A HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONER TURNED COMPETITIVE BODYBUILDER AND HIS TEAM ARE TAKING A COMPREHENSIVE, SCIENTIFICALLY BACKED APPROACH TO ANTI-AGING WITH A RESULTS-DRIVEN SYSTEM ROOTED IN DATA, DISCIPLINE, AND UNDENIABLE TRANSFORMATION REDEFINING WHAT’S POSSIBLE AT EVERY STAGE OF LIFE

BY ERIK SCHONING • PHOTOS BY ALEX BARRETO

Fitness is a lifelong journey, and few know this better than John O’Connor, a former basketball trainer who, at age 51, has made the transition to professional bodybuilding. O’Connor is the brains behind Boost Hormone Optimization and Anti-Aging Center, an all-encompassing health and wellness clinic with locations in Red Bank and Old Bridge. Along with his experienced medical team, O’Connor is working to help any client interested in the science of living better.

Hormone replacement and peptide therapies are on the rise, but for O’Connor they are far more than wellness trends; they have the power to change lives. Before discovering these therapies, O’Connor was in his 40s and living with chronic pain. He began looking for remedies to help him regain his former strength.

“During COVID, I started with peptides and low-dose testosterone therapy, and I started feeling better,” O’Connor said. “I started having less brain fog, fewer feelings of depression, and, most importantly, fewer aches and pains. That’s why our message at Boost is, ‘We get it, we’ve been there, and we’re here to help.’”

O’Connor recently won his first bodybuilding competition, and he considers his success a living testament to the power of longevity medicine, when performed properly. Boost is a comprehensive hormone optimization program that includes personalized assessments using advanced diagnostic panels to measure key hormones such as total and free testosterone, estradiol, DHEA, cortisol, and IGF-1. These insights allow the medical team to create a customized plan focused on restoring balance, improving vitality, and optimizing long-term health. So far, the program has proven wildly popular among Boost’s clients, who run the gamut from athletes trying to maximize performance to everyday professionals trying to stave off the negative effects of the aging process.

“Patients choose this program because there’s an immediate ROI in how they feel: their energy, confidence, libido, and mental clarity are off the charts,” O’Connor said. “Hormones are the foundation. They control how you age and how fast. This is how we slow the clock down.”

Once a client’s hormones are in balance, O’Connor and his team turn to peptide and cellular regeneration therapy to maximize a client’s performance and healing. (Peptides are small chains of amino acids, which the body uses to naturally rebuild cellular pathways.) Peptide therapy is stackable with hormone replacement therapy, meaning that they can either supercharge a patient’s existing regimen or be used as a standalone treatment. But Boost isn’t just for the ultra-fit looking to maximize their returns. The clinic also offers holistic, medically supervised weight loss programs, pairing GLPs and other supportive peptides with nutritional counseling, accountability checks, and body composition tracking.

Boost’s menu of services is robust, and that’s not by accident. For O’Connor, wellness and anti-aging are comprehensive practices. Despite all the benefits of modern medicine (and there are plenty), there is no single miracle drug: looking and feeling good is a lifestyle that he and his clients recommit to every single day. That’s why Boost’s business model is built on long-term relationships, not one-stop visits.

“With any new client, we do what’s called a ‘wellness budget,’” O’Connor said. “How much are you looking to spend per day, per week? The biggest thing we teach them is this is a lifestyle transformation. Even with cutting-edge hormone therapy and supplementation, results will always fall short without the foundation of a healthy lifestyle.”

Greater awareness of anti-aging and wellness is generally a net positive for society; consider, for example, the explosion in popularity of daily sun – screen use in the last ten years. But along with higher awareness comes the possibility of misinformation, and that’s why O’Connor believes so deeply in a medically driven, scientifically backed approach. Coming from a bodybuilding background, a space where unregulated PED and steroid use is unfortunately common, O’Connor has seen firsthand the disastrous effects of drug use without medical direction.

“We uphold the highest standards and actively encourage our team to pursue the most advanced continuing education in anti-aging and hormone optimization – ensuring our patients receive elite-level care driven by science and results,” O’Connor said. “We have to educate people, to shift their mindset about what they’re taking and why. We have to make sure we’re staying with what’s trending while also making sure the science is credible. We are always looking for that balance.”

As Boost takes off, O’Connor is looking toward expanding his business across the state, pairing with synergistic fitness centers to bring his anti-aging and hormone optimization programs to as many people as possible. With his podcast, Get Boosted, he is reaching an ever-expanding audience of online listeners who are interested in beginning their own wellness journey. After all, there is no shortage of demand;

O’Connor’s goal is to make sure that people approach aging without fear, recognizing that they can take control of their own destiny. Ultimately, Boost is all about getting in the driver’s seat; aging may be inevitable, but how you respond to it is not.

“Proactive medicine is far superior to reactive medicine,” O’Connor said. “That’s why it’s so important to invest in your health. What we’re offering is well care, not sick care.”

Staying well, after all, is the foundation of healthy aging, and O’Connor’s own fitness journey is living proof that it is indeed possible to turn back the clock.

Boost Hormone Optimization and Anti-Aging Center

231 Maple Avenue, Red Bank 1091 US 9, Old Bridge

732.526.2151 / getboostedusa.com