How a 49-Year-Old Skeptic Found Himself on His Own Treatment Table
I’m stretched out on a treatment table with an IV in one arm, warm hydration slowly making its way into my system. I’ve already had the last of this week’s NAD+ and B12, a machine is humming next to my head, and one of our nurses is moving a suction device across my stomach. Cold ultrasound gel, the kind used to help the equipment glide and function properly, covers my love handles and a belly that has become noticeably rounder since we opened Soft Touch Studio Med Spa in Las Vegas.
About three minutes into a thirty-minute treatment, one question pops into my head:
How did I end up here?
Less than a year ago, I was sitting in an office surrounded by big windows overlooking rows of new and used cars. Around me, people were talking on their phones and putting car deals together. That environment had been my world for years.
Now I’m lying here without a shirt, gel covering my stomach, looking a little more like Santa Claus than I’d care to admit. Whether Santa himself is real is still up for debate. Emily, our highly capable registered nurse, makes another slow pass across my torso and reaches for more gel, which is especially unfortunate because my stomach happens to be ticklish.
Going from the car business to the med spa business was not something I ever saw coming. Some days, I still have trouble believing it myself.
So before Emily makes another pass over my stomach, let me explain how someone like me ended up on this table.
A Little About Me
I’m almost 50 years old, five foot eleven, about 245 pounds, and dealing with dry skin along with the usual assortment of aches that seem to arrive around this stage of life whether you invited them or not.
I spent years in the car business. Today, I co-own a med spa.
If you were trying to picture the person most likely to end up working in medical aesthetics and wellness, I probably would not have made your list.
So what changed?
The automotive industry had been going through a difficult stretch. Electric vehicles were piling up on dealership lots while delivery trucks continued bringing in more inventory. Nearly every manufacturer had made a serious push into EVs in an attempt to compete for market share with Mr. Elon Musk. Elon may not have won every battle, but dealerships around the country certainly felt the consequences.
Finding another dealership management position became increasingly difficult. I had reached the point where I was seriously considering starting over as a salesperson when my phone rang.
It was my sister, Elizabeth.
For the previous six to nine months, she had been looking for a business opportunity our family could invest in, something capable of generating steady monthly income for her and our families. I had turned down nearly every idea she brought to me, mainly because none of them required me to get directly involved.
This idea was different.
She wanted us to open a med spa in Roseville, California.
Our mother had recently sold her own med spa and moved to Las Vegas to help consult on the opening of another. She was happy to give us advice from one state away, and even better, she wasn’t charging us for it.
That is how Soft Touch Studio Med Spa began.
Elizabeth found a great location on Eureka Road. She also has an incredible sense of design, and she transformed the space into something that felt less like a medical office and more like a resort you might actually want to spend time in.
Then came the staff.
That was another major change from my previous career. Our entire staff was made up of women.
I had officially entered a woman’s world.
For an average guy like me, that can be humbling.
And on some days, it definitely is.
During that first month, while we were obsessing over every detail of the new business, I began noticing something important. The same philosophy I had spent years trying to bring into the car business could also apply here.
When I trained salespeople, I encouraged them to stop trying to manipulate customers into buying something and instead focus on helping people find the car they actually wanted.
As more clients came through our doors, I started hearing a similar complaint again and again. They felt that other med spas had not really listened to them. Their personal concerns and goals were sometimes pushed aside in favor of whatever treatment or trend happened to be popular.
To me, that is simply not a great way to run a business.
I’ve now learned the same lesson in two completely different industries: if you want to build a business without constantly worrying about what your competitors are doing, find a positive way to be different.
Why I Decided to Try the Treatments Myself
Since opening on February 2nd, I’ve felt a lot like a duck out of water.
Okay, fine.
A fat duck out of water.
Every new obstacle seemed to come with a little extra weight, and there were plenty of obstacles. My preferred stress-management strategy involved far too much Krispy Kreme, which turned out to be about as effective as you might expect.
