Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the podcast. Today's episode is a little different.
Today I'm talking about the newest product we launched through BPN and that is called G1M Sport Plus.
And before you tune out, I don't want you to think that this is just an episode of product advertisement.
The reality is, it is, part of it is, but it's so much more than that.
There's a reason that I'm dedicating an entire episode to this product, this launch. And I want to share the why, the how, the reason we created this product, and the process of launching and bringing a new product to market.
And we've approached this product specifically, G1M Sport Plus, different, completely different than anything else we've ever done in the past. Towards the end of this episode, I will be bringing you on Jordan Utter, who is our brand director, who leads all things creative here at BPN.
Jordan was the first creative hire that we ever made, and that was in 2019.
and Jordan has grown, he has evolved, has matured over these last six years now tremendously.
And he has led the creative execution of this project, of this product, and I want him to speak into it because the truth is I cast vision, high -level vision when it comes to creative deliverables but Jordan and the team they're the ones that bring it to life when you're on social media or you're on our youtube channel and you're watching our athletes and the product that is that team bringing that vision to life that is the execution there's a lot that goes into that and I think I would be doing the creative team a disservice by trying Trying to speak into that on my own without Jordan and the team.
So this episode is, like I said, much more than just explaining a product launch and why G1M Sport is beneficial and what problem we've tried to solve and we are solving.
It's a brand, it's a business operation that I want to bring you alongside.
side. G1M Sport Plus.
Our tagline for this product is the future of endurance.
And we've been working on this product for over a year now.
I am extremely proud and excited to finally be able to launch it and bring it to the market, bring it to you guys.
It is something that I've been using around my training around my running specifically every time I go for a run and it has made a big difference.
Now, what is G1M Sport Plus?
Well, it is the base of G1M Sport, which is 20 grams of carbohydrates per serving in the form of clustered dextrin.
As I've said many times before, Clustr Dextrin is a very fast gastric emptying carb source, which means that it doesn't sit in the stomach. It has a high molecular weight, moves through the stomach quickly, so it can be utilized as a fuel source.
It can be used to replenish muscle glycogen, stored energy, and it reduces the risk of gastrointestinal distress, GI distress, stress, gas, bloating, gut rot.
So it's 20 grams of carbohydrates from a high quality, a very high quality carb source.
Cluster dextrin doesn't have any sugar either.
So you'll see there's 20 grams of carbs per serving, zero sugar.
There's also 350 milligrams of sodium per serving, Which the goal there is electrolytes to replenish what is lost during training and to maximize and optimize hydration levels.
So you have fuel and you have hydration.
That was and is the foundation of G1M Sport, the original.
And we launched G1M Sport in 2020.
20 and I'll eventually get into the origin story of G1M Sport, but now we're launching and have launched the plus version.
What is the plus version?
It's the foundation, the 20 grams of carbohydrates, 350 milligrams of sodium, but now with energy and focus.
150 milligrams of caffeine per serving, 300 milligrams of alpha -GPC, 1 .5 grams of N -acetyl -L -tyrosine.
So for the energy, the stimulant, caffeine.
And when we landed on 150 milligrams, how did we land on 150 milligrams?
We found that's a sweet spot.
Anything less than, you might not necessarily feel the effects Next, based off of your sensitivity and experience and usage with caffeine, anything less than 150 might be a little too little for most people.
You won't feel the stimulant, the energy, and caffeine also has the ability to blunt the feelings and effect of fatigue.
So caffeine can actually reduce feelings of fatigue, mental and physical.
Anything over 150, you know, 200, 250, 300 might not be optimal for endurance training.
It might be optimal for strength training, but not necessarily optimal for endurance training Because you don't want to overstimulate the central nervous system and energy.
Because what ends up happening is that when you overstimulate the central nervous system with caffeine or other stimulants, you start affecting heart rate.
And as we know, when it comes to endurance training, you're trying to moderate and control heart rate.
So when we go on our easy runs, runs, our sub max aerobic heart rate runs.
We want to maintain a lower heart rate to get the benefits of lower heart rate training.
And we're building this aerobic engine.
And then when our heart rate gets too high, we get into different zones and we're starting to utilize different systems. So with too much caffeine prior to endurance training, especially running, it can elevate your heart rate at an unnecessary level, and it can move you into a different zone of training than you might be aiming towards for that specific session.
So that's how we landed on 150 milligrams of caffeine.
We have found that's the sweet spot.
And then when it comes to mental energy, mental acuity, focus, cognitive support, support, cognitive enhancement.
That's why we incorporated nootropics such as alpha -GPC and tyrosine.
So alpha -GPC, choline in the brain can create this mental alertness, acuity, awareness.
The combination of caffeine, alpha -GPC, and tyrosine, Very powerful combination.
They work very synergistically together, especially at the dosages that we've incorporated into this formula.
So, if you look at what G1M Sport is, you have the perfect combination for a pre -workout endurance supplement.
You have fuel, carbs.
You have electrolytes, sodium.
You have energy, caffeine, and you have no tropics focus, mental awareness, mental clarity that comes from the N -acetyl -L -tyrosine and alpha -GPC.
I'm extremely proud of this formula, extremely proud of this formula.
And the way we got to these ingredients and these additions is through a lot of trial and error and testing.
And we had our bottle of GOM Sport and we would add, we would supplement with different levels of caffeine, different stimulants, different nootropics.
And we did this for months and months and months.
And we got to the sweet spot of 150 milligrams caffeine, 300 milligrams of alpha GPC, 1 .5 grams of N -acetyl tyrosine.
Lots of trial and error, lots of research and development, R &D to get to this formula, which works.
Who is it for and how are you going to use it?
Well, I'll share multiple different ways you can use it, case studies and how I personally have been using GOM Sport.
this is for someone who wants and needs a little bit more of a pick me up for their endurance training or that morning run.
And what I was finding for a long time, and I know a lot of our consumers and athletes and partners were doing the same thing is part of my morning routine was I'd wake up and I'd slam my G1M Sport, two scoops of G1M Sport to get 40 grams of carbohydrates, 700 milligrams of sodium.
