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Francisco Padilla's Road From Prison to Doctor of Physical Therapy · White Coat Black Sheep

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  All right. Welcome to "White Coat, Black Sheep," where science gets curious and
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  dogma gets uncomfortable. I'm Dr.
• 0:05
  Sevali, and today we talk physiology, evidence, and real-world medicine,
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  plus the questions you're not supposed to ask but probably should.
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  If you care about health and think there's a better way, welcome to our show.
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  So today with us, we have
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  Francisco Padilla. He is a doctor of physical medicine-- Sorry,
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  doctor of physical therapy, and he's also a business owner.
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  So today, we're going to be talking about
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  your experience and your journey.
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  And I loved reading your story. You mentioned, and I'll just
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  read in your words.
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  Okay.
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  "So my journey hasn't been traditional.
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  I went from addiction, incarceration, and surviving severe burn
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  injuries with multiple surgeries to earning my doctorate and opening my own
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  physical therapy practice." Love it.
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  Thank you.
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  "Today, I use my story and platform to inspire others with a focus,
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  especially at-risk youth and people who feel like their past
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  disqualifies them from success." That's awesome.
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  "Through healthcare, business, fitness, and mentorship, I'm passionate about
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  proving that adversity does not have to define your future."
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  Wow.
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  Hello.
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  Thank you.
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  I am so honored to have you on. Thank you so much for joining.
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  No, thank you for having me. I'm excited about it.
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  I've been listening to your podcast, and I'm excited to be here.
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  Well, you've been through the fires.
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  You've been battle tested, and then you walked through it.
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  How do you think you did it? I know that's the biggest
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  question, but what's
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  the core of you that just is like, "Don't quit"?
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  I feel like a lot of it was
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  just knowing that there was more to life.
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  Mm-hmm.
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  A lot of the time, just going through every adversity
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  from the beginning to the end, I felt like I just kept getting
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  battles thrown at me.
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  Yeah.
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  And I knew there was a reason for it at the end of the day, even though at that
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  moment I couldn't really see it just because of the pain, just because of the
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  trauma-
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  Yeah
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  ... just because of
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  the lowest places I've been and just the dark places I've been.
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  And
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  I always just knew there was more, and I just never stopped.
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  I just kept believing and just kept going, I would say.
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  So you felt like there was an underlying purpose?
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  Yes, 100%. I felt like
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  this can't be all
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  Yeah
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  This can't be all, just being
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  incarcerated, this can't be it.
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  Yeah.
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  I have an out date. I need to do something when I get out, or just from the
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  addictions, this can't be it. And from when I was in the hospital for
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  10 and a half months, I'm like, "This can't be it."
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  Oh my gosh.
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  So-
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  That's a long time.
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  Yeah.
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  Things lasted longer than they're supposed to, just
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  because when I was there, infections were occurring,
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  one thing after another. My car accident happened September 3rd,
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  and they told me I would be home by Christmas, but I didn't end up going home until
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  July 15th. So it was just
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  one thing after another. Had to get more
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  surgeries. Skin grafts weren't healing the way they're supposed to.
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  So just through all those struggles, I felt
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  like
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  this has to be for a purpose, and due to them, though,
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  it's led me here.
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  Yeah.
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  Okay, so we're back. Sorry, we had to take a little two-minute--
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  I had a little cough I couldn't work out.
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  Yes.
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  So back to you, back to your story. You were pushing
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  through a lot. Like a lot. But you still found purpose
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  throughout the pain, which is huge.
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  I love when people do that. So take it away
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  Yeah, so at that moment, just going through recovery, I was
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  burned almost close to 80% of my body. I went through 30 surgeries total.
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  Oh my gosh.
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  So just the time there, went through a lot of depression, went through a lot of
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  times of, like, "Why me? Why
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  am I still here? Why?"
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  And even though the medical providers, surgeons, the physical therapists,
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  occupational therapists, nurses,
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  they were all telling me that it would get better and at that moment, you don't
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  believe it. You're just in so much pain. I lost the digits to my hand, too.
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  Mm.
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  So it just--
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  And couldn't walk, couldn't do anything on my own.
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  So it really hit pretty hard,
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  and it wasn't until time passed by to where I was
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  finally able to walk again, being able to stand up on my own and
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  started making those changes that I kind of started seeing the light a little bit,
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  that things are going to get better.
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  I'm sure it was every day was its own journey.
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  Good days, bad, and really moment to-- Like minute to minute.
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  What a mind experience you're just having to push
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  through, because I'm sure there are some low lows you did not know existed.
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  Yes, 100%. Yeah, I had never been through nothing like that.
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  I've been through my fair share. I wasn't the greatest student.
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  I was a high school dropout.
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  Got my GED in prison. And so everything
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  was-- I've been through my fair share, but
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  nothing like this. This was just the biggest test.
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  It was the biggest test for me and-
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  Yeah
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  ... I'm glad I made it out, and I'm better now, but-
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  Yeah
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  ... that was very challenging.
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  Yeah. It seems like you're really making sense of
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  the pain that you had to go through.
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  And I would imagine, I know at least for myself,
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  the things where I find I had to question the things that
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  crippled me to my knees, where I'm crying and I'm down and I'm just like,
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  "Why am I dealing with this? Why is this my life's moment right
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  now?" Almost like, I don't know, in my case, if I felt
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  bad for myself, but it definitely was like,
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  "Why?" Because I feel like I make good decisions, and I
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  don't know, even if it's not good decisions, whatever is the
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  situation, there's things, I don't care who you are, in this life, you
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  will get broken down. And I feel like
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  if it hasn't happened yet and you're still riding that wave,
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  awesome. But you will be tested.
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  Yes, I feel like you said, it's a perfect example.
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  It doesn't matter if you're doing good or bad, I feel like we all
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  do get tested-
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  Yeah
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  ... one way or another. And sometimes we even question it, like why them?
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  They never did any harm, or anything like that,
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  and they've been good people their whole lives and stuff, and it still happens.
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  Yeah.
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  We all get tested, and we all deal with it different ways.
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  Yeah.
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  Like you said yourself, you've been tested and you question why, but
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  you're here and you're doing good.
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  Yeah.
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  Even when people ask me, "How was it?"
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  It was difficult at that time, but
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  if it wasn't because of all those difficulties, I wouldn't be where I'm at.
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  And I always tell people it's like a painful blessing because-
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  Yeah
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  ... it was really a eye-opener for me, and it got me to the point where
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  I'm at today, being able to have conversations with awesome people like yourself,
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  and being able to be here-
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  Thank you
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  ... and
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  help so many patients out now.
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  Yeah.
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  Have my own business, have my own clinic to where people come in and feel
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  comfortable.
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  Yeah.
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  All of it happened for a reason.
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  It did. Would you ever wish that it didn't happen?
