NORFOLK -- While controversy boils over Pat Robertson's call for the assassination of Venezuela's president this week, another controversy is bubbling about one of his ventures.
Seems his "age-defying" diet shake isn't just a philanthropic endeavor anymore. The televangelist is looking to turn a profit from it.
After four years of touting the benefits of his weight-loss shake via his nonprofit Christian Broadcasting Network and sending the recipe to any viewer who asked for it, Robertson has licensed the shake for national distribution by General Nutrition Corp., a Pittsburgh-based health-food chain.
Robertson says he is exercising his right to engage in a business venture, but an evangelical watchdog group says he is abusing his nonprofit status. Moreover, a Texas bodybuilder who thought he was going to be Robertson's Jared is quite publicly angry that he's not.
Phil Busch had dreamed of inspiring millions of Robertson's viewers to lose weight drinking the evangelist's shake, just as Jared Fogle did for Subway sandwiches. Busch says he lost 198 pounds in 15 months drinking Robertson's concoction, leading to an on-camera interview with the Virginia Beach-based broadcaster on the daily TV show "The 700 Club" last month.
But Busch's hopes have been dashed by the crosscurrents of commerce. The man commercially hawking Robertson's shake is Pittsburgh bodybuilder Dave Hawk, who's affiliated with GNC.
Now Busch is hopping mad -- all 210 muscular pounds of him -- and the recriminations are flying.
Busch says Robertson played him for a sucker, using him to hype his product when it was a nonprofit venture, then dropping him like a hot, carb-filled potato when he went commercial. Robertson and Hawk say they've been publicly maligned by Busch and have threatened legal action.
A multimillionaire religious broadcaster and former presidential candidate, Robertson added "health-food promoter" to his wide-ranging résumé when he introduced "Pat's Age-Defying Shake" to viewers in August 2001.
Robertson, now 75, has said he devised the recipe himself after he turned 60 and began studying the connections among nutrition, aging and health.
Robertson says 1.5 million people have requested the recipe, which includes ingredients such as safflower oil, protein powder and vinegar. One of them was Busch, 41, a resident of suburban Dallas who bills himself as a bodybuilder, fitness trainer and motivational speaker. He says he weighed 410 pounds when he saw Robertson promoting his shake on TV in 2003 and decided to give it a try.
By following Robertson's diet in conjunction with an exercise program, Busch says, he lost 198 pounds and turned himself into a mass of muscle without using steroids or other drugs. Last year, he placed eighth in an International Natural Bodybuilding Association competition.
