
🔥 David & Marc on Building an Energy Drink Empire, Gym Culture & the Business of Fitness 🚀 In this high-energy episode, we sit down with David & Marc, the co-founders of Old School Energy, to discuss their journey from gym ownership...
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David
What's crazy is we talk about this all the time. We have literally manifested this whole business. So, like, meeting you, meeting him. Right. Meeting everybody we've met was literally just a conversation we had two weeks before it happened.
Mark
Damn.
Unknown
You know, so we'll say something like, wouldn't that be cool if. And then it happens.
David
Yeah.
Mark
That's so nuts.
Unknown
Yeah.
David
It's just. And it's insane.
Unknown
And it will from the very beginning. So David was a member at my gym.
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
And he came into my office and he said, I don't know what we're gonna do, but I'm do business with you someday. And I was just like, okay. And we just went to lunch one day and. And then. Well, we've known each other for what, six years now? Seven years. Yeah.
David
And we.
Unknown
But we've finally started this business just, Just under three years ago.
Mark
Words are powerful, man.
David
Yeah, absolutely, man.
Mark
All right, guys, got David and Mark here from Old School Energy. Thanks for driving in, guys. Nine hour drive.
David
Absolutely, man. Thank you for having us.
Mark
Yeah. That's a long drive, man. That's a. That's actually. No, I drove from Jersey to Cali once, so I was going to say that was the longest drive I've seen.
Unknown
That's a little longer.
Mark
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But we did it in batches. Yeah, of course. Yeah. We stopped three times.
David
Absolutely.
Mark
But you guys had to bring the, Bring the goodies, right?
Unknown
Yeah. Can't really fly with liquids.
Mark
Yeah. Let's crack this open. It's been a long day for me, so I need some more energy.
David
Get you some old school, man.
Mark
Yes, sir. So how do you guys. Oh, wow, that tastes pretty good. How do you guys create this and talk to everyone about what's in it and everything?
Unknown
Well, start from the beginning. We actually were going to start with a. A supplement line and this just seemed to be a little bit easier to get started as far as sourcing ingredients and stuff like that. And so. So my background, I coach professional bodybuilders, so I have like a knowledge of nutrition and stuff. And I took. I read medical studies on ingredients and things like that. And I only put in here something that I would be okay with giving myself or one of my athletes. Right. And so I just literally forgot your question.
Mark
Basically, how did you start the. The company and.
Unknown
Oh, well, so once we got put together, like where to get our ingredients, how to get our cans printed, where to have it manufactured, then we just started that process and did a really small pilot run and that went well. And then we did A little bit bigger run, and then that went well, and now we're doing a lot more Nice.
Mark
Because I know it's a pretty competitive space. So the fact that you're having success is impressive, right?
David
Yeah, I mean, that's, you know, it's. We. We're definitely having a lot of fun. I mean, the drink is something distinct. It's like its own type of flavor. People are always trying to guess what the flavor is because we don't tell anybody.
Mark
Oh, really?
David
It's just the old school original. So tell us what you think the flavor is. It's.
Mark
It's like something I've never had before. I wouldn't even know what to put on it, you know?
Unknown
Yeah, yeah.
Mark
Like, I can't compare it to anything.
Unknown
And that's the goal, actually, is for people to. For it to become its own flavor. Right. Like, so when Coca Cola started out 100 years ago, it had its own flavor. Now we all understand what Coke tastes like, right?
David
Yeah.
Unknown
So that's kind of where we're at with that. And then the new flavors that are coming out, they're more distinguished, like, have more of a flavor that's distinguishable.
Mark
Yeah, that's an interesting approach. Not to mention the flavor, actually.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
I don't know if anyone else does that. Right.
Unknown
Well, there's. There's. There's energy drinks that have kind of their own thing. Well, like, for instance, Red Bull, they started out, and who knows what that flavor was, but now everybody's familiar with what that is, you know?
Mark
Yeah. Red Bull's like, they've been around forever, Right? Red Bull and Monster, those are like the two top.
David
Absolutely, man.
Unknown
They've been around 20, 26 years.
David
I don't know how long they've been.
Unknown
Around, but we love them. They. They paved the way for the whole market, you know, the industry.
Mark
They was one in Vegas. I just sold for a lot of money.
David
Oh, energy drink.
Mark
Yeah.
David
Oh, yeah.
Mark
Ghost.
David
Oh, yeah.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
It was a big exit. I never tried that one.
David
That was. Dr. Pepper bought them, right?
Mark
I think so.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
So these soda companies are. Are buying these energy drink companies, it looks like.
David
Yeah. And that's, you know, that's. I definitely foresee people coming at us, you know, for sure. But right now, man, we're just having fun and. And living it up.
Mark
Yeah. You guys had a good network of influencers to send this to, right?
David
Yeah, yeah, we have a really good network and a lot of people now that are interested in wanting to kind of jump because, you know, the way we do it over here is. It's, it's literally a family, right? So that's. People want to join the family and, you know, kind of hang out and so we, we're having a lot of fun.
Mark
I love them, man. Yeah. Because you guys worked with some UFC athletes and fighters in the past, right?
David
Yeah, yeah.
Mark
I met you guys at Power Slaps. You're tapped into space, right? It'd be cool to see you guys at Power Slap down the road.
Unknown
Yeah, we're coming to. What's. Is it Power Slap 12?
David
I think it's Power Slap 12. Yeah.
Mark
Oh, yeah, we'll be there. Let's go. That's the one in Vegas, right?
David
Yeah, yeah, they're in Saudi right now. And then they'll come to Vegas and we'll go there and, you know, again, we're not trying to step on anybody's toes. We're just trying to make sure the fighters are taken care of and, you know, and they like to drink, so.
Mark
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David
What?
Unknown
Yeah, the energy drink market as a whole is growing about close to 8% a year. So, you know, like, there's a, there's enough people to go around who, who's wanting energy drinks? So we're just taking a little bit of a piece of pie of that, that market and, and going crazy with it. Actually.
Mark
I wonder if that's because liquor sales are down.
