Speaker 1: 0:30

Marshall Carey. I'm the owner of Game Day Men's Health over in Gainesville, virginia. We provide services for men specifically, but we're a man cave pharmacy, you know kind of a safe space for men, and we talk about testosterone therapy, optimizing their testosterone, weight loss therapies, peptide therapies, hair loss, erectile dysfunction and erectile enhancement. Um, but we really um focus on men, usually 35 and up and all the way up to 80, 85.

Speaker 2: 1:04

That's awesome that there's a space for men just for all these things that they're probably maybe nervous to go somewhere else about.

Speaker 1: 1:10

Exactly so we're uh, we're sports focused. Uh, so our colors are black and red. We have sports on music, coffee. So we try to change up the men's health industry.

Speaker 2: 1:22

That's awesome, yeah, and I see you've got the swag too and the colors Love it Got to represent. Now can you share your journey into the health and wellness industry and what inspired you to establish Game Day Men's Health in Gainesville?

Speaker 1: 1:37

It was a long journey. I've always been in sales and always helping people out, and then throughout COVID, I saw a lot of people get unhealthy and I really doubled down on staying healthy myself. And I have a lot of family who's in the medical industry physicians, assistants, nurses so helping people has always been kind of like our family thing. But it was about two years ago. I was just looking for another opportunity another, not career opportunity, but just another adventure, not career opportunity, but just another adventure. I've been a real estate agent for over a decade now in DC and just wanted to kind of switch it up and see what else I can do. So, with COVID and health being a very important thing, I just started looking at different opportunities out there.

Speaker 1: 2:34

After six or seven different interviews I finally came across Game Day, men's Health, located out in California, and their whole motto was about rebuilding men's lives and helping them reclaim their game, and the biggest one was there's no shame in your game and there's a lot of shame out there, and so that really spoke to me. I was like, okay, what's this all about? And then, the more I learned, the more I was like I'm sold. And then I met with the founder, dr Evan Miller. I was like, dude, we're in, let's do this, and now we're 300 franchises strong. I'm just a small piece of that, but everybody is kind of on the same wavelength about rebuilding men's lives. And if we can rebuild men's lives, then we can rebuild our community's lives, because you affect one man, but you affect their wife, their children, their employees, their employer. So you affect a lot of people with affecting one man.

Speaker 2: 3:33

Absolutely no, it's such a big impact. And then, um, as you mentioned, you have your background in real estate, advising at MDT real estate team with compass. Um, how have your experiences influenced your approach to running a men's health clinic? Do you see like maybe any like crossovers?

Speaker 1: 3:51

synergies, yeah, I mean, uh, the crossovers really are, um, that you're trying to help people achieve their goals, right, sometimes they don't even know what their goals are, right. And so, with real estate, we're sitting down and saying what is the top five things that you need in a house, right, you know you're saying, okay, what are the things that are really important to you for your health? You know what do you value, and we can give them the numbers and we can say you know, here's your testosterone scores and here is where your weight is and here's where a normal you know, healthy person should be at. But what is important to you, you know this is cash-based medicine. You get to have a say. We're not going to tell you just to pop a pill and have a good day.

Speaker 1: 4:40

We give our clinic directors about an hour for each man for the initial consultation, so they really get to delve into what's important to them, what they're scared about. And then, what do they want to solve first? Right, some men want to say, okay, I just want to feel better, or I want to sleep better, or I want to be better in the bedroom, right, and whatever that first problem is, we say, okay, let's tackle the first one first, and then the next time you come in we can tackle the next one. You know, once we see results in the first thing they're going to come back because you've helped them solve a problem that was important to them first.

Speaker 2: 5:20

Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 5:21

And then you can start chipping away at the other stuff.

Speaker 2: 5:24

That's incredible, though. And what about your staff? Are they all men? Is it women? And also, how do you portray the man cave? Look in your business. What does that mean?

Speaker 1: 5:45

Is it like sports posters everywhere? Yeah, so, um, it's. It is all women that work at the clinic, except for myself and my doctor, dr Rajesh Puri. Um, so in in medicine, mid-level is mostly women. You know, like my sisters are nurses and nurses, and the medical assistants are younger women who are probably trying to be a physician assistant or a doctor one day themselves. So I have a physician assistant, I have a nurse practitioner and then the medical assistants, so that's normally the office the day-to-day, and then myself. You know I'm there representing the men, talking to them, telling them about what I'm doing. You know, I'm the Guinea pig, basically.

