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Consumer Warning: Driven Sports Craze Spiked with Designer Stimulant?

Brandon Hahn July 1, 2013 Supplement Articles
Consumer Warning: Driven Sports Craze Spiked with Designer Stimulant?

Is it true?  Well the jury is still out and there is evidence on both sides. In this article we breakdown the current facts.

Craze is an interesting name, right? When thinking about the word “craze” you think of people raving about something. They are so pumped to let people know its awesome benefits (and/or effects). There is almost a cult-like following that develops and word spreads like wildfire. The craze about Craze has spread. However, as the old saying goes, “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is”.

What is Craze?

Craze is a very popular pre-workout formula made by Driven Sports. According to the product write-up, its “special blend” of ingredients will have you pumping out heavier weight and more repetitions before you know it. CRAZE has been “carefully designed” based on scientific research within the field of sports performance enhancement. It is one slight addition to your daily routine that may make you so motivated, you just might not want to leave the gym. Very interesting statements.

What is the designer stimulant?

According to recent forensic lab analysis (and from several well-known figures in the supplement industry) the stimulant is known as ETH. Yes, ETH aka ETH-amphetamine. It may sound close to Meth (aka Meth-amphetamine) because the structure is actually very similar to Meth. Take a look at the 2 figures seen here:

The analog on the left is what has been showing up in lab results posted online from some Craze batches.  The image on the right is that of Methamphetamine.  Craze-y, right?  What’s the harm in putting a designer stimulant in a pre-workout product?  Well, beyond an ETHical standpoint, here’s some of the facts about ETH.

ETH Side Effects:

  • Insomnia
  • Depression
  • Irritability
  • Paranoia
  • Hallucination
  • Stroke
  • Myocardial infarction
  • Cardiac arrhythmia
  • Hyperthermia (in overdose)
  • Addiction

User feedback discussing their effects when using Craze (see threads linked below):

What are the facts?

Like any good case, the facts need to be laid out.  The facts (up to the current date of this article) are as follows:

  • Early February 2013 – Questions are raised over the sourcing of dendrobium such as  ”How could a natural extract illicit the type of effect people are seeing in the reviews?”  The feedback was not matching the ingredients which are comprised of every-day actives like creatine, TMG, citrulline, PEA’s and a small amount of caffeine.
  • Mid February 2013 – Swedish police make request, and the National Laboratory of Forensic Science (SKL) test Craze. Traces of this amphetamine analog are found within product.
  • Late February 2013 – Matt Cahill of Driven Sports issues statement refuting the National Laboratory’s results.
  • March 2013 – Craze is banned in Australia and all imports are seized.  Emails from AU retailers state -”Craze contains – N,α-diethylbenzeneethanamine which falls within Section 314.4(2)(d)(ii) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). A NSW Police Forensic Chemist has advise that this chemical is a structural analogue of Methamphetamine.  As such Craze powder is held by Customs and seized by the Australian Federal Police.”
  • Early June 2013 – Driven Sports posts lab results for batches of Craze that show negative results for the amphetamine analog. http://www.drivensports.com/20130614381/Blog/further-proof-that-crazer-does-not-contain-amphetamines
  • Late June 2013 – ThermoLife reports that Independent Forensic Lab test results show ETH are in various bottles of Driven Sports Craze (Seen here: http://www.thermolife.com/forum/post41052-451/).  All of these batches testing positive do not match the batch numbers in the previous results Driven Sports posted.

Lab Results

We’ve seen the current timeline of facts, the side effects, now here are the most recent lab results, http://www.thermolife.com/forum/post41052-451/.  As with all product testing, proper chain of custody is important to ensure the samples were not tampered with before the test.  ThermoLife placed the orders from an online retailer and had the sealed bottles sent directly from the retailer to the testing laboratory.   As you can see from the testing results, the amount of ETH in each sample is 8.5mg per gram.

NEW UPDATES to this developing story seen here (07-17-13):

http://www.robrichesfitness.com/did-rob-riches-fail-a-drug-test/

NEW UPDATES to this developing story seen here (07-01-13):

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f1d1ac0113de444f64f064618&id=ad2ef5852e

For further information on these developments, please check out the following references used to write this article:

  1. http://patrickarnoldblog.com/craziness-over-craze/
  2. http://patrickarnoldblog.com/more-craziness-over-craze/
  3. http://www.thermolife.com/forum/t2446-14/
  4. http://nutraingredients.com/Industry/UPDATE-Swedish-agency-detects-legal-amphetamine-like-compounds-in-sports-supplements-not-in-authentic-Craze-says-manufacturer#.Uc2xgPmG3pV
  5. http://www.drivensports.com/20130614381/Blog/further-proof-that-crazer-does-not-contain-amphetamines

Information! Stay tuned to this article for more developments as they happen. 

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About The Author

Brandon has been in the fitness industry for over seven years and has trained over 1,000 clients. He has competed in several bodybuilding competitions and continues to improve his physique with hardwork and dedication. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science, Brandon has the knowledge and skills to get you on the fast track to fitness.

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