January 28, 2024 • 53 mins
Brian Jones shares an incredible story of a physical therapist who advocates using breakthrough regenerative therapies to bring patients back from their injuries, as an alternative to first turning to surgery and longer downtime. Many people travel to different countries to access these procedures, but he is in the forefront of making the treatments available in the US. Our conversation with Brian opened our eyes to a professional that donates his time and skills, constantly upgrades his knowledge and really cares for his patients. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio he presently lives in Honolulu, Hawaii. He owns his own outpatient orthopedic clinic with a partner that specializes in rehabilitation post stem cell therapy and platelet rich plasma injection. Brian is focused on combining regenerative and rehabilitative medicine in an attempt to improve rehabilitative techniques from around the globe, with the help of Dr. Dwight Lin! Find Brian On TikTok
Brian is a personal trainer, certified strength and conditioning coach, health fitness specialist, athletic trainer, nutritionist, physical therapist, and clinical specialist. He has worked in wound care, sports/athletics, geriatrics, pediatrics, neurology, skilled nursing, acute care, inpatient neurology, outpatient orthopedics, with the military and for professional sports organizations (World Surf League and Major League Baseball). He is most confident with orthopedic injuries as he has undergone several serious surgeries personally. He is currently working with Access Surf which is an organization that helps handicapped individuals get in the ocean through adaptive sports equipment. He also volunteers for Life Waters , an organization that helps wounded veterans SCUBA dive.
You can find Brian hiking, SCUBA diving, surfing, or in the gym on weekends!
Brian D. Jo
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:11):
This is Angela Grayson fromthe Loving Life Fitness Podcast.
To help others in their fitnessjourney.
It's all possible!It’s time to wake up.
(00:35):
Here we go. Hi, everyone.
This is Angela Graysonfrom the Loving Life
Fitness Podcast, where we talkto professionals
and everyday peopleabout their life and health
and fitness to be an inspirationto live your best life.
And today we have with uson the show, Brian Jones,
(00:57):
who is from Hawaii and aphysical therapist.
I'm so excitedabout talking to him today.
Hi, Brian.
How are you?
Good, Althoughgood morning, Angela.
Thanks for having meon the show today.
Yeah, I wish I wasin Hawaii recording.
That would be so much fun.
Yeah, it's about 75 and sunny.
So that's our winter here. Nice.
(01:18):
Actually, our temperature todayis probably similar to yours.
75 and sunny right now.
Yeah.
It's funny to see peoplewalking around with jackets on.
I want that to be below 80 here.
People get backtheir runner clothes.
Well, you know, we haveto use those winter clothes
sometimes, so.
Yeah, yeah.
Get them out of the closet,freshen them up a little bit.
(01:38):
Right, right, right.
So, Brian.
Yeah.
I'd like to talk to youabout what you do to try to help
inspire others.
What got you intothe physical therapy field?
That's a great question.
So I've been an athletemy entire life and playing
all different sports.
You get injuries, anklesprains, strains, what have you.
(02:02):
And I was always curiousfrom an early age how the body
recovers, essentially howyou rehabilitate to get back
in the game and later in lifethat had translated to a serious
car accident.
I got rear ended and I neededseveral surgeries on my neck,
back shoulder.
And the only thingthat saved me, other than the
(02:23):
ortho surgeons was thephysical therapists and creating
a strong bond with my PTSDsolidified my game plan in life.
I was doing it every dayand it had turned
into a lifestyle.
And then that's when I realizedI'm going to do this
for a career.
Awesome.
How old were you when you hadthat accident?
Uh, 18.
(02:43):
So I just had a stoplightand got rear ended.
So pretty, pretty fast.
Drunk driver.
Thankfully, I'm still here,but they did need to put some
screws in my spineand my neck and
so they call that a fusioncervical and lumbar fusion.
And then I had some seriouswith my shoulder bone's hip.
Mm. Okay.
Yeah.
(03:04):
So that turningpoint in your life
kicked you off toa great career.
To where?
To help others?
Yeah. Yeah, I was.
I was headed to the military,and it's essentially
a divine interventionbecause the guy
I signed up with,unfortunately, is
no longer here.
But I often think about if Ihe got killed over and overseas
(03:26):
and I think about thatall the time.
If that accident ever happened,would I be here?
So I feel grateful,even though through
trauma and tragedy,you got to look at the silver
lining, right?
Absolutely.
No doubt about that.
Can you tell usabout three people in your life,
inspirations, mentorsthat help inspire you to be
(03:47):
what you are today?
Yeah. Yeah.
The first one that comes to mindis a professor
I added when I was ingraduate school in Florida,
and that man has more passionand knowledge
about helping others.
That is contagious.
So not just as a professor,but in the community
you would volunteer,get involved.
(04:08):
And from thatone experience alone,
I could see thatthe more you give,
the more you get.
And that has translatedinto my current situation.
Sure, it's nice to go to workand help patients, but
what you really feel good aboutis getting out there
in the community and helpingso his name's Eric.
Shamus, the doctor.
Eric Shamus.
And he has wrote several booksabout physical therapy
(04:30):
and it led me to realizethe importance of volunteer work
from that one man.
Although elaborate on that.
I currently volunteerfor an organization
called Access Surf where weget handicapped children
out in the water to surf.
So there's a whole team effort.
Pete Doherty's nurses, doctors,we all get together and we carry
(04:53):
the disabled individualsin the water and there's
adaptive equipmentso we can teach them
how to surf.
And then I also workfor an organization
that helps disabledveterans scuba dive.
So I'm a scuba instructor too.
It's fun.
That's where I havethe most fun.
Yeah. Sorry.
Detracted from theoriginal question,
but yeah, justfrom one interaction
(05:14):
with a mentor or a figurethat shows you the importance
of living.
I've carried that with methrough my whole
physical therapy career.
Adaptive sports.
I happy to do another podcast.
In the beginning,when I first started
with somebody here who worksfor a physical therapist called
Brooks Rehab, and they havea similar program
(05:38):
and they work throughanother organization
called Oceans of Hope.
I don't know if you've everheard of them.
Yeah, I actually have.
Yeah, there'sseveral organizations out there,
but it's all in the same effort.
I know somebody who hasmuscular sclerosis and she is
involved in that program.
She has been surfing with them.
She has been water skiing,She has been kayaking,
(06:02):
which recently she sure hurther shoulder doing that.
She's trying to recuperatefrom a tear in the shoulder.
And that's why we needa physical therapist
right there.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
US personal trainerscan't do it all.
We don't have quitethe extensive education
that you have.
Yeah.
Oh, no, it's.
Everyone has their specialty,and it's an interesting dynamic.
(06:24):
I had started off wanting tobe involved with personal
training and life just kind ofpushed me down
the road of pretty.
So yeah, I've beenfortunate enough to work in
many different environmentsand see what's out there,
different specialties,how we all help each other.
I think that's the mostimportant message there are.
Those in the medical fieldare wellness and exercise.
(06:49):
It all accumulatesinto the importance
psychosocial thingthat we don't often think about.
MM So exercise medicine.
The first time I talked to you,you told me that you were going
to a marathon that day.
Oh, yeah.
Maybe volunteering and shapingand helping the people who are
(07:09):
in that marathon.
And I was impressed right therefrom the start that you
were volunteeringyour time to go on
and how you're out there.
Yeah, I just feel like it'spart of your job to help out.
And it's simple things,you know, sprains, strains
someone twists an ankleand they've trained
maybe, you know,six months a year
(07:29):
for this one day.
And I got to commend peopleto push through it.
You know, I'll take aquick look.
I was in the medical tentand we take a look at
a couple injuries where there'sa physician next to me and
what do you think?
I'm like, I could take it upand then, okay, let's go.
So I worked for the WorldSurf League
for about five years.
That's pro pro surfing.
(07:49):
My clinic was in how are youon the north Shore of Oahu?
And I would do all the surftournaments every weekend.
So same thing surfersand get injured
neck, have a wipe outwhatever and we'd
have to clear them to get backin the water just to make sure
everything was okay.
So that's the athletic trainerand me.
I went to undergraduateathletic.
(08:10):
Excellent.
Yeah.
Let's let's do a little talkabout KT taping.
Sure.
There are still so many peoplewho have never heard of KT,
you know, And I had thatused on my shoulder
many years agowhen I used to work
at the post officeand I had an injury
with my shoulderand I was amazed.
I'm like, okay,what's this tape?
And on my shoulder, Yeah.
And Robert is just amazed athow it helped heal.
(08:34):
And can you talk about ita little bit later?
Yes. No more.
Yeah.
So can you seea tape was invented by a very,
very interesting Japanese manabout 25 years ago.
It's been around for a while,but essentially you have to
think of muscles.
There's originsand insertions story.
The muscle startsand where it inserts and how
muscles contract.
(08:54):
So concentric motion typicallywith injuries, there over use,
meaning you constantlydo the same motion over and
over and over and that leadsto tendonitis.
So can you say it was thereto kind of help facilitate
motion of injured muscle tissue,ligaments or tendons?
So the way we apply it is justas important
(09:15):
as how much pressurewe put on it.
So if you have, say,bicep tendinitis,
you're going toput the tape farther
down the arm or distal and thentape it proximal so up the arm.
And that actually will helpto turn the muscle off,
essentially givingyour body a break.
So it's not just used formuscles, too.
It's also used for ligaments.
(09:36):
That's what holdsour bones together.
So the ligamentseveryone has heard
of probably the ACL or I'msure that's the most common one
we hear about in sportsgetting injured.
But there's also an ACLor the medial
collateral ligament on the knee.
And if we put the tape onand like a different pattern,
like X pattern, that'll helpstabilize the ligament.
And often it takes the painright away.
(09:59):
So you watch any baseball,basketball, football,
professional sports of any kind.
You'll see the tape on there.
And it could be black, blue,pink, purple, neon green.
And that doesn't really matter.
But it's an effectiveway to get athletes
back in the game and movingand give your sore muscles
a little break.
So do you recommendsomebody who's
(10:20):
just go into the gymand they're having
some kind of sorenessin their shoulder or their elbow
or their knee to use the tape?
Yeah, but it's also importantyou have to understand how
to apply it.
Mhm.
And you put it inthe wrong direction.
Meaning again let's say biceps,I mean that is the stranger.
Your biceps in the gymlift too much if you put it on
from proximal or from the top ofyour shoulder to the elbow,
(10:44):
it's going to actuallymake it worse.
So it's going to activatethe muscle, you want to
inhibit it.
So yeah, but this, this tapeis effective for all sorts
of instabilities, too.
So most of what I see inthe gym is wrist instability,
especially those likecross fitters
who are doing burpeesand putting a lot of impact
on their wrists as we get older.
(11:06):
Sometimes those horrible bones,the little tiny marbles
that are risk,get a little loose.
And the mosteffective way to help
stabilize is initiateis it bends and stretches
and moves.
And it's not 100% restrictive,so you can't move with the tape.
I really like it.
I'm a big advocate.
Yeah.
(11:26):
And of course, you know,if you really don't
know what's going oninside of there,
it's a good idea to go aheadand see somebody,
a professional, so that you canfind out what's going on.
So you're making surethat you do apply it correctly.
Yeah, there's some hurdles.
So in with physical therapy,there's something
called direct accessthat our organization
(11:48):
has been fighting for for years.
And essentially you don't needa referral to go to a party
like in Hawaii where there'ssomething called direct access.
You spring an ankleand you're like, I don't want to
set up my appointmentwith my PCP, a negative referral
to an orthopedic specialist.
I mean, that's where we can fixeight weeks, right?
So fortunately,there's that light variable upon
(12:09):
which state you're in.
But ah, I feel like our fieldis heading in the
right direction to try tohelp people out as soon as
they need it.
Because atrophy, right?
Mm hmm.
It takes place in three days.
So essentially, I thinkmy geriatric population,
they have a fall,they get injured,
they're not moving.
