Keeping It Real!

When I was a young buck (in my twenties), I remember saying to one of my business partners that I would look into hormone optimization therapy when I hit 40. 

I always prided myself on the fact that I never used steroids to help boost the aesthetic effects from my training – most of my friends were taking steroids and although they would grow and be in “sick” shape during the spring and summer, most of them would shrink down and look absolutely awful once winter came back around. 

I was in great shape in my twenties, but I have to admit that there were many times when I was envious of how great my friends looked and they didn’t put nearly as much work and effort into their fitness. So, I made a pact with myself, that I would one day consider doing “something” to help my body do what exercise, diet and supplements simply could not. 

Barney, The Magical Dinosaur

My first encounter with hormone replacement therapy was with a family doctor of osteopathic medicine. He was recommended to me by a good friend/colleague and I remember first meeting him – my first impression was that something was “off” with him. He looked like he was in his late fifties, he did look like he was in decent shape, but, it was definitely not normal (My intention is not to be cruel, but honest) – if you’ve ever seen a person who looks as if their shape is “forced”, this was it. In other words, certain drugs like HGH can create an almost unnatural appearance in people. He had this look. He was extremely tan (unnaturally), and he was incredibly vascular (his veins were ready to pop out of his skin!). His skin color looked purplish! 

Again, this is pretty typical with people who take large amounts of HGH. The odd thing about him, was that most of his physique appeared to be lean and muscular, but he had a rather large protruding belly, which I found rather strange. He also has what I would refer to, as almost too much energy. It was a bit strange. He was however incredibly nice and treated me with great respect. 

He asked me if I wanted to begin testosterone treatment and I told him that I was considering it. He told me he could start me right then and there and immediately produced a small vile of fluid and a syringe and asked if I was ready to begin. I have to admit, I was extremely nervous and really wasn’t sure that I really wanted to move forward with this. His enthusiasm and comfortable demeanor made me feel like he really knew what he was doing and so, I took the plunge, literally! 

In my unrealistic mind, I thought that taking this foreign substance would immediately begin throwing my body into an anabolic state of WOW! You have to understand, up to this point, for many years I had been training like a maniac and dieting was just part of my lifestyle - so in my mind, raising my very low level of testosterone should instantly take my fitness to a whole new level, right? Yeah, kind of, but there’s much more to it!

Looking back to my first experience with hormone replacement therapy, there are some things that I really would have appreciated if that first doctor had done them. It’s one of the main reasons why I am now so passionate about our hormone optimization therapy, because I learned about the great, good, bad and downright ugly that you can encounter when searching for your own solution.

Suite Serum

I do wish my former doctor had done a bit more with educating me about the process and the underlying reasons I had arrived at a place where I required hormone therapy. At that particular stage of my life, just the thought of this “magic serum” had me feeling like a fat kid in a pastry shop. I was absolutely excited that I was now a candidate for therapy, but it wasn’t until much later, that I discovered what was actually happening from a physiological standpoint.

Prior to beginning hormone replacement therapy, I had been relatively well-versed about hormones and the body’s natural production of various hormones. I certainly wasn’t as educated about all of the various modalities that were available for helping someone regain health through hormone optimization. In fact, I do believe that most people don’t know where to turn when it comes to optimizing their hormones. You would think that all primary care physicians are hormone experts and that simply is not the case. Additionally, you might consider endocrinologists to especially be the specialty physicians to turn to, and again, that may not be the case! 

You see, unless doctors are continuously updating their knowledge base with timely and up to date trending protocol and research, they may very well be wrong about what they believe to be accurate or not regarding modern medicine, including hormone optimization therapy.

This is a very important topic, because this type of medicine is truly helping people live better and more worthwhile lives. It’s a terrible thing when someone remains in the dark about something that can potentially help them and as professionals, it’s is our responsibility to educate people about the truth and to do so for more than just the profits associated with it! 

If I had known then what I know now about proper hormone optimization therapy, I would have walked right out of Barney’s office. He possessed absolutely no regard for my well-being and as it goes, he was eventually shut down because greed always catches up with people who prey on the weak. The truth of the matter is that I was weak, because I put my trust into someone who didn’t deserve it. 

To make matters worse, just days ago, I was contacted by someone who is newly representing that same doctor – she wanted to make me aware that he was back in business! If that doesn’t make you worry about how easy it is to be taken advantage of by alleged professionals, it’s time to wake up! 

Renew Life RX

I joined Renew Life RX, because I saw how different this clinic and its practitioners were. I liked how they took the time to educate me with their process, explained with great detail, how and why it works and all of the underlying elements that I should know about. They consistently do this for each and every client. The icing on the cake was the differentiation I saw with their approach to health…

Many HRT clinics are bodybuilding-centric. In other words, they predominantly focus on the visual aesthetics that many bodybuilders and physique contestants work so hard to master VERSUS making clients health the primary goal, with benefits like body sculpting, secondary. That realization, alone, should be the wake-up call to anyone reading this. 

This Is How We Got H.O.T. 

We refused to be put into the same category with run of the mill HRT clinics. It’s why we branded our clinic as a Hormone Optimization Therapy (HOT) clinic instead of a hormone replacement therapy (HRT) clinic. Our clients don’t typically come from the gym and we accept clients through invite-only. 

The majority of our mature clientele are high-level executives, A-list celebrities/media influencers, former professional athletes who are in the twilight of their careers, and men and women who have worked hard at taking care of their health.

Our motto revolves around only working with people who “meet us half way” – in other words, if you expect a quick fix or are in it to simply get beach body ready, WE DON’T WANT YOU!

If on the other hand, you’re serious about getting healthy and you do so through consistent regular exercise (or plan to), eating healthy and have reached a point in your life where you instinctively know that something is “off”, WE WANT YOU and we are more than ready to help you achieve optimized health! 

*For more information and an invite, please message me directly or send an email to: [email protected]  

Keep Going!

James Villepigue CSCS