Twins Jeff and Ryan Gardner have a relentless drive to spot opportunity and outwork everyone around them. Now, that drive didn’t include building a supplement empire, but it certainly got them there.

Jeff and Ryan are the co-founders of Bucked Up, one of Utah’s most recognizable supplement and energy drink brands.

But it didn’t used to be that way. So how did it all start?

Long before founding Bucked Up, the twin brothers from Clearfield, Utah, were trying to make it in internet marketing. This was long before most people knew what the internet even was. 

They didn’t have investors, industry connections, or a roadmap. But what they did have was each other.

With their instincts for timing and a willingness to figure it out along the way, they jumped into the business world together.

Nearly a decade later, Bucked Up is the number one bestselling pre-workout supplement in the country, available in over 100,000 stores worldwide. They are currently on pace to generate $300 million in revenue this year.

But the story of how they got there is anything but ordinary.

Trading Clicks for Supplements

Jeff and Ryan’s entrepreneurial journey started in 1998. Fresh off their LDS missions, the brothers found themselves in an internet lead generation at a time when most businesses had never heard of email lists or banner ads.

Looking back on that time, Jeff said, “Somebody brought in some internet leads and we were like, ‘What’s the internet?'”

But they figured it out fast. Within a few years, they were generating leads for dozens of businesses and turning real profit. 

But they grew tired of building other people’s businesses and decided it was time to build their own. 

Their first product was an L-arginine supplement, which is used to help with high blood pressure among other symptoms. Within a few weeks, Jeff and Ryan went from $600 a day in sales to over $3,500 a day.

Then came the moment that changed everything.

The Domain Name That Launched a Brand

In 2013, a Sports Illustrated article reported that deer antler spray (a supplement used to enhance athletic abilities) had been banned in Major League Baseball. Most people skimmed past it and moved on. 

But Jeff and Ryan saw a window.

“We went to GoDaddy, and [the domain] was available for $6.99,” Ryan said. “And we bought it.”

They sourced a manufacturer, produced a minimum order of 3,500 bottles, and waited. Soon, sales trickled in at around ten bottles a day. 

Then Super Bowl media week arrived. A reporter confronted Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis at a press conference, claiming he had used deer antler spray to recover from a torn tricep. Lewis denied it, but the damage was done.

Because of this news, Jeff and Ryan started receiving hundreds of orders. They raised the price from $39 to $99 trying to slow demand, but they sold out anyway. 

A day later, GNC called, asking them how fast they could fulfill 30,000 bottles.

Ryan quickly called their manufacturer and said, ‘I need 50,000 as fast as you can make them. He goes, ‘I’ll have them to you in three weeks.'”

With that, the deer antler spray business was off and running.

But this was just the start of something that pointed them toward their next big idea.

Building a #1 Pre-Workout Brand

After attending fitness expos to sell deer antler spray, Jeff and Ryan kept noticing the same thing: every booth was pushing a pre-workout supplement. 

They weren’t familiar with those. They’d never tried one.

So they started sampling from the booths. Their verdict? Terrible taste, itchy skin, and no real explanation of what was actually in the product. 

Instead of seeing a bad product, they saw a gap. If people loved this product, they would probably love it even more if it tasted better.

“We said we just need to come out with the best tasting and best working [product] and tell everybody what’s in it,” Jeff said.

So, they brought in a consultant, formulated a product, and promptly drank three servings on their first day, accidentally consuming close to 1,000 milligrams of caffeine. 

Once they recovered, they handed it to a friend who worked in the supplement industry. He came back saying they had the best-tasting and best-working pre-workout he had ever taken. He called it a home run.

With a product solidified, they just needed a name. Sticking with their deer theme, an ambassador in their growing network suggested “Bucked Up.” 

They went to GoDaddy to look up the domain, and it was $1,500. After spending $25,000 on larginine.com, it felt like a bargain to them.

Not everyone was immediately sold on the name. Their parents weren’t fans, and some people questioned whether it was the right fit for a growing company.

Over time, though, the name became one of the brand’s greatest assets. Today, Bucked Up is one of the most recognizable brands to come out of Utah, proving that what feels unconventional at first can become a defining part of a company’s identity.

More Than a Supplement Company

Now, Bucked Up continues to grow and scale, defying the odds that Jeff and Ryan ever thought were possible for their small side business.

But Bucked Up’s growth hasn’t been limited to the shelves of GNC and Vitamin Shoppe. Since launching their energy drink line in 2021, the company sold 75 million cans last year and expects to surpass 100 million this year. 

Their apparel line (born from a strategy of giving away a free T-shirt with every two-unit purchase) now generates eight to nine million dollars annually.

Today, they now operate in 31 countries, with particularly strong momentum in Canada, Australia, and newly approved markets in Mexico and the UK.

But this growth isn’t the end of the line for Jeff and Ryan. They continue to grow and have exciting things in store for their business.

Lessons for Entrepreneurs

Looking back on nearly a decade of building Bucked Up, Jeff and Ryan have shared what they’d do differently, and what made the biggest difference to them.

  • Hire Experienced People Earlier: The brothers passed on a former Dr. Pepper CEO who could have built their distribution network years sooner. Once they hired him, he helped them go from four million energy drinks sold to over one hundred million annually.
  • Don’t Try to Wear Every Hat: Jeff and Ryan tried to run every department on their own. As soon as they hired a CFO, they discovered they didn’t need outside investment at all.
  • Stay Ahead of the Curve: The twins have always tried to stay on top of things, from internet marketing in 1998 to early ChatGPT adoption across their team today.
  • Be Willing to Scrap What Isn’t Right: When 200,000 energy drink cans came back with a bitter aftertaste, Ryan pulled them all. He knew they wanted to sell good products, and it was worth doing properly.
  • Let the Brand Breathe. The Bucked Up logo hasn’t changed since 2016. The brand’s inclusivity has helped them build an army of customers instead of chasing down fitness influencers.

Looking Ahead

After ten years of building, Jeff and Ryan are preparing to step back from the day-to-day and focus on what they do best: finding the next opportunity.

At a glance, they are looking at AI consulting, a stem cell company investment, and a focus on founder-led events and brand partnerships. Their goal is to stay in front of customers and out of meeting rooms, which they’ve grown to dread.

Talking about the future, Ryan said, “We want to be really involved in AI and help companies’ jobs become that much more efficient.”

The foundation they’ve built is ready to run without them in the details. And for two competitive twins, learning to let go might just be the hardest hustle yet.

“We did learn how to work hard,” Jeff said, “and that’s helped us get 80, 90% of the way.”

And that other 10 to 20%? They’re already working on it.

Want the full story behind Bucked Up?

Listen to the complete MountainWest Capital Network Podcast episode, where Jake and Ryan Gardner share the full story behind Bucked Up.

[Listen to the full Bucked Up episode here →]

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/working-through-the-hustle-behind-the-story-of/id1818372923?i=1000775183625 


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5FQLOpePB6u8v5u9HpXTfj?si=p-eMABjdTxSxUuLyc-ZEOw 

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