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Why am I posting an article about a supplement brand? Well one reason, its founded and run by a Tamil man. In addition to that the most inspiring thing to me as I write this is that he didn’t do the usual marketing strategy of reaching out to influencers and athletes to promote the brand, instead he used his family, other Tamil individuals. Am I a bit bias, 100% but don’t let my bias stop you as I have nothing but faith and love in this brand, it’s a statement to the industry on the Tamil come up!
Have a look into their website- https://alphanutrition.com.au/
A company based in Sydney, Australia aiming to make a worldwide statement.
I am fortunate enough to be;
- A cousin of the founder
- A brand ambassador
- A major fan of this brand
Now let’s get to the good stuff, lets start the interview with Mithunan Jayamohan, founder of AlphaNutrition and Jayamove Bootcamp (refer to this article- https://tamilculture.com/jayaesthetics-bootcamp )
Q: So Mithunan tell me and well since I know you, more so tell the world a little about yourself?
A: My name is Mithunan and I am 28 years old. I was born in Chavakacheri, Jaffna and migrated to Sydney, Australia in 2001. Our family placed a lot of value in education and rightfully so, with the motivation and encouragement from my parents I was able to complete my masters in Physiotherapy.
It was not a streamlined process from school to uni to graduation. I had a few hiccups along the way; however, I used those obstacles to upskill wherever I can. I also completed my personal training course during my studies and successfully started an outdoor group fitness bootcamp with my cousin Arkash.
I always had a strong passion for health, fitness and nutrition which stemmed from my parents as they are similar in many ways. I also wanted to fill the gaps in knowledge of health and fitness in our ethnic community. This happened organically with me often having conversations about health and fitness with nearly everyone. Fast forward a few years, I am now consciously making moves towards what was previously unintentional.
Q: Before we jump into Alpha Nutrition tell us what your goals and visions for life are?
A: Our parents sacrificed a lot for us to come from a war-torn country to a place filled with opportunities. We will be doing a disservice to our Sri Lankan Tamil community, especially if we do not snatch and take advantage of these opportunities. That is why, myself and my family are always in search of different ways to help ourselves and others around us.
I have come to say, ‘I want to leave a legacy, an empire when its all said and done’. There is nothing we can’t achieve if we set our mind to it and a valuable saying to keep in mind is “it’s not about the destination but the journey you take to get there”.
I do this selfishly, but I do not believe it is wrong to do so. If its selfish to make yourself happy by helping others around you then by all means, you can call me selfish.
Q: What inspired you to start a supplement company and why the name Alpha Nutrition?
A: Over the years of my experience in the health and fitness industry, I gained valuable knowledge that I was taking for granted. I thought the knowledge that I had, most people also had however I was very wrong. So, I started to dig deeper, do more research, and started to share my knowledge with others. I wanted to do something, something exciting and something within my expertise. I started asking myself questions and realised nutrition is a topic of interest in many people’s minds. I also know what works and what are just marketing schemes, to combat this I decided to start my own supplement company. I have trust in the community, and I have trust in myself that I will only bring forth quality products to my community and the rest of the world.
Alpha Nutrition, the name. Alpha is the first letter of Greek alphabet, but it has more meaning than that. It is number one in my eyes, a leader amongst many, a leader that motivates and encourages to strive better. And it’s also connected to the logo of a wolf, not like an aggressive or dominant wolf – but an elegant, well respected, somewhat mysterious. Also alpha in the animal kingdom can be given to a tiger, lion, etc. But with a wolf, it is a pack mentality, they come together and stay together compared to solo missions. It is a family, a group of people with similar mindset and pack mentality.
Well my follow up question was going to be for you to tell me a bit about the brand logo and what it represents but you have already done that so let us go on to the next
Q: So Magic Myth is your first product, why did you start with pre-workout and why that name?
A: I started with pre-workout because I wanted to bring forth a product that would give instant feedback or like reaction, something where results would show sooner rather than in the long run. I want to develop a trust and build a brand and having something that gives you instant feedback and results is a great way to start.
