Herworld: Winning a beauty pageant, that too Mrs. Universe, is not an easy job. How was your journey of being crowned as the Mrs. Universe in 2017? Were you always into beauty and Fashion?
Tram Luu: It was fun and exciting, though a lot of preparation, focus, and work went into it. I went with no expectations except to be myself and not try and be what others wanted me to be.
As a kid, I was always captivated by fashion and the arts. Early in my career, I worked hard to build my entrepreneurial pursuits, and had little time to chase my passion. When that time came, I developed a beauty spa, explored fashion, modeling, and ultimately competed in pageants.
Herworld: If you could change one thing about beauty pageants around the world, what would that be?
Tram Luu: While pageants expose external beauty and achievements, I feel there should also be an emphasis on a contestant’s spiritual makeup; what is important to them, what is their message to others. How can they help others become more enlightened?
Herworld: Would you like to walk us through the initiation process of OB Men and What let to its foundation?
Tram Luu: I was introduced to my boyfriend, a physician, many years ago when I first opened a medical spa in Houston Texas. He and I started the business with the idea of making women look beautiful, but also feel beautiful about themselves. We offered hormone optimization as well as regenerative procedures to enhance a woman’s sexual desire and function. Many of our female clients underwent such a change that they would bring their male counterparts for similar treatments. n the course of a week, her spa would see several male clients for procedures ranging from Botox for wrinkle reduction, to Vampire facelift (a regenerative procedure using ones own natural cells called platelets to re-grow collagen and naturally lift structures). With more male clients making the effort to look good, it was a natural evolution of the clinic to include treatments geared toward making men feel more viral and performing with their partner as well. With that, the concept of “OB Men” was born. A clinic dedicated to men’s unique issues.
Herworld: We heard that you studied the decreasing levels of testosterone in men. What do you think is the reason behind it. How does it affect men
Tram Luu: Through this process, my boyfriend and I discovered that every decade we are seeing men’s testosterone levels decrease from previous known levels.” While no own knows for sure why this is, one speculation is that increased cell phone usage, and the radiation these devices emit may be damaging testicular tissue where the male hormone is produced. Testosterone gives men their sex drive. Along with stronger libido comes firmer erections. When a man’s testosterone level is low, he gains weight, has decreased energy, loses muscle mass, and has a loss of libido. Without a doubt, it can affect relationships.
Herworld: What does OB Men has in store that could benefit men and help them to tackle this problem?
Tram Luu: Until recent, the only solution to correct low testosterone (Low-T) was shots. The problem is that injectable testosterone is derived from horses, and is structurally different than the human version. Some studies suggest that horse-derived testosterone may be more likely to be converted to estrogen (the predominant female sex hormone), which can lead to men developing enlarged breasts called “gynecomastia.” Some men will feel the need to undergo breast reduction surgery to correct this. The shots are generally given deep in the muscle and last about a week. The benefits of the shot peaks at about three days, then once again testosterone declines to suboptimal levels. There are topical testosterone treatments, but they are messy, expensive, and can contaminate your female partner.
In the US, we have available a treatment called bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy. Pellets about the size of a rice grain placed under the skin provide plant-based testosterone that is identical to what we make. The beauty of this delivery system is the testosterone is released daily when we are more active. This mimics our body’s natural release pattern. It is a quick pin-office procedure and can last up to 5 months at a time.
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Talents: Tram Luu.
Photographer: Filbert Kung.
Stylist: Wilford Lenov.
Makeup and Hair: Vincent Tran.
Editor by Vincent Tran.
Productions: Cory Couture Productions
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