… Best described… The gift of adversity
Born 1963 of two extraordinary parents Michael and Sophie Szynalski, an engineer and seamstress, both as children raised on farms. During the war one night their families awakened, ordered to pack, and forced into war-labor-camps. Tragically, parents died of starvation and Alex’s parents ended up in orphanages in Africa and India later met and married in England, conceived Alex on the Queen Mary as they immigrated to the US.
…And so it began, the values of God, frugality, appreciation, hard work and resourcefulness were instilled. Alex struggled as he was a poor student and athlete though he worked really hard; his brother and sister however excelled. Alex’s physics professor started writing backwards on the board, as he lectured realized it, and said it was “dyslexia”. Relieved, Goen studied every book he could find on dyslexia, which led to studying the mind and nutrition, this led to deep understanding of the adversity he was born with and became his greatest blessing. That was the incubation of WINosp (operating system processing/programming)… the neuroscience of winning subconscious linguistics… though unnamed the cornerstone of his life.
Alex selfishly used and developed this neurotransformational tool to make concepts/lessons, ingrained and effortlessly useful, the system breathed life; the seeds became him… life magical…future boundless.
Alex first used WINosp though in its infancy, to transform his body and athletic abilities. His first year on swim team achieved states and titles in bodybuilding and motocross. His expensive passion motocross led to starting a small landscaping business, motorcycle/bike shop and recycling center while in high school.
Alex went to college to fulfill his father’s dream to be an engineer, failed. His father deeply disappointed said “son I will love you even though you’ll never amount to nothing” those words rang and rang and rang. Initially devastated, he became determined to show him! At the time a P/T lifeguard at the largest health club chain in the US called Jack LaLanne’s, Alex asked to be transferred into sales and thought if WINosp worked so great in sports, to directly apply it to selling.
Within 2 months, top 10 in sales promoted to assistant manager, within three months a club manager and a few months later, top manager. It was then that Alex started to teach WINosp for the first time in seminars, and private coaching for the members, he discovered damaging thought patterns and developed tools to transform their bodies and then to his team to hone communication/selling techniques. This led to nationally training Jack LaLanne’s employees, and then at age 19 Club Meadowlands, a high-end $3000 a year health club with restaurant/bar next to the Giants/Jets/Nets/Devils sports complex.
Club Meadowlands, was the most advanced and exclusive health club, in the tri-state area, where most of the Giants, Jets, Nets, Devils, trained and hung out. Alex learned more about health, nutrition, hypnosis, NLP, guided visual imagery and other modalities, from the cutting edge doctors that treated the pro-players and others that owned the health club. More important how great athlete’s winning minds think/process, and recognizing what really set the great athletes apart, was not superior Muscular IQ, or Intellectual IQ, but Emotional IQ and unwavering belief in one’s ability and the engineering of such, micro-tuning WINosp programming/processing technologies and creating the neuroscience of winning subconscious linguistics …WINstructions. Alex passionately taught his technology to his employees to ingrain skills quickly into the subconscious, taught members how to transform their bodies started with the mind and worked with the Pro-athletes to micro-fine-tune their unique skill-sets/abilities with the WINosp methods where each session, was also an experiment to further develop the technology.
In 1984 at 21 Alex left the job that he so loved, his father’s words still ringing and went into the insurance business. Almost instantly, became the number one salesperson and always “going” got the nickname Alex Goen, it stuck, then in management used his training methods to develop his team and became the youngest, and fastest promoted, Regional Vice President, Senior Vice President and National Sales Director.
There he also developed a new skill set he called “management with unmanagement” it really started in the Jack LaLanne days and fine-tuned the concept, a way to measure performance in every position from Dir. Of first Impressions to Sr. VP’s, in a black and white way, because everything measured improves, a learning/continuous improvement culture. A philosophy that the best way to reprimand someone, is to simply praise them just a little bit less, and “daily five-minute huddles” covering what did you accomplish yesterday, what will you accomplish today, if stuck who needs to free you, so you can’t help but be incredibly productive, trickling down the organization. This method allowed for fast growth with the “collapsing of time frames” and a culture that inspire. Goen developed his unique speaking skills and motivating style.
