Forging Resilience

42 Ross Tomkins: From Misdiagnosis to Mission

• Aaron Hill • Season 2 • Episode 42

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Meet Ross Tomkins, a former NHS physiotherapist turned healthcare entrepreneur, who shares his captivating journey from sports enthusiast to founding Alphagenics. Ross sheds light on how his personal experiences with physiotherapy motivated him to create a business that not only addresses his health challenges but also aims to improve healthcare outcomes on a grand scale.

Ross also delves into the profound connection between spirituality and leadership. Through heart-led initiatives and a deep understanding of empathy, he unveils how moments of self-discovery, such as a transformative ayahuasca retreat during the pandemic, have shaped his approach to leadership and decision-making.

The conversation takes an insightful turn as Ross candidly shares his personal health journey, which led to the birth of Alphagenics. Facing misdiagnoses and a struggle with low testosterone, he emphasizes the critical need for better awareness in men's health.

Listeners will gain practical tips on lifestyle changes to naturally boost testosterone and understand the broader societal impact of overlooked health issues.

Get in touch with Ross or give him a follow on the below channels.

https://www.instagram.com/rosstomkins4/

https://alphagenix.co.uk/

https://rosstomkins.co.uk/

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Forging Resilience. Exploring for a different perspective on strength and leadership, Join me as we discuss experiences and stories with guests to help gain fresh insights around challenge, success and leadership. So today I have the privilege of sitting with Ross Tompkins on Forging Resilience. He's a mentor, an investor and co-founder of AlphaGenics. Ross, welcome to the show, bud.

Speaker 2:

Thanks, Aaron. Yeah, really looking forward to it.

Speaker 1:

Likewise, buddy, rather than car crash your career or your story, mate, give us a rundown of what's relevant for you and for the listeners, from right back when you started off in physiotherapy and leads you to be sat as a mentor and an investor today, mate running this company, alphagenics.

Speaker 2:

Brilliant, yeah, so I guess the key thing is healthcare. Healthcare came right through my career, from where it started and to where it is today. When I was a kid, I loved sport, I loved the way the human body worked, I loved tennis, I loved football. I was never good enough for either of those to pursue that, and it was my own physiotherapist that said well, your knees are a bit dodgy and I thought your job seems quite interesting and that led me on to university physiotherapy.

Speaker 2:

And that led me on to university physiotherapy, then started my own business when the NHS didn't give me what I needed and I wanted to spend hours with patients, really getting to know them. What was the root cause, and not just, you know, stick a Band-Aid on someone and give them a couple of exercises, send them away. So I spent a very short time in the NHS, then went into the private sector.

Speaker 2:

Ultimately, you know, realized I didn't like doing what I was told I wanted to be my own boss um, so started my business back in 2006 and we grew that up to 35 members of staff, not all full-time. We grew in the world of occupational health. That led on to a desire to learn less about medicine and more about business, so I started throwing myself into marketing. I realized, you know, I could be the best physiotherapist in the world, but if nobody knew who I was, how would my business grow? So I spent a lot of time learning about marketing. Grow. So I spent a lot of time learning about marketing. And that then led to the revelation that even small businesses could grow through acquisition. So I started learning about how to raise capital, how to, how to appeal to investors, mergers, acquisitions, and since then we've done 18 acquisitions over the last five years, most of them still health related.

Speaker 2:

Alphagenix is a startup. So, as if we didn't have enough to do with the acquisitions, we also started Alphagenix nearly three years ago. It's my passion. I would say it's the men's health company, but then, around that, we've got this ecosystem of other health businesses. We have a medical supplies and pharmaceuticals business, a medical device company, a domiciliary care company, um, a health and safety company, um, that all orbit in what we call our healthcare ecosystem yeah, fascinating mate.

Speaker 1:

And which one, which ones, in terms of that ecosystem, do you see as the biggest how can I put this? That transitions people from one company to the next towards Alphagenix, and give us a little overview of what Alphagenix is as well, pal.

