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About Rick Collins
Rick Collins, Esq., is a popular personality in the bodybuilding, health, fitness and nutrition communities. A successful lawyer, author, lecturer and magazine columnist, he is a partner in the law firm of Collins, McDonald & Gann, PC, in Mineola, New York. He was formerly a criminal prosecutor, personal trainer and film actor. As an attorney, he has been awarded the highest accolades for legal abilities and ethical standards (AV-rating) from the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell directory of lawyers, and he is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.
Rick is a nationally Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA-CSCS). A former award-winning bodybuilder and co-owner of a personal training business, Rick has a lifelong dedication to fitness. He has integrated his devotion to strength and health into his hectic professional and personal schedule, and has recently authored a new book to share his insights and motivate others to reach and maintain "true alpha" excellence in an increasingly "beta" world. The definitive guide for men's inner and outer top fitness, Alpha Male Challenge is published by Rodale, co-authored with James Villepigue, and is in bookstores everywhere and available online at www.alphamalechallenge.com. Rick actively blogs on fitness related issues at www.truealphatraining.com.
As the nation's foremost legal authority on performance enhancing drugs and supplements, Rick has contributed chapters to two texts on sports nutrition and is currently cowriting a chapter on adolescent use of performance-enhancing drugs. In the late 1990s, he created the informational resource SteroidLaw.com in order to help bridge the gap between the muscle world and the justice community and he is the author of the definitive legal treatise on anabolic steroids, LEGAL MUSCLE: Anabolics in America. He has written extensively on the topic of non-medical steroid use for legal publications including the Criminal Justice Journal of the New York State Bar Association and The Champion, the publication of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He frequently writes for various fitness and bodybuilding publications, and has been a monthly columnist for the nationally circulated Muscular Development magazine and a member of their Advisory Board since 2001.
Rick is the official legal advisor to the International Federation of BodyBuilders (the IFBB, formed in 1946, currently has 173 affiliated National Federations and is recognized by over 90 National Olympic Committees). He is also General Counsel to the International Society of Sports Nutrition. As a leading advocate for the health and fitness community, he is a believer in preserving the rights of adult Americans to safe dietary supplements. He has served as General Counsel to a not-for-profit coalition of industry companies, scientists and consumers.
Rick has been interviewed as a legal authority on performance enhancing substances in the film "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*" (2008) and on national television talk and news shows, in talk radio interviews and by countless online and print publications, including USA Today, ESPN.com, The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Village Voice, the Salt Lake Tribune, Newsday and Reason magazine. His practice and accomplished career have been profiled in periodicals as diverse as the prestigious New York Law Journal and the popular MuscleMag International.
Bodybuilders, Olympic and professional athletes, sports coaches and trainers, criminal lawyers, physicians, pharmacists, military servicemen, and even police officers from across America have paid for the opportunity to access his encyclopedic knowledge. Rick also handles a variety of alternative drug cases with connections to fitness or bodybuilding. He is admitted to practice in the State courts of New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Texas, and in the District of Columbia.
To learn more about Rick's law fiirm, visit www.cmgesq.com. To get a message to Rick, send an email to his office at info@cmgesq.com or call his staff at 516-294-0300 during business hours, eastern time. You can follow Rick on his facebook page by clicking below.
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News Headlines
11.19.10 - Hofstra Steroid Symposium with VIDEORick Collins, a Hofstra Law alumnus, recently brought together some of the country’s leaders in the field of performance-enhancing drugs for a full-day conference at Hofstra Law School. The conference, held on October 29th, examined some of the key issues surrounding steroids from a variety of perspectives, and featured some of country’s top experts in the field for an unprecedented symposium.
The conference, titled “Steroid Use, Abuse and Policy,” drew students, lawyers, laypersons and members of the media as attendees. In addition to Collins, who directed and moderated the symposium, the esteemed panel included William Bock, III, General Counsel, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency; Norman Fost, M.D., M.PH., Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin Hospital; Howard L. Jacobs, Law Offices of Howard L. Jacobs and Adjunct Professor, Southwestern Law School; Gary I. Wadler, M.D., Internal Medicine and Sports Medicine, Manhasset, N.Y. and Associate Professor of Medicine, NYU School of Medicine; Mark Fainaru-Wada, Reporter, ESPN; Dave Palumbo, Fitness Author and Co-founder of RxMuscle.com; and Philip J. Sweitzer, Esq., Law Practitioner and Owner, Philip J. Sweitzer, LLC. The Keynote Speaker for the event was Richard W. Pound, an accomplished international attorney in Montreal who has been named to Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world for his efforts to rid sports of performance-enhancing drugs. The conference also included a screening of the acclaimed documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*" and a Q & A session with director Chris Bell.
