I received the following email today from the Brandt-Sorenson company –
Good Morning, I wanted to inform you that your internet blog Stevetilford.com contains damaging and false information about our trademark “brandt-sorenson”
Specifically:
“He served a 2 year ban for testing positive at Master’s Nationals a few years ago. But that obviously didn’t slow him down. He decided to profit from it by becoming a drug dealer.”
The accurate information is available publicly through the Federal Court filing system. The incorrect statement is damaging and negligent. Please remove any reference to our trademark “BRANDT-SORENSON” from your blog and comments section.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Brandt
Cecilia Sasso
co-owners BRANDT-SORENSON Cycling Apparel
And I also talked to Cecilia. She seemed nice enough.
I told her I was writing about Nicolas and not about their company. She told me the link to their clothing brand was damaging. I asked her what was inaccurate. She emailed what was bothering her, I guess.
I’m pretty positive that Nicolas did accept a two year ban for doping. An article from USAC from 2013 states –
USADA announced today that Nick Brandt-Sorenson of Los Angeles, Calif., a masters athlete in the sport of cycling, has accepted a two-year suspension for an anti-doping rule violation.
Brandt-Sorenson, 32, tested positive for Efaproxiral, which artificially enhances delivery of oxygen to the tissues, as the result of a sample collected at the Masters Road Nationals in Bend, Ore. Efaproxiral is prohibited under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing and the International Cycling Union (UCI) Anti-Doping Rules, both of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code.
So, suspension was true.
Then the part about profiting by dealing drugs. From the LA Times a couple days ago –
In his plea agreement, Brandt-Sorenson admitted to selling a vial of erythropoietin, or EPO, to an athlete in Boulder, Colo., for $631.
So, that seems to be truthful also. Maybe the part about obviously not slowing him down? That was just my opinion. If that is false, then I apologize.
I think my friend Seth received the same email from her. I think his response will be a joy to read.
Anyway, I might need to raise money through GoFundme to defend myself. This blog thing is getting a bit stressful.
Alert – Just received a clarification from the Brandt-Sorenson Co. It states –
I’m sorry I do not think you are understanding what I’m arguing. You need to not use the words “But that obviously didn’t slow him down. He decided to profit from it by becoming a drug dealer”
This implies an order in which things happened. Which is FALSE. This was not in this chronological order. This is a false statement. Please remove.
So, I guess I got it out of order. He must have been selling doping products before he tested positive? I guess they are confirming the truth of the statements, but saying it is out of order chronologically? I’m bad, sorry.
Tucker likes to sleep with his toys in his mouth.
*gets popcorn*
https://www.facebook.com/brandtsorenson/
I’m sure that the drug charge “did” slow down his drug sales. Who would be drugs from a guy who was just busted?
oh no!
Not a big deal Steve.
Dopey Opie seems to have some misplaced anger toward clean racers calling out dick dopers.
The only person damaging any brand is Opie.
Maybe he paid more than $631 for the vial of EPO. If so, he incurred a loss and not a profit, which would make your statement false. He may have decided he did not need the EPO while serving his suspension for using Efaproxiral and decided he needed some quick cash.
Tell her to go f herself. Truth is a defense to defamation and you can’t defame a business last I checked. This is the same horeshit tactic Armstrong used against the British journalist who spoke out against only this guy is a Cat 5 at cheating. Well done; keep exposing the dirtbags in this sport and Ill keep reading your blog.
He plead guilty to selling ONE vial, probably because he was caught red-handed. It’s safe to assume there were more sales than just one.
what an absolute idiot this guy is. Your mention of his company on your blog is damaging? Then do you know what else is? Trying to run a company while using (or having used) and actively selling PEDs. Unbelievable.
First of all you are forgetting your journalistic license to write and report a story as you see it – 1ST Amendment Right to Free Speech – you stating your opinion based on already published information about Dopey Opie – also if you mention any other trademark names in your blog – Specialized or Coca-Cola – they cannot sue you for mentioning their names – a trademark by definition means that you cannot establish a business producing a product using THAT NAME.
Also legally – an email DOES NOT constitute putting you on notice – he can get sued for harassing you if you inform him to stop sending further emails. It has to be a certified 1ST Class letter or service by sheriff. My toilet paper is worth more than Dopey Opie’s email.
If Dopey Opie would be so stupid as to file a lawsuit against you (a journalist) he would have to file it in Kanas in District Court – no judge would even consider the charges against you and would deem the lawsuit frivolous – you as the plaintiff don’t even have to show up – just file an appeal if for some reason another verdict is rendered. It will then take two years to be heard in Superior Court and by that time Dopey Opie will be in Federal Prison.
you tell em peter… steve will keep exposing all the dirtbags and cheats in cycling …. of course none of em on the bmc team…
Let us know if you need gofundme support. I know you will have whatever you need from those who are on your side.
If I were Tilford I’d harass this dipshit for a month straight. I may even follow him on strava so I can do the same.
Bobke had a similar post on BobkeTV (great vid blog by the way). I wonder if had a visitation as well ?
