Interview – Dr. Tom Deters, Jiu Jitsu Aficionado and Fitness Expert

SNI:   You have a wealth of experience in the industry going back to your days as the Editor in Chief of Muscle and Fitness.  What is the greatest change (for the good) that you’ve seen in the last 20 years?

Dr. Deters: I think one of the most frustrating things I dealt with during my years publishing Muscle & Fitness was the fact that so much of the medical community didn’t really “catch on” to all the research and cutting edge information that we were putting out there every month. But this past April, I attended the 19^th Annual World Congress On Anti-Aging and sat there for two days listening to the “latest” findings where doctors are now integrating serious nutrition and real supplementation along with resistance training to keep people fit, healthy and vital. On one hand I was like, “Duh!” on the other hand I was so happy to see that things have turned a corner and all we have been talking about is really taking root.

SNI: What are the most idiotic myths you’ve heard regarding supplements and testosterone?

Dr. Deters: Where should I start? The biggest misunderstandings are perpetuated by a few factors. First, exaggerated advertising claims stoke consumer (and mainstream media!) confusion and damage credibility.  Second, there is too much mis-information and word of mouth and a lack of scientific understanding. Given mountains of research, to think supplements aren’t critical is crazy. But it is just as crazy to believe that they work like wonder-drugs. Testosterone is an important hormone for optimal health, but people are “testosterone phobic” because they equate them with those “nasty anabolic steroids”. In many ways, testosterone is about health, not performance. I just wrote an article on testosterone and how it may actually be needed in some young professional athletes in order to maintain optimal health (see Testosterone Replacement Therapy).  Man did that fire up the chat rooms!

SNI: Your new venture, www.JiuJitsuMania.com/ is all about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. How did you get involved with it and do you still partake in traditional bodybuilding training?

Dr. Deters: I absolutely fell in love with BJJ in 2007 and train 3-4 times per week, depending on how much my body can handle, as at age 51, nagging injuries are a way of life these days. There are  many parallels between the people who are into bodybuilding and BJJ in terms of their level of dedication. My partner Joe Mullings and I, founded www.JiuJitsuMania.com/ as we saw the need for a media hub in BJJ and the need to really educate athletes on strength and conditioning, performance nutrition and supplementation as well as BJJ technique. We are bringing the same educational, programmatic approach I used at Muscle & Fitness to BJJ to help build a stronger athlete with better endurance and injury resistance. We are also opening up a whole new market for the nutritional supplement industry. I still, and will always, use resistance training as the central modality to enhance my performance on the mat. In BJJ we say “technique over strength” which is true. But I prefer technique and strength!

SNI: What advice would you give to someone who wants to work in the health/fitness/nutrition industry?

Dr. Deters: I have answered this question many times over in my career and I always seem to sober people up a bit when I ask them to really evaluate what they want to do and why and if they can make a strong business out of it. Passion is awesome and can overcome so many obstacles, but unless you’re independently wealthy, you gotta do what you gotta do. Try to combine something you like (or hopefully love if you are lucky) with something that is going to support yourself and or your family. I also suggest that people map things out long term – at 5 year intervals for the next 20 years. What path do you want to be on? What other paths could this lead to? How can you prepare your career to grow so that you can capitalize on opportunities that either come along or that you create? Picking a career, in my opinion, requires lots of research, thought and consultation with those in the field to make the best, and most satisfying, choice.

SNI: Who is the single most influential person in the field of fitness/nutrition?

Dr. Deters: Without question: Joe Weider. Not just because I worked for him for 15 years during the most explosive years in the industry, but because most people don’t truly realize that he created and drove a global fitness revolution. Going back into the 1940’s and 50’s, his publications  educated, literally, hundreds of millions of people worldwide about exercise and nutrition. His magazines were the platform that the fitness and nutritional industries exploded from. We published cutting edge research years before it was published in peer review and educated health care professionals to wake up and get with the program. So much of what we have and take for granted in these industries today, Joe Weider either built directly or indirectly fueled with his publishing platforms.

SNI: Bonus question:  If you could be a superhero, who would it be and why?

Dr. Deters: You’re gonna laugh at this one, and I’m not sure that most people would even classify him as a superhero, but Yoda from Star Wars. I love that dude – he represents goodness, is so peaceful, serene and wise, yet has mental and spiritual powers which give him physical capabilities that are mind-blowing. I would love that! BJJ has challenged me mentally and physically more than any other sport I have done – controlling your emotions and having mental calmness to make wise moves when you’re fighting all out against a guy who outweighs you by 50 pounds and is trying to snap your arm off or choke you out, is what mental discipline and toughness is all about. Yoda would be awesome on the mat or in the cage!

Dr. Tom Deters is recognized world-wide as a former editor in chief, publisher and executive vice president of the world’s largest health and fitness magazines Muscle & Fitness, Men’s Fitness, Flex and Muscle & Fitness HERs. He has written hundreds of articles on strength & conditioning and performance nutrition, given dozens of national TV and radio interviews and delivered seminars that have doctors, military Special Operations Groups and sports conditioning specialists across the globe. Dr. Deters also served as the director of education for the Muscle & Fitness Training Camp, which has attracted some of the world’s finest athletes. He developed the extensive course curriculum and he also hosted the comprehensive Muscle & Fitness Training DVD Series. He is currently CEO of a media group he co-founded in the area of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and mixed martial arts with over 25 websites, largest of which is www.jiujitsumania.com. His background as a college athlete, State Collegiate Powerlifting Champion and Silver Medal in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu National Championships and chiropractor uniquely qualify him as a “hands-on” expert in sports nutrition and peak athletic performance.