Hofstra has uploaded video from the symposium right here: VIDEO OF THE SYMPOSIUM
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08.27.10 - "Gobal Leap for Life 2010" Charity Skydive a Success!During the weekend of August 21st – 22nd, more than 70 people across the United States and Canada took a “leap” into a whole new way of raising awareness – and money – for cancer research. This unique show of support, solidarity – and “skydiving for a cause” – was the result of the first-ever Global Leap for Life (www.leapforlife.org) – a unique fundraiser created by Rick Collins that succeeded in raising more than $32,000 for LiveSTRONG/the Lance Armstrong Foundation to help in the fight against cancer. You can still donate TODAY!
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05.24.10 - New Blog at SupplementCounsel.comCollins, McDonald & Gann has launched its newly formatted blog at www.supplementcounsel.com. Dedicated to keeping dietary supplement industry and supplement consumers informed of the latest legislative and regulatory developments, the CMG blog features the contributions of attorneys Rick Collins, Alan Feldstein and Mike DiMaggio.
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04.01.10 - New Article on Rick and Alpha Male ChallengePat Farnack, midday anchor of WCBS News Radio 880, interviewed Rick Collins, coauthor of ALPHA MALE CHALLENGE, and wrote a follow-up piece for the Bucks Local News. An excerpt: "I was thinking about chivalry when I interviewed Rick Collins, a Renaissance man, lawyer, author, trainer and all-around good guy. He has written 'The Alpha Male Challenge,' not only about pumping iron or getting buff, but about being the best man one can be, about getting one’s “male mojo” back."Read the article at http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2010/03/31/opinion/doc4bb3a02990701611629978.txt.
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02.17.10 - Rick Collins named to IPPA Advisory BoardRick has been named to the International Physique Professionals Association, a new organization comprised of fitness professionals that include researchers, personal trainers, nutritionists and competitors who believe the part of feeling great is looking great too (http://www.theippa.org).
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08.30.09 - Rick's Charity Skydive a SuccessRick's "Leap for Life" raised over $13,000 for the American Cancer Society, and donations are still coming in. Rick dropped 13,500 feet at Skydive Long Island -- you can see lots of pics at Rick's facebook page (go to www.facebook.com/rickcollinsesq and friend up!).
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12.21.08 - New Book Due September 2009The new book by Rick Collins, Alpha Male Challenge, hits bookstores everywhere in September 2009! Published by Rodale and co-written by James Villepigue, it's the definitive guide to "true alpha" excellence in an increasingly "beta" world, covering everything you need to know about diet, exercise and attitude to be your best!
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08.17.08 - Rick Collins: Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Formerly certified as a personal trainer, Rick Collins is now certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). Having once co-owned a personal training business and having enjoyed a lifelong devotion to strength and health, Mr. Collins looks forward to encouraging others to meet their fitness goals.
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03.21.08 - New Steroid Documentary
The documentary film "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to great acclaim. An examination of performance enhancing drugs in American culture, the movie featured interviews with numerous experts in the field, including Rick Collins. Mr. Collins also served as a consultant on the film.
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11.08.05 - Boston Sports Doping SymposiumIn November 2005, Mr. Collins appeared as an invited speaker and panelist at "From Grand Slams to Grand Juries: Performance Enhancing Drug Use in Sports," New England Law Review Symposium 2005, Boston, Mass. (Click Here for more).
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10.01.05 - Mr. Collins Goes to Washington ... and Texas
Rick Collins has now been licensed to practice law in the courts of the District of Columbia and the courts of the State of Texas. He has been licensed to practice law in the State of New York since 1985, and is also licensed in the States of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
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06.01.05 - Steroid Prosecution ArticlesSeveral steroid-related articles by Eric Dexheimer in the Denver Westword feature Mr. Collins and his practice. One article is entitled "Flexing His Muscle: The Air Force Academy discovered that prosecuting accused steroid-abusers is as tricky as attorney Rick Collins says," while another entitled "What's the Beef?" states: "If you've been busted for steroid possession -- and you're smart -- you call the Long Island offices of Rick Collins."
