I started competing in tennis at the age of 9.
The sport gave me everything: discipline, structure, obsession.
But when I couldn't sustain my tennis career financially, I walked into the gym looking for something to keep competing against.
That's when I made a decision that cost me years of my life: I started using anabolic steroids.
My hormonal system crashed.
I woke up unmotivated, trained, and feeling nothing.
Brain fog that made days feel pointless.
The kind of fatigue that doesn't improve with sleep, soft where I should have been strong, slow where I had always been sharp.
I'm from Romania. The endocrinologists at the time weren't equipped to help, and asking for help got you mocked.
So I didn't bother. I figured it out by myself!
Then a genetic hit I didn't see coming.
A left testicular varicocele, inherited from my grandfather. Surgery removed it and forced me to restart the rebuild from scratch.
Boxing. Hard training. Dialed nutrition. Years of methodical supplementation. I rebuilt my natural hormonal baseline from 200ng/dl testosterone to 900ng/dl.
When I got to the other side, I looked at what actually made the difference. Then I looked at what the supplement industry was selling.
It was insulting!
“Testosterone boosters” are built only on tongkat ali and tribulus. Three trending actives. Formulas designed to look complete while covering nothing.
So in March 2026, I launched Ironclad Nutrition.
Not to build a dietary supplement company.
To build the brand, every man in the same place deserves access to it.
To build something special for men who demand performance.