And that was the first thing I would do every single morning in preparation for morning run to let those carbs sit in, digest a little bit.
And I would also make a coffee.
So I'd go to the coffee machine, I'd make a coffee.
I add a shot of espresso on top of that, and that would get me to about 150 milligrams of caffeine.
And I would then drink that after I would consume my G1M Sport.
I wake up at 4 .30 every morning, and I'm running by 5 .30 a .m. So between 4 .30 and 5 .30, I'm drinking two different beverages because I want the stimulant, I want the energy, I want the focus from the coffee, but I also want the fuel from G1M Sport.
And the idea came to us of how do we simplify?
How do we make it where you reduce the number of steps you have in the morning and you can get more out of your product?
You can get more out of your performance than just coffee.
What's going to add a layer onto that mental acuity?
What's going to add a layer onto that mental edge and awareness and clarity?
What nootropics can we incorporate into this formula that enhance the feeling, the preparation, and the outcomes of that run?
Simplification was the goal.
Simplification was the outcome we were looking to achieve.
That was the desire.
So this is for someone who wants some more energy, who wants some more mental clarity, who wants better and stronger concentration for their endurance training, who wants to perform at a higher level, who wants to accomplish their goals, who wants an edge that they can apply to the workouts and the training and performance in pursuit of their goals.
Now, the way that I use G1M Sport Plus is just like this.
So every morning, I'll wake up at 4 .30 a .m. Like I said, that hasn't changed.
But now I consume one beverage as opposed to two.
I mix one scoop of G1M Sport and one scoop of G1M Sport Plus in my shaker bottle.
And I do about 18 to 20 ounces of water, sometimes a little bit less.
And with those two scoops, I'm now getting 40 grams of carbohydrates.
I'm getting 700 milligrams of sodium, but I'm also getting 150 milligrams of caffeine.
300 milligrams of alpha GPC 1 .5 grams of N acetyl L tyrosine and the way that my morning routine works is I wake up I mix it up I drink that right away and then I make a bottle for my son I make about a 8 ounce bottle and he's typically waking up when I'm waking up in the morning it's just been part of his morning routine ever since he was born so I go into his room I change them.
I give him that eight ounce bottle.
And that takes about 10, sometimes 15 minutes for him to drink that whole bottle.
As I'm sitting in the chair in his bedroom and I'm giving him that bottle, I can feel the effects of the caffeine and the nootropics sitting in.
I'm I'm starting to feel the stimulant effects.
I'm starting to feel the tunnel vision focus.
I'm getting energized.
I'm not trying to fall asleep on that chair.
I am literally feeling like I'm ready to attack that workout.
I am itching to go put on my socks and put on my shoes and throw my hat on backwards and go take off from my run, dialed in, in focus.
and you can feel these ingredients kicking in within five to 10 minutes what's beautiful about Cluster Dextrin and the team over at Cluster Dextrin actually ran a few studies on this raw material over the years very strong clinical studies one of those studies they showed that the addition of Cluster Dextrin with caffeine amplified the effects and feelings of caffeine and I can confirm this because before we actually launched GUNM Sport Plus and I found out about this research through the Cluster Dextran team, I was actually starting to mix my Cluster Dextran, my GUNM Sport with my Flight, our
traditional pre -workout primarily used for strength training and I could feel the effects of Flight.
I could feel the effects of the caffeine and Flight significantly more with the addition of clustered dextrin, with the addition of carbohydrates.
So I can confirm that even prior to the R &D process of bringing G1M Sport Plus to life.
Now, you're not going to want to or need to use more than one scoop or one serving of G1M Sport plus per workout, which is different from G1M Sport, the OG formula.
Because the OG formula was created to be able to use multiple scoops, multiple servings around your training based off your energy demands.
So if I look back to when I was in my last marathon prep doing big track track workouts, I would have two scoops of G1M Sport before my workout, before my run, and on the side of the track during these big interval sections, I would have a water bottle with two more scoops of G1M Sport in a bottle so I could keep replenishing the carbohydrates during my workout during these high effort training sessions while on the track or a tempo run or or speed workout.
So G1M Sport can and should be used multiple times throughout a day or a training session based off of the distance, the duration, and the intensity.
G1M Sport Plus is different.
You should have to or want to use one scoop prior to training, 20 to 30 minutes prior to a training session.
But it's not something you're going to keep using throughout a workout.
You don't want to keep adding on more caffeine and more nootropics.
If you need more fuel, if you need more sodium, more electrolytes, then add more scoops of G1M Sport OG.
So that's kind of the difference there.
You can use G1M Sport Plus not only for for a pre -run nutrition, fuel, energy focus.
You can use it prior to going to a swim, before a big bike session, any type of endurance training.
Hi -rocks workouts, it's great for circuit training.
I was using G1M Sport Plus a lot during my Hi -rocks prep before I went and competed at my Hi -rocks in Dallas.
I used G1M Sport Plus before the competition, but I'm also using GOM Sport Plus before some of my strength days.
There are days where I still use flight, but there's also days where if it's a more high intensity, a more conditioning -based strength workout, and I want the addition of carbs and electrolytes, I will actually use GOM Sport Sport Plus before a strength workout.
So it's not just for running.
It's not just for triathlon.
It's not just for hitting the trails.
This is a product that can be your go -to pre -workout because it has everything you want and need to fuel and support massive efforts and effective effective training sessions.
But for me, the way I'm using it right now, one scoop of each before my morning run.
And then occasionally I'll use this and replace a flight for my strength training workout later in the afternoon.
The entire team here at BPN has been using GOM Sport Plus for a few months now.
And I don't just say this to say this.
And I don't say this with the obvious bias that there is.
We're obsessed. We're obsessed with this product.
And we do believe that this is the future of endurance, but it's also the future of BPN, what we're building, what we're focused on and where we're heading.
So I want to provide a little bit of context for those of you who don't know the origin story of G1M Sport.
