Blake Martin, director of coaching and performance for Telomere (parent company of Connexus Clinic), shares his Mobile, Alabama roots and explains why he started Connexus Clinic nearly four years ago after leaving a stable career. He describes the clinic’s mission as helping people feel good and enjoy the time they have left by focusing on “health span,” not just extending life with pills. Blake emphasizes taking time to talk with patients and prioritizing human-to-human connection, especially as more people come in with questions or concerns about peptides they’ve ordered online. He also critiques one-size-fits-all wellness advice popular on Instagram and TikTok, noting that approaches like intermittent fasting vary by individual and what works for one person may not work for another.
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Transcript:
Blake: I'm Blake Martin. I'm director of coaching and performance for Telomere, which is the parent company of Connexus Clinic.
Marcus: Yay. I'm glad to have you back on the podcast. I actually, I went back and looked. You were on in February of 2024. Okay. Can you believe it's been two years?
No,
Blake: I can't.
Marcus: Yeah. That's- It's fly- flown by, so. That's crazy. It's been over two years since we've talked to you. So I wanted to get, uh, Blake back on the podcast, and I'm gonna start by saying that we're gonna talk about things in this podcast that are informational use only. There is no prescription- ... you know, being written here.
Don't take this information and go off and do anything stupid. Please don't. Your mileage may vary, like, all kinds of caveats. No legal, you know, no health information is being given. All right? We covered that. All right, so now we can speak freely. Like, I don't want it to be kind of a thing where if you're talking you feel like, you know, somebody's gonna go, "Oh, well I, you know, Blake said, uh, so I gotta go do X," but-
Blake: We're, we're two guys talking- Yeah
at a bar right now.
Marcus: Yeah, 'cause I think, you know, like, I'm seeing a lot in the news right now about peptides. Mm-hmm. And I know that you guys deal a lot with peptides and, um, you know, what you're trying to do for all the longevity stuff that, that you're helping people with. And so I wanted to bring you on and have a discussion about, uh, peptides.
You know, maybe we take the slant of, you know, uh, uh, everything's, you know, performance related, right? Mm-hmm. You don't take these things without ha- having to, like, either increase your performance or your r- recovery rate or something along those lines. But, um, you know, like, that's important for business.
Mm-hmm. You know, feeling good is important for conducting business. Yeah. So don't just dismiss this. This is, you know, gonna be a good one. But, um, before we get started- Just quickly, you know, give us a brief, you know, like, "I'm Blake Martin. I'm from, you know, originally, you know, I grew up here- Yeah ... and I'm married or not married," and you know, that kind of stuff.
But-
Blake: Yep. I grew up in Mobile, born and raised. Uh, I live in Baldwin County now, have since 2006, but have worked in Mobile for ever. Yeah. Um, so Mobile is home. Um, married, three kids. They're about to start-
Marcus: Where did you go to school at? Um- I don't know that we talked about that.
Blake: Um, I went to Corpus Christi for- Okay
elementary school, and then I went to Saint Paul's for high school.
Marcus: Okay. So you did go to school here? Yeah. Okay. And-
Blake: Yeah, and then I, I went to Auburn, and then- Yeah ... lived in South Carolina for a year and then came back and-
Marcus: And you were in medical sales for a while before- 15 years ... yeah, before doing this.
Yeah. I remember the, the story now. So, um, and you know, like, how did you get... Like, how was Connexus kind of started? Yeah. You know what I mean? And why don't you... Actually, before you do that, tell us what, you know, you all do.
Blake: Yeah. So I started Connexus Clinic, oh, it'll be four years ago in June. Um, some people have a midlife crisis and-
get a convertible. I- You started a business. ... left a really good, stable career. Yeah. And was like, "I'll start a business." So- Should've bought the convertible. Um, it would've been a lot easier. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. For sure. Um, but y- if you kinda strip away everything that we do, I mean, the reason why it was started is we want people to enjoy the amount of time they have left on this earth, like, feeling good, and you know, that's this concept of health span, you know?
Yeah. The, our medical system can give you a bunch of pills and keep you alive for longer, but i- you look around and so many people just, their health falls off a cliff in their 60s and 70s. Mm-hmm. And by that time, like, you know, it, it gets sad when you see people who have worked their whole life and really put everything into their work, and then they can't even enjoy- Retirement
retirement, you know? It's... Yeah. Because- I'm gonna get
Marcus: teary, really. But yeah.
Blake: Yeah, you know? And it's like I love what I do now, but like I'm not doing it for fun, so I damn sure wanna enjoy it when- Yeah ... I get done. And so it's like what can we do outside of the traditional medical system, which is failing- Yeah
everybody. Yeah. I mean, we are the most unhealthy society in the world. I mean, and that's- I, I heard some- ... that's, that's not even an opinion. Like- No,
Marcus: it's not. I heard something the other day that, um, you're more likely to be sick in the United States, but we do have, you know, a, a healthcare system that will help keep you alive.
You know, you won't necessarily get better, but you- Yeah ... it'll help keep you alive, so.
Blake: Yeah, and even that, I think, I think, uh, life expectancy- Is
Marcus: shortening ... is actually-
Blake: Yeah ... declining now. Yeah, yeah. You know, where for a long time it, it kept increasing, and now we've seen it where it's decreasing just because- For so many reasons Yeah Which I don't know how much time we got, but, uh- You know, it- i- anyway, that, that's why Connexus Clinic was started.
Yeah. Um, and then at the end of last year, we merged with a company called Telomere- Right ... that is really doing some cool stuff in the longevity space, particularly around hormones and peptides, blood work. All of the stuff that you're seeing and reading about, you know, proactive medicine, medicine 3.0, like this is actually stuff where you do get healthy doing it.
Right. This is not symptom management. This is not, you know, somebody looking at a standard blood panel and saying, "Yep, you're in range. You're good." Or, I swear to God I hear this at least once or twice a month, somebody comes in to do a DEXA scan, which is a full body composition scan. You've done one. Yep.
So, you know- Yeah ... you understand. And i- it's always men, and they're real overweight, and they'll say, "Man, my doctor said I'm the healthiest fat guy he's ever seen." And, and- Oh my gosh ... this is not a fat shaming thing at all. Like- No ... it's, it's just that is the problem with our system is you've got these metrics that insurance has set up that says this is normal, and if a lab reading falls in that normal range, it's like, "Yep, you're good.
We're gonna keep you alive another year. See you in a year."
Marcus: And what really is normal? You know what I mean? Like, so especially when it comes to things like hormones, you know, I, I'll have- Yeah ... guys come to me 'cause I've, I've made no, uh, I have no shame in, in admitting that I've been on testosterone- Yeah
replacement therapy, mm, therapy since probably about 2017 or so. Mm-hmm. And so, you know, like I'll have guys come to me and talk to me about, and I'm like, "Well, what, what were your levels when you had them checked last?" Mm-hmm. And, you know, "Oh, I've never had them checked." And so they'll go to a doctor's visit, and they'll m- get their lab results for testosterone and a bunch of other stuff, and their doctor will tell them, "Well, yours is in a normal range."
And I'm s- I'm like, "Yeah, but what was the number?"
Mm-hmm.
