When it comes to work – there are people who dive in – headfirst… and there are people who wet their hair in the shower and tell people they’ve been swimming all day. There’s only one way to get things done – put your head down and do them. Here’s a story about how that happens when a team collectively puts their head down to win. Let’s get into this…
Hard f**king work.
In today’s day and age – that phrase (minus the f-bomb) is often looked at as a dirty word.
It seems like nobody wants to know how the sausage is made – but everybody wants a link of it next to their eggs, if you catch my drift.
People want to benefit from the fruits of labor – but not many people have the grit and determination to care for the tree.
Now that we got the parables out of the way – let’s just call a spade “a spade”: it seems the younger generations don’t seem to have the work ethic of Generation X and below – but want the same outcomes. Now, that may just be the Gen X in me talking, but from my perspective, it looks like they want other people to do the work – while they reap the rewards.
I blame the helicopter parents of the late-90’s/early 2000’s – who gave their kids anything they wanted without having to earn it. A generation raised on “everybody gets a trophy” not allowing the child to fail and build actual character.
But… There Is Hope
To be honest? It’s downright infuriating. The entitlement of many Millennials (though, they seem to be waking up) and Gen Z (who often seem hopeless) is enough to make you want to punt a puppy across an interstate. Now, if you’re a part of one of these generations – I’m not talking about YOU. The fact that you’re reading this proves you don’t fall into those stereotypes… but I bet dollars to donuts, you know people EXACTLY like I’m talking about.
However, there are plenty of diamonds that do shine amongst the rest of the coal…
And this is a story about a multi-generational team of misfits that just seems to keep winning.
Only One Way to Get Things Done
There really is only one way to get things done…
You do them. It’s not that hard. It’s not some philosophical thought exercise. The best and ONLY way to get things done – is to put your head down and do the work. That’s it. Plain and simple.
That attitude – when shared by a team – is what leads to progress…
Which is what keeps happening with the creative team here at Nutrex.
I’m sure you’ve noticed lately, we’ve been dropping new products and new flavors rapid-fire style… and if you think that’s an easy task – you don’t know the amount of work that goes into just ONE new release – let alone multiple.
What’s worse? There’s no easy part of the process…
Formulation? Hard. Testing? Frustrating. Marketing? SUPER hard.
And yes, while I only named three aspects of a product launch – each of these processes have subsets of processes that can stall or kill an entire project.
Work on Top of Work Top Of Work
Coming up with a killer formula isn’t just about throwing ingredients together – it’s way more complicated with that. It’s finding the right ingredients that work synergistically with each other – and then – figuring out what amount of each ingredient is optimal for the max benefit.
Believe it or not – “more” isn’t always better. More often than not, there’s a diminishing point of return.
So, you’ve got an amazing formula, what’s next? Finding enough raw material for said formula to make a run of the product. You’d be surprised how little there is of certain ingredients – and even more surprised at how often those ingredients disappear. If you’ve ever had a favorite formula – and then that formula changes – oftentimes, it’s because of the scarcity of one of the ingredients.
Then, you’ve got testing. Sometimes, that killer formula gives somebody the worst stomach ache they’ve ever had or headaches or whatever. This process can be frustrating. Not to mention, the products that have a flavor.
Flavors are so subjective. Getting people to agree on what’s “good” is near impossible – which is maddening – because flavor may be one of the most important aspects behind the success of a product. If it tastes like 💩 – nobody is going to buy it… no matter how effective it is.
But say you make it through the formulation and testing processes fast – figuring out how to market that product, ie. finding the right messaging, right tone, right audience – can be even more frustrating than the testing.
What REALLY sucks is when the product is beyond amazing – but the marketing sucks… so nobody tries it.
The Hardest Aspect Of A Launch? Marketing…
Makes you want to put your head through a wall.
EVen more, grabbing the attention of people who are used to scrolling through social media like crack addict hunting for their next fix. The average time you have to get somebody to SEE your product is less than 3 seconds. So, your marketing material better hit as hard – if not harder – as your formula.
For example, take our latest release of the first ever ULTRA STIM pre-workout – OUTRAGE.
That process took MONTHS of painstakingly hard work. From Chris and Felix coming up with a killer formula, to Chris and Eli working out the flavor profiles, to Manny and Erik creating incredible marketing materials – this was literally MONTHS from beginning to end.
And as hard as it was – that struggle made the success of the drop even more rewarding.
“Try This…”
It’s funny, I remember Chris calling me into the graphics room to see what he, Manny and Erik were working on. The label was unlike ANYTHING we’ve ever done at Nutrex. I only had one word: “Rad!”
I also remember being a beta tester for the formula. Chris dropped the little packet on my desk and said, “Try this for your next workout.” Wish he would have warned me how hard it was going to hit. Yes, I probably had one of the greatest workouts of my life – but when I found myself cleaning baseboards at 2am – I knew taking it late would NOT be ideal.
Seriously, I think I counted EVERY sheep in the effin’ flock before finally drifting off to la-la land.
I also remember seeing the first video from Manny – it was so clean and so creative – I was blown away. The idea of OUTRAGE just made sense to everybody on the team – because Chris made sure we all knew the idea and tone behind it.
Teams Are Only As Good As Their Leader
Every good team… has a good leader. And even though Chris is a Millennial – he’s not one of the pu**ies. I’ve rarely seen anybody work harder or as relentlessly as him. The guy is a machine. In fact, I’ve often asked him to unplug for a weekend or even a week – so he doesn’t burn out – yet I get texts all weekend long (regrettably).
Anywho, I just wanted to give you guys some insight into what goes down for one of these launches…
And to kind of toot our horn for a minute. Ain’t nobody else going to do it…
That being said, if you think these drops were good…
Just wait for the rest of 2025 – we’re going knock your f**king socks off.
“There is no substitute for hard work.” – Thomas A. Edison
Editor’s Note: Have you seen OUTRAGE yet? It’s the world’s FIRST (and only) ULTRA STIM pre-workout – and it’s NOT for the “soft crowd”. This pre hits like a freight train – so, if you’re one of those “sensitive” people – do NOT buy it. However, if you ARE one of those savages – do yourself a favor and pick this stuff up today. It’ll help you have one of the greatest workouts of your LIFE… no cap! Get your OUTRAGE here!
PS – If you buy it before 1/24/25 – you get a FREE special edition shirt with it! Get your NOW!
