Exclusive Interview with Dr. Eric Fete: Visionary of the Year 2025
Best Holistic Life Magazine: From your time in the ER witnessing the devastating effects of poor self-care to founding PrimeX, you’ve had a transformative journey. What inspired you to pivot from emergency medicine to age management and peak performance, and how has that shaped your mission?
Dr. Eric Fete: While in the ER, I took care of many things. I loved emergency medicine, the acuity. I could take care of pretty much anything that walked through the door: traumas, injuries, people dying, minor stuff, urgent care, a little bit of everything. I learned how to take care of everything.
I saw people at their worst, which was great for learning, and from providing care and doing what I wanted to, which is to help people. I’d save people’s lives, help people out of situations, and make a difference. And it felt great. I loved doing that.
Unfortunately, I did see people at their worst, and I saw many who were very sick and very disabled, and often at an age and when they shouldn’t have been.
Basically, when you start seeing people in their 30s and younger on a list of medications, and they’re overweight, diabetic, and hypertensive for no reason other than just lack of education -just because they didn’t know better, they weren’t taught, they weren’t instructed by their physicians or their family, they had a bad lifestyle, whatever the case may be.
I thought, “Man, this all could’ve been prevented with a proper lifestyle.” I mean, I grew up in health and fitness, and I just learned it, but a lot of people were not that fortunate. This impressed upon me the importance of prevention and proper lifestyle, and that’s what really motivated me to get into the preventive side of things, to be proactive with your healthcare and to teach people how to live well and to eat properly, to exercise, to sleep, to take care of their minds, their bodies, their souls. And that’s what really motivated me to get into preventive side health and performance optimization, age management, anti-aging, et cetera.
I realized I can really make a difference because so many people are sick nowadays and on medications, and having surgeries that are not necessary. Traditional medicine is great for trauma and bad stuff, but it’s not very good for nutrition, nor is it good for prevention. And prevention, as I say, is worth a pound of cure, and so many of these things can be prevented.
Unfortunately, the traditional medical care system has been corrupted by big pharma and all these other interests. I think we could live better economically, save a lot of money, and live longer, stronger, better by taking care of our bodies in a healthy way, by getting back to nature, getting outside, moving, exercising, praying, being with community, getting off devices, not sitting around, being on social media all day, being active and engaged with other people. Yes, I use natural supplements, hormone optimization, and peptides when needed, but I always start with lifestyle, with the free stuff. So that was my motivation to help people live their best lives, save money, save time, and live as well as they could.
Best Holistic Life Magazine: Your motto, ‘Learning from the past, living for today, transforming the future,’ captures the essence of your approach. How do these principles influence the services and care you provide through PrimeX?
Dr. Eric Fete: So this is kind of the essence of my approach and incorporates the answer from my first question, but learning from the past is basically everything that I’ve learned previously from my medical training, from my world of health and fitness, from being a wrestler, doing martial arts, being encased and enmeshed in science my whole life with learning how to learn, which I got from my parents. They were both teachers. And also to learn from the past, from the Stoic philosophy, from all the wise people that lived before us, all the amazing scientists, authors, and writers of old. I think we can learn from them. I’m fascinated by just reading the old classics and the brilliance of the writers from all the way back to the 1600s, 1500s. The Greeks, the Romans, they were so astute because they sat around and they read and they thought, and they actually wrote philosophy, and they just learned.
So they were so wise compared to today. We’ve been dumbed down by technology, I think. So I think by learning from the past, learning how to connect with ourselves, with nature, and to communicate, to think, and to re-engage with these classics, and learn what we can from them.
And then in terms of the present and the future, obviously, we’ve got a lot of great things that have been developed with science and technology. Modern medicine and science are advancing rapidly, and we’re learning more and more each day. So I think we can learn from that. We can use the technology. We can use the new medications and everything that we’re learning and combine that with the lessons of old and transform the future by making it better, by combining the best of both worlds, and create better lives for ourselves and for others.
Best Holistic Life Magazine: You emphasize the critical role of cellular health and mitochondrial function in slowing aging and enhancing vitality. Can you explain how addressing these foundational elements leads to better overall health?