David
Yeah, you know, yeah, for sure. I mean, I think people are looking for a healthy alternative too. Right. Like ours has, you know, pretty healthy ingredients. It's only 20 calories.
Mark
You got L Theanine in here, right?
David
Yeah. And thiamine. And you know, that's. We're definitely going to. You know, we're not a health drink, but we're a health conscience drink. Right. That's what I always say. So people that are trying to stay away from those ingredients, they don't know what they are, they turn to ours. And there's 13 ingredients in the whole can, right?
Mark
Yeah. And only five grams of sugar. I feel like I've seen some energy drinks have like 50 plus grams.
David
Yeah. Some guys hit us up with 140 grams. Holy.
Unknown
Yeah. And a lot of companies, they use high fructose corn syrup, which is an alternative for sugar, but our bodies really don't process that very well. And so just the fact that it has just a little bit of actual cane sugar, our body can use that as actual energy. Where. I just don't want to put stuff in there that is not okay for your body to digest. And so, like, for instance, even we don't put any food coloring in it at all. There's really no point because you can't see the liquid anyway. Right. So why. Why color it? Yeah. And a lot of people are really conscious of like red 40. I think that's one of the food colorings that people are kind of afraid of right now. I don't. I don't know why, but we don't have any food coloring in our.
Mark
Yeah, well, they just banned one of the reds.
Unknown
I think that's the one. Red four, I think. I don't quote me on that.
Mark
Might have been Red 3 or Red 5, but who knows? There's so many.
David
Oh, yeah.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
So many of them. And RFA is trying to ban high fructose corn syrup, I think, too.
Unknown
Right. Yeah. And it's probably a good idea. Yeah. It is cheaper than sugar, but it's just not good for you.
Mark
It doesn't look like it's the healthiest.
Unknown
No.
David
Yeah. I don't think it's the healthiest alternative. For sure.
Mark
Yeah. Which sugar do you guys use?
Unknown
Just regular cane sugar.
Mark
Okay. Yeah. Kane's. Probably better than the cheap sugar too, I assume, right?
David
Yeah, for sure.
Unknown
And it's so little that's in there, you know, it's. It's have to. They have because they have to. We have to round up. So it's actually a little less than 5 grams of sugar, but we have to round up just in case. Right. Just to be safe, you know. And so it's only 20 calories in a 16 ounce can. And that's Pretty. Pretty reasonable, I think.
Mark
Yeah. What were you guys doing before this? You're both from Idaho, right?
Unknown
I'm actually from California and I. So I do a couple of had. Did a couple of things. I coach pro bodybuilders, but I'm also a retired policeman, and so I was a policeman for about 23 years. And how. Actually how this kind of started is one of the guys that I worked with at the police department, we started a gym called Old School Iron and has the same exact logo. And so when we. When David and I started this company, we used the same logo and just changed iron to energy. And because the. The gym was really kind of a cult following, a lot of really professional, like power lifters and strongman train there and stuff. So we just. And we just love the logo. I mean, it's kind of.
Mark
It's clean.
Unknown
It's pretty cool.
Mark
Yeah, it's super clean. Gives me like Gold Gym vibes, basically. Yeah, they're old.
Unknown
Old school, right?
Mark
Yeah, old school. Yeah. I think the one by me where I grew up shut down, actually. Are they still doing well, Goldstream?
Unknown
No, I don't think they're around.
Mark
Damn.
Unknown
I think most of them have been sold off. And now those gyms that were Gold's Gym are. Are. Are named something else.
Mark
Wow.
David
I wonder what the gyms around.
Mark
Yeah, they were like an empire back.
David
They were massive. Yeah, they were everywhere.
Mark
I wonder if they couldn't adapt to the changing gym culture.
David
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if somebody sold out, I don't know how it happened. I have no idea. I just know they know they were everywhere at one point and then gone the next.
Mark
Well, I'm part of lifetime and they seem to be killing it, man.
Unknown
Oh, really?
Mark
Building a third one in Vegas in a year. Allegedly. And dude, it's 400 bucks a month now.
Unknown
Wow.
Mark
For a gym, Isn't that nuts?
David
That's crazy.
Unknown
That is. That's a lot.
David
In.
Unknown
In Idaho, people complain about $39.
Mark
I wish, bro. Dude, I wish. And it's only going up. When I first joined, it was 200. And they keep raising like 50 bucks a year.
Unknown
Yeah, that's insane. But you have to remember at. In a gym, you know, probably. I don't know. I've never been into that gym. But there's probably half a million dollars worth of equipment in there that you get to use probably. And so you're basically renting time to use half a million dollars of equipment. Yeah, right.
Mark
They're also like more than Just a gym. I think they call themselves like a wellness center or whatever. Yeah. Because they got like the. The sauna, the cold plunges. Yeah.
Unknown
And like, all of that costs money.
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
You know, for a. For a real good quality treadmill is. It could be like $6,000 just for one of them.
David
Wow.
Mark
And some gyms have like 20 of those.
Unknown
Yeah. Some of them has like 50 of them.
Mark
Holy crap. Yeah, like the peloton bikes.
Unknown
Yeah. And those. You know, those stair steppers.
Mark
Yeah. They're like StairMaster.
Unknown
They're like 10 grand for whatever. Yeah.
Mark
Damn. Yeah. Lifetime has like, eight of those, I think.
David
Yeah.
Unknown
Yeah.
David
It's a big investment up front.
Mark
Holy crap. So getting the gym business is not appealing to businesses. I was like.
Unknown
I mean, I. I own a gym and actually we own. We franchised it and just bad timing. The COVID All the COVID shutdowns killed, like six of our franchisees because they had just opened and then they just couldn't keep the doors open.
Mark
Yeah. I remember when Bradley Martin was. Yeah, he had to dream out here. Right. And he was staying open during COVID taking those penalties.
Unknown
Oh, yeah.
David
Yeah. He was taking a lot of lesser day or something.
Mark
Crazy.
Unknown
Yeah.
David
It was sad.