2019, I started training for my first Ironman.
And this really came from after my second marathon, I wanted to really push myself and challenge myself.
And I've shared this story many times before, before.
But I saw this viral video of this triathlete from the 80s, Joey Moss, at the Ironman World Championships, crawling, literally crawling across the finish line, suffering, but fighting for that finish.
And I saw that. And I said to myself, I want to feel that.
I want to experience that.
So I signed up for Ironman Florida, Florida, which I completed in 2019, November of 2019.
And I trained for months in preparation.
This was my first introduction to big effort endurance training.
Prior to that, I had experience with forced endurance training, if you will, from my time in the military, but then marathons two marathons I've done long ruck marches in the day but this is my first time really training for high intensity high effort long multiple hour endurance efforts and when I was training for my first iron man I was I was using all these different different fuel sources, all these different carbohydrate sources that were available on the market.
And they were wrecking my stomach. There were days where I was on the bike for hours and I was consuming 60 to sometimes 100 grams of carbohydrates per hour.
And these carb sources were killing me.
I was hunched over holding my stomach from cramps in GI distress and pain.
And I did some research and I found out that most carbohydrate sources meant to be formulated and used for endurance training in the market were maltodextrin -based.
Maltodextrin is a cheap carbohydrate source.
Most of the endurance gels in the market are maltodextrin -based because it's cheap, it's easy to flavor, it mixes well, Well, it's pretty adaptable and universal.
However, it has notoriously caused gut rot and stomach issues in athletes.
It digests very slow.
It doesn't necessarily work with the athlete.
It sometimes works against the athlete.
And at the time in BPN's history, we were not an endurance brand.
We had strength supplements.
We had pre -workout, creatine, amino acids, protein.
We had health and wellness supplements, strong greens, strong reds, multivitamin, joint support.
There was no vision for us to be an endurance brand or to ever launch endurance products.
But I wanted to create something for myself in 2019 because I couldn't find something on the market that I could or wanted to use.
So this is where we started a huge research and development project with one of our manufacturing partners.
And I tested 20 -plus carbohydrate sources over months, and I couldn't find anything that worked for me in my training until I came across Cluster Dextrin.
Cluster Dextrin, the research behind it, the trial and error, the testing, I mean the writing was on the wall this is the material that we have to use for this product and there were some brands out there that were using clustered dextrin but not in the full 20 gram serving there's this this phrase in the supplement industry known as pixie dusting so you take the expensive ingredients and you add a little bit of it to say that it's in there So there were some companies in the industry, in the market at a time that would have, you know, say 20 gram carbohydrate powder per serving.
15 of those grams were from multidextrin and maybe five grams were from clustered dextrin.
So majority of it was multidextrin.
because Cluster Dextrin is significantly more expensive than these other carbohydrate sources on the market.
I said, no, if we're going to do this, the whole 20 gram serving, the only carb source in this product has to and will be Cluster Dextrin.
So we created this product while I was in my Ironman training.
We brought it to market.
And initially we actually, I don't know how long some of you guys have been following the brand, but when we first launched G1M Sport, it was in a bag.
The reason being is that a lot of the endurance powders that I was aware of at that point were put into bags.
We just took that route.
But what we were finding was as our team was opening up pallets and boxes and through shipment, bags were popping and they were getting cut and they were opening and the seals weren't working really well.
So we decided we're not going to do the bags.
We're going to transition to bottles, like the rest of our products.
And when we first launched G1M Sport, it was not a top seller.
I mean, it was far from.
And I didn't expect it to be.
I created GUM Sport selfishly to fuel my training in hopes that there were other athletes out there that were potentially experiencing the same problems I was experiencing, GI distress, gas, bloating, gut rot, pains, cramping.
And I thought if we could create a solution that fuels us, that works for us, but also helps other people as well, that's a win regardless of how many units we sell.
It doesn't have to be a top seller because we weren't positioning ourselves or the brand to be endurance -focused back then.
But over time, as the brand slowly started to evolve, a natural evolutionary process to where we are today being an endurance -focused consumer brand, we are endurance at the tip of the spear and strength and wellness will always support those endurance goals.
But the priority is endurance.
That's who we are. That's what we do.
That's who we serve.
Those are the problems that we solve.
So it's been a very natural evolution from 2020 until today, 2025, these last five years.
There was never one moment where we said, said, okay, today's the day, change your plans.
We're an endurance brand and we're shifting focus.
No, it's very organic and natural over time.
And if you've been following the brand, I'm sure you have experienced that, felt that, saw that.
And a lot of that just natural evolution organically was based off of my and our interest and passions and pursuits.
And it just became part of our story.
It was by no means strategic.
I would love for us to have the ability to take credit for that and say it was strategic, but it was just what felt right to us and what we wanted to do, who we wanted to become.
So in January of 2023, to just show you the growth trajectory of G1M Sport, January of of 2023, we were selling about 2000 units of G1M Sport a month.
Today, at the time of this recording, May of 2025, we are now selling nearly 30 ,000 units of G1M Sport per month.
The trajectory of growth has been wild.
But I believe truly that that's what happens when you create a product that actually solves problems, a product that is a solution, and that works.
And when people find it and love it, they keep buying it, they tell everyone about it.
And that growth was, again, very natural, word of mouth, organic.
And a few things happen from 2020 to 2023 and then now 2025.
Our brand has evolved and transformed, yes, but also the market and the consumer has transformed and evolved as well simultaneously.
Endurance has become more popular.
Running has become more popular.
People who said they would never run a day in their life are now running marathons and ultra marathons and signing up for Ironmans, run clubs or exploding all over the world.
Marathon signups are at its peak, larger than it's ever been in history.
I mean, I just recently found out about this stat, but the amount of people who signed signed up to run the London marathon last year was 850 ,000, 850 ,000 for one marathon tried to get into that race.
Now I believe the London marathon has maybe 50 ,000 runners.
So 800 ,000 plus didn't get in, but that is not an exception to the rule.
