Owen Durkin
Sept.13.2012
BioSteel is fast becoming the sports beverage and supplement line of choice for discerning athletes in the NHL, the NBA, the NFL, the PGA and MLB. Originally not for re-sale, the sports drink created by Matt Nichol became a  ...

highly sought commodity when President John Celenza solicited Nichol with a request to brand and distribute his creation, used privately by Mats Sundin, Gary Roberts, and other Leafs players during Matt’s tenure as the Leafs’ Head Strength and Conditioning Coach.

Matt agreed in principle, provided the integrity of the original formulation remain intact, in perpetuity, meaning that any talk of compromising the formulation for any reason, would be an instant deal-breaker. Celenza was happy to oblige, and assured the masses that the exact blend that Seguin, Stamkos and Cammalleri consume to maintain elite-level performance is the stuff you can find on select retailers’ shelves.

When Gary Roberts went on the CBC with Ron McLean in April, 2010 answering questions about what the pink stuff popping up around the NHL was, Celenza was enjoying a bit of beer league puck with his web designer, only to discover his personal email blowing up with nearly 700 emails within fifteen minutes, requesting info and details about “the pink”.

With just 500 containers produced at the time, they quickly threw together a splash page advising prospective clients that future online orders would be fulfilled by July 1st, after the NHL playoffs had concluded.

Since this time, 16 NBA teams, 18 MLB teams, a number of high profile golfers on the PGA circuit including Vijay Singh, Hunter Mahan, Luke Donald, Jason Day, Justin Rose, Webb Simpson and Tim Clark rehydrate exclusively with BioSteel HPSD (High-Performance Sports Drink). In fact, “the pink” has become so popular in golf, BioSteel had to employ a PGA tour rep (Craig Knight) to keep up with the demand for both the product, and information about its origin and benefits.

The only product of its kind to receive validation from both NSF (the North American gold standard for guaranteeing a product to be free of banned substances) and HFL Labs in London (The global gold standard as per World Anti Doping Association), as well a s Health Canada certification, BioSteel has emerged as a leading brand in the over-populated energy drink market, for very, very good reasons.

BioSteel was gracious in inviting WeWantACup (WWAC) to get to know the products, and the athletes and trainers who stand behind them. We hope you enjoy the following series of interviews with a number of BioSteel’s top endorsees…

Tyler Seguin

It’s tough to fathom how an athlete’s life can change almost overnight, even with all the preparation, media coaching, and advice from agents, parents, peers, coaches and trainers as he makes the leap to the bigs. Paydays that are akin to lottery winnings, constant air travel, interviews, product endorsement campaigns and photo shoots are just part of the whirlwind they must step into. Add the pressure and expectation of being a top draft pick, then throw in a Cup championship, and it becomes apparent that the privileged life of a young hockey hero like Tyler Seguin also comes pre-loaded with awesome responsibility. Seguin hasn’t just handled the above in stride, he’s flat-out exceled at every turn, keeping his head up while going from strength to strength as he embarks on his NHL journey.

Tyler made himself available for a quick round of questions after the Matt Nichol group Day 3 scrimmage game at the recent BioSteel Pro Hockey Camp, and WWAC had a chance to hear his thoughts about life as a young NHL star, as well as answering a burning question that WWAC founder Matteo Codispoti needed to get off his chest…

Speaking with the player, what strikes you about Seguin’s personal philosophy regarding his success is the pronounced lack of any sense of entitlement. Pedigree notwithstanding, it’s all about hard work with him, as demonstrated by his attendance at the BioSteel camp.

“ I think I got lucky as well (chuckles)…to make it in this league you gotta get the right bounces, and you also gotta take advantage of those opportunities that are in front of you…”

Appreciative of those opportunities and his rank at the draft, the young Bruin believes his success comes not only from being in the right place at the right time, but also by absorbing the information and insights coming from within a deep, stable organization, from the front office down to the dressing room:

….“Obviously, going second overall is a huge honour, and to an original 6 team like Boston; I couldn’t have shaped into the player I am today without that organization, and just by having respect for what they’re saying in order to get where I am today.”

Ever the eager student, Seguin is admittedly apt to studying the finer points of the game. But his fascination and curiosity extends beyond the mechanics of hockey, and into the realms of the metrics used to gauge areas of strength and weakness:

“Obviously it’s all about improving… growing up, I’ve always been a big statistics guy, that’s just what I do- and I try to play a full, two way game and be productive.In my first year I didn’t have too many points or a ton of ice time and I had to earn my respect and we had a good group of guys, a good team, and it was hard to get up there (in icetime)”.

On the subject of his own early success and evolution as a player in terms of where he sees himself heading within the B’s organization:

“…Winning the Stanley Cup was pretty amazing, and then last year, with playing more minutes and earning more ice time, hopefully I can continue, and be as much of a leader as I can with the Bruins, even at a young age”.