Dr. Eric Fete: Well, this is the foundation of my practice. I practice what I call muscle medicine and cellular medicine. Muscle medicine is kind of my trademark. Approach what I practice because nobody’s really talking about muscle as the organ of longevity. I do. Some of my colleagues and I discuss cellular health and specifically the mitochondria, which are at the center of health, because our bodies are made up of millions of cells and there are millions of mitochondria in each of our cells; more than that, actually.
And basically, a lot of what happens in traditional medicine is things kind of get patched up. We’re treating symptoms with pills and surgery, kind of covering things up like a band-aid approach, but we have to get to the root of the problem. And anytime there’s an issue, a symptom, a problem, a complaint, an abnormality on a blood test, there’s an underlying cause for that, and it always starts in the cell.
Oftentimes in the mitochondria, sometimes in other parts of the cell, but something is not working metabolically, and we have to figure out what that is and why it’s happening. And if we can fix the cell and we can fix the mitochondria, then the cell heals and takes care of itself.
Our bodies are very intelligent, and they will heal themselves if given the proper tools. Once the cell heals, the tissue that it makes up heals. Once the tissue heals, the organ heals, then the body part heals, and then the entire body heals. It’s a cascading effect. So we have to treat the root cause. And I always use the silly example that if someone has a headache, instead of just taking Motrin all the time, we have to look around and examine the head. Oh, there’s a nail sticking out of the head. Let’s pull the nail out, and now they won’t have pain anymore, right? No need for Motrin. It’s a silly example. But it explains getting to the root of the problem.
When people have fatigue, or a drop in function, or they are gaining weight, there’s an underlying cause. It may be inflammation, it may be a toxin in their body, an infection, a nutrient deficiency, a hormonal imbalance, stress, lack of sleep, poor diet; whatever the cause may be, we have to get to the underlying reason and then fix it.
And that’s when I go to my approach of focusing on treating the cell and, of course, addressing the muscle, because the muscle is the organ of longevity. Once we get that and tune up the metabolism heals and the body heals, so that’s why it’s important to get to the root cause.
Best Holistic Life Magazine: With PrimeX’s focus on personalized health plans, how do you tailor treatments to meet the unique needs of your clients? Could you share a success story where this approach made a profound difference?
Dr. Eric Fete: This kind of goes hand in hand with my last question, yes, my Prime-X cellular approach and muscle medicine approach is very personalized. There are no such things as cookie-cutter protocols, and that’s a problem with a lot of the age management, anti-aging functional medicine space. There are still a lot of cookie-cutter protocols, and there’s no real cookie-cutter approach ever. Everyone is different.
Yes, a lot of people will need, say, a certain diet or maybe hormone therapy with thyroid or testosterone or estrogen, but how will you give it to them? How often do you give it to them, and in what form will you give it to them?
And all the other details are different. Every protocol can be modified for each individual person’s metabolism, lifestyle, circadian rhythm, social issues, work, life balance, sleep, and so much more. Genetic factors, nutrient deficiencies, and all these other things come into play. So I really do a deep dive by doing a very detailed assessment by asking lots and lots of questions, really getting to know them and finding out about all these things and much more. Rather than just spitting out protocols, I like to find out what works for them, what they would do, what they don’t want to do, find out about their preferences in terms of medication dosages or what they’re taking, what they’re not eating, what they’re not eating, what they may be missing their diet, what they like to do in terms of working out, they don’t like to do. Stressors, family issues, preferences, social situations, and so much more.
Then I do a deep dive in terms of testing. I have a very detailed cellular laboratory assessment that I do, which is very different from a lot of companies. I custom-made it myself to really dig deep and look at inflammatory markers, hormones, and so much more. I can look at hundreds of blood markers in terms of looking inside the cell to see if there are micronutrient deficiencies or genetic issues. If we need to, we can do deep dives in terms of gut testing or other advanced tests as well. There’s a whole array of these that I can do if necessary. I reconnected with them again and put this plan into action by taking their history and all these tests and creating a very comprehensive personalized plan.
And then you get results because we’re treating the true root causes of their issues. And then we bob and weave and we change and we can modify the plan as we go, as they get better, as they lose weight, et cetera.
