risk (or not). Anyways, it’s all appreciated. Here’s the interview along with a few side notes from moi.

1. First up, mad props for doing this interview. It’s good to see a company such as AAEFX become so involved with the community and be so transparent and open with the information about their products. Why do you feel this is important?

No problem bro, it’s my pleasure. To answer your question, when we started this company, we did it based on this simple premise: to build the company we wished was around when we first started working out.

I first started training back when I was 16 (I’m 38… until June). Back then, I was desperate to get bigger and stronger. I was 6 feet tall and weighed in at a mighty 158 pounds! I remember my girlfriend at the time once made a comment to me that she could see my hip bones. Uh…thanks, honey!!! As you might imagine, that gave me extreme drive and motivation… but it also set me up to be extremely gullible. [FJ: I’m glad that motivation went towards transforming yourself instead of going emo… ]

Just like almost anyone else who’s ever looked for a way to get results faster, I’d try the latest, greatest fad supplements on the market. Problem is all we had back then were magazines and friends at the gym to get info from. We didn’t have the internet and forums where you can jump on and find out within seconds if something is actually good or not.

Ironically, the internet has actually reversed this trend. Now there’s too much information out there! [FJ: Agree with you on this, which is why I preach the information diet so heavily] It’s all but impossible to know where to go or who to trust to get real, unbiased information. Site after site offers nothing more than the same old drivel: huge promises, big claims, and false hopes. Message boards are infested with company shills tossing out sleazy sales pitches that are thinly disguised as “friendly” product recommendations. And how about all those outrageous magazine ads? Let’s not even go there…

So, we decided to become that trusted “voice”. In fact, what you’re doing with your website is very similar to us.  People desperately need a place to go to get solid info they can rely on. And as you already know, the hardest thing to earn is trust. Break it even once, and you are dead in the water.

That, if anything, is a major reason why we try our best to let it all hang out and be “transparent” about who we are and what we stand for. Seriously, does this industry really need another supplement company??? No way! So we strive to be something more than that… to give people killer technology that produces real results.

There are thousands of people out there who don’t know, see or experience what we do. So they’re like shooting fish in a barrel when it comes to selling them the next great “miracle potion”. It’s this very thing that’s always bothered me to a large extent for some reason. I guess I just have a soft spot for injustice.

This is also the main reason why we created a unique concept called the “Natural Freak™”.  This means that we only showcase athletes who are drug-free in our ads [FJ: Awesome sauce! I get called freak sometimes… but whenever she calls me that I just take it as a compliment]. I personally feel that it’s extremely dishonest to showcase an athlete and then imply the supplement is what was mostly responsible for their physique…and not a pharmacy full of drugs. Get real. That’s insulting to consumers.

By contract, our sponsored athletes must:

1) Use ONLY our products to develop their physiques.

2) Submit to random drug testing; failing means they are fired on the spot…end of story [FJ: I like the way you do business]. THAT is how you know our stuff really works…or as we say, “The Results Are Real™”. We even have each athlete’s drug test results listed on our website.

If you take anything at all from this interview today, let it be this point…

If our competitors’  products REALLY are as good as their ads claim, why do they showcase athletes who obviously also use drugs? And, frankly, why would they still need drugs? That’s NOT proof. I just can’t help but think this would be blatantly obvious to magazine readers. But somehow these companies just keep getting away with it.

The ultimate test (or proof) is what your products can do for drug-free athletes; when they are ALL they have to rely on. That’s doing it live without a net. We willingly put ourselves in a hard box by featuring only 100% clean, tested athletes in our ads. PERIOD. Name even one other company with the guts to do that!

We are a no-nonsense company that is all about results. We don’t have time to mess around when it comes to winning, and neither do our customers. We love the skeptics. They usually end up being our greatest advocates once they finally try our products. In fact, I actually tell people I meet at tradeshows NOT to believe me, which really shocks them by the look on their faces. They’re used to every other company telling them they have the greatest products in the world, so they expect us to do the same.

Instead, I tell them I can only share what I know to be true and honest. They have to do their own homework and see for themselves. Seriously, all the studies and clinical trials in the world don’t mean squat if that particular product doesn’t work for YOU.

In a nutshell, I think I can best sum up your “transparency” question up with our main tagline, which is, “We Don’t Play Games…We Just Help You Win Them”.

2. What made you want to get involved with the supplement industry and how long have you been at it?

Like I mentioned before, I’ve been training for quite a few years now. For me, it’s the constant challenge to keep advancing. To reach new goals. And since it’s truly an individual thing, you alone are responsible for the results you get. I also love learning about and studying new ways to train. I’ve always believed there had to be a better way. And I’ve always believed that same thing about supplements.

