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Who is Nora Tobin, why are her abs so perfect, and does she and Armstrong really use FRS?


                                                     Nora Tobin may have the world's most perfect abs

You may have seen this Internet ad for FRS featuring volleyball player Nora Tobin.

In fact you probably certainly have seen this ad since according to the FSR brand's chief executive Maigread Eichten it garnered more than six billion impressions last year.

But that number also includes another FRS ad that prominently features no other than Lance Armstrong. But I'll get to that part in a second.

It turns out that the small California company was running a typical antioxidant energy/recovery drink promotion, and as these sort of companies will do, was giving the product away to amateur athletes in Santa Barbara, California.

One of those athletes was Nora Tobin (a 21-year-old, former lifeguard with a dream to play pro volleyball) who had just traded her surfboard for a volleyball.

She also had a very good photo of herself (and by herself I mean a very good photo of her stomach) with that volleyball that she happened to send to the folks at FRS.

That picture is what you are now seeing on every other web page on the internet.

So is the photo real or is it photo shop?

"That's my body," Tobin said. "I'm in the best shape of my life."

And does Tobin actually use FRS?

"It's not just my body on an ad," Tobin added. "I really use this product as both an energy and recovery drink."

And does Lance Armstrong actually use FRS?

That question I can't answer, but I do know that Armstrong is a part owner in the Company.

According to story posted on USA Today about two years ago:

"Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor, will appear in ads and on packaging for its FRS (Free Radical Scavenger) energy drink. The vitamin-rich drink has cult-like status in some athletic circles — from bike shops to pro teams."

"No one will take a drink of this and be Superman overnight," said Armstrong, whose endorsements typically have been of giants such as Nike and Coke. "But we know people reach for beverages, and this is a lot healthier than most."

So that's the story, and thanks to Darren Rovell at CNBC who tracked it down.

Follow on twitter @everymantri

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Endurance Sports Examiner

Roman Mica is a amateur Clydesdale triathlete who lives and races in Boulder, Colorado and has his own website, EverymanTri.com. He is the founding...

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