Mark
Wiped him out.
David
And I agree with what Bradley said too, you know, like, it's. He's keeping it open because for him, you know, it helped with his mental focus. It helped with getting him through that time. And so I 100% agree to exactly what he said.
Mark
Yeah.
David
You know, keep the gym open. You got people in there that are maybe suffering from mental health, whatever, and this is kind of helping them. 100 agrees.
Mark
Yeah.
David
Yeah.
Mark
Shout out to him for sticking it out. He wants to build one in Vegas too, so I love that. And it's a new era of, like, content creators coming into gyms now and filming their workouts and everything.
David
Oh, for sure.
Mark
Than before.
David
Yeah. You're seeing a lot of people, like, getting healthy is the. The thing now. Right. So you're seeing everybody do it, you know.
Mark
Yeah.
David
And it's really good to see.
Mark
Yeah. I think health is like the new wealth, honestly.
David
Absolutely.
Mark
Like, people care about how healthy their business partners are, their friends are. Are. Before wasn't scared about. I feel like.
David
Yeah.
Unknown
It seems like more people are more conscious about what they're putting in their body and what they're doing with their bodies.
David
Well, look at Mr. Beast, David Do. Right. Like, they just lost a ton of weight.
Mark
They look phenomenal. Do was crazy.
David
Yeah, do was crazy, dude.
Mark
Steroid videos coming out.
David
Yeah.
Mark
People are accusing him of taking steroids. Yeah.
David
I don't know, man. He looked good. He looked great.
Mark
It didn't look unnatural to me, but who knows?
David
No, man, he looked. He looked good. That was a lot of hard work, for sure.
Mark
I haven't seen Mr. Beast yet though. I got to check that one out.
David
Yeah, he looks good, man. I just saw a video with him. He looks shredded. Yeah, yeah. And his face. He looks good. Yeah. Damn.
Mark
I've been watching Beast Games, but I haven't noticed. His shirt's always on and now you know.
David
Yeah, yeah.
Mark
You guys been watching that show, Beast Games?
David
I haven't seen it yet. No, I haven't. We've been so busy, man. I've been.
Unknown
Yeah, we.
David
We've been all over.
Unknown
We stay very, very busy.
Mark
No time for Squid Game or Netflix or anything.
David
I got kids, so my kids fill me in on what's.
Mark
Okay.
David
What's happening.
Mark
Yeah. Beast Games was nuts, man. He gave away $5 million.
David
Yeah. Wow.
Unknown
Crazy. You can afford to do that.
Mark
Yeah. Mr. Beast, it wasn't his business, man. He got investors, but still content.
Unknown
He seems like a good guy though, you know, he's.
Mark
Yeah, but contents like the new like celebrity, right?
David
Oh, for sure.
Mark
These streamers and social media stuff.
David
We were in Power Slap, you know, down in Vegas, there was a lot of kids. I had no idea who they were. They're like, oh, you know, this kid has got this much and this kid's got this much. I was like, yeah, I'm like sending pictures to my kids. Like, who is this?
Mark
They were probably freaking out.
David
Oh, yeah, for sure.
Mark
They were like, Bryce hall was there. He has like 30 million.
David
Yeah, I talked to Bryce hall when I was there. Nice guy.
Mark
30 million followers. But you would never know if you're just like, you know, grown ass man walking around like, who is that?
David
You have no idea?
Unknown
No.
David
And they're all super friendly, super nice. So.
Mark
Yeah. Do you guys even have Tick Tock?
David
No.
Unknown
No, not yet. No.
Mark
Nothing Instagram, YouTube?
Unknown
We have Instagram. Okay.
David
Yeah. And.
Unknown
And so we actually are starting our Tick Tock, but this nine hour cancellation or whatever happened really put kind of blocked us for a little while. Things had to get back up and going and so we're in the process of that.
David
Yeah.
Mark
You can't even download the app right now.
David
No. If you didn't have it. Yeah. If you deleted it. I saw phones were going for like 40 grand or something like that on ebay. That's insane, dude.
Mark
I think some sold for. Yeah, like 10, 20K.
David
Yeah, it's crazy.
Mark
I'm not paying that. I might sell one of my old phones that has Tick Tock on it. If I get 10k, I'm down.
David
Yeah.
Mark
Wow. Absolutely.
David
Man.
Mark
People are obsessed with that app. It's crazy.
Unknown
I know.
David
It is crazy. I remember when it was a dance. I still think of it as like a dance thing.
Mark
That's how it started.
David
Yeah.
Mark
That's how they got a user base. Are your kids on it all day?
David
I think, yeah, all my kids are on it. All my kids are like grown up, except for my youngest.
Mark
Okay.
David
But they're all, they're all on it.
Mark
Yeah. So my screen time is pretty bad. It's eight hours a day.
David
Is it bad?
Mark
I mean, that's pretty high, right?
David
Yeah.
Mark
Third of the day.
David
Oh yeah. Damn.
Mark
But I'm working on it, so that's how I make excuses for it.
David
Absolutely.
Unknown
Right.
Mark
Yeah.
David
You never scroll it.
Mark
I do scroll too. I'm not going to lie. It's addict.
Unknown
I, I have a, a goal I set for two hours a day and I always go over just a little bit, you know.
Mark
That's solid though. Two hours. Well done, man.
Unknown
Yeah. Cuz, you know, it's like I, I before this business I wasn't on it at all and. But you have to be on social media now, right. And so I, I'm always kind of checking in to see what our growth is and stuff like that and what our engagement is. So I still, I still stay pretty close to two hours, but I don't normally make two hours. This is a little bit more.
Mark
Yeah, well done. That's low. That's low. But yeah, these days you need it. It's inevitable, right?
David
Oh, for sure.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
I mean look at how Powers Lab grew. Look at how companies are growing now off TikTok Live.
David
Yeah. And my background was business, so I've been in business for what, 13, 14 years. So. And I was kind of pre that like, I mean, I remember when Facebook was, there was no way to, I mean you could advertise on Facebook but nobody knew how to do it.