And sometimes they don't know because the doctor didn't think enough of them to tell them. Yeah. And also they don't know to know. But then they'll say, "Well, you know, my number was like 320 or something like that." And I'm like, "That's normal?" Yeah.
Like- How
Blake: do you feel? Yeah,
Marcus: how do you feel?
Blake: Not good. Yeah.
Marcus: And, you know, like how's your metabolism? How's your energy? How's your focus? How's, you know, everything? Like- Yeah ... um, so I don't know. It's just been, it's, it's interesting, you know, to, to think about all the, you know, those things and, and really kind of like, you know, optimizing what you, within reason, what you can 'cause budget- Yeah
you know, obviously I'd spend a lot more money on peptides if I could. But to start off, why don't you give us like an easy definition of peptides?
Blake: Peptides are signaling molecules. Mm. So we're talking like short strands of amino acids. Yeah. A lot of these are naturally produced in your body. Um, but peptides are very subtle in their effects.
And so when people call them signaling molecules, like if... Just very basic, they just signal your body to do something that it should do anyway. Correct. Yeah. Like, there's growth hormone peptides that just send a signal to your pituitary gland to release more growth hormone at night. Yeah. It's not like injecting synthetic growth hormone, like- No.
You know? That's a different- I, I laugh- Yeah. I laugh when I see... 'Cause you know how much just garbage there is- Right ... on social media, you know, these guys who are all jacked up, and it's like- Don't even
Marcus: talk about Reddit forums or, you know, Testosterone Nation or, you know, any of the- Yeah, and it's- ... other places.
Blake: Well, you see this, like, jacked up dude, and it's like, "Here's my growth hormone peptide stack." And I'm like, "Dude, CJC 1295 did not make you look like that." Right. Yeah. Like, that is total- That's Deca. Crap. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so there, there's, just like with everything- Yeah ... I mean, if you see on Twitter or Instagram, you know, some jacked up, like, influencer dude- Yeah
that says that he got like that with peptides, like- Yeah.
Marcus: No ... he did not at all. And I, I guess that's, you know, I, I mean, especially if they're, uh, 320 pounds and have 10% body fat. Right. Right? So you know, I mean, it, it's, uh... Growing up, and I've, I've had this conversation recently with somebody. Growing up, I used to, you know, I subscribed to the Muscle & Fitness and- Mm-hmm
you know, all the bodybuilding, you know, magazines. And, you know, try as I might, you know, 'cause I mean, I, at times, there were times in my life where I would work out six days a week and, you know, two hours a day. And try as I might, there's no way I was ever getting to be, uh, you know, big like that. Right. I mean, you know, the amount of, you know, gear that I would have to take, consume in order to- Mm-hmm
to get that big would be too huge, and I'm not interested in that anyway. What I'm really interested in is extending my life- Yeah ... and having as much mobility and, you know, cognitive ability as I can. And so I guess my question to you is: Where are you guys seeing now in that space that's coming, you know, coming out that has been really kind of new and good, and you're seeing- Yeah
good results with?
Blake: Yeah, I mean, and, and for one, like I'm a believer in peptides. Yeah, so am I. Yeah. I've taken a lot of different ones. Um, it's the conversations that I'm having with people. So probably in the last six months, I bet 80% of people who come and get a DEXA scan, and we always, like I did with you, like we go over the report, talk about it, peptides come up.
Like, I don't, I don't bring them up with people. Yeah. And I don't have to. Um- And, and a lot of times people are like, "Yeah, well, I, I read about this peptide, and it does this." Like, "What do you think about that?" And half the time my answer is, "A peptide's gonna do nothing for you right now." Yeah. Because- If you don't have like a good solid foundation of health, like if you're not in a healthy weight, um, you know, like metabolically, like if you're kind of a disaster- Yeah
like those peptides, because the, they're so subtle, it's like they kinda get lost in the fray. Right Like- You're
Marcus: just shooting money down the, you know, down the drain You, you really are. Yeah. You
Blake: know, and so where peptides are really beneficial are for people who are really trying to kinda optimize, like they're at 80% of what they're capable of- Yeah
and wanna get to 85, or they're at 90, wanna get to 95. That, to me, I think that is like the honest- Yeah ... way to look at it. That, that's fair. And- It's not a
Marcus: sledgehammer. It's more of a, you know, fine, you know, fine instrument.
Blake: Right. So like let's take one of the growth hormone peptides, a CJC-1295. You can feel the benefit of that, but it, uh, I've done probably three rounds of it in the past two years- Mm-hmm
and my body composition hasn't changed- Right ... a ton with that. Yeah. Um, I feel like I, my sleep is a little deeper when I'm on it, and I, I track my sleep, so I- I've got some data to show. To compare it against. I mean, it's not like it takes somebody who's an insomniac and all of a sudden they're, you know- Yeah
sleeping through the night. But, you know, these are like small, like kinda optimization things. Um, there's BPC-157. Right. That is like one of the most popular peptides-
Marcus: I think that's a gateway peptide ...
Blake: to ask about. It probably is a- You know? You know, and um, I have used it for God knows how many different injuries.
Some of them it has worked great. Yeah. Some, sometimes it doesn't do anything for it. Right. It seems like things that are like soft tissue related, where you need tissue to regenerate, it does really, really well. I had a, um, thoracic disc that herniated last year. Oof. Ouch. And like something structural like that, like it didn't do anything for that.
Yeah, it's not gonna do anything. You know, like, so it, they're not these like magic cure-alls, but they really are helping people with certain types of injuries do well. And what's good about them is y- you know, throw out all the nonsense about, um, the dangers of these things. Right. Like, good luck finding somebody who's had like a serious adverse- Well, I think-
event on these that is not related to like purity- Yeah, yeah ... type
Marcus: issues. Getting your gear online is not the greatest, you know, source. But I think- Yeah ... really I think, 'cause I've, actually I've listened to a number of the conversations surrounding what you're talking about. Mm-hmm. The st- and the, the talks about dangers come because- Ozempic and the other, I forget, what is the other one?
Blake: Mounjaro.
Marcus: Yeah. They're both peptides. And so the Congress not knowing any better, you know, just threw everything into one big bucket thinking that they were all, you know, this thing and needed to be regulated in a, a very strict way, when the reality is they're very different, you know, classifications- Yes
between, you know, what we're talking about with BPC-157, which is naturally occurring in your gut- Yeah ... and helps your gut heal from the stomach acid and stuff- Mm-hmm ... like that versus Ozempic, which, you know, has a whole slew of issues with it. So.
Blake: I kinda look at, 'cause sometimes they do get thrown in together, 'cause technically like semaglutide, which would be like Ozempic, is a peptide.
But like you've got the GLP-1 kinda family of medication, peptides, whatever.
Marcus: Yeah.
Blake: You can move those over here and-
Marcus: Keep everything else separate ... you take all the rest of them separate- Yeah ... because
Blake: the GLP-1 stuff is not subtle- Yeah ... at all. Right You know, so, um- But-
Marcus: I just felt like that needed to be said because- Yeah
I, I think that is what, you know, when you brought it up, that is the discussion. Yeah. They, they just, it, it's another case of not knowing any better, so. Or maybe they do and they don't care because they wanna make money on it. Yeah. So this, I- You make your decision, but- I think
Blake: there's some other nuance with that a- and mainly with a lot of these peptides because they are naturally- Yeah
occurring in the body. Mm-hmm. Big pharmaceutical companies can't patent that. Do that, yeah. So nobody is going to fund these large clinical human trials that it takes to get an FDA approval- Yeah ... if they're not, which-
Marcus: If they can't make money off of it ... you know, look, I, I'm not
Blake: a, a big fan of big pharma, you know, whatever, but like they are a business.
