Company History

LIFE SPAN labs: Science, sex and serendipity

LIFE SPAN Labs – Company History LIFE SPAN labs: Science, sex and serendipity Ask LIFE SPAN labs founders Rod Tallman and Ken Hobson how they ended up creating a company devoted to men’s sexual health and they’re liable to offer a good-natured shrug.

After nearly five years in business, they remain surprised, and excited by where a good product can take you if you follow it. Dig a bit deeper and perhaps the outcome is not quite so surprising. Both Tallman and Hobson occupy the target demographic for such products: healthy, sexually active men in their mid-50s. Both had tested the drug Viagra and certain supposedly all-natural products. And both had been disappointed by the side effects or ineffectiveness of those products.

The two men met in 2003 through their work with Committed Partners for Youth, an at-risk youth mentoring organization. Tallman had recently left Nike after nearly 20 years in sales and marketing, where he led Nike Golf from a $30 million to a $200 million business. Hobson’s background was in mergers and acquisitions, growing and selling businesses.

So both men knew their way around a business plan. But developing a men’s sexual health supplement based on sound science and safety, and seeking to use that product to help redefine a cluttered and none-too-respectable nutraceutical market segment? That, they agree, can only be credited to serendipity.

An unexpected phone call

It all began in March 2005 when Tallman received a call from a friend and former colleague in Sweden. The friend explained that he’d been approached by a group that claimed to have an all-natural version of Viagra, and might he be interested in helping market and distribute the product in the U.S.

Tallman knew that if the product proved to be what it was claimed to be, it could be a great help to men and likely be very successful. He also couldn’t help but recall his own unsatisfying experiences with such products. He agreed to take it on, and soon invited Hobson to join the effort.

For the next few months, the two men feverishly researched the market and the product. They even took the supplement themselves, and were encouraged to find that it worked. Then, just as things appeared to be taking off, a purity study revealed that the formula was, in fact, somewhat less than all natural: It was spiked with pharmaceutical ingredients.

Having agreed that they would only proceed with an all-natural product that they could fully support, the two elected to bow out of the project. It appeared their foray into the world of men’s sexual health had come to an end. As it happens, it was just now beginning.

The hidden fruits of research

During their research, Tallman and Hobson had met Dr. Alexander Schauss. Dr. Schauss served as lead scientist and director of natural and medicinal products research for AIBMR Life Sciences, Inc., a leading natural and medicinal products research institute. He had been impressed by the men’s commitment to pursuing a truly safe, all-natural solution. Upon learning of the abandoned project, Dr. Schauss asked if they might be interested in another opportunity. They were intrigued.

Enter Dr. Sandy Schwartz, CEO of Smith Naturals and 30-year veteran in nutritional research, therapeutics and alternative healing, including eight years as the dietetic consultant to the U.S. Army Surgeon General. Dr. Schwartz had developed a formula for an all-natural men’s sexual health supplement based on a 700-year-old Thai remedy.

On Dr. Schauss’ introduction, the three men met in July 2005. It was clear almost immediately that they were of one mind regarding the kind of product that the market—and men—needed.

Working with the Dr. Schwartz’ core formula, Dr. Schauss conducted his own extensive research, leading finally to development of the proprietary blend that would become the company’s flagship product, 112 Degrees™. That core formula remains a trade secret.

In April 2006, Dave Edwards, a mutual friend and fellow Nike veteran, joined the group, bringing his considerable production and international business experience to the team, and LIFE SPAN labs was born.

Remaking the market

Today, LIFE SPAN labs is attempting to do nothing less than redefine the market by promoting a safe, truly natural, whole-body approach to men’s sexual health.

One need only consider the route taken by 112 Degrees. The all-natural supplement underwent such rigorous preclinical testing that it was singled out in March 2008 at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Society for Toxicology as a new standard for the industry.

By requiring sound science and safety, LIFE SPAN labs is building trust with its customers. They are inspiring them to view their sexual health not just as something to be addressed moments before sex, but as an important component of maintaining peak overall health over a lifetime.