Cardinal Wellness & Aesthetics Innovation Meets Compassion
by Kristi Antley
Each stage of human development, maturation, and growth warrants our attention and care, especially in later life. Although we may delay the aging process, there are subtle and obvious changes in dynamic biological, physiological, environmental, psychological, behavioral, and social processes on many levels. Most people do not realize that advancing age is one of the major risk factors for many chronic diseases, injuries, and ailments. While graying hair and receding hairlines are often benign signs of wisdom and grace, other hidden age-related changes can quickly result in unpleasant or dangerous situations. Ignoring these natural aging signs can result in a decline in daily normal activity and an increase in susceptibility and frequency of isolation, disease, frailty, or disability.
Henry Martin, Jr., M.D. believes that many of these problems begin with the cellular mechanisms of aging (mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, chronic inflammation, and the inability to repair DNA, etc.). He and his compassionate, highly skilled staff at Cardinal Wellness & Aesthetics on Sunset Boulevard in Lexington strive to provide patients with proven solutions to achieve optimal health, strength, appearance, and confidence.
Growing up in the Forest Acres region of Columbia near Trenholm Rd, Dr. Martin attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School. “My grandmother and mother were extremely spiritual and devout Catholics, which molded my worldview, character, and morals.” He was instructed by Ursuline nuns and priests and was a very active and eager student. “I was significantly and positively impacted by my 6th grade teacher, Sister Mary Anthony,” Dr. Martin reminisces. “In fact, she had us write an autobiography as if we were 20 years old. When I read that autobiography 20 years later, it actually predicted almost everything that had happened in my life up until that point.”
Playing sports was always a part of life for young Dr. Martin, being tremendously influenced by his parents. “My mother, who is extremely athletic, gave me every opportunity in every sport, including tennis, and my father guided me in basketball and baseball.” Dr. Martin spent endless hours playing Little League baseball within the community, which paid off. His PONY League team won the Southeastern tournament and participated in the PONY League World Series in Washington, Pennsylvania.
When Cardinal Newman High School opened on Forest Drive in 1960, Dr. Martin was enrolled and played basketball, baseball, and football. “I had teammates in high school, many of which I am still in contact with today,” he remarks. He was inducted into the first Cardinal Newman Athletic Hall of Fame. After securing a basketball scholarship from the University of South Carolina to play under coach Frank Maguire, Dr. Martin had the opportunity to compete with some very talented basketball players. “I certainly learned a lot about humility during that time,” he explains. “I was able to play for USC against Kentucky in the Kentucky Invitational Tournament in Lexington, Kentucky. In my senior year we were 1 of 8 teams in the National Invitational Tournament in Madison Square Garden, so it was an awesome experience playing in the Garden in New York City. My initial plans were to be a basketball coach.” He was greatly influenced by Dr. Jack Arrants, a volunteer football coach, to enroll in medical school. Dr. Martin was able to squeeze in enough time to help him with a youth football team while he attended school. “Dr. Arrants convinced me that I could do both,” Dr. Martin explains. “Up to this point, all my efforts were to improve myself, but it was apparent to me that I would like to go into a profession in which I was serving others, like family medicine.”
Dr. Martin relocated his family to Lexington in 1976 where he established a family medical practice that lasted 42 years. “I cherish the relationships with my patients during those times and I really missed them when I retired from family medicine,” he explains. He practiced inpatient and outpatient medicine at Lexington Medical Center and coached boys and girls AAU basketball. While he practiced at Lexington Family Practice he also volunteered as a team physician for several different high schools, primarily Lexington High School, River Bluff, and Dutch Fork. He graciously donated his time and efforts to educational lectures, workshops, and guest appearances at many events and conferences.
“The more I understood about preventive health through optimizing nutrition, exercise, and sleep, as well as hormones and peptides, the more I wanted to share it with others,” says Dr. Martin. “My life experience has given me an understanding of God’s goodness and the fundamentals of human physiology and anatomy, enlightening the things He has given us.” As time passed, Dr. Martin realized that many protocols and initiatives in the medical field did not unveil or treat the root cause of diseases. He started exploring different courses and studies that were not readily accepted by mainstream medicine, becoming certified in age management medicine and bioidentical hormone therapy, initially to protect his wife and himself as they aged. “We only have one body to take care of and we need to do it to the best of our ability to continue to honor and serve Him. This is why I started Cardinal Age Management Medicine Institute, now Cardinal Wellness and Aesthetics. I sincerely enjoy spending an hour and a half with each new patient to help transform their health and their family’s overall health.”
Today Dr. Martin’s motivation comes from a never-ending hunger for more knowledge and training regarding cellular medicine, researching the pathways crucial to superior vitality, strength, immunity, and health, and last but not least, spending quality time with his family. “I have been blessed by the love of a large extended family; my grandmother, the matriarch of our family, started Villa Tronco, the oldest Italian restaurant in the state, in the 1940s,” he says warmly. “My mother has had a huge impact on my life and just turned one hundred years old on New Year’s Eve.” Dr. Martin’s father prepared him with skills on and off the court, demonstrating determination and instilling within him a strong work ethic. “My father was still very active even in his nineties, passing away suddenly at the age of 95. He is an example of a great healthspan as well as a long lifespan, which I desire for everyone. I’ve been married to my best friend, Katie, for 51 years, and she has been a wonderful mother, wife, and grandmother. Just as we watched our three children participate in multiple sports, we are now enjoying watching our grandchildren compete.”
Cardinal Wellness & Aesthetics
4721 D Sunset Blvd Lexington, SC 29072
803-520-0506