Mark
Right.
David
So it was all you young kids that knew how to do it, not us. But now I'm watching it just. And now we're in it. It's crazy.
Unknown
Well, we have a 22 year old guy that helps out, a couple of.
David
Kids help us out. But no, man, it's an important thing and it's definitely very important in 2025 that you stay alert and you know that you're on it. And you're. You're staying interactive. Right. That's the hardest part, is just to be posting constantly and keep engaging.
Mark
Costs 100. Yeah. Even myself, I mean, I'm only 27, pretty young, but I. I hire these teenagers or kids in their young twenties to stay in the loop. What's trending in social media, like. Or else I'll age out too.
Unknown
Yeah, yeah. It changes quick too, dude.
Mark
Quick. Because, yeah, I'm 27, but I've been in social media for 10 years now, so I'm considered like a veteran some of these kids, which is crazy, right? So you're old school in the social media space? I'm technically old school, yeah. Because not a lot of guys make it 10 years on any platform.
David
You've been on platforms for 10 years?
Mark
Instagram? Yeah, since high school.
Unknown
Wow.
Mark
Yeah. And that's super rare. Like, if you go on YouTube, barely anyone has been around for 10 years.
David
Well, Bradley Martin's been around for a while, right?
Mark
Yeah, he's up there, but there's not many guys. But like, him and Mr. Beast have been around for a while, but a lot of guys fall out.
Unknown
Oh, for sure.
Mark
Yeah. They last. They get like a year, like the hawk to a girl. Get a solid year or however long she lasted, and they're done.
Unknown
Well, it's like any business, you know, like, people get tired of it, it's not what they thought it was, you know, and just like any business, people will start a business and then they'll just kind of fizzle out because they didn't make the money that they thought they were going to make or it's harder than they thought it would be, you know, so there's all kinds of reasons why people.
Mark
Yeah, 100% sure. Yeah. And some businesses are meant to last forever too, right?
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
I'm on, like, my probably tenth one by now.
David
Yeah.
Mark
Yeah. This one is finally doing well, though.
David
There you go, man.
Mark
Gotta just keep firing, you know? Yeah.
David
Stay persistent.
Mark
Yeah. Caught the podcast wave at the right time.
David
Yeah. You like it?
Mark
I love it, dude. It's a lot of fun. Yeah, man, like 1400 episodes, some really cool conversations.
David
I watched a lot of your content, dude. You're really good, dude.
Mark
Thanks. Yeah. A lot of interesting people, man.
David
Yeah. You know, and isn't that fun? You get to meet all these interesting people.
Mark
And I know, like 10 years ago, I would have never known anyone from Idaho or, you know, wherever. Yeah, I've had people from Alaska, Idaho, other countries, all sorts of religions, political beliefs.
Unknown
Yeah, yeah.
Mark
It's Cool, man.
David
Awesome, man. I'm happy for you. You're killing it, dude.
Mark
Thanks.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
But I just imply people watching this, stop living in a bubble, you know?
David
Yeah.
Mark
You're talking to the same beliefs as you. You got to get outside the box.
Unknown
Absolutely. It's important.
Mark
Super important. Right. I see that on Twitter. People just arguing. It's like, dude, get some new perspectives.
David
Yeah. You know, and actually take it in, you know, and listen to them and see maybe a tweak. Sure. You know, a little bit of it, maybe.
Mark
Absolutely. So who do you guys watch the most right now?
David
On what? On.
Mark
On podcasts or YouTube or. Content wise?
David
I watch a lot of the Nelk stuff. I'm a big fan of Nelk. My kids are, like, huge fans. They watch Nelk since they were, like, staying in kids, you know, apartments because they were traveling around the country, so, like, pre Steve and all that stuff, so. Nel Bradley, Anything to do with fighting, really.
Mark
Okay.
David
Can you pay attention to my guy over there, Marcus Mockenstee?
Unknown
Yeah, I, I have to admit, I don't watch a lot of. I, I, I would say I only watch supercross and motocross.
Mark
Whoa.
Unknown
Yeah. That's. That's literally the only thing that I will sit down and actually take time to watch.
Mark
Wow.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
I've never heard of someone watching that, to be honest.
Unknown
Yeah. I. And what's crazy is it's boring. It's huge. It's millions, really watch it. Right. You know, and I, I remember when I was a little kid, my dad bought me my first dirt bike. I wasn't even in kindergarten yet. And so it's just something I've done all my life. And I'm not very good at it compared to these guys, you know, but it's. It. I under. At least I understand what it takes for them to do what they're doing, and it's just fascinating for me to watch.
Mark
And that's a good point, though. You can't truly appreciate how hard something is unless you actually go out and try it.
Unknown
Yeah, Yeah, I try it. I got a lot of broken bones from doing it, but. Yeah.
Mark
Because all it takes is one bad fall.
Unknown
Oh, yeah. And these guys, they don't get paid enough. They. They go out there and they're. It's one of the most physically demanding sports there is. And they're getting paid, in my opinion, a lot lower than they deserve because it does. They do have a lot of fan base.
Mark
I know. I look at risk to reward ratios. I don't know what that one Is. But we were talking about power slop earlier. It's like, damn, 5k to get potential concussion.
David
No, thank you.
Unknown
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mark
Well, I don't know what that is. That sounds pretty intense, though, because they're high up in the air on these jumps, right?
Unknown
Oh, yeah. Like you're. You're looking way up at them, you know. And then of course, when you watch it on tv, it's hard to. To put in perspective. Put in perspective, yeah. But it's. It's a. I love watching it, you know, and. And I do kind of go down the rabbit hole on. On YouTube videos, you know, and you look. Learn stuff, you know, and I, I learned. I. I learned a lot about energy drinks just watching YouTube.
Mark
Really?
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
Wow. Yeah. YouTube University, baby.
Unknown
Yeah, university. Yeah.
Mark
I mean, I learned more YouTube than college.
