JAKE AXELROD 

FOUNDER AND CEO METALAB

Did you know Metalab is a lockdown baby?

We launched in level 5 of the national Covid lockdown, just over two years ago... But the business had been nearly a decade in the making, behind-the-scenes!

I was a skinny guy growing up and I had a hard time with self-esteem and confidence issues. I then discovered the gym in my later high school years... And quickly became hooked! I loved the potential that it represented and I wanted to learn as much as I possibly could about it all.

This new passion lead me to enrol in a bachelors degree in nutrition and I started taking on some clients as a personal trainer. 

All along, I was experimenting with a variety of supplements available on the market - testing new products, new flavours and new formulas... Seeing what works and what doesn't.

It was such an exciting part of the journey to me! However, as I became more knowledgable, I started to realise that...

Most of the stuff available in South Africa and even globally, was under-dosed, underperforming and lacked on user experience.

And then the penny dropped...

I am an avid gymgoer, with years of experience as a trainer, a degree in nutrition, exposure to product development and really interested in user-experience and the customer journey.

Could I not do better?!

I started tinkering away at some formulas: testing, re-testing and testing again... I even went as far as launching a lower-cost supplements brand to learn the ropes in logistics and prove that there was a demand for what I was doing. When my suspicion was confirmed, I reached out to an industry stalwart, who agreed to mentor me... And we've never looked back!It's been just over 2 years now and the team and the business have grown steadily: We've partnered with some of SA's best-loved influencers, sold out within 24 hours of multiple product launches and are ultimately serving the bigger vision of improved health, fitness and self-love - one supplement at a time! What a privilege! Now for the next 10 years.

Jake
Founder and CEO METALAB