Ten months after the city and county police departments severed ties with popular supplement and fitness company 1st Phorm, the county department is opening the door to potential rapprochement.
Both the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department ended their relationship with 1st Phorm last fall after founder Andy Frisella caused a firestorm by maligning female officers on his Real AF podcast.
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“In my opinion, women shouldn’t be in the fucking field and police officers. I just don’t think they should be,” Frisella said—leading to wide condemnation, including by Chiefs Robert Tracy in the city and Kenneth Gregory in the county. Both the city and county police departments cut ties with 1st Phorm and Frisella, who had been a big donor to law enforcement-related charities, including an annual $100,000 donation to the St. Louis Guns ‘N Hoses Boxing Association. In the wake of Frisella’s comments, the nonprofit, which supports police officers injured in the line of duty, turned down the annual gift.
But since then, the nutrition company has gone on to announce partnerships with big-name entities including Anheuser-Busch. And earlier this month, Gregory held a listening session with female officers in order to hear their thoughts about “opening the door to re-establishing a relationship” with the company, a police spokeswoman tells SLM.
The police union that represents officers says full reconciliation is only a matter of time.
“There is no doubt the St. Louis County Police Department will re-establish the relationship with 1st Phorm,” says Joe Patterson, executive director for the St. Louis County Police Officers’ Association. “That is and was already a foregone conclusion.”
Vera Clay, the county department’s digital and social media coordinator, tells SLM that only female officers, the chief, and deputy chief were at the meeting. The chief “wanted to start the conversation,” she said, after “some cool reflection” in recent months.
But, according to Clay, rapprochement is not guaranteed. “It really depends on how some of these female officers feel, because the chief is completely behind them,” Clay said.
Clay did note that 1st Phorm headquarters are in Fenton, in the department’s jurisdiction. For a local company like that, she said, “Being able to come back to the table wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.” She also notes that Frisella himself is not among 1st Phorm’s leadership. (His brother Sal is the company’s CEO.)
Prior to the split, some county police officers worked secondary security employment for 1st Phorm. The company also had a history of dropping off free products at precinct stations for officers and staff.
Patterson tells SLM in an email that rank-and-file members of the union generally fall in three camps: “One group has accepted apologies and wants the relationship re-established. A second group that will not support or patronize anyone or any product associated with 1st Phorm.”
He said from what he hears, most members are in the third group, one “that is far too concerned with a critical staffing crisis and a lack of effective leadership at the top of the St. Louis County Police Department to be concerned with much else.”
But when it comes to 1st Phorm, Patterson believes the group favoring reconciliation will ultimately win the day.
Mitch McCoy, the spokesman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, said he has not heard of any effort within the city department about re-establishing ties with the company.