They just sit aroundand then with three days,
(12:31):
atrophy happens.
So we oftenlike to tell patients the sooner
you get in, the betterwe can help you.
Mm hmm.
Absolutely.
And if you do something to onepart of your body, don't
stop using the other parts.
Right.
Well, compensation.
Yeah, that's a big thing to do.
So you spring your left ankle,All you're going to see
is overuse of the right hipand right lower back, and that
(12:55):
leads to compensatorymotor strategies.
So because people always think,Oh, well, I hurt my arm,
I'll just let it rest.
And it's like, Yeah, butyou should also know
what specifically is injuredso we can tell you what to avoid
as well.
Yeah, most peoplethink peaches Oh
I'll exercise orwhat have you, but in reality
we mostly do a lot ofeducation about what not to do,
(13:18):
so not re injuring the thingthat you may have hurt.
Or if you do have a seriousmedical procedure with hardware.
Right.
So orthopedicsurgery don't do this
because it might aggravate that.
So yeah.
Of the makes it yeah.
So I hear a lot of peoplebelieve in physical therapy.
(13:39):
Others like physical therapydoesn't do anything for me.
Yeah, right.
Oh, that's every day.
And just like dentists,I always like to use
the analogy.
You've been to a good dentist,and you've probably been
to a bad dentist, right?
I have that.
So there areindividuals out there
with specialization, some,for example, mines
(14:02):
in orthopedics.
So bones, muscles,joints, habit.
I wouldn't be very goodat treating a pediatric patient.
I mean, I try my best,but I'd rather than go see
a pediatric specialist orthere's geriatric specialist,
someone who specifically handlesthe aging population and that
with physical therapy,you're going to come across
(14:22):
several, oh, for lack of abetter word, quantity
over quality.
They just try torun the numbers up
to good pace, right?
I mean, at the end of the day,most clinics are businesses.
And unfortunately, I've seena current trend here in Hawaii
where some major hospitalsjust look at numbers.
It's not really aboutpatient advocacy.
It's more or less aboutjust getting people in and out.
(14:45):
Ride the bike.
Do that stretch.
Okay.
Get out of here.
Yeah.
Know, it can be fartherfrom what people need.
They they need a specializedprogram, but
we'll know right awaywhen a patient comes in
and says, I'm not better,Nothing's working.
Okay, Okay.
Show me your range of motionthat we've been working on.
Show me the exercise you've beendoing that helps facilitate
(15:05):
extra rotation.
You know, we talked about this,and I'll give them
texts and exercise,and you wouldn't believe how
often we seepeople have no clue.
They have a variable.
And we're like, Come on, man,you've been here for four weeks.
You got to know what to do.
I can't do it for you.
And yeah, and so there'ssome miscommunication sometimes.
(15:26):
Again, psychosocial issues,pain avoidance, fear avoidance,
behaviors. Right?
When we're hurt, wedon't want to move.
And then that couldn'tbe further from the last thing
you want to do.
You want to you want to movefor multiple reasons.
But a lot of times you'll hearit didn't work.
And it's partiallybecause people don't adhere
or comply to the program.
So I always like to think abouthow hard it is to get myself
(15:49):
to the gym some daysand think about
when you're hurt.
Do you really want to go move?
Especially with medicationand co-morbidities?
So there's a lot of variablesto consider.
But in my personal experience,people who do adhere
to a program and are diligentand are active and community
and have good support networks,it all, it all matters.
(16:13):
And you haveto get them out there
and believing they will bebetter too.
So the power of the mind,I think is important.
You have to want to get better.
There's definitely waysto do that without right away
going through surgery.
A lot of insurance companieswon't even allow surgery
unless you go through the stepsto get better first.
(16:35):
Yeah, that's a great that'sa great example.
A horrible side.
Perfect.
Say I come across the Well,this actually actually
just happened recently.
I was checking a young girl'shigh school athlete
urging me out and I wasdoing a test and realized
she's missing her ACLand the family was there
and they're like, how long anduntil easy fixes it.
Well, none becauseyou need surgery.
(16:58):
So we know she needed surgery,but the insurance provider
I won't mention the company,but you need 12
sessions of failed conservativeintervention before they even
give you an MRI.
And insurance companies,they have their policies
for a reason.
But I was like, look,while you're here,
(17:18):
let's talk about how we can workon that opposite.
It's compensatingfor your weak knee.
So, you know,there's other stuff
we do called free.
Have getting youready for surgery.
So worst case scenariooften is surgery.
It's scary for a lot of people,but there are a lot of things
that a providerphysical therapist
can do to help facilitatethe recovery process
(17:39):
and whether that'srange of motion or strengthening
or flexibility, it all matters.
So the better programyou have going into surgery,
the faster your recover after.
Yeah, there's the big picture.
Just becauseone part of our body is hurting
doesn't meanwe don't have to work
on the other parts to help it.
(18:00):
Everything is connected.
So just like you said,if it's the right side
of the body, the that needssurgery, let's say the hip,
you want to workwith the left side of the body
to stay strong,to help support it, maybe even
losing weight.
Right.
Losing weight before surgery.
You're going infor knee surgery.
You've got somebody who'soverweight.
(18:21):
Do you recommend Oh, my gosh,That's like that's a
that's a question we would loveto talk about as physical
therapist.
However, there's onlyso much time.
And I found in the past,you know, people ask me like,
do I need to lose weight?
Answer Often, most timeswe all need to, you know,
I'll make a joke.
I'm like, I got to workon my belly, too.
(18:43):
But the reality is you kind ofdon't want to distract them
from the goal of whatwe're trying to achieve in
education about their injury,what to do, what not to do it
compliance.
But when we starttalking about diet
and nutrition, it often goeskind of off the rail
and we lose focus.
So but if I seesomeone several times
(19:04):
are inquisitive, sure,I can absolutely help them
with the program.
And yes, losing weightand improving
your cardiovascular health.
It all matters in regardsto recovery.
Huh?
Have you ever hadanybody ask you about these new
diabetic drugsto to lose weight?
I just met with a wegovyrep last week.
(19:24):
Yeah. So.
Yeah, yeah.
Semaglutide.
So part of my job is likeI do another job on the side
marketing for a physicaltherapy company
that sends pizzas to Medicarepatients home.
So I help outwith getting peaches
to people's homesthat can't get home.
So I go meet with severalphysicians around Oahu, and I
ended up at a diabetic.
(19:46):
The next thing I had,one of the docs I knew
and shared it out for thepharmaceutical rep for Wegovy,
also known as Semaglutide,the peptide.
So we talked for a good hourand you wouldn't believe how
often people bring it up to me.
Probably every day.
Wow.
What are you what are yourthoughts?
Sir, before I go on my tangent,have you had people ask about
(20:09):
Semaglutide?
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, except I don't have theprofessional answers for them.
I mean, either a not.
Yeah.
I mean, what I've read onlineand from blogs say
I do enjoy podcasts like Dr.
Andrew Huberman,neuroscientist egos
into a depth, but essentiallyit's a new field of medicine
(20:33):
and I was talking toa physiologist friend of mine
who does stem cellsPropecia shots, and apparently
they're asking physiciansto take continuing
education on it just to learn,because the way I think
the insurancecompanies are going
is they're trying to pushover this drug
for cardiovascular problemsdiabetes, weight management,
(20:55):
orthopedic, joint issues.
I mean, the reality is, iswhen we lose weight, our bodies
typically improve.
So the the pharmaceutical rephad mentioned all this data
and meta analysis studies,and I'm like, okay, great.
But tell me if people are justnot eating like that,
(21:15):
let's be real here.
If you stop eating, yeah,you lose weight, but you also
will lose your lean muscle.
The what you've workedso hard for.
And she was like, Absolutely.
So you lose fat and muscleand there are
detrimental effects to justtaking the drug and not having
a proper diet.
So as far as I know,they're looking into research
(21:38):
about that.
But, you know, let's face it,pharmaceuticals are
a big business.
Yeah, and if they canpass that drug for all
those medical conditions,I think we're going to see it
more and more or more every day.
I mean, Elon Muskisn't right like can Yeah.
These these celebrities I,I can't recall who else,
(21:58):
but I'm sure there'ssome popular ones there.
Yeah.
So people doyour research, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We by no means am I a diabeticphysician, but they are using it
and the qualifications to getI from what I understand
from having a meetingwith that doctor
is that they're,they're pretty low.
Meaning if you're obese and youhave co-morbidities,
(22:22):
you can be applicableso the drug so yeah yeah
it's interesting.
Okay.
You had mentioned your PRP,the platelet rich plasma program
under therapy.
Yeah.
Treatment, however.
Yeah. Yeah.
Say that you want totalk about that.
Yeah, I know you're gettinginto that with Dr.
(22:43):
Dwight Lin.
That's right.
Yeah.
I said she told me yesterdaywe're starting a business
in the future, maybe six monthsor a year.
So it takes time.
But when I workedwith the servers, a lot of them
don't want to havesurgery, right?
You have a tendinitis,you have a tenant apathy,
you have a muscle strength,whatever it may be.
And the last thingthose guys want to do
is get their surgerybecause being active
(23:05):
is their whole life.
So I'd often send the patientsto refer them to my friend Dr.
Dwight Wynn, physiotherapist.
He works with stemcells and platelet rich plasma
injection.
That's my focus is combiningrehabilitative medicine with
regenerative medicine,and we see the light on
the horizon, the futureof medicine.
(23:26):
Unfortunately, people are goingto different countries
to get the treatmentthey receive here.
It's essentially,well, I'll just say more safe.
I've been hearing some crazystory is about injections people
I mean getting an infectionsthat losing eyesight
see whatever it may behorrible story so
go to a professionalBut in any case your listeners
(23:48):
or anyone has not heardof PRP platelet rich plasma.
It's where we takea patient's own blood
and you draw out several vials.
So ten milliliters, we probablyget about 40 or 50 milliliters
of blood.
And then you spin itin a centrifuge and extract
the platelets, the top layer.
(24:10):
Then those are re-injected backinto your torn tissue or tendon
and platelets are in our blood.
And what they're responsible foris rebuilding new tissue
or essentially fibroblaststhat make new muscle ligament
and tendon tissue.
So it's actually pretty coolrather than our own body
(24:32):
sending platelets to the siteof injury.
Let's call that one.
Just how manyplatelets you have in your body
at any given time.
The PRP injectionswith Dwight Len, he's
doing 50 to 60 X,so in one injection
you're getting 50 to 60 timesmore platelets to that side
of injury and it workspretty cool in inert.
(24:55):
It's not funny isinflammation is our bodies
way of healing damaged tissue.
So the PRP injectionreally inflames
the localized sitefor two weeks.
It kind of sucks.
So the first two weeks afteryou get your shot, we're
telling patientsdon't do too much,
no weight lifting.
(25:16):
You can do some stretching, butessentially the platelets
are rebuilding the scaffolding,your tissue.
So it's pretty cool.
So you can either put upwith the pain from whatever
is going on in your bodyor get the treatment and put up
with that pain and hopefullyfeel better.
Yeah, I mean, I've therethere's a EMT I worked
(25:37):
with recently and he didn't wanteye surgery, so we went to
ortho surgeons.
They said, Yeah,you need surgery.
And I was working withfull mobility,
pretty good strength.
But he just is missing thatsnapping strength.
He needed to lift patientsand it's into his ambulance.
And so I referred himto a friend and sure
enough, the PRP, he had to takea couple of weeks off work
just to chill.
(25:58):
But he went back to work.
I thought last he told mehe's doing fine, so
it's not 100% fixed.
We'll say, Well, I've hadit personally to my shoulder
and neck and let's say my body'sat 70% effectiveness.
The PRP shot coming upto like 90%.
So I did 100% better.
But definitely improvement.
(26:20):
So and that matterswhen we're engaged
in our more vigorousactivities of life.
