WATCH: Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot breaks world rowing record, will not step down
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IDAHO FALLS — It was a birthday to remember for Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot as he turned 70 years old and placed his position as CEO of Melaleuca on the line.
VanderSloot announced earlier this week that if he didn’t break the 100-meter row world record in his age category, he would resign. To set the record, he needed to row faster than 15.3 seconds on the Concept 2 rowing machine.
Melaleuca employees gathered in the gym and a large meeting room Tuesday afternoon while thousands around the world anxiously watched him compete on Facebook live.
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VanderSloot admitted beforehand he’s not an athlete and has a cushy desk job, but he said if he could break the record, it was because of one thing: Melaleuca’s Peak Performance Nutrition Pack.
“If I could compete with the strongest athletes in the world my age, and beat them, I think it’s substantial evidence that the Peak Performance Pack is keeping me younger longer,” he said seconds before sitting on the rower.
As VanderSloot’s family members and employees cheered him on, the CEO broke the record, and kept his job, in 14.4 seconds.
When he finished, the audience chanted, “Ten more years!”
“I feel really great,” he told EastIdahoNews.com afterwards. “I feel I made the point I wanted to make that our products, specifically the Peak Performance Pack, is a phenomenal product and that it’s helping me stay younger longer.”
Many have wondered if VanderSloot really would have stepped down had he not broken the record. He says yes.
“I would have kept my promise if I hadn’t made it,” VanderSloot says. “I would have resigned. I’ve got a stellar team of a younger generation that’s smarter than me, that knows what we’re doing and how to do it better than I am.”
But for now, the world record holder will remain CEO of one of Idaho’s largest, fastest growing companies with a team to cheer him on.
“I think we’ve only begun,” VanderSloot says with a smile. “I think our future is really, really bright.”