That is not an anomaly.
That goes for all the major marathons in the world.
That goes for marathon signups all across the country.
Marathons are selling out faster than ever before.
Endurance sports like High Rocks are exploding.
High Rocks is the perfect combination of strength and endurance.
The industry is shifting.
The consumer mindset is shifting.
consumer behavior is shifting towards endurance.
So I believe, and I've shared this with our brand and our team many times before, but if we look at this experience, this opportunity, this moment in time as a chart, as BPN has been moving in one direction, this natural evolution growth and transformation to become the best endurance consumer brand in the world that is one of our goals to become the best the most trusted and respected endurance consumer brand in the world the market is also moving in a direction and that market is moving in in a direction in the industry that is endurance focused and i believe the way i see it is that we as BPN
in the market are at a point where we are crossing paths.
And we have the opportunity to lead the market, lead the industry to become and to accomplish one of our goals, to become the best, the most trusted, the most respected endurance consumer brand in the world.
Those transformations and those evolutions of BPN as a brand and the consumer behavior, landscape, and industry.
They're just crossing paths at the right time in the right place and we're primed to seize the opportunity.
And I also believe that the consumer, not just in endurance training, but in the fitness industry, industry and fitness as a whole, the consumer is now understanding the value of two things.
One, fueling. Two, strength training.
Historical endurance athletes, many of them ran away from strength training because strength training meant building muscle, and building muscle meant additional weight, and additional weight meant slower, but that's not the case.
Strength training can now complement endurance training to make you stronger, make you more durable, reduce risk of injury.
It is only a benefit for endurance athletes.
So the mindset and training philosophy of endurance athletes has evolved over time.
And now we understand the value of carbohydrates, electrolytes, and proper fueling.
There's a reason that something we've been saying the last few years has connected with with so many people.
And that is once you train fueled, you will never train fasted again.
I can speak into that from personal experience.
There were times in my life where I thought training fasted was going to make me stronger.
If my body can get through these workouts without the need of carbohydrates, electrolytes, water, fuel, it will only make me stronger.
I don't want to have to rely on food and fuel and supplements to make me a stronger athlete.
That was such a naive, ignorant, and outdated way to think.
Carbohydrates are our friend.
It is a benefit to our training.
It will maximize performance.
It will maximize output, and it will optimize minimize recovery.
We want and need carbohydrates and electrolytes around our training, especially endurance training.
So, for all those reasons, I believe that is why G1M Sport has blown up for us.
That is our hero product, our hero skill.
It's all these things that have come together.
And that is what led us to really feeling called to create GNM Sport+.
One, there was an opportunity to take a product that is and was already crushing it for us and that so many people loved.
And it's how do we simplify our consumer's life so they don't have to consume two beverages prior to a workout or a run in the morning.
And we can highlight and increase and improve those training sessions, those workouts.
Something I wanted to add in there as well that I think is really important to touch on is some people might be asking themselves, So why don't I drink an energy drink prior to endurance training?
The reason I don't like traditional energy drinks around training, whether that's strength training or a run or endurance training is because what most energy drinks are on the market is carbonated water and caffeine.
And sometimes they'll throw in some trace amounts of B vitamins and very trace amounts of other ingredients.
You'll never or rarely get a full dosage, an efficacious dosage of a really great nootropic in a canned energy drink that you're picking up at 7 -Eleven or the gas station or convenience stores.
But carbonated beverages are not ideal.
prior to training. You don't want that bubbly carbonated water in your stomach sloshing around because carbonated beverages are naturally going to create gas.
It's going to create belching, some stomach discomfort.
So avoiding carbonated beverages at all costs around training for me is non -negotiable.
I will not consume a carbonated beverage around training for that reason that it just upsets my stomach. And for most people, it's going to create the same and similar effects.
So that's what G1M Sport Plus is.
That's how we've come to to the desire to create it, to formulate it, to bring it to market.
And just like all of our other products, G1M Sport Plus is NSF certified for sport.
It is naturally sweetened, it is naturally flavored.
Our entire product line is enrolled in the NSF certified for sport program.
So what does that mean?
That means that our products, we test our products every batch, every lot with NSF certified for sport, which tests for banned substances.
So being enrolled in the NSF program, they also test for label accuracy and claims. So if it says on our product that we have 20 grams of carbohydrates from Clostridextrin, 150 milligrams of sodium, we have 300 milligrams of alpha -GPC, we have 1 .5 grams of N -acetyltyrosine, by being enrolled in the NSF program, they test our products to ensure that that amount of that ingredient is in that product.
And then we're also enrolled in the 4Sport program, which tests for banned substances.
So if you are an NCAA athlete, college athlete, professional athlete, military, law enforcement, or subject to frequent drug testing, you can know that our products have been tested, certified, and are safe.
They've been tested for banned substances.
They've been tested for label accuracy and claims. Our entire product line is enrolled in that program.
him. And I believe that every endurance athlete deserves a pre -workout too.
You know, when I fell in love with the supplement industry, I fell in love with the supplement industry because I fell in love with pre -workout.
I remember my first pre -workout experience was like 2006.
I went to the local supplement store in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
I was getting really into strength training and the bodybuilding and I heard about this thing called pre -workout.
And I went and bought my first bottle of pre -workout in the supplement store.
I came home, I took it before my training session and I don't say this in an exaggerated way.
It changed my life.
It changed my life.
That first time taking pre -workout, I fell in love with the whole experience, the energy, the tunnel vision focus, the tingling feeling on my skin from the beta alanine.
I fell in love with that.
That was the spark that led me to where I am today.
Truly. From that moment on, I was obsessed with supplements.
I was obsessed with training, trying different pre -workouts, trying different ingredients.
that expanded my love and passion for bodybuilding and strength training and going to the gym because going to the gym for me wasn't just this one hour i spent every day it was the lifestyle it was waking up in the morning and having my meals planned and eating a clean diet which back Back then, it was a lot of egg whites, oatmeal, rice, broccoli, chicken, which still is the foundation of my diet.
