Chicago Male Clinic Offers a Safe, Comfortable Space for Men’s Well-Being

For years, Jerry Garcia, a physician’s assistant and medical director of Chicago Male Clinic, and Raymond Wohl, a 40-year educator in the Chicago area, noticed a dearth of options for men’s health, in particular men’s sexual health. In 2023, they chose to do something about it and opened Chicago Male Clinic, a holistic health and wellness center for men. The all-male clinic is dedicated to providing a safe space for men to feel comfortable and have open, honest, private conversations about their sexual health and wellness.

As they opened the clinic, they brought on a team including a doctor of naturopathic medicine, Rishard Lekkas, and an all-male staff of trained medical assistants and licensed therapists. “We strive to create a safe, welcoming space,” Garcia emphasizes.

Garcia graduated with his M.D. in Mexico in 1996 from Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, in Michoacán. He moved to Chicago in 1999. For 20 years, he worked in a variety of medical settings from John Stroger Hospital to Weiss Memorial in plastic surgery and urology, and spent more than two years traveling the country as a medical provider, where he specialized in successfully treating erectile dysfunction (ED). He graduated with a physician assistant degree in 2013.

Lekkas graduated from the National University of Health Sciences’ naturopathic medicine program. He had always been interested in men’s health and saw a lack of options for this niche in the naturopathic realm.

Garcia emphasizes that while they specialize in acoustic wave therapy to treat ED with a natural approach, they also treat related systems of the body through diet, nutrition, exercise, rest, strength training and relaxation.

“Every patient that comes to Chicago Male Clinic gets a complimentary history and head-to-toe physical consultation centered around their sexual health,” Garcia notes. While the majority of their male patients come in independently, they also see couples.

Because 90 percent of ED is caused by lack of blood flow and poor circulation, Garcia explains that acoustic wave therapy uses sound waves and low-intensity pressure waves that break down the plaque blocking the arteries that supply blood to the genitals.

“This advanced technology is a successful, conservative approach that is both noninvasive and not surgical. The technology also stimulates the arteries that produce new vessels,” Garcia says.

Patients typically receive a series of 12 acoustic wave sessions over three months. “During that time, the plaque decreases, blood flow improves and function is restored,” Garcia says. “The plaque causes problems with circulation and makes the penis smaller and not function properly, even with ED medications. We treat the root of the problem, clear and clean the arteries, which also increases size, sensitivity and performance.”

During each visit to the clinic, patients are assigned a coach and go to the exercise and education room where they learn Kegel exercises, also called pelvic floor exercises, along with stretches that promote better circulation, range of motion and other health benefits.

“Men are transformed by stretch exercises,” Garcia explains. “Those muscles are important for men’s performance.” He notes that strengthening pelvic muscles also helps control urinary leakage and can promote prostate health.

Garcia and Lekkas will also analyze patient lab reports to review testosterone levels and make recommendations for patients. Patients receive a complimentary first consultation with Lekkas to assist with lifestyle modifications and review the variety of green supplements that the clinic offers.

All patients receive a therapeutic massage to promote relaxation, relieve stress and improve circulation. Various massage techniques are employed from deep tissue to sports to Swedish massage. “Nearly 30 percent of clients come for massage and stretch therapy outside of the ED treatments,” Wohl reports.

“We approach emotional well-being, which is often affected by ED,” Garcia says. “ED affects relationships and leads to depression. Our team builds trusting doctor-patient relationships so men don’t have to suffer in silence.”

Wohl adds that Chicago Male Clinic has grown since opening this past September. The clinic hosts monthly open houses with clinic tours and demonstrations including Ask the Doc, and this month the clinic is launching a weekly men’s yoga class.

“Chicago Male Clinic transforms men’s lives through a team approach. Everyone cross-trains, and we’re all learning from each other and from our patients,” Wohl relates.