So here’s an interesting little situation:
I was popping around the internet yesterday, and on a Google search, found an interview with myself on a site that didn’t really sound too familiar. As I’ve competed over the years, I’ve been very fortunate, and lucky, to have gotten a good deal of exposure in various magazines and web sites. Still, the search entry was dated January 2013, and I know I haven’t done anything the last couple of months.
Upon checking it out, the site appeared to be one of those huckster types that try their best to look like an informative fitness oriented site, but are literally covered with click-on ads for e-books, as well as opportunities to sign up and get on their mailing lists for the latest shortcuts you’re not using to get huge. The author, with no real credentials, or “about” section, also has a bunch of other sites with similar names (same basic set ups), all hocking the same clickables.
As I scrolled around, I realized that he had similar “interviews” with other natural pros, many of which I recognized as being blatantly copy/pasted off of a well known site that gives a lot of attention to the natural side of the sport.
I was a little unsure what to think. So I sent a ‘comment’ to the site:
“Never saw this up here. I don’t eat whole eggs when training, instead using nuts, and fish oils for my healthy fats. Also I don’t take whey before, during, or after training, instead relying on BCAAs or CHY during my session. Quite a chop/copy/paste job you did here from various interviews and profiles of me elsewhere on the web.”
Well, 5 minutes later, I received this email:
“Stu - I’ll be straight up honest with you, I got the article original article from Muscle&Strength and rewrote the article in my own words.
If you want me to change some things around in the article, you can send me the details of what you actually do to gain muscle/lose fat and I’ll be happy to rewrite it. My apologies.”
Now, as comical as it is to get caught by the actual guy you’re claiming to have spoken with (seriously, it starts out saying ‘we interviewed Stu Yellin…’ -lol), I find myself pondering how I feel about this.
-On one hand, I’m bothered that things were actually changed from what I truly said. I always give props to what supplements I take, as well as my actual diet and the guy made his own alterations. He blatantly removed my nod to Anaconda and Mag-10 from the actual transcript that’s up on the original site of the interview.
-On the other hand, another hit when my name gets Googled isn’t really a bad thing.
-Of course this is obviously a BS site, and the last thing I want is to be associated with any of the so many BS/fitness/send me money sites out there.
-Then there’s the fact that the guy is only offering to make changes, but not to take it down along with his claim of interviewing me, and inferring some sort of association.
-And then we have the original site, which has seriously gone out of their way with interviews, profiles, and even video series of me over the years,… how disrespectful is this guy being to them?
What do you guys think?
S