But it was like, keep my diet as clean as possible.
Hit my meals every three hours.
Drink a gallon of water.
Take my pre -workout 30 to 45 minutes before the workout starts.
Feel the effects. I would then go on YouTube and I'd watch motivational lifting videos of Ronnie Coleman or Jay Cutler.
So by the time I got to the gym, I was dialed.
I was mentally prepared.
I was in it. I was ready to go to war with myself with those weights.
And then post -workout, you have the protein shake.
You're getting your meals back on track.
Everything about the lifestyle, I loved.
And that sparked my interest into this industry, into everything I'm doing now.
That experience in 2006 literally changed my life.
And I don't believe that there's a great pre -workout supplement solution for endurance athletes on the market right now.
Something creates that same feeling, that same I'm ready to attack it feel, that mental edge, that energy, that focus, that fuel.
I approach my training sessions for endurance, for running, the same way that I used to approach coach, my strength training sessions for those early college days.
It's not just going and doing it to do it.
It's not just going and doing it to check the box and say, did this for the day, done, on to the next thing.
Now, I want to show up and I want to embrace it.
I want to be focused and I want to be locked in and treat it like I'm going to war for that next hour or so.
So I think that endurance athletes deserve that experience as well.
It shouldn't be something that is saved for and reserved for strength athletes and just the gym.
Now, as a endurance athlete who was at one point a gym rat and is still a gym ratted heart, I wanted a pre -workout experience for my endurance training.
And I believe a lot of other people do as well.
That's what brought us to creating the solution for the endurance industry.
The future of endurance.
G1M Sport Plus. So we're going to take a quick break in this episode.
And when we come back, I'm going to be sitting down with Jordan Utter, brand director of BPN to talk about all things creative and marketing around UNM Sport Plus which has been hidden behind code word Project Sierra for the last couple months so we'll be back soon alright we're back at it we got Jordan Utter now joining me welcome brother brother.
Thanks for having me back.
Grateful to be here.
It's been a while. It has been since the Nashville day.
Yeah. That was a fun one.
That was a fun one.
Studio is a lot nicer.
Did a lot better job with this one.
We did some upgrades.
All right. So for the remainder of this episode, I want to talk about like our marketing plan, creative process for this product because we took a completely different approach than ever before.
And I'll kind of share the way I was thinking about this and then I'd love to hear your initial reaction and then what you took from that and then the next steps.
As I was thinking about G1M Sport Plus this product for me and for us is so special especially with the success of G1M Sport and the way that we're positioning our brand moving forward. I was thinking on a run one day if we just rolled this out like we do everything else, it would feel like all of our other products and it wouldn't highlight it in any different or special way.
So as I was thinking about this, I was like, how do we create hype and buzz around this new product in a unique way?
And I thought, well, what if we don't share anything until the morning of launch. So if anyone has up until this point because the day this episode is going live is the day that the product goes live all of the content we've created up until this point has been very disruptive abstract, secretive we haven't shared the name of the product we haven't shared the formula all we've really shared is this is the future of endurance and this is a pre -workout solution for endurance athletes and my goal was that we build so much hype and awareness and buzz through our athletes through our social, through
our website through our marketing efforts that the day that we launch all of that buzz goes to the website ready to buy without even knowing showing what it is they're going there to buy.
I wanted to feel like a Black Friday sale.
I wanted to feel like a summer sale where we have tens of thousands of people on the website.
Site traffic is nuts.
Conversion is wild because we took a completely different creative and marketing approach to this.
That was my vision in my head.
Much easier to visualize than to execute.
I shared that with you, all your initial thoughts and reactions.
That's what Nick does best, challenge the team.
I was excited. I kind of see it as it shouldn't matter what we're selling.
The content that we put out leading up to this should make people feel like, I don't care what VPN is about to launch, I want it.
You do that, there are a lot of ways.
One is we can't speak about the product benefits.
We can't tell people the ingredients.
We can't break down the formula.
We can barely touch on how it will make them feel.
Ultimately what it comes back to is we have to make people feel the, I love what you said, and now we can actually say it, the high that this product comes with, the focus, the sharpness, the clarity, the energy, but we can't really say that yet.
So I was really excited, but also it was like, this is a challenge and it still is a challenge, truthfully.
But I was excited. I saw it as an opportunity to push the team.
I saw it as an opportunity to take a very unconventional approach and kind of stretch myself creatively.
I think, like you said, it's easy to kind of see all the content that gets put online see all the content we've done before and get stuck in that it's not a rut because it's working but as you do best, as a pioneer as a visionary say what if we did it differently, let's take a risk and I think a lot of creatives talk about taking a risk but this is truly a risk because we didn't even say the product name up until the day we launched it which obviously for anyone with common sense or in marketing is pretty contradictory to what what you usually do.
I was excited, but also nervous and felt really challenged.
A lot of my goal with it was honestly to challenge the team.
I wanted to see how the team would respond from not just a brand creative department, but also performance marketing and partnerships and activations.
These last couple months, we've hidden this project under the code name Project Sierra.
All of the bottles that our athletes have had, the bottles that we have had, didn't have the GOM Sport logo or label on it.
It was a Project Sierra bottle and label and said, the future of endurance.
One of the pieces of feedback that I got from multiple people on the team was that fear.
Like pulling me aside and saying, hey, I'm afraid that when we launch, it's not going to have the effect that you want because we can't share everything about it.
And that's what I wanted people to come to be saying, because I said, I want you to be afraid.
I want you to fear that.
So now go and eliminate and mitigate that fear by execution and planning.
beginning. That's not on me to create strategy and tactics for everyone.
That is to challenge our team so that we can grow through this and become better on the other side.
What was some of the pushback you potentially got from team members?
What do we talk about?
If we can't say the name of the product, if we can't talk about the ingredients and the benefits, where do we even start?