Yeah. And so they're going to try to make money. Yeah. And if they can't make money on something, they're- They're not
Marcus: gonna touch it ...
Blake: and they're also gonna flex their muscles to keep it suppressed too because people are getting a lot of help- Yeah ... on this stuff. Yep. You know? And it, it's, it's gonna cost the regular system some money when BPC can help heal a shoulder injury and you're not going through the doctor- Yeah
you know, and, and all, I mean,
Marcus: it's- Well, they're, they're in for a rude awakening 'cause within the next five years that whole industry's gonna be completely transformed. I mean, I'm seeing stuff on X now where, you know, they're, they're doing, you know, all kinds of s- you know, studies and, and showing that they can, you know, reverse, you know, uh, all kinds of conditions from Alzheimer's to- Yeah
you know, um, I mean, you name it. Yeah. So, I mean, it's, you know, we're kind of on, at the dawn of like a new beginning when it comes to healthcare and what it means to treat our bodies, right? Yeah. And I think peptides are kind of, you know, a huge part of that, but.
Blake: They are and apparently there's 19 of them that are about to get removed from this- like banned list where compound pharmacies can start making them- Mm-hmm
you know, where a doctor can prescribe 'em. Um, that's gonna be interesting because it's gonna jack the prices up for sure.
Marcus: Why do you say that?
Blake: Because there's regulation involved. Oh, okay. So, yeah. You know, a, a compound pharmacy, because they are regulated, is going to have to charge more than what you can buy these straight from a lab online.
Regulation can be a good and a bad thing. I mean, there are people who've been harmed by getting peptides- Yeah ... off of some random website that what comes in the bottle is not really there, and it's hard for the average person to- To discern whether- ... be able to decipher. Yeah. Look, I've bought... I don't have to do it anymore thankfully.
Yeah. But, um, because we do have a source where we know exactly where it's coming from. Right. But I have bought stuff online before, and I mean, I have wondered- Yeah ... you know, like- I think everybody has ... now, now the, the risk of these type peptides is next to nothing. I mean- Right ... mainly it's like if it's not in there, it's not like somebody's like lacing it with some like- There's not arsenic in this
toxic thing. No. But- It just
Marcus: may not be the purity of, of, or not the purity, but it may not be the strength of BPC-157, or it could be drastically over this strength.
Blake: Well, and, and, and I wonder a couple of times, because I've had really good results with BPC-157- Yeah ... for certain injuries, um, I'm wondering if I've just gotten like garbage stuff, 'cause I've ordered it from a few different places before we found our current- Yeah
one that is freaking awesome. Right. Um-
Marcus: It's, uh, you know, it is n- you know, kind of a, a difficult thing, but I mean, I know that, you know, having somebody to go to, like yourself, who's, you know, got, you know, a source that is, you know, reputable and tests their stuff- Mm-hmm ... and, you know, is clean and stuff like that is, you know, a great, uh, you know, it's a great option for people.
'Cause I know like there are a bunch of these companies that are popping up online and, um, and they're gaining a lot of momentum, but you know, there's something about having somebody local that you can go into and talk to, and like- Yeah ... who looks at you physically and says, "Oh, I, you know, can see that you're stressed," or, you know, whatever, um, and then can, you know, offer some solutions from that.
I think that's extremely important, so it's nice to have, you know, an option here for, uh, for people, so.
Blake: It, and we get that a good bit, um, and not just with peptides, but with the GLP-1 stuff. Y- you know, people go through these big online companies and they just don't have a great experience 'cause you're talking with an app.
Right. You know? And like, yeah, we, we have to charge more for this because- Yeah ... we're gonna sit down and like take our time to actually talk with you and, um- And we're starting to see more of that too with the peptide stuff, people who have ordered them online or they're just nervous about it, and they've read everything under the sun.
But at the end of the day, like, there's still a human-to-human connection. Right. And, you know, I mean, we're not perfect people, but everybody in our company is easy to talk to and- ... and listens. Yeah. And so a, a lot of people appreciate that, you know, just-
Marcus: Yeah, for
Blake: sure ... to have-
Marcus: So if you were to, if you were to point at maybe the top three or four, you know, things that people should look to for, you know, for longevity's sake, you know what I mean?
Like, what would be... What's the... You know, what are the first things that you kinda go to, you know, for that?
Blake: Yeah.
Marcus: I mean, I'm not talking about just drugs. Like, I'm not talking about prescribing, but I mean just, like, what should people, you know, be doing in, in order to make sure that, hey, I'm gonna live, you know, a long and healthy life?
Blake: Yeah. This is gonna be groundbreaking. Yeah, I'm sure. It'll blow your mind. Yeah, yeah. You've gotta eat whole foods. Yep. Yep. Like, number one thing. I mean, so something that's really cool that I get to do when I, c- because I do these DEXA scans, so I get people who are doing all different kinds of diets and exercise programs, and all different ages, and people at the beginning of their journey, people who've been on it for 30 years.
Right. Nobody is aging well that doesn't eat clean. Yeah. Like, that is the one common denominator through it all. I mean, carnivore, vegan, ket- like-
Marcus: It's from- ... pe- ... the outside of the grocery store, the outside-
Blake: Yes ...
Marcus: perimeter- Yeah ... of the grocery store is what they say I mean,
Blake: it, it, and, and it, that is, that is the single common denominator.
Yeah. Now, I mean, some people can overcome bad diets just with good genetics or, you know, taking steroids and di- you know- Yeah ... like, all kinds of stuff. But, like, that, those are the real outliers. Yeah. I mean, everybody else, you gotta eat clean, exercise regularly. Right. I know another- Or be active regularly
another groundbreaking- I know ... thing, you know?
Marcus: But the- Can, can I stop you there- there 'cause I actually wanna, I, I do wanna pa- uh, pause on that. Yeah. You said exercise regularly, and I think what we have to s- maybe it's not exercise. Mm-hmm. It's being active, right? Because I think so oftentimes we think of in order to exercise, I have to get dressed, and I have to get in my car, and I have to drive down Airport Boulevard, and I have to go to the gym, and I have to be there for an hour and a half because it's not really worth going if I don't go, go and do, like, 30 minutes of cardio- Yeah
and then I've got about 45 minutes or so of, like, w- li- weightlifting and then 15... You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Like, it, that's not really... You know, if it's a matter of, you know, not working out and going out your front door and going for a 15-minute walk- Go for the walk.
Blake: 100%. You know what I'm saying?
Marcus: Uh, because I think so many times people build exercise up in their minds as to, like, they have this huge expectation.
Yeah. I was talking to a friend the other day, and he said, "Oh, I, I don't have time to go to the gym. I mean, it takes me two hours." And I'm like, "What the hell are you doing?" Yeah. I can go in and work out in 30 minutes and be done, and get a good workout, right?
Blake: Yeah.
Marcus: If you're watching your set times and stuff like that.
