Too many men accept physical and mental decline far earlier than they should.
Low energy becomes “normal.” Poor sleep becomes part of getting older. Loss of confidence gets written off as stress, parenthood, or age. Most men don’t investigate what’s changing in their bodies until something breaks.
Joey Elkins, a Strive pharmacist, thinks men are settling far too soon.
Joey works at the intersection of hormones, peptides, supplements, and proactive care. His focus is helping patients move beyond reactive medicine and start paying attention to the signals their bodies are sending long before serious problems appear.
For Men's Health Month, Joey talks unconventional paths, widely misunderstood hormones, habits that compound over decades, and why confidence in your health has less to do with chasing perfection and more to do with refusing to settle.
Q: Pharmacy wasn’t your original plan. How did you end up here?
Joey Elkins:
I always knew I wanted to do something health-related. In undergrad, I studied kinesiology and worked as a dental assistant, medical assistant, personal trainer, physical therapy assistant — I was exploring everything.
At first, I planned on dental school. My cousin was a dentist, he had a good lifestyle, and I thought, “I can do that.” I applied multiple times and didn’t get in.
After being denied for the dental program, one of those schools randomly reached out about their pharmacy program.
Pharmacy honestly had never crossed my mind. But at that point in my life, I had a young child, my wife was working full-time to support us, and I was ready to start building a career.
What drew me in was understanding how the body responds to what we put into it — supplements, medications, hormones, all of it. That connection fascinated me.
The funny thing is, I didn’t even know what compounding pharmacy was when I started pharmacy school. Then my final rotation was at Strive, and everything clicked. I realized I could work with peptides, hormones, and personalized medicine in a way that actually supports people before things spiral into bigger health problems.
That completely changed my perspective on healthcare.
Q: What changed your mind about what good healthcare actually looks like?
Joey Elkins:
The biggest shift for me was moving from reactive medicine to proactive medicine.
Most people grow up thinking healthcare only starts once something is wrong. You get sick, then you go to the doctor. You get injured, then you get help.
But proactive medicine asks a different question: why wait until things are bad?
If your energy is off, if your sleep is suffering, if your mood feels different, if your recovery is declining — those are signals worth taking seriously.
That doesn’t mean everyone needs medication. A lot of the time it’s lifestyle. Sometimes it’s sleep. Sometimes it’s hormones, nutrition, stress, or deficiencies. No matter what, the goal should be understanding what’s happening before it turns into a bigger problem.
Q: What do you think men are accepting as “normal” that they shouldn’t?
Joey Elkins:
Low energy and low confidence.
A lot of men assume that getting older automatically means feeling worse physically and mentally. They think low motivation, low confidence, poor recovery, brain fog, or declining energy are just part of aging.
I don’t think that should be the default mindset.
Now, that doesn’t mean you’re supposed to feel 21 forever. You’re probably not going to run as fast as you did in your twenties. But that doesn’t mean you should stop feeling good.
There’s a difference between aging and settling.
Low energy can be connected to sleep, stress, metabolic health, or hormones, often a combination. The important part is not assuming decline is inevitable.
Q: What biomarkers or health signals deserve more attention from men?
Joey Elkins:
Testosterone is definitely one of them, but I think it’s often misunderstood.
A lot of people still associate testosterone only with bodybuilding, aggression, or libido. But testosterone affects far more than that. For some men, it can impact energy, mood, confidence, even how well they recover.
That doesn’t mean every man should jump on TRT.
But I do think men should understand their hormone health and actually know where they stand. That starts with asking questions, getting labs done, and understanding the bigger picture instead of ignoring symptoms for years.
At the same time, hormones are only one piece of the puzzle. Sometimes foundational things matter just as much — sleep quality, stress management, vitamin deficiencies, movement, nutrition, metabolic health.
I recently had labs done myself and found out I was low in iron. That was affecting my recovery, my energy in the gym, even hair shedding. Once I addressed that deficiency, under the guidance of my healthcare provider, I noticed how I felt. Keep in mind that individual experiences vary. Sometimes the thing holding someone back isn’t complicated. It’s just overlooked.
Q: What habits create the biggest long-term impact on health?
Joey Elkins:
For me, it starts with owning the morning.
I’m a huge believer in the “win the morning, win the day” mindset. I wake up before my family, and those first couple hours are mine. That’s time to work out, read, learn, think, or improve myself in some way.
