Esports is largely overlooked as a place to find athletes, but any hardcore gamer will tell you that there’s a lot of strain involved. Competitive gaming is intense and hard on your body, in addition to your mind! Wouldn’t it be great if we had some form of supplement that was made for eSports athletes that targets our needs just as well as other branded supplements target the needs of, say, an Olympic swimmer? Enter Vitually Perfect Nutrition.
VPN was founded specifically for that purpose — to create a product that can help gamers with their reaction time and vision during that most dire of moments. Remember, gamers; lag kills. It’s not just bandwidth you need to worry about, but your own reaction time in the game. If you’re tired or stressed, that will show in your performance. VPN hopes to prevent that issue with their new gummy vitamins.
Mega-Bytes are a pectin-based, vegan, Kosher, gluten free gummy vitamin option that uses proven, effective ingredients like Alpha-GPC, a brain nutrient, and Lutein, which reduced the eye strain caused by long nights in League of Legends.
They’re available in several fruity flavors that are, honestly, crazy delicious.
We ran into them while at Los Angeles Comic Con, and while I don’t normally like Blood Orange, that flavor was amazing. While at the convention, we also connected with co-founder Anthony Tyre, and asked him a couple questions:
Monica Scott: What inspired you to cater athletic vitamins to the gaming crowd?
- Anthony Tyre: My inspiration came from my own passion for gaming and traditional sports. I knew that slowly but surely esports would evolve into the industry it is today. With that comes the realization that esports and traditional sports aren’t differentiated by much. I actually wrote my thesis for my Masters Degree on whether or not esports professionals should be considered athletes and the research and interviews I conducted is pointing towards, yes. With this being the case a dietary supplement focusing on the needs of gamers seemed like a no-brainer.
Monica: Why the name “Virtually Perfect Nutrition”?
- Anthony:
The name Virtually Perfect Nutrition ties in with the digital/gaming industry while also hinting at the goal of being as close to perfection/functionality as possible. It also then abbreviates to “VPN” which again ties in another aspect of the PC world. We wanted a nutrition brand that gamers and esports could feel genuinely connected to.
Monica: How much research went into which vitamins and supplements went into the gummies?
- Anthony: To come up with this concept and launch our first product it took roughly 8-9 months, to perfect, reformulate and launch our new flavors and bottles essentially another 8-10 months. Picking which supplements we wanted in our product came down to figuring out the highest quality ingredients that function in the correct way to benefit competitive gaming. Using branded ingredients like AlphaSize100® & Lutemax 20/20® are part of the reason our product is unique and a standout. Not only are all our ingredients certified top 8 allergen-free and kosher, all of our dosages are based on research and data studies done using all of our 4 main active ingredients (Alpha-GPC, Lutein & Zeaxanthin, Ginkgo Biloba and Korean Panax Ginseng). There was a lot of thought into creating a functional product that didn’t rely on phony marketing but one that relied on science.
Monica: Why gummies and not pills or energy drinks like 5 Hour Energy?
- Anthony: When we created this product we knew we wanted to be different. The saturation of caffeinated beverages, pills and powders targeting gamers created a sea of look-alikes. We knew gamers and esports was hungry for a functional product that would benefit them positively. This also was a reason our gummies don’t contain caffeine, to be inclusive and safe for kids especially with the abundance of gamers below the age of 18. All of the product on the market right now are using caffeine, B12, and other ingredients that are either overused, undereducated or just plain wrongly applied, and these products are being sold or given away to the masses. It’s so crucial that the education gets out about the dietary supplement industry to ensure that people know what to focus on when reading product labels.
Monica: Do/Did you participate in eSports?
- Anthony: Never officially, only a couple for-fun amateur League of Legends tournaments. The hope is to be involved with that esport title as well as others to show how VPN Bytes can help further the scene and promote the need for good, clean, functional products.
Monica: What’s your favorite video game?
- Anthony: At the moment I would have to say League of Legends, mainly because that’s what sparked my love for esports. I do play a multitude of others ranging from Overwatch to Injustice and everything in between. I’m also a sucker for classics, anything from Genesis to Sega Dreamcast to Starcraft: Brood War would have me hooked for hours.
Monica: Do you have a favorite eSports competitor or team? Who and why?
- Anthony: I have a couple teams that I support in the League of Legends scene, but I am more just an overall North American Team fan. I am very excited for the return of Immortals to the LOL scene though. As far as individual players, I respect all of their time and dedication but I would have to say Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black (support for 100Theives, since I main support as well), Yiliang (Peter) “Doublelift” Peng (ADC for Team Liquid) and Tanner “Damonte” Damonte (Mid Laner for Clutch aka Dignitas).
Aphromoo helped me a lot in my personal growth in the support role and I admire his dedication to his team and the leadership rock he provides. Doublelift is also a great leader who is hands down one of the best to ever play the game, he really inspires people to be better and believe in their ability. Damonte is a new player who has proven that being the underdog is one of the most fun and positive places to play from. Damonte’s quote, “Don’t get lost in the sauce” is also great to reference as it is meant to keep you grounded and humble which helps in any situation.
You can grab them from the VPN website or Amazon. If you’re a pro gamer, this is an investment worth making to give yourself that extra edge over the competition.
Have you tried them? What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
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