In 1989 Goen left a position in the company that he so passionately loved for an entrepreneurial calling. Started Lexus Out of State Lottery Courier Service, locations where you can play the top four biggest lotteries in the country. Within 6 months, had 325 locations in New Jersey, Connecticut, and 225 in Pennsylvania and became a victim of his success. Pennsylvania’s decreasing lotto revenue blamed on Lexus and changes to the law, Alex gave Lexus to the top manager and moved on.
Lexus was only busy the drawing days so Goen established a private practice more as a mission to help “the underdog” something that he identified with as a result of the “gifts” he was blessed with as a kid. The practice strangely twisted into treating unique issues of some of the most powerful in Manhattan. Here he used multiple modalities to transform and “bring out the winner within” something Goen was certain of, and loved directly witnessing the transformations and learning/honing his system.
In 1990 with the belief “every adversity carries with it the seed of the equal or greater benefit… And it’s never equal” ingrained; Goen found the benefit, three weeks after leaving Lexus; he started A Goen Seminars Institute. Expecting a crowd of a couple hundred at his first seminar, no one showed up realizing he lacked marketing/copywriting/advertising skills he used WINosp to speed-learn them and soon Goen Seminars became the largest stop smoking/weight loss seminar company in the country with a team of 14 speakers that he trained and developed personally doing about 3000 seminars a year, sales of 15 to 20 million a year.
Goen patented his modality and developed a number of very unique marketing/advertising strategies his favorite he named “cognitive-based advertising” he also developed a way of buying ads for 10-20% rate card. However all the success paled in comparison to his #1 love/passion which is transforming the attendee’s lives. Goen developed: “fat-free and fabulously fit forever” “TRIMstructions” “seven steps on how to speed up your natural metabolic rate and lower your set-point” “stop smoking or double your money back” that’s right he believed in his programs and stood firmly behind them.
1992 bought minority interest in Bio-Link a nutraceutical company out of Canton Ohio with a line designed by famous cancer doctor, Charles B Simone MD. He quickly recognized problems with the leadership, and sold his interest. It was after a bio-link board meeting that Goen met the love of his life Monique; on their second date he told her she would marry him one day… he was right.
Jan 1994 founded NUTRAMERICA™ with the mission of “reshaping America one body at a time” the products formulated initially by Dr. Eduardo Prokos grew into a line of about 30 products, and 160,000 mail-order customers. In 1995 NUTRAMERICA network marketing division was founded, grew to about 10,000 distributors, however after substantial investment, poor leadership in that division, and running in the red was closed down and another adversity turned into something much greater. NUTRAMERICA retail division was launched. Goen increasingly spent more time building the brands and more important the company’s team members and invested in science/patents/research, head up by Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Albert Fleischer PhD. The decade ended with Goen Seminars and NUTRAMERICA doing over 30 million a year in sales, 60 employees and Alex 1999 Ernst and Young’s “entrepreneur of the year” finalist.
2000 NUTRAMERICA and a few other corporations that Goen founded were merged into Goen technologies (GTC), Alex organized the company with a relentless commitment to focus on state-of-the-art science with products that work and customers rave about. The fruits of this commitment became increasingly clear; TRIMSPA X32 was being sold in health food stores across the country, sales were exploding. Radio advertising started.
In 2001 it was discovered that a sophisticated counterfeiting ring was selling a sugar pill with TRIMSPA X32 label, to diverters, and then sold to the health food stores, a devastating problem, that almost put the company out of business, not only was the company not getting paid but in addition, refunding customers for the bad experience. The authorities got involved with limited success. Unfortunately, counterfeiting is a major problem in the US and big pharmaceutical company’s blockbuster drugs are the most counterfeited. This adversity eventually became the best thing that ever happened to the company. Goen solved the problem by introducing a state of the art aluminum counterfeit proof bottle 1st ever and now could have peace of mind that his customers were able to have a great experience and lose the weight. Years later, grateful that counterfeiting/solution happened before the company’s really big years.