I had one patient. I’m going to change her name just for the sake of discrepancy. I’ll call her Amy, and she was having weight issues, inflammatory issues, gut issues, she had been on a million protocols, a million different diets, et cetera. I finally did a deep dive and really asked her a bunch more questions and did some testing. The bottom line is, I really looked at her gut. Nobody was really doing a really advanced analysis of her gut, and we fixed it. We basically went in, looked at her symptoms, did some advanced testing, did some gut analysis, microbiome analysis, I put her on a dietary regimen, a very specific nutraceutical protocol, and we healed her gut. And then once that was fixed, she got better. She was able to eat all types of food that she hadn’t eaten in years. She was no longer bloated. Her menstrual cycle was regular, becoming more regular. She was starting to put on muscle, she was sleeping better, and her energy was better. Then we modified her hormones some more, and on top of that, that was the next phase, whereas a lot of people would have just jumped right into that, and it wouldn’t have worked.
And now she’s healing and putting on more muscle and improving her performance on all levels. Her physical, sexual function, mental function, and emotional capacity are so much better. She healed because we got to the root of the problem and we fixed it in a sequential fashion, rather than a shotgun approach. She did amazingly well. That’s a great story.
Best Holistic Life Magazine: You’ve spoken about the challenges men face with hormonal imbalances, including andropause. What advice would you give to men experiencing these issues, and how can they regain vitality through your programs?
Dr. Eric Fete: This is a great question. I see this all the time with men, and my advice would be to see a specialist like me. It doesn’t have to be me. It can be one of my colleagues. Make sure you’re seeing a physician or clinician who’s trained in advanced hormonal therapies and not just going to one of these clinics that just crank out patients for the numbers, and just put them on the same protocol. That’s not what you want.
Again, like my last question, I answered: You want a personalized approach, and men, if they’re having symptoms, they have to get to the root cause. Why are they having a symptom? Did they have an injury? Did they have surgery? Do they have sleep issues or sleep apnea? Do they have a ton of stress, a toxic environment or do they have a relationship issues, they’re taking drugs or they eat a crappy diet, not exercising. And typically, most men, when they have andropause, this is what I call grumpy old man syndrome. They’re getting down and moody. They’re anxious or depressed. They don’t feel like doing anything. They don’t want to interact with anyone. They don’t want to compete. They’re tired all the time. They’re gaining fat. They’re losing muscle. They’re losing body hair. They’re not thinking or remembering things and have brain fog. They just don’t feel well. They have a lack of drive and no interest in sex. No interest in doing anything. They lack motivation, drive, and desire. Maybe they’re getting depressed or they’re having anxiety. They’re not sleeping well. They’re feeling tired all the time. They’re aching and sore all over. They have erectile dysfunction. These are some of the common symptoms.
Again, it doesn’t always mean it’s andropause or just testosterone issues. It may be something else. A lot of guys think it’s just testosterone, but oftentimes it’s other issues. It’s cortisol. It’s insulin. It’s lifestyle, which is huge. So I always start with lifestyle. So basically, I recommend you see someone who can actually ask you these questions and get to the root of your problem. Figure out what it is, if it’s even the andropause or if it’s something else, maybe they have an infection or a nutrient deficiency, and then get some advanced blood tests and get these tests done first. Don’t guess, measure, and then you can see what’s going on, and then get to the problem, and then fix it.
Best Holistic Life Magazine: Your practice supports women through hormonal changes, such as menopause. What misconceptions do women often have about hormone therapy, and how do you help them navigate these life stages with confidence?
Dr. Eric Fete: Well, similar to the last question, women are even more complex hormonally and metabolically. So everything I just mentioned about men, it’s the same with women; they need to meet with someone who asks these tough questions and gets a full, comprehensive lab panel to see exactly what’s going on.
In terms of misconception, this is huge. There are many, many of them. One is that hormones are very unsafe. They are. In 2002, the WHI study threw hormones under the bus for a while; it put the fear of God in physicians and patients everywhere- people stopped taking hormones for over 10 years. It’s called the lost decade.
I was a very error-prone and poor study, which we found out later, after it was reanalyzed, that there were a lot of deviations, a lot of errors, a lot of false data, frankly, and poor interpretation. It was a bad study, and it was erroneous.
