Derek from “More Plates More Dates” has built what appears to be a nine-figure business empire from his YouTube channel, transforming from humble beginnings into one of the most trusted voices in fitness and wellness.
Derek’s journey began in affiliate marketing, where he started by recommending products he genuinely used and believed in. Rather than becoming what he calls “an ad Homer” who mindlessly promotes anything for money, Derek maintained his credibility by only endorsing products he would recommend for free. This approach of “organically integrating things that you already use and truly believe in” became the foundation of his business philosophy.
The transition from affiliate commissions to building his own companies was natural. “It was basically what has an affiliate program that is a product I already use and I can get a commission for telling people something I would tell them anyways,” Derek explains.
Derek’s first major venture, Gorilla Mind, focused on pre-workout supplements and nootropics. Despite admitting he doesn’t love the “bro-ish” branding, Derek explains the strategic reasoning: “When it comes to things that are meant to get you cognitively dialed in and hardcore pre-workouts, that is where the more edgy branding works.” The strategy has paid off massively, with the company reportedly generating between six to eight million dollars monthly in revenue.
Derek’s second major company, Merrick Health, operates in the telemedicine and hormone optimization space with much more premium branding and margins. “We try to steer away from that moniker,” Derek says. “It’s broad spectrum preventative medicine whereby you can trust that you’re not going to just get thrown on a cookie cutter script.”
The company focuses on what Derek calls “high level preventative medicine,” with average customer costs significantly higher than typical supplement businesses. This subscription-based model with superior margins makes Merrick Health potentially more valuable than Gorilla Mind, despite the latter’s higher visibility.
Has Derek Sold Out?
However, critics argue that Derek has “sold his soul for money,” abandoning his passion for lifting and educational content in favor of pure commercialism. His once-engaging ste**id horror stories and detailed supplement breakdowns have been replaced by lengthy promotional content that fails to capture his audience’s attention.
Recently, Coach Greg Doucette has directly confronted Derek, accusing him of continuing to sell fake turkesterone despite previous warnings. The allegations center around Derek’s Gorilla Mind turkesterone product, which Greg claims contains virtually no authentic turkesterone compound.
Greg called out Derek’s product for containing only 36 milligrams of turkesterone. In response, Derek allegedly produced third-party lab results claiming his product contained legitimate turkesterone. However, Greg’s investigation revealed troubling details about these test results and the laboratory that conducted them.
According to Greg’s analysis, the lab results Derek presented came from a company formerly known as ABC Testing, which allegedly had a reputation for producing favorable results for paying clients. The lab has since rebranded as Certified Laboratories, but Greg maintains it’s the same questionable operation. “Imagine the integrity of a company who deliberately goes and seeks out a known scandalous testing company,” Greg stated during his exposé.
The lab results Derek provided showed the presence of hydroxypropyl beta cyclodextrin at 60%, which Greg explains is simply a carbohydrate used for absorption technology, not the active turkesterone compound consumers are paying for. “Do you really think that people care about how much cyclodextrin is in their products? Do you think they care about is it the actual plant and does it have the actual turkesterone?” Greg questioned.
Lab Testing and Transparency Concerns
Greg also claims that when his team contacted the testing laboratory to inquire about their reference standards – the materials used to identify authentic compounds – the lab failed to provide adequate documentation. Without proper reference standards, Greg argues, there’s no legitimate way to verify the presence of genuine turkesterone.
The accusations extend beyond mere ingredient substitution. Greg suggests Derek’s product label claims don’t match the actual contents, with the product falling significantly below advertised levels of active compounds.
Perhaps most concerning is Greg’s assertion that Derek was previously informed about these issues but chose to continue selling the allegedly fake product. “Three years ago I would have said yes but then we told Derek this is how it works your product is fake you need to do something about it,” Greg explained, suggesting Derek can no longer claim ignorance as a defense.
Declining Influence
Standing well over 6 feet tall with what were once considered legendary deltoids, Derek earned his reputation through transparency about his PED use and extensive knowledge of supplements. His upper body development was so impressive that fitness coach Greg Doucette admits Derek “looks bigger than me” in older footage, despite his underdeveloped legs.
However, Derek’s decision to transition from ste**ids to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has resulted in what appears to be a 30-pound muscle loss. The dramatic change has aged his appearance significantly, with Doucette’s staff estimating Derek looks “at least 39” despite being approximately 29 years old.
The transformation contradicts the common belief that st**oid gains are permanent. Derek appears to have abandoned serious weight training altogether.
Derek’s return video, titled “The return of the king, gorilla mind rush,” managed only 31,000 views in three days – a fraction of his previous content that regularly garnered hundreds of thousands or millions of views. The 56-minute video focused primarily on promoting his Gorilla Mind Rush supplement rather than addressing his physical transformation or responding to allegations about his company’s products.