How long does it last?
It yeah, you get the typicallythere's a routine of two shots,
so you do them six weeks apart.
So your first shot and thenthe two weeks
you just kind of show stretch.
Generally you start going backto some general strength
(26:41):
training on that areathat's affected light resistance
work.
So band lightweights,nothing advanced,
no free weights,no bodybuilding.
And then at six week markyou would get your second
injection So and then now the VAtri west TRICARE
that's the insurancefor military members
they're covering the PROPECIA.
(27:02):
So I think it's great.
And hopefully other insuranceproviders will get around
to covering it too.
Wow, that is great.
They are the only ones right nowthat are covering it right here.
I do, although there's acouple docs, but they utilize
like four or fiveX concentration BRP
and my friend DwightLeonard, he's doing 5060 x, so
(27:28):
and now I've onlyhad that approach.
There are variabilities in thatspecialization as well.
So it's it's confusing.
And I know I've beendealing with it for the last
like seven years, having theseconversations with my friend
who has this.
It's still confusingfor a lot of people.
So if you do have questionsabout here, you can always
reach out to medirectly and share
(27:49):
my information, right? Yeah.
Yeah.
Excellent.
Yeah.
And I do these littleeducational videos
on social media to people,ask me questions
and I'll show themwhat we usually do.
It's been fun.
Is that through your businessor your own personal.
So yeah, it's, it's, it's abusiness profile,
but it's TikTok,Instagram, Facebook.
(28:11):
But yeah, people ask meI'll could be anything from
TMJ pain or it could bea criminal vehicular ligament
sprain AC joint you know,and they'll send me pictures
and what do you do?
And I'll help them out.
Obviously, it'sit's better to go
in person, of course.
Yes.
But it's been fun.
So you used to do a radio show?
(28:33):
Yes. Yeah.
With Dwight Lin, the guyI was talking about.
How long ago was that?
Oh, so that was 2018.
2020.
And then when COVIDliterally everything
shut down, I mean, we all knowwhat happened, but it was at
the old doll Cannery factorywhere they used to count
all the pineapples.
They turned it into abusiness office as well.
(28:54):
It's kind of cool.
And when you would justtake calls in the morning
from people, I hadquestions about stem cells, PRP,
physical therapy, so it wascool to combine minds on that.
MM Yeah, it's calledthe Moving body.
Yeah.
Eventually I'll probablyget back into something
like that, but it's still niceto reach out to people
and have individualsreach out to me about concerns
(29:17):
they're facing with surgeryor injuries and any of
your lives.
Magical.
Always feel freeto reach out to me as well.
Very nice.
So, Brian, with all that you dofor others, how do you find
the time to take care of Brian?
Yeah, well, wake up early, okay?
When I'm in in-person, yes,I don't want to be,
(29:38):
But it's funny,you had mentioned
influential figures in my lifeearlier, right?
And I've been listeningto these motivational
YouTube videos.
They're silly, but they work.
There's a guy,Jocko Willink, he's
like a Navy SEAL guy.
And I put him outas my alarm clock.
Get out of bed for three. Ilove it.
(29:59):
Yeah, it's bad.
But he's like,Stop making excuses,
Make your bed, go to the gym.
And it just,like very, you know,
very simple advice.
But sometimes we need tohear reinforcement.
So you make your bed.
I do.
First thing, there's.
There's several philosophersI listen to.
But yeah, there's onepretty famous psychologist
(30:22):
out there who's just.
He has a whole thing aboutmake your bed.
Make your bed.
And that sets the tonefor the day.
So if you fail atthe minimal tasks,
you're going to failthe big tasks.
So how do you do anything?
Is how you do everything right?
Very good.
Now wonder why my mom, my motheralways told me, Make your bed.
(30:42):
Yeah.
It didn't end metill I'm in my later
30 years of age.
And then it'll recently saidthat we're we're we're all
still learning.
Absolutely.
Okay, what's yourbiggest failure and what did you
learn from that experience?
Oh, well, I tried to quit beinga physical therapist
(31:04):
in grad school.
Wow. Yeah.
I always consider that mybiggest failure
because the professorI'd mentioned earlier,
he was the guy who kind ofhelped me back here.
And now life gets hardsometimes.
Family members pass away,relationships fail, or you just
many second guess things.
I recall going through some verydifficult times
(31:25):
in graduate school.
And that's that'stough for anyone.
Whatever you're studyingschool, hard, you have to
be dedicated.
And I had leftand I said, I quit.
I brought in my professorfriend, colleague.
Now, he advocated for me and Iessentially begged
and pleaded to let me back.
And I didn't do anything bad.
(31:46):
I just walked away.
Yeah.
And that I'll never forgethim helping me
to achieve the goal.
I set out to do it and I want toquote my biggest failure,
but that's the onethat sticks out to me quitting.
I, I don't want to quit in life,especially of myself or others.
(32:06):
And it's in rehabilitationor injuries.
Quitting.
It's just not an option.
Life's sometimes not fair.
It can be difficult,but you have two options.
You can quit or you cankeep moving for it.
Right?
And thank goodnessfor that, Professor.
Yeah.
Eric, What's up, man?
Thank goodnessfor his intervention
(32:27):
and getting you back onyour path again because
look at what you've donewith your career.
Yeah, it's been fun.
And every day you learnsomething, they're seeing things
through.
Even if it sucks.
Maybe you're writing a book,maybe you're.
I like to paint at nightto relax my mind.
You know, finish that book,finish your painting,
whatever it may be.
You know, I think dedicationis more important
(32:50):
than motivation.
Meaning we get motivated togo to the gym, but there's days
I don't want to go.
Those days I don't want to read.
But you have todedicate yourself to the task
that you started.
And that goes for relationships,transcends all of life's
little areas.
Don't quit.
Very good.
Very good.
So you said you'rea morning person and you like to
(33:11):
usually get to the gymin the morning
or do your workoutsin the morning.
That works for you.
Yeah.
What about nutrition?
Do you stick to a program?
Do you have you madelifestyle changes or you just
anything goes?
Yeah.
So I'm not quite as meticulousas some people you may see
on YouTube, the wearingyour macros, Right.
Proteins, fats, carbohydrates.
(33:33):
But recently in life,I would say just about a year
now, year ago now, I quitdrinking alcohol and that was a
it's socially acceptable.
So I went years just thinking,oh, okay.
But absolutely, it's catabolicit affects your diet.
You're not it'snot good for you.
We all know that.
But I think that wasthe most important
(33:54):
dietary change I madejust less alcohol or no alcohol.
It's just it doesn'tit's that good.
But more than anything.
But as far as nutritiongoes, I have.
Are you familiar with Basalmetabolic rate?
BMR Yes, No, I utilizethat formula with anyone
who wants to lose weight.
So BMR is just essentiallyhow many calories you burn
(34:17):
while you're doing nothingwatching TV.
And then you factor inhow many calories you burn
through exercise,and that should be your standard
intake of caloriesthrough the day.
So I tried tofocus on that formula
and how much calories I needjust to stay consistent.
Mm hmm.
I hope that makes sense.
Yeah.
(34:37):
So, yes, yeah, counting caloriesis important, but I'm not
as meticulous to saysome bodybuilder rides.
And what doesyour weekly workout program
look like that keeps youhealthy and strong?
So four days a week at the gymand then I do yoga,
like on Wednesdays and then onthe weekends hiking or surfing
(34:58):
and then as a scuba instructor,if they need me to teach
a couple of classesor something, I'll get out there
and you know, you're exercising,carrying tanks and swimming
in the water.
So something fun you can't like,you can't go to the gym
every day.
It's just boring, you know,before work.
Great.
You've done your good.
It's accomplished for the day.
(35:18):
But I think everyoneneeds to make time
for that hour.
Just an hour.
I'm not saying you have togo to a gym, but just a walk
around the neighborhoodbefore you keep busy
with your day to day lifeor start looking at your phone.
Surfing, dieting variety isso important.
You got to keep it interesting,Do the things you like to do,
get out thereand enjoy your life.
Right. Keep me.
Yeah.
I even went for a bike ridetwo days ago, just at sunset
(35:42):
around the ocean, and that'swhen they needed that.
So nice.
I feel like people get too stuckin their routines
and it's like it's.
It's okay to change it upa little, you know,
try something new.
Mhm.
But a surfing day for your body,it's more for the mind because
when I get out there and you'rejust sitting on the wave
looking at the oceanand the clouds just kind of
(36:03):
connecting with nature.
So I always bring likea little face mask,
a little goggles to seeif I can see some turtles
or marine life or anythingdown there.
Okay. Yeah.
So it's more for just like justconnecting with nature.
I'll be.
Yes, I'm not a very good surfer.
I'm from Cleveland, Ohio.
I didn't I didn't learnto serve.
So I was 26.
(36:24):
Yeah.
And there's kids out herewho have been surfing
circles around meand they're like, you know,
ten years old.
And you're like, okay, you can'tfocus on them.
Just be you.
So balancing on a surfboard,I mean, I know
I've been out therepaddle boarding
and paddle boarding.
Your legs aremostly in one place.
You can move themaround a little bit, but wow,
(36:45):
your legs get tiredfrom standing
on that paddle board.
Yeah.
So for my neck injury,I sometimes
can't surf that long.
So we do sup surf, Right.
Stand up, paddle.
So I'll just paddle outcatching waves on that thing.
But yeah, it's fatiguing.
And especially in the ocean,there's waves.
You have to really lean or leanback and paddle through
(37:05):
and yeah, it's a lot of fun.
I just.
It feels like that's whereI belong.
So nice.
I enjoy it.
You say it's just for your mind,but I think you're
doing something for your bodythere, too.
Yeah.
And then you meet people on thewater too.
You're like, Hey, what's up?
Make new friends.
You know, everyone's out thereto have a good time.
So there's usuallynever bad energy, for lack of
(37:27):
a better word.
We used to have a boatand all the boaters you would
meet out there Similar.
Similar story.
You know, it's just everybody'sout there to have a good time.
It's just a beautiful day.
Beautiful.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like the clouds, man.
What's there to worry about?
If you out on the waterfor a day, It's like being
on vacation for a weekend.
Yeah, absolutely.
(37:47):
Yeah.
I did some scuba diving indifferent countries,
and we go on boats for, like,a week at a time.
Pretty cool.
But I don't thinkI could do that for work.
I missed land too much.
Just So you'refrom Cleveland, Ohio.
I heard her.
She mentioned that she wentto school in Florida.
Well, that's where I am now.
You're in Hawaii.
What?
Wow, What a track record.
(38:08):
There, here, there and there.
I got a few more places,but yeah, as a physical
therapist, they're in demand.
So anywhere you go,you can pretty much guarantee
you'll find a job somewhere.
So, yeah, very fortunatein that aspect.
Just like traveling nurses,there's lots of programs
for travelingphysical therapists and they
(38:28):
do contract work.
I've been fortunate enoughto live in several states
and check it outand went to Texas,
Arizona, Nevada, and I was like,the desert is not for me.
It's three months at a time.
And this is when I was juststarting out and then made it
to Cal before.
Yeah, and then Hawaii and Ijust never looked back.
Nine Yeah.
It's not bad here at everyone.
Well complainabout something but we just call
(38:50):
Paradise Texas.
I think a lot ofpeople in society
this is a speculation.
So I think a lot ofmental health issues
have come from the inabilityto go out.
I go for a walkin the forest or, you know,
just the by the beach.
I only get speak for myselfon that one.
But when you can't do something,you realize how important
that one thing is.
(39:10):
Yeah, I live like 10 minutesfrom the coast here,
the East Coast and of Florida.
And I just love going for walkson the beach or even driving
down a one day and seeing theweather go.
I know. A one day.
Yeah. Yeah.
Going to eat and having the viewof the ocean
or that time of yearmaybe catch a whale
(39:31):
jumping out there.