Speaker 2: 6:18

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 6:19

You know I tell them I'm on testosterone and what peptide I'm using and why I'm using it, you know, um, just so that they have an example of kind of what to follow, um, but also, you know, kind of have that man touch too. As far as the clinic itself, we're black and red, you know, um, and we, you know we have nice chairs, sports on, podcasts on. You know, so we'll have like Joe Rogan every once in a while where they can listen to that. Um, you know good music, country music, you know rock music, stuff like that, Um, and then and then really it's just, yeah, we do have some sports things as well. You know weightlifters, but really we're just focused on being a comfortable environment and allowing them to take as much time as they want, like right now, march Madness, we got basketball on, you know.

Speaker 2: 7:11

Yeah, that's awesome. Probably do fantasy leagues of that sort. I don't know, fantasy football is football, but is there one for basketball Maybe.

Speaker 1: 7:19

Well, you do brackets there we go Brackets, that's what the word was Thank you.

Speaker 2: 7:23

That's awesome. And now, when it comes to running your staff, have you come into any issues with hiring people? Or is your process quite rigid, or you've got it on lock where it's like perfect, we've got the right person and the right fit, or how does that work?

Speaker 1: 7:40

Yeah, I mean, hiring is always an issue, I think, just because you've got to have the right people for the right job, Okay, and and the mentality that we have at game day is, um, is really I don't want to say high class, but first class, you know. So what we're really focusing on is creating a really, really warm environment for those guys to come into right, and I want my team to understand that. You know we shake the man's hand, you know we give them a smile, we ask them how their day is, we get their names, we understand what's going on and we learn about them.

Speaker 1: 8:21

Because, again, a lot of these guys come in with a lot of shame, a lot of guilt, a lot of fear. They don't even know what's going on. They don't ask questions, men, don't really? They want to be ignorant sometimes, because ignorant people don't have to solve the problem right, and then they're going to come in and they're going to learn about what is wrong with them or what might be wrong with them or what they have to fix to optimize their lives, and that's going to take work, right, and so we get a lot of people who come in and walk out, you know, or just ask a ton of questions and, you know, never do anything.

Speaker 1: 9:00

So I want my team and the people that work for me to understand one we're here to educate first, right, and everybody's going to get a chance to hear the information, right, give everybody the opportunity. And then you got to be a little upfront, and you got to. You know, kind of tell these guys what to do sometimes, and so you have to be a little upfront. And you've got to kind of tell these guys what to do sometimes, and so you have to be a little bold. Yeah, so that's what I'm looking for people who are bold and kind at the same time.

Speaker 2: 9:26

Yeah, that's a good combo.

Speaker 1: 9:27

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 9:27

Being able to take charge, but also having that kindness.

Speaker 1: 9:30

Yeah, I love it.

Speaker 2: 9:31

And let's see. Your clinic emphasizes oh, I already touched on that, actually Sorry. Your clinic emphasizes oh, I already touched on that, actually sorry. So Game Day Men's Health offers a range of services, including testosterone replacement therapy, erectile dysfunction treatments and weight management. How do you determine which services to provide and what sets your clinic apart from others in the area? Besides, like the awesome man cave that we touched on?

Speaker 1: 9:56

Yeah. So what sets us apart is one we believe that men should know their testosterone levels. So we're going to give them a complimentary testosterone test along with their PSA to check their prostate ranges. And the reason why we're going to do that first is because one in four men have low T. They don't even know it. In 1950, low testosterone was calculated at 500 nanograms, I believe, but 500 was the score. Now most men are ranging around 300, 350 as far as low T, yeah, and it's for many reasons. One diet Our food sources aren't great Process food, sleeping Sleeping is a huge factor of your testosterone levels. I also believe sleeping is also affected by blue light, right?

Speaker 1: 10:52

Our phones, our phones, our TVs, our computer screens. So we're being bombarded In 1950, they didn't have that stuff right. So we're being bombarded in 1950. They didn't have that stuff Right. So we're being attacked in many ways that wasn't happening in 1950.

Speaker 1: 11:10

Um, also, seed oils, um, are a contributing factor, um, and so our testosterone levels are lower than the 1950s and they're going to be. You know, the next generation is probably going to be even lower, because we're not going to solve the problem overnight, you know. So testosterone level is huge because that that determines, you know, how much drive you have as a man, how much energy, how much anxiety you might have. We have a lot of veterans and military or first responders, lot of veterans and military or first responders, and they have a very, very stressful job. They have PTSD and when you have low testosterone you're very anxious, you know, and then you're not sleeping well.