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  Like the burns, the incarceration, any
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  of it, would you ever wish that to just undo if you could?
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  No, I would go through it all over again-
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  Right
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  ... just to be where I'm at today.
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  I feel the same. Isn't that wild?
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  Yeah.
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  And it was like you suffered greatly.
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  Why? Right? Why?
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  It's just
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  the finish line. You get to the finish line, and-
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  Yeah
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  ... and I feel like I'm still not there yet.
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  I feel like I'm just still growing, and I'm still kind of just...
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  It helped my mindset kind of just get better and more broad, and I feel like now
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  the sky's the limit. I feel like there's no limitations to what I could achieve-
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  Yeah
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  ... just because I think of everything that I've been through already.
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  And like you said yourself, the things that you've been through, even though
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  they're painful, even though they're difficult, you would do it all over again, and
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  I feel the exact same way.
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  Yeah. And I think what else is interesting, at least my
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  takeaway from the things that I've gone through, which
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  everybody has those things that again breaks them.
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  So mine is different than what
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  you had to go through that broke you-
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  Mm-hmm
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  ... and made you, in some way, different on the other side.
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  And you can't ever shift back to that person that you were prior to
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  whatever was the event.
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  I really just think that it's
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  your purpose. It's your purpose, and you're meant to
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  be whoever you are on the other side, and that is just, it's almost
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  like you could feel like a victim on that side, but then you
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  made it, so now what, right? So making sense of that is the
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  next phase. And then, is this for you?
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  Is this for other people? You could get trapped in a whole
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  deep rabbit hole with it, but ...
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  No, that's 100% accurate because I know a lot of
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  people that have been through similar situations and they, instead of
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  trying to do better, they do play the victim, and they're just like, they get
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  stuck.
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  It gets easier.
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  Yes, 100%.
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  It's easier to be... And the victim in the sense of you're stuck in that why
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  me phase.
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  Mm-hmm.
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  And you're not putting any energy and purpose
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  into the pain. You're just sitting there receiving
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  and really taking energy, right?
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  Yeah.
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  It's just like
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  I don't know. I never wanted to be that.
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  I always like to just give, and at some point,
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  I don't know, finding the meaning of the suffering has to--
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  That's my thing.
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  Yeah.
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  And that's really my takeaway from what I know to be true about you, and
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  that's so freaking awesome.
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  No, yeah. And like you said, I 100% agree because just because of what
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  you've been through, you're able to help somebody else out with it, right?
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  Yeah.
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  It's like if you know someone that's going through a similar situation-
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  Yeah
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  ... now you have relatability to them-
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  Yeah
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  ... instead of just kind of guessing.
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  Yeah.
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  And I feel when we have been through those difficult times-
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  Mm-hmm
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  ... we're able to help more people out because of those difficult times, and
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  instead of just playing that victim, so-
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  Yeah
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  ... that's awesome that a
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  select few are able to move forward and be-
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  Yeah
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  ... able to make those better choices and stuff because now we're able to
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  help more people out because of it.
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  Yeah, which was not the initial intention.
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  No, at all.
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  At all.
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  There's easier ways to help people-
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  Mm-hmm
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  ... but jeez. Yeah.
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  Yeah, no, 100%. Yeah, I wish sometimes it's
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  like I would go through it all over again,
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  and I feel like it's created the person that I am today.
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  Mm-hmm.
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  But like you said, there
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  probably is easier ways, because I know other people that haven't been through
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  them, and they're still doing well.
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  They have,
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  being able to help other people out too, but-
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  Yeah
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  ... some of us have to go through more.
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  Yeah, definitely. Were there people in your life that have fallen
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  out of your life throughout your growth, your change,
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  your difficult moments?
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  Yeah, 100%.
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  That's hard.
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  Yeah, I lost a lot of friends.
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  Yep.
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  And some of them are still friends, but we just don't hang
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  out anymore.
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  Yeah.
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  I don't know what it is. Sometimes I don't feel like it's me, because I'm the same
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  person. I still hang out. I still talk the same way.
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  Wait, but are you? Are you the same person?
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  In a sense I am and then I'm not. I'm a lot busier, for
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  one.
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  Yeah.
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  I'm a lot busier just because of the business, and my family, and my kids, and my
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  wife.
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  Yeah.
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  But I've grown in mindset. I'm not just
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  wasting time anymore the way I used to.
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  Yeah.
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  So yeah, in a sense I'm not the same person, so I
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  cherish my time a lot more now, I would say.
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  Okay.
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  And I try to choose the people I spend my time with.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah, so you have a big point there because you know how you do, because-
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  I had to ask myself that because I'm like, "I'm the same me."
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  Yes.
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  But wait, no, I'm actually not. I don't talk about the same things.
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  Mm-hmm.
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  I don't care about the same things.
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  When you get really broken down to your nuts and bolts, and
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  then you're just in cracked pieces, and you have to figure out and put yourself
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  back together. Like, who am I? What am I? What's my purpose?
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  What's the point of me? Why am I dealing with this?
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  And having to walk through that and rebuild.
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  You know what I mean? You're
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  asking all those questions, and then you go back to your
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  friendships, and they haven't gone through this
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  whole thing. It's like our
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  conversations have shifted.
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  It feels trivial to talk
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  about the things that we once did, and I hate to even say that.
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  I don't want to say every conversation should be so deep.
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  Okay, it shouldn't. Sometimes it's like I had to learn to have fun, too.
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  Yes.
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  But it's just adding layers of depth, I guess, was part of
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  my journey.
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  Yeah. No, that makes sense, because I would go to just get-togethers and stuff
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  like that.
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  Yeah.
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  Because obviously they would invite and stuff, and the conversations are the same
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  conversations that were happening 15 years ago, 20 years ago.
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  Yeah.
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  And I'm just like, I did grow a lot, and that kind of doesn't-
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  Yeah
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  ... cast my interest anymore, and-
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  Yeah
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  ... so sometimes I kind of just shy myself away a little
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  bit and a little bit more and-
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  Yeah
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  ... kind of show up a little bit less.
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  And it's not rude.
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  Yeah. No.
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  It's real.
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  Mm-hmm.
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  And I think real is still always the answer.
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  Yeah. No, yeah, 100%. Because,
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  I never really thought about it like that, but yeah, I would rather just be
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  spending time with people that are like-minded.
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  Yeah.
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  And if I'm not, just with my wife and kids-
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  Yeah
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  ... and my family.
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  Perfect.
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  Yeah.
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  Right? And it feels like the obligation still exists, right?
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  Mm-hmm.
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  You probably
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  outgrew people, and you didn't want to admit it to
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  yourself.
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  Yeah.
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  I have.
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  Yeah.
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  And it feels bad. It feels in some way like a bad thing, but it shouldn't be.
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  Because I feel like everybody has a meaning and purpose at
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  certain times in our life.
