Plenty of celebrities have expressed their support for supplement giant AG1 - but an investigation has dug up some questionable details about the company's founder.
Founder Chris Ashenden has resigned amid a Newsroom investigation that raised questions over his criminal history and unpaid fines and reparations by his now-defunct firms.
Newsroom Pro managing editor Jonathan Milne says Ashenden's refusal to be interviewed set off journalistic 'alarm bells'.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from newstalks'd be follow this
and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Heather do for Cela, Joe Rogan loves it, Gwyneth Paltrow
loves it. Lewis Hamilton loves it. I'm talking about ag one,
which is a billion dollar supplement company founded by a
New Zealander Chris Ashington. Now, the entrepreneur has quit as
the chief executive and the reason he's done that it
has come after a newsroom investigation challenged him on the
company's revenues and claims that the product has made in
(00:37):
New Zealand. Now, Jonathan Milne is Newsroom pros managing editor
and he and maker of the Powder Keg podcast, which
is what this is all about. It is with us.
Hey John, oh, how you doing very well? Thank you?
How did he get endorsements like this? I mean those
are massive names.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Look, this company is like one of the biggest social
media operators in the world. Sorry social influencer operators. There
there's stars in this in this arena, but you know
that kind of influence doesn't come cheap. And Rogan Heuberman,
they're getting millions from eighty one to endorse it. The
new CEO of ag One herself says that they are
(01:13):
the third biggest ad spender in audio in the world.
So this is a massive, massive marketing spend.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yeah, and it's massive overseas, but not here. Why is
it not here?
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yeah, that's really interesting. That's actually one of the things
that piqued my interest about this in the first place,
because I found out about this guy. You know, my
wife played me this at this podcast and she said,
check out this ad, you know, made in New Zealand,
made for nearly everybody, and I'd never heard of it,
and it was made by this Kiwi guy, and I thought, well,
this is absolutely fascinating. But when I started digging a
(01:45):
little bit, well, when he wouldn't front for an interview,
because you know what, big corporate doesn't want to spreak
their product on free media. When he wouldn't front for
an interview, I just started a few journalistic alarm bells
started to ring, and so I started digging around a
little bit further and found found in the gazettes. The
New Zealand Gazette, which never forgets, you know, the sort
(02:08):
of ancient record of journalism. It records bad stuff that
build done for a very long time, and I found
out that he'd actually declared himself bankrupt, owing three million dollars.
I think that's why he doesn't market his own product
to New Zealand, even though it's made Insand and he
boasts about it being made in New Zealand. I think
the reason that he doesn't market it here is because
(02:30):
he knows that it's going to come back to bite him.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
But so what I mean, lots of people who've done
who go on to be very successful business people have
in the past been bankrupted.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Yeah, And I agree absolutely, And I think everyone to
get a second chance, right. You know, we've all done
stuff we regret, We've all made mistakes, and we all
should be given a chance to go on. But what
he's gone on to do is try to spin his
way out out of us and try to hide it.
And if it was a simple case that he had
done some bad stuff in the past, and he did
burn a lot of people, and I've took to a
(02:59):
lot of people who got really badly vulnerable, people who
tried to get into their first homes and thought they
were on the property ladder. Turned out he never handed
the data title over to them, so he did get convicted.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
It's not a decent bankruptcy.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
It's you know, it's not a good on a bankruptcy.
I don't know what that looks like. But you know,
I could even forgive them that if he said, I'm sorry,
I got it wrong, and I'll pay my reparations, because
you know what, I'm a multi millionaire now I will
pay one hundred and eighty two thousand dollars in fines
in reparations at the New Zealand courts ordered me to
pay to these people who are on the bones of
(03:34):
their ass and will never own their own home now
they're at retirement age or they're approaching retirement age. This
was their one chance to get on the property ladder
in South Auckland or in Viicago where he ran his schemes,
and it's never going to happen for them now. An apology.