Unknown
You know, I, I, like, we were talking when we started this company. One of the reasons I've been so, like, all in is by watching the YouTube videos and other entrepreneurs and stuff, it changed my mindset. Right. I thought, you know, this big. And now I think at a much massive level, what I used to do think, you know, so just some of those. Watching those videos of those guys that did it before us changed my whole mindset.
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
And that's one of the reasons we're here. And. And I think his mindset was always bigger than most people's, for sure.
Mark
Yeah. Because you said you came from business, right?
David
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I saw this. I mean, I didn't foresee what happened, like, with us at all. I mean, this was. What's crazy is we talk about this all the time. We have literally manifest this whole business. So, like, meeting you, meeting him. Right. Meeting everybody we met was literally just a conversation we had two weeks before it happened.
Mark
Damn.
Unknown
You know, so we'll say something like, wouldn't that be cool if. And then it happens.
David
Yeah.
Mark
That's so nuts.
Unknown
Yeah.
David
It's just. And it's insane.
Unknown
And it will from the very beginning. So David was a member at my gym.
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
And he came into my office and he said, I don't know what we're going to do, but I'm going to do business with you someday. And I was just like, okay. And we just went to lunch one day and. And then. Well, we've known each other for what, six years now? Seven years. Yeah.
David
And we.
Unknown
But we've finally started this business just, just under three years ago.
Mark
Words are powerful, man.
Unknown
Yeah, absolutely, man.
Mark
Yeah. That's so relatable, though. I look at everything I've accomplished now. And I'm like, I had these thoughts years ago.
Unknown
Yeah, yeah.
Mark
100.
David
Yeah. I'm sure you've talked it into existence as well, right?
Mark
Yeah. Especially certain guests. I'm like, yeah. When I first started the show, I listed names I wanted to get on, you know?
David
Yeah.
Mark
And I'm slowly crossing them off.
David
Dude, that's awesome.
Mark
I'm big on visualization, manifestation stuff for sure.
David
And we're, you know, we're doing it every day, all day, and we're talking to different people, and it's just. It's just weird how, you know, like, our friend Reese. Yeah, that's. That's our boy, man. We love that guy to death. Yeah.
Mark
Shout out to Reese.
David
And, you know, he's always. He's always keeping us kind of in the forefront of everything he does. So. Yeah.
Mark
Yeah.
David
Guys like that man, that have come around that have been really like Marcus Reese, you know, it just kind of does the introduction, and then from there, people love to drink and bow. We're off.
Mark
Yeah. So win. Win. Because you're giving them a good product, too. Yeah, that's the key. I notice you need some value to offer, whether it's a product, a service, information.
Unknown
Well, when we started, we were like, we. We want to make something that is. Is cool to look at, tastes good, and actually works. And we nailed all three of them. At least that's the feedback we're getting, you know, and so. And it's just taking off like crazy.
Mark
I love it.
Unknown
We. We just today got done with another round of hundreds of thousands of cans, and they'll be gone so fast. Yeah. Every time we do another run, we're not just doubling the number, we're like quadrupling the number.
Mark
Damn. People are reordering.
Unknown
Oh, big time. Yeah. Wow.
David
It's insane.
Unknown
And the amount of stores that are reaching out and. And just basically begging us to. To carry our product is. It's insane, too.
Mark
That's incredible.
David
And that's something we didn't like. I for sure never foresaw. Yeah. You know, like, I mean, I knew eventually it would happen. I didn't think it would be because you got to think we've only been selling products since.
Unknown
For seven months.
Mark
That's it.
David
Since March.
Mark
Whoa.
Unknown
And. And we're like. So he'll call me up and be like, hey, I just talked to. I'm not going to say who it is, but it's a massive, like, massive accounts. And I'm like. And so I'm the operations guy. And, and he's the business guy. Right. And I'm just like, how am I going to make all that? You know, and it's like, it's like I gotta, I, I have to do this, I have to do this. I have to do this, you know, in order to, to turn it into a product that people can drink.
Mark
Now it's a tough space. People don't know about the net terms with these retailers, so you don't get the money for.
Unknown
Yeah, yeah. And and the other thing too is, is that when I this can right here, it took us four months to get it. So when you start sourcing ingredients, you, you buy the can, you plan that out, you know, you've got to wait for this company to do that. And so if someone wants to order, you know, 100,000 cans for their store, we have to have that on hand. Or it takes us three to four months to make.
Mark
Holy crap. It takes that long to make cans?
Unknown
Well, it's not just cans. It's making the can, printing the can, sourcing the ingredients.
Mark
Oh yeah, it's printed on there.
Unknown
Yeah. And getting it run at a co packer, packaging it and then you have to ship it, you know, it all. And everything takes time. Like this, this, after this is made, it has to sit for a certain amount of time and they test for microbials and things like that to make sure that it's, it meets the requirements, you know, and this has a two year shelf life.
Mark
That's pretty long actually.
Unknown
It is pretty long with, with the minimum amount of, of preservatives that we have in it. Yeah, just very minimum. Like there's, there's brands out there that have like a flavored water that has more ingredients than this has. And that's including the caffeine, the L theanine and the thiamine in it. And we can talk about what those are too, if you want.
Mark
Yeah, well, let's break down the thiamine because that's what you pride yourself on in this, right?
Unknown
Well, the L theanine and the thiamine. So thiamine is an ingredient that is, we need and we're almost all deficient in it and it reduces inflammation, but it all. And it, but specifically in the brain. And so it makes you think clearly when you have thiamine in your system. So all the foods that are processed are stripped of thiamine. And so we put it in the drink and you think more clearly when you have it.
Mark
Wow.
Unknown
And so that's one of the reasons I put that in there, the L Theanine, it calms the central nervous system down. So, like, when you take in 200 milligrams of caffeine is what this drink is, you can get jittery and have a crash because of that. Well, the L Theanine counters that because it brings down, like, anxiety and things like that. But. And it's becoming more popular. But I believe some companies that are using L. Thean. I probably shouldn't say this on the camera. They use too much, and it. It kind of cancels out the feeling of the caffeine. And so we have the right blend. I'm not going to say what the blend is, because that's our science. And so you get a very focused energy without any of the jitters and the crash afterwards.
