Lifelong health enthusiast and retailer Tom Dowd knows a thing or two about making high-quality supplements. After a long and successful career overseeing product development, sales, and merchandising, among other areas, at GNC, he struck up a long-term friendship that turned into a business partnership with Mark Wahlberg. Together they co-founded (along with a few power players and pro athletes) the super-supplement company Performance Inspired. Here’s the story.
How did you end up working together? I met Mark when we both happened to be in Manhattan, and a mutual friend brought us together. We had a four-hour dinner with some of his team, and we really hit it off. I sensed he had not only an inherent understanding of business but also a passion for it. We have the same “all in” enthusiastic approach to everything we do.
What are people asking for in the protein market today? They want products they can trust, that are as clean as possible, with beneficial ingredients, not a lot of hyped-up claims. So we make high-quality, all-natural products that help you perform at your best.
Is there one question you find yourself answering more often than others? I’m regularly asked, “Is this product safe for my teenager?” The answer’s yes: Our products are formulated to deliver incredible results, whether you’re a weekend warrior, a pro athlete, or a hardcore bodybuilder.
What’s it like partnering with Mark? He has incredible drive and real commitment to be the best at everything he does. It’s truly inspiring. Working with him has really pushed me to raise my game!
Find the right Performance Inspired protein for you: Performance Whey is one of PI’s stars. Each serving’s packed with 25g whey and 5g fiber, plus enzymes like lactase, which helps break down lactose (the sugar in milk) so it’s digested more easily. Available in chocolate or vanilla bean flavor and flavored with cane sugar, it packs just 160 calories per scoop.
If your goal is to lose fat, try PI’s Ripped Whey: It’s sweetened with stevia and has an extra 500mg of L-carnitine—the fat-incinerating amino acid in red meat—plus proven metabolism boosters like guarana, green tea extract, and caffeine in every dose.
