The 2003 Mr. Olympia Expo: Alternative Review of New Products and New Companies that Flex Their Appeal: The Good, the Bad, the Next Big "Thang"

by Christopher Ball, B.Sc. Kine., ACE, ACSM | Consumer Advocate

A little less than 40 years ago, fitness industry icon Joe Weider had the bright idea of hosting the annual gathering for the greatest bodybuilders to compete for the title of the world's greatest. So the Mr. Olympia was born. Today, attending the show in the desert country of Las Vegas is an annual tradition for many in the fitness industry. Like so many events that start small, it's not so "tiny" anymore, with a list of corporate sponsors and bodybuilders long enough to insulate every Gold's Gym in the nation. But it's still a place to exchange news and gossip, to launch and sometimes conclude careers large and small, and to flex and be flexed at.

Lou Ferrigno Flexes for Stephen Adele.

This year's Olympia Expo was bigger and better than last year's with many new faces and start-up companies. But along with the good, there's always the bad! So without further ado, let's begin the Olympia review starting with some new hot products:

Hot Products:

Unfortunately, with the latest protein bar boom, the supplement market has been permeated by chocolate covered protein delicacies. Although I personally don't think you can eat endless proteins bars and achieve an awesome physique, they do help when you're in a bind. (They're certainly better than starving!) Seeing the number of new protein bars overtaking the market makes me cringe, but luckily, I found some great-tasting bars with decent macro/micro-nutrient profiles. (That is, fairly balanced nutrition.)

Chef Jay's Tri-O-Plex Bar: Judging by sales figures, the latest and greatest bar on the market is unlike the competition. Not covered in chocolate nor mimicked after a candy bar, the Tri-O-Plex is a food bar rich with nutrients and filling ingredients. It's the ideal bar when you're hungry and can't stand another candy-protein bar.

Avid Performance Bar: After sampling half a bar from the Avid booth, I couldn't resist the temptation to ask for a whole bar. The PayDay-like taste and consistency of the bar is unique and extremely tasty. The best part is the amount of fats and sugars is relatively low in comparison to other bars on the market. I HIGHLY recommend trying the Avid bar if you value superior taste and quality ingredients at a reasonable cost.

My favorite supplement, a definite staple to any bodybuilder's regiment, is the MRP (meal replacement product). This year, I've seen a new trend toward higher quality ingredients with improved taste and easier digestion. But of course, as the quality of the ingredients improve, the cost increases substantially. The following are some notable, advanced MRP's on the market:

Dorian Yates ProMS: Formulated for women, this MRP contains all the beneficial features as the male formula ProMR. I was greeted at the booth with a sample and an extremely educated staff, who covered all the science on each amazing ingredient. With added probiotics, micellar casein, fatty acids, and other performance nutrients, ProMS is on my list for top MRP's.

Muscle Milk: An old favorite formula, but Cytosport has added some great-tasting new flavors. Although the fat content is high, and it's a little "too-thin" for me, you're still getting a great-tasting MRP with loads of superior nutrients. Almost makes me wonder how an MRP could have such high-quality ingredients at such a low price.

Muscle builder supplementation is going in new directions. There are two main categories: pro-hormones and advanced creatine formulas. It's interesting—given the latest legislative action to ban pro-hormones—that companies are still developing these formulas regardless. Although RealSOLUTIONSmag.com doesn't recommend pro-hormones, a brand that stands for innovation backed by a brilliant team is ErgoPharm.

For those of you who aren't in favor of using pro-hormones, there are a few quality creatine products that promise remarkable results. Fortunately for creatine users, most of these new formulas are bypassing high-sugar contents and using some advanced nutrients to help maintain full-body creatine retention. Meta-CEL: This is by far the most advanced creatine-containing muscle builder on the market. Still taking the market by storm, the new company iSatori has created a great-tasting product with proven results. (Did I mention they guarantee those results?) Meta-CEL has only been available for five months, and already there is a large consumer demand as feedback continues to pour into our site. Not so surprising are the Meta-CEL knock-offs by credible companies such as ISS! If you haven't tried Meta-CEL, pick up a can and visit the following message board for some impressive info: www.bestabs.com/idealbb

iSatori's Motley Crew.