Mark
That makes sense. So you guys really thought this out. That's cool.
David
Oh, dude, not we. This guy. So, I mean, people ask me all the time, right? Like, I always give this dude credit because it was months. I'm not lying to you. Like, I'm doing the business side, getting everything set up right. And he's calling me with, hey, man, I think we should do this much L Theanine and this much. I have no idea what any of this. So people ask me all the time, like, what does this do? I don't know. Class Mark. I have no idea. So no, this guy.
Unknown
And I actually, like. I mean, this is how boring I am. I. I would read medical studies on every ingredient that's in this. I've read medical studies, multiple medical studies on it. And so I feel confident that this is something that I would regularly put in my body, you know, and that's cool, man.
Mark
That's what it takes, though, to make it in. In this business, right?
Unknown
Yeah. And then. And then we. I was just as anal when it came to the flavor, too. I mean, those poor guys that, that. It's like a lab that like a flavor house, you know? And those poor guys were like, you tasted like 30 or 40 different variations of it. And I drank so much of it that I was like jacked going out. It was because I had drink so much energy drinking the next. The next flavors we'll do. I'll spit them out like you're supposed to do with wine tasting.
Mark
So cool. Is there a crash on this one?
Unknown
There is no crash. Yeah, I. Even after I drank all that, I. I didn't crash. And I was able to sleep afterwards too.
Mark
Yeah, that's always my issue with certain beverages. Right. Like, certain coffees are really Strong.
Unknown
Yeah, yeah.
Mark
You just crash.
Unknown
Yeah. In. I mean, you come down, obviously, but you don't feel that sudden crash. It's just kind of like, oh, I don't have that. I don't feel that energy. And so you do notice it, but it's not that sudden crash, because what the crash is, is so caffeine sits on a receptor site that blocks adenosine, and that's the tired hormone in our body. That's what makes us feel tired. So caffeine sits on that receptor site, and so you have all this adenosine floating around in it with nothing to do. And so as soon as the caffeine is done and leaves, then you have all this adenosine that just attacks those. Those receptor sites, and that's why you have the crash. And L Theodine kind of mellows that whole system out.
Mark
Nice.
Unknown
Yeah, man.
Mark
You guys are a good duo. Because he knows the science and, you know, the business side for sure.
Unknown
Yes.
David
Yeah. That's what we talk about all the time.
Unknown
We talk about on the way here. We're talking like, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him, and we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me. Like, we just work together so well. Like, his strengths are not mine, you know, and so it definitely.
David
His strengths are not mine. Yeah. Like, that was so. Dude. I mean, it was days. Months and months and months.
Unknown
Yeah, months of.
Mark
I bet you were ready to go. You're like, hurry up.
David
Let's just do something. And then I tasted it the first time, and I was like, oh, boy, we got one. Yeah, we got it.
Mark
I love it.
David
So, yeah. And then once it. Once the people started tasting it is when I got really excited because, you know, like, us, we're biased, Right. It's our drink. So, yeah, we're going to be kind of biased to it. But once the public. Because the first time a person tried it that wasn't with us, it was like some waitress at a restaurant. She was like, man, it's not great. I was like, oh, no.
Unknown
Yeah. Well, so what happens is they send us samples, right?
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
And then when we get it really close, then you fly down to where the lab is, and it's here in Southern California. And. And then you taste it, and then you mix it and taste it and. And get it dialed in. And then once it was dialed into, the what The. The flavor that I thought was good, we've had nothing but just, like, almost 100% positive feedback from it, you know, And I. Maybe some people say nice things because they're in front of you, but overwhelmingly, like, people love the flavor of it, and. And they love how it. How it reacts, how the. How it gives them energy. For real. Like, I have a. A friend that I. She has a really boring business, and she has a bunch of paperwork she has to do. She says she'll drink one of these just to get her paperwork done.
Mark
Wow.
Unknown
Because it's. Because she's so focused.
Mark
Yeah. That's incredible. Like you mentioned earlier, it's hard to balance the health side with the taste side with the benefit side.
Unknown
Right.
Mark
Yeah. There's a lot of healthy things do not taste good.
David
Absolutely.
Unknown
Yeah. For sure, right?
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
Yeah.
David
Why diets never work, right?
Mark
It's like a scale. Like, the healthier days, the worst it's gonna take.
David
Exactly, man.
Unknown
Yeah. And we do have two flavors that we're in the process of bringing out. Two more flavors that are absolutely amazing.
Mark
Better than this one? Because this one's pretty good, man.
Unknown
I don't know. It's. It's as good or better. We'll put it that way. So should we just tell them what the flavors are? So you're not gonna. Nobody's gonna know what the flavor of this is, but we're coming out with a mango raspberry lemonade.
Mark
Oh.
Unknown
And a prickly pear coconut.
Mark
Damn, I've never heard that combo.
Unknown
Yeah, both of those. So, like. So coconut can be kind of overwhelming, right?
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
And so we use just a little bit of coconut to kind of soften the. The taste of prickly pear. Because prickly pear can be really, really sweet, and so it just balances it out so good.
Mark
I'm pumped to try that one.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
Yeah. I'm big on coconut water, and I like prickly pear juice. The one at Panera. Have you had that one, dude, that slaps.
Unknown
Oh, at Panera. Yeah, there's. Yeah, No, I haven't had that one. Yeah, that one's good, but I'll have to go in there and try it now.
Mark
Yeah, try it. I'm sure you guys are testing your competitors, right, Seeing what it tastes.
Unknown
Yeah. I buy stuff that I've never tried before just to see what the flavor is, you know? And. And usually I'm disappointed.
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
But.
Mark
Well, you're biased, too.
Unknown
I'm super biased.
David
Right.
Mark
But yeah, I'll test out, like, I'll study the top podcasts and stuff, and I try to stay objective, but obviously, I'm gonna be flow competitive.
Unknown
Yeah, right, of course. Yeah.