2002 sponsored the NASCAR race team and developed a 34 episode TV show called NBS 24-7 that covered the race-team and TRIMSPA lifestyle. Started an event marketing team that consisted of the TRIMSPA models, show cars, and motorcycles and most importantly showcase the TRIMSPA lifestyle, often John Daly, that lost weight with TRIMSPA, when he didn’t make the cut, would sing country tunes, on the TRIMSPA stage, joining often other up-and-coming stars, such as Craig Morgan, Sherrie Austin. This team traveled 40 months and often got paid to appear. Goen contacted Orange County Choppers to have a TRIMSPA motorcycle built for a $150,000 on Discovery Channel’s #1 show, two-hour episode, that re-aired more times than any other corporate bike and started the trend where America’s biggest brands had bikes built on American chopper and paid 1-3 million for one-hour episode. Retail expanded into drug chains.
2003 TRIMSPA sponsored Indy race team driver Greg Ray, in addition to radio advertising across the country negotiated with Clear Channel to run 1 spot per hour on 750+ radio stations for two months (1 million+ spots) paid 3 million, value 25-100 million. Anna Nicole Smith was introduced to TRIMSPA X 32 and lost 69lbs. Television advertising started, year finished with 100 million in sales and a hundred employees. Built a high definition post editing studio, arguably second most advanced in NJ, edited and produced many commercials, TV shows, 2 reality shows, 1000s of PR TV pieces and 1 pilot.
2004 expanded retail to 80,000 doors, Goen executive produced a number of television shows and commercials and was incredibly successful weaving TRIMSPA into the fabric of America by having TRIMSPA questions in a number of board games and television game show’s 1st to advertise on a jockeys uniform Kentucky Derby, TRIMSPA featured in a 34 episode series and one-off TRIMSPA lifestyle TV shows. TRIMSPA was discussed on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox, and many other TV shows. GTC was served with a class-action lawsuit (LaRosa) that triggered FTC inquiry and over 1 million document discovery, literally a tractor-trailer full of documents that had to be reviewed by attorneys cost over million. Year ended, 300+ million retail sales, 270 employees, #1 in category beating #2-5 combined.
2005 the inquiry and outside attorneys stifled TRIMSPA creativity, GTC boldly launched “WINFUEL” a revolutionary line focused on the nutrient constituents required for peak performance. The line formulated by Dr. Fleischer PhD and his scientific team with work initiated in the mid-90s. Positioned as: WINFUEL, “first ever nutritional that’s all about winning” and launched around the NASCAR program with Shane Hmiel who was considered the most talented/gifted driver and Dale Earnhardt by far NASCAR’s most celebrated driver, 80% of all merchandise sales, a line of commercials, 35 episode TV series on the WINFUEL lifestyle, and a very clever way to incorporate Earnhardt into all 35 episodes with a feature on “winning” all shot before the season even started.
In addition, a unique media buy that included, 1st ever “WINFUEL finish line graphic” so whoever won the race would cross that graphic, similar to first down graphics in football, the big benefit, every sports broadcast showing highlights of the race, always shows the winning car crossing the finish line, but now with a WINFUEL finish line graphic associating WINFUEL with winning and seen regularly on your evening news! The launch began on the red carpet at Oscars night of 100 stars, Shane Hmiel drove the WINFUEL NASCAR up to the red carpet, with actress Traci Bingham on a side walked up the steps, and unzipped the WINFUEL race-suits, exposing gown and tux, sales were explosive, until Shane Hmiel was tested for drugs by NASCAR and failed after just a few races into the season, May 2005, all the hard work and about 10 million wasted.
2006 TRIMSPA once again was a center of attention and continued strong sales, Anna Nicole Smith became pregnant and gave birth to Dannielynn Hope on Sept. 7, four days later Daniel Wayne Smith, her son, dies, a media circus begins, TRIMSPA’s caught in the middle, sales slow. Goen focuses on helping his friend Anna Nicole Smith navigate through the media storm. It was incredibly difficult for Anna as she was grieving terribly, depressed, a prisoner in her house with media literally camped outside her gates. Goen visited Anna often in the months following Daniels passing and tried to help Anna Nicole not to focus on his death, but on the gift of his life and Dannielynn Hope, Anna knew she had to get strong for her daughter.
By the middle of Nov. Anna Nicole Smith was feeling better and wanted to work to help occupy her mind and try to bring some normalcy back. Goen recognizing the opportunity and how to leverage media interest, planned with Anna a TRIMSPA makeover event for the 18th– 25th of Feb, 2007 which would be the first chance for media to finally get her interview.