You know they're here.
Yeah, the humpbacksare here right now, are they?
Yeah. Yeah.
Probably later today.
I'll go down to the Waikikiand just try to paddle out.
But same thing.
Just driving along the coast,you're just like, I just there
feels like your bloodpressure drops
just a little bit.
You're like, okay,all right, all right.
You're in paradise.
(39:52):
Yeah.
How lucky are you?
I feel I'm okay.
Doing all right?
Yeah.
So here is there's aquestion for you.
What's the best thingthat people can do
for themselves,for optimal health?
Create a programthat works for you.
Don't focus too much onthe big goals because that
will just frustrate you.
When I was working with clientsor patients through,
(40:14):
I need to lose £80.
I need to run so many miles,I need to lift this much weight.
And it's like, okay, it's goodthat you think that way,
but let's createsome daily, weekly
or monthly goals and save thosebig goals for the end
of the year.
Now it's January, so it's okayto write your big goals out,
but we lose sightof the small girls in between.
(40:34):
Now, whether that'snot adding sugar to your coffee,
right, or small little caloriesadd up over a year.
I was in this conversationwith the friend the other day
about Starbucks,those holiday drinks.
You know, and she had likeI Google that.
She's like, look, I'm like I'mlike 71 grams of sugar and like
(40:54):
the one drink.
And I'm like, you do know thatany more than 45,
you increase your risk of heartto heart disease,
diabetes, stroke.
She's like, yeah,I don't want to you know,
we're having a good time, butI mean, those small goals,
switching your favoritebeverage to something
with less calories, it adds upat the end of the year.
So I would I would say the mostimportant thing for fitness
(41:17):
and well-being is justfocus on your daily goals.
Very good.
Chipping awayat little at a time.
Make your bed and thendrink your water
and do it. Do it.
You got to do well.
It starts with the smalldaily routines and then
that translates into noticeabledifferences.
Absolutely.
I've got friends who, you know,I hate to say disappear, but,
you know, put downthe social media, start reading,
(41:39):
improving your quality of life.
And it's amazing how much fasteryou improve when you're just
focusing out while big love itvery good answer.
Okay listeners, take thatand stick it in your back pocket
and pull it out.
What is one piece of adviceyou would give to someone
starting out in your career?
I would say don't get marriedto one idea of what you're going
(42:00):
to focus on.
People go into this physicaltherapy field because they most
more times than that,they've had a injury
and they're like, okay,I had knee surgery.
I'm going to be aorthopedic physical there,
but keep your mind open.
Try new things.
Like, for example,I didn't think I like wound care
and I was right.
I didn't like it.
It was not for me.
But then I work with pediatricsand somehow the kids
(42:23):
just made me feel good.
So you don't know.
You think, Oh, these kidsare going to be
tough to deal with.
But they were the mostinnocent, happy, grateful people
you'd ever mock.
They're just it's awesome so,you know, I've kind of navigated
the waters back to orthopedics,how I got hurt.
But I would just saykeep an open mind.
Never in my lifewould I think I'd be a from
(42:43):
Cleveland, Ohio.
I'm a scuba instructorfor disabled veterans in Hawaii.
It's weird.
You know, paraplegicscan't use your legs.
So I'm like, I got you, man.
Grab their and take them down.
Just keep breathing.
You know, we go overall this stuff before we get in
the water, but, you know,you never know where
life's going to take youand what experiences will change
your life.
So keep an open mind would bethe appropriate are very good.
(43:06):
Yeah.
I used to work with a coupleof personal trainers
who one was going to schoolfor physical therapy
and it was hard.
Wasn't easy.
Well, that that's I didn'tadd that to the story,
but I was a weddingdeejay at college.
Yeah.
And I was like, Yeah,like ladies and gentlemen,
focus your attentionat the main doors,
you know, the whole day, right?
(43:27):
And you make good money.
You do that.
I was in Florida,and I was making, you know, X
amount a week and I was like,I don't need to be
a physical therapist.
I'll just be a deejaythe rest of my life.
I really the reasonI was thinking about
just dropping out of school,I was like, I don't want
to study.
I'm just going to go play music.
And oh my gosh, I'm so gratefulI didn't keep doing that
(43:48):
because that lifestyle isnot sustainable.
Yes. Yeah.
So the personal trainer, hehe stayed in school, he did it
and became a psychotherapist.
And then there was another onethat started working there.
And she was like, I want to goto school, but I don't know
if I can handle it.
And I, I kept onencouraging her to do
it, do it, do it.
(44:08):
You know, kids so muchyounger than me, you know,
working at a gym it's like,how long can you sustain that?
You know, you your people,your clients,
they come, they go, you havecancellations.
You don't get paid.
You come.
Why not do somethingmore, you know, and get more
education about the body.
Especially if you loveworking with the body
(44:30):
and learning about the bodyand how it works.
Why not do more?
Yeah, Yeah.
I mean, even some physiciansdon't really know all we do,
which is okay, because every nowand again I find myself
elaborating on spinal cordinjuries or stroke.
CVA Neurologic You had mentionedmultiple sclerosis earlier arms
and like there are teststhat we do to help figure out
(44:51):
if someone has it.
They're weird tests,but I've always found that
the more you learn,the less you know this though I
if I recall back towe went through teenage years.
We know it.
All right?
Cause I get anywhereI eat, you book you read,
you're like, didn't know that.
Oh, my gosh.
(45:11):
What don't I know?
And I always tell young studentsI was a clinical instructor
for like six years.
So taking out a studentsand I would always
tell them, like, you don't knowsomething, go look it up
and teach me,because I don't know.
And the more you know, the lessyou understand or vice versa.
I can't say that right. Sorry.
But essentially you need to keepthe education process
(45:33):
going strong.
Yes, keep it goingstrong and using it,
because the more you use it,the more familiar
you become with it.
It's just like you go to school,you learn all this stuff,
but until you startputting it to use
around every day and workingwith people and there are
different issues, differentpersonalities, different things
going on in their lives, that'swhen you really start
(45:55):
learning, right?
You can read a book all day,but once you see
that condition on someone likeas one kid always comes to my
I was in Miamiand he got a gunshot
wound in the neck and half ofhis spinal cord got removed
straight from the bullet.
And they call that browncord syndrome.
So basically he's out ofhis body, works kind of.
(46:17):
And then his other sidewas like contracted.
So what they call thatdecoder kit, spinal cord injury,
which is so weird because halfof his body work, the other half
not right.
So you hear you can readthe same books all day
and then you see it on one pageand you're like, oh,
okay, I get it.
So my advice and, you know,with school, you go work
(46:37):
with people.
So a professor of mine had saidthe rule of 10,000, you know,
you word with 10,000 thumbs,you'll be a thumb expert.
You work with 10,000 ankles,you're an ankle expert.
And until you work with thatnumber of people, don't
even think yourself ofan expert.
You're not even there yet.
So it takes time.
Yeah, especially, yeah.
Especially with peoplewhere all felt just
(46:59):
a little different.
And some people adhere tothe program, some people don't.
So.
Yeah, different.
Personally, no stubbornness.
Yeah.
Why am I not losing weight?
Well, tell me whatyou've been doing.
You'll know right away.
Like, I don't knowif you've had this
happen to you, but have youever caught any of your clients
in the parking lotEating like what?
They shouldn't be eating?
I could think of several peopleI know personally.
(47:21):
They're eating a McDonald'scheeseburger on their way,
and I'm like, What?
But I'm hungry.
You got a letter?
It was cheap.
Oh, hungry.
I'm like, Dude,you're good to go on
that treadmill for 2 hoursto burn your 600 calories.
Did you stay with those twotwo cheeseburgers or whatever?
It's just, you know,you got to think logically about
it is all.
Sure, I love junk foodas much as I always like
(47:42):
the treadmill analogy. Right.
All right.
You have your large frappuccino,extra premium.
That's 800 calories.
You got to be on the treadmillfor 3 hours for that one.
Sorry, Starbucks.
It's about picking on you.
Have you ever caught someonecheating on their way?
It?
No, I have a they're okay.
Good.
Hopefully they haven'tcaught me.
(48:03):
Think someone did catch meat the grocery store
not too long agoand I had, like, frozen pizza.
This can be okay.
So how is this?
What do you want?
Yeah, Yeah.
They're like a healthy diet.
I'm like, they'll tell youit's okay.
Okay, So my next question is,do you recommend any books
for our listeners?
I was fortunateenough to go to Japan last year
(48:24):
for snowboarding, right?
I love Japanese culture.
There's a lot ofJapanese population
here in Hawaiiand there's a saying
over there, ikigai that's likethat's a word that defines
life purpose.
So there's a book that I pickedup over there,
Ikigai (48:40):
The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.
And essentially it's aboutfinding your purpose
when you wake up.
You know, if I could justput it down to one sentence.
If you don't have a reasonto get out of bed and pursue
a goal for that day,it's more often than not
that you're not very happy.
You struggle with maybedepression.
But again, speaking for myselfhere, I did when I didn't have
(49:01):
a focus or goal.
In life, you just kind offeel out of it.
Like I wrote about that.
I read this book IkigaiYou could find it on Amazon,
but basically it goesthrough a series of steps
to try to help you definewhat makes you happy and what's
your purposein getting out of bed
each morning above allself-help books?
I think thatwe all need to define
and find our why.
So something that motivates youand makes you want to work hard
(49:24):
or learn, whatever it may be,it might be acrylic painting or
hiking, mountains,whatever it is, you go do it,
and if it makes you happy,that's good idea as well.
Ikigai, I basically it's whatgive us your sense
of purpose or reason for livingbecause there's so many.
I mean, I've, I readphilosophy books and Thailand
(49:46):
and China andall over the world, whether it's
Christianity or, you know,religious texts or
you I'm curious and the onethat stuck with the most
was the Japanese bookI just mentioned, defining your
life's purpose.
And that just it's good.
You know, onceyou can figure that maybe mine's
physical therapy, right?
I was out at a friend's.
(50:08):
He's in a band.
So I was at a show last nightmaking friends, saying hello
to people.
And this girl, her elbow wasyou could see her as totally,
essentially deformed.
And they're like,oh, Brian’s a PT.
And then she's like, Take a lookat them now.
Help me here.
So I'm playing around with itand like, Yeah,
we can help this.
She's like, Really?
I'm like, Yeah, of course.
And it's just an allthe injuries she never
(50:30):
took care of.
But I feel like my life'spurpose is to help people
improve from theirphysical injuries.
And it just seems to follow mearound everywhere.
Like I go to the grocery storeand there's, Hey, man, you know,
like someonenotice me or whatever it may be.
And there you go.
Yes, absolutely.
That's awesome.
You've found your life's purposeand you're following your dream.
(50:52):
That's great.
All right.
So my last questionto you, Brian,
is I'd like for you to seta goal for our listeners
and maybe tell them a little bitabout how to get there.
Well, are your podcast,we're focusing on health
and wellness.
And my goal would beto try to establish
one thing just one that you cando each day
(51:15):
to help your physicaland spiritual and improve
your quality of lifefor that day.
Now, whether that'staking out the extra
sugar in your coffee,whether that's going for a
walk in nature, maybe you'refeeling like your muscles
are tight or maybe you feel weaktrying to find that one thing
that's going to help you improvefor that day is the small goal
(51:36):
I was talking about.
If you have painin your hamstrings,
try stretching them that day.
If you feel like you don't wantto get out of bed and lay in bed
all day and hide underthe covers, go for a walk.
It's like finding comfortin the discomfort, if that makes
any sense.
Well, there's a saying if you'renot uncomfortable,
(51:56):
you're not growing.
And that really sticks with me.
So redefining it,do something each day that makes
you uncomfortable.
What I'm focusing onin life right now is to be
someone you've never been.
You've asked to do somethingyou've never done.
And that the old saying isif nothing changes,
nothing changes, right?
