Are You Selling Steroids?

If a member asked you that question, you’d probably laugh. “Of course not!” you’d say. “Our pro shop sells supplements, not steroids.”

But what if they had the Dec. 5, 2007, edition of USA Today in their hands, which reports about a study showing that “13 of the 52 supplements (25 percent) purchased at various U.S. retailers contained small amounts of steroids, and six (11.5 percent) had banned stimulants”? Well, then you might do something else.

Supplements are a tricky business. In my opinion, getting into the supplement game just isn’t worth it for a fitness facility. Why compete with the corner drug store, where it can sell supplements for much less to a lot more people? Why preach the long, hard road of exercise while simultaneously hawking quick-fix aids like protein powders and “energy” drinks? Sticking to one message is the safer bet.

But there are many fitness centers out there that sell supplements. And, if you’re one of them, you probably want to look a little more closely at your products. Are they FDA approved? Most supplements aren’t.

The researchers didn’t release the names of the supplements tested, and only allowed that they are “best-selling brands.” That doesn’t do much for concerned retailers/fitness center managers who want to clear their shelves of tainted supplements. How exactly can you stand behind your supplements when confronted by that member angrily waiving a newspaper? And how can you continue to dabble in supplement sales when they are, thanks to being largely unregulated, essentially indefensible?