USN for Kids - Twitter war

[V12man]

Someone should tweet a link on Albe's thread directing him here..... lets see how well he stands up to a bunch of hubbers

Someone with a Twitface account that is - i don't have one...

 

Trust me - he knows about it - as do a whole lot of his suppliers and partners (some of us have made sure of that) - I think he needs to go on a Public relations course about social media - in a BIG way.

[TheV]

We should also not kid ourselves, the perceived (or intended) target market for these products are active kids living active (competitive) lifestyles....

 

In reality the parents of these (particular) kids are active and healthy themselves. They won't buy this crap, they will actually advocate against it, as is the case right here.

 

The fat, lazy and stupid people who do buy this for their fat and unhealthy kids will do so once or twice but I certainly won't bank on them for being life long dedicated customers.... These products won't last....

 

I also want to see any court strike against a concerned parent or nutritional expert for publicly calling out on a supplements company BS... It won't happen, not even in the USA....

 

Because you appointed yourself CEO of some silly company doesn't mean you are Mr. JACK Sheeet to me.

If any of the private school mommies got hold of you Mr. CEO you would have your balls dished to you on a platter, lawyer or not, they got game.

Edited October 20, 2012 by TheV

[Edgar]

Let us hope V

[JarradVZ]

Okay, so I just DNFed at Van Gaalens. Chain on the SS just wouldn't stay put (bent chainring the cause? Not sure).

 

Now I gotta wait for Jules.

 

So I have some time on my hands. The Twitter debate is still raging although it is pretty one-sided. His supporters are all his lieutenants (USN sponsored athletes) but the general trend is that he is a corporate bully in charge of an unethical company. The silly and irrelevant comments from Stewart and his wife were not a surprise but I was a little disappointed in Martin Dreyer (although if your boss demands a little help it may be difficult to refuse).

 

To emphasize: my main problem is not with the product itself (the stuff is not ideal, but no worse than some other products mentioned here). The main issue is with the ethics of a company like USN (they have had their fair share of doping and contamination controversies before and also manufacture and market hormone precursor products) now marketing a kids specific supplement. It makes me so uneasy. All I did was ask a few questions and Albe did the rest.

 

I can offer some basic advice when shopping for sports supplements:

 

Do some research. Google Scholar is your friend when it comes to finding academic articles and avoiding advertorials. Find out for yourself whether the performance claims have been proven by science or not.

 

Be suspicious of inflated claims and many different active ingredients in the same product.

 

Look for the "Informed Sport" logo. They are an independent testing program who can assure the purity of a specific product. Presently only Pepto-Pro are enrolled but things should be changing soon.

 

Avoid companies who also market hormonal products. Testo 17 boost pro xxx or whatever, beware! The risk of contamination is simply too great.

 

That's all for now.

['Dale]

@TimH,

 

Interesting and important comments here.

[Shebeen]

Wasn't there a case of a couple of Rugby players either last or earlier this year bust for contaminated ingredients from a product sold by the same Company?

here's the case study on that incident, the whole bok team were on it...chilliboy and bjorn were the two who were randomly tested.

http://www.rfu.com/thegame/antidoping/education/~/media/Files/2011/The_Game/Anti%20Doping/Case%20Study%20%20Ralapelle%20%20Basson%20%20Supplements.ashx

 

To emphasize: my main problem is not with the product itself (the stuff is not ideal, but no worse than some other products mentioned here). The main issue is with the ethics of a company like USN (they have had their fair share of doping and contamination controversies before and also manufacture and market hormone precursor products) now marketing a kids specific supplement. It makes me so uneasy. All I did was ask a few questions and Albe did the rest.

totally agree with you there again, loads of athletes doing well with their stuff. I think anything that is marketed in this way to the kids is bad news for the fun of sport at this age. Have heard that the spur schools league is doing amazing this for our sport, but there is a rough edge to how competitive it is and the ridiculously expensive kit some of these kids are riding on.

[Thug]

Well said TimH.

 

I think there are far too few Sports Nutionalists or experts alike who are prepare to stand up and speak out against (or ask the relevant questions) Companies that sell these products.

