Steady support for aging men, with Gary Kehoe

Every capsule, traced back to the field.

Mdrive sits inside a crowded category where bold promises are common and paperwork is rare. Gary Kehoe started the brand in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2009 after more than 30 years formulating nutritional products, and he built it around the opposite habit. Every ingredient is named on the label at its amount, with no proprietary blends, and the formulas pair farmed botanicals like ashwagandha with patented extracts that arrive with test documents.

The tension is easy to name. Testosterone support for men over 30 is sold with noise, yet buyers in this aisle now read panels closely. Kehoe felt that shift early because he was his own first customer. In his forties, he writes, he began to lose strength, endurance and drive. He could not hike or run or bike with the verve that he used to.

What followed was not a quick launch. More than twenty years ago he was served tea with a floating mushroom at a foreign embassy, drank it cautiously, and felt steady energy rather than a jolt. That mushroom was cordyceps. It led to ten years of study of adaptogens including ginseng and ashwagandha, then ten years of research and two years of testing before Mdrive Classic reached the market.

What we noticed, and what others often miss, is how much of Mdrive is about the label as a record. The brand is made in the USA with globally sourced ingredients, formulated in house by nutrition scientists, chemists and formulators at parent company DreamBrands, and shipped from Scottsdale. The supply chain is not fully open to the field level, and Kehoe does not name individual growers. What is traceable is the paper chain: identified extracts, stated amounts, and batch testing behind the finished capsule.

You drank tea with cordyceps floating in it at a foreign embassy more than twenty years ago, and you describe feeling steady energy rather than a jolt. What did that cup teach you that still shapes Mdrive today?

I started formulating Mdrive for myself. Yes, in my 40s, I began to feel like I was losing my strength, endurance, and drive. I could not hike or run or bike with the verve that I used to. I did not think such drops were necessary.

That cup came before all of that work. Over twenty years ago I was served tea with a floating mushroom at a foreign embassy. I drank it cautiously. What I felt was a deep natural energy rather than a jolt. That mushroom was cordyceps, my first encounter with adaptogens. It sparked a ten year deep dive into natural ways to fuel energy and defy aging, including ginseng and ashwagandha.

For me, it was about creating a custom compound using ingredients that work well together to improve performance, stamina, and focus. Not extremes. Not short bursts. A daily routine a man can keep. Some call it vitality, others longevity or anti aging. I call it Men being Men.

You quit a well paying job formulating for a Fortune 500 company to found DreamBrands and build supplements for men with only the best ingredients. What did you refuse to carry over from that corporate work?

So, I quit my well paying job formulating for one of many Fortune 500 companies, and founded DreamBrands to make uncompromising, top of the line supplements for men, using only the best ingredients. With over 30 years of formulating nutritional products, I have learned a thing or two, or seven hundred, about the science behind nutrients, the why and how they work.

What I would not carry over was opacity. Neither myself nor any of our dedicated staff is a marketer or PR exec. We are just passionate about what we do and believe that we make the best supplement for men over 30 who are looking to increase strength, stamina, energy and sex drive.

That is why we refuse to use proprietary blends on packaging. If ashwagandha or a vitamin or a mineral is in the capsule, the label shows the name and the amount. It is also why we refuse to use shady subscription traps or phone trees. Guys needed a tool to help fight the aging process, slow it down. The tool should be plain about what is inside.

Mdrive Classic launched in 2009 with KSM-66 ashwagandha, Phytopin beta sitosterols, AquaLOX boswellia serrata and Lutemax 2020. Why did you start with that combination, and where did each part begin?

After 10 years of research and 2 years of testing I created M Drive as a custom compound. I wanted adaptogens plus patented clinically tested ingredients and key vitamins and minerals in one daily formula.

KSM-66 ashwagandha begins as root grown on farms in India, harvested, dried, then extracted to a standardised root extract. Phytopin beta sitosterols begin as plant sterols from pine sources. AquaLOX boswellia serrata begins as gum resin from boswellia trees, processed with a water based method. Lutemax 2020 begins as marigold flowers grown for lutein and zeaxanthin, then extracted and purified.

I chose them because they work well together in a daily routine. One part traces to roots and resins and flowers. The other part traces to patents and clinical testing and certificates of analysis. The farm matters. The lab matters. We started with one product in 2009, entered GNC in 2010, then expanded into Vitamin Shoppe and Sprouts by 2015. The formula carried us because the paperwork was in order.

Your labels show every amount and you state the products are made in the USA with globally sourced ingredients. For a careful buyer, what does that paper chain actually prove, and where does it stop?

It proves identity, amount and consistency. Identity means the extract in the specification is the extract in the drum. Amount means the Supplement Facts panel lists each ingredient rather than hiding a group under one total weight. Consistency means each lot is tested against that specification before encapsulation, then fill weight is checked so each capsule holds what the batch record requires.

Our team includes nutrition scientists, chemists and formulators plus quality staff at DreamBrands. We formulate in house. We make the products in the USA. The botanicals and other inputs are globally sourced, because ashwagandha root or boswellia resin or marigold for lutein do not all grow in Arizona.