GTC’s PR team went to work and arranged agreements with the Today show, GMA, Larry King live, other similar shows, the entertainment shows, all the tabloids, and a mass of other media, to cover the makeover event, with a guarantee of an interview with Anna Nicole Smith. The makeover event would showcase 100 TRIMSPA success stories of people that lost 25-70 lbs in three months using TRIMSPA. This clearly would be the biggest media PR event in weight loss industry history. GTC sold 40 million TRIMSPA X32 to the retailers, and to lift Anna’s spirits put her picture on the bottle for the 1st time. 2007 was promising to be the biggest year in the history of the company.
Jan 2007 there was a positive buzz preparing for the biggest PR event to ever hit the weight loss industry. Anna Nicole Smith loved meeting all the people that she was able to help lose weight and transform their lives. GTC also prepared by launching a 10 million dollar advertising campaign starting on Feb 18. Tragically, on February 8th, Anna dies at the Hard Rock Hotel the very place of TRIMSPA’s previous makeover event.
Retail sales virtually stopped, who would want a bottle with Anna’s picture on it? Within days, retailers were sending the product back, with the destocking fees, fees for having empty shelves, and demanding new TRIMSPA without Anna’s picture. $40 million of product had to be destroyed, the 10 million dollars advertising campaign stopped however dollars already committed, and a debt-free company burdened with 50 million in debt. GTC found itself embroiled in the biggest media frenzy of the decade. Goen was grieving the loss of his friend and deeply troubled and disgusted by the untruthfulness of media’s coverage, he began to realize it wasn’t the truth that they wanted, but the ratings, purely economic and 2007 ended as a very difficult year.
2008 sales started to improve; TRIMSPA X32 always had a highly loyal customer base, according to a major drug retailer, the most loyal in the category. Goen created a 30 second TV spot that had 400 before and after’s flashing fast and 4 slow, however in slow motion on your DVR the 400 before-and-after’s, became an infomercial, 1st time ever done.
GTC was paralyzed by massive debt, but never ignored a creditor, and invited them all in for a face-to-face group meeting, Goen ran the meeting and was incredibly touched by the overall outcry of support from the long-term multiyear vendors with comments such as “Alex how should you have known, Anna would die?”
Troubled however by comments from first time vendors and new landlord that had no history but couldn’t blame them. GTC’s bankruptcy counsel said “if there ever was the perfect scenario for prepackaged bankruptcy this is it” that’s where you get 50%+ of your creditors to agree to a lesser payout, with a principal contribution and a long-term scheduled payments. Goen drummed up well over 50%+ support. On May 21 filed for chapter 11 protection with a prepackaged bankruptcy plan and the list of creditors and their individual debt, everything was going perfect until the new landlord disagreed that the debt was 800,000(amount behind) but said it was 10 year lease, at 1 million a year or altogether 10 million. This threw off the ratio and forced the company into converting to chapter 7 on 9/22/08.
2009 Goen was inundated with lawsuits as a result of the chapter 7 conversion, with legal fees of $100,000-$200,000 a month. Goen was asked, by two former employees, if he could help their struggling web development business startup. He applied WINosp technology and a business that was breaking even started making over 100,000 a month within five months over the next few years Goen quietly focused on helping former team members, customers, and other companies referred to him.
2010-13 Goen continues to resolve lawsuits and GTC burdens at a personal cost of well over 10 million, and finally lawsuit free by 2013. Counseled by attorneys Goen maintained a low profile and focused on other passions, helping people, consulting, family activities such as dirt-biking the Bitterroot Mountains with his sons starting at Jackson hole Wyoming, through parts of the Tetons, Snake River, Sawtooths, following the Salmon River, through Montana, Seven Devils ranges and ending in Sun Valley Idaho, and making the dirtbiking trip an annual affair to a different place every year. Notable memories, getting caught in a blizzard on Relay Ridge at 10,000 feet in the middle of July, riding through herds of buffalo, elk, moose, a glimpse at a mountain lion, and the sheer majesty that God so generously bestowed, ignited a fire to give back to the land that he so adored.
