• Wall Street Journal , Wednesday, December 3, 2008 10:45 AM

Before he earned his eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps and three teammates agreed to endorse PureSport, a protein mix made by a tiny Austin, Texas, company, for a 5% stake in the company. The drink mix, initially sold through specialty shops, recently won shelf space at the 400-store Sports Authority.

"Phelps was the clincher," says Terry Gilmore, an oil, gas and real estate investor who put up nearly $5 million in January to launch the company that markets the protein and carbohydrate-filled cocktail. PureSport can't afford national television commercials or print campaigns, so Phelps has become the core of its marketing campaign -- on packaging, store displays and in retail store appearances.

"We get him for at least seven days a year, and we book the hell out of him," says Michael Humphrey, CEO of Human Performance Labs. "Everything we can do to connect him to our brand, we'll do it."

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