Good on you Steve! I get this same vitreol and threats aimed at me every time I publicly call out George Hincapie for what he is- a doper and a cheat who made his fortune riding dirty. Since I happen to live within 20 miles of his palatial estate, his groupies get very mad whenever I call him what he is. It makes me laugh.
http://www.sprockets-bike.com/images/blocked.jpg
I think they blocked me….
The worst damage ever done to the Brandt-Sorenson trademark is Brandt-Spending himself!
*Sorenson
Steve doesn’t strike me as someone who would back down from a dirty doping douche making threats such as this. Besides, Dopie/Opie ™ would have no standing in a Kansas court on this matter. No worries there. Blog on Steve! Thanks.
The First Amendment does not apply here, since freedom of speech safeguards against retaliation from the government, not a business or individual. But regardless, Steve has written nothing libelous that could result in a lawsuit against him. He simply stated the truth. And I’m not a lawyer, but I’m quite confident that the order in which Steve states what took place is irrelevant considering the events are indeed true. Either way, I cannot envision any circumstance in which a judge would waste the courts time and allow anything official to happen as a result of Steve’s blog post.
Hey as long as he doesn’t a) call friends of mine wheelsucks b) whine about entry fees or prize lists to races he’s not doing or c) feel sorry for himself over some injury, Im good with that 🙂
You are just participating your right to speak in the public domain there is nothing illegal you are doing. I was sued by Kayle Leogrande which was way more sketchy. Don’t worry even if it goes to trial, don’t hire a lawyer just go with the public defender, present anti-slapp and the judge will throw it out before it goes to trial. The guy suing probably won’t even show up. He is wasting everyone’s time and his own money, and you can then get like $10,000 in a return suit which is what Sonye did.
I was in Florida, and Kayle was in California, trial will be in California. It’s all just a big waste of time. That dude isn’t even worth writing about. He needs to learn true love is himself and winning doesn’t matter. His self love is really about to go to zero, and he could become suicidal, violent, etc. So be easy on him remember he is a human being. Winning doesn’t matter. True love is ourselves and it is inside us all. True love is not found externally.
Yep, that’s Matt alright.
does peds – check
pushes peds – check
threatens legal action to those who call him out – check
3 checks, so give him a new name: Lance Jr.
Fuck ’em and feed ’em beans!
As someone who was cheated in the very race NBS was busted at in 2011, and who can get on a nice big high horse by having also been dope tested that weekend (at the TT, and clean, thanks for the confirmation USADA), let me say to Brandt-Sorensen and his representatives what we are all thinking: go fuck yourself you cheating piece of shit. You’re a sporting cheat and a drug dealer, and you suck. Go away forever.
Thanks for the great post, Steve.
Velonews should write an article about this post and title it: Guy who posts doggy pictures pwns dopers lawyer 🙂
For the casual reader, Matt was naming names long long looooong before USAC/UCI lost control of the narrative.
You did the right thing long ago. To be honest with you, it wasn’t executed well, but the intention was good.
I hope you have your health and have moved onto more rewarding things.
Kayle LeoGrande is more appropriate.
Your actions made a difference then.
I genuinely hope you’ve moved onto other things and have a rich, rewarding life.
Like a tough Chihuahua barking behind a screen door that can easily be opened, then flees to hide behind the couch when it does, I would love to see Galen Mitterman say that to Nick’s face directly. Instead, he chose to piggy-back onto Tilford’s blog comment section, a place full of adults slinging witty insults and anonymously name-calling with statements typical of your average 3rd grader. Being a fairly small-statured rider with nothing to back it up, I doubt Galen would actually have the guts to make that happen. But, I’m sure it would help him vent his frustration, which seems reasonable, seeing as he missed the podium by 5 seconds. That’s a bitter pill to swallow, Galen, I feel sorry for you. I hope you’re able to wash it down at some point and move on. Clearly, it’s been festering for the past 4.5 years. In some ways, you are fortunate to have been beaten by a rider who later tested positive, because you will forever have the excuse that it was HIS fault that you didn’t win the race, and everyone knows you definitely WOULD have won otherwise! That’s a lot easier to repeat, and it sounds so much more prestigious, than just saying I missed the move and really was just pack fodder in the approximately 30 rider “nationals” race you participated in. Your sprint was never that impressive, even in the local OBRA training crits, and you would not have beaten Eric Marcotte anyways. 2nd place would have possibly been your dream goal, but even if you attained that, nobody would really care. (If you’d like, I can send you my own silver medal, earned at masters nationals. It’s just collecting dust in a box.) All that matters is how you felt inside on that day, the fitness in your legs, the mental zone you attained, and the 99.9% effort you poured out near the finish. That is the part to savor and remember. The result # doesn’t have anything to do with those sensations, so savor them, but move on.
I think it’s pretty obvious how you got it wrong and the chronology is very important. The incorrect chronology implies he was unrepentant, whereas in reality, after getting caught, he refocused his efforts on his clothing brand. As far as we know, that’s all above board. There’s a big difference between “I made a series of mistakes and then changed my ways” and “I made a series of mistakes and I don’t regret it”.
