After years of different owners and forum members chatting about the future, the good news is that BBCOM is now in the care of CEO Sharon Leite, who is a proven “Transformational Leader” of health and sports nutrition companies like The Vitamin Shoppe.
I recently had a conversation with Sharon to learn about the plans for BBCOM’S future success. After our conversation, the main takeaway is that Sharon gets what Bodybuilding.com is about.
Sharon is an avid health enthusiast and health business leader who is taking the time to understand what the BBCOM community is looking for to achieve their health and fitness goals when visiting their social channels, website, and app.
“As I think of where we are in a post COVID world, the importance of one's health and physical fitness is even that much more important, especially with people living longer,” Sharon explains.
“Our athletes and coaches sit at the very top of the fitness expert tower, and the halo effect from these experts who understand the best approaches for building muscle, eating right, maintaining motivation and selecting the products that work best is something the Bodybuilding.com community can continue to benefit from,” Leite continued.
Some of Team Leite’s top business transformational goals include a focus on:
Being the premier source of expertise in the health, fitness, sports nutrition, and movement industry, while offering innovative quality nutrition products.
Preserving Bodybuilding.com’s heritage while evolving to meet modern fitness-minded consumer needs.
Providing content, community, and coaching, which will be central to the transformation strategy for Bodybuilding.com’s growth success.
Similar to benefiting from the expertise of top bodybuilders to achieve personal goals, Bodybuiding.com will benefit from top experts’ business building successes. For example, Sharon has proven experience with health and wellness companies, including serving as CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe where she led a successful turnaround, delivering the best performance in the company’s history. Sharon shared with me that during her leadership years with The Vitamin Shoppe, she was always interested in purchasing Bodybuilding.com because she admired the community and volumes of high-quality nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle information the site contained. Her perseverance is impressive, and now she has the chance to pursue this opportunity.
Sharon Hires Industry Veteran, Steve Marada
Steve Marada joined the BBCOM transformation team in July to serve as Head of Product Development & Merchandising. Sharon explains, “Steve Marada, who played a key role in developing The Vitamin Shoppe’s nutritional products, has many years of experience working in the industry, including executive roles at Maximum Human Performance, Insight Nutrition, and Genceutic Naturals. Steve is a motivational leader with a history of successfully driving the development and execution plans to rejuvenate and propel sports nutrition / nutraceutical brands.
"I'm thrilled to join Bodybuilding.com, where the most educated and dedicated athletes come to shop, learn, and elevate their performance. Our members are the best of the best—the athletes —who demand cutting-edge content from innovative ingredients, advanced training techniques, and nutrition strategies. We know our community deserves nothing less than excellence, which is why we're committed to offering only the highest-quality brands. Brands that we believe in. Our Signature Series reflects this commitment, delivering best-in-class, scientifically advanced products that push the boundaries of what’s possible in sports nutrition."
Sharon Meets with BBCOM Founder Ryan DeLuca
You may remember that Sharon appeared on Undercover Boss when working as CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe to get on the frontlines to learn what is working best, what is not working, and what needed to be done for success. So, within days of being named CEO, Sharon took a trip to Boise, Idaho, to meet many of the BBCOM team members who still reside there. It was important to her to start the process of learning the strengths, weaknesses, and needs directly from her employees. Sharon also mentioned meeting with BBCOM’s founder, Ryan DeLuca.
“When I was in Boise, I met with Ryan for the first time. Ryan shared with me about how, as a teenager, he wanted to build a strong muscular body, which was his motivation to start Bodybuilding.com. He was a trailblazer in the industry, creating a place where fitness- minded people could visit, on the relatively new 1990’s internet, sharing tips, publishing information, building a community in the forum, offering support, and obtaining access to top-quality nutrition products. I think Ryan’s story and the heritage of the Brand is important for its future success. I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet Ryan and get to know him a little bit and look forward to his guidance as we build the brand’s future.”
BBCOM’s Future Success with the Past in Mind
In December 2004, after my first visit to Boise, I wrote the article “The Bodybuilding.com Headquarters: Behind the Scenes,” and my impression still holds true today:
“On my flight back to New Jersey, the few days I spent touring Bodybuilding.com started to settle in. I realized that I was just in the presence of greatness . . . a kind of greatness that is rarely seen in business today; complete dedication to doing everything that is best for the customer.
I think you will find it satisfying to know that the people at Bodybuilding.com are hard at work every day finding new ways to bring you top-quality products at the lowest prices and provide you with the best possible customer service in the world.
So, when you place an order with Bodybuilding.com you are making an investment in your future success to ensure availability to top-quality products, at low, low prices, and have access to a library of top-quality fitness and nutrition information.”
Sharon and her transformation team realize the greatness and strength of Bodybuilding.com comes from the community, with future growth plans based on this key pillar of business-building success.
Sharon went on to say, “As we forge the path for BBCOM’s future, we are firm believers in the power of action and will rebuild the business and community always in the pursuit of excellence. Bodybuilding.com was a pioneer in the industry and a force for good to help others with their individual fitness, health, and self-improvement goals, and we plan to bring it back to its rightful place in the industry.”
End note: Include your comments of support and input about Bodybuilding.com’s exciting new era!