Speaker 2:

So all of the businesses are not necessarily directly related, although we do share some resource. How I position this in my mind, if you like, is because I was a physiotherapist for a long time. If you asked me who I was, I would tell you I was a physiotherapist. It was more than a job, it was my identity for a long time and I remember I came home from work one day I'm still doing a day a week. This was about six years ago and my wife said how was your day today? I said I've not been the best physiotherapist I could be today. She said what do you mean? I said well, my patient didn't know, but I was thinking about the contract review meeting we had coming up. I was thinking about the offer we just made on this other business. I didn't give them my all, I didn't give them my best, and that was the day I realized I needed to hang up my physio gloves and focus more on the business, um, so that. So that was sort of the transition, um, and the reframe in my brain that I mentioned was, rather than trading time for money, rather than fixing one person at a time, so he's a love it. You know, if you came in to see me and you had a bad knee and you left and your knee wasn't painful anymore. I love that feeling. It's a great win.

Speaker 2:

The reframing I've had to go through was an understanding that, although I no longer put my hands on a person, our businesses are helping thousands of people every day.

Speaker 2:

So our medical supplies company sells stethoscopes and scalpels and PPE to hospitals all over the country that, in turn, are helping thousands of people every day. Our medical device company sells microscopy that helps hematology and pathology and anything that ends in ology. Really, uh, you know we look at tiny things that could help and I'm not saying this is definitely what was going to happen but that could help solve cancer or fix something huge, which our our medical devices are involved. With our home home healthcare company, our domiciliary care company you know we have 75 staff we're looking after hundreds of people every day and improving the quality of life for them and their families. Our men's health company, alphagenics, which we'll come on to and talk more about, you know we're helping men become the best version of themselves every day. So, although I'm no longer putting my hands on someone, I have this ripple effect through all of those companies that we're literally helping thousands of people every single day.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So from what I'm hearing, is that insight, or that moment that your wife asked you that question, you were able to zoom out and recognize that, yeah, rather than help one, there's lots of other ways that you can affect people and their health and their lives yeah, absolutely, and that's a really good point you mentioned there.

Speaker 2:

Because what I realized was I'm better at zooming out. I'm I can make. I can usually make sense of complex things quickly and make it easy to understand for somebody. I'm very good at connecting the dots. So where some people will see a jumble and don't know where to go, I'm like we'll do that, that, that, that and that and this will happen. So I'm good up here. I'm actually not very good down here. I'm not a very good manager. I get bored very easily. I hate filling in spreadsheets. I get bored very easily. I hate filling in spreadsheets. But I am good at motivating and inspiring and I'm good at connecting the dots where other people might see a complex mess. So when I realized that and I realized we should hire people better than me at doing those other things, it allowed our business to flourish.

Speaker 1:

And that's where things really took off. Do you miss that contact with the patient and those sorts of relationships and being able to get that nice feeling when they walk out without pain?

Speaker 2:

For a while I did yeah, definitely, because I think it was still part of my identity. Over the last couple of years, though, honestly no, and that's because I still get fulfillment from the other things we do. So, whether that's a men's health company, when guys text, every week we get text messages saying, oh my God, I feel 20 years younger, I'm a better father, I'm a better husband, I'm more patient with my children, I'm more present as a husband. We get those comments every week. So I still get that feeling. And also, you know, I do mentor other business owners as well, and the moment when someone goes, I get it and you know, all of a sudden, with their business and we've we've had people that their business has doubled, trebled, quadrupled and I get that feeling again from those moments and relationships awesome mate.

Speaker 1:

So, going on to something that we just mentioned briefly, before we came on to, to record the spirituality and leadership and and that you've just mentioned, that, you know who were you it was ross, the physiotherapist. If I were to ask you who, who are you today? What would bring that, bring up for you?

Speaker 2:

that's a really good question, aaron. I probably still haven't quite worked that out. If I'm being totally truthful, I would love to give you this bulletproof answer. I'm still figuring it out. I'm an author, I'm an investor, you know. I'm a business owner. We own multiple companies. You know, we're soon going to be in three different countries, um, so I haven't quite figured out how to describe that yet.

Speaker 1:

In all honesty, no, no, there's no worries, man, I apologize if that was a slight over that, not over the head, but you know, I mean if off guard, I think is a better question, but it's something that is really interesting for me, um, and a common, a mate that we've got in common, brendan, recommended me a book a while ago called the Ultimate Coach, and it's a book about being not doing. You know, sometimes when you read something, it's just the right time to have certain insights. This is one of those books and it talked about those sorts of things. So, yeah, I completely get what you're saying. This is one of those books and it talked about those sorts of things. Um, so, yeah, I completely get what you're saying and for me personally, who am I? Today is continuously evolving, but I have almost like an aspirational list of who I, who I want to be, and there's a lot of there's. There's not things in there, it's feelings, emotions and states, um, which, yeah, I live to aspire into.