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  Mm-hmm.
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  So, I think valuing that is a step that I'm having to figure out,
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  and just acknowledging it. But then it's like you're not
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  the inner circle right now.
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  Yeah.
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  You were awesome at the time that we were
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  hanging out. But now, this is where I'm at.
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  This is what I'm doing. This is where I'm going, and this is who I need to be
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  surrounded by, so that I can really target my goals and
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  grow as a person and be fully
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  purposeful.
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  Yeah.
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  So, it's different.
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  Yeah, no, it really is.
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  And I guess you
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  hit the nail on the coffin with that.
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  I feel like I was just kind of probably not wanting to admit it,
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  but-
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  I feel guilty.
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  Yeah, you feel guilty about-
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  I feel guilty
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  ... outgrowing people, you feel guilty about-
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  It's negative on them, but it's not.
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  Yeah. No, it's not. Yeah. And it just, some of us grow in
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  different ways, and some of us grow faster, and some of us want
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  more.
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  Yeah.
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  And some people are just comfortable, and
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  it isn't anything negative.
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  Yeah.
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  It's just that
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  I see
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  that I have a lot more to accomplish and achieve in this life, and I can't be
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  wasting time.
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  Yeah.
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  To get into DPT school, that's already very,
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  very challenging.
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  Yes.
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  What was that experience like? Because I know there's probably a lot of people that
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  do listen that are trying to get in.
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  So, what did that look like, and what were some barriers?
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  Yeah. So, for physical therapy for myself,
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  like I said, I got my GED in prison, so education was completely new to me.
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  So-
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  Oh, that's fantastic.
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  Yeah, I know. I didn't even know I could really do it.
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  My personal physical therapists that were my physical therapists at the
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  hospital, we grew a bond where I was there for so long with them
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  that they actually motivated me to go back to school.
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  Wow.
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  And the nurses were like, "Go back to school, Francisco.
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  Don't go back to your same neighborhood. Don't go do the same things.
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  Go to school." Man.
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  Is your neighborhood rough?
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  Yes. Yeah. Just the way I grew up, the things I got involved
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  with and stuff like that, so just-
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  In Mexico?
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  Yes.
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  Okay.
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  Yeah, and that's why they were just telling me, "You need to stay off the
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  streets. You need to stay out." Because when I got in my car accident, I
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  had just been out of prison for one year.
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  Okay.
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  And when I went into prison, I did five years in prison.
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  Wow.
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  So, they knew my past, and that's why it was completely different
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  for me, because
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  I
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  never grew up knowing professionals. I didn't know no doctors.
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  I didn't know no nurses, physical therapists.
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  I didn't know these careers even existed
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  growing up in that area.
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  Because Mexico's very rural.
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  Yes. I just knew agriculture fields and oil fields.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  And I think there's just the one clinic, right? Are there other clinics?
• 17:08
  There's other clinics now. Yeah.
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  Oh, okay.
• 17:09
  Yeah, there's other clinics now.
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  Okay.
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  It's growing, but it's still not the biggest, but-
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  Yeah
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  ... we are growing.
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  Yeah.
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  And that's all I knew. So,
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  my dream was to work in the oil fields. That was my dream.
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  That was the biggest achievement I could accomplish, because I didn't want to go to
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  college or anything like that.
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  But that took a turn when I went to prison, because I had just turned 19.
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  I went to prison five years, got out at 24, and not even a
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  year after, I was working in the oil fields when I got in my car accident,
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  and-
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  So, you had achieved that.
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  Yes, I did achieve that.
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  Were you happy at that time?
• 17:42
  Yes, I was happy at that time. I was working a lot.
• 17:45
  I thought that was the dream. I thought that was the life,
• 17:48
  working 12, 14-hour shifts. It was in
• 17:52
  2012, so the oil fields were booming at that time here in Michigan.
• 17:54
  Oh, that was a good year.
• 17:55
  Yeah, that was a good year. So, it was busy, and I'm working a lot of
• 17:58
  overtime.
• 17:59
  Yeah.
• 18:00
  You know-
• 18:00
  Were you married?
• 18:01
  No, I wasn't married.
• 18:02
  Okay.
• 18:03
  So, I was just-
• 18:04
  Man.
• 18:04
  Yeah, I was just living the life. It was good for me.
• 18:07
  I had just got out, so I was making good money. I was working a lot.
• 18:11
  Mm-hmm.
• 18:11
  I was busy. I had just got my car, so I'm just like,
• 18:15
  "This is good. This is good living." And then my car accident
• 18:19
  happened, and that's when everything turned for me.
• 18:22
  So,
• 18:24
  just being around other professionals and
• 18:28
  them actually talking to me and talking to me like a human being, not just
• 18:31
  seeing me for my past-
• 18:33
  Yeah
• 18:33
  ... it was very motivating because I still talk to them to this day.
• 18:37
  I have their personal cell phones, and we talk, and we text, and they're the ones
• 18:40
  that sent me reference letters when I was trying to go back to college.
• 18:44
  Oh, I love that.
• 18:44
  Yeah. So they really helped out, and that's why I love medical professionals.
• 18:49
  Everybody, I respect them all. No matter what field it is, I respect it
• 18:52
  because a lot of them had their part in my journey of recovery and
• 18:56
  getting better, and also just becoming a physical therapist because
• 19:00
  they all believed in me, and they were like, "Francisco, you could do more.
• 19:02
  You're a smart kid. You're very young still." So,
• 19:07
  them believing in me, and I didn't know anybody that went to college.
• 19:11
  I was a first-generation college student in my family also.
• 19:13
  Oh my goodness.
• 19:14
  So,
• 19:15
  just finding out how to get started, how to enroll in college, how to
• 19:19
  do all these things.
• 19:20
  It's a nightmare, right?
• 19:21
  Yes.
• 19:22
  It is a nightmare.
• 19:23
  Yes.
• 19:23
  Okay. I'm listening.
• 19:24
  They don't make it easy. No.
• 19:25
  No.
• 19:26
  No, they don't make it easy, especially for someone that...
• 19:29
  I feel like in high school now because I
• 19:32
  let a few of them go shadow at the clinic and I try to give them some mentorship
• 19:35
  now. But back then, well, I didn't go to school that much, so they
• 19:39
  probably did it back then, too. I just didn't pay attention.
• 19:41
  But I didn't have that guidance of like, "You need to do this to go to college.
• 19:44
  You need to do this. You need to do this."
• 19:45
  Yeah.
• 19:46
  So when I enrolled, me and my wife now, but it
• 19:50
  was my girlfriend at the time, we actually started going to college together.
• 19:53
  Oh, nice.
• 19:53
  And we're just kind of learning as we go because she's a first-generation college
• 19:56
  student, too.
• 19:57
  Wow.
