ST. LOUIS COUNTY 鈥 The CEO of 1st Phorm spoke out Tuesday night for the first time since this weekend's fallout over his brother's comments about female police officers.
Sal Frisella, in a prepared statement, said he and the fitness supplement company do not agree with or condone the comments made by his brother, Andy Frisella, on his podcast. He emphasized the podcast is not affiliated with 1st Phorm.
In that podcast, posted Thursday, Andy Frisella said women should not be cops and that men could 鈥渆nd their (expletive) life鈥 if the female officers weren鈥檛 armed with guns and badges.聽
"As his brother, I am deeply saddened by this situation," Sal Frisella wrote. "I also know Andrew鈥檚 longstanding track record. I am confident that these remarks do not reflect his 20 years of positive contributions to this city or our enduring relationship with law enforcement."
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The backlash over the comments this weekend was swift, even after Andy Frisella edited them out of the podcast and posted an apology.
Both St. Louis and St. Louis County police chiefs condemned Andy Frisella鈥檚 rant by Sunday and said they would sever all ties with his fitness companies and donations. Officers said they were boycotting the fitness and supplement company 鈥 some even threw away the products they had already purchased. And on Tuesday, Club Fitness said it had removed all 1st Phorm-branded products from its shelves.
Sal Frisella said they were working to repair their relationship with law enforcement, "both locally and nationally."
"We are working in unity with police departments to set an example of how a strong community can come together to overcome challenges," Sal Frisella wrote. "Personally, I believe in actions over words. You will see both myself and our organization taking concrete steps to rebuild trust and strengthen these vital relationships."
In a letter to St. Louis County police officers Tuesday, the police union's executive board said that while members condemned the comments about female officers, some officers "also expressed their concerns about severing ties with 1st Phorm/Supplement Superstore and their hundreds of supportive employees and partners over Andy鈥檚 personal comments on his podcast."
The union emphasized that they only ever called to sever ties with Andy Frisella himself, and asked for members' input on whether the union "should offer Andy the chance to engage with us in a positive way in the future." They said Sal Frisella has made a firm commitment to build back his relationship with the law enforcement community.聽
"We have met with stakeholders from those businesses who have expressed a strong desire to continue their relationship with our police family, independent of Andy," union leaders wrote in the letter. "It was made clear to us that Andy has not been the CEO of 1st Phorm since 2022. Sal Frisella is the current CEO of 1st Phorm and he personally made a firm commitment to build back an even stronger relationship with the law enforcement community."
In the 12-minute apology recording Andy Frisella posted on Saturday, he said he regretted the comments. He said he edited them out of the podcast not because of 鈥渢he heat鈥 he received but because he didn鈥檛 want people to think it was acceptable to talk about and behave that way toward police.
鈥淚鈥檓 embarrassed that I embarrassed my friends and my family and my business partners and especially my employees who work extra hard to do the best job they can,鈥 Frisella said, 鈥淭hey have nothing to do with what I say. And it鈥檚 just embarrassing, and it鈥檚 disappointing, and it hurts my heart that I鈥檝e let so many of you guys down.鈥
Frisella is a St. Louis native who co-founded Supplement Superstore and 1st Phorm nutritional supplements.
He also created the popular 鈥75 Hard鈥 fitness challenge and has founded six businesses that generate over $200 million in annual revenue, according to one of his websites. His Instagram account has more than 3.3 million followers, and his 鈥淩eal AF鈥 podcast also has millions of listeners.