PowerBar founder Brian Maxwell - Dead at 51

Triathlon Forum
1

The man started a revolution. May he rest in peace.

PowerBar founder Maxwell dies of a heart attack

Saturday, March 20, 2004 Posted: 7:01 PM EST (0001 GMT)

  ![http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif)  ![http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2004/US/West/03/20/obit.maxwell.ap/vert.maxwell.ap.jpg](http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2004/US/West/03/20/obit.maxwell.ap/vert.maxwell.ap.jpg) Brian Maxwell completes the Montreal International Marathon, August 26, 1979.  ![http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif)   Story Tools        ![http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-s-icon-l.gif](http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-s-icon-l.gif)![http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-s-text-l.gif](http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-s-text-l.gif)  ![http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-e-icon-l.gif](http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-e-icon-l.gif)![http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-e-text-l.gif](http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-e-text-l.gif)      ![http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-p-icon-l.gif](http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-p-icon-l.gif)![http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-p-text-l.gif](http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-p-text-l.gif)  ![http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-mp-icon-l.gif](http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-mp-icon-l.gif)![http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-mp-text-l.gif](http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/images/clickability/000099/h-mp-text-l.gif)      ![http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif)       YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS           Toronto (Ontario)   ![http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif)    California   ![http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif)    PowerBar   ![http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif)    or **<u>Create your own</u>**   ![http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/1.gif)   <u>Manage alerts</u> | <u>What is this?</u>

SAN ANSELMO, California (AP) – Brian Maxwell, founder of the multimillion-dollar PowerBar empire and a former world-class marathon runner, has died of a heart attack, friends said. He was 51.

Maxwell collapsed Friday at a post office, and emergency personnel were unable to resuscitate him after workers called 911. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Maxwell and his wife Jennifer, a nutritionist, co-founded the popular energy bar company in 1986 and began selling PowerBars out of their kitchen.

Over the next decade, the Berkeley, California-based firm grew to $150 million in sales and 300 employees. In March 2000, the couple sold the company to Nestle SA for a reported $375 million.

Maxwell, who was born in London but grew up in Toronto, represented Canada in many international competitions as a long-distance runner. He was part of the 1980 Olympic team that boycotted the games in Moscow.

In 1977 Maxwell was ranked the No. 3 marathon runner in the world by Track and Field News.

Maxwell came up with the idea of an energy bar after he had to drop out of a 26.2-mile marathon race at the 21-mile mark – about the point where experts say the body ceases burning carbohydrates and begins burning muscle tissue.

Maxwell is survived by his wife and five children.

2

I can remember meeting him, shaking his hand, talking at length to him about “water soluable nutrition bars” and his ideas. I came away from that little conversation thinking “What a smart man, I really respect that.”

Such a loss.

3

Whoa. I spent a full day at a race expo with Brian, chopping up bars with steak knives before Bay-to-Breakers in May, 1989. Back then he had to defend his new company’s only product, one contrarian runner at a time.

Got a couple boxes of bars and an old nylon singlet out of the deal, and it was fun keeping in touch with the company through the years as it grew like crazy.

Damn shame that he went so young, and with so much energy and passion left in him…

4

I wonder how he had a lethal heart attack so young, given his level of fitness. It’s really a shame.