• 19:57
  So we're just learning on our own as we went and
• 20:00
  just went nonstop, didn't take no summers off,
• 20:04
  and were able to get done pretty fast.
• 20:07
  And to get into DPT school is very competitive, so you-
• 20:11
  Gosh. It's near impossible.
• 20:12
  Yeah. So you really want to make sure that you are giving it your all, making sure
• 20:16
  that you have a high GPA and that you're getting, especially with the
• 20:20
  prereqs, that you are achieving A's and B's because if you're
• 20:24
  getting C's and stuff like that, they're not going to accept you because-
• 20:27
  Mm-hmm
• 20:27
  ... obviously they want you to be able to pass your program also.
• 20:29
  Yeah.
• 20:29
  And if they know you're barely passing your prereqs, they're not going to accept
• 20:32
  you. So-
• 20:33
  Yeah
• 20:33
  ... I was a little older when I went to college, so I already had that mindset.
• 20:36
  What's older? Just because a lot of people don't-
• 20:38
  Yeah. I started at 28.
• 20:39
  Okay.
• 20:39
  I started college at 28. I had birthed-
• 20:41
  Okay
• 20:41
  ... at 28 when I started college. And so when I started,
• 20:45
  I'm 38 now.
• 20:46
  Okay.
• 20:46
  Yeah. But I was 28. So when I started, I'm like,
• 20:50
  "I know what I need to do." I sold my
• 20:54
  car. I sold my toys. I sold my jet skis.
• 20:56
  Oh my gosh.
• 20:57
  I sold my motorcycle. I sold everything-
• 20:59
  Yeah
• 20:59
  ... and I'm just like, "I'm just going to go full time."
• 21:00
  Yeah.
• 21:01
  I'm going to take the sacrifice.
• 21:03
  From your oil money.
• 21:03
  Yes, from my oil money. I'm just like, "I'm going to get rid of everything," and I
• 21:07
  don't have money for repairs right now or anything like that, so I'm just going to
• 21:10
  go to school full time.
• 21:11
  You wanted it.
• 21:12
  Yes, 100%. And that's what I was able to do.
• 21:14
  I was able to just put everything to the side, friends,
• 21:18
  family, and just me and my girlfriend were able just to
• 21:22
  study full time, and we lived together, and we just studied.
• 21:25
  And it was difficult for even just the relationship, just
• 21:28
  because all we did was study.
• 21:30
  Ugh, miserable. Yeah.
• 21:31
  Yeah. All we did was study.
• 21:32
  It's not fun. You're not getting-
• 21:33
  Yeah
• 21:33
  ... dopamine from that.
• 21:34
  No.
• 21:34
  You're just like, "Ugh."
• 21:35
  Yeah, and I wasn't the smartest kid either, so I just had to study a lot, and I was
• 21:40
  making sure, and I would stress myself out.
• 21:42
  And I feel like-
• 21:43
  Yeah
• 21:43
  ... that's why I did well enough because I stressed myself to the
• 21:47
  point where, like, "I'm not going to leave this room until I get it down."
• 21:50
  Mm-hmm.
• 21:50
  "I'm not going to leave this room until I make sure that I'm able to get an A or a
• 21:53
  B."
• 21:56
  And I was able to get it done because of that. So it is difficult to get in.
• 22:00
  So if you are thinking and considering DPT school, you want to make sure
• 22:04
  that you start off college from the get-go-
• 22:06
  Mm-hmm
• 22:06
  ... with the strong mindset that it's going to be difficult, but if you sacrifice
• 22:10
  these short years and stuff, you'll get there and-
• 22:13
  Short.
• 22:14
  Yeah, short years. Yeah, now it's a lot, the schooling, but
• 22:19
  time will fly by.
• 22:20
  Yeah.
• 22:20
  Mm-hmm.
• 22:21
  So how long did it take for you to get your bachelor's?
• 22:24
  It took me four years, exactly, with all the prereqs.
• 22:27
  You were speedy.
• 22:28
  Yes. Yeah.
• 22:29
  A lot of people can't say that.
• 22:31
  Yeah, and like I said, I think it was just my mindset at that
• 22:35
  time.
• 22:35
  Yeah.
• 22:35
  Because I know a lot of younger people right now, too, they're like, "Oh, I'm going
• 22:38
  to take the summer off," or, "I'm going to get done with my bachelor's, then I'll
• 22:42
  start taking the prereqs."
• 22:43
  It's hard to hear that, right? It pains me to hear things like that.
• 22:46
  Yes, for myself.
• 22:46
  I'm like, "For what? For fun?"
• 22:48
  Mm-hmm.
• 22:49
  Also, granted, I struggle to think about doing fun.
• 22:52
  I'm more like work mode.
• 22:54
  Mm-hmm.
• 22:55
  But yeah.
• 22:57
  No, I agree with you. It does. Sometimes I feel like getting on them and be like,
• 23:00
  "No, why are you going to take summer off?"
• 23:02
  Yeah.
• 23:03
  You're already in the studying mode. Just keep studying, keep doing.
• 23:06
  Yeah.
• 23:06
  Keep taking on-
• 23:08
  Why would you break it?
• 23:08
  Yeah. Why would you break that routine that you already have?
• 23:10
  Yes, the habit.
• 23:11
  Yeah, because those habits-
• 23:12
  Yeah
• 23:12
  ... sometimes they're hard to get back into.
• 23:14
  They're so hard.
• 23:15
  So-
• 23:15
  You taste fun, you just are like, "I want more fun."
• 23:18
  Yeah, 100%. And that's why I feel like it was good for me because
• 23:22
  I didn't take no summers off. I didn't-
• 23:24
  Yeah
• 23:24
  ... do anything other than study for four years straight,
• 23:28
  and I got done with all my prereqs with anatomy and physio, with Physics 1A,
• 23:32
  Physics 2, Chem 1, Chem 2-
• 23:34
  Mm-hmm
• 23:34
  ... in addition to all the classes that I needed for my bachelor's-
• 23:37
  Mm-hmm
• 23:38
  ... and I was able to get it done in four years exactly.
• 23:40
  Exercise science?
• 23:41
  Exercise science, yeah. I got my-
• 23:42
  Okay
• 23:42
  ... bachelor's in kinesiology, exercise science.
• 23:44
  Awesome.
• 23:45
  Yeah.
• 23:45
  Okay. And then was that local?
• 23:47
  I went to Fresno State.
• 23:49
  Okay.
• 23:49
  Yeah.
• 23:50
  Awesome.
• 23:50
  Bakersfield College here for my associate's, then transferred to
• 23:54
  Fresno State for my bachelor's.
• 23:55
  Okay, amazing. And then you had to still take an
• 23:59
  entrance exam, right? I forget which one.
• 24:01
  Yeah, GRE.
• 24:02
  GRE.
• 24:02
  Yeah.