I actually got my start in the industry through a friend of a friend. One of my other big passions is marketing and advertising. Well, my buddy was working a small company based out of Canada [FJ: Hell yes Canada!] who just happened to be starting their own in-house supplement brand. They wanted to run some ads, so he recommended they work with to write their first ads. I put together 8-10 ads, and over time they enjoyed a little success. However, they soon enough realized just how expensive it was going to be to pull it all off, so they decided not to continue that brand.

As fate would have it, I’d also met the owner of their manufacturing company, Jeff Golini of All American Pharmaceutical. This was all around 2002-03. At that time, Jeff was interested in trying to launch a new creatine product called Kre-Alkalyn. They’d previously offered it to the marketplace, but they didn’t have the success they knew they could with it. So Jeff started working with me and my business partner, and the rest, as they say, “is history”.

As it turns out, Jeff also had a small in-house brand back then called All American Nutrition. One day my business partner and I were having lunch with Jeff Golini, and we half-jokingly asked him if he wanted to sell his patent. Well it was worth a good laugh, (he politely said no). But with straight faces we told him that we were seriously interested in buying his private label brand called Kre-Alkalyn® EFX.

When all was said and done we made him an offer “he couldn’t refuse” (no, we’re not the mafia). After the ink dried, not only did we buy Kre-Alkalyn® EFX, but we scored the whole enchilada: his private in-house company called All American Nutrition. We now call it All American EFX – The Birthplace of Kre-Alkalyn®. We also contracted exclusively with Jeff Golini to be our chief formulator and manufacturer because we must have the best to give our customers the best.

3. What are you goals while being the president of AAEFX? What innovative changes/advancements do you hope to bring?

For one thing, sanity! It’s time to put up or shut up. We’ve tried to police our own industry and failed. So now the government agencies are stepping in to do it for us. Frankly, that sucks. [FJ: Agreed]

Even so, I guess the good thing from all this is that it will help to weed out the companies who insist on cheating with fake raw materials or who use banned substances in their products and don’t list them on the label. So in the end, consumers will ultimately win. [FJ: Yeah, not listing banned shit is ridiculous, no doubt. But the WADA banned Geranium recently… not a happy camper here]

If anything, we are helping to raise the “quality” bar to almost unbelievable levels. Quality is one of those words that’s tossed around in our industry like “love” in elementary school. Seriously, what does it really mean? What I do know is that most people walk into their favorite supplement store and immediately think all products are on the same level with regard to quality. Well, I’m here to tell you that it ain’t true by a long shot.

I know how most of these products are manufactured. I also know the raw material costs. And, frankly, the numbers just do not add up in most cases. Unfortunately, the marketplace has been trained to look first at price, then anything else they might think is important. I feel like our job is to teach them what to look for and consider beyond cheap prices.

We will never be the cheapest brand on the block because there is a price to pay for REAL quality. All I can say is that if people really knew how most products are manufactured, they would be in for a shock. That’s the reason I wrote a book on Kre-Alkalyn EFX. I knew that once people understood how creatine was made, they would finally “get it” and not be fooled by all these nonsense creatine products out there. By the way, that book is called “Creatine: Insider Secrets Revealed. You can get it as a FREE download on our main website in the Resources section (http://www.aaefx.com/dev/pages/zone/resources/resources_main.shtml).

Anyone can SAY they have good quality. But we decided to actually show that they means.
Again, everyone talks about “quality”, but we wanted to literally redefine what that word means. The current standards were too lax for us, so we created the “AAEFX Quality Firewall™”. It’s easily the most stringent quality assurance and consumer protection program in the entire industry!

We also created a series of videos (in six parts) that show you our manufacturing facility, and you also get to see some of our products being made. They’re all on our YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/allamericanefx).

You mentioned “Innovation”. That is another buzz word you see thrown around too. It takes a real lab, real technology and real experts to develop innovative products like ours. That’s why so many companies make inferior, copycat products hidden behind ads filled with impressive clipart, slick marketing and BIG hype. You deserve real innovation – where more time and money was invested indeveloping the product… than the marketing campaign to sell it!

On the technological side, we like to look at the pharmaceutical world to see how they do things. For as much as their industry gets bashed, they are still leading the way when it comes to breakthroughs with regard to chemistry and drug delivery technology. What we’ve done is “borrow” some of what we found, and we’ve applied it to our products.