He has now delivered an apology to them via a
statement to me. He has said he deeply apologized for
(03:56):
any hurt that was caused, but he refuses to talk
about that one hundred and eighty two thousand dollars in
fines and reparations that he's never paid.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Johnny, you also said that the stuff is made in
New Zealand, but it's not, is it?
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Look is some of.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Some of it is.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
There's a contract manufacturer that used to make all of it,
and they have now cut back dramatically and shifted a
lot of that production to Utah in the United States.
So that's going to be hard for that manufacturing company.
And it also means that they've kept on since they
started doing that, shifting so much of their production to Utah,
they kept on marketing it is being made in New
(04:33):
Zealand for the subsequent two years until I asked questions
about it, and then they started pulling those ads. I
have talked to the Commerce Commission about this. They're not happy,
they've they've they're very hard line on companies marketing their
products as made in New Zealand or produced in New
Zealand or from New Zealand when they're not.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, for obvious reasons.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Obviously reasons. You know New Zealand, you know our image,
our brand images New Zealanders is with billions of dollars
in this country. We need to keep it clean.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Now, does the stuff work? Does it do what it says?
It does?
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Look like you said earlier, the scientific evidence just ain't
there yet. I tried it, did you. Yeah, I went
to great links to get a whole lot shipped into
the country.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
By looking a little unwell at the moment, I'm just joking.
I mean, I'm going to get sued now as well
for saying that.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Just like you, I'm going to see you.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I tell me, what does it taste like? What is
it like?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I could tell you that that's that's like the sort
of that's the big unveil. Yeah, right, it tastes like banana.
Does it taste that banana? It's actually quite nice. It's
really habit for me. I took it every morning for
a couple of months.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Why is it habit for me?
Speaker 3 (05:33):
It tastes nice, and I don't I don't really I
get it. Yeah, I think. I get up early in
the morning, you know, I get up at three or
four am to write a morning newsletter. I make myself
a big bloody pot of coffee, a black coffee, and
for two months I made myself a shaker of age.
You one and I have a sort of side by
side healthy coffee, healthy coffee, And it tasted good and
(05:55):
it was just a ritual and I don't have breakfast
for like six hours into my day or something, and
so it's just it's just something that I could do
that I enjoyed, and I felt a little bit sad
when I stopped taking it, and that I mean, you laugh.
But that habit forming that's absolutely critical to their business model.
That and social influencers, because they've got a subscription model
and as you said, as some of your listeners said,
(06:18):
you can't buy it in New Zealand, so and you
can't buy it over the counter anywhere, so people have
to get it from the company. And a monthly subscription
costs a bomb one hundred US dollars a month. If
they're going to keep people paying for that money and
keep them on subscription, they need to form a habit.
It's critical to them. Why did he quit, Look, he's
(06:39):
he has not confirmed that it was because of the
questions we were asking. We were asking some pretty robust
questions about the level of his disclosure of his criminal records.
He did, but this year he said that he didn't
hadn't committed any crimes. He said that he'd never had
an arrest warrant issued against him. He said that he'd
(06:59):
paid all his fines and reparations. Now we're able to
demonstrate him with court papers that there's demonstrate demonstrably incouraged
monsterbly demonstrations. Three am start. Then yeah, I don't, I
don't have to pronounce words.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
It's totally wrong.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Those three claims are wrong. And and this was just
a few months ago in a big meeting that he
had with his staff. And presumably he's been saying board
telling us board the same thing. Now that can't go
down well when we're able to go back to them
and say, actually, here's the evidence that what you're telling
your company now, what you're telling your customers now, and
what you're probably telling your board now. I haven't sat
in on the board meetings, I hastened to add, but
(07:39):
it's not it's not true.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yeah, all right, what's the what's the podcast called.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
It's called powder Keg. It's on the Dove joannel from
from newsroom. And I just want to very quickly say
thank you very much to the Brian Gainer Initiatives. They
helped fund the podcast and without them we wouldn't have
been able to do that. So they're supporting publicans journalism.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Yam, Yeah, absolutely, Johno, thank you for coming and really
appreciate it and best of luck with it. As Jonathan
Mille Newsroom Pro Managing Editor and The powder Key and
obviously behind the powder Key podcast.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
For more from news Talks, they'd be listen live on
air or online and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from newstalks'd be follow this
and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Heather do for Cela, Joe Rogan loves it, Gwyneth Paltrow
loves it. Lewis Hamilton loves it. I'm talking about ag one,
which is a billion dollar supplement company founded by a
New Zealander Chris Ashington. Now, the entrepreneur has quit as
the chief executive and the reason he's done that it
has come after a newsroom investigation challenged him on the
company's revenues and claims that the product has made in
(00:37):
New Zealand. Now, Jonathan Milne is Newsroom pros managing editor
and he and maker of the Powder Keg podcast, which
is what this is all about. It is with us.