Where it stops is the field name. I cannot hand you the name of each grower for each harvest on this page. The chain I can show is the document chain from extract supplier to certificate of analysis to finished batch. That is what the label leaves in and leaves out. The label shows what is in the capsule and how much. It does not show the farm gate. We credit what is traceable and we name what is not yet.

I started formulating Mdrive for myself, to support the work I already did.

Gary Kehoe

Prime at 34.99 dollars remains the core daily formula for testosterone support, energy and lean muscle. How should a buyer read that label line by line?

Read it from top to bottom. The Supplement Facts panel lists the adaptogens first, including KSM-66 ashwagandha, then supporting botanicals and key vitamins and minerals. Each line gives a weight. There is no proprietary blend line. Then read the other ingredients line. That shows the capsule shell and the small aids used in encapsulation, such as flow aids.

Take it daily for steady support as part of a regular routine. That is the use we state. Prime is cited by long term users for strength and performance, and we position it for general support. The label states support for healthy testosterone levels, energy, performance and lean muscle. Like all our labels, it also states that these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

If you keep a small shelf for years, keep the lot number on the bottle until it is finished. That number ties your bottle to our batch record and the supplier certificates behind it.

Boost and Burn at 49.99 dollars is now the home page lead and a bestseller, pairing testosterone support with thermogenics and adaptogens. What changes in sourcing and testing when heat and drive sit in one capsule?

The sourcing gets wider and the testing gets tighter. A thermogenic and adaptogen blend pulls from more origins. Roots, leaves and resins arrive as powders or extracts with different moisture levels and different bulk density. That changes blending time, fill weight checks and how the powder moves into the capsule.

What does not change is the rule. Every input needs a specification and a certificate of analysis. Each lot is checked. The finished batch is checked. Take daily for steady support as part of a regular routine. We state support for healthy testosterone levels and fat management alongside diet and activity, plus help with stress related eating patterns through adaptogen support. We do not state that the capsule alone changes body composition.

In 2018 we shifted customer experience to digital with auto ship, a quiz and Amazon access. What we learned is that men want steady supply without pressure. So we refuse to rely on extremes or short bursts, and we refuse to make cancelling difficult.

Start launched on August 9 2021 as a 9 in 1 shake at 79.99 dollars with multivitamin, collagen, protein and testosterone support. You said it was formulated to eliminate morning guess work. Why move from capsules into nutrition?

Mdrive Start was formulated to eliminate your morning guess work. It is now easier than ever to remember to take this every morning. Everyone asked me when I was going to take this leap with Mdrive into nutrition and here we are.

The shake includes seven clinically tested ingredients and six protein sources. Mix one scoop in the morning for daily nutrition. From a sourcing view, protein and collagen add dairy and animal origin chains beside the botanical chains, each with its own allergen and identity tests. From a label view, it is still the same habit. Show each amount. Show the other ingredients. Show the daily use.

Guys needed a tool to help fight the aging process, slow it down. Do not let age beat you. Be stronger today than you were yesterday. Refind your prime. Those phrases repeat because the routine repeats. Trusted by over one million men is a statement of scale, not a promise about any one man.

Elite at 59.99 dollars is described as sport legal for performance and healthy testosterone levels. What does sport legal mean on your paperwork, and what does it not mean?

Sport legal means we formulate without ingredients banned by major sport lists and we manufacture with controls that limit cross contact, then we state the intended use plainly. Take daily for ongoing training support. We describe support for endurance, muscle mass and measures such as VO2 max in training contexts, within the structure function language allowed for supplements.

What it does not mean is certification by a league or a guarantee for any tested athlete. Athletes subject to testing still need to check their own federation list and, where required, choose batches covered by an independent sport certification. Our paperwork shows formula, lot and test results. It does not place a product on a prohibited list or take it off. Mdrive products are American owned and operated and ship from Scottsdale, Arizona. That address is on the record, and it is where questions about a lot can be directed.

Closing note from the desk

What stays with us after this conversation is the plainness of the method. Kehoe formulated for himself first, then kept the same rule for more than a million customers. Name each ingredient. Give each amount. Keep the batch record behind the bottle.

Mdrive set out to support healthy testosterone levels, steady energy and metabolism with daily use so the work men already do continues to count. The field origins remain partly opaque, by the brand’s own account. The label record is the part the brand asks to be judged on, and on that record it is consistent.

Product spotlight

Prime, 34.99 dollars for a 30 day supply and 104.97 dollars for a 90 day supply. A daily capsule to support healthy testosterone levels, energy, performance and lean muscle. Take daily with food and water as part of a regular training and sleep routine. Best for the buyer who wants the core formula first.

Boost and Burn, 49.99 dollars for a 30 day supply and 149.97 dollars for a 90 day supply. A daily capsule that pairs testosterone support with thermogenics and adaptogens. Take daily as directed for steady support alongside meals and activity. Best for the buyer who wants one bottle for drive and weight management support.