Episode #210 of the PricePlow Podcast lands live from the expo floor of the Arnold Sports Festival 2026 in Columbus, Ohio, with three back-to-back conversations that cover 40-plus years of supplement history, a landmark creatine collab, and a glimpse at where the whole category is headed next.

Spencer and Ben sit down first with Evan Centopani, a 20-year Animal athlete and competitive bodybuilder who now runs a financial planning practice in New Jersey. Next up is Easton Drake, just 90 days into his role as Animal’s Athlete Manager after stints at Bodybuilding.com (BBCOM) and Applied Nutrition.

The third conversation brings back Jason Budsock, an OG in Animal’s brand and marketing history who has been on the podcast before. The through-line across all three: the Smarties creatine chew collaboration (Animal’s first-ever licensed flavor collab and the first of its kind in a chewable creatine tablet), the newly signed athlete Billy Love, and how creatine is pulling in audiences far beyond the meathead demographic — including women, the elderly, and yes, even kids.

Subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast on your favorite platform and sign up for Animal news alerts on PricePlow before diving in.

https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/animal-evan-centopani-210

Video: Animal at Arnold 2026 with Evan Centopani, Easton Drake, and Jason Budsock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVpezxJhxik

Detailed Show Notes: Animal at Arnold 2026 with Evan Centopani, Easton Drake, and Jason Budsock

• (0:00) – Introductions: Evan’s 20 Years at the Arnold
• (2:45) – Animal as a Legacy Brand
• (5:00) – The Steak, Not the Sizzle
• (7:00) – Brian Boss, Iconic Imagery, and the First Lifestyle Brand
• (14:00) – Financial Planning and the Creator Economy
• (20:45) – Meet Easton Drake: 90 Days at Animal
• (24:00) – Announcing Billy Love as Animal’s Newest Athlete
• (27:45) – Character Over Credentials
• (32:30) – Animal’s Strategic Content Philosophy
• (36:15) – Welcome Back, Jason Budsock
• (37:30) – Animal x Smarties: Two Industry Firsts
• (40:00) – Chews vs. Gummies and the Smarties Flavor Line
• (44:00) – Creatine’s Booming New Demographics

Where to Follow and Learn More

Connect with Evan Centopani, Easton Drake, Jason Budsock, and Animal

Evan Centopani

• Evan Centopani on YouTube – educational content, basement training, kitchen meal breakdowns
• Evan Centopani on Instagram
• Easton Drake on LinkedIn
• Jason Budsock on LinkedIn
• Animal Website
• Instagram: @animalpak
• Animal on PricePlow â sign up for news and price alerts

Resources Mentioned

• The CAGE Turns 20: Animal at the 2025 Arnold
• …

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Most supplement users have owned a shaker bottle, but very few have thought much about what separates a good one from a bad one. Episode #209 of the PricePlow Podcast changes that.

Recorded live at the 2026 Arnold Sports Festival, Ben Kane and Spencer Lynn sit down with Darren Thompson, co-founder of PerfectShaker. This episode pulls back the curtain on one of the supplement industry’s most overlooked categories.

Darren and business partner Mark started PerfectShaker in 2009, and over 15-plus years have built it into a full-service custom shaker brand used by Bucked Up, Redcon1, and hundreds of others. From injection molding in China, Hungary, and the USA to DC and Marvel licensing deals, to laser-etched stainless steel and a forthcoming aluminum shaker built for the RTD era, this conversation goes places most supplement media doesn’t.

The episode also covers trade show drayage, COVID survival, the Action Rod patent, and why a shaker bottle with your name on it psychologically hits differently than one without.

Subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast on your favorite platform and sign up for Perfect Shaker news alerts on PricePlow before diving in.

https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/darren-thompson-perfectshaker-209

Video: Inside PerfectShaker – Supply Chains, Superheroes, and Custom Shaker Innovation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwsmQW-8cnQ

Detailed Show Notes: Darren Thompson of PerfectShaker at the 2026 Arnold Sports Festival

• (0:00) – Introductions
• (7:15) – The PerfectShaker Origin Story
• (9:00) – Licensing Superheroes: A Six-Figure Bet on DC and Marvel
• (10:45) – The Action Rod and Customer-Led Innovation
• (12:30) – Injection Molding 101: How Shaker Bottles Are Made
• (16:00) – Quality, Durability, and Owning Mistakes
• (17:30) – Printing Methods and Color Science
• (19:30) – Manufacturing Locations: China, the USA, and Hungary
• (22:00) – Sustainability: Ocean Plastic and Material Innovation
• (24:30) – Trade Show Hustle and the Drayage Racket
• (27:00) – COVID, Bucked Up, and Small Business Survival
• (32:45) – Custom Metal Shakers and the PricePlow Partnership
• (35:00) – Laser Etching, Powder Coating, and Water Dipping
• (37:00) – Personalization at Scale
• (39:30) – All-In on Stainless Steel: MOQs, Risk, and Pre-Selling
• (41:00) – Breakthrough Moments and Why the Industry Matters
• (45:30) – Sports and Entertainment Licensing
• (49:00) – The PricePlow Origin Story and Bevlab
• (57:30) – Creating Content and Handling Online Criticism
• (1:01:30) – What’s Next: Aluminum Shakers and the RTD Convergence
• (1:04:15) – The $1.2B Shaker Bottle Market and the RTD Future
• (1:07:30) – Closing Thoughts

Where to Follow and Learn More

Connect with Darren Thompson and PerfectShaker

• LinkedIn: Darren Thompson
• Instagram: @PerfectShaker
• LinkedIn: PerfectShaker
• …

Read more on the PricePlow Blog

What does it take to build one of the supplement industry’s most flavor-forward protein brands from scratch? In Episode #208 of the PricePlow Podcast, Ben headed up to Long Island, New York, for an in-person visit at Musclesport HQ with founder and CEO Jason Mancuso, EVP and CMO Robert Oberholzer, and Kate Christensen, who handles everything from flavor development to logistics to customer service. Together, they trace Jason’s path from getting fired at McDonald’s in 1993 to managing GNC stores at 18 to running his own manufacturing plant, ultimately building a protein brand that has become a retail floor staple.

The conversation digs into how Lean Whey evolved from a side project into the core of Musclesport’s identity, why Jason bet big on dessert-inspired flavors and cereal-style inclusions before anyone else in the industry, and what it really takes to launch a new flavor: 6 months of planning, tight supply-chain relationships, and a small team that does everything in-house. They also cover the brand’s evolution from a strict brick-and-mortar-only model into a balanced omnichannel business — and why the community of ambassadors Kate manages is one of the most underrated growth engines behind the brand.

Subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast on your favorite platform and sign up for Musclesport news alerts on PricePlow so you don’t miss what’s coming next.

https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/musclesport-jason-mancuso-208

Video: Jason Mancuso and the Musclesport Team on Lean Whey, Flavor Innovation, and Building a Brand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaovuO8ra6Q

Detailed Show Notes: Jason Mancuso, Kate Christensen, and Robert Oberholzer of Musclesport

• (0:00) – Introductions
• (3:00) – Grinding to Build the Brand
• (7:00) – Kate and Rob Join the Team
• (11:00) – From Distribution Model to Omnichannel Brand
• (19:00) – Rob’s Background and the D2C Push
• (24:00) – Content, Community, and Why the Brand Feels Real
• (30:30) – How Lean Whey Got Cereal Flavors First
• (34:30) – Lean Whey Becomes the Core of the Business
• (38:30) – Protein’s Rise and Retail Strategy
• (41:15) – CreaM’D Rice: Applying the Lean Whey Playbook
• (45:00) – Building the Community Flywheel
• (50:00) – Authenticity, AI, and the Value of Being Imperfect
• (54:30) – Formula Philosophy and Simplification
• (57:00) – Pre-Workout Creativity, Transparency, and Where Things Are Headed
• (1:01:30) – Retail Exclusives, the Flavor Vault, and Coming Launches

Where to Follow and Learn More

Connect with Jason, Kate, and Robert

• Jason Mancuso on LinkedIn
• Robert Oberholzer on LinkedIn
• Kate Christensen on LinkedIn
• Musclesport on Instagram: @musclesportusa
• Musclesport on PricePlow – Sign up for news and launch alerts

Resources Mentioned

• …

Read more on the PricePlow Blog