Carbs Fuel Co-Founder, Aaron Gouw, was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California. He was the year above Gabe at the same high school, but they did not know each other yet. Aaron was always active and involved in many different sports, but it wasn't until he attended UC Davis where he found his love for cycling.
Aaron dove head-first into cycling, becoming involved in the collegiate and domestic road racing scenes. It was during this time that Gabe and Aaron first connected; they would become good friends over the years, often riding when they visited home in Santa Cruz.
During this period, Aaron quickly became curious about how to become faster on the bike. Paired with his love for the sciences, Aaron often found himself interested in the determinants of human performance, specifically in cycling and ultra-endurance sports.
Aaron graduated with his Bachelors in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior from UC Davis. His continued interest in human performance would lead him to Colorado where he would obtain his Masters in High Altitude Exercise Physiology. At the same time, Gabe was also living in Colorado, having completed his Bachelors at Fort Lewis College in Durango. They continued to keep in touch and, of course, ride bikes together whenever possible.
Through this period, Aaron was constantly seeking to improve his own cycling performance. Whether it was through optimizing training or through his nutrition, he was always driven by the current scientific research. It was through this pursuit of personal development and optimizing performance that he fully understood and appreciated the importance of nutrition and fueling for endurance sport.
Aaron finished his Master's program, leading him to move to Indiana to pursue his PhD in Human Bioenergetics. Gabe and Aaron would continue to keep in touch, often discussing all things bikes, but also sports performance and the relevant science behind it.
So, it wasn't a surprise when Gabe called Aaron to vent about his fueling frustrations and an idea on how to fix it.
Gabe had a few questions:
"Is it a good idea to eat 50 grams of carbs in one serving?"
"How hard would it be to make a gel?"
"Surely it isn't incredibly expensive to manufacture a gel?"
Aaron confirmed Gabe's hunch: it was a good idea, but it would take time to experiment. Yet, there is no reason a gel needs to be incredibly expensive.
Aaron and Gabe were excited by this idea of changing the way athletes fuel; Aaron got to work on researching, testing, and formulating while Gabe worked on the business plan, packaging, and manufacturing.
After nine months of research and development, Aaron finalized the formula of our Original 50g Gel to ensure it was the best possible energy gel for our customers. He found the perfect balance of carbohydrates, sodium, pH, and water activity. In doing this, Aaron kept the gel simple and found a way to avoid preservatives, gelling agents, and other unnecessary ingredients.
We launched a simple and effective product, but it was anything but simple to get the best possible product for our customers. Thanks to the Aaron, we are able to help more athletes effectively fuel their sport.
