Ripped Freak Review: A Hybrid Drug Fat Burner?

The word is out; Pharma Freak's Ripped Freak is some seriously strong stuff. And I'm not talking "ephedra-stack" strong. I'm talking "rip-your-head-off-and-spit-down-your-throat strong." All the feedback I've received on Ripped Freak to date has been the same... take at your own discretion, this is a powerful product.

So what's the deal? Is Ripped Freak —advertised as a "hybrid drug fat burner"—really the "most powerful bodybuilding supplement legally available in North America? To answer that question, let's first deconstruct some of the sales copy and then take a look at the ingredients. Beginning with the sales copy...

"Hybrid-drug" is a term that's been coined by a team of leading pharmaceutical and organic chemists working in the sports supplement industry. A hybrid-drug is defined as a compound derived from nature that's been organically altered or synthesized to deliver more powerful drug-like effects!"

Sounds impressive, right? Yep, but it ain't true. Never mind the fact that leading pharmaceutical and organic chemists are not working in the sports supplement industry, the term "hybrid drug" is one that is already taken.

And what about this one?...

"... the RIPPED FREAK formula also contains five newly discovered methylated derivatives of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) from green tea extract."

In case you've forgotten, EGCG is an essential catechin of green tea, to which some of its thermogenic and weight loss benefits have been attributed. What Pharma Freak has neglected to mention here is that these so-called "newly discovered" EGCG derivatives are naturally occurring, and are likely present in other green tea extracts as well. Plus, there's absolutely no indication that the ECGC derivatives are superior to the parent compound for fat loss.

With that said, what's in Ripped Freak? Good question...

1) 5 methylated derivatives of EGCG: As I mentioned already, EGCG is an essential catechin of green tea. And even though EGCG is helpful for weight loss (see J Am Coll Nutr. 2007 Aug;26(4):389S-395S) some studies (see J Am Coll Nutr. 2007 Aug;26(4):396S-402S) have indicated that...

• More potent dosages of EGCG may lead to greater effect
• EGCG may work best when combined with other catechins and stimulants—like those found in green tea.

Unfortunately, there's no evidence to suggest these naturally occurring methylated versions of EGCG are any more effective for weight loss than the parent compound.

2) 1,3-Dimethylamylamine: This compound is also known as "methylhexaneamine." 1,3-Dimethylamylamine (DMAA), is an adrenergic amine that acts as a CNS stimulant. It was originally patented by Eli Lilly as a nasal decongestant in 1944, but largely abandoned until re-introduced as a dietary supplement (Geranamine™) by Proviant Technologies, the parent company of Ergopharm.

Although there's no current research on it, DMAA's gotten mostly rave reviews from users for its effects on mood, focus and energy. A few have reported problems with higher doses, however, so some caution is advised.

Ripped Freak is not the first weight loss product to contain DMMA. Ergolean's AMP, AMP 2 and USP's OxyElite Pro contain it. The launch of AMP garnered a fair bit of mainstream negative publicity, with one expert calling the legality of DMAA into question and saying...

"The chemical structure is similar to amphetamines and ephedrine..."

I've experimented with DMAA-containing pre-workout supplements (i.e., Nutrex's Hemo Rage), and can attest to the potency of this ingredient as a stimulant.

3) 1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6(3H,7H)-dione: A very deceptive way of labeling "caffeine." Caffeine, of course, is a common, albeit relative mild thermogenic, with well-established effects (see Am J Clin Nutr. 1989 Jan;49(1):44-50, Am J Clin Nutr. 1980 May;33(5):989-97). In this formula, caffeine is one of the two allegedly engineered compounds, and is delivered in the "methyl gallate ester" format. When conferring with our scientific and technical advisor Elissa, here's what she told me...

Neither caffeine nor raspberry ketones (the other "engineered" ingredient in this formula) is a majorly impressive thermogenic, so it remains to be seen whether delivering them as methyl gallate esters improves anything. In my opinion, improving the half life and bioavailability of caffeine is more likely to get you/keep you more wired than ever, which isn't necessarily a good thing."

She also sent me this link for a patent which discusses the potential use of methyl gallate esters for improving drug bioavailability. Apparently, it's not completely clear whether this is largely based on in-vitro work and speculation, or whether there are actually drugs with pharmacokinetic data in humans that prove it actually works as claimed. Just because something looks good on paper, doesn't mean it works very well in real life.

4) Red Pepper Ester Stack: Red peppers contain capsaicin, a chemical that gives chile peppers their "heat." The theory is that capsaicin "revs" up your metabolism by creating heat, thus burning off extra calories. However, this study (Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2007 Jan;292(1):R77-85. Epub 2006 Jul 13) says it best...

"Capsaicin has been shown to be effective, yet when it is used clinically it requires a strong compliance to a certain dosage, that has not been shown to be feasible yet."

In other words, in order for capsaicin to have an effect on your metabolism, it has to be taken in doses much too high to make it practical. Delivering several variations of this compound in "ester" format may make it more effective, but there's no evidence to demonstrate this conclusively.

5) Raspberry Ketone (4-(4-hydroxyphenyl) butan-2-one): a phenolic compound derived from red raspberries, raspberry ketones have only really been shown effective in animal studies (you can view the details of the study here). You are not a mouse, and the results of animal studies do not necessarily translate over to humans.

An unpublished pilot study performed on Razberri-K (a patented form of raspberry ketones) demonstrated it enhanced post-exercise fat oxidation, although the results were apparently not large enough to be statistically significant.

Does delivering this ingredient in a "methyl gallate ester" form vastly improve the thermogenic efficiency of this ingredient?

There's no clinical evidence to confirm or deny this claim.

And there you have it... Ripped Freak in a nutshell.

As you can see, the claims of "superior fat burning effectiveness" and "hybrid drug technology" is complete nonsense; it's marketing 101.

That's not to say this product isn't going to tear your head off. The combination of DMAA and caffeine in the methyl gallate ester format is likely the culprit here.

One friend of mine—who is comfortable using the full-blown ephedra stack—was unable to finish the product because of the way it made him feel. "Spacey and kind of stoned, and I was getting huge red blotches all over my body", were his exact words to me. He took the two capsule dose only once before a training session that he was later unable to remember. He ended up giving the remainder of the product to another friend, who also gave it up after a couple of doses.

I also received this email recently from a visitor named Brian (nallickbrian At AOL.com)...

"...can you please review/warn people about a new fat burner called Ripped Freak. I took one pill of this as suggested and I thought I was going to end up in the hospital. I was sick, dizzy, and my heart rate was going through the roof. It was one of the scariest products I've ever taken. Not even ephedra affected me like this."

In conclusion, there's no doubt this is a hardcore product. And while raspberry ketones, EGCG and caffeine are moderately helpful for weight loss, the fat burning benefits are extremely exaggerated. Plus, there's little real evidence to suggest delivering a couple of relatively mild thermogenics in methyl gallate ester format improve their efficiency.

Nonetheless, initial feedback indicates this is one product not for the faint of heart. It's definitely not for anyone with underlying health issues, or a newcomer to thermogenics. Be very careful with this one, and should you decide to experiment, absolutely do not exceed the recommended dose.

It would have been nice if Pharma Freak had halved the dose in order to make this product a little more tolerable. By creating such a potent product they are playing with fire, especially if the adverse reaction reports pile up and cause a ban by the FTC.

It might be a smart solution therefore, to create your own version of Ripped Freak. Most of the ingredients in this product are available on their own. For example you could stack 1,3-Dimethylamylamine, caffeine, raspberry ketones, and green tea extract and create a "customizable" product with a dosage that you can tolerate.

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