CUTTING THROUGH THE HYPE

October 22, 2025

In a supplement market flooded with bold claims, questionable ingredients, and enough influencer noise to drown out real science, Blonyx stands apart on purpose. Founded by exercise physiologist, sleep scientist, and Squamish local Rowan Minion, Blonyx isn’t chasing trends. It’s chasing results, backed by research and built with real food ingredients athletes actually want to put in their bodies.

We caught up with Rowan to talk about the birth of Blonyx, why he swore off protein powders (until he didn’t), and how a misheard line from Sex and the City accidentally gave the brand its name. This is one for the nerds, the sceptics, and anyone tired of supplement fluff. Let’s dive in.

Q: Who are you and what is your background?
My name is Rowan, a Brit turned Squamish local. I’m an exercise physiologist and sleep scientist by trade, and a bit of a serial entrepreneur. When not at my desk, you’ll find me shredding the local trails or in Whistler on my snowboard trying to keep up with my kids. I’m super lucky to have the Squamish slabs in my backyard.

Q: What inspired you to start Blonyx?
It started back in 2000 when I was doing research at Iowa State. I was running studies on sports supplements and playing soccer for the school. The deeper I got into the science, the more I realized how disconnected the supplement industry was from what actually worked. I remember thinking, “If no one starts a company that 100% follows the science by the time I’m 30, I will.” Took me a bit longer than that, but here we are.

Q: How did your background in science influence the brand?
It’s at the core of everything. I’ve been nerding out on sports science for over 25 years now. My thing is turning complex research into something athletes can actually use, whether it’s a product or a piece of advice. I’m also the guy constantly bugging the marketing team to back up claims with studies. It’s annoying, but it’s what sets us apart.

Q: Why did you choose the name “Blonyx”?
This one’s fun. I’d read an article that said strong brand names are short, a bit mysterious, and don’t mean much. Think Reebok or Nike. That same night, I was watching Sex and the City, and Carrie Bradshaw was wearing a pair of “Manolo Blahniks.” shoes. In my head, I misheard it as “Blonyx.” It stuck, and ten minutes later I owned the domain name.

Q: Blonyx was the first to create an egg white isolate protein powder. What led to that idea?
At a trade show in Vegas, I got talking to a young scientist in a back corner booth. She handed me a tasteless drink and said, “It’s egg whites.” My mind was blown. They’d figured out how to make it taste like… nothing and boost the protein content. It was exactly the kind of real food–first innovation I’d been waiting for. I saw the potential instantly and the rest is history.

Q: Why egg whites instead of whey or plant protein?
I’d actually sworn we’d never make a protein powder, most of them are ultra-processed, and I’ve never wanted to sell something I wouldn’t take myself. But this one was different. When I cooked it and it scrambled like real eggs, I knew we had something special. Real food, minimal processing, and clean as it gets.

Q: What makes Blonyx products different from others on the market?
Some of our products are classic, creatine, beta-alanine, HMB, they’re simple and work, so we focus on quality, sourcing, and testing. Nothing unique about that.

The unique stuff is where it gets fun though. Like our beet juice products: I noticed that a small UK juicing company was the source of beet juice for all the published research studies. They had figured out how to control the nitrate levels in the juice. We struck a deal and the rest is history.

Bottom line I think the difference is in the level of detail and effort we go to, to ensure the athletes we serve get results.

Q: How do you choose which supplements to create or offer?
It starts with the science. Every week, I comb through the latest research. If I find five or more solid human studies on something, I start testing it out. No guesswork. No hype-chasing.

Q: What made you combine HMB and creatine into one supplement?
It just made sense. They’re both incredibly well-researched, and they complement each other perfectly. HMB helps preserve and protect muscle, while creatine boosts power. Together, they have solid impact – especially for athletes wanting to play sport in their later years.

Q: For those unfamiliar, what does HMB do and how does it work with creatine?
HMB helps prevent muscle breakdown and supports recovery. It’s great when you’re training hard or dealing with time off. Creatine adds that power output boost and helps you build strength. So together, you’re getting both protection and performance.

Q: Who was this product originally designed for?
We built it with power athletes in mind, Cross Fitters, Sprinters, Olympic lifters. But now it’s gaining traction with cyclists and runners too, especially those chasing higher wattage. It helps with output and high training loads, plain and simple.

Q: What does “science-backed” mean to you?
To me, it means a supplement is supported by a pile of solid, peer-reviewed studies on humans, although the phrase is widely abused in our industry. We don’t touch anything unless there are at least five good studies (on athletes) behind it.

Q: Why is using whole food ingredients important to Blonyx?
Because we believe athletes should be fueling with real food, so we create products that reflect that. Plus, it just tastes better, and it’s a great way to stand out.

Q: What kind of testing goes into your products?
It varies. For simple products like creatine or beta-alanine, we find the best sources and verify them in labs. For others like our hydra+ or egg white isolate, we work with formulation labs. Everything is made in NSF-certified facilities and tested to be free from banned substances – we use the BSCG labs for that.

Q: How do you balance performance and natural ingredients?
We lead with real food, and layer on ingredients that are proven to work. It’s a science-first approach, but we never sacrifice simplicity or integrity.

Q: What values guide your marketing and product claims?
We don’t make a claim unless we can back it up. That’s our integrity policy. Every statement must have a reference behind it. I want our brand to earn respect from both athletes and scientists alike.

Q: What’s been one of the biggest challenges in growing Blonyx?
There have been quite a few. The biggest comes from the most innovative products. It’s taken us over 6 months to get products approved before, and most recently, we had to completely rebuild our supply chain for our egg white protein because we could no longer make it in the USA. We had to deal with a 6-month stockout of our best seller. Not for the faint-hearted.

Q: How do you stay ahead in such a crowded space?
We stay grounded in who we are. Once I stopped trying to build a flashy brand caught up in hype and focused on helping people perform better, everything clicked. The right people showed up, and our message got clearer.

Q: What’s one myth about supplements you wish people understood?
Not so much a myth, more an observation: The good products never go away. Creatine’s been around forever because it works. The flashier trends, CBD, BCAAs, keto powders, they fizzle out when they don’t meet expectations.

Q: What does the future of nutrition and performance look like to you?
I think wearable tech is going to be a game-changer. We’ll get real-time data on how nutrition, sleep, and training affect us, and that will force supplement brands to be more accountable. The science-first brands will rise. The rest will fade out…. Oh and everyone will be taking creatine. Even your grandma.

Rowan’s approach to performance nutrition is refreshingly simple: follow the science, fuel with real food, and never sell anything you wouldn’t take yourself. In an industry full of shortcuts and smoke, Blonyx is building trust the hard way — with research, integrity, and a little bit of British stubbornness.

If you are interested to learn more about the science and their products be sure to check out the website, there is an endless amount of info you can deep dive into.