I had people look at our formulas on paper, and they said our dosages were too low “according to the studies”[FJ: Yup, I was definitely one of those people]. But what they fail to realize is that when it comes to drugs or supplements, it’s not about how much you take, it’s how much gets ABSORBED. And without a distinct delivery system within that product, it just doesn’t work the way it could or should if it had one.

We hear it all the time. “I can get 1,000 grams of creatine, glutamine, beta-alanine, etc., for $19.99. Why would I use yours?”  The simple answer is that if the active compound is degraded in the stomach, then logically you will need to take a higher dose or load it to get the desired effect. Make sense? So when they do try our Cell Rush, Kre-Alkalyn EFX or LG5 (a glutamine-based product), they are amazed that so “little” can offer so much.

Those products, plus a few others, are all part of our best-selling line called the “Flex Wheeler Signature Series”. They were literally created for Flex himself to complete a drug-free transformation. What he was able to pull off WITHOUT drugs, with only one kidney, and in his early forties, is remarkable in my book. [FJ: Yeah I know all about how he competed natural and people thought he was crazy. Was big inspiration]

It’s funny because Big Flex had this same idea years ago about showing what good products could produce. He even told me that he floated this same concept to a couple of former companies he was sponsored by. He was sick and tired of “using” and was looking for a way to still keep a paycheck and go clean at the same time. But to his surprise, they literally told him that if he did, he’d be fired!

So to actually do something like this, we had to step up our game and bring out something special. We locked Jeff in the lab, and he pulled out all the stops to formulate these products. They’re what led to us developing 3 exclusive delivery systems – they‘re the big “SECRET” behind why these products work so well!

I think I started my answer to you by saying it was time to put up or shut up. As the President of AAEFX, I feel a deep sense of responsibility to our customers, and the marketplace as a whole. I’d like to do my best to help save people from years of frustration, losing hard-earned money and especially from wasting precious time along the way.

In fact, one way we back up what I’m saying here is with our 1-year 100% money-back guarantee for any product someone buys directly from us. Hard to hide when you leave yourself wide open like that. Again, it’s one thing to say it, but it’s another to actually do it!

For what it’s worth, we also just became the exclusive creatine provider to the Acceleration Sports Institute, which is part of the world-famous Steadman Hawkins clinics. If you haven’t heard of them, this is where all the elite athletes go for training and/or rehab and when they get injured. We’re also going to be partnering with them on some of their upcoming research projects.

4. They say that “the iron is king”… so being involved with supplements is one thing, but how much personal experience do you have in the place that really matters – the gym?

I really appreciate this question, and here’s why. How many times have you seen a doctor on television who is supposed to be an expert on a given health issue, yet he or she looks like they might die any minute themselves? I just don’t get it. And I bet you’ve also seen personal trainers like that too. [FJ: Ohh I hear what you’re saying… don’t even get me started on the chubster personal trainers and pot belly doctors]

My point is this… you have to look the part and have the experience to turn around and give solid, reliable advice. I’ve been working out since I was 16. I started out at 158 pounds soaking wet. At 38, I weigh 234 pounds. I’m currently not the leanest I’ve ever been and won’t be running Jay Cutler off the stage anytime soon. But as summer closes in, I’ll kick up the cardio, get on some special supplements we have in the works, and I’ll get down to around 215 or so. I have a wife and 3 young kids, so I now focus a little more on staying healthy and active. I’d really like to be around to see them grow up and have their own rug rats.

I’ve trained in all sorts of gyms, once even in Germany with Flex Wheeler and Jeff Golini. I was a competitive powerlifter in my late teens. I know what it’s like to be on a very strict diet and having to drag your butt into the gym to train hard, even though you feel like absolute crap. I’ve had friends who’ve done heavy drug cycles (I thought about doing them but never did). A couple of them got busted and ended up doing hard time in prison for it. I know what strained muscles, slight tears, and what squatting with 450 pounds digging into your back all feel like [FJ: This is why I now use the Manta Ray].

Since I have a crazy schedule, and a family, I built a small private gym in my house. I call it “The Andrews House of Pain”. I can do almost anything you can at a commercial gym, so it really works well for me.

My parting advice, especially to younger trainers, is that you MUST eat and train correctly. No drug or product on the planet, not even ours, will work for you if you don’t get that part right FIRST. Just trying to keep it real. [FJ: Respect]

In the end, I will never claim to have all the answers or that I’m the smartest guy in the industry. What I’ve tried to do is surround myself with other people who DO have those answers. If anything, that’s been one of the biggest secrets to our success.

Awesome, thanks for your time. I’ll be putting the rest of the products through their phases real soon.

- FitJerk

Discuss: Do you have a question/comment/suggestion for Brian? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below and I’ll make sure he gets it.