ViSalus Sciences is more than a company; it is a community of people who are passionate about transforming their lives and the lives of the people they care about for the better. The very name ViSalus; stands for life, health and prosperity, the three areas of focus for a dedicated family of customers and distributors alike. By promoting the Body by Vi; 90-Day Challenge, this family is helping Americans achieve their weight loss, health and fitness goals every day.

The need for a solution to our national health crisis has never been greater. Consider these facts on the obesity epidemic, one that everybody from first lady Michelle Obama to renowned chef Jamie Oliver are running campaigns to combat: ABC News reports that at the current rate, more than 43 percent of Americans will be obese by 2019. That will cost us a staggering $344 billion in medical-related expenses. But let's be optimistic and assume that we continue to pack on the pounds at our current clip. Research by Kenneth Thorpe of Emory University shows that excess weight will cost the nation about $198 billion by 2018. Add the physical and health challenges that come with being overweight or out of shape, and there is no question that we are a nation in need of an answer.

Meeting the Challenge

The timing has never been better for us to take charge of our wellbeing, and ViSalus Sciences®is ready to lead the fight for better health. Its weapon of choice? The unique Body by Vi™ 90-Day Challenge. Since its launch in July 2009, the challenge has helped people lose an estimated 3 million pounds and has become the foundation for the continuous, record-breaking growth of ViSalus™.

The Body by Vi™ Challenge rewards people who take advantage of ViSalus™health products and support tools to transform their bodies. As a new-economy marketing strategy—as well as a health transformation tool—the challenge has been wildly successful. Already this year, ViSalus™ has seen their number of customers quadruple. Offering more than $100,000 a year in total prize value for the best transformation stories, there’s no wonder why!

For the company’s three founders, the skyrocketing success of the Body by Vi™ Challenge is especially rewarding because it is the epitome of what ViSalus™ is all about: The challenge reenergizes lives, fosters new relationships and creates new life experiences for the ViSalus shake community. It is also helping create remarkable health transformations for those using the products, while transforming the prosperity of those who promote the challenge.

Fate, Fitness and Finances

Founders Ryan Blair, Blake Mallen and Nick Sarnicola are star entrepreneurs. Before ViSalus™, Mallen and Sarnicola used their tremendous work ethic and passion for empowering others to become top distributors at a telecommunications-based network marketing company. As the changing industry landscape threatened to end that company, the pair acted quickly to create a solution that would ensure that they, and those they lead, would forever have a stable foundation. They had learned the hard way what not to do, and were ready to create something unique that would stand the test of time. “The world works in funny nowdays,” Mallen says. “When you do things with the right intention, they seem to work out. Given its humble beginnings, that seems to be the case for ViSalus. Our mission from Day One was to revolutionize an industry,” Mallen continues. “Everything we do is very original. We aren't a carbon copy of any other company. We don't even look at other MLMs [multi-level marketing firms] as our competition. We didn't build ViSalus shake based on where the industry had been; we built it based on where we thought it was going. We wanted authenticity, a new generation of thinking. It has been a long time since a newer company reached the billion-dollar-a-year mark, and we believe we can do is with real value, real mentorship and real results.” Almost as soon as the idea was created, doors began to open. Mallen and Sarnicola met Dr. Michael Seidman, a world-class physician whose lifetime of clinical and bench research had led to several novel products. Around the same time, they met a rising technology entrepreneur named Ryan Blair, who had recently exited his third company in what was then the largest sale of his career. He was spending his time focused on contribution, speaking at high schools and colleges about mentorship and entrepreneurship when Mallen and Sarnicola approached him with their vision for ViSalus™. Newly dedicated to improving his entrepreneurial spirit that he saw in his potential founders that gave him certainty that they could create something special together.

The Right Reasons
For now-CEO Blair, the mission was magnetic. He had struggled with being overweight his whole life and understood the impact that carrying too much weight had on health. He was working his way toward a healthy weight and away from the chronic back issues it had given him from an early age.

“To me, it made sense,” Blair recalls. “If I could apply my entrepreneurial expertise toward helping people achieve ultimate health, it would be a very fulfilling venture to be involved with, regardless of how successful the company was. He adds, It wasn't about money. It was about helping people get healthy and educating them about entrepreneurship.

I learned how to build a big company at an early age. This allowed me to mentor and teach others the lessons I had learned. It was very natural for me.” Blair’s entrepreneurial expertise meshed perfectly with Mallen's modern marketing mentality and Sarnicola's passion for business building. It was an unstoppable partnership.

The three founders became a tireless, not-yet-30-year-old band of brothers, eager to build a solid foundation from the bottom up. From one home presentation after another, they were passionate about teaching others, helping people improve their health and their finances, and building a business that mattered. They knew that the health of a nation was at stake in more ways than one.

Don't Sell;the Visalus Challenge!

The company grew steadily during its first four years, thanks to a stable foundation of dedicated leaders, but an exciting new chapter began in July of 2009 with the launch of the Body by Vi Challenge. ViSalus customers and distributors alike join a 90-day health challenge, which can be tailored to fit any goal, from weight loss to better overall fitness. Building a business with ViSalus™ is as simple as promoting the challenge. Invite people to join the challenge with you, and open the door to a variety of great rewards. Combine the ability of a new challenge promoter to earn rewards and get their product for free with a lucrative and balanced compensation plan, and you have an all-around winning game plan in a difficult economy. “We recognized that with less disposable income, many people weren’t taking care of their health. They couldn’t afford to,” says Senior Vice President of Marketing Audrey Sommerfeld. ViSalus™ developed a way for their customers and promoters to accomplish several remarkable things at the same time.

First, they invented a “challenge” model that takes the sell out of selling and lets promoters work toward their own fitness goals for free.
Second, they made it fun and extremely simple. Third, they created a community, both within their closest contacts and among promoters overall. And finally,
they developed an ingenious compensation plan that allowed committed promoters to earn one of the most generous incomes in the industry, complete with luxury
vehicles and vacations.

Healthy Earnings

ViSalus™ has strived to make many of these rewards available for those promoters who want to have success right out of the gates. Go-getters who reach the position of Director during their first month with ViSalus™ are referred to as “Rising Stars.” In addition to the companywide recognition that comes with being a Rising Star, the achievement unlocks higher weekly earning potential for the rest of their ViSalus career. Continue along this path to Regional Director to qualify for the ViSalus Bimmer Club and be eligible for a $600 per month lifetime BMW Car Bonus.

“We are proud to offer a car bonus at the lowest rank of any competitor we’ve looked at,” Blair says. Nearly 2,000 promoters have already qualified for a BMW, creating “Bimmer Fever” and making the parking lots of every ViSalus™ event across the country look like luxury car dealerships. Each founder travels extensively to help support challenge promoters across the country. They have all taken on the spirit of the challenge as well, achieving intense personal fitness goals, ranging from competing in triathlons to new fitness and weight-lifting achievements.

For more information on how to join Visalus or join a Visalus Challenge, click on contact us, or the join Visalus button above.