The bottom line is that we learned that, and people are slowly discovering this, and there are hundreds of new studies to back this up and to prove this. We’re showing over and over again that hormones are incredibly safe and very beneficial for women. The bottom line is that women who optimize their hormones, quite frankly, live longer. They have up to a 20%, 30%, or even a 50% decreased risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, and breast cancer. Yes, it will reduce your risk of cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and uterine cancer. It will keep your bones strong, will reduce the risk of heart disease, which is the number one killer of men and women, and is often forgotten.
Women often forget that heart disease kills women, too. The number one killer of men and women. Osteoporosis, the risk and injuries and death that come from resulting hip fractures, bone fractures from falling, and secondary disability, etc., is massively huge, way more than breast cancer deaths.
Again, it can help with breast cancer. So it’s a huge misconception that it’s not safe, causes cancer, causes all these problems. It’s not, it actually prevents them.
The other big misconception is about, there’s two of them, estradiol and testosterone, which is way too much to discuss here, but oral estradiol is extremely safe for women, not Premarin not Prempro, which are synthetic, but oral, bioidentical estradiol is extremely safe and more effective than the patches and the creams. It has never been shown to cause blood clots, cancer, or heart problems. It actually reduces those risks.
The other one is testosterone. Women forget about it or are scared of it. They think they’re going to turn into men and grow hair and all this stuff, but if it’s done properly, it actually will benefit women; they need testosterone too. And it’s being used to help improve all of their symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. They can improve performance, strength, energy, and libido, reduce the risk of breast cancer, reduce the risk of osteoporosis, and promote healing. And if it’s done properly, women need testosterone, too. Often, one of the symptoms of perimenopause is the drops when women go through perimenopause. And when I discuss this with women, I explain it. And then when I put them on protocol, they see the results. They feel better. They look better. The labs are better. They get it. They see it. And they feel so much better.
And that’s what makes the job so worthwhile.
Best Holistic Life Magazine: The PrimeX VIP Cellular Health Assessment and Program offers an exclusive, comprehensive approach to optimizing health. What makes this program unique, and how does it empower clients to take control of their well-being?
Dr. Eric Fete: Yes. So my new assessment program is kind of what I was alluding to earlier. It’s a very detailed deep dive into all these things. And I spend hours with my patients, reviewing lab tests and doing a very comprehensive assessment. I look at hundreds of lab biomarkers, like a micronutrient test, to see what nutrients they’re actually getting into their body. A lot of people are eating things and taking supplements, but they’re not actually getting into the cells. They’re not working. And then we all know this is by doing a systemic analysis and by going through these tests and seeing what they need and finding other ways to get these nutrients into their body to optimize the performance.
My lab protocol is extremely comprehensive, and I look at not just basic labs, but inflammatory biomarkers, advanced lipids, above and beyond the ones you are getting at your family practice doctor’s office.
In addition to that, when they’re on the health assessment program, they have access to me 24/7 for questions and answers. There’s an online community because we have a channel, a social media channel, and we can all connect, share, and help each other as well. And then there are ongoing unlimited protocol modifications and unlimited access to me. It’s one-on-one with a board-certified physician that you can reach out to anytime to help them with nutrition, fitness, supplementation, lab reviews, hormone optimization, peptide therapy, anti-aging strategies, longevity strategies with nutrients, with peptides, with prescription medications, with lifestyle modification, and so much more.
On top of that, again, when they get on the annual program, they get access to my lifestyle course. I did an eight-week video training on everything related to sleep, stress, energy production, fitness, nutrition, and so much more, so they get access to this as well. I have multiple PDFs and e-books that they get as part of the program, which are all about different things that they can see and learn about in terms of lifestyle, such as a jumpstart guide to help them with nutrition, fitness, planning, nutrition guides, and much more.
So this VIP assessment program is more of a deep dive, extremely comprehensive and ongoing, and it’s personalized for them.
Best Holistic Life Magazine: Many people see aging as an inevitable decline, yet your work suggests otherwise. How do you redefine aging, and what steps can individuals take to age gracefully while maintaining vitality and performance?