Dec. 6, 2013 a friend brought Goen to a seminar, he’s probably been to them all, this one however introduced a concept, which in over 30 years, was new. The frustration was that it concluded without the necessary tools to make the concepts, ingrained and usable effortlessly into one’s life. He saw firsthand how excited attendees left, quickly fleeting the days after, as the excitement waned and turned into frustration, the lesson, a distant, unused memory, sad and such a waste. For him, used the technology of WINstructions OSP and the lessons became him. More important, his friend, who brought him, experienced the same frustration. Goen shared with him the technology of WINstructions OSP and witnessed the possibilities as this neurotransformational system breathed life, and the seeds become him… And, which is more, WINosp was born again… this time to change the world – “There comes a special moment in everyone’s life, a moment for which that person was born… When he seizes it… It is his finest hour”. –Winston Churchill
Dec. 13, early morning… The gifts/benefits of the adversity of the previous few years became clear, Alex knew his destiny. Goen said “I reflected…and with clarity of purpose, as if the hand of God, guided my life, the experiences/lessons thoughtfully selected… the time has come to do God’s work” Goen committed WINosp to paper, flow charted it, and hired the best programmers to write the code for the complex system, to work, effortlessly and automatically engineering one’s life.
Worth noting
Goen has been a guest on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, guest multiple times on Larry King live, Greta Van Susteren, Nancy Grace, Dr. Phil, Today Show interviewed by Matt Lauer, Early Show interviewed by Hannah storm, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, E-News Live, and many other news/interview shows.
2005 Stevie award best package design for S.P.A. collection of products, Ernst & Young entrepreneur of the year 1999 finalist, selected for Massachusetts Institute of technology entrepreneurs program “Birthing of the Giants” limited to the top 50 young up-and-coming entrepreneurs worldwide.
1st place TRIMSPA finish NASCAR Busch Carolina Speedway February 21, 2004 with driver Jamie McMurray, 1st place finish TRIMSPA Kentucky Speedway, the channel 205 May 8, 2004 driver Ryan Hemphill,1st place finish TRIMSPA July 9, 2004 driver Ryan Hemphill,1st place finish Lowe’s motor Speedway May 27, 2004 RE/MAX 100 driver Ryan Hemphill,1st place finish TRIMSPA Pocono Raceway July 31, 2004 driver Ryan Hemphill, 1st place finish TRIMSPA Kansas Speedway Kansas lottery 200 grand June 5, 2004 driver Ryan Hemphill, drivers that drove the TRIMSPA or WINFUEL racecar, David Stremme, Joey McCarthy, Joey Clanton, Greg Ray, Jamie McMurray, Shane Hmiel.
Goen and his companies wrote numerous patents issued, TRIMSPA line of products have double-blind, placebo-controlled, IRB approved protocol, statistically significant clinical studies, competing products do not have studies on entire formula, Goen monthly brought in the best of the best to train his team worth mentioning the two best copywriters in the world Gary Halbert, Dan Kennedy, best business mind Verne Harnish author Rockefeller habits, Brad Smart author Top Grading, Joe Polish creating raving customers.
Tom McMillan Rhodes scholar, co-chair Pres.’s Council on physical fitness and sports under President Bill Clinton, on Goen advisory board, Joe Mancuso author of over 25 business books founder/president of CEO clubs largest worldwide CEO organization on Goen technologies board, and worked with mother Mary Angelica Our Lady of Angels, Sisters supplying them with supplement products and studying the effects.
Goen proud of the FTC investigation of 2004, after turning over 1 million documents, by a data mining firm recommended by the FTC, at the cost of well over million dollars, the FTC TRIMSPA investigation concluded with a fine of 1.5 million compared to Senca 26.5 million, Xenadrine EFX 12.8 million, Bayer’s WeightSmart 3.2 million, Sketchers USA 40 million, Medifast 3.7 million, Goen said “we always did our best to let the consumer know the results they can expect based on double-blind placebo-controlled studies, but we weren’t perfect and happy that the FTC does the needed work that they do”.
Goen is most proud that so many of his former employees/team members have gone on to excel in business, humanitarian efforts, or starting their own companies many of which are multimillion dollar establishments.
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