Trung Nguyen: We Go Home’s Authentic, Aggressive Supplements | Episode #107

https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/trung-nguyen-we-go-home-107

With the Global War on Terror drawing to a close, America’s Special Operations veterans are returning stateside and starting lifestyle brands in numerous industries. With that has come a tidal wave of social media content about tactics, physical training, and mindset, as these veterans reach out to share what they’ve learned with their civilian countrymen.

Retired US Army Ranger Trung Nguyen founded We Go Home Supplements, and joins the PricePlow Podcast for Episode #107 to discuss keeping it aggressive and authentic so that his demographic — military, law enforcement, and first responders — have what it takes to make it home safe every night.

Enter retired US Army Ranger Trung Nguyen of We Go Home. He and his brand are a huge part of this trend, and have earned their place at the center of the tactically-focused nutritional supplement market. We Go Home’s core ethos is simple, but profound – Trung wants to sell products that can help tactical operators, whether military or law enforcement, perform at their physical and mental peak. Peak performance as a team means everybody has the best chance of coming home safe.

Besides selling awesome supplements, We Go Home offers apparel and strives to uphold a high standard of physical and mental excellence for all, not just military, LE, or first responders.

We sat down with Trung to talk about his story, the lessons he learned in the military, and the importance of hybrid athleticism among other things. But we also dove pretty deep into his stack of supplements, including his new No Sacrifice No Victory 2.0 pre-workout supplement.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22:08 — 82.3MB)

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Detailed Show Notes with Trung Nguyen

Note: In this podcast, we don’t get incredibly in-depth with Trung’s military and law enforcement life. For more background on that, you can also listen to him on Episode 107 of the Zero Limits Podcast.

• 0:00 – Trung Nguyen Introduction

  

  Trung discusses his background as an immigrant to the United States from Vietnam, the economic hardship his family experienced as new arrivals, and his path into the U.S. Army. Trung joined the military against the wishes of his family.

• 03:00 – The Tactical Importance of Fitness

  Trung points out that symbols of authority, like badges and uniforms, are not necessarily enough to guarantee survival – in any contested environment, fitness is of supreme tactical importance for anyone who intends to survive. In Afghanistan, even the fittest of the fit got killed in action, which demonstrates that law enforcement officers, who risk armed confrontation on a daily basis, can’t afford to be out of shape. Still, many are, and Trung founded We Go Home to address this problem.

• 06:30 – What Makes We Go Home Different?

  Trung explains that the ethos of We Go Home is focused on service to others – the idea that you must perform at your own physical peak in order to maximize your partners’ and squadmates’ chances of survival. Failure to perform can endanger not just your own life, but theirs as well. A big part of this ethos is giving back – i.e. We Go Home recently hosted a free active shooter course for law enforcement.

• 09:45 – Substance Over Style

  In an age where lots of veteran-owned and veteran-focused brands are obsessed with cultivating a badass image, consumers are seeing through cheap marketing tricks, and authenticity is more important than ever. We Go Home strives to be better than the rest and walk the walk with frequent training and quality products.

• 12:30 – Where Does The “We Go Home” Name Come From?

  

  Trung recalls how in his military briefings, “no matter what, we go home” was the #1 directive. For Trung, this is about loyalty and service to others – the phrase isn’t I go home or you go home, it’s we go home. We Go Home products aren’t just for tactical operators because this loyalty-focused attitude pays dividends in many areas of life, including business and family affairs, and not just in the military or law enforcement agencies.

• 14:30 – The Importance of Truth for Authenticity

  Upholding loyalty to your comrades means disregarding trivialities like politics, and most importantly, telling the truth so that you can get the job done together. Trung talks about how in a world where seemingly everyone is lying for personal gain, telling the truth is a powerful road to building authenticity as a brand and as an individual. It’s also important to know your limitations – Trung cites the example of him asking Ben for supplement formulation advice, because he needs We Go Home to sell products he can stand behind.

• 18:15 – Never Penny Pinch On Performance

  

  Ben and Trung talk about the philosophy behind We Go Home’s product formulation. Trung points out that when it comes to performance, you can’t cut corners and you can’t pinch pennies. When physical performance is a matter of life or death, you must supply your body with the best possible fuel, and that’s why We Go Home pulled out all the stops on No Sacrifice, No Victory 2.0.

• 21:45 – No Sacrifice No Victory 2.0 Ingredients

  Mike talks about how insanely stacked the No Sacrifice No Victory 2.0 formula really is. The supplement facts label is huge, and every ingredient is clinically dosed. It is, as Mike says, an absolutely pumped up supplement.

• 23:00 – Is NSNV’s Huge Pump a Problem For Aerobic Activity?

  As Mike points out, huge pumps from large doses of ingredients like citrulline can sometimes make endurance-type exercise uncomfortable. Does No Sacrifice No Victory 2.0 have this problem? Trung thinks not – he recently took it before doing a Murph and had no issues whatsoever.