• 24:04
  Ugh. Ugh. Okay, so I never took the GRE.
• 24:06
  I took the MCAT, but they're all just as miserable-
• 24:10
  Yes
• 24:10
  ... miserable.
• 24:12
  How did you prepare for that?
• 24:14
  I would always buy programs because I knew I wasn't going to be the best
• 24:18
  test taker.
• 24:19
  Yeah.
• 24:19
  So I would look online, and I'd do some research, and I'm like, "What program's
• 24:23
  going to better prepare me to be able to take this exam?"
• 24:26
  Mm-hmm.
• 24:27
  So I forgot which program it was. It's been years now.
• 24:30
  Kaplan?
• 24:31
  Probably. It was probably through Kaplan because Kaplan has programs for
• 24:34
  everything.
• 24:35
  Yes, they do.
• 24:36
  Yeah.
• 24:37
  Mr. Kaplan's probably very rich.
• 24:39
  Yes. No, especially because he's helping you pass all these exams.
• 24:42
  Oh, yeah.
• 24:43
  Yeah, but I was able to do good enough on the GRE, and especially,
• 24:46
  I had pretty good grades on my pre-reqs and stuff.
• 24:49
  I was able to average,
• 24:51
  for the pre-reqs, I think I had a 3.8 GPA, and then overall, a
• 24:55
  3.7 GPA.
• 24:56
  Okay.
• 24:56
  So when I started applying to these programs, and the GRE, I forgot the score, but
• 24:59
  I scored decent enough to be competitive when I applied.
• 25:03
  I love how real you are. People just don't throw out their stats like that.
• 25:06
  Just so you guys know, whoever's listening, you're super real and
• 25:10
  authentic because it's like a secret.
• 25:13
  Yeah.
• 25:13
  And okay, so I'm first generation doctor, so I
• 25:17
  guess I relate to you.
• 25:19
  Mm-hmm.
• 25:19
  I don't think of it as why are we score keeping or
• 25:23
  hiding or I don't know. There's some things I had to
• 25:26
  retake, and I feel like it's okay to say that.
• 25:29
  Oh, yeah.
• 25:30
  It's
• 25:32
  freaking hard.
• 25:33
  Mm-hmm.
• 25:33
  It's hard for a reason.
• 25:34
  Yeah.
• 25:34
  And we're not naturally born doctors.
• 25:36
  Yeah.
• 25:36
  And so you had to really want it. You had to really
• 25:40
  invest financial-
• 25:42
  Mm-hmm
• 25:42
  ... and physical and emotional and everything.
• 25:44
  You really threw all in.
• 25:47
  Yeah.
• 25:47
  And that's what it takes.
• 25:48
  No,
• 25:49
  I have forgot to mention that part, too.
• 25:51
  Like you said, sometimes we have to retake classes.
• 25:53
  Anatomy and physiology, I got a C on both of them the first time I took them, so I
• 25:56
  retook them again and-
• 25:57
  Yeah
• 25:57
  ... I was able to get an A the second time.
• 25:59
  Yeah.
• 25:59
  So that brought my GPA up.
• 26:01
  Yeah.
• 26:01
  So, don't feel bad about not getting it the first
• 26:05
  try or-
• 26:06
  Yep
• 26:06
  ... like having to retake it. Sometimes we have to do more than the average,
• 26:10
  and that's okay because-
• 26:11
  Yeah
• 26:12
  ...
• 26:12
  hopefully, if you stay consistent, it reach the finish line, and-
• 26:16
  Yeah
• 26:16
  ... you get there at the end of the day.
• 26:17
  Yeah. It's about not quitting.
• 26:19
  Yeah.
• 26:21
  If you quit, you're for sure not going to make it.
• 26:23
  Yes, you won't achieve anything if you just quit every time.
• 26:25
  Yeah.
• 26:26
  But if you just stay consistent, as you keep trying, I feel you
• 26:32
  can't fail if you keep trying.
• 26:36
  Yeah.
• 26:36
  You can't. You're going to end up at the finish line.
• 26:39
  It doesn't matter-
• 26:40
  Yeah
• 26:40
  ... how long it takes, but you'll get there.
• 26:41
  It's more respectable, too.
• 26:42
  Yes.
• 26:43
  Okay, so I have to ask, when you applied and you did your,
• 26:47
  "Okay, so here's my GPA, here's my GRE-
• 26:49
  Mm-hmm
• 26:50
  ... and here's my entrance,"
• 26:52
  what do you call it in PT world? Pretty
• 26:56
  much your personal statement.
• 26:58
  Oh, yes.
• 26:59
  Where you're like, "Here's my passion." And you just pour your heart out on this
• 27:03
  paper, and then some people try to be funny, some people get ghostwriters.
• 27:06
  It's a whole thing, okay? The application process is a whole thing.
• 27:10
  You had to interview, right?
• 27:12
  Yes.
• 27:12
  Okay. So what was that experience like and did you
• 27:16
  lead with what you had gone through?
• 27:20
  Yeah.
• 27:21
  I was always nervous talking to professionals because I always felt like-
• 27:24
  They're elitist
• 27:25
  ... yes. Yeah.
• 27:26
  Totally.
• 27:26
  They're going to judge me from my past-
• 27:28
  They are
• 27:28
  ... from what I've been through. Yes.
• 27:30
  They will.
• 27:30
  Yes, and they did.
• 27:31
  They did.
• 27:32
  They did, and even when I passed my board exam, I still had to
• 27:36
  wait for my license because they had to do another background check.
• 27:38
  They had to-
• 27:39
  Totally.
• 27:39
  I had to write letters to make sure that I was rehabilitated and stuff
• 27:43
  like that. You think I would go to school for seven years and-
• 27:46
  Red tape
• 27:46
  ... yeah, and put all this money into schools and stuff like that if I wasn't
• 27:49
  rehabilitated?
• 27:50
  Yes.
• 27:51
  I felt like
• 27:53
  it was difficult because I thought they were going to just deny me because of that,
• 27:57
  but-
• 27:57
  And they might.
• 27:58
  Yes. And I feel like a few of them did.
• 28:00
  I feel like a few of them didn't even-
• 28:01
  Yeah
• 28:01
  ... complete my application because I checked that box of-
• 28:04
  Yeah
• 28:04
  ... I have a record.
• 28:05
  Yeah.
• 28:05
  I've been through this.
• 28:06
  Yeah.
• 28:06
  And I feel like that's why I didn't hear back from some programs.
• 28:09
  Yes.
• 28:09
  And I'm thankful for the programs that did reach back out.
• 28:12
  No, I'm thankful for them.
• 28:14
  Mm-hmm.
• 28:14
  Because it just is like they need real people on this side of
• 28:17
  it.
• 28:18
  Yes.
• 28:18
  You need real people who have gone through some s**t-
• 28:21
  Yeah
• 28:21
  ... to be the freaking best.