Eventually, stretchy pants became more comfortable than regular ones, shirts stopped buttoning the way they used to, and my wife and kids began saying something out loud that I had been avoiding.
They were concerned about my health.
My wife even suggested, as gently as possible, that maybe I should consider trying some of the body contouring services we offer at the spa.
At the time, taking my shirt off in front of my own staff felt less like treatment and more like a punishment they had done nothing to deserve.
Then one afternoon, the phone rang.
A very nice woman called with questions about our services. I knew our treatment menu inside and out. I could probably recite most of it in my sleep.
But that wasn’t what she wanted to know.
She wanted to understand what the treatments actually felt like from a client’s point of view.
And I realized I had no answer.
I took down her name and number so one of our specialists could call her back.
From a business standpoint, that was the right thing to do.
But the conversation exposed a much bigger gap in my knowledge.
I understood the business. I understood the services. What I didn’t understand was the client experience.
Caring about customers is one of the things I brought with me from the car industry that I’m genuinely proud of. If I was serious about caring for the people who walk through our doors, I couldn’t keep experiencing the business entirely from the sidelines.
So, like an overweight Olympic diver standing on the highest platform, I decided to jump in headfirst and start experiencing the services myself.
The cold gel currently covering my stomach is a pretty good reminder of that decision.
Around this point, the suction starts getting uncomfortable. I respond exactly the way you would expect from a tough middle-aged man.
I wince and complain.
Emily barely reacts.
“That’s how you know it’s working,” she tells me.
Wonderful.
The treatment is designed around lymphatic drainage and getting things moving through the treated area. We also tell clients not to expect everything from a single session. It generally takes multiple sessions before changes may become noticeable.
I’m five minutes into a thirty-minute appointment.
Only twenty-five more to go.
Oh boy.
Six Weeks of Trying the Menu for Myself
Today’s treatment is really the final chapter in what has been a very busy six weeks.
It started with Teresa’s newest facial, which combines microcurrent with lymphatic drainage across the face, neck, and chest.
I don’t personally know many men who have had a facial, or at least many who would openly admit to it.
After Teresa finished, though, I finally understood why people enjoy them so much.
It wasn’t only that my skin felt good afterward. My entire head felt lighter, almost like it was floating somewhere in the clouds. The medical-grade products she used seemed to absorb into my dry skin, leaving me with the strange but very pleasant feeling that someone had handed me a brand-new face.
Next, I started a routine involving NAD+ and B12.
NAD+ is getting a lot of attention right now, and anyone who knows me knows I am not usually someone who runs toward whatever happens to be trendy.
Still, the more I listened to our staff explain it, the more curious I became.
The simple explanation they gave me was that NAD+ is naturally present in the body and is found at higher levels when we are younger, which is one reason there is so much interest surrounding it.
Youth really is wasted on the young.
Do I believe it is some kind of miracle in a vial?
I’ll save my final opinion for another post.
But I have noticed some things personally, and I’ll get to those shortly.
After that came Tox.
During one of our Tox events, which isn’t exactly a party but is a day when we schedule a number of clients and offer a special price per unit, my staff more or less escorted me into the injection room.
Apparently, they had decided that having a med spa co-owner walking around with zero units in his face was unacceptable for employee morale.
I received 84 units across my forehead, the “11s” between my eyebrows, and underneath my eyes.
Most of the injections were uncomfortable.
A few genuinely hurt.
But when I look in the mirror now, I understand why these treatments have become so popular.
And that brings us back to today.
This was the big session.
First came body vacuum therapy, using suction across targeted areas as part of a lymphatic drainage treatment.
Then EMS therapy, which creates intense muscle contractions that feel a little like doing a ridiculous number of crunches without ever entering a gym.
I also received my weekly NAD+ and B12, which have become one of my favorite parts of this experiment, followed by a Premium Hydration IV.
Emily explained that staying well hydrated is helpful after body-focused treatments.
As for the NAD+, I’ve personally noticed several small changes during the routine. My memory feels sharper, my metabolism seems to be moving a little faster, my overall energy feels better, and I’ve been sleeping somewhat better.
