“[FST] gave me a little bit of fuel to be able to make changes.”

— Chris Tong

Chris describes his experience with Follistatin as a turning point — both physically and personally. Before treatment, even a single Jiu Jitsu class left him feeling wrecked for days. Afterward, he found himself able to work a full day, lift weights, train Jiu Jitsu for hours, and wake up the next morning feeling nearly fresh. What surprised him most wasn’t just the performance gains, but the consistency: fewer injuries, faster recovery, and the sense that he could keep going day after day. That momentum helped him reach a lifelong goal of joining the 1,000-pound powerlifting club— ultimately totaling 1,050 pounds at his first meet — while staying healthy enough to train regularly rather than sidelined by soreness or setbacks

Beyond fitness, Chris situates this chapter within a much bigger life shift. He received Follistatin during early recovery from addiction, a period marked by rebuilding habits, routines, and identity from the ground up. He’s clear that the therapy didn’t “fix everything,” but he credits it with giving him extra fuel — clarity, energy, and resilience — to break old inertia and establish a more sustainable, healthy lifestyle. For Chris, access to gene therapy represents something larger than optimization: a way to regain agency when life, health, or circumstance hasn’t dealt a fair hand. That sense of regained control is why he feels deeply excited about Minicircle’s work and its potential to help people move toward the futures they want to build for themselves.