The Personal Side of Performance

By Mike Fogarty, First Endurance Founder

Introduction

There’s a story behind every product in the First Endurance system.

Typically those stories are very dry and clinical: a pile of research, some clinical studies, and a clear roadmap to an endurance-enhancing formula. For HALO, the story is more personal. I was basically the formula’s first guinea pig, and I’m sharing my story now to explain why we decided to invest in the R&D process that ultimately resulted in the little orange capsules. We wouldn’t have made it if I hadn’t experienced its effects firsthand.

The difference a day makes

My life changed one morning eight years ago when, while driving, I was hit by an impaired driver. I was stopped at a red light when the woman slammed into me with such force that not only was my car completely totaled, the car in front of mine – which was slammed into the car in front of them – was also beyond repair.

Before that morning, I was in good shape. I took care of myself. I rode 10-15 hours/week and raced all the time. I didn’t have any health problems, and I felt strong. Things were good. Since then, I’ve been dealing with the aftermath for eight years.

Hopeless and helpless

At first, I thought my pelvis was broken. That would have been a better scenario. Two different MRIs revealed I had a bulged disc between the L4 and L5 vertebrae and was severely concussed.

It took more than a year of regular physical therapy, constant chiropractic appointments (usually twice a week), and a lot of steroids and other nasty medications just to manage the pain for a 50 minute ride. It wasn’t comfortable, but it wasn’t debilitation; however, after 50 minutes, it was pure torture.

Spending three to four hours a week, week after week, driving to appointments, waiting in offices, doing PT, and getting adjustments got old fast. Besides that, things weren’t improving. I tried multiple epidural cortisone shots and sought out alternative treatments. They didn’t do anything. Not even temporary relief. I was hopeless, mostly because every treatment I was given seemed helpless to address the problem.

The worst part wasn’t that I couldn’t race anymore. The worst part was that I couldn’t even go out for a ride, which I loved doing more than anything. I thought my riding days were finished – all because I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Enter HALO

That’s when Dr. Bucci suggested a unique curcumin combination. I figured since the epidural cortisone shots and pain medication didn’t help this wouldn’t help, but I had nothing to lose. After a couple of days, I was riding past my usual turnaround spot; after a few weeks, I was riding for a few hours.

A year after I started taking HALO, my back problems were still improving, getting more and more manageable. I even did a couple of hard 80 and 100 mile races this year, one of which had 10,000 feet of climbing. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do that again.

The benefits were so good, we decided to develop a formula that Dr. Bucci’s been tinkering with for years, something that’s even more effective. We took a year testing different prototypes and different delivery systems with our athletes, and what we came up with is HALO – something so special we patented it.

Conclusion

I’ve gotta be honest with you, inserting myself into the conversation about HALO like this makes me uncomfortable. I’ve never been a spotlight guy, and I probably wouldn’t be writing this if I hadn’t been bullied into it by the rest of the FE team. But since I’m here, I may as well confirm that the only reason we made HALO was because I experienced for myself what an even less effective version of the formula could do.

We wouldn’t have made HALO if it hadn’t completely changed the way I ride my bike. But it did.