- T Party claims to help men boost their testosterone levels "naturally and measurably."
- The group was launched by Jeff Tang, who shutdown his startup Athens Research earlier this year.
Testosterone replacement therapy has become big business, offering treatments such injections, patches, and gels.
But lately, a group of biohackers worried about their "low-T" levels has been testing out a different approach through a startup called T Party.
The support group for men was launched by 26-year-old startup founder Jeff Tang after he shut down his open-source note-taking startup, Athens Research, earlier this year, The Information reported.
In a post on T Party's website from June 28, where Tang announced its launch, he billed it as a "men's health company" that focuses "on solving the problem of declining T levels. Naturally and measurably."
Common symptoms of low testosterone include loss of energy, muscle, libido, and research shows that low levels can also contribute to chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
Tang noted in the post that "I am not a doctor or researcher. I am just a guy who likes experimenting with his health and productivity (and unfortunately for you overshares it!)," claiming that he'd raised his own t-levels by improving his health, habits, and environment. He later told Insider in a message on X that his qualifications include "personal experience boosting my T from 790 to 1090 and peer-reviewed research."
—chef jeff (@tangjeff0) April 20, 2023
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Since launching, Tang has hosted a series of "testosterone blood-testing parties, or "T Parties," as he refers to them on the company's website, which have attracted scores of men concerned about their t-levels.
A party in San Francisco last month was sold out, according to the invite. It noted that guests could choose from a selection of blood tests, offered by the health diagnostics company Instalab, ranging from simple testosterone level tests to advanced tests for 63 biomarkers.
In May, Tang held a "T Party" in Colombia where he tested 24 men, according to a post on X. They discussed approaches to "optimizing T naturally, endocrine disrupters, and supplements" over a spread of "home-made kefir, beef patties (heart, spleen, kidney) and pork loin (blood, liver), and delicious Colombian coffee," according to the post.
—chef jeff (@tangjeff0) May 27, 2023
Tang told Insider by X that tickets for T Party events range from $100 to $400, which cover the cost of the blood tests so the "events break even," adding that the events he held abroad were cheaper.
Longevity specialists say that while testosterone is deeply integrated into various aspects of men's health, it's just one piece of a more complex physiological puzzle.
Dr Anant Vinjamoori, chief medical officer of longevity-focused healthcare company, Modern Age, told Insider by email that while T Party's focus on lifestyle approaches alone was "commendable," it might also underserve people when it comes to optimizing testosterone.
He added that T Party's focus on frequent testing may offer "granular insights" but could "introduce noise in the absence of a broader context and could run the risk of suboptimal treatment."
Beyond that, Vinjamoori noted that "a single-minded focus on testosterone might not offer the well-rounded approach needed for optimal health and longevity."
Tang told Insider on X that he's not sure yet about his plans for the company, but T Party's website notes that "we have interest in coaching programs, software solutions, supplements, meal kits, diagnostics tests, and more."
He added that he's also "building a meal prep service for founders interested in performance and longevity."
Tang is also "head chef" at Blueprint Service, a Bay-Area based meal prep service that's preparing food from Bryan Johnson's anti-aging program Blueprint, according to his LinkedIn profile.