Speaker 2:

It's not a concrete contract today, it's to an aspiring list yeah, exactly the same, and I think the book for me which sounds similar is um key person of influence, so a guy called daniel priestley was one of the first people that influenced, I guess, my business career.

Speaker 2:

Same thing you know it's about who do you want to be? And you know, I've had that book in my mind and I've met Daniel several times and chatted to him and read all of his books and I still quite haven't got you know to that point. But to your point there, you know it's about who am I on a daily basis, you know, am I presenting my best self to my family, to our clients, to my wife? And as long as I can honestly say yes, I'm trying my hardest, then I'm quite happy.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah. Now I was wondering if Daniel Priestley was in your mind because of the ecosystem. I've listened to some brilliant podcasts talking about business. Probably the one that stands out for me is with Chris Doe from the Future. I'm not sure if you've listened to that one A marketing guy, really interesting. But yeah, he doesn't like talking about funnels. I don't want you to funnel my granny. He talks about gifts and certain layers. I really like that his language around, around business yeah, but daniel actually.

Speaker 2:

So it was one of his first books and he talked to know that he'd acquired a competitor, and so it was him that first led me on to acquisition, and I learned from his mentor. He's a guy called jeremy harbour, so he was the first person I I started learning from seven years ago, and then that's completely changed the trajectory of my business and my personal life.

Speaker 1:

What does spirituality mean to you, Ross, at the moment?

Speaker 2:

I think for me it's belief in a higher power, it's an understanding that everything is connected in some way. So, whether somebody calls it God, whether someone calls it the universe, whether someone calls it the one, I think an acceptance that we're all connected, everything that we do on a daily basis has a repercussion, and whether we call it you know, people call it nature. Um, that, for me, is what kind of what spirituality is? It's this idea that you and I are connected somehow, and how we live our life directly affects all of us there's a really cool um picture over your right shoulder, which I don't use the video but of a samurai.

Speaker 1:

What's the significance of of that picture, if I may ask?

Speaker 2:

video, but of a samurai. What's the significance of, of that picture, if I may ask? So, the samurai were, you know, they ruled in the edo period in japan for hundreds of years and they ruled with an iron fist, um, but the bushido way, the way of bushido, had a lot of similarities with our noble knights back in the medieval times and a lot of what they stood for. I believe in, you know, and it's it's hope, it's humbleness, it's courage, it's looking after the weak, um, you know, and all of these things. I think if the world was more like that, the world would be a better place. Now someone will always say, yes, but they chop people's heads off and if anyone got out of hand, they killed them, and I get that. But fundamentally, you know Bushido, and this idea of courage, humbleness, humility, taking care of a week, I think, is a really great way to live your life.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and is that something that you try and build into your business or your days, weeks and months? Mate?

Speaker 2:

It is, yeah, I think I'm helped by the fact that, naturally, I think I am that way. I think, you know, all of us have an innate nature and some people have to learn and train and coach in certain things more than others. Like I think, it comes easy for me to put other people's you know views and thoughts before my own and all of our businesses. You know, because we're in healthcare, you know we are sort of heart-led, quite empathetic. You know we're trying to change people's lives, whether that is through a medical device or a service.

Speaker 1:

And going to the link, then, or the dots between the connection between spirituality and leadership. What, what is this is I? I ask you this because it's up on on linkedin as well. You've put that. What is that connection?

Speaker 2:

connection or relationship to me, well I think I love the saying, uh, that you can't build a skyscraper on the foundations of a bungalow. Um, I think it's very difficult to be a leader if you don't fully understand yourself, and spirituality, for me, is the doorway to help you understand yourself. So the happier you are in your own skin, the more you understand why you react certain ways and you act the way you are. I think it's easier to step into your power. It's easier to be a leader. It's easier to manage other people, um, when you're happy with who you are.

Speaker 1:

If you're fighting with your own demons all the time, I think it's very difficult to be successful, for want of a better word would you mind sharing something that's that's, that's relevant, you're happy to in terms of your insights, um, in the you've learned when you've got to understand yourself better and and developed more of a connection to yourself and those around you, right?

Speaker 2:

I think when you understand, when you believe that we are all connected and the universe is one, it's quite humbling that you don't take yourself too seriously anymore. You know we're just a tiny part of a huge story that's unfolding all the time, and when you don't take yourself too seriously, you know, I think that really does help you then be the best version of yourself every day, to make good decisions and generally do the right thing by everybody.

Speaker 1:

And is there something you've learned that's really interesting, that you're happy to share about on here, mate, something that I've learned through being mentored, through getting coached, through asking myself some questions, taking time to reflect, to journal, to meditate, is a desperate need, or a once very, very strong need to prove myself to the world To do difficult, dangerous, challenging things. Because the assumption was there was acceptance, the other side, it was my version of trying to become successful and I felt I didn't have the intellect to do that, but I did have the physical capacity to do that. So that's what I lent into, which saw me pass out of the Royal Marines, join special forces, race Ironman distances and mountain biking and try and nudge that. And obviously, as you know, we never really find what we're looking for in the things that we don't really need. So that was one of my biggest realizations. That is so it's to.

Speaker 1:

It's the cleaning of that lens and perception that actually I'm absolutely fine as I am, but that is still a driver and it's still to this day. I don't want to say it has to be put in check, but I have to be very conscious of it and in so, if we take a list of tasks for something, something as simple as that. If I've got 10 things to do, what ones does my ego tell me I want to do? The the needy little boy, and what one's really is going to tip the scale and when is enough enough and the laptop gets closed. I go back to the kids. So that's like an insight that I've had through being able to connect to myself and all that discomfort.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, I think I mean. One of the realisations for me was you know what does? Why do we do things Probably similar to what you've said there. So what motivates us? Why do we do things Probably similar to what you've said there? So what motivates us? Why do we do the things we do? And probably the defining moment for that was during COVID.

Speaker 2:

So during COVID I spent many years, you know, working on myself and what drove me and why I grew my business and all those things. And during COVID I was in Dubai with business when Dubai turned red, which for people that aren't familiar with that, what that meant is that you couldn't fly back to the UK without going into a quarantine hotel. But one of the many crazy things about the world that happened at that time was there was always a workaround so I could go to a green company, a company country, uh, that allowed me in um and I chose costa rica. So I was, I was. I remember I flew from dubai via germany. Everyone who got off in germany had to wear a mask and had to have a test. I was allowed to transit through hanover um without wearing a mask, without having a test. I was allowed to transit through Hanover without wearing a mask, without having a test, and flying to Costa Rica. I had like nine hours in the airport in Germany when nobody challenged me for not wearing a mask, because I was allowed to, even though everyone else had one on, because I was traveling to Costa Rica. It was crazy and but I flew to Costa Rica and I went to a health retreat which specialised in using ayahuasca. So ayahuasca for those that haven't come across it is a powerful psychedelic. It comes from the vine grows in the Amazon, which is combined with another plant that grows next to it.

Speaker 2:

And during this experience and we did three of them in a week I met Mother Nature. And that's going to sound crazy to people that you know haven't experienced this type of thing, but I met what I interpreted to be Mother Nature, the universe, the one you know, the supreme being, whatever you want to call it. And I asked her if I was a good parent and she said no, you're not. And I was crushed. I remember crying my eyes out, sitting in this structure in the jungle in Costa Rica, and I had all of these visions of when I had been in my office and my kids had come in and I said go away.

Speaker 2:

I'm on a meeting, you know, and shunning my children and this realization that I was. I'd always told myself I was going to work really hard and probably retire when I was younger and I could spend time with my kids. But my kids at that time were already almost teenagers, you know, they were 10 and 12 at this time. And this understanding of what I was working for hit me like a ton of bricks. And I said I remember saying to this being is it too late? And she said it's never too late. So I feel quite emotional.

Speaker 2:

But I came home and totally changed. So my outlook on life from that moment forward changed and I've taken my kids to school every day pretty much since then, unless I'm out of the country. You know, with the first couple of years after I came back, before it was not the done thing and they didn't want it anymore. I would still put them to bed and reading the story and, you know, tickle their back or whatever. And now they're like dad, get lost, um. But it totally changed my my outlook on life. And you know what was important to me and I realized, you know, my family was what I was doing this for. So I had to reprioritize things, but I don't know if I quite answered your question there, but that was 100 you have mate.

Speaker 1:

You know what you shared there is really powerful and thank you for that. I know it's not easy and I can. I can sense that emotion as a father as well. You know I have those moments, uh, as well. Um, yeah, so I sense the weight of that and, yeah, thanks for for sharing it, mate.

Speaker 1:

I think it's a brilliant reality check to some of us, though, isn't it? We only get one uh crack at the whip here and, um, yeah, some things come and some things go, and I guess it's. It goes back to what you're talking about earlier courage to do what's right by us. So if I were to imagine myself this desperate need to drive and work and whatever you grind potentially in trying to fulfill that need, that's never, ever going to be met until I heal that relationship with myself, then I'm going to be missing out on all the other stuff as well. So I feel incredibly privileged to be in that position. I get to take my kids to school every day, um, business comes and goes, but in that sense it's, it's rock solid. So, yeah, I really appreciate you sharing that with us, ross. Thank you, um. Is that? Have you gone back to do more experiences, ross? Or with ayahuasca since?

Speaker 2:

uh, not ayahuasca, but I've worked with plant medicine ever since I was in my 20s, so probably what opened the door to this world was I was in my 20s, I was in South America and I worked with San Pedro, which is a cactus over there, and that gave me this complete realization that the world was connected, had a very profound experience back then, which sort of shifted my reality, I guess, and allowed me to see things differently. So for the last 20 years, you know, I've had the privilege to work with some amazing, you know, psychologists and and healers and shamans all over the world, whether it was with ayahuasca or san pedro, or psilocybin, 5-meo, dmt, cambo variety of different plant plant medicines, and you know, all of them have had their place in, I think, helping me become who I am today yeah, love it, mate.

Speaker 1:

Is that something that you still have to have to manage or bring into your conscience, that need to continually work whilst life happens, or is it something that's a lot more immediate now for you to, because you've got that you've?

Speaker 2:

had that insight it's a lot more. It's a lot more natural now, I'd say. But I think innately, as a male, there is a preconceived idea. You know that we are the providers, we are the rock, we are the warrior, we're the protector, and I think what comes with that is a drive to succeed and provide and I think it's very easy as a man to get sucked into that and that becomes your everything. You know I'm going to, I'm solution focused, I'm going to fix this problem as and when it comes up and sometimes you get so into that you forget what's important. To go back to what we said before your wife, your children, your life outside of work. But it's really easy to get into that and for me, the work that I've done with coaches, with shamans and psychologists over the years, it's made it easier to remember what's important well, what advice might you offer?

Speaker 1:

somebody else, then, who potentially finds themselves as, as often, quite a few of my my clients are feeling stuck, working really hard, not seeing the results in terms of reminding themselves of what's important?

Speaker 2:

I can, hand on heart say that the best thing that I do to help me is I travel often. So at least once a month I go on what we call a holiday. Now, that could be a long weekend with my wife in the UK. It might be a three-week expedition to Alaska and anything in between. So once a month I will go away, sometimes with the whole family, sometimes with my wife, sometimes with both my kids, sometimes with one of my children, sometimes by myself If it's a hiking expedition or a climbing expedition, because my wife doesn't want to do that.

Speaker 2:

But changing your environment, I think, is one of the most powerful things to challenge your thinking. Because when you're in the day when you're doing the same thing every day, it feels normal and it's very easy just to get on this treadmill where you're doing the same thing every day and it's difficult to break out of the cycle. But when you're all of a sudden in a different place you're walking on the beach in Belize or cycling in Mallorca or wherever floats your boat really it's easy to have a different perspective. So it's called hedonic calendaring. When I came across that years ago it really, really helped me. So you've always got something to look forward to, and during that period you get a chance to reflect and work out. You know why you're doing what you're doing. So, whether it's a day hiking in the woods or whether it's a two-week expedition somewhere you know frequently, taking yourself out of your day-to-day, I think, is one of the most helpful things anyone can do yeah, I think that I love that concept as well.

Speaker 1:

I I prioritize at least one ride a week in the mountains on my bike. That is me playing, and I love that. It doesn't always happen, but eight times out of ten it will, and that gets put in my diary well ahead of time so that nothing collides or clashes with that. At least that not not that it's within my control, but I think, like you've alluded to there, the important thing is it doesn't have to be a beach in belize, but that can be walking the long way home from school, drop off or, like you say, the local woods for a couple of hours um, yeah definitely mate.

Speaker 1:

Um, yeah, I love that mate, so, so, yeah, really interesting stuff. Um what? What gave you the insight or inspiration then to to set up alphagenics, ross?

Speaker 2:

so it was my own, um, my own health deteriorated during my 30s. I was achy, tired but driven, and that perplexed the doctors. So I remember going to the doctors under duress I mean, my wife had pestered me for a while ago and I remember going to the doctors and I just got back from climbing mount kilimanjaro, um, and I was saying, you know, I just don't feel like myself, I'm achy, I'm tired, and I remember the doctor saying well, there can't be anything wrong with you because you've just climbed a mountain in Africa. And I said I think you're confusing things, because I can ignore these feelings. I have to. I'm a husband, I'm was my father back then. Or, yeah, I'm a husband, I'm a father, I'm a business owner. I can't not do those things. So I can choose to ignore the pain and continue because I have to as a man, as a father, as a business owner, and I can choose to fulfill my goals of climbing mountains. But that doesn't change the fact there's something wrong with me. Uh, and the doctor was very dismissive like rubbish, you couldn't climb out kilimanjaro if there's something wrong with me. Uh, and the doctor was very dismissive like rubbish, you couldn't climb out Kilimanjaro if there's something wrong with you and I was like I totally disagree.

Speaker 2:

Uh, anyway, that led on to a series of blood tests where they apologized and said oh, actually there is something wrong with you and your thyroid isn't working, and it's not. It hasn't worked for years. By the look of this, we find this very. We usually see this in grossly obese people who aren't active at all when you're climbing mountains. This is odd.

Speaker 2:

That led me on to endocrinology hormone specialists. They put me on a variety of tablets that made me feel 10 times worse. I asked for a second opinion, then a third opinion. All endocrinologists eventually agreed that the problem was psychological and there was nothing wrong with me, and at this point my symptoms were the worst they'd ever been. I was achy beyond measure. I'd go to bed at night time and I'd just have this low level joint pain that would keep me awake for hours and I'd eventually have to take medication and painkillers. Um, and my brain fog was that bad that I remember driving home from work one day, and this was really the defining moment that ultimately led to alphagenics. I was driving home from work one day and I gave myself a little mental test to name as many things in the car as I could Windshield indicator, handbrake, seat, steering wheel, all of these things. I couldn't tell you what.

Speaker 1:

I was looking at the steering wheel going.

Speaker 2:

I don't know what that is. I couldn't think straight. And I came home and I came in the house and I said to my wife I don't care what the doctor said, I know my body. I've lived with it for 30 odd years. I know it better than they do and something's not right. And she said it doesn't matter what it takes Like at this point, we'd never used private healthcare in our life.

Speaker 2:

We were very much in the NHS system and we just said it doesn't matter what it takes, it doesn't matter what it costs. We'll leave no stone unturned and we're going to find out what's wrong. And fortunately I found a doctor down in London, just off Harley Street, who seemed to specialize in odd things vagary aches, pains, people that had nowhere else to go and I went to see him and and within an hour he said it's obvious what's wrong with you. You've got low testosterone. And I went what? How has no other doctor said that? And they said oh well, they don't really believe it in the nhs and you know, they think only women can have hormone problems. I was like, wow, like can you prove it? And he said, yeah, we'll do a blood test. If it comes back above this I was wrong it comes back here, here, here to here, we can probably fix it naturally. And if it comes back below here, you need treatment, you need HRT. I was like HRT, sort of like what middle-aged women get for menopause. He said yeah, men can have treatment too. It's called TRT, testosterone replacement therapy. We ran the test. He was absolutely right.

Speaker 2:

Within weeks I felt like a new person. That was enough to catapult me into making better choices. So I started eating better, I started exercising again and within months I felt like a new man. Like you know, I was 35 and I felt about 85 at the beginning and I went back to being 18 again.

Speaker 2:

For seven years I had treatment from three different doctors because my original doctor retired and eventually I thought this is life changing and I think I can do a better job. Because we sold our previous business. I knew we were world class at customer service and I've been exposed to this medicine. That was not common knowledge and I was like, if I combine our knowledge of customer service with this new area of medicine that very few people are talking about, very few doctors understand we can change people's lives. So we beta tested alphagenix back in 2021 and with 10 men um to make sure the service was what we thought it was going to be, and then we officially launched in january 22. So you know we're almost three years old and we've helped hundreds of men during that time regain their optimal self um.

Speaker 1:

So it came out of my own experience really yeah, what must it be that be like, then, to to be knowing that there's something wrong but be told nothing is wrong by so many people for so long, mate, I guess you'll be even beginning to believe it. Were you even beginning to believe that yourself? Is it's you I?

Speaker 2:

I guess at times. But you know, as we've already talked about during during this conversation, you know I'm pretty. I already talked about during this conversation. You know I'm pretty, I'm quite resilient, I understand myself quite well. So you know, looking back, I'm sure there were times where I thought, oh, maybe they're right.

Speaker 2:

But I'm also very good at listening to my own body and listening to myself, and I knew what I was experiencing was real. You know, because I'm a physiotherapist. I knew, for instance, my musculoskeletal symptoms weren't musculoskeletal. I knew it wasn't a ligament, it wasn't a tendon, it wasn't a muscle problem, because I tested those things and yet my joints still hurt. So I guess I was fortunate in some ways that I was able to was fortunate in some ways that I was able to, um, differentially diagnose myself. I was able to say, well, it's not this, this and this. Therefore, what can it be? And I think that's probably that probably did help me so what might be?

Speaker 1:

can men be walking around there with low testosterone and not even really be realizing?

Speaker 2:

90% of men with low testosterone don't realize. 20% of men 15 to 39 are low. It's halved in the last 50 years because of the amount of endocrine disrupting chemicals that surround us in life now from the foods that we eat, the pesticides that are used in there, the hormones that are in water, the toxins that are in plastic, the toxins that are in shampoo and sun cream and they're everywhere. So 20% of men under 40 are low, 40% of men over 40 are low and 90% probably don't realize. The difficulty and the difference between men and women's hormones problems is women's hormones change rapidly, so perimenopause generally occurs in the 40s. There are thereabouts and symptoms will occur quickly mood changes, sleep changes, temperature changes, weight changes so when that happens you go oh, it's probably perimenopause. In men the change is very, very slow. So we lose one to two percent of our production of testosterone per year and it can be accelerated by these endocrine disrupting chemicals, as I mentioned. Because it's a very slow decline, men slowly acclimatize to that and accept it as normal. So when you're at the point of having pretty much the same symptoms as perhaps your wife or your partner low mood, low energy, weight gain, low libido, lack of muscle mass, poor sleep. You have the same symptoms, but the woman will go it's probably perimenopause and the man goes I'm just getting old. It's really, really common that this happens Now.

Speaker 2:

Also, what complicates that is, most doctors haven't heard of the andropause. It's a very nuanced area of medicine. So if men do go to the doctors, there's a commonality that they will be misdiagnosed as depressed. I feel low, I'm tired, I'm achy. I put weight on my libido's gone. I'm just not showing up for my kids anymore. You're probably depressed. Take some antidepressants. What's crazy about that is nobody in the history of the world has ever been deficient in an antidepressant. But you can be deficient in testosterone and yet doctors will not prescribe testosterone routinely but they will dole out antidepressants left, right and center. So we went slightly off topic there. But yeah, men, it happens so slowly people men don't realize.

Speaker 1:

I think it's probably the point I want to make there yeah, but I've got quite a few little things to to bring up there made me. I've made a note of most of those, but leading on for that, if somebody wasn't going to go to replace or replacement therapy, then what? What things might they be able to do for themselves if they think they might have low testosterone in terms of their lifestyle, rather than going down the medical route? Do you think?

Speaker 2:

yeah, so you can change your testosterone. You can elevate it about 20 25 by taking zinc, magnesium, vitamin d, boron, quality omega-3. Um, eating a paleo diet, generally the body does well with in most people. So that's, you know, a natural diet. If it ran, swam, slithered or grew, eat it. If it's got an ingredients list on the back, probably avoid it and you'll reduce your exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals that way, particularly if you can afford to eat organic. So you know again, you're reducing your risk of exposure and the body will generally do well with that.

Speaker 2:

Um, exercising to fatigue is really important. So, and lifting weights to fatigue or body weight exercises to fatigue, because we naturally increase testosterone production in that moment and cardio to the point of you know you can't go on actually can diminish testosterone. But weight to fatigue is different. Now, if you combine those supplements a natural diet, exercise into fatigue with a sleep routine so you go to bed at the same time, you're getting up at the same time you can maximize your testosterone. So you will naturally produce 20 to 25 percent more by doing those things. So if you're only slightly low, that'll boost you back into an optimal range and you'll make a big difference.

