No Tricks. No Gimmicks. Just Results.

When working out is more than just a habit, you begin to think long and hard about the products you put in your body. You think about how much money you invest to get the pick-me-up and whether the money spent is even worth it.

With all the added crap loaded in pre workouts, post workouts and protein, you begin to wonder if what you’re paying for is what you need for optimal growth and recovery.

Three friends decided to do something about that. Dernell Murray, Lonnie Matherne and Will Dempsey created their own product because they were tired of getting low-grade products.

“We were at the point of buying two or three different preworkouts to get what needed out of a supplement,” Matherne said. “Not to mention, it would only last three weeks so it was killing the pockets. That was the definitely the motivating force at first. We just wanted to try something that could save us money.”

That was when they began developing A.P.E. Supplements, which stands for Anarchy Performance Enhancement. The name Anarchy is symbolic to the trio because it defines why they started the company.

“We named it Anarchy because we wanted to rebel against companies that would charge max dollar for a minimum dosed product,” Dempsey said.

They decided their pre workout and intra/post workout would carry the name “Havyk.” They feel their product will make their customers want to wreak havoc in the gym.

As someone who uses both their products, I enjoy the hell out of them. The intra/post workout made a difference for me personally as I have actively been trying to shred and tone.

The product contains branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), creatine monohydrate, glutamine, betaine anhydrous (TMG), L-Carnitine L-Tartrate and Potassium Citrate.

All of these products combined into one help promote lean muscle growth, converts fat into energy and increase electrolytes among other things. Murray calls it a “one stop shop” for after your workout.

The post comes in two different flavors, gold rush (pineapple) and purple haze (grape). After trying out about 12 or so flavors, they decided those two were best because they are neutral allowing them to market to more people.

“It’s hard for a company in its infant stage to come out with a Cotton Candy flavored product because not everyone likes something that sweet as a supplement and we couldn’t afford to limit ourselves,” Dempsey said.

As for their pre workout, they offer two variations. One of them is a stim-free option, basically meaning it does not have any caffeine.

The Xtreme version carries all of the same things, but of course has the caffeine. The best benefit to their pre workout is there is no crash after.

“We created a pre workout that allows you to workout roughly three hours with no crash, so you’ll need something to fuel your muscles with that type of rigorous training,” Matherne said.

APE Supps offers two flavors in both the Xtreme and Stim-free versions, kiwi-strawberry and fruit punch. Murray said those flavors mask the bitterness of their pre workout the best, which he admitted was the hardest part of this entire process.

“Oh my God, that was more difficult than actually making the product. The fact that we use the daily recommended dose of each ingredient made it extremely hard to get the taste right,” Murray said. “We used to mix it in a shaker cup then let it sit overnight so it could dissolve because the taste was HORRENDOUS.”

The best part about this journey is they used to pass out their supplements in small ziplock bags, while they were working on it. I think you can kind of put two and two together for how it looked, if you didn’t know them. They knew they needed to find a way to get their product out there in order to make it profitable. Trial and error is the key.

“After consulting a police officer, we realized it was a terrible idea to sell a white powder in a little single serving zip lock bag,” Matherne said. “The funny part is that everyone was still willing to try it even with that horrible presentation.”

Now that they have their supplements perfected and have made enough money to take a professional approach, the big focus for APE Supps is branching into different communities, which will allow them to create even more products in the future.

“It’s extremely difficult to branch out when you have a small business with a small budget. You must have a lot of patience & be able to deal with a lot of adversity,” Dempsey said. “Often times we are conditioned to believe the best marketing plans come from the best products.”

You can find Havyk in several Louisiana cities including Luling, Bastrop, Slidell, Elmwood, Denham Springs and Prairieville. Because of APE Supps being on the shelves  in many areas, they have been able to comprise a roster of local athletes who help promote their products.

“At this point we have a complete roster of extreme atheletes that are all local. Our current athletes are IFBB PRO Bodybuiler Dale Smith, IFBB Pro Bodybuilder and Coach Roddy Gaubert, National NPC Bodybuilder Danny Trosclair, Crossfit Gym Owner/Athlete Christian Ruiz, 15-year-old Crossfit Athelete Annalise Moore who just competed in the Crossfit Games and 22-year-old Powerlifter Robzilla,” Murray said. “All of our athletes are actually fans of our product. They all were taking it prior to us meeting and they loved it, so they push it just as hard as we do. It’s easy to pay someone then tell them what to say, but our athletes are more than willing to go that extra mile because they know it’s actually a great product.”

Part of their outreach has come from attending a multitude of events to hand out samples of their products.

“We try to attend at least one bodybuilding, Crossfit, and now Powerlifting event each year to show each market what we have to offer. This, in conjunction with our social media, has really help expand our reach,” Matherne said. “We unknowingly found a void within the fitness industry and were able to successfully implement change. We give out countless samples and people always come back wanting more because they can’t believe it works exactly as described. That is the best part about owning the company.”

A strong approach to attacking every market in the fitness industry has allowed them to expand into a business that they hope can continue to grow.

“We honestly wanted to make a fully dosed supplement that we liked so the fact that someone else enjoys it and to look at our annual sales is very impressive at this point,” Murray said. “The company is steadily growing but at a rate we still can control so we are very happy and appreciative.”

The whole reason for starting this product was to give them a reliable product to use to reach their fitness goals. They have used that as a catalyst to market Havyk and APE Supps.

“Our Motto is No Tricks, No Gimmicks…Just Results. We won’t trick you by selling under dosed product, or sell you a stack of supplements that costs $120 as a gimmick…our products really work and actual people get actual results,” Murray said.

A big reason why I wrote this and why I tell people who ask for a good supplement about APE Supps is not because the product is great. And for the record, it is awesome. But the big reason is because they are genuinely good people. From a business standpoint, there is a level of trust there.

They are not there to make money by robbing people blind and hiding behind the additives in products as mentioned. They want to give people a great product for a good price, which they do.

For more information about Havyk and the APE Supplements brand, you can visit their website at apesupps.com where they list all of their ingredients and explain what each of them do for the user. You will enjoy their supplements. I know I do.