• 28:23
  Yeah.
• 28:23
  So, right?
• 28:25
  Yes.
• 28:25
  Otherwise, if you have Mr. Perfect or Mrs.
• 28:27
  Perfect and they're just doing the protocols,
• 28:30
  I'm sorry. I can't.
• 28:34
  Yeah.
• 28:35
  You're a robot. You're AI. Do we love, do we connect with
• 28:39
  AI? No.
• 28:39
  No, at all.
• 28:40
  We like the imperfections.
• 28:41
  Mm-hmm.
• 28:41
  We need the imperfections. We need to know that, "Hey, I've been you.
• 28:46
  You can do this. I've seen people come back from hell.
• 28:50
  You can too."
• 28:51
  Yeah. No,
• 28:53
  and because of that, I feel like I'm able to be more relatable to
• 28:56
  people.
• 28:57
  Yes.
• 28:58
  When people go into the clinic and they're like, "Oh, you went to school here,
• 29:00
  too." I'm like, "Yeah."
• 29:01
  Yeah.
• 29:01
  "Oh, you were in Independence High." Yeah, I've been here, I've been
• 29:05
  there. And some of them, they kind of limit themselves just because a
• 29:08
  family member's been to jail, or, "I'm not going to be able to do this because I
• 29:12
  don't know nobody that's been to school." And then I'll tell them my story, and
• 29:15
  they'll be like, "Oh." I have no excuses now.
• 29:18
  You took away all of their excuses.
• 29:21
  Yes. I robbed it from them.
• 29:22
  You can't even be mad. Yeah. You literally robbed them.
• 29:24
  Yeah. Now they can't use it no more.
• 29:27
  Find another. You have any other excuses?
• 29:29
  Yeah.
• 29:29
  Let's hear it.
• 29:30
  Yeah, and that's the thing. I love encouraging people.
• 29:32
  Yeah.
• 29:32
  You can't use nothing.
• 29:34
  No.
• 29:34
  Because I've been through it, and if I could achieve it, you
• 29:38
  could, too.
• 29:39
  Yeah.
• 29:40
  And you had great reasons to just not.
• 29:43
  Yeah.
• 29:44
  You did.
• 29:44
  Yeah.
• 29:45
  They're wonderful. Anybody would understand if you're like, "Oh, I can't
• 29:48
  work."
• 29:49
  Yeah. I
• 29:51
  still have a disability placard, too, to this day, just because they thought I
• 29:55
  would probably be disabled for the rest of my life.
• 29:57
  Oh my gosh.
• 29:57
  Just because of the severity I was in.
• 30:00
  You're in great shape. You're fit. You're very active.
• 30:03
  Your job is physical.
• 30:04
  Yeah.
• 30:05
  So, I mean...
• 30:05
  Yeah. No, I
• 30:08
  love to be physically active. Even when I was studying with my exercise science
• 30:11
  degree, I was doing personal training.
• 30:13
  Me and my brother are training for a marathon right now.
• 30:16
  Yeah.
• 30:16
  So, I have no limitations now, but-
• 30:18
  No
• 30:18
  ... like you said, it would've been easy for me just to apply for disability-
• 30:22
  Mm-hmm
• 30:22
  ... and just kind of be on the couch watching Netflix or something like that-
• 30:26
  Yeah
• 30:26
  ... for the rest of my life.
• 30:26
  Yeah.
• 30:27
  And receiving a check, but I didn't choose that path.
• 30:29
  I chose the more difficult path, which is a better path-
• 30:33
  Yeah
• 30:33
  ... I feel.
• 30:34
  Yeah. When you were interviewing, did any of
• 30:37
  the interview panelists ... bring up anything
• 30:41
  from your past and mention it as a flag.
• 30:45
  Yeah. And they would tell me too,
• 30:48
  because of your past-
• 30:50
  Yeah
• 30:50
  ... you may not be able to get your
• 30:52
  state license, and is this going to-
• 30:56
  I would live for this
• 30:56
  ... yeah, is this going to stop you from applying to our program?
• 31:00
  Because at the end of the day, the program is still going to basically take
• 31:04
  your money, right?
• 31:05
  They still get their money.
• 31:08
  Yeah. They're still going to charge you.
• 31:10
  Yep.
• 31:10
  So you could get done with your whole program, pass all your exams,
• 31:14
  and possibly still get denied by your board exam-
• 31:16
  Yeah
• 31:17
  ... from your state.
• 31:18
  Yep.
• 31:19
  And I knew that from the beginning, so that was a
• 31:23
  sacrifice I was already willing to take.
• 31:24
  I'm like, "I'm just not going to take no for an option.
• 31:27
  I'm going to keep going." So they did tell me that, and I just told them,
• 31:31
  "Yeah, I understand."
• 31:33
  Yeah.
• 31:33
  "I understand that I might not be able to get my state license, but I feel if
• 31:37
  I'm able to pass this
• 31:40
  program and-
• 31:40
  Yeah
• 31:41
  ... receive my doctorate degree,
• 31:43
  I feel like there shouldn't be a reason they deny me, but we'll find out at the
• 31:47
  end."
• 31:48
  We'll find out at the end, and I just want to do it anyway.
• 31:52
  I love that.
• 31:53
  Yeah.
• 31:53
  Yeah. It's so funny. So that was your flag, right?
• 31:57
  Yes.
• 31:57
  They call it a red flag.
• 31:58
  Mm-hmm.
• 31:58
  Okay. That's just so annoying. I hate that term.
• 32:02
  I hate it so much because it's like they get to
• 32:06
  sit on this high horse and there's a plethora of students,
• 32:10
  applicants who are like, "Please, please, please, please, please, sir, I
• 32:13
  desperately..."
• 32:13
  Mm-hmm.
• 32:14
  You're so vulnerable as the applicant, and you're against
• 32:18
  the near impossible to get into these programs.
• 32:21
  Mm-hmm.
• 32:21
  And
• 32:23
  for good reason, there's a process to
• 32:27
  vet people and to choose these students wisely.
• 32:31
  So I do respect it, okay?
• 32:32
  Mm-hmm.
• 32:32
  I do. But I've been filtered out, and
• 32:37
  I was on the side, and I was like, I couldn't have tried harder.
• 32:40
  Yeah.
• 32:41
  I
• 32:43
  just had to figure it out because as the first doctor in my family,
• 32:47
  I'm the person who went to Books-A-Million before that was like-- I don't know if
• 32:51
  they're even still around. But I bought all "How to Become a
• 32:55
  Doctor." I started-
• 32:56
  Yeah
• 32:56
  ... square one. Nobody was telling me, and the doctors who are
• 33:00
  already doctors, they're busy.
• 33:02
  All they need is one
• 33:06
  more job, like somebody, "Hey, I want to be a doctor." And they're probably
• 33:10
  thinking, "Oh, God. Don't."