Speaker 1:

If you're super low, it might make a bit of a difference, but you probably will need help um, and that's where companies like alphagenix can come in you've alluded that lifestyle is is quite important, and I'm making the assumption that genetics will be as well, but is there anything related to stress around this and and specifically in your case as well, ross when, when you were going through all these symptoms and and this the start of this journey in terms of stress for you- um.

Speaker 2:

So stress affects obviously the adrenals and adrenal function and that has a big, big correlation to sleep. Sleep is when we naturally produce testosterone. So if our sleep is affected because we're stressed, we've got a lot on our mind, then potentially you know you're going to produce less testosterone in the testes when you're asleep anyway. So you know, protecting our mental health, whether that's through you know, you mentioned meditation earlier whether it's mindfulness, whether it's mindful walking, whether it's yoga, whatever works for you, I think certainly has a role.

Speaker 2:

A study came out last year which is quite important, one which said that spirituality or belief in a higher power increases testosterone, which was really interesting. And the reason for that is they correlated belief in higher power, improving psychological well-being, and psychological well-being had a direct correlation with physical well-being, and physical well-being increased physical activity. That therefore increased testosterone. So for a lot of years, you know a lot of the stuff we've talked about today, a lot of alpha males would have been quite dismissive of, like, oh that hocus pocus, nonsense, hippie stuff, like that's not going to affect me, it seriously, can you know? And now we have evidence to demonstrate here we go read that paper. Um, belief in whatever you call it, can physically help your testosterone in your life yeah, it's an interesting connection.

Speaker 1:

It goes back to what you're talking about right at the beginning, doesn't it? What a what a connection that is. That's fascinating, mate. I'm not gonna lie from. I would be a skeptic of of taking something, but I guess I'm not in a position of need, or I feel, or don't assume that I'm in a position of need. So my brain and this is just for conversational purposes, but my brain goes well, what, what do you do differently and are you just trying to sell me something type of thing in in terms of, yeah, testosterone and, um, living my best life, if that well as much as possible.

Speaker 2:

You know we, we try to. We try to dissuade people from testosterone alphagenics. So you know you can't just call us and say I want to buy it. Um, we will go through a rigorous conversation with you first to make sure it's appropriate and we will make sure that you are optimizing your life first. So you know, we're big on not just selling you something. Um, we believe, you know, at the right time it's transformational. But can you tweak your lifestyle first? And is it necessary? Um, so that's a big big thing. Um, but the easy way to get your head around it, I guess, is, you know, that would be like saying menopause doesn't exist and women don't need HRT. You know, no one's going to say that. That um, because it's. We see it everywhere. Um, men and women go through puberty and our hormones change. The same happens at the other end of life as well. It just presents in a different way. Um, so I think that's a really, you know, easy way to think about it yeah, well, that's fair enough, mate.

Speaker 1:

Um, mate, I'm gonna start to wrap up fairly sloon, because I sloon soon as me mixing my words. Mate, maybe I'll give you a shout after this. Um, because I know you've just come from one podcast onto another. So, um, mate, is there anything that you'd like to mention or talk about or or get in here, mate, before we we start to wrap it up?

Speaker 2:

ross for today do you know what? There's lots of other things we could talk about, but I think we've actually encapsulated quite a nice conversation there today. Um, I think if we went off somewhere else now it would open up a different conversation, so I'm quite happy to leave it there awesome, brilliant mate.

Speaker 1:

Where might people find you? Mate on um on different uh platforms or or websites was the best place to get in touch with you. If people are interested in either mentorship or investment opportunities, or even even in terms of alphagenics and trt yeah, so my most active social media platform is linkedin, so just my name.

Speaker 2:

You can see me there with my cap on. I'm on Instagram, ross Tompkins 4, and my website is rostompkinscouk, where you can get links to my YouTube and everything else that's out there and the different businesses that we own and operate. Alphagenix is alphagenix with an X at the end, and you can go onto there and you can read, you know and listen to my story and watch videos and learn more about whether this is something that is right for you brilliant.

Speaker 1:

Well, ross, mate, thank you very much for your time. Thanks for for sharing a bit about your story, um, and, and the work that you do, mate, it's been an absolute pleasure and, um, yeah, we will speak again soon, buddy.

Speaker 2:

Definitely. Thanks, Aaron. I really enjoyed it. Have a great day, Take care. Bye.