Nicholas Alexander
December 2, 2020
Biology and Society
Professor
So, what are you on?
At wrestling practice when I was younger or now in Jiu Jitsu practice, there were always
guys that were better than the rest. They always seemed two steps ahead physically, mentally,
and skillfully. People would then start to talk. I or some other person would then ask what are
you on, Dude? What are you taking? Are you on the juice? From professional sports teams
within the MLB or NFL to tactical athletes like Navy SEALs or Green Berets to UFC fighters,
health supplements, performance enhancing drugs (PED), and growth hormones (GH) are
constantly talked about and tested for. Anytime there is any above average results in an athlete,
drug agencies, other athletes and sports leagues are quick to test them for any form of cheating.
This is no longer the 1980’s where everyone is sweating growth hormones. Growing up as an
athlete myself there has always been some new and improved mainstream type of protein,
supplement, or vitamin that supposedly would make you bigger faster and stronger. 99% of the
time it did not work at all. This has led me down a road of questioning. Are there supplements on
the market that are both healthy and boost performance? I believe I have reached the answer in a
company called Thorne Research.
Thorne Research was started in June of 1984. When Thorne first started it only had one
product. Its mission was to create the best quality supplement on the market and introduce new
products as well. To do this they poured an immense amount of funding into clinical research for
the products. Through this clinical research, scientific orientation, and quality Thorne was able to
gain the respect of the Mayo Clinic and numerous USA based teams. As time went on the
reputation of Thorne and the company itself grew immensely. It grew the reputation of being an
industry leader of quality supplements backed by clinical research. Although this was a
tremendous gain from a business perspective it exposed a hole in the market by showing how
many companies put profit before quality. Thorne has focused on making the best products for so
long that the company itself did not change with economy. The lack of a true marketing
department and team have been that has kept Thorne. However recently Thorne has established a
true marketing team and department. They company was not putting the same amount of effort
into its branding as it did its products. Today Thorne sells a plethora of vitamins, health
supplements, packages, and diagnostic health and wellness tests. Today numerous professional