• 33:12
  Yeah.
• 33:12
  Because it's hard.
• 33:13
  Mm-hmm.
• 33:13
  Right? But then at the same time,
• 33:16
  I've had counsel from the wrong people and
• 33:20
  point out flags, for example. So I worked full time,
• 33:24
  and so I was taking the pre-med courses.
• 33:27
  I had my bachelor's in radiology, but I had,
• 33:31
  I guess, a gap because I was trying to just do it all.
• 33:35
  Mm-hmm.
• 33:35
  Nobody told me, "You should stop working, take out loans,
• 33:39
  financially just eat it."
• 33:41
  Yeah.
• 33:41
  "That's just what it is. Go all in, and then do your pre-med
• 33:45
  quickly, and then get in." So had somebody said that, I would
• 33:49
  say, "Okay." I would've done that.
• 33:52
  Mm-hmm.
• 33:52
  But that was never verbalized to me, so I was just like, okay, I'm
• 33:56
  going to just work because all this stuff costs a lot of money.
• 34:00
  It's way bigger than me. Way bigger.
• 34:03
  So all of my money went into funding this, which I'm slowly
• 34:06
  taking it, which was giving me a flag.
• 34:09
  And then, it takes away from you going
• 34:13
  all into something, which I just didn't know.
• 34:16
  I wasn't educated, and nobody advised that.
• 34:19
  And then, for the MCAT, I took it, God, three times.
• 34:23
  I scored so low, I didn't know that you could make a score that low.
• 34:26
  There's four sections,
• 34:30
  and
• 34:32
  it's not because I wasn't smart, right?
• 34:34
  Yeah.
• 34:34
  It was just like I didn't have the time, and I was trying to do too
• 34:38
  many things at once, but you can't always see yourself because that-
• 34:42
  Mm-hmm
• 34:42
  ... when you're in it, you need somebody to counsel you.
• 34:45
  Yeah.
• 34:46
  And so not having that outside person saying,
• 34:49
  "Do this," which I always try to do, and I hope--
• 34:53
  I'm sure it offends some people, but I'm like, "I would rather you be offended than
• 34:57
  you waste years of your life like me."
• 34:59
  Yeah. No, and that's a good thing you do that because-
• 35:02
  Yeah
• 35:03
  ... a lot of the counselors, a lot of people that work for these schools and stuff-
• 35:06
  Awful
• 35:06
  ... they won't do it.
• 35:07
  No.
• 35:07
  They won't do it.
• 35:08
  They're nonsense.
• 35:09
  Mm-hmm.
• 35:09
  Sorry. Not all people are nonsense-
• 35:12
  Yes
• 35:12
  ... but the ones that I experienced were if I listened to them, I
• 35:16
  would still be in the same job-
• 35:19
  Mm-hmm
• 35:19
  ... that I started in. And that's not terrible, but that's not what I wanted or
• 35:23
  what I was supposed to be or do.
• 35:25
  Yeah.
• 35:26
  So yeah. Any time gaps where you're not,
• 35:30
  or any low scores or retakes-
• 35:32
  Mm-hmm
• 35:32
  ... those are flags. And so now you're sitting amongst people who have already
• 35:36
  done it, who are like, "Okay, you are a flag." I'm like,
• 35:40
  "Really? Well, I think you're a flag.
• 35:42
  How about that?"
• 35:43
  Yeah.
• 35:43
  "I think you're a strange flag."
• 35:45
  Yeah.
• 35:46
  But yeah. So it's hard.
• 35:47
  Yeah.
• 35:47
  There's barriers, and you got through them, and you had
• 35:51
  every single reason to not.
• 35:55
  Mm-hmm.
• 35:55
  And that's really badass.
• 35:58
  Well, for yourself, too, and like you said, you had to learn the hard
• 36:02
  way, too. And I feel like learning the hard way,
• 36:05
  like I had mentioned earlier, too, gives us the ability to help others not have to
• 36:09
  learn the hard way. And some of them won't take the advice anyway because some of
• 36:12
  us are just stubborn.
• 36:12
  Yeah.
• 36:13
  Like myself, I was stubborn. But if we
• 36:17
  could help out just one person, two people-
• 36:20
  That's it
• 36:20
  ... that's good.
• 36:20
  Yeah.
• 36:21
  It's rewarding because they don't have to-
• 36:22
  Yeah
• 36:22
  ... struggle the way we did.
• 36:23
  No. They can suffer in different ways.
• 36:24
  Yes.
• 36:26
  They'll suffer later anyway.
• 36:28
  They'll suffer.
• 36:28
  Yeah. Clinicals, your residency, stuff like that.
• 36:31
  Oh my God. Miserable.
• 36:33
  Yeah.
• 36:34
  Miserable, right?
• 36:35
  Yes.
• 36:35
  You want to feel small, you try to get your doctorate in something, and then,
• 36:39
  man-
• 36:40
  Yeah
• 36:40
  ... you get humble soup every single day.
• 36:42
  Yes. Yeah.
• 36:43
  Delicious.
• 36:44
  They'll try to put you in your place.
• 36:45
  Yeah. Would you like some?
• 36:46
  Yeah.
• 36:48
  No, you'll get there for sure. Yeah.
• 36:50
  Yeah.
• 36:51
  Oh my gosh. So once you got in,
• 36:55
  was there any moment where you're like, "Screw this.
• 36:58
  I actually don't want this."
• 37:00
  There was-
• 37:00
  Did you try to quit?
• 37:01
  I didn't try to quit. I thought I was going to get kicked out.
• 37:05
  Just because like
• 37:06
  you said yourself, nobody told me, "Stop working." Because at that time, I was
• 37:10
  living in Fresno, and I'm like, "Okay, I could
• 37:14
  do this." I was taking 21 units at a time. I was able to pass my classes.
• 37:18
  I was still working. I could do this.
• 37:20
  Mm-hmm.
• 37:21
  And I thought I could until I seen that I was barely passing my
• 37:24
  courses, and I was working at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno at that
• 37:28
  time. And there I was working a good amount of hours, like 30,
• 37:32
  40 hours just because-
• 37:33
  That's a lot. That's a full-time job.
• 37:35
  Yes. Yeah, it was like a full-time job, and
• 37:38
  I thought I could do it, and then I just started getting Cs and Bs.
• 37:41
  And then-
• 37:42
  Yeah
• 37:42
  ... if you don't maintain a 3.0, you get put on academic probation.
• 37:45
  Yes.
• 37:46
  And my first quarter, they sent me the email, the warning, like, "Francisco,
• 37:50
  you need to bring it back up, and if you don't, you're going to
• 37:54
  get kicked out if you're not able to bring it back up by the second semester."
• 37:57
  Mm-hmm.
