Most healthcare is not about health.

There, I said it.

Cue the tiny bureaucratic raccoon in a lab coat throwing ICD-10 codes into a flaming filing cabinet.

Most of the system is built around disease.

Find it.

Name it.

Bill for it.

Manage it.

Repeat until everyone -including the docs and staff, are buried under paperwork, insurance forms, and a waiting room TV playing daytime cooking shows at a volume normally reserved for artillery testing.

Health, actual health, often shows up as the weird cousin nobody invited to Thanksgiving.

But that is exactly why I said yes to speaking at the 4th Annual HOMeHOPe Conference in Chicago this October.

Why This One Got My Attention

HOMeHOPe stands for Health Optimization Medicine and Practice.

Translation: instead of starting with “what disease does this person have?” it starts with a much better question.

What does optimal health look like for this person right now?

No Instagram wellness broken GooRoos who are only right twice a blue moon.

Definitely not a supplement pinata getting whacked by a credit card.

Real metrics.

Clinical thinking.

Measurable targets.

Better questions.

A more useful model for helping humans become harder to kill and better at living.

That is much more interesting to me than another conference where everyone sits in a ballroom, nods politely, drinks conference coffee that tastes like burnt regret, and pretends the free tote bag was worth the flight.

The Room Matters

This event is intentionally capped at 150 people.

That part matters.

A 5,000-person conference can be impressive, but it also turns into human bumper cars with lanyards.

Small rooms create better conversations.

You can actually talk to people.

Speakers are not hidden behind velvet ropes like rare zoo animals.

Ideas have room to collide, mutate, and become useful.

That is my kind of room.

The Details

The 4th Annual HOMeHOPe Conference is October 2–3, 2026 at The Drake Hotel in Chicago, right on the Magnificent Mile by Lake Michigan.

There is also an optional VIP evening on October 1 if you want to come in early and make the most of it.

Clinicians can get 5–10 CME credits.

Speakers include Dominic D’Agostino, Ph.D., JJ Virgin, Kiran Krishnan, Dr. Ted Achacoso, Dr. Scott Sherr, Lucia Aronica, Ph.D., Dr. Elizabeth Yurth, and more.

A pretty darn serious lineup. I call dibs sitting next to Dom again so I can eat all his bread! Haha - that happened last time we shared a meal.

Why You Should Care

Maybe you are a clinician.

Or you coach people.

Possibly you are the health-curious mutant in your family who reads lab panels for fun and thinks “normal range” is often a beige prison with fluorescent lighting.

Either way, this is a room built for people who are done pretending that “not currently on fire” is the same thing as thriving.

That is the bar I want to see raised.

Not sick is not the finish line.

It is the parking lot outside the stadium.

The Deadline

I have a speaker code that gets you 20% off.

Use code NELSON20 at checkout.

That discount expires July 1, 2026.

After that, it is gone, and I cannot resurrect it from the promo-code cemetery with goat bones and a kettlebell.

Go here:

> > 2026 HOMeHOPe Conference < <

Use code NELSON20.

Come hang out in Chicago.

I would love to see you there.

Much love,

Dr. Mike

P.S. The room is capped at 150 people, and this event fills. If you know you want to go, do not wait until the tiny procrastination weasel in your skull starts negotiating with the calendar.

_____________________

Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

..