It’s no secret that the supplement industry has made tremendous advances in the past five years. Sure, protein powders, meal replacements and primitive fat burners have long been available, but the introduction of pro-hormones, thyroid hormones, cutting-edge anabolic compounds like methoxyisoflavone and ecdysterone and new thermogenic agents like forskolin and guggulsterones ushered in a new era of potent, legal supplements.
No doubt you’re familiar with most, if not all, of these substances; however, you may not know the person responsible for bringing a number of them to the bodybuilding community’s attention. Meet Matthias Boldt, a man who has been extraordinarily influential in supplement trends and who’s helped thousands of people all over the world achieve their physique goals.
IRONMAN: You started out like most of us, weight training and reading bodybuilding magazines as a teenager, right?
Matthias Boldt: Yes, I’ve been weight training for about 15 years and even competed when I was younger.
IM: You grew up in Germany, correct?
MB: Yes, Hamburg.
IM: Did you ever take steroids?
MB: When you’re around that environment’the hardcore gym and bodybuilders’and you see the gains people are making, eventually you get curious and want to experiment for yourself. I took them on and off for about two years, and I made decent gains while using them. I got sick as a result, however, and that’s the reason I decided to start researching supplements and start my own company. I knew that not everyone who takes steroids experiences serious medical problems, but I also knew I wasn’t an exception. I was determined to introduce products that would have the potency to assist in the muscle-building and fat-burning processes without any negative side effects.
IM: How did you get from steroid user to supplement manufacturer?
MB: In early 1996 I started a company called AM Pharma and introduced four pro-hormonal compounds to the marketplace. I wasn’t involved in finished products at that time. I was providing raw materials to many major supplement companies.
IM: So, if people were taking pro-hormones when they were initially sold, chances are you provided the raw materials.
MB: It’s very likely.
IM: When did you begin to market and sell your own products?
MB: In late 1996 I founded SAN’Scientifically Advanced Nutrition’and introduced the first products: Pyroclen, Nora-Kaszen, Dyandrolone and Estro-Block.
IM: How have you been able to discover so many cutting-edge products?
MB: Most of the stuff I’ve become aware of’I wouldn’t say discovered because the compounds were already in existence but not being used for bodybuilding purposes’has been reported in obscure medical journals and abstracts. I used to spend a great deal of my time in medical libraries, but now with the Internet I can access most everything I need online.
IM: Can’t anyone check things out on the Internet?
MB: Yes, anyone can do it, but it’s not that easy. The compounds I’ve brought to the marketplace aren’t filed under ‘new muscle builders.’ It’s not quite like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but you need a basic scientific background along with the ability to wade through hundreds of pages of often irrelevant data to make sense of it all.
IM: Would you list briefly some of the products you’ve introduced to the bodybuilding world?
MB: 19-norandrostenedione and the -diol version, 5-AD; Methoxybol-7, a combination of methoxyisoflavone and ecdysterone; Lipoburn, a topical fat-burning cream; and Glutavescent, a new effervescent glutamine supplement.
IM: I know you still train five to six days a week at Gold’s Gym in Venice, California, so you’ve got your finger on the pulse of the real bodybuilding community. Which of your supplements has proven most effective in terms of real-life application in the gym?
MB: I would say that early on 19-norandrostenediol worked relatively well. More recently, ecdysterone has gotten a lot of attention. People have gained muscle size and gotten better pumps when taking it because of the body’s ability to increase nitrogen retention. In terms of fat burning, thyroid hormones, like tiratricol and more recently T2, have been very effective, but the fat-burning category I’m most excited about is the gel I created, Lipoburn.
IM: Gels have been around forever, but I’ve never known anyone to benefit from them. How is Lipoburn different?
MB: That’s what I used to think, which is why I set out to find one that actually worked. I never doubted the concept, just the result. Bodybuilders have used thiomucase and triacana creams for years, and many still swear by them, even though the delivery system couldn’t possibly penetrate the skin. So I did a lot of research into the transdermal carriers necessary to penetrate the skin barrier and allow the body to absorb the fat-burning ingredients effectively. That’s the most crucial part of a transdermal fat burner. It has to make it into the bloodstream so the fat-burning agents can actually work. After numerous formulations I’ve come up with a gel that truly can spot reduce fat where you rub it into the skin.
IM: I don’t mean to be skeptical, but you just rub it in and the fat melts away?
MB: Yes, but it’s not quite that simple. You have to weight train, do cardio and diet to experience the full benefits of Lipoburn. Simply rubbing the gel into fatty areas won’t have any noticeable effects if you’re not assisting the fat-burning process with consistent training and dieting. But people who have used Lipoburn have experienced greater and faster fat loss than ever while using it.
IM: If Lipoburn is the hottest new fat burner, what’s the next big muscle builder and strength enhancer?
MB: I think, without a doubt, the next big thing will be effervescent glutamine.
IM: Glutamine’s been around for years and is used in lot of products. How can it be the next big thing?
MB: Creatine had a huge impact on the supplement industry and bodybuilders all over the world. It worked for almost everyone who took it. Then effervescent creatine was introduced, which improved the absorption process considerably. Creatine already worked well for many people in its standard form, but effervescence made it better, more efficient.
Glutamine makes up 60 percent of the total amino acids in muscles, and as a supplement it can be extremely potent’if it makes it into your bloodstream. I say that because the body doesn’t effectively absorb glutamine in its standard form. The amount of glutamine necessary to increase muscle growth and strength doesn’t get to the bloodstream because it’s absorbed and degraded in the intestines.
I knew glutamine had been overlooked by supplement companies and supplement consumers, so I spent most of this year working on a new effervescent glutamine product. If I could create the ideal formula combined with the proper effervescent delivery system, I’d have an extremely potent anabolic agent. My formula is now perfected and is getting some incredible results. Some test subjects have reported gains of five to nine pounds of muscle along with significant increases in strength in just four weeks.
IM: For the first time in a long time I’m actually excited about a new supplement. Is it available yet?
MB: It’s been available since early this year, but I don’t have the advertising budget to promote every single product I formulate. That’s why you haven’t seen anything about this one. I’ve also been so busy working on other products, I haven’t focused on it until now. I truly believe Glutavescent will become a much-sought-after supplement once people try it and experience the muscle and strength gains for themselves.
Research Team Special: To test the incredible anabolic power of effervescent glutamine for yourself, call 1-800-447-0008 and ask for the Glutavescent Special. You’ll get two canisters, about a one-month supply, for only $59.95, a savings of $40’and we’ll even throw in an IRONMAN Training & Research Center T-shirt.
If you’re interested in the fat-burning products discussed in this interview, the October ’01 IRONMAN Research Team featured two bottles of Thyrocuts II, a thyroid optimizer, and two jars of Lipoburn, the new fat-burning gel, for only $99.95, a $60 savings. It’s the Fat Terminator stack, and it’s still available by calling 1-800-447-0008. IM
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