• 23:30 – Ingredient Dosing

  

  The We Go Home No Sacrifice No Victory 2.0 Ingredients — Remove the caffeine and theobromine if you have the stim-free version!

  Mike is impressed by We Go Home’s position on the bleeding edge of industry trends. For example, We Go Home is one of the only companies to be pushing the 3 gram dose of tyrosine that PricePlow has long wanted to become the new standard. He says it’s impressive how We Go Home has engaged with supplement science in a substantive way, rather than relying on military-themed marketing as a gimmick.

• 24:45 – We Go Home’s Formulation Support from PricePlow

  Trung talks about how Ben played a big role in helping calibrate some of the ingredient dosing, e.g. tyrosine.

• 25:15 – Citrulline Malate And Truth In Advertising

  Trung and Mike discuss the issues with citrulline malate labeling – Mike points out that most “citrulline malate” is just free citrulline combined with free malate, rather than a molecule of citrulline bound to malate.

• 27:00 – Never Stop Working!

  Not one to rest on his laurels, Trung talks about how We Go Home is already working on the 3.0 version of No Sacrifice No Victory. Part of the reason for this is staying positioned to respond to emerging research and trends. This adaptability is one huge advantage of being a relatively small company.

• 28:15 – Stim vs. Non-Stim

  Trung points out that if your stimmed product is great, then removing the stimulant ingredients is all you should have to do in order to get a great non-stim version of the same product, as opposed to coming up with a completely different “non-stim” formula.

• 29:30 – Flavors! Spicy Mangonada

  Ben talks about how much he enjoyed the spicy mangonada flavor – Trung explains how it was inspired by the mangonada dessert. Ben recalls the fairly exhaustive process Trung went through to choose the flavors for No Sacrifice No Victory 2.0.

• 31:00 – What’s Next For We Go Home?

  Ben invites Trung to discuss any upcoming We Go Home projects that he’s excited about. Trung talks about how maximizing value for the consumer was what guided his formulation of Hydrate 2.0 and Tropical Storm 2.0. Big doses of key ingredients are important for that, as is minimizing the number of separate products the consumer needs to buy.

• 32:45 – Tropical Storm 2.0, the We Go Home Greens And Reds

  Trung talks about how the greens and reds concept behind Tropical Storm 2.0 was born of his frustration with having to buy a separate greens supplement and a reds supplement, rather than one supplement with both.

• 33:30 – Exceptions To The Rule

  However, We Go Home has taken the other side of the separate product issue – for example, they took creatine out of their pre-workout because creatine is something you take every single day, while a pre-workout isn’t necessarily.

• 36:00 – We Go Home’s Message

  Ben, Mike and Trung talk about a potential misunderstanding between We Go Home and Creapure, which was thankfully resolved. Trung points out that We Go Home’s message is not pro-violence, which is the misconception he had to clear up with Creapure.

• 37:00 – Evolution of We Go Home

  

  Although We Go Home started as an apparel brand, Trung’s love of supplements and involvement as an ambassador for supplement companies eventually pushed him to launch a pre-workout under the We Go Home brand.

• 38:30 – We Go Home’s Politics, or Lack Thereof

  Trung discusses We Go Home’s relationship with law enforcement – he recognizes that not all cops are good guys. We Go Home isn’t really about taking a side on hot-button issues, but rather constantly making its products better, and pushing individuals to be better versions of themselves.

• 42:00 – The Value And Challenge of Entrepreneurship

  Mike points out that entrepreneurship is a great way to help the people around you, because it can give you the resources you need to have influence over your environment. Mike points out that Trung comes from a familial background of entrepreneurship, and Trung says that entrepreneurship is the hardest thing he’s done in his life – harder than all his military and LE experience – because of how it forces to be self-directed and self-motivated.

• 45:30 – How And Why To Become An Entrepreneur

  Mike talks about the mentality of entrepreneurship, and the transition from employment to self-employment. Although difficult at first, eventually, the inertia you generate in building your own business becomes so powerful that it’s basically impossible for you to stop doing it.

• 47:15 – Trung’s Take On The Grind

  

  This is the way.

  Trung finds his motivation in refusal to be statistic – refusal to see We Go Home become one of the many businesses that fizzles out and passes away. “Don’t concentrate on the shoreline – concentrate on the horizon.”

• 49:30 – We Go Home’s Target Markets

  Mike asks Trung how We Go Home is getting the word out. Trung talks about how his status as a veteran makes on-base events a no-brainer for We Go Home’s marketing initiative.

• 50:45 – Being A Hybrid Athlete

  Ben talks about how his engagement with We Go Home’s content played a role in his transition from powerlifter to hybrid athlete.

• 51:15 – We Go Home’s Company Culture

  Trung talks about how important it is for We Go Home’s brand to have real athletes, rather than pretty faces, working at the company and representing its products. The company is still in its infancy, and Trung prioritizes hires with an ambitious, ride or die attitude.