The Olympia Expo

In comparison to past Olympia Expos, I noticed this year that many of the larger manufacturers weren't as loud. On the other hand, I was surprised to see a few other companies even attended the show. One such company makes liquid creatine, the industry scam of the century. How many supplement conferences will have to slam this company before people stop buying their worthless formulas? This company was handing out samples by the thousands, and it still baffles me how consumers are still buying products that lack science from companies that lack integrity.

Then there were other companies that hardly got noticed, one of them being EAS. I like EAS and think they do an okay job for their market, but much like most of their new products, their booth lacked the energy and charisma in comparison to the EAS of the past. Still, they easily won the award for handing out the most amount of products.

As always, MuscleTech drew a huge crowd... It had to be all the athletes and models around their booth because I didn't see any new products—they haven't developed a new product besides bars and RTD's in years. People are, however, still walking around with huge tubs of the old sugar-loaded Cell-Tech.

MuscleTech did win the Big Bag award this year. Let me explain: at every show, certain manufacturers like the attendants to carry around their bag with huge logos on the side. Each year companies try to top their competition by making the bigger bag. Sorry VPX, you lost this year.

As mentioned earlier, it's surprising to see companies still creating pro-hormone formulas. During this year's expo, many new companies were touting their pro-hormone formulas pretty heavily. But in an effort to create hype, these new companies are using steroid-like claims with anabolic-like names for their product lines. This marketing isn't helping fight the ban against pro-hormones (or the bad reputation of supplement companies), and I'm sure these new companies won't last long if they continue to take this approach.

One of my favorite things to do at the show is visit each booth and ask questions about products and the company. Many times I'm greeted with a knowledgeable staff and lots of free information. After this year's Arnold review, many of you wanted to hear more about Beverly International, who had a small booth this year. This company does a lot to support bodybuilders and has deep roots in the supplement industry. Unfortunately, I found nothing interesting nor innovative about their products! But if providing "me-too" copycat products at a low cost is their goal, then I think they're doing an A+ job.

Speaking of copying products... I couldn't help but notice all the many versions of NO2 hitting the market. Besides anecdotal evidence, do we really have scientific substantiation that NO2 works like it says? The originators of NO2 weren't at the show to comment...

Lastly, there was no shortage of beautiful fitness stars and models roaming the show room floor, including my good friend Carmen Garcia. Eager attendants and photographers were quick to grab their attention. Although sexist in nature and passe in relativity, using beautiful women to attract brand recognition is extremely effective in the supplement world. MET-Rx even held their own bikini show for the crowd, and VPX had their typical herd of models shoving leaflets and samples into the hands of drooling attendants. The companies that use models to promote their products are typically the companies that tend to spend more on labeling and invest more into the hype than their product line. In the bodybuilding world, as in the world of supplements, sometimes it's the perception that counts most.

On the Stage

Poetically, one of the highlights of this year's Olympia was the actual show held on Saturday night. Weider Publications treated the Real SOLUTIONS staff to first-class VIP seats along with the perfect setting for watching the show. If you've never witnessed a pro show for yourself, nothing can prepare you for the awe-inspiring physiques you'll see on stage. If that isn't enough, just witnessing muscle beach at Mandalay Bay on a hot Vegas day is a show in itself.

Christopher Connects with Industry Friends

The folks dress differently, and they may be obsessed with different products, but it turns out there are more similarities between show goers in Columbus, OH, for the Arnold Classic and Las Vegas Mr. Olympia than one might expect. Regardless, I still can't get enough of the industry! Which may be why, after several days in the company of the supplement industry weasels in Columbus and several more spent with the industry weasels and fitness weasels who trekked to Las Vegas, your consumer advocate weasel is now officially on his way to review the GNC Show of Strength. So stay tuned for next month's GNC Show of Strength review!

Stephen Adele hands out issues of Real SOLUTIONS.

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