David
And we're Very, very competitive by nature anyways. Right. Like, I'm sure you are. You play basketball.
Mark
Yeah. You're an athlete. Yeah.
David
Yeah. So, yeah, it gets like, if I do it too much, then I'm just like, I'm up till 5 in the morning. Just how do we beat these guys?
Mark
Yeah.
David
You're never going to be Monster or Red Bull. Right. Or any of those guys. We don't even try. We just focus on what we're doing and just.
Mark
Yeah. You guys could be the next Ghost, you know?
David
Yeah.
Mark
$60 million exit, something crazy like that.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
And I feel like Celsius crushes it. Right?
David
Celsius.
Unknown
Well, Celsius, yeah. That was purchased by. I could be wrong, but I think it was Pepsi that purchased.
Mark
Sounds right.
Unknown
Something like that. But you know, like those, those companies are so massive and, and we've had people say, like, how are you going to compete with Monster or Red Bull? And like, we're not.
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
You know, those guys paved the way for companies to come along and because the market is growing, there's room for more people, you know?
Mark
Yeah. So if you carve your own lane, right? Absolutely.
David
That's the goal.
Mark
I gotta ask you this, since you're a football player. Who do you got winning the super bowl next week, man?
David
Oh, I don't know if I'm betting. I'm going Kansas City.
Mark
Yeah.
David
But I would love to see Philadelphia pull it off.
Mark
I'm with.
David
I mean, come on. Did you watch that Bills game?
Unknown
That's.
Mark
It was kind of sketchy, right? Yeah. If I'm betting, I'm. I'm with you though. Chiefs 3P. That's going to make the storyline.
David
Absolutely. The NFL is going to love that. They're going to make billions of dollars and yeah, everybody will be happy.
Unknown
But yeah, for me, I don't know if they're not on a dirt bike. I don't know. Eli Tomac, he's. He's. I like him because he's like 34. I think he's like one of the old guys for, for motocross. But the Jet Lawrence is going to be the.
Mark
Probably the champion up and coming. I wonder if you could bet on motocross.
Unknown
Oh, for sure. Yeah. So like Jet Lawrence, he's a. Him and his brother from Australia, they're just super young kids. And Jet Lawrence, his rookie year on in motocross, won every single race. 22 races.
Mark
Holy crap.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
So that.
Unknown
You kind of have to bet on that, right?
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
Sorry, I'm not. I don't watch A lot of football?
Mark
No. Motocross. You probably can't really rig those. So that's. That's individual. No way. Right.
Unknown
There's no way you could do it.
Mark
Yeah. I feel like with football, there's a lot of allegations coming out, and it's interesting.
Unknown
I know, and that's sad because, you know, it's like the whole point of watching a sport is to see them go. The best go at each other and fairly well.
Mark
The money's so insane now. Oh, you know, it's crazy. Like, it's just nuts.
David
I mean, I don't know what Pat Mahomes is making. What is he on his own up?
Mark
It's got to be nine figures by now, right?
David
It's like 450 million or something.
Mark
Yeah. And the sports betting market's even bigger than the actual sports guy.
David
Yeah. It's insane, man. And I don't know. I watched Buffalo Bills game. And so are the rest of America. So.
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
We just ate at Circa last night.
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
And. And walked through and watched their. Their sport.
Mark
Biggest sports book.
Unknown
I was like, man, this place is huge. And I think you weren't you saying that on the super bowl, they had the whole screen is. Is the game.
Mark
Oh, that's cool. Yeah. Shout out to Circa Richard over there. They got my favorite steakhouse berries.
Unknown
Oh, yeah, that's.
David
Who almost ate at Berries yesterday.
Mark
Oh, you almost ate there.
Unknown
We didn't. We didn't get a chance to get o.
Mark
Next time you're in Vegas, check out that spot.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
Shout out to chef Barry. Yeah. He's coming on the pod soon.
Unknown
Nice.
Mark
Yeah, I'm. I'm a big foodie, man. Really? You guys big in the food scene?
David
Absolutely.
Mark
So I got to get your opinion. Best. Best city for food.
Unknown
Oh, man.
David
Oh, man.
Mark
Where do you love to go to eat?
David
Vegas, probably.
Mark
Okay. For sure.
David
I mean, if you're going buffet style.
Mark
You gotta go for buffets. 100. It's not close on buffet.
David
And they got really good steakhouses. Right?
Mark
Steakhouses. We got to be up there with New York. Yeah, Yeah.
David
I mean, Boise's got Chandler's, which is great. It's independently owned. Shout out to Chandlers.
Mark
I gotta try that one day.
David
Yeah, dude, it's really good.
Unknown
But so I've been craving a good steak. Right?
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
And we've been. I've been to Las Vegas twice in a week.
Mark
Okay.
Unknown
And just things have happened. I. I couldn't go to. Couldn't go get a steak.
David
Right.
Mark
Known for steak, and.
Unknown
I know. And that's what? And that's what I've been trying to. So I, I, I don't know. I haven't been to Vegas enough in the food scene yet to.
Mark
Okay.
Unknown
To know which one to go. So I'll have to talk to you afterwards.
Mark
I'll give you some recommendations. Yeah. Vegas is high for me, though. I'm glad you said that. You're the only person I've talked to that said Vegas is number one.
David
Really?
Mark
Yeah.
David
Where do no more people pick?
Mark
New York, Louisiana. Usually those two. I'd say la's.
David
All right.
Unknown
We don't, we don't go to those two places very often. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mark
For like Italian and pizza. Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Sometimes people say, like Texas, like if they like barbecue. Yeah. I guess it depends on the cuisine, you know.
Unknown
Yeah.
Mark
But I was talking overall, I'd say Vegas is up there. We get a lot of good restaurants there.
David
Vegas.
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
Because look at how many people they get a year to visit, you know, they have to have good food.
Mark
Yeah.
Unknown
You know.
Mark
Oh, yeah, that's a good point.
David
And then even when you go off the Strip, right. And you go into like, what do you guys. Yeah, yeah. You go to like, off the beaten path places. Right.
