MusclePharm

MusclePharm is an American nutritional supplement company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. MusclePharm is currently sold in over 120 countries and available in over 10,000 U.S. retail outlets, including GNC, Walmart, Vitamin Shoppe, and recently Costco. It is also sold by online retailers such as bodybuilding.com, GNC.com and Dick's Sporting Goods.

Company history
MusclePharm Corporation was incorporated on August 4, 2006. On February 18, 2010, the company acquired Muscle Pharm, LLC, and as a result, MusclePharm became a wholly owned subsidiary. In February 2012, MusclePharm launched a new product line called "MMA Elite" in partnership with the UFC sponsor MMA Elite.

MusclePharm's revenues are likely to exceed $70 million in 2013, and with dwindling debt and a recent 850-for-1 reverse split, the stock meets major listing standards for the NASDAQ.

Referred to as "The Athlete's Company" by its CEO, Brad Pyatt, MusclePharm's focus is on healthy lifestyles, and the company develops and manufactures a line of supplements intended to assist athletes with muscle building, weight loss and general fitness through the use of a daily supplement regimen. MusclePharm claims that its supplements are free of banned substances such as anabolic steroids. Its pre-workout product, "Assault", and its protein powder, "Combat", has INFORMED-CHOICE certification.

Legal and other issues
MusclePharm has faced several legal issues related to its stock and intellectual property infringement.

In May 2012, Marina Ventures sought to force MusclePharm's sale of 21 million shares of common stock. Inter-Mountain Capital sued MusclePharm for alleged failure to sell, seeking damages of $4 million. In the same month, John's Lone Star Distribution alleged in a suit that MusclePharm entered into illegal price discrimination contracts with a Lone Star competitor with the intention of removing Lone Star from the market.

In 2011, Environmental Research Center (ERC) filed a notice of intent to start litigation against over 200 nutrition and supplement companies, including MusclePharm, alleging violations of California Proposition 65. In February 2012, ThermoLife claimed in a lawsuit that MusclePharm infringed ThermoLife's patent on amino acid compounds including creatine nitrate.

In September 2011, it was reported that MusclePharm's executive vice president, Leonard Armenta, had resigned after accusations from the MMA fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson that there was a spy in his camp in the lead up to UFC 135. Jackson accused his opponent Jon Jones of having a spy at his training camp in Denver, Colorado, in the build up to the bout. In an interview with ESPN's SportsCenter, Jackson said MusclePharm released an employee named "Leonard" and accused him of acting as a spy for Jones.

In March 2012, NSF International notified the public that a MusclePharm product improperly bore the "NSF Certified for Sport" mark. In December 2013, NSF launched a lawsuit against MusclePharm and declared that MusclePharm is not authorized to use any NSF certification marks, to claim that any of its products are certified by NSF or to claim that they have been manufactured in an NSF GMP certified or registered facility. In September 2012, The Tawnsaura Group sued MusclePharm for patent infringement.

In October 2012, MusclePharm discontinued use of BEAST Sports' trademarks including "Beast" and "Beast Mode" after MusclePharm’s unauthorized use.

Bodybuilding.com awards
MusclePharm has been nominated and has won 14 Bodybuilding.com Awards within the past four years. Bodybuilding.com is an American online retailer of over 9,900 sports supplements and nutritional products based in Meridian, Idaho. The MusclePharm president and chief marketing officer, Jeremy DeLuca, is the brother of the Bodybuilding.com CEO Ryan DeLuca.


 * 2009 Awarded: New Brand Of The Year


 * 2010 Nominated for five 2010 Bodybuilding.com supplement awards and awarded Supplement company of the month October 2010 on bodybuilding.com, Top 10 bestselling brands on bodybuilding.com, Breakout brand of the year, Recovery product of the year (Re-Con), Pre-workout product of the year (Assault), Best new supplement of the year (Bullet Proof) and New Brand Of The Year


 * 2011 Nominated for 14 Bodybuilding.com Supplement Awards. and awarded Breakout Brand Of Year, New Supplement of Year (Assault), and Best Packaging of Year


 * 2012 Nominated for 18 Bodybuilding.com supplement awards and awarded Brand of the Year, Pre-Workout of the Year, Packaging of the Year.

Partnerships/sponsorships

 * UFC
 * Cincinnati Reds
 * Bodybuilding.com
 * Xempt Player Series
 * MMA Elite
 * Eurpac Service, Inc.

Created Brand names
Arnold Series: In September 2013 the company partnered with Europa Sports Products to sell their new Arnold Series. Arnold Schwarzenegger made an appearance with MusclePharm at Muscle beach, LA for the initial launch of the brand. The products include: Iron Whey, Iron Mass, Iron Pump, Iron Stack, Iron Dream, and Iron Cre3.

FitMiss: In November 2013 MusclePharm made an agreement with Walgreens for their innovative brand specifically for women. After the agreement, MissFit was stocked in 7,000 Walgreens stores nationwide. The products include FitMiss Delight, FitMiss Tone, FitMiss Burn, and Ready-to-Drink FitMiss Delight.

Athletes

 * Anderson Silva (MMA & UFC fighter; Former UFC Middleweight Champion)
 * Bryce Harper (MLB outfielder)
 * Chris Johnson (NFL running back)
 * Clay Guida (MMA & UFC Featherweight fighter)
 * Donald Cerrone (MMA & UFC Lightweight fighter)
 * Jake Shields (MMA & UFC Middleweight fighter)
 * Lyoto Machida (MMA & UFC fighter; former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion)
 * Michael Vick (NFL quarterback)
 * Laron Landry (NFL safety Indianapolis Colts)
 * Chad Johnson (former NFL wide receiver)
 * Natalia Muntean (2009 Ms. Bikini Universe and WBFF Fitness Model World Champion)
 * Obi Obadike (World Body & Fitness Federation Pro-Male Fitness Model World Champion and 2010 FMI Male Fitness Model of the Year)
 * Patrick Barry (MMA & UFC Heavyweight fighter)
 * Patrick Willis (NFL defensive linebacker)
 * Rashad Evans (MMA & UFC fighter; former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion)