JOCKO WILLINK | PricePlow Episode #132

While at the 2024 Vitamin Shoppe Brand Summit, we were honored to have none other than Jocko Willink of Jocko Fuel on the PricePlow Podcast for Episode 132.

Jocko Willink: Founding Jocko Fuel and Jocko’s Supplement Stack

Jocko Willink joins PricePlow for Episode 132 to talk about founding Jocko Fuel, doing the right thing when formulating supplements, and Jocko’s entire stack from start to finish

We had a quick discussion about the founding of Jocko Fuel, how they strive to do the right thing and formulate supplements in the safest way possible, and we get to hear Jocko’s entire supplement stack from start to finish.

We also talk about some of the ongoing regulatory activities, and learn that Jocko is very well aware of some of the challenges that the industry faces.

This is a great continuation from Episode #111 with Brian Littlefield, Jocko Fuel’s co-founder and formulator who hosted us in Maine late last summer.

At 23 minutes, this is a short but powerful episode — you can understand the ethos of Jocko Fuel in just a few minutes of him talking. Just like Jocko himself, Jocko Fuel is the real deal.

Watch on YouTube, Spotify, or listen on the podcast app of choice. We have a lot more coming, including coverage of Jocko’s new supplements, so sign up for our Jocko Fuel news on PricePlow as well:

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https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/jocko-willink-132

Video: At The Vitamin Shoppe with Jocko Willink

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:34 — 24.8MB)

Detailed Show Notes with Jocko

• 0:00 – Hot Mic!

  

  Thanks for joining us, Jocko!

  If you’re listening to the audio feeds, you’ll hear Ben and Jocko talking about jiu-jitsu and how Ben’s coming back to San Diego to train sometime. This was a cool bit of conversation so Mike turned on the recorder a bit early to capture it.

• 0:20 – Introduction

  Jocko requires no introduction, but we note that we’re at The Vitamin Shoppe’s Brand Summit, which is held every other year in Dallas, TX. Jocko gave a surprise speech this morning, about doing the right thing. This theme would follow through into the podcast as well.

• 1:00 – Being a Leader in Sports and Active Nutrition

  Jocko’s experience in the nutrition world started with the Navy SEAL teams hiring dietitians and nutritionists to support the US Special Forces. They learned very rapidly, finding that some of the things they had been doing weren’t optimal.

  With some of that knowledge, Jocko continued training and created Jocko Fuel as a way to push performance and nutrition further. Everything they make is as clean and effective as possible.

• 1:15 – The founding of Jocko Fuel with Brian Littlefield

  Mike asks how Jocko chooses a business partner, and this dovetails into Episode #111 with Brian Littlefield, a founding partner.

  

  Get ready for an epic interview – in Episode #111 of the PricePlow Podcast, we brought on Brian Littlefield, Chief Product Officer of Jocko Fuel, who announces the new naturally-sweetened Jocko Pre-Workout

  Jocko re-tells the story of meeting Brian, who was one of the first employees at Origin, where they made jiu-jitsu gis. Brian had come from a retail supplement background, and Origin actually had a small supplement brand.

  When Jocko entered the business, he wasn’t so sure about going further with supplements, since he had a bad experience with the industry. He was upset to learn that he was giving his kids a protein powder that was tested to be high in heavy metals.

  However, Brian had a good background to put together something good enough that Jocko could give his own kid, despite the fact that it’d be tougher to make and more expensive. But that’s the standard – clean enough to give to Jocko’s kids.

  As an example, for Jocko Molk Protein Drinks, they had to wait for the manufacturer to put in better pasteurization equipment so that they could create a product with no chemical preseveratives.

• 6:00 – Formulating Beyond Jocko’s Use

  The entire brand started with products that Jocko himself takes. But at some point, every brand grows to the point where it includes something the founder won’t take. In this case, it was Vanilla Molk Protein Powder – Jocko does not like vanilla!

  Yet even if Jocko doesn’t use the product, he knows that their products are going to be created with the same quality and rigor.

• 7:30 – No artificial sweeteners!

  Mike flashes back to Episode #111 again, where we talk a lot about Jocko’s highly consistent stance against artificial sweetener use.

  

  Read about the Jocko Pre-Workout on PricePlow

  The joke is that the brand has the “Jocko Cheat Code” because he can tell his fans to clear shelves at any moment, and they will, but Jocko also puts Brian’s life on “hard mode” because of how he won’t use preservatives or artificial sweeteners.

  But they can no longer accept products that don’t taste good — if it tastes like junk, Jocko’s not having it, and neither should his fans. Jocko flashes back to the earlier versions of the Jocko Fuel GO Energy Drinks, which admittedly didn’t taste good. They tasted fine to Jocko, since he doesn’t eat or drink much sugar, but he’s not the actual demographic!

  Mike congratulates Jocko on Jocko Greens winning The Vitamin Shoppe’s 2023 award, stating that they’re definitely on the right path, since greens are hard to flavor even if you did use sucralose!

• 12:15 – Jocko Fuel Living in its Own World

  Ben compliments Jocko’s ability to hire great experts around the industry, yet they stay true to themselves and don’t caught up with the rest of the industry — Mike notes that they’re “on their own planet”. Jocko agrees, and states that they do things their way, but they do pay attention to what’s happening in the industry.

  

  The Jocko GO Energy Drink sports just 95 milligrams of caffeine, but formulator Brian Littlefield stated on our podcast that it’s been shown to outperform caffeine alone! We hope this data gets published soon

  As a great example, GO Energy Drink has beaten out a lot of other good energy drinks for shelf space without the artificial sweeteners. Jocko states that they realize what a solid part of their demographic wants. He thanks the customers for coming into the stores and buying the products. The stores see this.

• 14:45 – Jocko Fuel getting involved in regulatory challenges

  Mike thanks Jocko for having a brand that makes the industry look good, noting that there are several industry attacks. For instance, the New York ban on certain supplements for minors that the NPA is suing over. Jocko shows that he’s very well aware of the situation, and is concerned that state and federal governments may be limiting access to quality nutrition. To him, it’s clear with some of these laws and proposals that these politicians do not understand what they’re doing.

  “I don’t think we as citizens expect the government to be able to truly understand everything — and they certainly don’t, and this is just another one of those cases.”

  — Jocko Willink

• 17:00 – Jocko’s Supplement Stack

  Ben asks Jocko for his day-to-day supplement stack, and Jocko delivers:

  

  • Morning (fasted, pre-workout): Time War, Joint Warfare, and Super Krill
  • Pre-Workout: Jocko Pre-Workout if needing an extra kick
  • Work-Time: Mixed nuts snack, beef jerky, and take a GO Energy Drink
  • Pre-Podcast: Brain Power Nootropic
  • Lunchtime: Chocolate Molk – make it hot in the winter! Jocko also likes the Peanut Butter and Mint flavors.
  • Post Jiu-Jitsu: Jocko Hydrate and hit the sauna, often another MOLK after that.
  • Dinner: Jocko keeps it simple – steak, chicken, salad.
  • Before Bed: More Super Krill and Vitamin D3.

• 22:00 – Jocko Magnesium!

  

  Jocko Magnesium is out with a blend of magnesium citrate, glycinate, and threonate!

  With the epic stack finished, Mike provides Jocko with one added suggestion and plug — the new Jocko Magnesium product to take before bed. We’ll be covering this one soon here on the PricePlow Blog!

• 22:15 – Caffeine Before Jiu-Jitsu?

  Ben asks if Jocko ever takes caffeine before Jiu-Jitsu. For the 10am Saturday and Sunday sessions, he drinks a GO Energy Drink, but during the week, he doesn’t he rolls too late. The great part of GO, however, is that there’s just 95 milligrams of caffeine, and it doesn’t overwhelm you. This is exactly what’s needed in jiu-jitsu.

Where to Find Jocko Willink and Jocko Fuel

• Jocko Willink Instagram: @JockoWillink
• Jocko Fuel Instagram: @JockoFuel
• Jocko Fuel on PricePlow: PricePlow.com/jocko-fuel

Thanks again to Jocko for your valuable time. It was a pleasure talking with you both on and off camera!

You can subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast on your favorite platform, sign up for our Jocko Fuel news alerts on PricePlow, and leave us a great review on iTunes and Spotify!

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