Mark
Those are usually better, to be honest, you know. Yeah. Well, guys, it's been cool. Where can people, can people buy this online yet or. No?
David
Yeah, the old school, energy.com.
Mark
Cool. We'll link it below. Anything else you want to close off with?
David
No.
Unknown
Well, yeah, get on there and buy it quick. Goes fast.
David
Yeah, it's going super quick.
Mark
We, we'll link it below. We'll tag you guys up and everything. Thanks for hopping on. Gentlemen.
David
Absolute man. Thank you for having us.
Mark
Yeah, thanks for watching, guys. See you next time.
Digital Social Hour Episode Summary
Episode Title: How Gym Culture & Fitness Influencers are Changing the Business Game | David Poole And Marc Fabiani DSH #1249
Release Date: March 19, 2025
Host: Sean Kelly
Guests: David Poole and Marc Fabiani
In this episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly is joined by David Poole and Marc Fabiani, the dynamic duo behind Old School Energy, a burgeoning name in the energy drink market. The conversation opens with a reflection on the serendipitous meeting that led to their successful partnership.
Notable Quote:
David Poole: "We have literally manifested this whole business. So, like, meeting you, meeting him. Right. Meeting everybody we've met was literally just a conversation we had two weeks before it happened." ([00:00])
David and Marc delve into the inception of Old School Energy. Starting from their backgrounds—David's experience coaching professional bodybuilders and Marc's tenure as a policeman—they discuss the transition from personal passions to launching an energy drink business. Their initial idea was pivoted from creating a supplement line to developing an energy drink, which they found more feasible in terms of sourcing ingredients and manufacturing.
Notable Quote:
Marc Fabiani: "We actually were going to start with a supplement line and this just seemed to be a little bit easier to get started as far as sourcing ingredients and stuff like that." ([01:30])
A significant portion of the discussion centers around the unique flavor profile of their energy drink. Unlike traditional energy drinks with predictable tastes, Old School Energy aims to develop a distinct flavor that becomes iconic over time, much like Coca-Cola.
Notable Quote:
David Poole: "The drink is something distinct. It's like its own type of flavor. People are always trying to guess what the flavor is because we don't tell anybody." ([02:45])
David and Marc acknowledge the saturated energy drink market dominated by giants like Red Bull and Monster. They express their ambition not to compete directly but to carve out their own niche by offering a superior and unique product.
Notable Quote:
Marc Fabiani: "They pioneered the industry, and now there’s room for more with the market growing at about 8% a year." ([06:24])
A key differentiator for Old School Energy is their commitment to health-conscious ingredients. They highlight the inclusion of L-Theanine and thiamine, minimal sugar content, absence of high fructose corn syrup, and no artificial food colorings. This formulation aims to provide sustained energy without the typical crash associated with other energy drinks.
Notable Quotes:
Marc Fabiani: "Thiamine reduces inflammation in the brain, making you think clearly." ([28:16])
David Poole: "We’re a health-conscious drink. People trying to stay away from those ingredients turn to ours." ([06:51])
Despite being relatively new in the market, Old School Energy has experienced rapid growth. From small pilot runs to producing hundreds of thousands of cans, the demand has consistently outpaced their supply, with numerous retailers eager to stock their product.
Notable Quote:
David Poole: "Every time we do another run, we're not just doubling the number, we're like quadrupling the number." ([25:46])
The conversation extends to the broader gym culture, discussing the high costs of premium gyms like Lifetime and the decline of traditional franchises like Gold’s Gym. They emphasize the shift towards more holistic wellness centers offering amenities beyond standard gym equipment.
Notable Quote:
Marc Fabiani: "Lifetime is building a third one in Vegas in a year. It's crazy, man." ([11:04])
David and Marc highlight the indispensable role of social media in their business strategy. From Instagram to TikTok, they discuss the challenges and importance of maintaining a strong online presence to engage with their audience and leverage influencer partnerships.
Notable Quote:
David Poole: "In 2025, it’s very important that you stay alert and know that you’re on it." ([17:08])
The duo shares their experiences working with fitness influencers and athletes, including collaborations with UFC fighters. They stress the importance of authenticity and creating a community or "family" around their brand to foster loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing.
Notable Quote:
David Poole: "We have a really good network and a lot of people are interested in wanting to jump because the way we do it over here is literally a family." ([04:36])
Throughout the episode, David and Marc exchange personal anecdotes about the challenges of scaling a business, their involvement in events like Power Slap, and observations about the evolving nature of gym memberships and social media trends.
Notable Quote:
Marc Fabiani: "We've got to think we've only been selling products since for seven months. Since March." ([26:22])
Looking ahead, Old School Energy is excited about introducing new flavors, including mango raspberry lemonade and prickly pear coconut. They emphasize their commitment to maintaining quality and health standards while expanding their product line.
Notable Quote:
Marc Fabiani: “We’re coming out with a mango raspberry lemonade and a prickly pear coconut.” ([34:16])
The episode wraps up with a reiteration of the power of positive thinking and manifestation in their entrepreneurial journey. David and Marc acknowledge the synergistic nature of their partnership, where each brings unique strengths to the table, ensuring the continued growth and success of Old School Energy.
Notable Quote:
Marc Fabiani: "Words are powerful, man." ([24:28])
David Poole: "We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him, and we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me." ([32:10])
Unique Product Positioning: Old School Energy distinguishes itself through a unique flavor profile and health-conscious ingredients, setting it apart in a crowded market.
Rapid Growth and Demand: Their strategic approach has led to rapid scaling, with high demand from both consumers and retailers.
Importance of Social Media: Leveraging social media and influencer partnerships has been crucial for brand visibility and community building.
Adaptability and Persistence: Navigating industry challenges with adaptability and persistent efforts has been central to their success.
Future Expansion: Plans to introduce new flavors and maintain quality standards indicate a strong trajectory for future growth.
Listeners interested in trying Old School Energy can purchase their products online at oldschoolenergy.com.
End of Summary