• 52:20 – Walking The Walk

  Ben talks about how We Go Home’s commitment to walking the walk sets it apart from other, similar brands, and helps make it more relatable to civilian consumers. The importance of finding your tribe.

• 53:40 – Guerilla Strength (Creatine Formula)

  

  Mike and Ben share their thoughts on the formulation behind We Go Home’s Guerilla Strength creatine complex. Guerilla Strength checks a lot of boxes that PricePlow has been talking about recently, like taurine and Peak ATP. Trung talks about his desire to offer a value-added creatine supplement, instead of just straight creatine. Mike points out that this is one of the only ways to differentiate yourself from the competition in a market where everybody is selling a pure creatine supplement.

• 59:00 – In It To Win It?

  Trung talks about how, although he’d love for We Go Home to win some brand of the year awards, his focus at the end of the day is just creating the highest quality supplements he possibly can, and offering them at an affordable price.

• 1:00:15 – We Go Home’s Focus

  Trung isn’t interested in making a different pre-workout for every type of consumer – instead he created the pre-workout that he himself wants to take every day. Mike points out that No Sacrifice No Victory 2.0 could benefit pretty much any type of training.

• 1:02:30 – PEAK ATP’s Impact On Hemodynamics

  

  Peak ATP is a patented oral ATP supplement that’s been shown to increase blood flow, boost muscle activation through calcium release, and help boost muscle mass, strength, and recovery. This article covers the biochemistry, mechanism, and human research in detail.

  Mike talks about how PEAK ATP, one of the key ingredients in Guerilla Strength, offers a nice balanced pump that can help endurance athletes without getting in the way.

• 1:03:20 – Zero Dark Thirty, We Go Home’s Sleep Aid

  Ben talks about how much he loves We Go Home’s product Zero Dark Thirty – a sleep aid that really helps, without making you feel groggy in the morning. Trung talks about the extreme importance of sleep for performance. Ben chalks his special love of Zero Dark Thirty up to its inclusion of Xylaria and its surprisingly good flavor.

• 1:05:40 – Zero Dark Thirty Ingredients

  Mike talks about the challenges of sleep aid formulation, the controversy around melatonin, and how Zero Dark Thirty does a great job combining synthetic and botanical ingredients. Then he talks about glycine research, and how doses of three grams or more are increasingly common.

• 1:07:00 – Thoughts on Melatonin?

  Trung specifies that We Go Home opted for a lower dose of melatonin, which he argues is one of the most abused ingredients out there. More melatonin is definitely not necessarily better.

• 1:08:30 – The Importance Of Sleep Aids For Military and LE

  Trung talks about how, thanks to the stress (often post-traumatic stress) of the job done by military and LE personnel, there’s a real need in that community for non-pharmaceutical, non-addictive and relatively safe sleep aids. That’s a huge reason why he created Zero Dark Thirty – especially because being well-rested is critical for good decision-making on the job, in situations that are a matter of life and death. Mike and Trung talk about how Zero Dark Thirty can help operators on irregular sleep schedules stay rested.

• 1:11:30 – Why Is Trung 100% All In?

  Mike wants to know what made Trung such a driven entrepreneur – was it innate, something he was born with, or acquired? Trung says he definitely wasn’t born this way – being surrounded by world-class high achievers in the special operations community gave him the drive he has today.

• 1:15:45 – How Do You Stay Sharp?

  Mike asks Trung where he finds the motivation to keep training and performing at such a high level, even though his military days are over. Trung says accountability – the desire to constantly be better than himself. Ben points out that training other people is a great source of motivation for accountability.

• 1:17:45 – Be Undeniable

  

  Trung talks about the importance of being undeniable – achieving such a high level of excellence that nobody can deny it. Do this, and good things will come to you, rather than you having to seek them out. Trung points out that We Go Home’s DMs are open to anyone who wants to break into their world.

• 1:19:00 – Trung’s Upcoming Events

  Trung talks about what he’s got planned for the foreseeable future – a SCUBA course in New Jersey, and an upcoming collaboration to train SWAT officers with Tu Lam of Ronin Tactics.

• 1:20:00 – Coming Soon: We Go Home Documentary

  Trung talks about a documentary, slated for release in September on Amazon, about his life as a police officer and political attitudes towards law enforcement.

Where to Find Trung

• Trung Nguyen on LinkedIn
• Trung Nguyen Instagram
• We Go Home Instagram
• We Go Home Supplements Instagram
• We Go Home on PricePlow

Just in case, let’s also let you sign up for Trung Nguyen news alerts on PricePlow, so you get emailed next time he’s mentioned (in a new venture or following podcast):

Thanks to Trung for sharing some of his hard-won lessons from Special Operations and Law Enforcement.

Until next time, return to the PricePlow Podcast — please subscribe on your favorite platform and leave a review!

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