Dr. Eric Fete: Yes, I agree. So basically, aging, chronological age, of course, is going to happen, but physical age can’t be slowed. I mean, we haven’t yet discovered the fountain of youth or can truly turn back the clock, literally, and make people younger in terms of their biochemistry and everything, unfortunately, but we can slow the process. We can make our tissues healthy and strong, and we can maintain vitality. So again, chronologically, we can age, but we can maintain our cellular performance and our physical health, and how we feel. We can improve our lab profile, improve our inflammatory markers, improve our hormones, and we can turn back the clock in terms of how our bodies work at a cellular level in terms of methylation and all these other biochemical pathways.
But basically, with aging, we can still maintain peak performance as long as we want to. Again, a lot of my patients and people are doing things in their 50s, 60s, 70s that heck, they couldn’t even do in their 30s and 40s. They’re lifting weights, running, they’re hiking, they’re being active, that’s the whole point, not just to live longer, but to live better, to improve health span, not just age span.
So people are living their best lives and being active, being competitive, having, walking, enjoying spending time with their family, their kids, their grandkids, being active, hiking, traveling, doing these things. That’s healthy aging, and the key is to do these things to optimize their lifestyle, to eat well, to optimize their hormones, the things that I talk about in my programs, and if they do that, if they work and do these things, it can happen. We can improve our performance. Yes, we may not be like we’re 18 again, but we can get pretty close and feel better and live a great life!
Best Holistic Life Magazine: Peak performance is a significant focus of your practice. How do you help high-performing individuals optimize their physical and mental capabilities, and why is this essential for success?
Dr. Eric Fete: Yes, peak performance is one of the things that I focus on, and again, it’s all about health and performance optimization. And what I really like to talk about is muscle medicine!
Muscle is the organ of longevity, and nobody’s really talking about this in the medical space. The muscle is very important for performance mentally and physically because the muscle is not just about looking good; it helps keep us healthy and strong, and it keeps our bones strong. Muscles secrete what are called myokines, or little cellular messengers that travel around the body and help the liver heal, help the brain heal, help the bones optimize every function that our body helps our gut to work better to help our digestion, our weight, to make us feel better, energized, vital.
It basically helps every other part of the body through these biochemical cascades. And of course, it improves insulin sensitivity, which is massively important today for metabolic health. Insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease are linked to insulin resistance. So by improving our insulin sensitivity, we can reduce the risk of these pathologies, keep ourselves strong and healthy, and prevent these diseases from happening. Prevention is key!!
Of course, we’ll improve our bone strength and prevent falls, keep us strong and able, so we’re not falling and breaking bones and avoiding being in the care center or the hospital, being decrepit and dying, which I saw all the time in the emergency department.
It’s improving our cognitive abilities because the brain, mental function, and physical function work hand in hand- by moving our bodies and keeping our bodies stronger, our brain is going to be stronger and more powerful. We’re not going to get dementia and get tired and fatigued and forgetful, and the brain is going to help our bodies get stronger, so they work hand in hand, they work together.
So by keeping people performing well by optimizing these nutrients, using some of these advanced and surgical and advanced products like plasmalogens, small molecules, peptides, hormones, can keep the brain healthy, strong and keep it functioning so we can be super sharp in learning and in spreading our wisdom, giving back to others as we get older chronologically and keep our bodies young and strong and vital.
Again, it’s about making the body and mind work hand in hand. Muscle medicine and cognitive health also go hand in hand. So by enhancing performance mentally and physically, at the same time, it’s a beautiful cycle where we can improve and stay strong and not just keep ourselves better, but be able to give back to those around us and help those around us to improve as well.
So with my high-performing individuals, I want to improve their physical performance and mental performance. The key thing is that they’re going to feel better, but my mantra is to Live To Give. I want people to feel good about themselves, help others to feel good about themselves, and give back to the world around them!
Best Holistic Life Magazine: As a certified expert in Age Management Medicine and a leader in your field, how do you see the future of precision cellular medicine evolving over the next decade?
Dr. Eric Fete: That’s a huge question. And I don’t know, I think what we’re learning in terms of genetics and cellular medicine and muscle medicine is exploding. Everything we’re learning is advancing very rapidly, and with AI and all these different things. It’s a little bit scary, but I think we’re learning biochemically what’s working, what’s not working, getting more and more studies, more and more knowledge of the cellular pathways, which is working, what’s not working, and we’re able to make much more finer modifications and tweaks on a daily basis.
