Kristina Denton, an out-of-work actress who took a job treating men for erectile dysfunction in Los Angeles, has detailed her experiences treating more than 400 clients over a single year. She worked as a certified shockwave therapy technician inside a California men's wellness clinic, treating patients between 18 and 80 years old.
Denton was originally hired as an office manager responsible for answering telephones, folding towels, and maintaining the lobby plant. The clinic owner decided to pivot the business into erectile dysfunction therapy after listening to podcast host Joe Rogan discuss acoustic shockwave therapy as a non-invasive treatment that increases blood flow.
Two weeks after the owner watched the podcast segment, the clinic sent Denton to a one-day training seminar in Tucson, Arizona. That single day comprised her entire official training before she began applying medical lube and operating an acoustic treatment wand that she described as looking like a space gun.
In Los Angeles, where actors frequently work side hustles such as waiting tables, walking dogs, or handing out health food samples in grocery stores, Denton found herself handling hundreds of male patients to pay her rent. Patients paid thousands of dollars per course of treatment, lying on paper-covered examination tables while asking her how she ended up in the role.
High-Profile Clients and Clinic Operations
At the peak of her employment, Denton worked more than 50 hours a week as men flocked to the facility. Clients included professional athletes, Big Tech executives, retired ballers, billboard celebrities, and regular husbands who told their wives they were going to the gym. Some patients split their payments across three credit cards to afford the procedures.
Denton noted that the clinic environment served as a major equalizer among men of vastly different social standings. Wealth, executive titles, and public swagger evaporated once patients removed their trousers and lay under the clinic lights. Many fidgeted, laughed inappropriately, or stared at the ceiling to cope with feelings of powerlessness.
To avoid focusing on the fact that she was touching strangers to make rent, Denton mentally rehearsed audition sides during sessions while acoustic waves were delivered to increase circulation.
First Patient and Emotional Vulnerability
Denton recalled that her very first client was a mildly famous man named Tom, whom she accidentally called Tim due to her own performance anxiety. Tom arrived wearing a cashmere sweater and dress socks, but broke down crying before Denton even touched him.
Tom explained that he had not permitted a woman to see him unclothed since his wife of 45 years died from cancer. Although he had recently met someone new whom he liked, his body shut down whenever physical intimacy approached.
Tom confessed to Denton, "I feel like I'm cheating on her," and added, "I should be dead, not her." He made Denton promise that the shockwave treatment would work and help him regain his life.
Realizing her single day of training in Tucson had not prepared her for patient grief, Denton decided her best option was to listen. She quickly realized that the clinic was not merely treating physical dysfunction, but was providing a rare space where men felt allowed to express fear, shame, and emotional pain.
Unusual Requests and Confidential Appointments
Denton also managed confidential, after-hours appointments for high-profile individuals. One major celebrity visited the clinic after hours under covert conditions, with Denton dimming the lights, scrubbing the room, and using a lemongrass diffuser.
The celebrity did not suffer from erectile dysfunction, but had read that shockwave therapy might expand his physical size. Denton noted that despite his public image and towering presence on Sunset Boulevard billboards, he felt an urge to upgrade an already flawless appearance.
Other patients made unusual requests regarding their bodies. A professional model whose physique was his livelihood asked if shockwave therapy could reshape his anatomy because it was wider at the base than the top, speaking about his body as though he were remodeling a kitchen.
A prominent tech executive with a popped collar and strong cologne admitted during his third session that his wife had fallen in love with another man. He had agreed to an open marriage because she requested it, telling Denton, "She always comes home," as he clung to the relationship.
A Teamster who drove transportation vehicles on film sets sought treatment due to distress over a role-playing scenario. His girlfriend wanted him to portray a sea urchin alongside her mermaid persona, leading him to tell Denton, "I don't know how to act like a sea urchin, man. She's going to break up with me." Denton drew on her acting background to workshop the theatrical role with him during his appointment.
Acting Background and Personal Reflection
Denton explained that her 20 years of acting experience proved far more valuable than her brief technical training. Theater craft taught her how to inhabit another person's truth without judgment or condemnation, creating a safe space where patients could drop their defensive performances.
While listening to strangers confess their deepest insecurities, Denton was coping with a personal tragedy. Her father died just one week after she completed her training course in Tucson, Arizona.
His ashes remained in a cardboard box inside her mother's kitchen, sitting beside the salt and pepper shakers. Denton and her father had shared a complex relationship, as he could be charming yet absent, and verbally harsh despite being well regarded at his country club.
After his death, Denton's sister revealed a detail from years earlier when she accompanied their father to a prostate cancer consultation. The physician outlined treatment options before casually noting that the procedure would cause permanent impotence, causing their father to look devastated.
Her sister recalled watching something leave their father's face in that moment, believing he emotionally died that day. The story helped Denton understand her father's underlying fear and vulnerability, allowing her to forgive him as she treated men facing similar anxieties.
Denton documented her experiences at the Los Angeles clinic and her personal journey in a book titled You Don't Know Dick: How I Healed my Daddy Issues Fixing Broken Dicks.
