Men Across the Country Are Artificially Inflating Their Penises. They're Doing It for a Reason You'd Never Expect.

"I'd only ever experienced the unpleasant waiting rooms of doctors who take insurance, but this place was posh, softly lit, and full of tasteful furniture. I hardly had time to sit down before a kind nurse ushered me into an examination room and took vials of blood. On the wall behind the patient chair was an ad in the style of a doctor's office informational poster that explained how the clinic's compounded blend of medications would deliver two-hour erections."

"I'd come as a journalist. The clinic and its founder, Evan Bass-a former Bachelor in Paradise star who is not a doctor-had been fined by the state attorney general's office in 2019 for deceptive advertisements marketing erectile dysfunction treatments. Lately, I had read Reddit accounts and Google reviews of the clinic by men who had left feeling exploited, pushed to sign contracts they felt prioritized profits over patient health."

"Before I'd finished reading the poster, a doctor came in and shook my hand like he meant it. He was a short man in an immaculate white coat and studded red cowboy boots that nearly reached his knees. He looked me in the eye and asked me why I was there. I had come as a journalist. The clinic and its founder, Evan Bass-a former Bachelor in Paradise star who is not a doctor-had been fined by the state attorney general's office in 2019 for deceptive advertisements marketing erectile dysfunction treatments."

""I want to be more virile," I said. "Virility is what we're all about," the doctor said. "Or, as I usually put it, optimization. I want to help guys optimize. That's why I work hard to create a safe space where guys can talk about hard subjects honestly and openly-erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, penis size""

A Tennessee men’s clinic greets patients in a posh setting and quickly moves them from intake to bloodwork. The exam room includes promotional materials describing compounded medication intended to produce two-hour erections. A doctor meets the patient with a friendly, direct handshake and asks why the patient is there. The clinic is tied to Evan Bass, a reality TV figure, and has faced state action in 2019 for deceptive advertising about erectile dysfunction treatments. The patient arrives to evaluate sales tactics after reading accounts describing exploitation and pressure to sign contracts. The patient completes questionnaires about wanting stronger erections and a bigger penis, and states a desire to be more virile. The doctor frames the clinic’s mission as “optimization” and presents it as a safe space for discussing sexual performance issues.

Read at Slate Magazine