With the therapies, we can look at the genes, can look at genetics, can look at the gut microbiome, and all these neurochemical pathways, and we can fix things and correct them at a microscopic cellular level, which is pretty interesting. I think it’s exciting to see what’s going to happen. I think the future is very bright. I think we’re going to improve. I think we’re going to be able to finally turn back the clock a little bit, but the biggest uphill battle is going to be the environment, right?
We’re facing toxins, glyphosate, EMF, and pollution, and all these things in the air and stuff being sprayed in the food and everywhere else, so it’s going to be an uphill battle. I think it’s very exciting and I think we can, if we all work together, I think we can make this happen.
Best Holistic Life Magazine: Many people feel overwhelmed by improving their health, or believe it’s too late to make changes. What would you say to someone who feels stuck and unsure of how to begin their wellness journey?
Dr. Eric Fete: Yeah, there’s a lot there, and I think the biggest step, just like a workout, is just to start with small steps and work with a physician or a clinician like me who can help them navigate that. What I love to do with my media and my content is just to dumb things down, make things as simple as possible, and it can be very overwhelming in social media, the Google- there is information overload.
I think everyone should work with someone like a coach ( a physician or clinician, not a social media “expert”) who can guide you through the steps, and just take it one step at a time.
Meet with someone like me or one of my colleagues, get some testing done, get some basic blood work, and just start. Just take that first step, start with one thing. Maybe you want to sleep better or start moving. Just start with one thing and then build that habit, and then go from there and add the next thing. You don’t have to do everything at once; you don’t have to do all these protocols and peptides and hormones and exercise and diet and supplements. Just start with one hormone, start with one fitness step, with one nutrient, start with one diet change, and just get started. Then work with the coach who can help them navigate it.
Best Holistic Life Magazine: As the Fitness Physician of the Year, you’ve achieved remarkable recognition. What legacy do you hope to leave in health optimization and age management?
Dr. Eric Fete: That’s a big question. I think my biggest thing is I just want us to move forward and improve as a people, as a society. I love looking back at the wisdom of the ancients. That’s why I love Stoic philosophy and reading about the Romans and the Greeks and all the great writers throughout ancient times and the wisdom of old; to read about the shamans and the people using nature, using our bodies, and using natural health. There’s a lot of wisdom out there that people have written about this. Avicenna, the Greeks, and they wrote about this. I think there’s so much to be learned about natural health and what our bodies can do, what we can do when we come together as a people, just by living as a community, like the Blue Zones. A lot of it isn’t just what they eat, but they have a sense of community, they have a sense of faith. They have very low stress, they interact, they walk and move all day, they eat well, they interact with each other, they help each other, they build community, they build gardens, they go to church. So I think if we can… blend all this ancient wisdom and slow down a little bit of society, and then we can blend it with all the new stuff and the technology, which is great, but use it the right way.
I think I’m concerned about the AI and all this technology that people get to depend on this and technology. Tech, like anything else, can be used for good or for bad, but I think we have to be very careful.
Technology is fantastic, everybody’s on the phone, everybody’s in front of a computer all day, people are losing the basic ability to communicate, to talk, and actually have a conversation with people. We need to get away from the EMF and the Wi-Fi and get outside, get sun, get fresh air. I think we need to get back to nature but to get back to what made us humans -getting outside spending time with people you know, having community and faith talking, singing and dancing and and telling stories and laughing and traveling and getting in the woods and hiking and exploring and connecting and giving back to other people and helping people out.
That’s what it’s all about!
My mantra is I Live To Give- to help people feel better and feel better about themselves. My mission is to help people feel the best physically, mentally, and emotionally, and turn back the clock and help them. Once they feel better, they’ll be able and more willing to help others feel better, too!
If they feel good about themselves, and they can help their family members, their kids, their grandkids, their workers, their spouses, make them feel better, then they can pass it forward!
We can keep passing it forward to other people, we can help everyone feel good and live to give, and then we make this world a better place!
We have to get back to our roots as a society and help people feel their best, look their best, and then give back. And then we can all share together, use it as needed, but to get away from the tech all the time. We need to get back to just being people and helping, loving, and growing, that’s what I hope to happen!
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