This guy was saying he needed two hours, and I asked him what he did. And it was, "Well, I go in and I, you know, do, do some cardio, and I may lift a little bit." And he goes to the infrared machine, and he sits in the tanning bed, and then he goes to the sauna. And I'm just like, "Dude, like, if you're making a decision about being active- Yeah
or not being active, and the barrier is two hours at the gym, like, eliminate the barrier- Right ... and say, 'Hey, I'm just gonna go outside and, and walk in the fresh air and feel the sun on my skin- Yeah ... for 15 minutes.'" And so, sorry, just, you know, like I've, I've, um, I'm a little bit passionate about this topic, too.
Yeah. I know you are as well. Yeah. And just because, like, you know, um, I have s- seen, you know, people go through the healthcare system that are ha- you know, they're having issues and stuff. And I know that the more that we can do to kind of prevent ourselves from getting to that point means that we may never have to deal with those things.
Right. Right? And so that's wa- why I stopped you. But you said eat clean, eat from the perimeter of the grocery store, 'cause that's where all the, the mostly, at least most of the clean food is on the outside. Yeah. And exercise.
Blake: Yeah, I mean, i- i- and, and that, that's a good point with exercise. Yeah. There, there's some caveats to that, too, though.
Sure. Like, there's a lot of people that I see that play pickleball every day, and they walk every day, but y- you've got to do stuff that engages your muscles. It's- Like, it is- ... gotta be strenuous, yeah ... like, when there's so many... It, it seems like every week or month, like, a new study is coming out that ties the amount of lean mass that you have on your body- Mm-hmm
to long-term health outcomes. 100%. I mean, like, lower instances of cancer, dementia, Alzheimer's.
Marcus: Mobility and being able to like, you know, walk and g- you know- Yeah ... squat to use the bathroom and all that stuff. I mean,
Blake: it, it, it is everything. It, it, it's crazy. Mm-hmm. And you're not going to get that just by walk- so- No, I, I'm not saying you- Like, yes, if it's too...
N- no, I- Yeah ... and, and, and I agree with your point, like-
Marcus: Don't not do- That, that- ... the walk because, you know ... right. Like, like,
Blake: don't sit on your butt and do nothing because you can't go to the gym for two hours. Yeah. Like, go walk, but also you can- You
Marcus: can go to the gym and not spend two hours- Or you can- ... and get a good workout
Blake: hit pushups. Yeah. Right? I mean, we could get up right now and sit here- Get a kettlebell, kettlebell ... and do pushups and that. Yeah. I, I, I did a DEXA scan on a couple this morning. They're from Wisconsin. They're snowbirds down here. Okay. They came to me last year. Yeah. Mid-70s, and like, uh, just these pe- They're like the greatest people-
in the world. And the husband, I think he's 77. I, I'd have to go... Anyway- Yeah ... but like, he's not a spring chicken. Right. And from this time last year, he had lost like three pounds of body fat and had put on a pound of muscle. Like, nothing- Yeah ... crazy or whatever. And before the scan he's like, "I don't think it's gonna be very good."
He's like, you know, "We had a couple new grand babies and we've been out of our routine." Yeah. And it was a little better, and I'm like, "Man, like most people in their 70s are going like this." And like- The muscle mass is going down, yeah ... you at least are- Yeah ... like this is awesome.
Marcus: Yeah.
Blake: And he's like, "Man, that, that's cool to see."
He goes, "I mean, I still do have my yoga mat and I do my pushups every day." And you know, I d- Yeah ... he's spending like 10 or 15 minutes a day- Yeah ... doing this. Nothing crazy, you know? And, and it... I know I hadn't done an hour workout lifting weights probably since high school. Well, no- Like, that would be- ... you put me on a
Marcus: machine at your office, you don't have to do an hour workout anymore- Well, not...
'cause the 15 minutes, you're exhausted But, okay. But I mean, even- ...
Blake: even this week, like, I mean, if you looked at my workouts, they've all... I mean, it's just been a crazy hectic week. Yeah. They have all been between 20 and 25 minutes. Yeah. And it's just been like random hit stu- like, I've gotten home, I hadn't had a chance to work it into my day, and it's like, "I'm gonna do something."
I've kinda got a couple of go-to for times like that, and it works. Yeah. You know? It's just, it's, it's having the discipline to do it. So if we're kinda talking about like longevity, the foundation, food, exercise, and then sleep is the- Yeah ... huge one that you're hearing that conversation a lot more, but like nobody was talking about that- Yeah
5, 10 years ago. I mean, not mainstream. You had people that were. People that we were listening- But- ... to were, but yeah. Right Yeah. You know, so the sleep issue i- is huge, and it's a big problem for, for a lot of people, and I think it is really, really worth putting some time and energy to figure out how to fix your sleep.
And-
Marcus: It's a cycle and, is what I see, and, you know, so, you know, if you've gained a little bit of weight, and then you have, you know, maybe as a guy you're dealing with some sleep apnea or snoring or something like that- Mm-hmm ... and then you continually wake yourself up overnight, your cortisol levels rise, you know, your inflammation goes up, you gain more weight, you know, you can't sleep.
Yeah. You know what I mean? It just, it just keeps going and going and going, and so unless you do something to kind of interrupt that pattern- Yeah ... then, you know, you just, you don't get out of it. Um, so yeah.
Blake: Huge problem for most men that are overweight that, at least that I see- Yeah ... is just eating before bed.
Yeah. Like, a lot of them have convinced themselves they can't eat if they're a little bit hungry. Like that is- Like, none of these guys are a special snowflake. Like, that- Right ... it's all in your head. You know, like, but what happens, a- and, and I've seen this with myself 'cause a couple times a year I'll wear a continuous glucose monitor just- Oh, cool
because I'm-
Marcus: Nerdy ... weird- It's okay ... and a nerd and into that stuff.
Blake: Um, and when I eat certain meals, like spaghetti's one, I'll freaking love spaghetti. Love some spaghetti. Like, since I was a kid, it's like one of my favorite things in the world. But if I eat spaghetti and I'm, even if I'm done eating at, like, 6:00 or 6:30, my blood sugar all night is just- Is just spiked
and then when I'm tracking my sleep, I mean, to a T- Yeah ... like, I'm not sleeping very well those nights. And so, and that's with usually, like, three or four hours of a buffer for my body to process this and, and I don't ever just eat and just go sit on the couch for the rest of the night, you know. Um-
Marcus: It was funny 'cause last night we were sitting down and, um, my mom made some black beans and rice for Easter.
Mm-hmm. And she makes amazing black beans and rice, and so w- we were having leftovers last night, black beans and rice with a banana, and I was like, "The only thing that's missing from this is an ice cold beer." And I had some half beers, uh, the Coronas, the little half, you know, bottle, uh, beers. Uh-huh. I haven't had a beer in, like...
I don't think I've probably had a beer in probably five years- Oh, wow ... or something like that. I mean, it's been a while. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit. Oh. But I'm, I don't drink beer. Yeah. And so I was like, "The only thing that's missing from this," so I sat down and I had my beer with my black beans and rice and my banana.
And y- you folks that are judging me because that doesn't sound good don't know what you're talking about. But, um, my sleep last night was horrible.
Blake: Yeah.