Which ultimately I was like, that's why why we're here that's why we're at a round table right now to come up with that because as kind of stated earlier the product is amazing and it will sell itself and we could take the same approach and it will absolutely crush and i think to to kind of echo what you said and what i kind of then echoed to the team was like we know we can do what we've always done this is an opportunity to stretch ourselves and to try something new and to make some real noise and if it doesn't work work we learned a ton as we always say like it's a failure but we learn from it
it provides clarity but if it does work it could 10x that that original goal of whether it's revenue it's sessions on the site it's awareness and on social and so that's what comes with risk is ultimately what i told the teams that's what comes with risk is if it works out everyone's going to talk about it which is kind of some of the inspo that we both had was man what are some of the marketing campaigns that we still talk about.
And they're always the ones that are disruptive and they're new and they're fresh in a world of just thousands of pieces of content going out every day.
Ultimately, it's how do you stand out?
This is one way to do it.
It's definitely not going to blend in.
And now it's like, but we also can't let it get lost and not be exciting.
So that was the challenge.
It's going to be one or the other.
There's no in the middle with this one.
And if it flops, you learn from the flop.
It's like, what did we miss?
What did we do wrong that we can improve upon later?
Because the easy way to launch this product is the way that we launched the product every other product before this.
That is a blueprint that we know that works.
But what if, in order to go to this next phase and chapter, it's not trying harder, like James Clear says.
It's not trying harder, but it's trying different.
And that trying different can actually 10x the results of ultimately what you would have done otherwise.
So from that initial brainstorm vision session, how does your creative process work?
What did you do from that moment until you and me sat down and you presented me that creative presentation?
Yeah, I think one of my jobs, one of the most important aspects of my job is to keep in mind that when this is all said and done, what does success look like?
What are the objectives?
What can I take from all these meetings that we've had?
amongst each other but primarily you and put that on paper of what are our objectives because I think it's easy for a creative team to take what you've said and just start moving and say let's just make anything that looks cool and it sounds cool and it gets people's attention but I think for my job especially it's to corral all the ideas and the thoughts we've had and say okay what does that look like in a three to five bullet point list of this is success at the end end of the day and um so i always start there and just for some insight one of those that we wrote down was this is bigger than a product
launch it's a stake in the sand that bpn is here as an endurance supplement company aiming to be the number one this is kind of our stake in the sand of a very innovative formulation and honestly kind of challenging the market we're not creating a new product category, but we're really challenging how people fuel.
We're showing endurance athletes we're committed to them.
Uh, and then, you know, it's not us versus other companies, but there should be a, um, an evolution that occurs from this.
We should start to see more products that start to challenge this, that are, have nootropics and have caffeine added and start to label it as an endurance pre -workout.
And again, not saying it's new or original, but ultimately I felt like This is a moment for us to challenge the market and say, we're here.
I think a lot of the other products we've launched, GoGels, GoBars, ultimately was what you were saying earlier in the podcast, this kind of seamless crossover of BPN and the endurance market saying, we need this and we need you guys to make it.
And they are innovative formulations, but this one feels different in a way.
That was us just dipping our toes into the endurance and getting the foundation laid.
So I started with the objectives.
perspectives and then from there it's called blue sky and it's what could this look like what could this be what does the music sound like what do the visuals sound like uh where are we shooting and this one's really unique uh for people that follow BPN most of the settings we shoot in we don't get to choose it's uh Luke Hopkins is doing a race in Madison, Wisconsin well that's our setting that's what we've been given Nick's doing uh Leadville and that's our setting and those are are amazing in environments but for this one it was really fun because we could say where do we want to shoot it this with what athlete
what does it look like um how do we want to shoot it visually what is it what does it look like as far as lens choice and all the tactical creative decisions but it all starts in that blue sky usually i come up with about three approaches and i used to probably bring those three to you or to someone on the team but now i think i've gained the confidence And it's like, I'm coming with this one, my best foot forward. From there, get alignment from you, creative.
Obviously, put together a creative direction pitch, a deck that has visuals and really make you feel what this campaign will look like if it was on our YouTube or Instagram grid and get your sign off.
And from there, it's go time with the team, essentially.
Travel, shoots, all the things that come with producing a shoot to get it done.
and then working with Trey on social deliverables and how are we rolling it out.
There's a lot of phases, not to bore people with all the details, but it all starts in what if and what could it be and blue sky is what we call it.
We talk about the marketing flywheel all the time.
I don't think I've shared it on the podcast before, but it's like how does brand tie into performance marketing?
How does performance marketing tie into partnerships?
How are all those things leveraged and supported through events and email and SMS campaigns and every part of the business where it can't be departments operating independently on their own, but it's making sure they all tie together to leverage one another and then maximize the performance.
performance, what did you want the, the viewer, the consumer to feel with the content deliverables that you guys were creating?
Was it inspiration?
Was it hype? Was it energy?
Was it curiosity? Like, do you think that way when it comes to shooting and delivering?
Yeah, I'd say it was two phases, uh, with it being a unique, um, launch, it was two phases.
We knew phase one was going to be this kind of mid -May to launch day, and it was going to be very cryptic.
It was going to be very aspirational, making people feel what this potential product that they don't know yet is going to do for them, but not saying it.
We can't launch ingredients.
People don't know it has caffeine.
They don't even know it's a play on G1M Sport yet.
Completely just foundational, clean slate.
so everything we shot in that is very immersive and cryptic and makes people feel something so it's people out of breath it's the chain of a bike moving it's a skier on it you know and a high rocks workout with Lucy it's max bombing a trail and again all of that should lead to this I don't care what this product there is about the launch like I want it like I stand for this too It feels gritty.
It feels like it's going to elevate my performance.
I think at the end of the day, that tease phase, if you call it, the phase where we're looking just build hype, build awareness, and kick off the conversation was all about starting conversations around this product.
Just getting people to say, what the heck is this?
It makes me feel like I want to go train.
I don't know what it is, but I want to use it.
Phase two, launch, and kind of into infinity, is we had to make a hard pivot to education and start to really make up some ground on letting people into what is this product?
