Magnum El Presidente Markus Kaulius

The year is 1994. A scrawny grade eleven student named Markus Kaulius sits shaking in a Ford Tempo in a McDonald’s parking lot. He is shaking because eight of the meanest guys from his high school have just surrounded the car. The group has threatened to beat him many times and several are known to carry knives. At 6-foot-four and 120 pounds, Kaulius knows he has no hope of defending himself in a fight. Through the windshield of the car, one of the toughs locks eyes with him, beckons to him to get out of the car.

Fast forward to 2014: Kaulius is a strapping 35-year-old alpha male whose shirt sleeves look like they are ready to split from the strain of his bulging biceps, and whose bulk and confident smile causes heads – male and female – to whip around wherever he goes. He also happens to be the CEO of his own supplement company, Magnum Nutraceuticals Inc.

You might be wondering, what happened in those twenty years?

Kaulius chuckles when asked this.

Seated at his desk at Magnum’s Vancouver area office, Kaulius shakes his head as he recalls his transformation from beanpole to muscleman.

“I was born with terrible genetics. My body wants to be skinny. I had to work harder than everyone else, put in hours and hours in the gym when some of my friends could get away with a lot less,” he says.

Strangely, it was a car accident when he was 15 that introduced Kaulius to the gym – the insurance payouts for his rehabilitation included a personal trainer. The experience showed Kaulius both how weak his body was, and that he could change it if he was willing to work.

But it was an uphill battle.

Kaulius knew that he needed supplements: Protein powder, creatine. But when sampled what was on the market in the early 90s, he was disappointed by products that gave him no results or gave him unwanted results – like gas.

Five years later, Kaulius was fed up enough to start developing his own bodybuilding supplements.

“At the time I was studying business administration in university. Basically, I had to teach myself the basics of sports nutrition,” he recalls.

What he learned in these self-guided studies didn’t surprise him: many of the products then on the market used subpar ingredients and fillers that impede performance. After that, he found a lab willing to make the formulas he designed, using quality ingredients.

The results took his breath away.

“I noticed the difference fast. Increased strength. Fuller muscles.”

Friends noticed, too. Soon Kaulius was selling to buddies, and then their buddies, storing product in the bedroom of his duplex, his pager close by at all times.

“I sort of felt like a drug dealer,” he recalls.

In 2003, Kaulius opened three supplement stores under the name Powerhouse, but quickly decided retail wasn’t the life for him. What he was really passionate about creating – and what was missing from the supplement scene – was a brand of supplements that used high-quality ingredients and labelled them honestly. In 2005, Magnum Nutraceuticals Inc. was born.

Magnum is now in 48 countries, recently adding Brazil, Egypt and South Africa to its list of distributors. In December, the company moved to a larger facility in order to keep pace with demand.

Kaulius says he created Magnum partly as a response to the prevalence of steroids in gyms across North America. He shakes his head as he lists off side effects such as impotence, infertility and male breast growth that can result from steroid use.

“I worry about young guys in high school who want to get big who try steroids because their friends are doing them. They don’t realize the devastating impact it’s going to have on their health. I want them to know that there are supplements that will help their body rather than harm it and that they can get big without steroids.”

He attributes the company’s fast growth in part to Magnum’s sponsored athletes, including UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and former American Gladiator Mike O’Hearn.

“Our athletes are a huge part of our success, no question. They are out there talking about Magnum day and night and people are listening. They’re living the healthy lifestyle that we’re trying to promote. It’s also been fun for me, personally, to become friends with these guys I admire.”

Kaulius is also passionate about his Christian faith, something he shares with anyone willing to listen. Although he was raised in the Catholic church, it wasn’t until he was in his early 20s that he developed a personal relationship with Jesus.

“I know it isn’t like this for everyone, but after that it really felt like all the pieces of my life fell into place. I met my wife, I became close with her family, especially her dad, something I never had growing up, and I started Magnum.

“Everyday I thank God that I get to do something that I love, that I’m excited about and that helps people.”

Kaulius also said he feels blessed that he can fit his gruelling workouts into his busy days as a CEO, since Magnum’s headquarters has a full gym on premises. (A typical day sees Kaulius doing an hour of cardio in the morning and an hour of weight training later in the day.)

A constant challenge for Kaulius is finding readily available fuel for all these workouts. And that is how he sees food: as fuel. Perhaps it’s the only way to wrap one’s head around eating three to four meals a day of chicken, yams and broccoli. (Tip: jars of yam baby food do quite nicely in a pinch.) Breakfast, by the way, is oatmeal mixed with Magnum’s protein powder, Quattro.

“I’m so used to eating this way, it’s not even a question of discipline any more. It’s more about convenience. I wish there was a fast food restaurant that served decent healthy food, especially carbs, that bodybuilders actually could eat,” Kaulius said.

It’s worth noting that Kaulius is a bit of a goofball. Evidence: the Mexican wrestling mask he keeps in his office, which gave rise to his alter ego, El Presidente. Originally created for the entertainment of Magnum employees, El Presidente has become Magnum’s unofficial mascot. (At last count El Presidente’s Facebook page had more than 7,000 friends).

So what happened in the McDonald’s parking lot that day back in 1994?

“My friends and I locked the doors and drove away. I didn’t feel like dying that day. I think I knew God had bigger things in store for me.”

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