From: Rob Faigin

Dear Prospective NHE Counselor, 

I will now give you details about what the position of NHE counselor entails. Please read, re-read, and deliberate upon the contents of this letter. As you will see, there are some serious ethical issues with which you must come to terms before agreeing to participate.

 Client Interactions

NHE counselors have wide latitude concerning how to conduct appointments and structure fee arrangements. NHE counselors can opt to counsel only via phone or e-mail. Personal interaction or not, is up to you. Even if you desire personal interaction, keep in mind that most of your counseling will be conducted via e-mail and/or phone simply because NHE readers reside all over the world and thus a small percentage of people contacting you will be from your area.

Dietary Supplements

Some NHE counselors sell supplements currently, and others will enter this lucrative business in the future. We are going to add language to the Extique website to the effect that "Rob Faigin's recommendation of an NHE counselor does not imply an endorsement of any dietary supplements or other products sold by that person." NHE counselors may sell whatever dietary supplements they wish, provided there is a reasonable basis for believing the supplement is beneficial. If there is no reasonable basis for believing a supplement is beneficial, then this would contravene the "honor and integrity" requirement of NHE counselors (see NHE Counselors Page, selection criterion #8). Even if a supplement is not proven to work, it may still have "a reasonable basis for believing the supplement is beneficial." Furthermore, even if my personal opinion, based on my research, is that a supplement is not effective, this doesn't mean that it lacks "a reasonable basis for believing the supplement is beneficial." For example, I believe that androstendione is generally ineffective for promoting muscle gain in youthful bodybuilders whose testosterone levels are already high (and poses risks). However, there is still a reasonable basis for believing it is beneficial (i.e., it may work in some people and it may have other benefits, i.e., a short-term libido booster). As you can see, the "reasonable basis standard" is very permissive. I have investigated prospective NHE counselors' websites, and found no product that falls below this inch-high standard. An example of a product that fails to satisfy this meager standard is a "cellulite cream" that you rub on your skin and supposedly makes fat go away. A person who sells such a product lacks the requisite honor and integrity to represent me, and soils the reputation of his/her fellow NHE counselors.

Note - These rules are not only intended to protect my reputation and good name, but also yours - we are judged by the company we keep.

NHE counselors MAY NOT state, imply, suggest, or hint that I endorse a dietary supplement or product unless I do. This rule will be strictly interpreted. For example, on Ask Rob I state, "there are two groups of people that I feel should be taking antioxidant supplements: males and females." You may say, "Rob Faigin endorses the use of antioxidants, and alpha lipoic acid is an antioxidant." But you MAY NOT say, "Rob Faigin endorses the use of alpha lipoic acid" (even though alpha lipoic acid is an antioxidant). I comment on a few supplements in NHE and I am leaking some of my views on supplementation on Ask Rob, but for the most part I am remaining silent while I continue to research this subject. To avoid any problems, I strongly recommend that you either quote me precisely or, if I have not published any comments on a given supplement, say: "Rob is researching the supplement issue and will make his findings known at a later date. Therefore, I can't speak for him on this, but my own personal opinion is that XYZ supplement can be used effectively in conjunction with NHE." You are welcome to recommend and sell to NHE readers whichever supplements your good judgment tells you are worthwhile, PROVIDED that you explicitly disassociate me from your recommendation with the statement contained in the foregoing sentence.

The Crucial Distinction between Clients Obtained by You  
and Clients Referred by Extique

For practical purposes, every client you service will fall into one of two categories: 1) clients obtained by you 2) clients referred by Extique. The rules are VERY DIFFERENT for each of these two categories.

1)  Obtained By You clients (for convenience, hereinafter referred to as OBY clients) include all clients who 1) were NOT recommended by me and 2) did NOT come from the extique website and 3) were NOT referred by such clients. I would hope that you would train/advise these clients consistent with NHE principles, but this is not within my purview. However, although I have no jurisdiction to oversee or pass judgment on how you train/advise this category of clients and I will make no effort to look into this, if information comes to my attention that you are training/advising OBY clients in a manner offensive to the essence of NHE, this will furnish a basis for me to question your "commitment to and application of the NHE program" (see NHE Counselors Page, selection criterion #5). Many minor departures or even a few significant departures WILL NOT be deemed to be "offensive to the essence of NHE." (In other words, it is very difficult to violate this standard - you must basically spit in the face of NHE to be removed on this ground.) For example, if you advise a high-carbohydrate post-workout meal (directly contrary to NHE) to OBY clients, this will be overlooked. However, if you advise a high-carbohydrate overall diet, this is "offensive to the essence of NHE" and amounts to a disavowal of NHE, warranting removal. Similarly, if you advise a 90-minute training session (directly contrary to NHE) to OBY clients, this will be overlooked. However, if you advise weight training 5 days in a row, this is "offensive to the essence of NHE" and amounts to a disavowal of NHE, warranting removal. As you can see, where OBY clients are concerned, your practices are virtually immune from scrutiny, except where the advice given is so grossly incompatible with NHE that I and your fellow NHE counselors risk being branded hypocrites if we continue to professionally associate with you.

