DC: How did you break into this industry?
WB: People kept telling me I should write articles for the magazines. I was a private trainer in the Boston area and had a good reputation for getting bodybuilders into shape. I used to do some local seminars and people kept telling me I should send in some articles to the bodybuilding magazines.
They felt I had a lot of knowledge I should share with people, so on a whim I sent in an article. After that, companies started contacting me to do consulting work and so on. One thing just seemed to build on the other. The rest as they say, is history.
DC: How important is the consumption and proper balance of omega fatty acids for losing weight and general health?
WB: In my view, extremely important, if not essential. It’s a topic I have been writing about and talking about for a long time. I wrote the first article on flax oil and other lipids for fat loss in the bodybuilding mags way back when. I don’t think a person can optimize fat loss or health without the proper use of EFAs, in particular, Omega-3 EFAs.
DC: In your experience what has been the most effective nutritional method to losing bodyfat?
WB: Higher protein, moderate fat of the right types in the right ratios, and moderate-low carbs based on the amount of lean body mass the person carries combined with smart weight training and aerobics.
The use of certain supplements can also greatly enhance the fat loss process in may ways, such as increasing metabolism or blunting hunger, but most of the products sold for that purpose are over hyped or just plain worthless.
It’s about making smart choices as an educated consumer not jumping on the bandwagon for every new supplement that wants people to believe it will change their life over night.
DC: You have an e-book on the topic of fat loss supplements and diet. What is it about and who is it for and who is it not for?
WB: The book is designed to explain once and for the facts (i.e., what is it, what does it do, what does the research say, what does the real world say, dose, warnings, etc) about the weight loss nutrients already available, not necessarily to uncover new and novel compounds never seen before.
It does not cover sub-Q yohimbine injections of forskolin enemas for example.
My feeling is that the vast majority of people out there, say better than 90%, buying supplements still don’t have a clue as to what works and what does not work regarding the diet supplements that already exist.
If they did, there would not be so many bottles of junk sold now would there?
Compared to the general public, bodybuilding types are a particularly well informed group, but the rest of the world is not. The news groups and my email box, are still filled with questions about pyruvate, chitosan, DHEA, and other products, so I know confusion is still rampant.
I felt those people could really benefit from an easy to read concise look at what is on the shelves already from someone they can trust to get the straight scoop.
There is a ton of information about weight loss on the internet, and most of it is wrong.
I do feel even most well informed people will still learn a few tricks they didn’t know, but the fact is, it’s not a book written for the “hard core” bodybuilding crowd per se. I am not looking for people to buy it and be unhappy, though I think most people will be pleased with the information.
It’s also not a diet book per se but it does contain a diet and exercise plans. It’s a look at weight loss nutrients combined with an easy to follow “Ten Tip Guide to Fat Loss” and people should realize that also.
So, for well informed bodybuilder types who really know their stuff, this may not be the book for them. For the other 95% plus people in the world who are constantly bombarded with BS about these nutrients, this book will clear it all up for them. Spam off.
DC: You recently updated the book. Do you cover things like andro products and creatine?
WB: No, there would be no reason to cover such supplements in a diet related book as they are not diet or weight loss supplements. If I was going to write a book on bodybuilding supplements for gaining muscle and strength, I would cover things like andro and creatine, but this book is on supplements intended to lose fat.
WB: No, there would be no reason to cover such supplements in a diet related book as they are not diet or weight loss supplements. If I was going to write a book on bodybuilding supplements for gaining muscle and strength, I would cover things like andro and creatine, but this book is on supplements intended to lose fat.
What I updated the book with was new chapters, new research on other nutrients where there was any to be had, and new information and charts on topics such as the GI (glycemic index) and its role of losing weight and staying healthy, as well as other new sections.
DC: I know you have worked with some of the worlds top athletes and military groups as well as the general population. Which do you find most satisfying?
WB: Although working with athletes is interesting, I find it most rewarding when an average person has turned their life around with information I gave them via my articles or my books.
WB: Although working with athletes is interesting, I find it most rewarding when an average person has turned their life around with information I gave them via my articles or my books.
I find it far more personally inspirational to get a letter or an email from some one who has lost 100lbs or more following my diet advice or what have you then helping an athlete break some personal goal or record.
I recently got an email from someone who lost a brother in the 911 attacks as a fire fighter. He went and became a fire fighter to follow in his brother’s foot steps, and told me the information in the e-book really helped him with getting in shape to be a fire fighter. That really inspired me in a far greater way than say some athlete breaking a record.
DC: OK, last question Will. If false or misleading advertising is so common in the magazines, how do they get away with it? Why do the mags print this when they know it’s nonsense?
WB: The answer that is always there, money. Most of the information you will find on the ‘net or magazines is ‘generated’ by the actual supplement companies themselves, that is, by the people who sell the stuff.
They then have this information issued via certain magazines, web sites and other publications, PR firms, etc., yet most of it is, to be blunt, pure bullshit. False or misleading information designed only to sell the supplements.
For the magazines, supplement companies are a major source of advertising revenue. How do I know this? Because I have been both an editor and writer for most of the top publications in the health/fitness/bodybuilding arena, have done consulting work for many of the top supplement companies.
DC: Are all supplement companies full of BS?
WB: No, but unless people become educated consumers, they will never know the difference and will be among the ignorant masses who get suckered into throwing their money at useless supplements.
I can tell you the few supplement companies and supplement company owners that are honest and want to sell a good product are as frustrated as you are over the BS that is so common.
DC: Why?
WB: Because they get lost in the shuffle and lose out to marketing based companies who spend all their money on ads versus science and well thought out formulas.
DC: Wow, quite an honest answer Will! Thanks for the great interview.
Will Brink is the owner of the Brinkzone Blog. Will has over 30 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
He’s also been published in peer reviewed journals.
Will is the author of the popular e-books, both accompanied by private members forum access , Bodybuilding Revealed & Fat Loss Revealed.
You can also buy Will’s other books on Amazon, Apple iBook, and Barnes and Noble.
I have frequented your posts before. The more I visit, the more I keep coming back! 😉