Dr. Dan Monlux’s résumé reads like fiction. Former United States Navy McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet pilot.  3,000+ flight hours.  Combat missions over Iraq. Board-certified physician in family and aerospace medicine. Founder of Wingman Med. 

Elite by every measurable standard. But approaching 50, Dan felt something slipping. Not a dramatic failure. Not collapse. Just a subtle decline. More fatigue. Less recovery. Diminished creativity. A creeping sense of “average for me.”

And here’s the key: it wasn’t about willpower.

In this episode of No Hype, Just Standards, Zach and Dr. Monlux unpack the difference between knowledge and execution. Why high performers compartmentalize themselves into slow decline. Why tracking sleep, bloodwork, and recovery changes behavior. And why hiring expertise in your health is no different than hiring a lawyer, accountant, or flight instructor.

The biggest takeaway? You’re never static. You’re either improving or deteriorating. Dan chose to intervene before heart disease, obesity, and burnout made the decision for him. Your career may be elite. Your discipline may be elite. But biology doesn’t care.

The good news? Most of this is reversible…if you act.

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