Marcus: And, um, I don't think it was the black beans and rice. It was that beer. Oh, probably. It was just, you know- Yeah ... disrupted. So I mean, like, there again, like, you know, I mean, it, it...
just knowing that things that you eat do have an impact on other a- aspects of your life and, you know, knowing that if I make a smart decision and drink water next night and time- Mm-hmm ... instead of the beer, then I probably won't have as much issues with sleeping, you know. And then the other thing, too, uh, we talked about this last time you were on, was, uh, intermittent fasting.
Yeah.
Um, you know, I don't do anything crazy and I'm 52- Yeah ... and I'm probably the leanest that I've ever been in my life. Mm-hmm. But I don't have a tendency to eat anything until dinner time. I may occasionally eat a lunch or a breakfast- Mm-hmm ... but it's not like, oh... 'Cause it used to be like, you know, "Hey, it's, uh, 7:30.
I'm gonna have a bowl of cereal," or, "I'm gonna have three eggs and some, you know- Yeah ... something." And, um, and then, "Oh, it's noon. I gotta go and have lunch." And then, "Oh, it's 3:30. I better have my coffee break, so I'm gonna go have coffee and a, you know, pastry." Mm. And then, "Oh, it's, you know, 6:00. I gotta have my dinner, you know- Yeah
with my meat and two sides." And then, "Oh-" Guess what? It's a little bit later in the evening and I'm gonna have my dessert now. Uh-huh. You know what I mean? Like, um, and so it's not, you know, I mean, it's not, uh, I'm not na- eating nearly as many calories. And I think, you know, as I've gotten older, I just realize that I don't, don't have the, I don't have the resting metabolism that I used to have- Yeah
to where I can con- consume a bunch of calories and then expect it to not end up as, you know, fat. Right. So, I don't know that there was a question in there. There probably wasn't.
Blake: Anyway. Well, no, I mean- ... in- intermittent fasting, it works well for some people, and for a lot of people it does the opposite. Um- Really?
Marcus: So you've seen people do intermittent fasting and then have-
Blake: Way more don't do well with it- Really? ... than do, from what I've seen. And here's the reason why, it's because when they do finally eat, they- Gorge ... go overboard. Yeah. And they usually break the fast with something really, really terrible- Yeah ... which causes an even higher insulin response to it.
Hmm. And, and then they end up eating later before bed as well. Yeah. So.
Marcus: See, I found my stomach shrank.
Blake: Yeah.
Marcus: So now even when we go to a, a restaurant, you know, Chrissy and I will share a meal instead. Mm-hmm. And I'm usually, even then, sometimes we can't f- you know, finish- Yeah ... you know, what we've got- then gotten.
So, but, you know, like I said, your mileage may vary. Some of this stuff doesn't work for, for s- some folks. Yeah, I mean,
Blake: it, it, and, and, and it, it frustrates a lot of people that do, especially, like, with intermittent fasting, 'cause they... This stuff all goes back to, like, Instagram and TikTok. Like- Yeah ... just seeing people spout, like, "This is the way to do, you know, the only..."
Like, there's not. It, it, what works for one person may not work well for others. And so when I have somebody who comes in who's overweight, very frustrated, you know, like, "I've been intermittent fasting for, like, six months and I'm not losing any weight," I'm like, "Stop." Yeah. Like- Golly ... for you, most people will do better eating, like, high protein, high fiber early in the day, like breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, so when they get home from work-
Marcus: Right
Blake: there's usually that kind of, like, witching hour right before dinner where if people are real hungry, that's when they hit the pantry and start- Oh, heck yeah ... the Ritz- Guilty ... the Ritz crackers, the Wheat Thins, the che- you know- Yeah ... whatever, like, simple refined carb that you got in there for your kids.
Right. You start- Spike, spiking that insulin again ... start pounding it, and then, and then it, they're also the ones that struggle eating late at night. Mm-hmm. Their body's still hungry from, from the day. So it's like, let's see how full we can get you early in the day so you're not as hungry at night and can go to bed.
Yeah. And, and people, when they make that shift- tend to start dropping fat, especially men. Yeah 'Cause men drop fat- It just depends
Marcus: on where the- where they're at, so. 100%. Well, let's get, uh, let's get some of these other questions, uh, going too, 'cause it's been a while and I wanna see, you know, if, if maybe your answers have changed.
But, um, what's the most important thing that you've learned about running a business?
Blake: Patience. You know? What, you wanna expand on that? Like, like thi- things usually aren't as good as they seem, and then they're usually not as bad as they seem as well, you know? And, um, a- and I know for me personally, there's been a lot of highs and a lot of lows since going down- Since we, yeah
this route, you know? And just not getting too caught up emotionally in either of those, you know? 'Cause I, I have made some decisions that weren't great be- when things were really high. Yeah. You know? Yeah. I was like, "Oh, heck yeah," you know, "This is, something's going awesome." Like, "Yeah, we can buy this machine."
You know? Yeah. "Absolutely." And then-
Marcus: Well, I think a lot of us had the- Market corrections ... the bottom- You know ... you know, fell out of the, you know, the market, you know, couple years ago, and, you know, everything was going in an amazing direction. Right. Right? I mean, you're not... Um, you know, I talk to a lot of people that, you know, are still kind of recovering from...
And myself included. Yeah. Right? We talked about it before, you know, like, um, you know, the difficulties that we're dealing with now are not, they weren't, th- these aren't planned. It wasn't, like necessarily- Right ... anything that we, you know, did. Mm-hmm. It was just like, "Hey, shit," you know, like somebody changed the game and it's mid, you know, mid...
We're like this and they're like- Right ... "No, the goal's over there." Yeah. You know? Like it, yeah, it's just really weird. But, um, so yeah, patience.
Blake: Patience, a, a big one, and then y- with the dawn of AI and all, I, I still think that just the human connection is gonna become even bigger, you know? It's truly the
Marcus: only thing we can't replace.
Blake: Yeah. And, and, kinda like I mentioned earlier, we get a lot of people who've tried the HIMS, the Rows, all that stuff, and th- they come back to us because they're, they're tired of interacting with an app the whole time. Yeah. And it's not a human or AI issue, it's... I mean, AI's not going anywhere. Mm-hmm. I know you're huge into it.
Yeah. So, um, it's how can we merge these two a- and, and help them work together for the betterment. But I, I do think when it comes to people's health there's... I mean, yeah, there's people that are using ChatGPT right now for a nutritionist and a personal trainer, and that computer is a hell of a lot smarter than I'll ever dream of being.
Right. You know, but-
Marcus: But those are typically people that know enough about it to where they know what questions to ask.
Blake: That, and, and there's really a small subset of people that- can just go out and do it- Right ... anyway. Yeah. I mean, like I happen to be one of them for whatever reason. Like- Me too ... like I work out a lot.
Like I'm not a member- Yeah ... of a gym. Like, not 'cause I don't ... Just like, like some people need that like group and that motivation and accountability stuff.
Marcus: Yeah.
Blake: That's, that's really most people. So interacting with an app is not gonna be like a long-term thing. Yeah. They still want somebody to connect with, to be able to look them in the eye and like understand kind of what they're going through and, and help walk them through
Marcus: it.
They want somebody's guidance. They don't wanna have to become the expert.
Blake: Yeah.