Hey John, oh, how you doing very well? Thank you?
How did he get endorsements like this? I mean those
are massive names.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Look, this company is like one of the biggest social
media operators in the world. Sorry social influencer operators. There
there's stars in this in this arena, but you know
that kind of influence doesn't come cheap. And Rogan Heuberman,
they're getting millions from eighty one to endorse it. The
new CEO of ag One herself says that they are
(01:13):
the third biggest ad spender in audio in the world.
So this is a massive, massive marketing spend.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yeah, and it's massive overseas, but not here. Why is
it not here?
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yeah, that's really interesting. That's actually one of the things
that piqued my interest about this in the first place,
because I found out about this guy. You know, my
wife played me this at this podcast and she said,
check out this ad, you know, made in New Zealand,
made for nearly everybody, and I'd never heard of it,
and it was made by this Kiwi guy, and I thought, well,
this is absolutely fascinating. But when I started digging a
(01:45):
little bit, well, when he wouldn't front for an interview,
because you know what, big corporate doesn't want to spreak
their product on free media. When he wouldn't front for
an interview, I just started a few journalistic alarm bells
started to ring, and so I started digging around a
little bit further and found found in the gazettes. The
New Zealand Gazette, which never forgets, you know, the sort
(02:08):
of ancient record of journalism. It records bad stuff that
build done for a very long time, and I found
out that he'd actually declared himself bankrupt, owing three million dollars.
I think that's why he doesn't market his own product
to New Zealand, even though it's made Insand and he
boasts about it being made in New Zealand. I think
the reason that he doesn't market it here is because
(02:30):
he knows that it's going to come back to bite him.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
But so what I mean, lots of people who've done
who go on to be very successful business people have
in the past been bankrupted.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Yeah, And I agree absolutely, And I think everyone to
get a second chance, right. You know, we've all done
stuff we regret, We've all made mistakes, and we all
should be given a chance to go on. But what
he's gone on to do is try to spin his
way out out of us and try to hide it.
And if it was a simple case that he had
done some bad stuff in the past, and he did
burn a lot of people, and I've took to a
(02:59):
lot of people who got really badly vulnerable, people who
tried to get into their first homes and thought they
were on the property ladder. Turned out he never handed
the data title over to them, so he did get convicted.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
It's not a decent bankruptcy.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
It's you know, it's not a good on a bankruptcy.
I don't know what that looks like. But you know,
I could even forgive them that if he said, I'm sorry,
I got it wrong, and I'll pay my reparations, because
you know what, I'm a multi millionaire now I will
pay one hundred and eighty two thousand dollars in fines
in reparations at the New Zealand courts ordered me to
pay to these people who are on the bones of
(03:34):
their ass and will never own their own home now
they're at retirement age or they're approaching retirement age. This
was their one chance to get on the property ladder
in South Auckland or in Viicago where he ran his schemes,
and it's never going to happen for them now. An apology.
He has now delivered an apology to them via a
statement to me. He has said he deeply apologized for
(03:56):
any hurt that was caused, but he refuses to talk
about that one hundred and eighty two thousand dollars in
fines and reparations that he's never paid.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Johnny, you also said that the stuff is made in
New Zealand, but it's not, is it?