I’m protective of that time because it changes how I show up for the rest of the day.
There’s also what I call a spillover effect. When you do something hard or productive early, it creates momentum. If I wake up early and work out, there’s a better chance I’ll make healthier choices later too — maybe I eat better, maybe I’m more productive, maybe I’m mentally sharper.
One good decision spills into another.
That compounds over years.
Q: There’s a viral trend around “looksmaxxing,” where men obsess over optimizing their appearance. What do you think men are actually looking for?
Joey Elkins:
Honestly, I think most men are really looking for confidence.
And confidence doesn’t come from trying to engineer a perfect face or chasing extreme appearance hacks online.
You don’t need the perfect body to feel confident. But when someone genuinely feels good physically and mentally, people notice that. Confidence changes how you carry yourself, how you interact with people, how you show up in life.
So instead of obsessing over appearance, I’d rather see men focus on building real health.
Move your body. Improve your sleep. Take care of your mental health. Build habits you’re proud of. Start believing in yourself again.
That’s sustainable confidence.
Q: How did Strive’s supplement line come together?
Joey Elkins:
It really started through working with GLP-1 patients.
As pharmacists, we spend a lot of time counseling patients starting GLP-1 medications. One conversation kept coming up: protein intake and maintaining lean muscle mass during weight loss journey.
We realized patients were already buying supplements somewhere — but quality in the supplement industry is inconsistent. There are great products out there, but there’s also a lot of marketing, low-quality ingredients, and cutting corners.
So we looked at it from the same perspective we use with medications: quality matters.
That’s how products like Fuel+ started. We wanted a high-protein, high-fiber shake that actually supported consumers during their weight loss journey and helped address common gaps we were seeing.*
From there, it expanded into digestive support, hormone support, sleep support, and other foundational wellness products.*
The goal wasn’t to create another trendy supplement brand. It was to create products that support consumers in a meaningful way.
Q: What do men misunderstand most about supplements?
Joey Elkins:
That more is better.
A lot of people stack supplement after supplement thinking that if some is good, more must be better. But a smarter approach is figuring out what your body actually needs first.
That could mean assessing any dietary gaps in micronutrients, quality of sleep, hormone health, and daily nutrition.
The basics matter more than most people want to admit.
Q: What does “Defy the Odds” mean to you personally?
Joey Elkins:
It means refusing to settle.
I’m 34 years old, and I can honestly say I’m in the best shape of my life — physically, mentally, and spiritually.
That doesn’t mean I’m the fastest I’ve ever been or the best athlete I’ve ever been. It means I feel the best overall that I’ve ever felt.
And I want to keep saying that at 45, 55, and beyond.
I actually have a running bet with my daughter. She wants a cell phone, and I told her she can have one when she beats me in a race. Every year on her birthday we race, and my goal is to have the first 18 year-old without a cell phone!
That’s my mindset.
Keep showing up. Keep improving. Keep moving forward.
Q: If you could challenge men to do one thing this Men’s Health Month, what would it be?
Joey Elkins:
Start today.
Whatever the goal is — moving more, sleeping better, getting labs done, eating better, waking up earlier, fixing one habit — just start.
Most people spend years waiting for the perfect time. Next month. Next year. Monday. January 1st.
Meanwhile, they stay stuck.
Start small if you need to. The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is consistency.
Even slow progress compounds over time.
Learn More at Strive Sessions
Want to go deeper? In an upcoming Strive Sessions webinar, Joey will cover testosterone, peptides, energy, recovery, supplements, and the daily habits that shape long-term health. The session goes deeper into the habits, labs, and conversations worth having with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your medications or health regimen..
Register for the upcoming Strive Sessions webinar
Disclaimer: Compounded medications discussed in this article including hormone support formulations, are not FDA-approved and have not been evaluated by the FDA for safety or efficacy. Compounded medications are prepared based on a valid prescription from a licensed healthcare provider for individual patient needs. Responses to any compounded or supplemental preparation vary by individual. All information shared in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Potential risks, side effects, and contraindications vary by formulation and individual health status. Please consult your prescribing healthcare provider for complete risk and benefit information before initiating or adjusting any medication or supplement regimen.
Dietary Supplement FDA Disclaimer
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”
