The Faces Behind BSc: Meet Greg and Tatiana
What are your roles at Body Science?
Greg: I’m the founder of Body Science, and I hold one of two director roles on the board. I mainly look after the new product development (NPD) and creative marketing funnels of the business, because the two traditionally work hand-in-hand. I’ve got a great team, but I love what I do so I’m a hands-on director. I’ve always had complete faith in Tatiana, I’ll never be anywhere near as technical as she is. My role is probably more about turning her technical into something that someone can consume.
Tatiana: I am Head of the Nutrition Department, the Regulatory Affairs Officer and the New Product Development Executive.
What are the qualifications that lead you to where you are now?
Greg: I’ve got a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Sociology. I’ve also got a Diploma of Fitness, which is the highest fitness qualification you can get in Australia. I did that mainly for knowledge as I don’t really work in the PT side of things. I’ve also done a Diploma of Nutrition, have certifications with the Complementary Healthcare Council of Australia, which was where I gained knowledge about nutritional and herbal supplements. Outside of that, I enjoy short course certificates in brand marketing, high impact selling, digital marketing and leadership studies.
Tatiana: I came from Brazil 12 years ago, so I started with 3 years of Nutrition and Dietetics back home. Then I moved to Australia and did a Bachelor of Public Health, majoring in Nutrition and Health Promotion. I moved onto a Masters of Nutrition and Dietetics, and just finished a Masters of Public Health and Epidemiology.
How do you use these qualifications and skills sets within Body Science?
Greg: In my uni days, I was actually doing a business degree and had a few credits left. I was working in marketing overseas, but when I came back I thought, you know what, I want to do something that’s more about people. I loved the marketing units I did, but I saw there were issues like race, sexuality, class and family that appealed more to me. Sociology meant scrutinising them from different sociological perspectives, and analysing how these theories have an impact on social life. I was really into what makes society tick. That’s really what Body Science has been about ever since — understanding people. We’re about asking, ‘how do the people who use our products want to use them?’ It’s about the consumer. They trust that we have the science part covered.
Tatiana: Obviously for the nutrition part, I have the background in nutrition and dietetics. I’ve been an athlete my whole life, competing and training at state, national and international levels. So I’ve got that knowledge to pass onto the sports nutrition side of things at Body Science. When you just do nutrition and dietetics it’s really based on the individual. With the addition of my public health degree, I have the skills to work with population research rather than just clinical articles, as well as the skills to talk to the general population through the company. My Masters in Public Health and Epidemiology mainly helps my work in regulatory affairs. So, looking at labels and making sure they are TGA approved and checked. I need to be working closely with government agency documents, and need to understand the rules and laws that go along with our products. So it’s a bit of a mix!
What is the motivation behind Body Science?
Greg: Back in 1999 when we started, it was very much a bodybuilding culture. If you were talking protein, you were talking bodybuilding. So, I sat down and thought — only a small percentage of people are really bodybuilders. Surely, there are more people looking to engage in training, track macros and set up their health for the future. We took the punt in 1999 to be more sports and fitness-based rather than purely bodybuilding, launching with the name BSc Physical & Mental Performance.
We were pioneering a lot of this change. I remember going into elite rugby league teams and explaining why they should be taking protein. Those were the ‘great game of footy guys, now let’s have a pie and a beer and a cigarette’ days. Back in those early days, a lot of the elite sporting figures didn’t believe in supplements. When we sponsored our first elite sporting team, the head trainer came to me and said, ‘I’ve done everything I possibly can but I don’t think we’re going to make the top 8, I’m looking for something to get us there’. So, two things happened. We got a shorts sponsorship, which was unheard of in our space at the time. There wasn’t a lot of branding on the uniforms outside major sponsors. The kit supplier was meant to send a white jersey with blue shorts and white socks, but they sent white shorts instead. For the first time in the history of the Roosters - one of the oldest clubs in the rugby league — they played in an all white kit with our branding on the shorts. And they won. So the questions started, ‘is Body Science the secret to success? Or just a good luck story?’ That’s how we started in the elite team sporting space.
Tatiana: Body Science was my first sponsor in Australia, when I was competing in triathlons for Brazil. They’ve been my sponsor for nearly 8 years now. I started by working for Body Science on the side, writing a few blogs in the nutrition space before I came along full time. Body Science has been with me all along, so I think I have a really big passion for the company and a really good friendship with Greg. For me it’s more than just working here — I’m really passionate about the business. I don’t think I’ll ever be detached from Body Science. So I would say that’s what drives me at work.
What is the Body Science team like if you could describe them in a nutshell?
Greg: Definitely driven and passionate. Our team loves what we do here and what we do outside of Body Science. Everybody here knows our vision — we help people feel great. That’s the foundation of what we’re all about, then we’re about the mental and physical performance side of things. I really do believe we try to create a Body Science family.
Tatiana: Chaotic! (Laughs) We deal with a lot of different groups — we deal with athletes, the general public, Instagram influencers — so the marketing role that’s attached to my role is something I have to get used to. It’s completely out of my comfort zone because I’ve always been a health science person. The team is very fast-paced and everyone in here has such important roles. Our art guy does an amazing job with the labels and website, our web girl — we couldn’t live without her. I’ve always been extremely independent, especially coming from sport, but I’ve realised I can’t do all those things on my own! It’s interesting to see things get super chaotic for two months and then to see all these new products, teams and events coming out of it. It’s cool to see that other side of chaos too.
What are some Interests outside of your industry? What’s life on the Gold Coast like?
Greg: I’ve made my life so that I’m not driven purely by work. We come to work and work hard, so that we can all be at home on time to be with the kids and family. We don’t run an overtime operation here, so those 9-5 hours are really focused. I catch up with a group of people everyday, we catch up, train or surf and have coffee. My friends, my wife and I love mountain biking too — every holiday has surfing, snowboarding, mountain biking or outdoor activities involved! My life is very active; we get up at 5:30am and the training or surfing starts. We finish that strategically around 6:45am, then have coffee until 7:30, then it's all about work. I have three coaches that keep me on track; one for training, one for stress & one that monitors my mental and physical leadership. I love work. It’s all about getting everyone together, sharing how we’re feeling and what we’re doing. We all get together and do charity events too, that’s what we’re all about. I love people and helping other people.
Tatiana: I think I’m the typical Brazilian on the Gold Coast! I used to compete in surfing, so I came for the surf and the study part of things. So I surf a bit! I’m still training high-level but I’ve slowed down on trying to compete because of a few injuries. I’ve got a PhD on the way so I think I just need to rest and get myself ready for it! I also work in remote Indigenous communities, that's a massive passion of mine. That’s one thing that Greg knew when he offered me the position, so every now and then I take a week or two off to go and do my work in remote communities. I think that’s my biggest passion outside of work.
For more from Greg and Tatiana, they answered a few questions about creatine and how it can benefit everyone, even people who don’t work out. You can read it here.