Magic Myth, someone very dear to me calls me that. It all started with my friends calling me a magician – a funny story for another day. I also wanted to add a personal touch to my first ever product. Something I will always remember.
I also wanted to instil magical, mystical feel behind this sports nutrition. As most pre-workouts give you a surge of energy with the increased loading of caffeine, I wanted to go a different direction. Something more sustainable, something more focus centric. So that is exactly what I did, reduced the caffeine amount and implemented the focus matrix into the product to give people tunnel vision focus during their sports, exercises, and fitness.
Q: What other products are in the works?
A: Currently I am exploring sports nutrition and I will be slowly releasing them in the coming months. However, I want to expand into general vitamins and minerals such as vitamin D, magnesium, etc. That is the long-term plan.
Q: Instead of the traditional route of social media influencers and athletes, what made you decide to use your family members as brand ambassadors? From what we can see they do not have a large demographic of followers?
A: I love team sports. The feeling you get when you win as a team supersedes any solo victories. My family is my team and I want to excel alongside my family and friends. I want them to walk the path of success with me.
Q: Were you scared getting into this industry? What challenges do you see yourself facing?
A: Most definitely, there are already 100s of different supplement and vitamin companies. Reputable companies who have been in the industry for many decades. But at the same time, I did not start this looking to fail. I must be honest; I have not thought about what challenges I’ll be facing however I have a very helpful team around me. I do not doubt that we can overcome whatever it may be. I welcome all challenges as it will be a stepping stone to victory.
Q: Before we move on from Alpha Nutrition- do you have anything else you want to share with us?
A: Yep, try the product and if pre-workout is not your thing, wait for the new products to come out and sample them, they will yield results. If you truly are not interested in the products, that’s also fair enough, but give us some love and support on our social media channels, thank you.
Q: You also run a bootcamp which is primarily run with family members, tell me a little about it?
A: Yes that’s right. Started that about 7 years ago with my cousin Arkash as I have mentioned before. And now our head trainer is Varunan, my other cousin. Your brother in fact. We started small and now we run 7 sessions a week and have employed 3 trainers, so it is going well. It makes me very happy that we can provide a service that benefits peoples health and well-being. We are more conscious of it and place a lot more value especially in our South Asian community.
Q: So, based on all this we can see that family mean a lot to you, would you like to share anything about your family?
A: We are so tightly knit, especially all our cousins. We all have different personalities, but we all come together and enjoy each other’s company. It all started with our parents doing weekly get together when we were younger, that is what really made us become as close as we are now. We must appreciate what we have is special and I cherish that every day.
Q: What does the future hold for Alpha Nutrition, what is your long-term vision?
A: I want to build a brand and build a community. I do not see this as a vitamin and supplement company, I see this as something more than that, a community that propels each other forward to achieve healthy lifestyles. I thrive in a group environment and I am sure I’m not the only one, so I want people similar to me to come together and build it from the ground up.
Q: Where do you see yourself and Alpha Nutrition in 5 years, 10 years, and 50 years?
A: In terms of business goals, to be one of the leaders of sports nutrition and supplements and making breakthrough in general vitamins and minerals. That will be amazing, simply amazing. I want to hit it in 5 years and as for the 10 and 50, lets just keep growing the pack!
Thank you for your time and I know I will be looking forward to this growth but I’m also sure that the people that read this article will be excited as well.
Well there you have it, a quick interview with Mithunan Jayamohan founder of AlphaNutrition, it is a first for a Tamil youth to get involved in the supplement industry, correct me if I am wrong and all I can say is that I am excited to see what’s to come. Go give them a bit of love on their page and get some pre-workout, one of my friend’s mother even tried and her comments were "this is amazing, so fruity, usually when I feel down I take a Berocca (an energy supplement), but I might replace it with this". It’s AUNTY approved! I myself even use it for sports and have found that it helps with explosive energy and focus without making me feel like my heart rate is pumping out of my chest. Plus it tastes great!
Links:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/alphanutritionsupplements
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_alphanutrition/
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