Marcus: And they may not trust, you know, a machine to tell them what it is. They want to know that of the hundreds of people that you've treated, what have you seen and what- Yeah ... do I need to do in my situation? Yeah. Just boil it down to me, you know?
Blake: I had a, I had a good friend yesterday i- in my office, and he said that exact same thing. He- Yeah ... we're, conversation moved to peptides.
Marcus: Yeah.
Blake: And I started telling him about one. He was like, "Dude," He was like, "I don't even want to know, like learn about this stuff." Like- Right ... "You know 'cause you've done this."
Right. "What do I need to do?" Like- Yeah. Tell me ... "You're a friend, you're not gonna tell me something stupid." And-
Marcus: See, I know a lot about peptides ... so- I still like talking to other people about those kinds of things because, you know, there's kind of like a, you know, you wanna ... I don't know, you want a backup opinion, I guess, other than your own.
Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, just to make sure that you don't, uh... And it's a shame that it has to be that way because that, I feel like part of that is just because there's not a whole lot of information or of like solid information- Yeah ... about them, so.
Blake: Well, what's cool about our, our setup is my partner Michael Smith, he, he understands the medical part of these peptides, which I do not.
Marcus: Yeah.
Blake: You know? Like I kind of, I understand the practical application of them. Yeah. You know? And like not, how to not be stupid- Right ... with them and like- You- ... not tell somebody just a load of shit like, "Oh, you need to stack these six peptides up at once 'cause- Yeah ... it's gonna do..." You know? But like then to have somebody, as you're talking about, you know, having that human guidance stuff that like does understand like the metabolic pathways that these are operating on.
Right, right. That's the- The science behind it. Yeah. Yeah. That stuff's so important. I
Marcus: would put myself in your camp. Like I know the practical application of them, but when it comes to like the effects on the body and, you know, like all that stuff, it's like maybe a little bit, but not- Yeah ... you know, not to the effect that somebody that knows it would know.
Um, how do you like to unwind?
Blake: Still exercise. Can't
Marcus: get away from it, can you? Yeah.
Blake: No, but I mean, it, it, I feel better when I do it and less stress. And sauna is a big one. Um, I'll tell you another thing that, just sitting outside, like- An actual sitting Yeah ... you know, and just in the quiet. Like, I mean, even if it's 10 minutes, like early in the morning or late at night.
Marcus: Um- I, I do it every morning.
Blake: Yeah.
Marcus: I go out on my back porch,
Blake: and m-
Marcus: most mornings- Yeah ... right, go out on my back porch. We live in an, uh, a, the house is facing, or the back of the house is facing, like, some wooded area. Mm-hmm. And we've got a lot of birds back there, and I'll just go back and I'll sit and just listen, you know, to the birds and the wind and stuff like that.
Yeah. And it's amazing how, you know, how big of an impact that has on your day, to just kind of bring everything, like, whoo-
Blake: Yeah ... down. That- that's one of those things that, you know, when I was in my 20s and 30s, I'm like, "Oh, that's a bunch of hippie crap," you know? Yeah. Just like, like now- The hippies are onto
Marcus: something.
Blake: They kinda understand. Like, nature's pretty- Yeah ... awesome. Yeah. I mean, even, I mean, I live in a neighborhood- ... but, like, when, when you're out- Yeah ... not in the middle of the day and lawnmowers are going and- Yeah ... and all that stuff, it's just quiet. Take your shoes and socks
Marcus: off and put your gra- your feet in some grass every once in a while.
Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, enjoy, enjoy it, you know? It's awesome. All right, I got 12 rapid-fire questions for you.
Blake: Okay.
Marcus: T- favorite type of music? '
Blake: 90s country.
Marcus: Oh, gosh, I'm judging you. What is your favorite type of food?
Blake: Uh, it's still pizza, man.
Marcus: Favorite restaurant in Lower Alabama?
Blake: Jesse's.
Marcus: Favorite city outside of Mobile?
Outside of Mobile.
Blake: I'd say Nashville.
Marcus: Nashville? Yeah. That's a good choice. What would... You were struggling between two, obviously. What, what's another one?
Blake: No, not between two, just trying to kinda think of where I've been-
Marcus: And what you really en- ... recently ... really enjoyed. You know? I
Blake: mean, it, it's not like a, like, just straight up place you go for vacation.
Right. You know? Like, I mean, I think Nashville's a, just a cool city- Yeah, a cool city ... in general. Charlotte seems pretty cool too. Yes. I ha- I hadn't spent as, as much time in Charlotte, but. Yeah.
Marcus: It's got a cool vibe. Um, city you want to travel to but have yet to visit?
Blake: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Marcus: Okay.
Blake: Yeah. I, no, there, there's, there's a long backstory. Okay,
Marcus: we'll talk about that o- off, uh, off camera. Yeah. So, um, what comes to mind when I say guilty pleasure?
Blake: Uh, Dairy Queen
Marcus: Blizzard. Which flavor? And, and- Uh, butter- Butterfinger. Butterfinger. Yeah. And be honest, what size do you order?
Blake: Oh, I mean, you gotta get at least a medium. Yeah. I mean, if you're gonna do- See, folks ... if you're gonna do it- Gotta live ... like, do it. You know? You know? Um-
Marcus: Never trust- a, a trainer, you know, person like you, coach, if they don't admit to like occasionally having a, a- Oh, dude-
blizzard.
Blake: So ... my son and I went skiing a couple weeks ago- Yeah ... in Breckenridge. Like, ate like a college kid. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it was pizza, wings- Yeah, yeah ... fries, like- Burgers, yeah ... I mean, like I, I very much live by the, uh, I mean, it used to be 80/20, now it's, honestly it's 90/10 just- Right ... 'cause the cleaner I eat, the better I, I feel.
Like- Right ... especially as you get older and like knees start hurting, like inflammation goes down, like-
Marcus: Shoulders ...
Blake: all that like health stuff. Yeah. But man, I still love good food, it's just, I just don't eat it randomly
Marcus: now. Right. You know? Like- It's not what your every day is.
Blake: No. Like, I, I eat it when it counts.
You know, like I don't have like a couple slices of Little Caesars pizza anymore like just 'cause our kids- No, but if you go to Red or- ... are eating that ...
Marcus: White and, you know, you're having a glass of wine and, you know-
Blake: No. Like, uh, there's a place in Fairhope, Section Street Pizza. Okay, yeah, yeah. It's like our family's like favorite pizza place.
Yeah. Like I eat the shit out of it and love it. Yeah. Like every bite. Yeah. You know? And so. That's
Marcus: awesome. Dogs, cats, or none of the above? None of the above. Summer or winter? Summer. Favorite movie or TV show? Sopranos. Favorite holiday? Christmas. Favorite color? Blue.
Everybody says blue.
That's why I named my, my, uh, business Bluefish, everybody loves blue.
Um, favorite cereal? Fruity Pebbles. Fruity Pebbles? Yeah. All right. This one isn't a rapid fire, so answer how you wish, but what are you most thankful for?
Blake: Totally generic, but it's true. Me and my family. Yeah. Like especially as every year creeps by, you know, kids start getting older, like i- it- Yeah ... like I,
Marcus: I, I'm- We're, Chrissy and I were talking the other day and she was filling out a, a field trip form for, for Ella, and she looked at me and she goes, "This may be the last field trip I ever go on."