So if you if youyou need to find something
(52:19):
uncomfortable to do each daythat will define it.
Yeah.
I challenge your listenersto try to find something
that makes them a little scaredor a little uncomfortable,
a little out of thecomfort zone.
And whether that'sgoing for a walk
around the block,trying something new
or some kind of dietary change,try it out.
Just start there.
(52:39):
Start small now.
Excellent.
Brian, great advice.
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, thank you so much, Brian,being on the show.
All right.
Aloha, Brian.
Yeah, Alohato everyone out there
and thanks, Angela,for having me.
I really appreciate it.
This is Angela Graysonfrom the Loving Life
(53:00):
Fitness Podcast.
To help others in their fitnessjourney.
It’s all possible! It’s timeto wake up.
(53:20):
Here we go.
This is Angela Grayson fromthe Loving Life Fitness Podcast.
To help others in their fitnessjourney.
It's all possible!It’s time to wake up.
(00:35):
Here we go. Hi, everyone.
This is Angela Graysonfrom the Loving Life
Fitness Podcast, where we talkto professionals
and everyday peopleabout their life and health
and fitness to be an inspirationto live your best life.
And today we have with uson the show, Brian Jones,
(00:57):
who is from Hawaii and aphysical therapist.
I'm so excitedabout talking to him today.
Hi, Brian.
How are you?
Good, Althoughgood morning, Angela.
Thanks for having meon the show today.
Yeah, I wish I wasin Hawaii recording.
That would be so much fun.
Yeah, it's about 75 and sunny.
So that's our winter here. Nice.
(01:18):
Actually, our temperature todayis probably similar to yours.
75 and sunny right now.
Yeah.
It's funny to see peoplewalking around with jackets on.
I want that to be below 80 here.
People get backtheir runner clothes.
Well, you know, we haveto use those winter clothes
sometimes, so.
Yeah, yeah.
Get them out of the closet,freshen them up a little bit.
(01:38):
Right, right, right.
So, Brian.
Yeah.
I'd like to talk to youabout what you do to try to help
inspire others.
What got you intothe physical therapy field?
That's a great question.
So I've been an athletemy entire life and playing
all different sports.
You get injuries, anklesprains, strains, what have you.
(02:02):
And I was always curiousfrom an early age how the body
recovers, essentially howyou rehabilitate to get back
in the game and later in lifethat had translated to a serious
car accident.
I got rear ended and I neededseveral surgeries on my neck,
back shoulder.
And the only thingthat saved me, other than the
(02:23):
ortho surgeons was thephysical therapists and creating
a strong bond with my PTSDsolidified my game plan in life.
I was doing it every dayand it had turned
into a lifestyle.
And then that's when I realizedI'm going to do this
for a career.
Awesome.
How old were you when you hadthat accident?
Uh, 18.
(02:43):
So I just had a stoplightand got rear ended.
So pretty, pretty fast.
Drunk driver.
Thankfully, I'm still here,but they did need to put some
screws in my spineand my neck and
so they call that a fusioncervical and lumbar fusion.
And then I had some seriouswith my shoulder bone's hip.
Mm. Okay.
Yeah.
(03:04):
So that turningpoint in your life
kicked you off toa great career.
To where?
To help others?
Yeah. Yeah, I was.
I was headed to the military,and it's essentially
a divine interventionbecause the guy
I signed up with,unfortunately, is
no longer here.
But I often think about if Ihe got killed over and overseas
(03:26):
and I think about thatall the time.
If that accident ever happened,would I be here?
So I feel grateful,even though through
trauma and tragedy,you got to look at the silver
lining, right?
Absolutely.
No doubt about that.
Can you tell usabout three people in your life,
inspirations, mentorsthat help inspire you to be
(03:47):
what you are today?
Yeah. Yeah.
The first one that comes to mindis a professor
I added when I was ingraduate school in Florida,
and that man has more passionand knowledge
about helping others.
That is contagious.
So not just as a professor,but in the community
you would volunteer,get involved.
(04:08):
And from thatone experience alone,
I could see thatthe more you give,
the more you get.
And that has translatedinto my current situation.
Sure, it's nice to go to workand help patients, but
what you really feel good aboutis getting out there
in the community and helpingso his name's Eric.
Shamus, the doctor.
Eric Shamus.
And he has wrote several booksabout physical therapy
(04:30):
and it led me to realizethe importance of volunteer work
from that one man.
Although elaborate on that.
I currently volunteerfor an organization
called Access Surf where weget handicapped children
out in the water to surf.
So there's a whole team effort.
Pete Doherty's nurses, doctors,we all get together and we carry
(04:53):
the disabled individualsin the water and there's
adaptive equipmentso we can teach them
how to surf.
And then I also workfor an organization
that helps disabledveterans scuba dive.
So I'm a scuba instructor too.
It's fun.
That's where I havethe most fun.
Yeah. Sorry.
Detracted from theoriginal question,
but yeah, justfrom one interaction
(05:14):
with a mentor or a figurethat shows you the importance
of living.
I've carried that with methrough my whole
physical therapy career.
Adaptive sports.
I happy to do another podcast.
In the beginning,when I first started
with somebody here who worksfor a physical therapist called
Brooks Rehab, and they havea similar program
(05:38):
and they work throughanother organization
called Oceans of Hope.
I don't know if you've everheard of them.
Yeah, I actually have.
Yeah, there'sseveral organizations out there,
but it's all in the same effort.
I know somebody who hasmuscular sclerosis and she is
involved in that program.
She has been surfing with them.
She has been water skiing,She has been kayaking,
(06:02):
which recently she sure hurther shoulder doing that.
She's trying to recuperatefrom a tear in the shoulder.
And that's why we needa physical therapist
right there.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
US personal trainerscan't do it all.
We don't have quitethe extensive education
that you have.
Yeah.
Oh, no, it's.
Everyone has their specialty,and it's an interesting dynamic.
(06:24):
I had started off wanting tobe involved with personal
training and life just kind ofpushed me down
the road of pretty.
So yeah, I've beenfortunate enough to work in
many different environmentsand see what's out there,
different specialties,how we all help each other.
I think that's the mostimportant message there are.
Those in the medical fieldare wellness and exercise.
(06:49):
It all accumulatesinto the importance
psychosocial thingthat we don't often think about.
MM So exercise medicine.
The first time I talked to you,you told me that you were going
to a marathon that day.
Oh, yeah.
Maybe volunteering and shapingand helping the people who are
(07:09):
in that marathon.
And I was impressed right therefrom the start that you
were volunteeringyour time to go on
and how you're out there.
Yeah, I just feel like it'spart of your job to help out.
And it's simple things,you know, sprains, strains
someone twists an ankleand they've trained
maybe, you know,six months a year
(07:29):
for this one day.
And I got to commend peopleto push through it.
You know, I'll take aquick look.
I was in the medical tentand we take a look at
a couple injuries where there'sa physician next to me and
what do you think?
I'm like, I could take it upand then, okay, let's go.
So I worked for the WorldSurf League
for about five years.
That's pro pro surfing.
(07:49):
My clinic was in how are youon the north Shore of Oahu?
And I would do all the surftournaments every weekend.
So same thing surfersand get injured
neck, have a wipe outwhatever and we'd
have to clear them to get backin the water just to make sure
everything was okay.
So that's the athletic trainerand me.
I went to undergraduateathletic.
(08:10):
Excellent.
Yeah.
Let's let's do a little talkabout KT taping.
Sure.
There are still so many peoplewho have never heard of KT,
you know, And I had thatused on my shoulder
many years agowhen I used to work
at the post officeand I had an injury
with my shoulderand I was amazed.
I'm like, okay,what's this tape?
And on my shoulder, Yeah.
And Robert is just amazed athow it helped heal.
(08:34):
And can you talk about ita little bit later?
Yes. No more.
Yeah.
So can you seea tape was invented by a very,
very interesting Japanese manabout 25 years ago.
It's been around for a while,but essentially you have to
think of muscles.
There's originsand insertions story.
The muscle startsand where it inserts and how
muscles contract.
(08:54):
So concentric motion typicallywith injuries, there over use,
meaning you constantlydo the same motion over and
over and over and that leadsto tendonitis.
So can you say it was thereto kind of help facilitate
motion of injured muscle tissue,ligaments or tendons?
So the way we apply it is justas important
(09:15):
as how much pressurewe put on it.
So if you have, say,bicep tendinitis,
you're going toput the tape farther
down the arm or distal and thentape it proximal so up the arm.
And that actually will helpto turn the muscle off,
essentially givingyour body a break.
So it's not just used formuscles, too.
It's also used for ligaments.
(09:36):
That's what holdsour bones together.
So the ligamentseveryone has heard
of probably the ACL or I'msure that's the most common one
we hear about in sportsgetting injured.
But there's also an ACLor the medial
collateral ligament on the knee.
And if we put the tape onand like a different pattern,
like X pattern, that'll helpstabilize the ligament.
And often it takes the painright away.
(09:59):
So you watch any baseball,basketball, football,
professional sports of any kind.
You'll see the tape on there.
And it could be black, blue,pink, purple, neon green.
And that doesn't really matter.
But it's an effectiveway to get athletes
back in the game and movingand give your sore muscles
a little break.
So do you recommendsomebody who's
(10:20):
just go into the gymand they're having
some kind of sorenessin their shoulder or their elbow
or their knee to use the tape?
Yeah, but it's also importantyou have to understand how
to apply it.
Mhm.
And you put it inthe wrong direction.
Meaning again let's say biceps,I mean that is the stranger.
Your biceps in the gymlift too much if you put it on
from proximal or from the top ofyour shoulder to the elbow,
(10:44):
it's going to actuallymake it worse.
So it's going to activatethe muscle, you want to
inhibit it.
So yeah, but this, this tapeis effective for all sorts
of instabilities, too.
So most of what I see inthe gym is wrist instability,
especially those likecross fitters
who are doing burpeesand putting a lot of impact
on their wrists as we get older.
(11:06):
Sometimes those horrible bones,the little tiny marbles
that are risk,get a little loose.
And the mosteffective way to help
stabilize is initiateis it bends and stretches
and moves.
And it's not 100% restrictive,so you can't move with the tape.
I really like it.
I'm a big advocate.
Yeah.
(11:26):
And of course, you know,if you really don't
know what's going oninside of there,
it's a good idea to go aheadand see somebody,
a professional, so that you canfind out what's going on.
So you're making surethat you do apply it correctly.
Yeah, there's some hurdles.
So in with physical therapy,there's something
called direct accessthat our organization
(11:48):
has been fighting for for years.
And essentially you don't needa referral to go to a party
like in Hawaii where there'ssomething called direct access.
You spring an ankleand you're like, I don't want to
set up my appointmentwith my PCP, a negative referral
to an orthopedic specialist.
I mean, that's where we can fixeight weeks, right?
So fortunately,there's that light variable upon
(12:09):
which state you're in.
But ah, I feel like our fieldis heading in the
right direction to try tohelp people out as soon as
they need it.
Because atrophy, right?
Mm hmm.
It takes place in three days.
So essentially, I thinkmy geriatric population,
they have a fall,they get injured,
they're not moving.
They just sit aroundand then with three days,
(12:31):
atrophy happens.
So we oftenlike to tell patients the sooner
you get in, the betterwe can help you.
Mm hmm.
Absolutely.
And if you do something to onepart of your body, don't
stop using the other parts.
Right.
Well, compensation.
Yeah, that's a big thing to do.
So you spring your left ankle,All you're going to see
is overuse of the right hipand right lower back, and that
(12:55):
leads to compensatorymotor strategies.
So because people always think,Oh, well, I hurt my arm,
I'll just let it rest.
And it's like, Yeah, butyou should also know
what specifically is injuredso we can tell you what to avoid
as well.