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04.15.05 - Collins Testifies in Washington Before USSCOn April 12, 2005, Rick Collins testified before the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) on behalf of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The USSC had sought comments on whether federal anabolic steroid offenses should be treated with stiffer punishments, such as by changing the way steroid quantities are calculated. Rick submitted written testimony, available online at the USSC website here. He also offered more extensive oral testimony on a variety of additional points, including the fact that many of the products now classified as "anabolic steroids" were sold to health-conscious consumers nationwide as dietary supplements just months ago. As a result of the testimony, the Commission voted not to increase steroid penalties at this time, instead requesting more time to study the complexities of the issue. more...
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04.02.05 - Rick Collins Lectures to Central Michigan Univerity
Rick Collins lectured this week to classes in the Department of Physical Education & Sport at Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI, on the topic of "Steroids, Law and the Media." The lecture, which included a PowerPoint presentation designed by Rick, was delivered via state-of-the-art videoconferencing, permitting live question and answer periods with the students.
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03.26.05 - Rick Collins in Wall Street JournalThe March 26, 2005 edition of the Wall Street Journal, which features an editorial on anabolic steroids in baseball, quotes Rick Collins and references Legal Muscle. more...
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03.18.05 - Rick Collins Featured in MuscleMag Int
The May 2005 issue of MusleMag International features an interview with Rick Collins on the end of the prohormone market (page 267), calling Rick the "premier steroid lawyer in the United States." Also, don't miss Rick's feature article, "Bodybuilding Muscle Mutants and the Future of Sport Supplements" beginning on page 144 of the same issue.
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03.12.05 - Rick Collins Profiled in FLEX magazine
The latest issue of the popular FLEX magazine, now on shelves, profiles Rick Collins in an article entitled, "Here, There and Everywhere." Writer Shawn Perine begins the piece with, "In bodybuilding circles, his name is thrown around as frequently as T-shirts at the Olympia expo. When bodybuilding makes national headlines, which it has been doing quite a bit of late, RICK COLLINS is among the few field experts called upon to clear up matters..." The story, which includes Rick's achievements in court and at the gym, appears on page 48 of the April '05 issue.
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02.16.05 - Collins in Conference on Sports Law and Ethics
A Conference on Sports Law and Ethics entitled "Winning at All Costs: Today's Addiction" was held in Chicago last week, sponsored by the Valparaiso University School of Law and featuring broadcaster Bob Costas as keynote speaker. Rick Collins was invited to present his views on Doping Issues in College Sports, and served on a panel discussion on the topic. The two and one half day conference was attended by sports lawyers, law students, athletic directors, trainers, sports journalists, and others in the field of sports law.
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09.15.04 - Rick Collins in MuscleMag InternationalRick Collins is featured and pictured in the newest MuscleMag International (issue # 270). Larry Pepe's "Muscle Beach Gossip" column titles the piece with the question, "Can This Guy Get Any Busier?" and discusses Rick's work for the supplement industry, as counsel for the United Supplement Freedom Association (www.usfa.biz), and as the go-to guy when "a hardcore bodybuilder gets in a bit of a jam of one type or another."
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06.07.04 - Collins Article Published in Sports Nutrition JournalOn March 11, 2004, FDA pronounced that dietary supplement products containing androstenedione were adulterated new dietary ingredients under DSHEA. In a groundbreaking article published in the Sports Nutrition Review Journal, 1(1):52-60, 2004, Rick Collins and co-author Alan Feldstein (Of Counsel to Collins, McDonald & Gann, P.C.) analyze the legal grounds and standards upon which FDA acted and suggest what might be done to ameliorate the escalating problem of lack of communication and cooperation between FDA and industry. more...
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02.24.04 - TheFitExpo Lecture on Sports Nutrition Supplements
Rick Collins, Esq., presented a seminar at TheFitExpo (held in conjunction with the Ironman Pro bodybuilding competition) in Pasadena, California, this past weekend. Entitled The Future of Sports Nutrition After Ephedra and the Steroid Scandal, it gave a "heads up" to industry and consumers on the ever-changing legal and regulatory landscape. Also on hand to offer his insights was Los Angeles attorney Alan Feldstein, Esq., a dietary supplement lawyer who recently became part of the team working with Mr. Collins and his expanding law firm.
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