And I was like, "Yeah, it probably will." Mm-hmm.
And
it was just kind of like, you know, I could tell she was like, "Oh my gosh," and yeah, like I, you know, I mean, I get it. You know, there's, you know, especially with family there's, you know, there are fin- there's finality to certain things- Yeah ... and sometimes you don't recognize that and it's like, but as you get older you do start to see them and appreciate them more and- Yeah
you recognize like, "Hey, this is sand slipping through my fingers," you know?
Blake: Yeah. I mean, my, my oldest two are in high school now, and they both have jobs, and they're just off all the time. And- Yeah ... a lot of times it's just my wife and I and my youngest, and we were actually sitting in the kitchen last night, it was us three, and I can't remember who said it- But they're like, "This is how it's gonna be all the time in a couple years."
And I was like-
Marcus: Yeah ... "
Blake: I ain't ready for that." It's
Marcus: weird.
Blake: Um-
Marcus: Yeah, I've experienced some of that 'cause my, my boys with, uh, my first marriage are, you know, all grown and, you know, not around much. It, you know, even when kids get into high school and can drive, they're n- just not around much. Yeah You know? And so, but they're definitely not around much 'cause two of them live outside of the area, and the other one's busy with his, you know, stuff.
And, um, with Landon and Ella it's, you know, just, you know, it, it's coming quick. Mm-hmm. You know, where, you know, it won't be long before, you know, they're not around much anymore, and it's just weird. You know, you got, like, extra time, you know, on your hands that you didn't have before because, you know, you were running them around to all the different events and stuff like that.
And it, it's just, it's a really odd spot- Yeah ... to be an empty nester, you know? So anyway, um, tell people where they can find you.
Blake: Um, a lot of places. Um, our website telomereconcierge.com, connexusclinic.com. I'm pretty active on LinkedIn. Okay. Um, uh-
Marcus: Facebook page.
Blake: Yeah. We've got all that. I, I'm like a Neanderthal with-
Instagram and Facebook. Um-
Marcus: We'll, we'll talk afterwards ... had- hadn't figured those
Blake: out- Yeah. ... yet, but I, I try a little bit. LinkedIn i- is easier 'cause, like, I feel like that's, like, boring, middle-aged white guys, and I'm like, "Oh, I can do that."
Marcus: Yeah. Well, I mean, actually, your target demographic, um, you're gonna find them on Facebook around here too, but, you know, LinkedIn business- businessmen that are- Yeah
trying to find an edge, you know? Um, well, I wanna thank you for, uh, coming on the podcast again. So wrap up any final thoughts or comments you'd like to share.
Blake: No, man, I just appreciate you having me. I, I love talking about this stuff and, um, it, people are ... I know it's something people are interested in because- Yeah
I mean ... A- and what's also funny is even though the conversation is picking up a lot, it's still, like, especially with peptides, like, in its infancy.
Marcus: Right.
Blake: And- We are on the precipice ... well, and even, even with testosterone too, like, I say things to friends of mine about it, and they're like, "What are you talking about?"
Like, they kinda know that, like, men have testosterone but, like-
Marcus: And women too, by the way. Yeah. Oh,
Blake: oh gosh. I mean, that's a whole nother-
Marcus: Yeah. That's a whole nother topic. Oh. We haven't even- Yeah. Yeah. Um-
Blake: But- But it, it, it makes me laugh and, um, just at, at some of the things I hear that, that it makes you realize, like, that this thing is in the first inning- Yeah
you know, of, of where it's going. And the whole kinda medicine 3.0, proactive medicine type stuff, things outside of the normal insurance model is just going to continue getting more popular 'cause more and more people are realizing, like, "I'm not going to be healthy-" Living in this medical system that- Yeah
we've all grown up with and like, it's just, it's not gonna serve you. Yeah. And I mean, I got stories for days on things that- ... how people have really been screwed by the system. And, and not to remove personal accountability, but people just don't know because there is so much trust in that system and-
Marcus: It's kind
Blake: of- And I'll tell you this too
it's, it's still though- Like, the doctors are not the problem. Yeah. Like, the system is, you know, 'cause th- there's a lot of people now that, especially after COVID, have mistrust in certain doctors. Yeah. I'm like, no, it- that's... Like, you're looking at this thing way too surface level. Right. I mean, the doctors around here are amazing.
Yeah.
Marcus: And- They're sometimes bound by what they can and cannot do.
Blake: When, when you start having some honest conversations with primary care doctors, like, it's the most eye-opening, like, what are we doing here type thing. You know, just because of what they're forced- Yeah ... to do- Yeah ... to operate within this insurance system.
It, it- Yeah ... it is lunacy. Like, I kinda, like, knew it was bad, and over the last year I, I've had some very in-depth conversations about- It's, uh- ... some of this 'cause you're seeing a lot of primary care doctors just, they, they're like, "I'm not doing this- Yeah. They're just doing private care ... anymore." Like-
Marcus: Yeah
Blake: um-
Marcus: It's getting to be more and more of a problem, and I think it, it is, uh, something that we're gonna see more and more of because there are gonna be fewer and fewer doctors. Yeah. And so it's gonna become more and more of a premium to see an actual human physician, whether that's right or wrong or whatever, so...
But I, I wanna... I'm gonna say something. This isn't coming from Blake. This is just my own thing, and that's that as you get into your 30s, especially for guys, I'm gonna, I'm gonna talk to guys, I would highly suggest that you get on a schedule with a general practitioner and at least visit them once a year.
Mm-hmm. I would suggest that you at least get your lab work done, and as part of that lab work that you ask them, because they are not gonna give it to you just, you know, off, off of a, a general lab, uh, test, that you ask for your testosterone to be tested as well, and that you start tracking these things.
Yeah. Because just because you have one test done doesn't necessarily mean that you're gonna, you know, "Okay. Well, I'm, I'm done." Mm-hmm. The important thing is to find, you know, a baseline as young as you possibly can. So if you're e- young and you wanna do this, great too 'cause I started doing this in, like, my, I think my 20s or something.
Mm-hmm.
And so, and just f- following that and being a good steward of the body that you've been given. Yeah. Because the more that you can kind of have that baseline and, and track it over years, the more likely you are to see any kind of idiosyncrasies or things, outliers that are- Mm-hmm ... that are anomalies That might indicate that there's something else going on.
And, um, and then your doctor would have grounds to say, "Oh, okay, well, your X is high or low," or whatever. Yeah. Um, and also, I would just say, you know, do your research, you know, before, you know, 'cause I know that physicians oftentimes, your middle-aged man is gonna go in, and he's gonna be a little overweight, and he's gonna have high cholesterol or high blood pressure- Mm-hmm
or whatever, and it's gonna be, "Here's your prescriptions." Yeah. And I would just say be aware of what those drugs do and how they're... Pay attention to how they're gonna impact your body, and know that there are c- there's new information out that the doctors may or may not have access to. Specifically when it comes to testosterone- Yeah
a lot of the, you know, the s- the difficulty with testosterone came because there was a study that was done back in the early 1900s that had three people in it, and two people dropped out. And so you can imagine- Like, nobody bothered to go back and do another study for, like, 70 years. Right. All the studies that they've been doing for, like, the last f- decade or something have said that there's no reason why a man should not supplement with, you know, testosterone.
