About
Me
I was a sickly kid.
The kid in school who always seemed to have a runny nose, a cough, who missed more school than most because of illness.
Strep throat and a shot of penicillin are vivid memories as well as weekly trips to the doctor’s office for allergy shots. Asthma was a constant companion, lurking in the background and waiting for the right moment to attack.
My pediatricians knew me and knew me well.
Despite this I was somewhat athletic and started lifting weights at age 14—rubber-coated cement Sears weights on a plywood bench in the garage. In a short time (thanks, puberty!) I saw changes in my body unlike anything before. Along with the physical came slight increases in confidence and self-esteem.
This fascinated me and I was hooked. Hooked enough to continue lifting weights but not enough to actually know what I was doing; not just in the gym but in life as well.
I dropped out of college a couple of months into my very first semester and took a gap year which turned into six. After various jobs I realized the only way for me to focus and improve myself was to go back to college and learn. Learn everything I could.
I re-enrolled with a passion for learning. I graduated from Cal State Long Beach Magna Cum Laude with a degree in English-Creative Writing and minors in Classics and Chemistry.
Medical school was a brutal blur at Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific. So brutal in fact, that I voluntarily spent an extra year on campus teaching and earning a Masters degree in education along with my doctorate.
Wanting to get out of California for awhile, residency was at Botsford General Hospital—a Michigan State affiliated program—in Emergency Medicine where I was Chief Resident my senior year.
While I enjoyed Michigan, it was decided to head back west to Northern California and settle in the smallish town of Redding. My first few years of practice in Emergency Medicine were excellent. Then health care seemed to change around me.
We were pressured to see more patients in the same amount of time while given less to work with: less staff, less beds, a more cumbersome and time-consuming electronic charting system. Things were going the wrong way.
I decided to make a change so I retrained with the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine and eventually became board certified in Integrative Medicine.
I opened my first practice in 2009 and actually did house calls for awhile. In a short time I started using a former utility closet in the gym I trained at as an office. I called it my “Harry Potter Office.” It was literally a small utility room underneath the stairs.
Once I had a glimmer that my venture into private practice worked and—more importantly—helped people stay healthy and improve their lives I retired from Emergency Medicine and committed myself to what has been variously described as Anti-Aging, Functional, Integrative, Longevity, and/or Alternative Medicine.
No matter the name; it's all about preventing disease and optimizing health.
I currently have two physical offices—one in San Jose, CA and the other in Redding, CA. I also have virtual offices based in Walnut Creek, CA and am licensed to practice medicine in California, Oregon, Wisconsin, and will soon be in Arizona.
Things I've Done Along The Way
2006-2008: Multiple Natural Bodybuilding Titles including New York State Natural (Masters and Men's Heavyweight Overall), Capital Cities Men's Overall Heavyweight (Sacramento, CA), Mr. Millennium and Mr. Reno Men's Masters and Overall.
2018: 1st Place NorCal Masters Men's Age 50-54, a Crossfit competition (also took 2nd, 3rd, and 5th in other years).
2019: Competed in Wodapalooza, Miami, Fl (and got my ass kicked).
2021-current: Multiple appearances at The Tactical Games, a two-day fitness and shooting competition. Let's just say I'm learning and having fun with this right now...
