Axis Labs – an Example of Fraud

Axis Labs is a prime example of how a company fraudulently sells supplements. This is a small company trying gain a foothold into the sports nutrition market. Don’t in the least be fooled by their name, they are not a lab in any stretch of the imagination. They do no research. They have no innovation. They are a knock-off company – they copy existing supplements, give them a new name and attempt to put their spin on them. So in order to get people to buy their supplements they need to make them sound unique and better than anything else. They need to lie about how good their supplements are and what they can do for you.

If they didn’t do that, if they didn’t lie about their supplements, if they didn’t make the unsuspecting think they were getting something special, why would anyone even consider buying anything they sell?

Case in point with their Creatine Ethyl Ester. We already know creatine ethyl ester has not been shown to work. In fact, it’s been shown extremely unstable. One look at the existing research on stability and the total lack of any science on it’s effects and any company with any credibility and concern for the science absolutely would not sell it. But that’s not how things work in the sport supplement industry. It’s not how good a supplement works it’s how good you make people think it works that generates sales.

Here is the bullshit Axis Labs uses to sell their creatine ethyl ester straight from their website.

Creatine Ethyl Ester HCl Highlights:

• Dramatically stronger than other forms of creatine

Complete lie. To make a statement like this there would have to be a comparative study. There is none. So there is no evidence whatsoever to support this lie.

• Huge gains in lean mass through increased protein synthesis

Again, complete lie. No evidence to show it has any effect on muscle growth at all much less “huge gains.”

• Directly penetrates the muscle cell

Just because an ester molecule is attached in no way means it penetrates the muscle cell. In fact, creatine has it’s own shuttling pathway in the human body. Adding an ester molecule to creatine doesn’t change that. And with how unstable creatine ethyl ester has been shown to be very little even has the ability to make to muscle tissue.

• Smaller dose that provides more results than regular creatine monohydrate

Again, complete lie. What data do they have that proves this? None. It’s a total lie. And if you look at the research, creatine ethyl ester degrades rapidly so a much higher dosage would be needed to match creatine monohydrate. But again there is no evidence that creatine ethyl ester even has the potential effects as creatine monohydrate. As far as we know it could be incapable of even entering the muscle cell. Much like supplementing creatine phosphate does not increase muscle creatine levels, creatine ethyl ester may not either. That’s why clinical studies are so important.

This is false advertising. A definite mark of a worthless company whose purpose is to rip you off.

• Rapid results, feel the power in the first serving

Just marketing bullshit

• No loading, bloating, cramping or dehydration

Again, no data, no science to support this. Just because they say it doesn’t mean it’s true. In fact, everything they say to sell this product is a completely untrue.

• No need to cycle off

Why would this be any different than any other creatine. Here again they have nothing to support this either way. Another lie to sell an inferior product.

Now they even take it a little further. They have mocked up a bogus graph to “prove” their bullshit.

 

They mock up this graph with make believe data. The only way you could honestly have a graph like this is to do a study to gather the data. They don’t have this. They simply made up this graph with fraudulent data to make you believe their product is superior.

Now to show how full of crap this company is, at the bottom of their web page for Creatine Ethyl Ester they list about 30 scientific references. They do this to make you think there is a wealth of science supporting their product. This couldn’t be further from the truth. And what is ironic is that out of all the references they list not a single one is for creatine ethyl ester. All the creatine references they list are for Creatine Monohydrate, the very creatine they claim is inferior. I guess they think you are too stupid to realize this.

Axis Labs is a company built around their ability to bullshit people into buying their supplements. Don’t put up with. Tell them where they can stick their supplements and their bullshit. And if you see it on a store shelf tell the store manager he’s selling bullshit supplements.

What should GNC do about BSN?

I was asked this question and can give you an answer without hesitation. They should immediately pull all BSN products off the shelves. They should offer anyone who purchased any BSN products full, no questions asked refunds. They should refuse to ever do any further business with them. There is no excuse for mislabeling products and ripping off consumers. And GNC shouldn’t try the “act dumb” approach.

GNC – General Nutrition Center – is the largest seller of supplements in the United States. They owe it to their customers to fully substantiate all the products they carry. And they should gather this substantiation prior to selling any product. They do not do this. They have never done this and more than likely never will. It’s simply not good for the bottom line.

GNC is notorious for selling any supplement when the demand appears high enough. Demand is created through marketing. The more a company hypes a supplement in their advertising the greater the demand will be. Exaggerate the claims (lie about what the supplement will do) and you create greater demand.

At any given time GNC caries dozens if not hundreds of supplements that are marketed deceptively and fraudulently. And to be fair, GNC is not the only company that does this. Virtually all vitamin stores and discount online stores engage in this without a second thought. Even stores like WalMart do it.

It’s like they are all in on this “don’t ask don’t tell” code of silence. These big retailers know what products are fraudulent especially from the marketing standpoint. And if they don’t know then they are even worse – stupid.

So even though GNC and other retailers don’t market the supplements deceptively themselves, they knowingly and willingly cash in on the fraudulent marketing by the companies of the products they sell. They are just as complicit in the fraud. In fact, they are the ones you hand your money to in exchange for the product. They are the final connection of the fraud.

It’s all about the money.