Yeah. Now, granted, some people abuse that. That is not what I'm talking about. Yeah. I'm talking about just keeping normal levels. It's almost like when women are seeing their OB about, you know, when they go through menopause, it's that kind of, like, supplementation of just trying to make you feel normal.
Mm-hmm.
Because for the longest time, guys were not given permission to talk about, "Hey, man, I'm getting old. I'm falling asleep. I'm gaining weight. I don't have any motivation. Like, my drive isn't there," and I'm not talking about sex. I'm just saying my drive- Yeah ... in life, like to achieve things and to set goals and do things like that.
And so I very strongly feel that, you know, guys, uh, need to take a, a, a hard look at themselves and think about like, "Hey, is, am I living how I wanna live? Do I feel how I wanna feel? Should my body be able to move in ways that I can't currently move?"
Blake: Yeah.
Marcus: Um, you know, then start trying to make small, smart decisions, and it could be as simple as, you know, changing what you drink at one meal, or changing and having one side with your meal that is healthy instead of the fat, deep-fat-fried or whatever.
And so this is Marcus on his soapbox. You know, it's my podcast. Damn it, I'll do what I want. Um, but I really do hope that somebody out there hears this and, you know, and, and kind of like takes that first step. And if you need some help, there are people here that can help you. Um- You know, but I think, you know, we, we live in an area where you can, you can just see it around.
Yeah. You know what I mean? Like this is a very unhealthy area and, you know, if you- I feel like it's a very important that somebody stand up and say, "Hey, guess what? There's another way."
Blake: Yeah, and, you know, specifically since you said talking to guys in their 30s, like this isn't me like being smart or having special knowledge.
I just, I get to interact with a ton of people, so I have a lot of experience, and I cannot tell you the amount of regret of guys I meet with who are in their 40s and 50s- Mm-hmm ... that now have so much work to do-
Marcus: Yeah ...
Blake: to get back. Whereas if they had just been-
Marcus: Course-corrected along the way, it would've-
paying attention- Yep ...
Blake: in their 20s and 30s. And, and none of this is about living some like extreme lifestyle, two hours in the gym and counting- Yeah ... everything. I know guys that do that, and they love it. Yeah. And that's cool. That, I mean, that... Like not everybody wants to be 7% body fat. Just for the record, I can't remember
Marcus: the last time I went to the gym.
I have a membership, just full disclosure. Yeah. Um, you know, like I, you know, like I, I think... Yeah, I mean, I think it's all necessary. I think you gotta find out what works for yourself. But the thing is to try things.
Yeah.
And, you know, to, to really be honest with yourself about whether you're doing it or not because I'll see a lot of times where people, you know, say, "Oh, I'm, I'm doing X," you know, and then it's like, oh, but I just saw you do Y, which is in direct, you know...
And so, yes, you need to have grace with yourself, but also you have to be honest with yourself and what you're r- really doing.
Blake: But- That phrase right there, be honest with yourself-
Marcus: Yeah ...
Blake: men, women, everything. I mean, like we're dealing with people- Yeah ... mainly with weight loss every day. Right. It's the number one thing people are not, is honest with themselves.
Yep. And it's fine. I mean, there's plenty of stuff I'm not honest with myself about in other areas. Yeah. You know? But like getting to that point where you, you seriously are like, "No, it is me. This is the decisions I'm making." Yeah. You know? Um-
Marcus: And I'm not okay with that. I don't wanna be this person anymore.
Yeah. And I'm going to change. Yeah, I mean- That's, that's the talk you have to have in your head.
Blake: It, it is, and there's no, there's no GLP-1. I mean, we could do a four-hour podcast on- Yeah ... that now. Yeah. Um, and I mean, I've seen those things change people's lives for the best, and I've seen them-
Marcus: Destroy. Yeah.
Blake: Yeah. I mean, I don't wanna be over dramatic, but like people that are way worse off- Yeah ... after being on it. And there's a pattern- Just know that it's not- ... with those ... the magic bullet, you know, before you- It's not. It, it- ... go down that path ... same thing with peptides, same thing with TRT. There, I know guys- Yeah
who've been doing TRT for years, and they're still kinda low energy and pudgy and not feeling great, and it, it, it all goes back, when you talk about- the longevity stuff, like throw out any extra thing. Like, you've got to get the diet- Yeah ... the exercise, the lifestyle- Sleep ... piece down. Yeah. When, when you do that, all these therapies all of a sudden start- It clicks
working better. Yeah. And, and it just unlocks, and those are the people that, like their lives are changed forever with it. Um, and that, that's, that is the exciting part about it. Uh, the hard part is, you know, life is busy- Life gets in the way ... and stressful and expensive, and a lot of times, like comfort food, you can't say cheap anymore 'cause it's so much more expensive- Yeah
to go through Chick-fil-A than it is to- Yeah ... like cook good whole food- Yeah ... for lunch. Um,
Marcus: but- Well, at least that, that is definitely true now, and that, you know, maybe that's the motiva- motivating factor too of like being able to save some money because things have gotten so ridiculously expensive. Yeah.
I mean,
Blake: like- So ... the, the, the la- uh, people try to go to like the whole, "Well, it's just too expensive to eat healthy" thing, 'cause that's like- Yeah, no ... the default. Like, not anymore. Not anymore. No. It, it used to be like that, you know, when there was a dollar menu at McDonald's and Wendy's. I call it crap in high school- Yeah, yeah
that we used to live off of.
Marcus: But- No. It, food- Um ... food costs have gone through the roof, for sure.
Blake: And man, I wanna say one more thing too. Yeah. Just, uh, uh, the testosterone piece. Mm-hmm. Like, just kind of talking about like surface level stuff. Yeah. I, I've learned so much just from now being a part of Telomere and doing this.
Yeah. Like, your total testosterone number is- Is a- ... small piece of the puzzle ... yeah,
Marcus: free testosterone.
Blake: Yeah. I mean, there, and, and then even when you get into SGBH and, um, DHEA, I mean, there's so many things. The precursors and stuff like that. So finding somebody that like actually knows and understands it is a really big deal.
Right. And, and not everybody does. Um, so finding a practitioner in particular, 'cause I mean, I know that there's... I've heard some stories of places around here that very surface level- Just
Marcus: prescribing and prescribing and prescribing ... as you walk in the
Blake: door and- Yeah ... this is what you're getting 'cause we gotta get your numbers up to here, and i- it's really doing a disservice- Yeah
to people, um, with that, so. There's more to it than that, for sure, so. There, there is. Yeah. Um, and but it's also, it's pretty fascinating though, too, when you start to see like, oh, well my number is this, but this one's here. Right. And then you start tying that to different like symptoms and things, and you're like, "Holy crap."
Like- Yeah.
Marcus: It explains a lot when you, when you can look at, and that's why the lab results are important because oftentimes- Yeah ... it's gonna show your DHE, uh, like, DHEA levels, your estradiol, your- Yeah ... free testosterone, your testosterone, and all the other things that, yeah, go into that. So, um- If you're still with us Uh, Blake, I appreciate your willingness to sit with me and share your journey as a business owner and entrepreneur.
Man, it has been great talking to you.
Blake: Yeah, man. I appreciate the time. I love it.
Marcus: So, uh, that's it. That's a wrap, folks.
