Everything that grows forth from GCode Nutrition exists as proof of concept. That all the rhetoric of ambition, sacrifice and self-actualization over the years would eventually add up to something of substance and stature. Something worthy of the words and worthwhile for those who believed—proof to them of what was possible. Creating the first GCode supplement, then, was a decision of tremendous consequence in building the brand’s identity.

There are seemingly a million pre-workout products in this industry. With an illustrious legacy that goes back to the days of Ultimate Orange. To say the category is competitive would be a drastic understatement. It seems a few new preworkout formulas drop every week, each trying to out-hardcore the last.

Within the segment there is much imitation and redundancy and very little in terms of innovation. And it is understandable. When properly executed, a preworkout simply works. You can feel it, unlike so many popular staples in the supplement game. The best fish oil or protein shake might do its job perfectly, but it will never “hit you” in the same way a preworkout does.

I chose to enter into this awesome undertaking by leading off with a preworkout, for good reason… One that is largely personal. My entire life has been characterized by an uncommon ambition and an unreasonable penchant for paying dues—whether that be in the gym or related to my artistic and career goals. That character trait has been amplified in my thirties, and in the past five years specifically. With the birth of my daughters and the ever-advancing march of time, all of my goals took on greater significance and crushing urgency. That translated to many late nights and early mornings. With five hours of sleep becoming the norm. In that zone, fatigue became a daily part of the deal. There was work to be done and weights to be lifted, so caffeine became my best friend. The coffee brewed and the preworkout flowed. And in the midst of this madness, I caught my stride.

VICE was born in many ways, as a tribute to that state of being and the mindset which it accompanies. It was made specifically for those without the luxury of a full night’s sleep or a vacation, who refuse to abandon their dreams. Fuel for the hustlers and grinders of our world.

It is sophisticated in its simplicity, as are all great things. We didn’t seek to reinvent the wheel… Just make a tire with better, more durable tread that can run faster and harder, longer. That can fit on an Indy car or an SUV. We looked at the mundane with a unique perspective, and tried to do better… To do it our way. The result was VICE. And here’s how it is different…

 

Flavors

An observation I’ve made over the years is that in an industry with very little innovation, a common factor that causes people to stray, or jump from brand to brand, is a simple one… They get sick of the taste of the same protein powder or preworkout, so they try one from Brand X, because their product is basically the same in terms of formula. And they want a new flavor. We went to great lengths to ensure that the VICE formula was different, but to address the very real and prevalent plague of flavor boredom, we thought outside the box in which traditional supplement companies are confined. And we delivered four soda-inspired flavors at once—Grindin’ Grape, Legend Lime, Pina Colada Crush and Bangin’ Black Cherry. Use a different one each day, even mix them together to create a new flavor. Add them to your favorite sports drink, seltzer, aminos, protein shake or diet soda–no matter your approach, VICE allows you to add variety to every day of your training life. Four different flavors, fifteen servings each, in every package. That’s different.

Dosing

Not only did we provide a variety of flavors, we provided more servings. In every package of VICE, you get three containers, each containing 15 servings of a different flavor. Our competition gives you 30 scoops of their preworkout formula, we give you 45. You get 50% more bang for your buck with VICE.

Beyond that, we made sure to dose the product to be flexible. Employing FlexDosing Technology, which is our fancy way of saying we didn’t create a one-size-fits-all preworkout, we allow the user to tailor each dose of VICE to their own very specific wants and needs. The thought that a 100 lb fitness girl and a 300 lb powerlifter should use the same dose of preworkout before they train is not only obviously wrong, it is patently irresponsible.

Each of us have different physiology in terms of bodyweight and stimulant tolerances. Some folks train at night. Some people drink five cups of coffee before they leave the house in the morning. Some have been training for thirty years and have used every supplement in the game twice. We are all unique beings with individual experience levels and body chemistry, so we made VICE adaptable enough to suit your training and lifestyle. One scoop will be plenty for some, two scoops will be the sweet spot for many, three scoops will be the preworkout cocktail of a rugged, hardcore few. Everybody is different, so should be their preworkout.

Ingredients

While years of thought, study, trial and error, and contemplation went into the formulation of VICE, we went out of our way to not over-engineer our product. At the same time we didn’t mix 10 grams of citrulline with caffeine and Crystal Light and smack a label on it, calling it a “preworkout”. We used only proven performance actives and volumizers at 1 gram each per scoop—Creatine Monohydrate, Beta Alanine, Citrulline Malate, Arginine AKG and Taurine. We opted not to use patented ingredients as we weren’t in the game to charge you $150 per month for your preworkout. We set out to give you exactly what you need to train at your best and to feel good doing it. And afterward… No more. No less. With two scoops, you double that intake, and so on and so forth. If ever a product has proven the concept of synergy, with multiple ingredients working in harmony and enhancing the effects of one another, it is a preworkout. And with VICE, we put that symbiotic concept into potent practice.

Paired with the strength and endurance ingredients are absolute must-inclusions when creating a preworkout. B Vitamins, including 500mcg of B12 per scoop. Touted focus agents—Tyrosine and Choline. And, of course, Caffeine Anhydrous. But the 180mg of caffeine in every scoop of VICE is supported with Coffee Bean and Green Tea extracts to include the inherent beneficial analogues and well-being-inducing effects of these ancient natural compounds. There’s no shady ingredients in the VICE formula. No amphetamine derivatives like DMAA or grey-market ephedrine knock-offs. VICE is intended to set the tone for your day, to make you feel good and power your process. No jitters. No crash. No cracked-out trips. No teeth-grinding anxiety. No running from the Feds. We’re here to play the long game. To make powerful products that stand the test of time. And to do it the right way.

Last, but far from least, is the two-ingredient Nature’s Pump complex, that has early VICE adapters buzzing. A wise man once likened the singular sensation of “the pump” to the best sex. Another wise man stated brilliantly that “the pump is the cure”. In our opinion, any preworkout worth its weight in targeted blood flow delivers a profound pump. Otherwise, what’s the point? As such, we made some simple and seemingly obvious innovations when building VICE. Two natural elements that make a dramatic difference in terms of muscle hydration and circulation—beet root powder and sea salt. There is one whole gram of beet root and 200mg of sea salt in every scoop of VICE, two ingredients gaining greater mainstream momentum for their benefits daily. And there’s no denying the impact. The pumps are insane. But, as is always the case, talk is cheap. VICE must be experienced.

The VICE Experience is an uncommon one. It is the second-wind in the latest night. Alone with your dreams and the iron. It is an adrenaline-laced early morning, cutting through the pre-dawn fog. With beats banging in your ears and voices screaming in your head. It is the cure for an evening of revelry with no sleep, or an intercontinental flight, or a double-shift spent paying dues and paying bills… Where sweat and determination carry an inspired man forward in the direction of his aspirations, undeterred, fatigue be damned. We built VICE with pride and independence for those who refuse to settle for good enough–from themselves or from their lives. Just like us. Because, after all, VICE only exists because we willed in into fruition. In that way, there’s so much more than mere nutritional supplements in every container of VICE. Passion and pain. Resistance and resilience. Virtue and vision. Experience the ambition of VICE for yourself, and come to understand how it is very much unlike every other preworkout in the world.