GateDrop, the natural energy gummy brand, announced that Chad Mendes, former UFC featherweight title contender, two-time All-American wrestler, and a recognized name in the hunting and fishing community, has joined the company as its founding brand partner. Founded by childhood friends Tim Near and Kyle Tyrrell to challenge traditional energy drinks, the brand has had Mendes in its corner from day one, it says.

This isn't a typical athlete partnership, the brand adds. Mendes, known to fight fans as "Money," holds a kinesiology degree, has competed at the highest levels of combat sports, and is reportedly meticulous about his diet and supplementation for both athletic performance and personal health. After retiring from fighting, Mendes channeled that same drive into the outdoors, building a second career through Finz and Featherz, a celebrity hunting and fishing booking service. At GateDrop, he's been a hands-on collaborator from the start, advising on everything from flavor profiles to what energy needs to do in the field. True to GateDrop's way of surprising, there's already something new in the works the team expects to announce soon, it reveals.

With more than one million followers spanning combat sports and the outdoors, Mendes brings GateDrop to one of the most engaged audiences in the game, the company says: people who pursue adventure and want clean, convenient energy that keeps up with them.

For Mendes, the decision to work with GateDrop came down to what was in the gummies and whether they worked in the field. After years of managing psoriasis and auto-immune inflammation through diet and supplementation, he has a strict standard for anything he'll put in his body and attach his name to. According to the brand, GateDrop was an easy yes: natural caffeine, high-quality ingredients, rigorous product standards, functional vitamins, and a microdosable format. GateDrop’s portability solved something he knew firsthand from the backcountry, too: when you're rationing water on a multi-day hunt in Alaska, you can't mix a powder drink, and big cans won't make the weight cut. The gummy format separates energy from hydration, offering a lightweight, durable solution that lets energy seekers take their fuel anywhere, the company adds.

“With any product, I look at ingredients before I look at anything else, and GateDrop has clean caffeine, no junk, and a format that actually makes sense for how I live," says Mendes. "Then, what really clicked for me is how simple it is. When you're out on a hunt, every bit of water matters. I don't want to waste it mixing with powder to make an energy drink when I can throw a few gummies in my mouth and keep moving. I didn't just want to put my name on this. I wanted to help build it." 

Mendes' "Gate Drop" moment

In a motocross race, the "gate drop" is the time where preparation meets action, a shared feeling Mendes knows well. The gummies, which the team calls "drops," are purpose-built for moments like that.

"Whether I'm getting the kids to school, grinding through office work, heading to the gym, or spending time in the backcountry, there's a place for GateDrop," says Mendes. “Everyone has their own ‘gate drop moment.’ For me it’s saying yes to a fight on just ten days' notice, or pushing forward in bad conditions on a hunt. It’s choosing whether to ‘send it’ and then moving from unprepared to ready to win. My motto, which aligns with GateDrop, is always choose to send it.” 

Near echoes that sentiment.

"Chad embodies everything GateDrop stands for," says Near. "He’s competitive, disciplined, adventurous, and real. Whether he's stepping into the Octagon, spending time with his family, or hunting in the backcountry, he lives the kind of varied life our customers do. That's why this partnership works. Chad isn’t just a face we’re going to put on marketing materials. He’s a believer, core part of our team, and actively helping us build the brand.”

GateDrop Energy Gummies are available nationwide at getgatedrop.com and are currently expanding into retail locations across the country, including Alltown Fresh and other Global Partners locations throughout the Northeast.

Related - Energy gummies aim to be portable and flexible: GateDrop