Speaker 1: 11:48

And so what testosterone is going to solve? First, higher levels of testosterone. And I, what I like to say is optimization of your testosterone levels. We're going to keep you in a very, very close range, very tight range, at the top of the levels that you should be at for most men and that normally is going to be between 800 and a thousand when we do those tests, and the reason why we want to have them in that optimal range is one if you're using it, you're actually going to gain a lot of positives from it.

Speaker 1: 12:18

So, if you're working out right, your muscles are going to grow, your bone density is going to grow, but you're going to be tired at the end of the day because you're doing more work, yes, and you're going to fall asleep. You're going to have a good night's sleep. Then you're going to wake up and you're going to do it again, right? So it's not an easy button, right, yeah? So, anyway, the long story short, we're going to focus on the testosterone, because that is your primary hormone as a man, yeah, and if that isn't a good range, then you can focus on everything else.

Speaker 2: 12:52

And then you just go from there.

Speaker 1: 12:54

And then you just go from there. Love it yeah, and then we can treat them that day. And so it's a. It's a three easy step. Basically process right, Cause men like easy.

Speaker 2: 13:03

Yeah, walk us through that process.

Speaker 1: 13:04

So they come in the door, we check them in, we get their blood and then we check their testosterone, their PSA. Then they sit down with our clinic director and, let's say, they're in a range of 100 to 600, right, that's where most of our men are. And we tell them how we can optimize their testosterone and help them out so we can put them on a plan and say here's the initial steps. Eventually, within six weeks or maybe two months, we're going to tailor the plan for you. We're going to walk you through the process each week. Then we're going to tailor specifically for you for that guy, just like you're going to go into, you know, buy a suit. You're not going to buy somebody else's suit. You might be a 42 long, but you're not exactly a 42 long, right? So then we're going to tailor for you and then you're going to have your own specific testosterone optimization plan.

Speaker 1: 13:59

Yeah, okay. And then we're going to say, okay, now we can send it home to you, and Okay. And then we're going to say, okay, now we can send it home to you and you can do your shots at home. Or we can give you what's called pellets, where they're bioavailable and dissolving in your system, or we can give you pills, right, we can give you multiple ways to introduce the testosterone, but now you get to have this choice and you get to.

Speaker 1: 14:21

You know, do the plan yourself, yeah. And then we treat them that day. So, literally within an hour, if they say, hey, sign me up, we can give them their first shot. Now we're finding out where they're going to be feeling their best at, and so in the first six weeks we're going to be not messing around with the numbers, but we're going to be asking them questions how do you feel? How are you sleeping? How is your brain fog? How is your workouts Right, like all these good things to find out how they feel. And then we're going to do another blood test to see how their body has responded.

Speaker 2: 14:52

Yeah, and now for the testosterone. Is that like a lifelong thing, or do you stop at a certain point? Or are there ways to, I guess, naturally keep that progress that you've made going, or how does that work?

Speaker 1: 15:05

That's a good question. So men are stuck on testosterone for the rest of their lives anyway, right, yes, okay, so, um, what I like to say is this it is a quality of life choice, because once we turn, you know, 40 plus, we're going to have roughly 50% less testosterone than we had at 20. So it is not an infinite thing, right. But clinical studies have proven, if you're at the upper ranges 800 to a thousand your whole body functions so much better. Right, we're supposed to be optimizing our testosterone through our diet, through our sleep and those things, right? So, for me, I'm stuck on it for life because I want to be in the optimal ranges that allow my heart and my lungs and my muscles and my bones, everything to work properly, right, and so this is about proactive medicine, um, but yeah, you can, you can be on and off of it however you want. You know, when you get off of it, you're just going to kind of drop back down to where you were.

Speaker 1: 16:08

For the younger guys, we don't necessarily give them testosterone in the beginning. We talk about enclomaphene or gonadarellin, and what those drugs allow them to do is to produce more testosterone themselves. But it also helps with family planning, and so it doesn't stop the fertility, because sometimes prolonged uses of testosterone can stall fertility Right, and so normally with the older guys who already have children right Um 45 and up, testosterone is a great choice. You just one shot, good to go for the rest of the week, or you have pellets and you have three to four months supply and then you just keep dripping on that.

Speaker 2: 16:49

And what are the pellets? Again, I'm sorry because you've got pills, but the pillows is that oral?

Speaker 1: 16:54

No, so the pellets we actually install into the rear. Oh wow, and they're really tiny and it's not that, not that bad, but a nice little incision in the rear.

Speaker 1: 17:04

And it's not that bad, but a nice little incision in the rear, wow, okay, and you have three to four months supply. And for the guys who travel a lot, or military, or people who just have crazy schedules and can't come in to the clinic, we give them pellets and that really does solve the problem, because that keeps you at a very optimal level for a very long time without ever having a needle.

Speaker 2: 17:30

Wonderful.

Speaker 1: 17:31

Yeah, a lot of women use pellets.

Speaker 2: 17:33

I did not. Even this is the first time I have heard of like pellets, of like feeding. So I was like, is that? But that's good to know. I learned something new today. Thanks for sharing that. And then your clinic was featured in the Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine. How has this recognition impacted your business and community outreach efforts?

Speaker 1: 17:52

It was great because it seems like a lot of people that live in Dominion Valley and Piedmont and all the HOAs around us, they read that magazine a lot, right, and so it was good because I got to give a little bit of my personal story, along with telling everybody we're open in the area and then we give them a little QR code and they're able to schedule. So it was perfect and it hit our target market, which is 40 and up. So they're not on Instagram all the time, they're not on TikTok. They want to read it, and so it was. It was good. It was. It was really fun.

Speaker 2: 18:27

Yay, congratulations for that. That's awesome.

Speaker 1: 18:29

Thank you.

Speaker 2: 18:29

And then is there anything that I have not touched on that you would perhaps like to share? You have the floor for that, whether it's in regards to your personal life, your business, peptides, anything at all.

Speaker 1: 18:41

I mean anything personal to share. I mean, I think that the really cool thing about game day men's health is one is that we're national, right, and so we're the largest men's health network in the nation now. We're 300 strong and growing, and so to be a part of a really cool team like that is a lot of fun, right. And the other thing is, is that because of that a team, you know, for instance, like a planet fitness or something, yeah, you can go anywhere in the country and you're going to find a and you're going to find a game day right, and I think that's the biggest thing about this movement that we're a part of right now, of this health movement you know the maha movement and all this other stuff. Is that, um, we really really helping out a lot of guys in our different communities and all the owners are very much focused on the same thing, right, and so I think that for me, this is really really fun because I'm finding people like myself, right, yeah, so that's a lot of fun.

Speaker 1: 19:50

And other than that, I mean I think that, with where we're, the two main focuses we're at with game day with men, is that one you make them feel strong, right, and then you make them feel comfortable at home with their wives, so they're performing in bed and they're performing outside, too, right, and so that's that's the really cool thing. You can really make some good friends if you're making those two things happen for men, right, and then if, if that man is happy, then the wife is happy, right, and the kids are happy, and so I think that this is a lot of fun for me, because we're focusing on family, focusing on the community, um, so yeah, I mean, that's all really all I got, but it's a lot of fun.

Speaker 2: 20:32

That's awesome. And my my last question so is it a membership, membership base Like so cause you can go anywhere since it's available like nationwide?

Speaker 1: 20:46

you can just stop by any location. Well, no, I mean we are. We are subscription based, so monthly subscription to the clinic that you go to. But if you were moving, you know, for instance, the DMV, we're very transient, you know we go all over the country depending on the job, and so with the connectivity that we have, we just transfer that information over to the next clinic.

Speaker 2: 21:02

Nice, yeah, so easy and convenient. Yeah, I love it.

Speaker 1: 21:05

And because we're so new, um I there's only a couple that are over a year old. Uh, eventually we'll be able to add those features where maybe you can just have your game day card, you know, your man card.

Speaker 2: 21:16

Or an app.

Speaker 1: 21:17

Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2: 21:18

Working on the app too. Oh my gosh, see, we have that coming along.

Speaker 1: 21:21

That's awesome.

Speaker 2: 21:21

That's going to be a game changer. It is going to be a game changer.

Speaker 1: 21:25

And then what I'm really excited about, like the next opportunity, is we're going to have a women-centric, like women-specific hormone clinic.

Speaker 2: 21:30

Is going to have a women-centric, like women-specific hormone clinic Is it, but not in the same building.

Speaker 1: 21:34

Not in the same building. Okay, yeah, no it's going to be completely different. Only women, right, and so the man and the wife, or the husband and the wife, they can go to different spots, yeah. Have different safe spaces, yeah Right, and then they go out and they're optimized and they're having an amazing life.

Speaker 2: 21:50

Right, that's awesome. That's perfect. Be like it's our day off. You go to game day. I'll go to.

Speaker 1: 21:53

Her way.

Speaker 2: 21:53

Her way. That's the name of it. Yep, you heard it here first, y'all An exclusive. No, I'm just kidding. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast. I really appreciate you making time to be here and giving us so much insight and all your business knowledge when it comes to.