Someone clearly needs a lesson in the Streisand Effect. I hadn’t even heard of this person or their product line heretofore. I am not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure that this is not a situation wherein trademark law applies; you’re not saying anything about their clothing line nor are you trying to sell a product that infringes on their trademark.
Public defenders represent individuals in criminal cases only. They are also available only to those that are indigent based on income and wealth. Steve would not qualify.
The scumbag that runs the team that Trudi works for is 1000 times worse than this ass clown. So go ahead and feel good about your little soapbox speech. You obviously think all of your readers are just blinded jock sniffers. You’re pathetic, worse than this kid in many ways. Two faced hypocrisy at it’s best here!
What are your thoughts on the crash in the final of MSR yesterday? Should junior racers stay out of the big leagues? Maybe show some respect to veterans.
@midnightgrizzly
Forgive us for not knowing that NBS was apparently selling the stuff, not just using it. It is new info to some of us. But the doping ban was enough to convince me not to patronize B-S clothing. Didn’t need Steve’s blog to convince me.
Methinks thou doth protest too much.
Think about it. Ms. Sasso is his partner in the biz. She’s probably a bit wigged right now. They’ve even removed Brandt Sorenson’s bio from their website. Odd, since the dude’s NAME is also the brand name. Nick must be on the dog house with this chick. No nook for Nick tonight!
Dude, you are so lame. Why don’t you go away again? All you have and have ever had to contribute to this forum is your little “jock sniffer” remarks. Go rub out that little hard-on that you have for Steve and go get a life.
Let’s see… Krakatoa exploded with a gaseous, rumbling, flaming display, then shortly descended back into the sea, never to be seen or heard from again. Perfect blog comment handle. I would love to see you say your comment to his wife’s face. I would offer up a paper towel to soak up your tears and urine soaked pantaloons.
Sasso should focus her rage on the true cause of her anger. That being Mr. Brandt-Sorenson. We wouldn’t be talking about this if it weren’t for his actions. Actually, hers too (or are we to believe that she never opened the refrigerator door, or signed for packages, etc).
Me thinks “Chris” is NB-S.
Well that proves it, Chris certainly is NB-S….or maybe that should be N-BS….or just L-mm (Lance mini me).
As pathetic as amatuer/masters racers who take drugs might be, Bob Roll saying that it is worse than pro doping because there is no money involved is fucking bullshit. Go lick Lance´s butt some more buddy.
Kameltoe-a and Jake: Aren’t we all a little N B-S, deep down inside? Maybe if you bought some of the best fitting cycling clothes, custom made for your dimensions, you’d not be so bitter, instead spending your free time outside pedaling. They could even take in the seams a little around the groin area, so there’s not so much loose material around your angry inch. See? Isn’t it fun to make blog comment insults? I am now so very invigorated, as it’s bringing me back to my adolescent youth! I can see why you guys hang out here so much. It’s great! I believe you’re actually Donald Trump in disguise, and your armpits smell like baby powder. (Your turn).
Yeah, as much as I love Bobke (read Bobke II a million times and will keep reading it) it’s a bit troubling that a guy who was tough as nails and a self-described rebel was nowhere to be found when the Armstrong machine was busy trying to separate LeMond from his sanity. A bit sad after the way Bobke himself said LeMond went out of his way to help him when LeMond was king.
In addition to being otherworldly talented it is pretty apparent that LeMond was the real hardcore rebel with a dose of another useful quality called humility.
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From the LA Times article, ” He admitted to having the drugs shipped from overseas to his L.A. home, then mailing them to several athletes, according to court papers. At least three athletes have been sanctioned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in connection with a probe into the Anemia Patient Group site.”
At least three other athletes are sanctioned yet he gets to cop a plea to selling only one vial?
Lastly, why don’t you take the link to his clothing website down? That actually helps his search ranking, and might be helping his business so you are helping him profit from selling dope to other athletes?
interested to see this movie – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3083008/
when I was doing 100milers, Floyd Landis was on the course back then… my ex ended up hanging around with his parents for the day.. interesting upbringing…
“Chris”… Without a drug-fueled opponent wearing him down throughout the race, perhaps Galen’s situation might have had more positive outcome (or perhaps negative). We’ll never know. Unfortunately, the only remedy we have is to surgically remove your results and move the others’ up.
If I ever see him again I will say it to his face gladly. Would I have won a 5-up sprint without Nick? Not against Marcotte, Gray, and other fast finishers, no way. Would the race have played our differently at the end? Yes. You can pull the doper out of of the results you can’t pull him out of the race. It’s not the result I care about. It’s the cheating.
Also, two “n”s at the end of my last name. If you’re going to look for results to dredge up and defend a doper by attacking my training rides, get it right. Why don’t you go critique some Strava placements while you’re at it. And really, sign your own name if you want to knock on my bike skills. Frankly, it doesn’t matter if I’m a cat 5 tail gunner or a cat 1 round housing 12-man OBRA races (really, you’re critical of a Tuesday night race, really?). If you have some odd problem with me, and apparently you know me, come talk to me about it. Or, go ahead and stay on topic and do tell us why NBS shouldn’t go and try to procreate with himself.
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