Yeah, most peoplethink peaches Oh
I'll exercise orwhat have you, but in reality
we mostly do a lot ofeducation about what not to do,
(13:18):
so not re injuring the thingthat you may have hurt.
Or if you do have a seriousmedical procedure with hardware.
Right.
So orthopedicsurgery don't do this
because it might aggravate that.
So yeah.
Of the makes it yeah.
So I hear a lot of peoplebelieve in physical therapy.
(13:39):
Others like physical therapydoesn't do anything for me.
Yeah, right.
Oh, that's every day.
And just like dentists,I always like to use
the analogy.
You've been to a good dentist,and you've probably been
to a bad dentist, right?
I have that.
So there areindividuals out there
with specialization, some,for example, mines
(14:02):
in orthopedics.
So bones, muscles,joints, habit.
I wouldn't be very goodat treating a pediatric patient.
I mean, I try my best,but I'd rather than go see
a pediatric specialist orthere's geriatric specialist,
someone who specifically handlesthe aging population and that
with physical therapy,you're going to come across
(14:22):
several, oh, for lack of abetter word, quantity
over quality.
They just try torun the numbers up
to good pace, right?
I mean, at the end of the day,most clinics are businesses.
And unfortunately, I've seena current trend here in Hawaii
where some major hospitalsjust look at numbers.
It's not really aboutpatient advocacy.
It's more or less aboutjust getting people in and out.
(14:45):
Ride the bike.
Do that stretch.
Okay.
Get out of here.
Yeah.
Know, it can be fartherfrom what people need.
They they need a specializedprogram, but
we'll know right awaywhen a patient comes in
and says, I'm not better,Nothing's working.
Okay, Okay.
Show me your range of motionthat we've been working on.
Show me the exercise you've beendoing that helps facilitate
(15:05):
extra rotation.
You know, we talked about this,and I'll give them
texts and exercise,and you wouldn't believe how
often we seepeople have no clue.
They have a variable.
And we're like, Come on, man,you've been here for four weeks.
You got to know what to do.
I can't do it for you.
And yeah, and so there'ssome miscommunication sometimes.
(15:26):
Again, psychosocial issues,pain avoidance, fear avoidance,
behaviors. Right?
When we're hurt, wedon't want to move.
And then that couldn'tbe further from the last thing
you want to do.
You want to you want to movefor multiple reasons.
But a lot of times you'll hearit didn't work.
And it's partiallybecause people don't adhere
or comply to the program.
So I always like to think abouthow hard it is to get myself
(15:49):
to the gym some daysand think about
when you're hurt.
Do you really want to go move?
Especially with medicationand co-morbidities?
So there's a lot of variablesto consider.
But in my personal experience,people who do adhere
to a program and are diligentand are active and community
and have good support networks,it all, it all matters.
(16:13):
And you haveto get them out there
and believing they will bebetter too.
So the power of the mind,I think is important.
You have to want to get better.
There's definitely waysto do that without right away
going through surgery.
A lot of insurance companieswon't even allow surgery
unless you go through the stepsto get better first.
(16:35):
Yeah, that's a great that'sa great example.
A horrible side.
Perfect.
Say I come across the Well,this actually actually
just happened recently.
I was checking a young girl'shigh school athlete
urging me out and I wasdoing a test and realized
she's missing her ACLand the family was there
and they're like, how long anduntil easy fixes it.
Well, none becauseyou need surgery.
(16:58):
So we know she needed surgery,but the insurance provider
I won't mention the company,but you need 12
sessions of failed conservativeintervention before they even
give you an MRI.
And insurance companies,they have their policies
for a reason.
But I was like, look,while you're here,
(17:18):
let's talk about how we can workon that opposite.
It's compensatingfor your weak knee.
So, you know,there's other stuff
we do called free.
Have getting youready for surgery.
So worst case scenariooften is surgery.
It's scary for a lot of people,but there are a lot of things
that a providerphysical therapist
can do to help facilitatethe recovery process
(17:39):
and whether that'srange of motion or strengthening
or flexibility, it all matters.
So the better programyou have going into surgery,
the faster your recover after.
Yeah, there's the big picture.
Just becauseone part of our body is hurting
doesn't meanwe don't have to work
on the other parts to help it.
(18:00):
Everything is connected.
So just like you said,if it's the right side
of the body, the that needssurgery, let's say the hip,
you want to workwith the left side of the body
to stay strong,to help support it, maybe even
losing weight.
Right.
Losing weight before surgery.
You're going infor knee surgery.
You've got somebody who'soverweight.
(18:21):
Do you recommend Oh, my gosh,That's like that's a
that's a question we would loveto talk about as physical
therapist.
However, there's onlyso much time.
And I found in the past,you know, people ask me like,
do I need to lose weight?
Answer Often, most timeswe all need to, you know,
I'll make a joke.
I'm like, I got to workon my belly, too.
(18:43):
But the reality is you kind ofdon't want to distract them
from the goal of whatwe're trying to achieve in
education about their injury,what to do, what not to do it
compliance.
But when we starttalking about diet
and nutrition, it often goeskind of off the rail
and we lose focus.
So but if I seesomeone several times
(19:04):
are inquisitive, sure,I can absolutely help them
with the program.
And yes, losing weightand improving
your cardiovascular health.
It all matters in regardsto recovery.
Huh?
Have you ever hadanybody ask you about these new
diabetic drugsto to lose weight?
I just met with a wegovyrep last week.
(19:24):
Yeah. So.
Yeah, yeah.
Semaglutide.
So part of my job is likeI do another job on the side
marketing for a physicaltherapy company
that sends pizzas to Medicarepatients home.
So I help outwith getting peaches
to people's homesthat can't get home.
So I go meet with severalphysicians around Oahu, and I
ended up at a diabetic.
(19:46):
The next thing I had,one of the docs I knew
and shared it out for thepharmaceutical rep for Wegovy,
also known as Semaglutide,the peptide.
So we talked for a good hourand you wouldn't believe how
often people bring it up to me.
Probably every day.
Wow.
What are you what are yourthoughts?
Sir, before I go on my tangent,have you had people ask about
(20:09):
Semaglutide?
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, except I don't have theprofessional answers for them.
I mean, either a not.
Yeah.
I mean, what I've read onlineand from blogs say
I do enjoy podcasts like Dr.
Andrew Huberman,neuroscientist egos
into a depth, but essentiallyit's a new field of medicine
(20:33):
and I was talking toa physiologist friend of mine
who does stem cellsPropecia shots, and apparently
they're asking physiciansto take continuing
education on it just to learn,because the way I think
the insurancecompanies are going
is they're trying to pushover this drug
for cardiovascular problemsdiabetes, weight management,
(20:55):
orthopedic, joint issues.
I mean, the reality is, iswhen we lose weight, our bodies
typically improve.
So the the pharmaceutical rephad mentioned all this data
and meta analysis studies,and I'm like, okay, great.
But tell me if people are justnot eating like that,
(21:15):
let's be real here.
If you stop eating, yeah,you lose weight, but you also
will lose your lean muscle.
The what you've workedso hard for.
And she was like, Absolutely.
So you lose fat and muscleand there are
detrimental effects to justtaking the drug and not having
a proper diet.
So as far as I know,they're looking into research
(21:38):
about that.
But, you know, let's face it,pharmaceuticals are
a big business.
Yeah, and if they canpass that drug for all
those medical conditions,I think we're going to see it
more and more or more every day.
I mean, Elon Muskisn't right like can Yeah.
These these celebrities I,I can't recall who else,
(21:58):
but I'm sure there'ssome popular ones there.
Yeah.
So people doyour research, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We by no means am I a diabeticphysician, but they are using it
and the qualifications to getI from what I understand
from having a meetingwith that doctor
is that they're,they're pretty low.
Meaning if you're obese and youhave co-morbidities,
(22:22):
you can be applicableso the drug so yeah yeah
it's interesting.
Okay.
You had mentioned your PRP,the platelet rich plasma program
under therapy.
Yeah.
Treatment, however.
Yeah. Yeah.
Say that you want totalk about that.
Yeah, I know you're gettinginto that with Dr.
(22:43):
Dwight Lin.
That's right.
Yeah.
I said she told me yesterdaywe're starting a business
in the future, maybe six monthsor a year.
So it takes time.
But when I workedwith the servers, a lot of them
don't want to havesurgery, right?
You have a tendinitis,you have a tenant apathy,
you have a muscle strength,whatever it may be.
And the last thingthose guys want to do
is get their surgerybecause being active
(23:05):
is their whole life.
So I'd often send the patientsto refer them to my friend Dr.
Dwight Wynn, physiotherapist.
He works with stemcells and platelet rich plasma
injection.
That's my focus is combiningrehabilitative medicine with
regenerative medicine,and we see the light on
the horizon, the futureof medicine.
(23:26):
Unfortunately, people are goingto different countries
to get the treatmentthey receive here.
It's essentially,well, I'll just say more safe.
I've been hearing some crazystory is about injections people
I mean getting an infectionsthat losing eyesight
see whatever it may behorrible story so
go to a professionalBut in any case your listeners
(23:48):
or anyone has not heardof PRP platelet rich plasma.
It's where we takea patient's own blood
and you draw out several vials.
So ten milliliters, we probablyget about 40 or 50 milliliters
of blood.
And then you spin itin a centrifuge and extract
the platelets, the top layer.
(24:10):
Then those are re-injected backinto your torn tissue or tendon
and platelets are in our blood.
And what they're responsible foris rebuilding new tissue
or essentially fibroblaststhat make new muscle ligament
and tendon tissue.
So it's actually pretty coolrather than our own body
(24:32):
sending platelets to the siteof injury.
Let's call that one.
Just how manyplatelets you have in your body
at any given time.
The PRP injectionswith Dwight Len, he's
doing 50 to 60 X,so in one injection
you're getting 50 to 60 timesmore platelets to that side
of injury and it workspretty cool in inert.
(24:55):
It's not funny isinflammation is our bodies
way of healing damaged tissue.
So the PRP injectionreally inflames
the localized sitefor two weeks.
It kind of sucks.
So the first two weeks afteryou get your shot, we're
telling patientsdon't do too much,
no weight lifting.
(25:16):
You can do some stretching, butessentially the platelets
are rebuilding the scaffolding,your tissue.
So it's pretty cool.
So you can either put upwith the pain from whatever
is going on in your bodyor get the treatment and put up
with that pain and hopefullyfeel better.
Yeah, I mean, I've therethere's a EMT I worked
(25:37):
with recently and he didn't wanteye surgery, so we went to
ortho surgeons.
They said, Yeah,you need surgery.
And I was working withfull mobility,
pretty good strength.
But he just is missing thatsnapping strength.
He needed to lift patientsand it's into his ambulance.
And so I referred himto a friend and sure
enough, the PRP, he had to takea couple of weeks off work
just to chill.
(25:58):
But he went back to work.
I thought last he told mehe's doing fine, so
it's not 100% fixed.
We'll say, Well, I've hadit personally to my shoulder
and neck and let's say my body'sat 70% effectiveness.
The PRP shot coming upto like 90%.
So I did 100% better.
But definitely improvement.
(26:20):
So and that matterswhen we're engaged
in our more vigorousactivities of life.
How long does it last?
It yeah, you get the typicallythere's a routine of two shots,
so you do them six weeks apart.
So your first shot and thenthe two weeks
you just kind of show stretch.
Generally you start going backto some general strength
(26:41):
training on that areathat's affected light resistance
work.
So band lightweights,nothing advanced,
no free weights,no bodybuilding.
And then at six week markyou would get your second
injection So and then now the VAtri west TRICARE
that's the insurancefor military members
they're covering the PROPECIA.
(27:02):
So I think it's great.
And hopefully other insuranceproviders will get around
to covering it too.
Wow, that is great.
They are the only ones right nowthat are covering it right here.
I do, although there's acouple docs, but they utilize
like four or fiveX concentration BRP
and my friend DwightLeonard, he's doing 5060 x, so
(27:28):
and now I've onlyhad that approach.
