Founder Story

Why We Built
Moonshot Medical

I hit a wall in my mid-30s. I was training hard, eating right, and doing everything "correctly," but I stopped feeling like myself. So I stopped guessing, got real labs, and learned way more than I expected.

Tom, Co-Founder of Moonshot Medical & Performance

In 20 Seconds

  • Moonshot Medical & Performance is a clinic focused on optimization for men and women—not sick care.
  • It exists because I hit a wall personally and realized that training harder wasn't the answer to my physiology.
  • We simply built the medical resource we wished existed in Park Ridge.

The Story Behind the Clinic

About a year and a half ago, I stopped feeling like myself. I’d always heard people warn about the "drop off" that happens in your mid-30s. Honestly? I ignored it. I didn't believe it applied to me. I was disciplined. I trained hard five days a week. I dialed in my nutrition. I prioritized sleep. I was doing all the things you are supposed to do.

But despite all that effort, the math stopped working. My energy was unpredictable. My motivation—which had always been a constant—started to flicker. My recovery slowed down. I would have a great workout one day and feel completely drained for the next two.

It was frustrating because looking at me, or looking at my routine, nothing was "wrong." But I knew something was off.

So I finally decided to stop guessing. I went and got comprehensive blood work done for the first time in years. That’s when I found out my testosterone levels were low—significantly lower than they should have been for someone my age living my lifestyle.

Finding out was a relief, but fixing it was a headache. I spent about a year trying to correct it naturally. I took every supplement recommended. I adjusted my sleep hygiene. I tweaked my diet. I re-tested, and the numbers barely budged.

I then tried an online, tele-health clinic. I thought it would be efficient. Instead, it was impersonal and bordering on reckless. I was prescribed a protocol that made me feel physically worse—depressed, foggy, and anxious. When I tried to get a hold of a provider to adjust the dosage, I couldn't get an appointment for weeks. I was just a number in a database.

I realized then that this entire space is broken. If you aren't "sick" in the traditional sense, the medical system doesn't really know what to do with you. And if you go the online route, you often trade safety for convenience.

This past summer, I decided to do it correctly. I found a provider who actually sat down with me. We looked at the whole picture—not just hormones, but lipids, metabolic health, and inflammation. I started a medically supervised protocol, and it made a bigger difference than I expected.

My motivation came back online. My mood stabilized. My sleep deepened. And physically, my body started responding to exercise again. I leaned out significantly, dropping body fat while getting stronger.

Talking through the gap between "normal" labs and actually feeling optimal.

The biggest lesson for me wasn't about testosterone. It was that physiology drives psychology. When your internal biomarkers are off, willpower can only take you so far.

It also taught me that it is rarely just one thing. Hormones matter, but so does your metabolic health, your body composition, your bone density, and your cardiovascular status. You cannot optimize one variable in a vacuum.

That experience is why my partners—Michael and Niko—and I decided to build Moonshot Medical & Performance. We wanted to build the clinic we wished existed. One that works with licensed medical providers, measures everything that matters, and helps people go from "fine" to "optimal" using real data, right here in Park Ridge.

The Receipts

It's easy to tell a good story. It's harder to argue with data. Here is exactly what I tracked so I wasn't just guessing based on how I looked in the mirror.

The Bloodwork

Cholesterol results HDL results LDL results ApoB results

We look at trends, not just snapshots. This data allowed us to dial in the protocol safely, ensuring that while performance went up, risk markers (like hematocrit or lipids) stayed managed.

Body Composition

Body composition comparison

This is the nuance the scale misses. We tracked Skeletal Muscle Mass vs. Body Fat Mass to ensure weight loss was actually fat loss, not muscle degradation.

The Tape Measure

Metric July 21 Nov 2 Net Change
Weight 208.2 lbs 207.4 lbs -0.8 lbs
InBody Weight 208.6 lbs 208.6 lbs No change
InBody Body Fat % 17.8% 11.2% -6.6%
Waist 35.4 in 33.3 in -2.1 in
Chest 41.25 in 43.0 in +1.75 in
Hips 40.0 in 39.0 in -1.0 in
Arms (Relaxed) 15.0 in 15.1 in +0.1 in
Arms (Flexed) 16.0 in 16.2 in +0.2 in
Quad 25.0 in 25.0 in No change

Look closely at the weight versus the waist. The scale barely moved (-0.8 lbs), but I lost over 2 inches off my waist while my chest and arms grew. If I had only used a scale, I would have thought "nothing is happening." This is why data matters.

Note: “InBody Weight” and “InBody Body Fat %” are pulled from the trend view shown above.

If you want the nerdy breakdown of the numbers, I walk through the blood work in detail here.

Visual Context

I'm sharing these just to show the physical difference between "fine" and "optimized."
(Context only. Individual results vary. This is simply my personal tracking.)

July 21, 2025

Earlier phase front view
Earlier phase side view
Earlier phase back view

November 2, 2025

Later phase front view
Later phase side view
Later phase back view

An Important Note on Women's Health

While my story is obviously from a male perspective, serving women has always been a core part of the vision for Moonshot Medical, especially for those navigating perimenopause and menopause.

Far too many women are told that feeling exhausted, dealing with brain fog, struggling with sleep, or gaining stubborn weight is just "part of getting older." They are told everything is "normal" even when they don’t feel like themselves.

The reality is that hormonal shifts during these transitions have a massive impact on energy, mood, bone density, and metabolic health. Ignoring those changes doesn’t make them go away. It just leaves people guessing and suffering in silence.

From the beginning, our goal has been to create a place where women are evaluated and supported with the same level of intention, data, and medical oversight as anyone else. This isn’t about chasing aesthetic trends—it’s about feeling strong, capable, and medically supported through a major physiological transition.

How It Works

01

Labs

Comprehensive blood panel covering hormones, lipids, metabolic health, and inflammation.

02

Data

Health questionnaire and body composition analysis (DEXA scan scheduled for delivery in February).

03

Review

Our medical team reviews your entire profile to build a personalized roadmap.

04

Consult

We walk through the data together. You decide what—if anything—you want to pursue.

We just wanted to share what we’ve been building and the personal experience that led us here.