2) Generated By Extique clients (hereinafter referred to as EXTIQUE REFERRALS) include all clients who 1) were recommended by me, or 2) came from the extique website, or 3) were referred by such clients. When counseling EXTIQUE REFERRALS, you are obligated to teach NHE "by the book" to the utmost of your ability. Honest mistakes (provided they are infrequently committed) resulting in your instructing NHE readers in a manner inconsistent with NHE, IS NOT a basis for removal. However, deliberately instructing EXTIQUE REFERRALS in a manner inconsistent with NHE shall result in removal. If you think about it, you realize that this rule is both 100% fair and absolutely necessary. I've spent a great deal of time, effort, and money "selling" these folks on NHE (not just selling them the book, but also convincing them that NHE is the ideal health and fitness system). If I send them to you and you steer them in a different direction, then you are undoing my work AND disserving the client. EXTIQUE REFERRALS are coming to you specifically for assistance and guidance with the NHE program, not for general fitness instruction. Therefore, any intentional departure from NHE is a breach of your duty to the client AND a betrayal of my trust. In other words, it is doubly unethical. For example, an NHE counselor who instructs an EXTIQUE REFERRAL to eat a high-carbohydrate post-workout meal shall be removed because this instruction conflicts with NHE. (Incidentally, if you have lingering doubts about the wisdom of the low-carb post-workout meal, which  departs from decades of conventional wisdom, PLEASE see my response to Ron Nelson and the Q & A immediately following Mr. Nelson's question.) Likewise, instructing an EXTIQUE REFERRAL to conduct a 90-minute workout session also conflicts with NHE and thus warrants removal. Likewise, instructing an EXTIQUE REFERRAL to avoid sunlight whenever possible warrants removal. On the NHE Counselors Page it says, "NHE counselors are not Rob Faigin clones. . . accordingly, a given NHE counselor's views may not correspond precisely with Rob's views." While this may be true, "your views" are immaterial when counseling EXTIQUE REFERRALS; they are hiring you to guide them in applying MY views. (However, if you have adopted NHE wholeheartedly, then your views and my views on fitness are identical! This is the ideal situation, but even if you disagree with me on certain substantive matters - which is perfectly okay - you can still be an effective and successful NHE counselor, provided that you allow your own views to surface only when dealing with OBY clients not with EXTIQUE REFERRALS.) In effect, when dealing with EXTIQUE REFERRALS you are acting as my representative or spokesperson. If you don't think you can do this, for whatever reason, then this position is not for you. (Note - Lawyers do this every day - they are obligated to represent their clients' interests. If they act against a client's interests, they are subject to disbarment. In the analogous NHE counselor scenario, you have two clients: me and the EXTIQUE REFERRAL. Both the EXTIQUE REFERRAL and I have identical interests: i.e., your teaching him/her NHE, the whole NHE, and nothing but NHE. I am "paying" you a referral and the referral is paying you money.)

Bear in mind that NHE counselors are under no obligation to accept any number of EXTIQUE REFERRALS. So if you are up to your ears in OBY clients, you may only accept 1 out of every 5 EXTIQUE REFERRALS that contact you. Or 1 out of 10. All I ask is that if you accept a referral from me, that you not undercut my efforts and the client's wishes, by intentionally steering him/her away from NHE. In the enforcement of this rule, intent is the key issue. I'm not perfect, and I don't expect you to be. I can sympathize with honest mistakes when a person is trying his best, but I can't tolerate unethical behavior or dishonesty because ethics and honesty are central themes of the Extique mission.

New Extique Products

In order to be an effective NHE counselor, you must study NHE and associated products. To facilitate this, NHE counselors can purchase one "personal copy" of any new Extique product for 50% off plus shipping. Thereafter, NHE counselors pay normal reseller wholesale prices.

Ask Rob

If you haven't been to Ask Rob, I strongly suggest you get there as soon as possible. Ask Rob contains my answers to NHE reader questions. You will find it to be an extremely helpful supplement to NHE. As is the case with the Extique Video Personal Trainer, you must assume that NHE readers have been to Ask Rob (which is mentioned in the book and on the video). Not only will Ask Rob increase your competence as an NHE counselor, but you will also learn important health information. 

In Closing . . .

In considering this opportunity, remember that nothing worth having comes easily. You have a chance to be a part of a historic movement destined by fate and larger than each of us. The public is in desperate need of scientifically valid fitness instruction, and they are literally sick of the dishonesty and venality with which the fitness industry is infected. We can work together to set a standard, make a statement, inspire hope, and improve lives including our own. I hope you will join me in this noble mission.

I leave you with my favorite Shakespearean passage (a speech in which King Henry rallied his vastly outnumbered ragtag band of troops to victory in the Battle of St. Crispian against the professionally trained, superbly equipped, French forces). Feel free to print-out this great and inspiring 400-year-old piece of literature and attach it to the inside front cover of your personal copy of Natural Hormonal Enhancement. King Henry V, act 4, scene 3 (abridged):

more information about the NHE Counselor Program