There are variabilities in thatspecialization as well.
So it's it's confusing.
And I know I've beendealing with it for the last
like seven years, having theseconversations with my friend
who has this.
It's still confusingfor a lot of people.
So if you do have questionsabout here, you can always
reach out to medirectly and share
(27:49):
my information, right? Yeah.
Yeah.
Excellent.
Yeah.
And I do these littleeducational videos
on social media to people,ask me questions
and I'll show themwhat we usually do.
It's been fun.
Is that through your businessor your own personal.
So yeah, it's, it's, it's abusiness profile,
but it's TikTok,Instagram, Facebook.
(28:11):
But yeah, people ask meI'll could be anything from
TMJ pain or it could bea criminal vehicular ligament
sprain AC joint you know,and they'll send me pictures
and what do you do?
And I'll help them out.
Obviously, it'sit's better to go
in person, of course.
Yes.
But it's been fun.
So you used to do a radio show?
(28:33):
Yes. Yeah.
With Dwight Lin, the guyI was talking about.
How long ago was that?
Oh, so that was 2018.
2020.
And then when COVIDliterally everything
shut down, I mean, we all knowwhat happened, but it was at
the old doll Cannery factorywhere they used to count
all the pineapples.
They turned it into abusiness office as well.
(28:54):
It's kind of cool.
And when you would justtake calls in the morning
from people, I hadquestions about stem cells, PRP,
physical therapy, so it wascool to combine minds on that.
MM Yeah, it's calledthe Moving body.
Yeah.
Eventually I'll probablyget back into something
like that, but it's still niceto reach out to people
and have individualsreach out to me about concerns
(29:17):
they're facing with surgeryor injuries and any of
your lives.
Magical.
Always feel freeto reach out to me as well.
Very nice.
So, Brian, with all that you dofor others, how do you find
the time to take care of Brian?
Yeah, well, wake up early, okay?
When I'm in in-person, yes,I don't want to be,
(29:38):
But it's funny,you had mentioned
influential figures in my lifeearlier, right?
And I've been listeningto these motivational
YouTube videos.
They're silly, but they work.
There's a guy,Jocko Willink, he's
like a Navy SEAL guy.
And I put him outas my alarm clock.
Get out of bed for three. Ilove it.
(29:59):
Yeah, it's bad.
But he's like,Stop making excuses,
Make your bed, go to the gym.
And it just,like very, you know,
very simple advice.
But sometimes we need tohear reinforcement.
So you make your bed.
I do.
First thing, there's.
There's several philosophersI listen to.
But yeah, there's onepretty famous psychologist
(30:22):
out there who's just.
He has a whole thing aboutmake your bed.
Make your bed.
And that sets the tonefor the day.
So if you fail atthe minimal tasks,
you're going to failthe big tasks.
So how do you do anything?
Is how you do everything right?
Very good.
Now wonder why my mom, my motheralways told me, Make your bed.
(30:42):
Yeah.
It didn't end metill I'm in my later
30 years of age.
And then it'll recently saidthat we're we're we're all
still learning.
Absolutely.
Okay, what's yourbiggest failure and what did you
learn from that experience?
Oh, well, I tried to quit beinga physical therapist
(31:04):
in grad school.
Wow. Yeah.
I always consider that mybiggest failure
because the professorI'd mentioned earlier,
he was the guy who kind ofhelped me back here.
And now life gets hardsometimes.
Family members pass away,relationships fail, or you just
many second guess things.
I recall going through some verydifficult times
(31:25):
in graduate school.
And that's that'stough for anyone.
Whatever you're studyingschool, hard, you have to
be dedicated.
And I had leftand I said, I quit.
I brought in my professorfriend, colleague.
Now, he advocated for me and Iessentially begged
and pleaded to let me back.
And I didn't do anything bad.
(31:46):
I just walked away.
Yeah.
And that I'll never forgethim helping me
to achieve the goal.
I set out to do it and I want toquote my biggest failure,
but that's the onethat sticks out to me quitting.
I, I don't want to quit in life,especially of myself or others.
(32:06):
And it's in rehabilitationor injuries.
Quitting.
It's just not an option.
Life's sometimes not fair.
It can be difficult,but you have two options.
You can quit or you cankeep moving for it.
Right?
And thank goodnessfor that, Professor.
Yeah.
Eric, What's up, man?
Thank goodnessfor his intervention
(32:27):
and getting you back onyour path again because
look at what you've donewith your career.
Yeah, it's been fun.
And every day you learnsomething, they're seeing things
through.
Even if it sucks.
Maybe you're writing a book,maybe you're.
I like to paint at nightto relax my mind.
You know, finish that book,finish your painting,
whatever it may be.
You know, I think dedicationis more important
(32:50):
than motivation.
Meaning we get motivated togo to the gym, but there's days
I don't want to go.
Those days I don't want to read.
But you have todedicate yourself to the task
that you started.
And that goes for relationships,transcends all of life's
little areas.
Don't quit.
Very good.
Very good.
So you said you'rea morning person and you like to
(33:11):
usually get to the gymin the morning
or do your workoutsin the morning.
That works for you.
Yeah.
What about nutrition?
Do you stick to a program?
Do you have you madelifestyle changes or you just
anything goes?
Yeah.
So I'm not quite as meticulousas some people you may see
on YouTube, the wearingyour macros, Right.
Proteins, fats, carbohydrates.
(33:33):
But recently in life,I would say just about a year
now, year ago now, I quitdrinking alcohol and that was a
it's socially acceptable.
So I went years just thinking,oh, okay.
But absolutely, it's catabolicit affects your diet.
You're not it'snot good for you.
We all know that.
But I think that wasthe most important
(33:54):
dietary change I madejust less alcohol or no alcohol.
It's just it doesn'tit's that good.
But more than anything.
But as far as nutritiongoes, I have.
Are you familiar with Basalmetabolic rate?
BMR Yes, No, I utilizethat formula with anyone
who wants to lose weight.
So BMR is just essentiallyhow many calories you burn
(34:17):
while you're doing nothingwatching TV.
And then you factor inhow many calories you burn
through exercise,and that should be your standard
intake of caloriesthrough the day.
So I tried tofocus on that formula
and how much calories I needjust to stay consistent.
Mm hmm.
I hope that makes sense.
Yeah.
(34:37):
So, yes, yeah, counting caloriesis important, but I'm not
as meticulous to saysome bodybuilder rides.
And what doesyour weekly workout program
look like that keeps youhealthy and strong?
So four days a week at the gymand then I do yoga,
like on Wednesdays and then onthe weekends hiking or surfing
(34:58):
and then as a scuba instructor,if they need me to teach
a couple of classesor something, I'll get out there
and you know, you're exercising,carrying tanks and swimming
in the water.
So something fun you can't like,you can't go to the gym
every day.
It's just boring, you know,before work.
Great.
You've done your good.
It's accomplished for the day.
(35:18):
But I think everyoneneeds to make time
for that hour.
Just an hour.
I'm not saying you have togo to a gym, but just a walk
around the neighborhoodbefore you keep busy
with your day to day lifeor start looking at your phone.
Surfing, dieting variety isso important.
You got to keep it interesting,Do the things you like to do,
get out thereand enjoy your life.
Right. Keep me.
Yeah.
I even went for a bike ridetwo days ago, just at sunset
(35:42):
around the ocean, and that'swhen they needed that.
So nice.
I feel like people get too stuckin their routines
and it's like it's.
It's okay to change it upa little, you know,
try something new.
Mhm.
But a surfing day for your body,it's more for the mind because
when I get out there and you'rejust sitting on the wave
looking at the oceanand the clouds just kind of
(36:03):
connecting with nature.
So I always bring likea little face mask,
a little goggles to seeif I can see some turtles
or marine life or anythingdown there.
Okay. Yeah.
So it's more for just like justconnecting with nature.
I'll be.
Yes, I'm not a very good surfer.
I'm from Cleveland, Ohio.
I didn't I didn't learnto serve.
So I was 26.
(36:24):
Yeah.
And there's kids out herewho have been surfing
circles around meand they're like, you know,
ten years old.
And you're like, okay, you can'tfocus on them.
Just be you.
So balancing on a surfboard,I mean, I know
I've been out therepaddle boarding
and paddle boarding.
Your legs aremostly in one place.
You can move themaround a little bit, but wow,
(36:45):
your legs get tiredfrom standing
on that paddle board.
Yeah.
So for my neck injury,I sometimes
can't surf that long.
So we do sup surf, Right.
Stand up, paddle.
So I'll just paddle outcatching waves on that thing.
But yeah, it's fatiguing.
And especially in the ocean,there's waves.
You have to really lean or leanback and paddle through
(37:05):
and yeah, it's a lot of fun.
I just.
It feels like that's whereI belong.
So nice.
I enjoy it.
You say it's just for your mind,but I think you're
doing something for your bodythere, too.
Yeah.
And then you meet people on thewater too.
You're like, Hey, what's up?
Make new friends.
You know, everyone's out thereto have a good time.
So there's usuallynever bad energy, for lack of
(37:27):
a better word.
We used to have a boatand all the boaters you would
meet out there Similar.
Similar story.
You know, it's just everybody'sout there to have a good time.
It's just a beautiful day.
Beautiful.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like the clouds, man.
What's there to worry about?
If you out on the waterfor a day, It's like being
on vacation for a weekend.
Yeah, absolutely.
(37:47):
Yeah.
I did some scuba diving indifferent countries,
and we go on boats for, like,a week at a time.
Pretty cool.
But I don't thinkI could do that for work.
I missed land too much.
Just So you'refrom Cleveland, Ohio.
I heard her.
She mentioned that she wentto school in Florida.
Well, that's where I am now.
You're in Hawaii.
What?
Wow, What a track record.
(38:08):
There, here, there and there.
I got a few more places,but yeah, as a physical
therapist, they're in demand.
So anywhere you go,you can pretty much guarantee
you'll find a job somewhere.
So, yeah, very fortunatein that aspect.
Just like traveling nurses,there's lots of programs
for travelingphysical therapists and they
(38:28):
do contract work.
I've been fortunate enoughto live in several states
and check it outand went to Texas,
Arizona, Nevada, and I was like,the desert is not for me.
It's three months at a time.
And this is when I was juststarting out and then made it
to Cal before.
Yeah, and then Hawaii and Ijust never looked back.
Nine Yeah.
It's not bad here at everyone.
Well complainabout something but we just call
(38:50):
Paradise Texas.
I think a lot ofpeople in society
this is a speculation.
So I think a lot ofmental health issues
have come from the inabilityto go out.
I go for a walkin the forest or, you know,
just the by the beach.
I only get speak for myselfon that one.
But when you can't do something,you realize how important
that one thing is.
(39:10):
Yeah, I live like 10 minutesfrom the coast here,
the East Coast and of Florida.
And I just love going for walkson the beach or even driving
down a one day and seeing theweather go.
I know. A one day.
Yeah. Yeah.
Going to eat and having the viewof the ocean
or that time of yearmaybe catch a whale
(39:31):
jumping out there.
You know they're here.
Yeah, the humpbacksare here right now, are they?
Yeah. Yeah.
Probably later today.
I'll go down to the Waikikiand just try to paddle out.
But same thing.
Just driving along the coast,you're just like, I just there
feels like your bloodpressure drops
just a little bit.
You're like, okay,all right, all right.
You're in paradise.
(39:52):
Yeah.
How lucky are you?
I feel I'm okay.
Doing all right?
Yeah.
So here is there's aquestion for you.
What's the best thingthat people can do
for themselves,for optimal health?
Create a programthat works for you.
Don't focus too much onthe big goals because that
will just frustrate you.
When I was working with clientsor patients through,
(40:14):
I need to lose £80.
I need to run so many miles,I need to lift this much weight.
