I was born in central Indiana in 1956. As you may or may not recall, depending when you were born, that was an era of little health understanding. I say that because although that era did in fact become a foundation for today’s knowledge, the sciences were so limited (and often erroneous) and produced a multitude of theories and practices that simply did not work because they were based on such limited information. A classic example would be that in the 1950s, doctors often recommended that their patients take up smoking to lose weight or to relax. We also believed that certain foods (usually “greasy” foods high in saturated fat) that would “stick to our ribs” and actually provide more nourishment. Some of you from that era might remember some of the slang and paradigms.

It wasn’t long after that when the general belief was that the saturated fat found in animal products could be replaced by a much healthier and more convenient hydrogenated fat – commonly known as trans fat(s). This was more commonly displayed with margarine replacing real butter and a whole host of cooking oils that followed the same tendencies. As you might already be aware, there simply wasn’t the holistic understanding of how all the biological processes tied together ranging from hormonal function to the production of free radicals and how nutrition actually tied into much of that. It almost seems like an oversimplification to talk about nutrition – with all the potential it contains, as well as all of the function and chemical relationships we now understand, it has become more of a process of molecular biochemistry than most of us would even imagine.

But enough of the historic picture of society that I have attempted to paint. We will cover much of these concepts in other segments of this website as I continually attempt to load more information, updates and generally improve the material within.

With the wheels of the story set in motion, it simplifies matters to tell you that I am a product of that era. Although fortunate by many standards, I have had my own battles both imposed upon me and ones I have created myself. I began smoking in the early 70s as a teenager and continued that habit to 1982 where I managed quit for almost 2 years. Sadly, like many addicts, I accidentally crossed some lines and became a heavy smoker once again. I apparently had the genetics to be highly addicted to this particular “drug of choice” and attempted many different times and many different ways to lay it aside – always ending in failure. Even while I continued to smoke I became fascinated with the work of individuals like Dirk Pearson and Sandy Shaw in the early 80s. A few of these brilliant scientists at the time begin to develop the concepts of life extension and quality of life improvements by the intervention of various bodily systems through nutritional, biochemical and medicinal interventions. Mind you, this was not some kind of abuse by mad scientists- but rather highly scientific biochemical studies of the processes of aging, environmental damage and natural bio clocks of the human body. I became deeply interested in the potential to add to the quality and longevity of our lives despite some of our bad habits. I realized that I might possibly offset some of the damage of smoking and other such toxic habits through a wide array and consistent use of antioxidant nutrients. I also realized, this was the mind of an addict at work – always attempting to justify or mitigate their means.

Around the time that I turned 40, I noticed many changes in my body that made me look much older than I really was. My physical performance was terrible and a couple hours of yard work would make me so sore that I was sick the next day. It was then I begin to pay closer attention to exercise and nutrition. I began bodybuilding, a small amount of aerobic activity as well as a more athletic type diet. Although I had toyed with athletics and weightlifting off and on over the years, these changes I now saw made me more serious about creating lasting change. I gradually became a devoted student of these disciplines.

In my early 40s a series of gallbladder attacks left me extremely ill and caused me to develop a serious adversion to eating any kind of fat. Nearly 2 years after the gallbladder was removed I still wrestled with this type of eating disorder and eventually began to suffer serious consequences. The extremely low-fat diet led to a host of physical and mental disorders. I had developed a serious type of depression and long after I had been treated, diagnosed and medicated did I begin to discover what the real cause (in my particular case) could be. The sad part was, all of those eggheads in lab coats eager to have me try different antidepressants never once suspected the extreme low-fat diet. Not one of them ever looked at me and said your skin looks funny, let’s talk about your diet. No one noticed the dry brittle hair or asked me to perform a food diary for any given period of time as I was extremely underweight. It was my own study and my own interests that made me realize my self-inflicted malady. This has caused me to be extremely cautious about ensuring myself a minimum intake of healthy Omega 3, 6 and 9 essential fatty acids (EFA’ s). I did however, finally understand what the word essential meant! I found it written in many different documents that the number one sign of omega-3 EFA deficiency was depression! I was soon able to come off the antidepressants and found myself feeling much better than with the medication.

In 2005 I finally made another wholehearted attempt to stop smoking. This time I had devised a series of exercises that allowed me to practice and condition my mind for life without cigarettes. I continued to smoke for a period of time while I faithfully practiced my daily exercises and conditionings until I felt it was time. Once I laid the cigarettes aside, I was already somewhat conditioned to continue the exercises and to use the aids that I had developed and was successful. I did however, resort to using the patch (which I had planned to) to give myself every advantage I possibly could. I’m happy to say that I’m still smoke-free and have seen many health improvements. It wasn’t but a few years ago that I was walking through a grocery store and realized that I would have never believed that I would feel this good or this okay without a cigarette – what a revelation.

Thus was formed( over such a prieod of time) my philosophy on the quest for the human potential, the belief that this “agelessness” could be obtained through extraordinarily optimum levels of health in conjunction with high levels of physical development/conditioning. As you can see, there were no overnight transformations and certainly no weekend boot camps to achieve the person before you now. The results that I have been fortunate enough to achieve have been largely realized through strenuous study, effort and a lot of trial and error. Most importantly, the one issue that stands out of all of this is the motivation. The reason for my hungry quest for the human potential, is simply to achieve true “agelessness”. To realize the true potential by generating optimum levels of health, longevity, conditioning and admittedly, appearance. All of this is to simply hold back or roll back the clock as much as humanly possible for the sake of capturing some of my lost years while adding fullness to my future. Running and playing with my great-nieces and nephews, skydiving, my occasional mountain climbing and all those joyous things that are aided by extremely high levels of health and fitness. The term “man-made youthfulness” comes to mind, wouldn’t you agree? Imagine higher levels of energy and clarity on your job, more to contribute in your relationships, more energy for adventures as well as strength to carry out charities and benefits that you believe in! More of you to contribute (despite your age) in all arenas of your life. True agelessness !!!

The main impression that I wanted to illustrate with this story is simply that I was not genetically gifted or athletic to any great means. I don’t even have the most desired body type or frame for bodybuilding. But having smoked myself half to death for 30+ years or so and to have made all of the mistakes that I have made, I am a living testament as to the human potential – as evident by my photographs and videos. Is my hope that you will find many of the lessons here for yourself that I found that helped me to transform my life. I hope you become excited about the quest for your own human potential and I wish even more that you allow me to become a part of that quest. Enjoy my site as there is so much free information here! You will soon see that I also have a lot of wonderful products to help you with your own transformation!

This is the theme of the Tommy Atlas.com website, the sharing of the philosophy and theories behind this quest, information and products for you to pursue your own human potential!

Yours truly,