There is no shortage when it comes to healthcare professionals in Tampa, but every now and again, a person who does not just practice medicine, but also reshapes what is possible emerges. Dr. Thomas “Tommy” Rhee is one of those rare figures.
Dr. Rhee has practiced chiropractic care since 2006 and has done so with a precision-driven philosophy that has been shaped by elite athletics, military discipline, and a deep-rooted sense of responsibility that runs in his family.
Today, Dr. Rhee is the founder of RheeGen®, a pioneering topical, cell-free regenerative therapy company, with his work spanning across both sports medicine and biotech innovation.
But his foundation was built long before lab breakthroughs and national headlines.
“I grew up around medicine,” Dr. Rhee says. “Coming from a long line of physicians, there was always this understanding that being a doctor wasn’t just a career—it was a responsibility.”
That lineage instilled something deeper than ambition. It created a standard. Medicine, in his household, was about service, accountability, and earning trust every single day, which became the very mindset that would later define his own philosophy of care.
After graduating from Cleveland Chiropractic, Dr. Rhee opened his first practice in Los Angeles. It was there, working with UCLA Athletics from 2005 to 2008, including Track & Field, Women’s Soccer, and Football, that his approach to healing sharpened.
“When you’re working with top-tier athletes, there’s no room for guesswork,” he explains. “Recovery has to be effective, efficient, and safe—because careers depend on it.”
Dr. Rhee believes that precision is non-negotiable and that every decision matters, and every detail should be counted. This discipline was reinforced long before his time at UCLA. As a U.S. Navy aircrew aviator, flying S- Vikings aboard the USS Constellation and USS Independence, Dr. Rhee learned the kind of focus that leaves no space for error.
“In the military, attention to detail isn’t optional,” he says. “You learn how to make decisions under pressure, how to rely on training, and how to stay calm when the stakes are high. That absolutely carried over into my medical practice.”
It also shaped how he leads today—as a clinician, innovator, author, and CEO.
Despite building great success in Los Angeles, Tampa always felt like home. This is why Dr. Rhee decided to make the decision to return in 2008, not simply to practice, but to build something lasting.
“I’d worked all over the country with elite athletes,” he says. “But I wanted to bring that same level of care back to the community that raised me.”
What he brought with him was what patients would later describe as a “West Coast approach.” In practical terms, that meant blending hands-on chiropractic precision with advanced recovery technologies, aggressive injury management, and whole-body performance strategies that weren’t yet common in Florida at the time.
“At first, it felt different for people,” he says, “But once they experienced the results, it clicked.”
Dr. Rhee became the first practitioner in Tampa to introduce Active Release Techniques (ART), Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), Whole-Body Cryotherapy, Shockwave Therapy, and Class IV Laser.
The additions weren’t about novelty.
“I don’t bring something in because it sounds exciting,” he says. “I bring it in because it works—and because I’d use it on myself or my family.”
Whether treating an NFL player, an Olympian like Walter Dix, or a weekend runner trying to avoid surgery, Dr. Rhee’s core principles remain the same: precision, safety, innovation grounded in evidence, and respect for the patient’s life outside the treatment room.
“Everyone deserves elite care,” he says. “Not just professional athletes.”
That belief would ultimately lead to the most innovative chapter of his career.
While injection-based stem cell therapies were gaining popularity, Dr. Rhee was concerned about the risks, costs, and downtime associated with invasive procedures. Then came a defining moment: an NFL quarterback facing grade III Achilles tendonitis severe enough to threaten his career.
“He needed regenerative support,” Dr. Rhee recalls. “But he couldn’t afford to miss the season. That forced me to think differently.”
After three years of research and clinical refinement, that thinking became RheeGen®—the world’s first patent-pending topical, cell-free regenerative cream using extracellular vesicle signaling instead of live cells.
“The quarterback finished the season without pain and didn’t miss a single game,” he says. “More importantly, the injury fully healed. That’s when I knew we were onto something.”
Founded in Tampa in January heeGen® reflects Dr. Rhee’s larger philosophy: regenerative healing should be accessible, affordable, and effective—without needles, tumor risk, or extended recovery.
Patients often describe Dr. Rhee as “one-of-a-kind,” a doctor equally comfortable in an NFL locker room or explaining science to retirees. When asked how he defines his own approach, he pauses.
“I combine discipline with curiosity,” he says. “I respect the fundamentals, but I’m always looking for better solutions. Healing shouldn’t be limited by what’s always been done.”
Looking back, he says there were moments early in his career that confirmed he was on the right path—athletes returning to competition stronger than before, chronic pain patients reclaiming active lives, and seeing innovation translate into measurable outcomes.
But accolades—including serving as Team Chiropractor for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2015 to 2018 and recent appearances on national platforms like Dave Asprey’s Human Upgrade podcast—haven’t altered his core values.
“At the end of the day, I’m still the kid from Tampa who wanted to help people,” he says. “The technology has changed. The scale has changed. But the purpose hasn’t.”
When asked what matters most to him today as a physician, his answer is immediate:
“Medicine should move forward,” he says. “But it should move forward responsibly. If we can combine innovation with trust and make elite-level recovery available to everyday people, that’s meaningful progress.”
