Rick Collins, Esq., NSCA-CSCS, is a lawyer who defends the nutrition and fitness community, a partner at Collins Gann McCloskey & Barry PLLC, and General Counsel to the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
Peptides are everywhere right now, but most of what's sold online as BPC-157 or TB-500 is illegal — and the FDA is about to decide what happens next. Rick breaks down the science, the legal gray market, and why the military's new testosterone screening policy matters too.
Expect to learn what actually counts as a "peptide," how GLP-1 drugs normalized injectable medications and fueled the gray market, what the FDA's own scientists concluded about BPC-157 and TB-500, why Rick's caseload has shifted from steroids to 80-90% peptide cases, what a possible "experimental peptide" middle-ground category could look like, and what really happens when the FDA raids a peptide seller, and much more.
Connect with Rick:
www.RickCollins.com
Episodes you'll enjoy next:
#371 — Peptides, TRT, GLPs & Bloodwork: How to Do It Safely (and What Most People Miss) with John Gorman: Listen here
#319 — Exploring the World of Peptides with Anthony Castore: Listen here
Episode Timestamps:
4:07 Rick's background as a lawyer and his standard legal disclaimer
6:14 What actually counts as a "peptide"
8:25 How GLP-1 drugs normalized injectable medications
10:44 Loss of trust in the FDA fuels the gray market
11:46 The rise of personal health autonomy
13:40 Two markets: the medical model vs. "bro science"
16:23 Inside the FDA Compounding Advisory Committee meeting
19:23 FDA scientists' verdict on BPC-157 and TB-500
20:49 Why the science on BPC-157 is still so thin
22:07 Prohibition logic: the black market will keep growing
25:47 A possible middle ground: an "experimental peptide" category
32:11 Rick's caseload shift — from steroids to 80-90% peptide cases
35:30 Why big pharma cares about tirzepatide and retatrutide knockoffs
42:28 Pete Hegseth and testosterone screening in the military
46:57 Why the new TRT policy may be "much ado about nothing"
49:23 Low testosterone's real, well-documented health risks
52:26 Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, and biohacking against nature
57:12 The schism between orthodox medicine and biohacking
62:39 What happens when the FDA raids a peptide seller
63:30 Connect with Rick Collins
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