Why was it formulated this way?
When should I take it?
What is it going to actually do for me?
While still maintaining, you know, the brand equity of making people feel commitment and feel performance.
But we have to make up some ground on the educational level.
So it's kind of this two phase launch, really.
that's kind of the way we bucketed it internally as well it was almost two two launches two separate launches in one because typically when we launch a product there is the lead up and then the follow through so like lead up, execution which is just launch, follow through here it's like lead up launch, pivot the follow through is now a brand new launch So every department has to have a plan and strategy for a to -launch approach because we're building up all this hype behind something that has no name.
Then we launch the name and there's a lot to showcase after that, which makes it extremely challenging and demanding for the team.
Yeah, I think to the point of the content flywheel amongst partnerships and marketing is a great point and obviously something that we're continually getting better at.
but i get that question a lot of how is brand and marketing different how is brand and partnerships interact and ultimately it kind of starts with that that high level creative direction which we get your sign off on and to the point you just made making sure that's carried out through performance marketing any ads people see it should feel different intention and different strategy but it should feel like our organic social we have obviously went through a lot lot of phases of how our performance marketing looks.
And it's really dialed now.
And that fly wheel, that communication is probably the toughest part of a successful product launch or campaign is it's easy to have the creative team go execute.
And not easy, but it's one part to have them go execute and make amazing visuals, amazing social content.
But now it's how does that translate to email and SMS?
And how does our athletes talk about it?
And I think this launch, we probably We probably have done the best job we've ever done of making sure everyone's at least on the same page of what these two phases of launch look like.
But it's ruthlessly every day checking in on that and trying to make sure people are still up to speed.
Especially from a creative brand director standpoint.
Yeah, it's cohesive and consistency.
Yeah, not operating in silos like you said earlier.
For me, what makes this product, and you briefly mentioned this, this product's so special and the reason that it required, in my opinion, a special launch is because, like you said, we launched GONM Sport years ago and that was to offer a better solution than what was already on the market.
And we launched the GoGel to create a better solution than what was already on the market.
And we created our electrolytes to create a better solution than what we believe was already on the market.
similar for the Go Bar and similar for some of our other products GOM Sport Plus in my opinion is the first of its kind and like you said it's our way of flagging the ground playing it saying we are going to be the best, most respected most trusted endurance consumer brand in the world we're on that mission here's how we're going to start doing it and it's something brand new it's something different it's truly an experience you can feel you know with G &M Sport you can feel the carbohydrates as you're putting out an effort but with G &M Sport Plus you feel within 5 -10 minutes the caffeine the nootropics,
like it hits you, you feel it this is for me an opportunity to truly pave the path and I believe you correct me if I'm wrong the creative and brand team feels that weight and that responsibility to carry through and execute absolutely and I think it all comes back to it feels like us truly trying to serve the committed athlete like you and the product team so much work into creating this formulation and it's not just to throw something together that sounds cool and oh it'll make you feel this way it's truly like what do people need and again again, I feel like the last few years getting into the endurance
community has been more, let's lay the foundation, BPN launching their version of what's maybe already out there, the gels and the bars.
And again, this is out there, but it feels like it's a very specific product for a very specific type of person who is looking to train and change their life and have massive goals, whether it's a marathon PR or their first ultra or to win an ultra, not just electrolytes to stay hydrated it feels like it's a real honestly a big brand play for what we stand for in a way um and all of our other products obviously are that but this feels like it's just more i don't know has a weight to it you said it's a good way to put it um i don't know if we if we know what it'll become i think when you talk about serving
the customer you're you're meeting their needs, but you're also opening their eyes to like what could be.
And I think I'm living testament of that.
When it came to this product, I was like, I don't really know if I would like would use that.
It sounds really cool.
But, and I use it and I was like, oh, oh, like my eyes are now open.
I'm like, I just want this instead of coffee.
And then also take electrolytes next to that or geo and sports.
Like, dude, just give me it all in one at 5 a .m. in the morning before I work out.
I don't, i don't need all these different liquids so yeah i think people don't know we don't know where it'll go yet the market doesn't know yet so yeah it's responsibility we've done a great job you know tying all this together and and leading the brand team to uh execute on these these shoots and launches and deliverables and watching it all come together I mean, the time of this recording, we haven't actually launched the tease yet.
So it's next week. The time this goes live, the product is now launched.
So we have a lot to discover over these next couple weeks.
But I'm curious from your perspective, like right now, if we take a snapshot of BPN, there's a lot going on, right?
Like today we're actually moving into our new HQ queue across the street we are preparing to launch a brand new product we have really shaped and refined the brand over these last 12 ish months from where you started in 2019 2020 here at bpn until now if you had to wrap it up and like what that experience has been like and and what you've learned and what has changed from the way you used to view creative and brand and marketing and business, what are some of those things that are top of mind that you just want to get out there and share?
Wow, that's a good question.
That's a heavy question.
I thought we were just going to talk about the product.
I wasn't planning on asking this, but I'm genuinely curious because of how you mentioned this is us planting the flag in the sand and you filmed my first Ironman you've been along for this entire journey and this entire natural and organic evolution and one of the things I shared in the beginning of this episode was there wasn't a moment in time where I said we're going to stop being this brand we're going to start being this brand it has just been this slow refinement where I can't even pinpoint a day or a period of time where we intentionally or strategically made this shift. I look back at these
last five, six years.
I mean, how did we get here?
Just slow refinement, chipping away, consistently chipping away over time.
But I'm curious, for someone who's been along for that whole journey, what's that experience been like for you?
Yeah, I mean, one, it's been amazing and so fulfilling.
and obviously not to sound cliche but insanely grateful for it and truly mean that and I think ultimately you just said it like when you're in it it feels chaotic and it feels blurry and it feels fuzzy but I would say especially encourage anyone who's in the thick of it we're still in the thick of it but I would say at this point of time in BPN it's the most clarity I've personally ever had everything we're doing like you said we have so much going on everything we're doing doing all these massive projects, there's never really a question of why.