Watching the Bruins impose their will on the President’s Trophy repeating champs in the Cup final, it became glaringly apparent that the Boston club was a cohesive collective of like-minded athletes, ready to go to extremes and make the personal sacrifices necessary despite injury to key players:

“It’s the closest group of guys I’ve ever experienced playing with, and I don’t know if that’s just because of my age and that I don’t have too much experience in the league, but we were definitely a bunch of brothers, and every guy on that team I’ll remember for the rest of my life…this year coming up we are back to the old team pretty much, minus a couple guys, and I’m really looking forward to it”.

WWAC founder Matteo Codispotti couldn’t wait to get this one off his chest:

Matteo: Tyler, I got a question…

Tyler: OK…

Matteo: Last year, during an open practice at the ACC, I was there, chirping you from the third row…

Tyler: OK (chuckles)…

Matteo: Then, that night against the Leafs, you scored… Leafs lost, and you killed us…and that’s when the Leafs started losing…now everyone blames me for it…

Tyler: (laughs)

Matteo: So I need to know, Tyler, is it me? Was it my fault?

Tyler: I’m gonna say, yeah, it was you; somebody’s gotta take the blame for it (chuckles)….

Stay tuned for our Mat Stajan interview.

It’s tough to fathom how an athlete’s life can change almost overnight, even with all the preparation, media coaching, and advice from agents, parents, peers, coaches and trainers as he makes the leap to the bigs. Paydays that are akin to lottery winnings, constant air travel, interviews, product endorsement campaigns and photo shoots are just part of the whirlwind they must step into. Add the pressure and expectation of being a top draft pick, then throw in a Cup championship, and it becomes apparent that the privileged life of a young hockey hero like Tyler Seguin also comes pre-loaded with awesome responsibility. Seguin hasn’t just handled the above in stride, he’s flat-out exceled at every turn, keeping his head up while going from strength to strength as he embarks on his NHL journey.

Tyler made himself available for a quick round of questions after the Matt Nichol group Day 3 scrimmage game at the recent BioSteel Pro Hockey Camp, and WWAC had a chance to hear his thoughts about life as a young NHL star, as well as answering a burning question that WWAC founder Matteo Codispoti needed to get off his chest…

Speaking with the player, what strikes you about Seguin’s personal philosophy regarding his success is the pronounced lack of any sense of entitlement. Pedigree notwithstanding, it’s all about hard work with him, as demonstrated by his attendance at the BioSteel camp.

 

 “ I think I got lucky as well (chuckles)…to make it in this league you gotta get the right bounces, and you also gotta take advantage of those opportunities that are in front of you…”

Appreciative of those opportunities and his rank at the draft, the young Bruin believes his success comes not only from being in the right place at the right time, but also by absorbing the information and insights coming from within a deep, stable organization, from the front office down to the dressing room:

….“Obviously, going second overall is a huge honour, and to an original 6 team like Boston; I couldn’t have shaped into the player I am today without that organization, and just by having respect for what they’re saying in order to get where I am today.”

Ever the eager student, Seguin is admittedly apt to studying the finer points of the game. But his fascination and curiosity extends beyond the mechanics of hockey, and into the realms of the metrics used to gauge areas of strength and weakness:

“Obviously it’s all about improving… growing up, I’ve always been a big statistics guy, that’s just what I do- and I try to play a full, two way game and be productive.In my first year I didn’t have too many points or a ton of ice time and I had to earn my respect and we had a good group of guys, a good team, and it was hard to get up there (in icetime)”.

On the subject of his own early success and evolution as a player in terms of where he sees himself heading within the B’s organization:

“…Winning the Stanley Cup was pretty amazing, and then last year, with playing more minutes and earning more ice time, hopefully I can continue, and be as much of a leader as I can with the Bruins, even at a young age”.

Watching the Bruins impose their will on the President’s Trophy repeating champs in the Cup final, it became glaringly apparent that the Boston club was a cohesive collective of like-minded athletes, ready to go to extremes and make the personal sacrifices necessary despite injury to key players:

“It’s the closest group of guys I’ve ever experienced playing with, and I don’t know if that’s just because of my age and that I don’t have too much experience in the league, but we were definitely a bunch of brothers, and every guy on that team I’ll remember for the rest of my life…this year coming up we are back to the old team pretty much, minus a couple guys, and I’m really looking forward to it”.

WWAC founder Matteo Codispotti couldn’t wait to get this one off his chest:

 

Matteo: Tyler, I got a question…

Tyler: OK…

Matteo: Last year, during an open practice at the ACC, I was there, chirping you from the third row…

Tyler: OK (chuckles)…

Matteo: Then, that night against the Leafs, you scored… Leafs lost, and you killed us…and that’s when the Leafs started losing…now everyone blames me for it…

Tyler: (laughs)

Matteo: So I need to know, Tyler, is it me? Was it my fault?

Tyler: I’m gonna say, yeah, it was you; somebody’s gotta take the blame for it (chuckles)….

Stay tuned for our Mat Stajan interview.