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Look is some of.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Some of it is.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
There's a contract manufacturer that used to make all of it,
and they have now cut back dramatically and shifted a
lot of that production to Utah in the United States.
So that's going to be hard for that manufacturing company.
And it also means that they've kept on since they
started doing that, shifting so much of their production to Utah,
they kept on marketing it is being made in New
(04:33):
Zealand for the subsequent two years until I asked questions
about it, and then they started pulling those ads. I
have talked to the Commerce Commission about this. They're not happy,
they've they've they're very hard line on companies marketing their
products as made in New Zealand or produced in New
Zealand or from New Zealand when they're not.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, for obvious reasons.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Obviously reasons. You know New Zealand, you know our image,
our brand images New Zealanders is with billions of dollars
in this country. We need to keep it clean.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Now, does the stuff work? Does it do what it says?
It does?
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Look like you said earlier, the scientific evidence just ain't
there yet. I tried it, did you. Yeah, I went
to great links to get a whole lot shipped into
the country.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
By looking a little unwell at the moment, I'm just joking.
I mean, I'm going to get sued now as well
for saying that.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Just like you, I'm going to see you.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I tell me, what does it taste like? What is
it like?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I could tell you that that's that's like the sort
of that's the big unveil. Yeah, right, it tastes like banana.
Does it taste that banana? It's actually quite nice. It's
really habit for me. I took it every morning for
a couple of months.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Why is it habit for me?
Speaker 3 (05:33):
It tastes nice, and I don't I don't really I
get it. Yeah, I think. I get up early in
the morning, you know, I get up at three or
four am to write a morning newsletter. I make myself
a big bloody pot of coffee, a black coffee, and
for two months I made myself a shaker of age.
You one and I have a sort of side by
side healthy coffee, healthy coffee, And it tasted good and
(05:55):
it was just a ritual and I don't have breakfast
for like six hours into my day or something, and
so it's just it's just something that I could do
that I enjoyed, and I felt a little bit sad
when I stopped taking it, and that I mean, you laugh.
But that habit forming that's absolutely critical to their business model.
That and social influencers, because they've got a subscription model
and as you said, as some of your listeners said,
(06:18):
you can't buy it in New Zealand, so and you
can't buy it over the counter anywhere, so people have
to get it from the company. And a monthly subscription
costs a bomb one hundred US dollars a month. If
they're going to keep people paying for that money and
keep them on subscription, they need to form a habit.
It's critical to them. Why did he quit, Look, he's
(06:39):
he has not confirmed that it was because of the
questions we were asking. We were asking some pretty robust
questions about the level of his disclosure of his criminal records.
He did, but this year he said that he didn't
hadn't committed any crimes. He said that he'd never had
an arrest warrant issued against him. He said that he'd
(06:59):
paid all his fines and reparations. Now we're able to
demonstrate him with court papers that there's demonstrate demonstrably incouraged
monsterbly demonstrations. Three am start. Then yeah, I don't, I
don't have to pronounce words.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
It's totally wrong.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Those three claims are wrong. And and this was just
a few months ago in a big meeting that he
had with his staff. And presumably he's been saying board
telling us board the same thing. Now that can't go
down well when we're able to go back to them
and say, actually, here's the evidence that what you're telling
your company now, what you're telling your customers now, and
what you're probably telling your board now. I haven't sat
in on the board meetings, I hastened to add, but
(07:39):
it's not it's not true.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yeah, all right, what's the what's the podcast called.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
It's called powder Keg. It's on the Dove joannel from
from newsroom. And I just want to very quickly say
thank you very much to the Brian Gainer Initiatives. They
helped fund the podcast and without them we wouldn't have
been able to do that. So they're supporting publicans journalism.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Yam, Yeah, absolutely, Johno, thank you for coming and really
appreciate it and best of luck with it. As Jonathan
Mille Newsroom Pro Managing Editor and The powder Key and
obviously behind the powder Key podcast.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
For more from news Talks, they'd be listen live on
air or online and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
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