[Skubarra]

Always had my doubts but then I saw USN selling Power Balance bands... How can you take anything serious from a company happy to slap their logo on a Power Balance band????

[HappyMartin]

Humans are the ultimate omnivores. We can eat just about anything and get away with for fairly extended periods of time. It makes it difficult to ascertain positive or negative long term implications of any particular dietary habits.

 

Then there is the powerful placebo effect to contend with when evaluating anecdotal evidence of the efficacy of supplements. This creates a huge gap which supplement companies are more than ready to exploit.

[JarradVZ]

Humans are the ultimate omnivores. We can eat just about anything and get away with for fairly extended periods of time. It makes it difficult to ascertain positive or negative long term implications of any particular dietary habits.

 

Then there is the powerful placebo effect to contend with when evaluating anecdotal evidence of the efficacy of supplements. This creates a huge gap which supplement companies are more than ready to exploit.

 

Excellent point Martin! Any effects attributable to a particular supplement become even more impossible to prove or disprove when there are multiple "active" ingredients in each product.

 

The placebo effect is far more powerful than we once realised. Have a look at "Bad Science" by Ben Goldacre as an excellent read around this and other pseudoscience mumbo-jumbo.

[JarradVZ]

 

Brandon Stewart ‏@bsbrandon5 really?? Or is it just a plan to protect a future sponsor

 

Biogen sponsors FedgroupItec team. Biogen = USN.

[SwissVan]

Hi TH, any chance you could reply to this question.

 

 

Hi guys and girls

 

I am JarradVZ.

 

 

Comments and questions welcome

Jarrad

 

 

 

Support your sentiments in this regard 100% and was a bit suprised (in a negative sense) at USN CEO's response.

 

My question would be:

 

What would the difference be bewteen the USN kids product and the norrmal off the shelf Nesquick / milo etc... powdered milkshake type products?

[Witkop]

I am worried at the statement "to help kids perform at their best".

 

Ar we as parents become so competitive that we want this type of marketing? Kids should be playing and having fun. There only nutritional suppliment should be REAL FOOD supplimented occasionally by JUNK FOOD and sweets. REAL FOOD can be grown in real earth. Just add seeds and water, and wola food grows. Unfortunately, for protein an animal must die, but the local butcher can get the end product (meat) to you. Real Food does not come in packets, powders, gels, sachettes and tins. Real Food © also requires some effort in preparation and can be mixed with real herbs and real spices for added appeal.

 

For a kid to perform at his best he needs safe roads, open fields, lots of friends and a bit of love and guidance. This you cannot buy, but can create by becoming involved in your community.

[JarradVZ]

SwissVan

 

Your question is valid. Nesquick, Milo etc. are also not great. They are high energy and high sugar. Not bad if used post workout but otherwise not ideal for kids (or adults really).

 

The difference is that they are not marketed by USN. A company founded by someone from a body-building background whose nutrition knowledge comes from gyms and health-clubs where anabolics, deliberate dehydration, insulin, stimulants etc. are the norm. A company who has already had several contamination controversies. A company who also markets hormonal products.

 

Competitive kids will then associate the brand with sporting success and graduate onto their more controversial products.

 

The ethics are my concern more than the product itself.

[Wyatt Earp]

I am worried at the statement "to help kids perform at their best".

 

I will give you an example.

I have quite an active 8 year old boy.

Three Karate classes on a Monday and two on a Wednesday and on the weekend him and I work out doing Kumité and Kata's together.

He dances twice a week and then still does sports at school, cricket, soccer, athletics or whatever the season.

 

He gets up in the morning to get ready for school, unlike his sister he doesn't really feel like eating.

When he gets to school he needs to perform at his best, and here I am referring to his mental alertness and his academic ability.

I often make him a a smoothie and he gets in much nutrition this way.

 

He is also very health conscious and actually scares me sometimes with what he does and does not allow himself to have, he thinks too much like an adult in this regard.

 

So my interpretation of my kids performing at their best, extends beyond their sporting abilities.

[mr_stig]

Couldn't agree more about the power of the placebo effect - it's precisely why we have a rhino horn trade.