We do a good job of asking that up front, I will say.
Our process has just gotten better, whereas before it was like, amazing idea, move on it, we get halfway into it.
And also three other projects going on, they're like, wait, why did we sign up for this?
Why are we doing this?
And now it just all feels so intentional, so clear.
And I think that just comes from reps and reps and experience.
And I think probably one of my biggest tensions over the time at BPN has been trying to get more clear trying to provide more clarity for our team and but sometimes you just don't know when you're in it you just got to just keep trudging forward and make decisions and live with it and i'd say i don't know how you feel now but i would say at this point of bpn again this is the most clarity i felt and i can only and just kind of you know off the cuff here only attest that to just reps and experience like you said there was never this kind of moment even Even coming back from Nashville, there was never
really this hard moment where you're like, Jordan, you're stepping back onto the BPN team as well.
Because I was, for anyone who doesn't know, only on Nick Bear's YouTube and his content.
There was never this hard moment.
We just both kind of were starting to pick up some slack here and there and take on projects.
And then before we know it, we're back here and we're just in it.
And I think too many people want everything to slow down and be methodical and be intentional.
intentional and i think you just have to trust your instinct and trust your gut and just keep trudging and trudging and trudging and one day you pop up and it's like whoa look how the heck did we get here like i mean the interview we did the other day for the the new hq youtube video i felt like i couldn't even start sentences because it's just so overwhelming to think about because i haven't really thought about it we've just been in it but it was a good moment time to reflect and even this question now i'm like dude i never reflect on these things but if If I had to chalk up one thing right now,
it would be absolute clarity and just intention with everything we're doing.
We don't have it all figured out.
Absolutely not. But everything feels like it has a deep, clear why behind it, a clear purpose.
And I would say in the previous five years, that's probably been one of the tensions is like, is this the right move?
Why are we doing this again?
And you just trust it and trust it and trust it.
So I'm grateful that BPN has gotten to where it's at, because when you're in it, it feels is a little bit like we don't know what we're doing yeah and i know a lot of people feel that way um anyone i talk to is in a similar position as myself or you know leading um teams and companies everyone's just figuring it out man it's yeah i don't know there's no magic bullet a magic answer i think just comes back to reps experience yeah clarity and focus comes with just time yeah i was listening to uh on my first million podcast the other day he's hosted by Sam Parra.
Yeah. Saw him in a coffee shop the other day.
Oh, did you really?
Yeah. Here in Austin?
Yeah. And Manana. Oh, nice.
Manana Coffee Shop off South Congress.
Yeah. You talked to him?
Yeah. I don't know if he remembered me because I was producing the podcast when he came on.
And I think he remembered the face.
But yeah, he's a super nice guy.
I love Sam. Yeah. I was listening to a podcast between him and David Senra, who's the host of Founders.
Yeah. And they made this really good analogy that I actually shared in the Slack channel.
the general slash channel this past weekend and like there's a saying that life is a marathon it's not a sprint which i wholeheartedly believe in i'm all about playing the long game and being patient but there's a difference between being patient and being complacent and procrastinating and they made the distinction there again life is a marathon it's not a sprint sprint, but in order to be the best, it's going to feel like a sprint.
So you look at Kipchoge running the marathon, the best of the best. Go try to run one mile at Kipchoge's marathon pace.
It's like a 430, 433.
Yeah. You won't make it.
You won't make it a mile.
So even though life is a marathon and these goals that we set are marathons, it's still going to feel like a sprint.
That doesn't mean you slow down doesn't mean you become complacent and you're lazy you have to be patient yes but when you're in it like we're looking long term with this business we're playing the long game but every day still feels like a sprint doesn't allow us to slow down and take a day off no it's it's foot pressed against the pedal to the floor because we want to and need to be the best that's great and I think When I'm thinking about Sam and David, David from the founders, both Sam feel inspired by this.
And also the guests that David's had on, or he's talked about, sorry, their biographies.
One thing that I've soaked in the last year that's just made building VPN so much more fun and opportunistic.
And just honestly, even to this whole launch, if I tie it back into G1M Sport +, my reaction being like, like, yeah, let's do it.
This is an amazing opportunity has been the guests he's had, or he's, he spoke about the super successful billionaire entrepreneurs.
And then also just Sam's demeanor is they use the word, uh, gamify it.
And I love this because, uh, in to tie into your point, I think when you, uh, have that mindset of like, uh, foot on the gas, but like, there's this, there's this end there's like, we just got to get here is because it feels so life or death business and brand and, and what they've done such an amazing job, both of their demeanors is like, at the end of the day, like we're just in it for the long run.
And at that point you, you accept there's going to be massive failures, massive successes.
And it becomes kind of this, uh, like this game, they call it gamify, whether that's, you know, how people would choose the word or not.
But I liked it a lot.
Cause it kind of gives it this, um, childlike, like, man, we're just, it's not life or death.
We're just like playing this big game that we're going to to do for the rest of our life, whether it's BPN or it's some other venture in the future.
And that's made like way more fun for me.
Um, cause you can care deeply.
Your foot can be on the gas.
You can be running at full speed, but at the end of the day, you know, it's not always about like when we get here, when we do this, you're like, we're just in it.
There's no finish line.
Like, let's just have fun and be in it.
Uh, except the chaos, except the, the turmoil and the hardship and the failures and the, the highs and the successes.
And then you're not too high too low.
And I think that was amazing advice.
And I think David talked a lot about that from Sam Walton, Walmart founder.
And I was like, dude, if that guy can feel like that and have thousands of employees, we can do the same.
So I thought it was really cool.
You care deeply. Yeah.
I've always been told, just build it as if you're going to build it and work on it for every day for the rest of your life.
And building that longevity and ability.
Yeah. It's good. Well, thanks for coming on.
Thanks for sharing the creative thought and process behind it and a little bit extra.
G1M Sport Plus is now live.
You go to bpnsups .com, purchase it, try it, and experience the future of endurance.