None of those things feels dramatic on its own.
It has been more like a collection of small wins.
But the small wins are adding up, and I’m becoming more convinced by my own experience.
By now, the body vacuum portion is finished.
Most of it was uncomfortable. The sensation felt more like cramping than sharp pain.
Naturally, I handled it like a real man.
By that, I mean I complained almost continuously while the women around me rolled their eyes at every word.
Don’t they work for me?
Sheesh.
Next comes EMS.
The applicator feels heavy against my stomach, roughly where a six-pack is currently buried beneath an impressive ocean of fat.
The Part That Caught Me Off Guard
One thing nobody really prepared me for was how much seeing visible change can affect your perspective.
Emily pulled up the before-and-after photos on her phone.
For the first time, I could actually see what these treatments might accomplish over time, not just for me, but for clients who come into our spa carrying their own goals and frustrations.
The difference across my stomach and sides was noticeable to me.
Did one treatment suddenly make me skinny?
Absolutely not.
That isn’t how these treatments work, and anyone promising that kind of transformation after a single appointment is making a promise I would be very cautious about.
What the photos did give me was a clearer picture of what a series of sessions might look like.
Until that point, body contouring had mostly been something I understood from treatment descriptions, staff explanations, and client conversations. Seeing my own photos made the experience much more tangible.
Lying there on Emily’s treatment table, I started thinking about clients who had been on that same table and become emotional after noticing changes that helped them fit into clothing they had started believing they would never wear again.
There is another important part of this story, though.
Body contouring is not something I see as a replacement for taking care of yourself. Sensible eating and regular movement still matter.
For someone like me, the encouraging part is that this doesn’t have to mean punishing yourself. I don’t plan on spending every waking hour in the gym or putting myself through extreme fasting.
Those approaches may cause weight to drop quickly for some people, but if the goal is weight loss you can realistically maintain, I would rather take a slower and steadier approach.
That’s the path I’m choosing.
My knees were given a vote.
They won.
The EMS session finishes, and as I get off the table and walk out of the treatment room, I can already feel those simulated “crunches” in my stomach.
It doesn’t hurt.
I’m simply aware of the area.
A little reminder that my abs actually did something today.
What I’m Promising With This Blog
So what exactly is this blog going to be?
It’s going to be an honest account of one middle-aged man trying to reach his own goals while experiencing the treatments offered at the med spa he co-owns, Soft Touch Studio Med Spa.
I’m sure I’ll make mistakes along the way.
You may even get to watch some of them happen.
That’s okay.
Some of you may be going through your own version of the same process.
I want to talk about the wins as well as the things that don’t go according to plan. I’ll share what I enjoyed, what seemed worthwhile for me, and what I might personally avoid doing again because it gave me trouble.
Most importantly, I’ll be writing from the perspective of a guy who unexpectedly walked into a completely unfamiliar industry and is still occasionally wondering where everyone keeps the towels.
It’s the man’s point of view.
From the man in the med spa.
Come Along for the Ride
I’m looking forward to meeting more of you and hopefully helping you along your own journey, whatever your goals happen to be.
I’m sure some of you will have questions about what I’m trying, how the experience is going, and what happens next. Feel free to reach out.
I’ll also continue sharing photos as I go, as openly and honestly as I can.
If you want to hear about our monthly events, including our Tox Parties, NAD+ Events, other promotions, and more, call us at 7027101771
Come experience what it feels like when someone actually takes the time to listen to what you want.
A note before you go. This blog describes my personal experience as both an individual client and co-owner of Soft Touch Studio Med Spa. It should not be considered medical advice or a guarantee of results. Every treatment mentioned here was performed by licensed professionals with appropriate medical oversight. Every body is different, individual results vary, and some people may experience little or no change. Nothing in this article is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition. Before beginning any treatment, injectable, IV therapy, or weight-management plan, speak with a licensed medical provider about what may be appropriate and safe for you.