And it's like, okay, it's goodthat you think that way,
but let's createsome daily, weekly
or monthly goals and save thosebig goals for the end
of the year.
Now it's January, so it's okayto write your big goals out,
but we lose sightof the small girls in between.
(40:34):
Now, whether that'snot adding sugar to your coffee,
right, or small little caloriesadd up over a year.
I was in this conversationwith the friend the other day
about Starbucks,those holiday drinks.
You know, and she had likeI Google that.
She's like, look, I'm like I'mlike 71 grams of sugar and like
(40:54):
the one drink.
And I'm like, you do know thatany more than 45,
you increase your risk of heartto heart disease,
diabetes, stroke.
She's like, yeah,I don't want to you know,
we're having a good time, butI mean, those small goals,
switching your favoritebeverage to something
with less calories, it adds upat the end of the year.
So I would I would say the mostimportant thing for fitness
(41:17):
and well-being is justfocus on your daily goals.
Very good.
Chipping awayat little at a time.
Make your bed and thendrink your water
and do it. Do it.
You got to do well.
It starts with the smalldaily routines and then
that translates into noticeabledifferences.
Absolutely.
I've got friends who, you know,I hate to say disappear, but,
you know, put downthe social media, start reading,
(41:39):
improving your quality of life.
And it's amazing how much fasteryou improve when you're just
focusing out while big love itvery good answer.
Okay listeners, take thatand stick it in your back pocket
and pull it out.
What is one piece of adviceyou would give to someone
starting out in your career?
I would say don't get marriedto one idea of what you're going
(42:00):
to focus on.
People go into this physicaltherapy field because they most
more times than that,they've had a injury
and they're like, okay,I had knee surgery.
I'm going to be aorthopedic physical there,
but keep your mind open.
Try new things.
Like, for example,I didn't think I like wound care
and I was right.
I didn't like it.
It was not for me.
But then I work with pediatricsand somehow the kids
(42:23):
just made me feel good.
So you don't know.
You think, Oh, these kidsare going to be
tough to deal with.
But they were the mostinnocent, happy, grateful people
you'd ever mock.
They're just it's awesome so,you know, I've kind of navigated
the waters back to orthopedics,how I got hurt.
But I would just saykeep an open mind.
Never in my lifewould I think I'd be a from
(42:43):
Cleveland, Ohio.
I'm a scuba instructorfor disabled veterans in Hawaii.
It's weird.
You know, paraplegicscan't use your legs.
So I'm like, I got you, man.
Grab their and take them down.
Just keep breathing.
You know, we go overall this stuff before we get in
the water, but, you know,you never know where
life's going to take youand what experiences will change
your life.
So keep an open mind would bethe appropriate are very good.
(43:06):
Yeah.
I used to work with a coupleof personal trainers
who one was going to schoolfor physical therapy
and it was hard.
Wasn't easy.
Well, that that's I didn'tadd that to the story,
but I was a weddingdeejay at college.
Yeah.
And I was like, Yeah,like ladies and gentlemen,
focus your attentionat the main doors,
you know, the whole day, right?
(43:27):
And you make good money.
You do that.
I was in Florida,and I was making, you know, X
amount a week and I was like,I don't need to be
a physical therapist.
I'll just be a deejaythe rest of my life.
I really the reasonI was thinking about
just dropping out of school,I was like, I don't want
to study.
I'm just going to go play music.
And oh my gosh, I'm so gratefulI didn't keep doing that
(43:48):
because that lifestyle isnot sustainable.
Yes. Yeah.
So the personal trainer, hehe stayed in school, he did it
and became a psychotherapist.
And then there was another onethat started working there.
And she was like, I want to goto school, but I don't know
if I can handle it.
And I, I kept onencouraging her to do
it, do it, do it.
(44:08):
You know, kids so muchyounger than me, you know,
working at a gym it's like,how long can you sustain that?
You know, you your people,your clients,
they come, they go, you havecancellations.
You don't get paid.
You come.
Why not do somethingmore, you know, and get more
education about the body.
Especially if you loveworking with the body
(44:30):
and learning about the bodyand how it works.
Why not do more?
Yeah, Yeah.
I mean, even some physiciansdon't really know all we do,
which is okay, because every nowand again I find myself
elaborating on spinal cordinjuries or stroke.
CVA Neurologic You had mentionedmultiple sclerosis earlier arms
and like there are teststhat we do to help figure out
(44:51):
if someone has it.
They're weird tests,but I've always found that
the more you learn,the less you know this though I
if I recall back towe went through teenage years.
We know it.
All right?
Cause I get anywhereI eat, you book you read,
you're like, didn't know that.
Oh, my gosh.
(45:11):
What don't I know?
And I always tell young studentsI was a clinical instructor
for like six years.
So taking out a studentsand I would always
tell them, like, you don't knowsomething, go look it up
and teach me,because I don't know.
And the more you know, the lessyou understand or vice versa.
I can't say that right. Sorry.
But essentially you need to keepthe education process
(45:33):
going strong.
Yes, keep it goingstrong and using it,
because the more you use it,the more familiar
you become with it.
It's just like you go to school,you learn all this stuff,
but until you startputting it to use
around every day and workingwith people and there are
different issues, differentpersonalities, different things
going on in their lives, that'swhen you really start
(45:55):
learning, right?
You can read a book all day,but once you see
that condition on someone likeas one kid always comes to my
I was in Miamiand he got a gunshot
wound in the neck and half ofhis spinal cord got removed
straight from the bullet.
And they call that browncord syndrome.
So basically he's out ofhis body, works kind of.
(46:17):
And then his other sidewas like contracted.
So what they call thatdecoder kit, spinal cord injury,
which is so weird because halfof his body work, the other half
not right.
So you hear you can readthe same books all day
and then you see it on one pageand you're like, oh,
okay, I get it.
So my advice and, you know,with school, you go work
(46:37):
with people.
So a professor of mine had saidthe rule of 10,000, you know,
you word with 10,000 thumbs,you'll be a thumb expert.
You work with 10,000 ankles,you're an ankle expert.
And until you work with thatnumber of people, don't
even think yourself ofan expert.
You're not even there yet.
So it takes time.
Yeah, especially, yeah.
Especially with peoplewhere all felt just
(46:59):
a little different.
And some people adhere tothe program, some people don't.
So.
Yeah, different.
Personally, no stubbornness.
Yeah.
Why am I not losing weight?
Well, tell me whatyou've been doing.
You'll know right away.
Like, I don't knowif you've had this
happen to you, but have youever caught any of your clients
in the parking lotEating like what?
They shouldn't be eating?
I could think of several peopleI know personally.
(47:21):
They're eating a McDonald'scheeseburger on their way,
and I'm like, What?
But I'm hungry.
You got a letter?
It was cheap.
Oh, hungry.
I'm like, Dude,you're good to go on
that treadmill for 2 hoursto burn your 600 calories.
Did you stay with those twotwo cheeseburgers or whatever?
It's just, you know,you got to think logically about
it is all.
Sure, I love junk foodas much as I always like
(47:42):
the treadmill analogy. Right.
All right.
You have your large frappuccino,extra premium.
That's 800 calories.
You got to be on the treadmillfor 3 hours for that one.
Sorry, Starbucks.
It's about picking on you.
Have you ever caught someonecheating on their way?
It?
No, I have a they're okay.
Good.
Hopefully they haven'tcaught me.
(48:03):
Think someone did catch meat the grocery store
not too long agoand I had, like, frozen pizza.
This can be okay.
So how is this?
What do you want?
Yeah, Yeah.
They're like a healthy diet.
I'm like, they'll tell youit's okay.
Okay, So my next question is,do you recommend any books
for our listeners?
I was fortunateenough to go to Japan last year
(48:24):
for snowboarding, right?
I love Japanese culture.
There's a lot ofJapanese population
here in Hawaiiand there's a saying
over there, ikigai that's likethat's a word that defines
life purpose.
So there's a book that I pickedup over there,
Ikigai (48:40):
The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.
And essentially it's aboutfinding your purpose
when you wake up.
You know, if I could justput it down to one sentence.
If you don't have a reasonto get out of bed and pursue
a goal for that day,it's more often than not
that you're not very happy.
You struggle with maybedepression.
But again, speaking for myselfhere, I did when I didn't have
(49:01):
a focus or goal.
In life, you just kind offeel out of it.
Like I wrote about that.
I read this book IkigaiYou could find it on Amazon,
but basically it goesthrough a series of steps
to try to help you definewhat makes you happy and what's
your purposein getting out of bed
each morning above allself-help books?
I think thatwe all need to define
and find our why.
So something that motivates youand makes you want to work hard
(49:24):
or learn, whatever it may be,it might be acrylic painting or
hiking, mountains,whatever it is, you go do it,
and if it makes you happy,that's good idea as well.
Ikigai, I basically it's whatgive us your sense
of purpose or reason for livingbecause there's so many.
I mean, I've, I readphilosophy books and Thailand
(49:46):
and China andall over the world, whether it's
Christianity or, you know,religious texts or
you I'm curious and the onethat stuck with the most
was the Japanese bookI just mentioned, defining your
life's purpose.
And that just it's good.
You know, onceyou can figure that maybe mine's
physical therapy, right?
I was out at a friend's.
(50:08):
He's in a band.
So I was at a show last nightmaking friends, saying hello
to people.
And this girl, her elbow wasyou could see her as totally,
essentially deformed.
And they're like,oh, Brian’s a PT.
And then she's like, Take a lookat them now.
Help me here.
So I'm playing around with itand like, Yeah,
we can help this.
She's like, Really?
I'm like, Yeah, of course.
And it's just an allthe injuries she never
(50:30):
took care of.
But I feel like my life'spurpose is to help people
improve from theirphysical injuries.
And it just seems to follow mearound everywhere.
Like I go to the grocery storeand there's, Hey, man, you know,
like someonenotice me or whatever it may be.
And there you go.
Yes, absolutely.
That's awesome.
You've found your life's purposeand you're following your dream.
(50:52):
That's great.
All right.
So my last questionto you, Brian,
is I'd like for you to seta goal for our listeners
and maybe tell them a little bitabout how to get there.
Well, are your podcast,we're focusing on health
and wellness.
And my goal would beto try to establish
one thing just one that you cando each day
(51:15):
to help your physicaland spiritual and improve
your quality of lifefor that day.
Now, whether that'staking out the extra
sugar in your coffee,whether that's going for a
walk in nature, maybe you'refeeling like your muscles
are tight or maybe you feel weaktrying to find that one thing
that's going to help you improvefor that day is the small goal
(51:36):
I was talking about.
If you have painin your hamstrings,
try stretching them that day.
If you feel like you don't wantto get out of bed and lay in bed
all day and hide underthe covers, go for a walk.
It's like finding comfortin the discomfort, if that makes
any sense.
Well, there's a saying if you'renot uncomfortable,
(51:56):
you're not growing.
And that really sticks with me.
So redefining it,do something each day that makes
you uncomfortable.
What I'm focusing onin life right now is to be
someone you've never been.
You've asked to do somethingyou've never done.
And that the old saying isif nothing changes,
nothing changes, right?
So if you if youyou need to find something
(52:19):
uncomfortable to do each daythat will define it.
Yeah.
I challenge your listenersto try to find something
that makes them a little scaredor a little uncomfortable,
a little out of thecomfort zone.
And whether that'sgoing for a walk
around the block,trying something new
or some kind of dietary change,try it out.
Just start there.
(52:39):
Start small now.
Excellent.
Brian, great advice.
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, thank you so much, Brian,being on the show.
All right.
Aloha, Brian.
Yeah, Alohato everyone out there
and thanks, Angela,for having me.
I really appreciate it.
This is Angela Graysonfrom the Loving Life
(53:00):
Fitness Podcast.
To help others in their fitnessjourney.
It’s all possible! It’s timeto wake up.
(53:20):
Here we go.
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