Dylan Gaines – Creator of “The Kick” Supplement

Dylan Gaines is the owner and creator of a new pre-workout drink called “The Kick“. He’s no stranger to business either. Dylan has owned and operated many businesses over the course of 20 years including a baseball training facility in Los Angeles called “All Star Baseball School” that helps local youth become better athletes.

His entrepreneurial spirit has recently led him into the supplement industry where he has taken his first steps into creating new products. In this interview, we’ll see where his ideas come from and what sort of challenges he experienced developing a new product for athletes.

What’s your favorite part about owning this business?

My favorite part about owning this business is seeing the results of hard work. It’s watching the joy come to life in my clients’ and customers’ faces when they push themselves further during their workout then they thought they could. My customers are running farther, lifting more, playing hockey longer, and pitching extra innings where they could not do that before.

That is the joy that I get from this – seeing that I am truly helping people live healthier and more active lives.

What inspired you to make a supplement?

I have played professionally in the minor leagues, I have owned and operated a baseball school for over 19 years and I continue to play Sunday baseball even in my 40’s.

I also run and lift weights and I know that this is a life long commitment and a lifestyle. It is not a fad or something to do because you are bored. For millions of people out there, fitness is a way of life. That being said, I have always looked for ways where I could improve my workouts or things I could take that would make it easier to exercise and get more physical benefits from my workouts.

I have tried a lot of pre-workout drinks at gyms like 24 Hour Fitness and Golds Gym. When I took these pre-workouts, I was so “jacked up” during the workout that I would crash so hard, I could barely drive home. I looked up some of the ingredients like Taurine and realized how bad these were for my body. This is what inspired me to make this drink. My goal was an all-natural and healthy drink that will boost your performance during a workout. I feel like I accomplished just that.

Who was The Kick designed for?

The Kick was designed for the fitness mom, the desk jocks, the weekend warriors, the runners, and the more serious, professional athlete. Anyone that wants to get a great workout and an added “KICK” without all that crash should give it a try! We were able to accomplish all this without compromising quality ingredients.

Do you use any unique marketing methods to promote The Kick?

We are really leaning on social media and real people to tell our story. We have private trainers, owners of spin studios, moms, baseball players that are all posting their testimonials about how well our product works so it’s a very organic growth.

Were there any obstacles in creating a new supplement?

Ha! That is a great question! So the first obstacle was finding all-natural ingredients. I have been very fortunate to work with some of the top sports nutritionists that work with Major League Baseball and the NFL like Roberta Anding.

They have really steered us in the right directions. That being said, trying to find a sweetener without processed sugar or trying to find a product that doesn’t taste like a handful of vitamins while not using dyes or unnatural additives was tough. It took us a year to develop this product.

Did you have any doubts while starting this business?

Well, I think with any new business venture I have done there is a little bit of doubt in your mind as to whether people are going to like it and whether or not people will find your product. So far, the response has been almost one for one that people like it. There were also a couple times when we kept going back and forth with the lab and had to change something. I kept saying, “Are we ever going to get this freaking product done!?”

Lastly, do you have any advice for young entrepreneurs?

You know, I have owned a few companies in my life from a successful baseball school to The Kick and other companies and there are two things that I hold to that have been the key to my success. Number one, you must believe in what you do and have a passion. Number two is persistence – things don’t happen overnight. It takes hard work, sacrifice and PERSISTENCE!