• 37:57
  So when they told me that, I'm like, "Oh, man, I got to quit." So I quit,
• 38:01
  and
• 38:03
  from there, I'm just like, "I'm not going to leave this room until I figure out
• 38:05
  this information." So that was one of those moments, like you said, that was my
• 38:09
  like, "Oh." I didn't want to quit, but I thought I did
• 38:13
  all this work already for nothing because they're going to forcefully kick me out.
• 38:17
  And I thought, I'm like, "Man, I'm not
• 38:20
  going to be able to achieve this. I'm not going to be able to make it."
• 38:22
  Yeah.
• 38:22
  And at that moment, I was like, "Oh, man, I got to get it
• 38:26
  together. I just got to get some student loans and-
• 38:29
  Yeah
• 38:29
  ... just try to survive."
• 38:31
  Perfect.
• 38:32
  Yeah.
• 38:32
  And that's what I would advise. If I were to talk to myself back then,
• 38:36
  get your student loans. Money's not even real right now. Don't even look at it.
• 38:39
  Yeah.
• 38:40
  Don't even worry about it.
• 38:41
  Yeah.
• 38:41
  And I had nothing, okay? So I don't come from money.
• 38:45
  Mm-hmm.
• 38:45
  I didn't have anybody financing me.
• 38:47
  It was just me, so for that reason, my mindset was
• 38:50
  like, "I can't afford this. These numbers are bigger than me.
• 38:54
  I'm never going to be able to pay this back." Hey, maybe not, okay? Maybe not.
• 38:57
  But then the amount of knowledge you get from it,
• 39:02
  this brain-
• 39:03
  Yes
• 39:03
  ... that is worth it.
• 39:05
  Mm-hmm.
• 39:05
  It's worth it times 1,000, times over all the pain and suffering,
• 39:09
  all the years. However much it costs to get that information into your brain,
• 39:13
  is it.
• 39:14
  Yeah. Because it actually teaches you ways to study.
• 39:18
  It teaches you-
• 39:19
  Yes
• 39:19
  ... how to grow because that's why a lot of people think
• 39:23
  like, "Oh, education is just to get your degree." No, if you actually do it
• 39:27
  with the right purpose, and you actually-
• 39:28
  Yes
• 39:29
  ... apply yourself, it teaches you a lot. It taught me about business.
• 39:32
  The mindset.
• 39:32
  Yeah, 100%.
• 39:33
  Yeah.
• 39:33
  It taught me about business. It taught me about how to just communicate with
• 39:37
  people.
• 39:37
  Yes.
• 39:37
  It taught me how to just learn and keep educating myself.
• 39:41
  To this day, I don't need to study as much as I do, but I still study.
• 39:44
  I try to learn business as much as I can. I try to learn from others.
• 39:48
  I listen to your podcast. I listen to many other podcasts and stuff like that.
• 39:51
  Oh, my gosh. Yeah.
• 39:51
  So I try to learn from everybody, and that's how I was able to find you, and
• 39:55
  I'm like-
• 39:56
  Yeah
• 39:56
  ... because I'm always doing research, and I'm like, "What's going on?
• 39:58
  What's the latest things going on right now?" But I feel like school did that for
• 40:02
  me.
• 40:03
  Yeah.
• 40:03
  School taught me that mindset because I didn't have that mindset 10 years ago.
• 40:06
  I love that.
• 40:06
  I didn't. I was not even close.
• 40:08
  Yeah.
• 40:08
  Mm-hmm.
• 40:09
  No, that's a super valid point. So it's like you have to be around
• 40:13
  people who are in some way different than you-
• 40:16
  Mm-hmm
• 40:17
  ... who have knowledge that you don't, otherwise you cannot grow.
• 40:21
  Mm-hmm.
• 40:21
  You are choosing to not grow.
• 40:22
  Yeah.
• 40:23
  So I force myself to be around people that I
• 40:27
  can learn from, right?
• 40:28
  Yeah.
• 40:28
  And it doesn't mean that they're always willing to share, right?
• 40:31
  No. Yeah.
• 40:32
  It sometimes just means I'm shutting up, and I'm just watching.
• 40:34
  Mm-hmm.
• 40:35
  And sometimes I'm interacting. There's so many different
• 40:38
  situations that you can learn from, but you have
• 40:41
  to have that mindset-
• 40:44
  Mm-hmm
• 40:44
  ... ready to just take it in, positive and negative, right?
• 40:48
  Mm-hmm.
• 40:49
  A negative situation that I learned from my Masters of Business,
• 40:53
  I call it, was bad business deals.
• 40:55
  Yeah.
• 40:56
  Yeah, it could be. Yeah, you lose so much, and then you're like,
• 41:00
  "That's not going to happen again."
• 41:01
  It's not happening again, right? And then you make different new mistakes that are
• 41:05
  terrible, and it's like, okay. So just getting into...
• 41:09
  You have to jump in. You're not going to have all the answers, and you
• 41:13
  have to be ready to learn, ready to play, and let's just go.
• 41:17
  And
• 41:18
  in my opinion, my strategy is recover quick.
• 41:21
  Yeah.
• 41:22
  When you slip, when you get knocked down, you're like, "Doop.
• 41:25
  Okay."
• 41:25
  Yeah, just get back to it.
• 41:26
  Pop back up.
• 41:28
  No, yeah. When it comes to business too, when I didn't know how to start a
• 41:32
  business.
• 41:32
  Yeah, me either.
• 41:33
  I just worked at physical therapy clinics, and I'm like, "I can't be working for
• 41:36
  these people. I want to do my own stuff."
• 41:38
  Mm-hmm.
• 41:39
  So that's what I did. So I started seeking mentors, and I found a physical
• 41:42
  therapist, and we agreed on terms.
• 41:45
  I would work for him for six months, and at that time, for less pay,
• 41:49
  and I'll get mentored at that moment.
• 41:50
  Wow.
• 41:50
  But even through mentorship, and I was able to start my own clinic, I
• 41:54
  still made a lot of mistakes.
• 41:56
  Oh, yeah.
• 41:56
  And like you said,
• 41:58
  that was perfect what you said-
• 42:00
  Yeah
• 42:00
  ... that's your Masters of-
• 42:01
  Mm-hmm
• 42:01
  ... Business because I'm like, "Man, that's not going to happen again.
• 42:05
  I have to pay this much money back. No, that's not going to happen again."
• 42:07
  Yep.
• 42:08
  So these little mistakes that we learn from,
• 42:11
  we know then not to do them again.
• 42:14
  Yeah.
• 42:14
  We're not going to make the same mistakes.
• 42:16
  Yeah.
• 42:16
  And I feel it's sometimes we have to.
• 42:20
  Sometimes because if you don't take those risks either, you're never going to grow.
• 42:23
  I know.
• 42:24
  Mm-hmm.
• 42:24
  And that's just so frustrating.
• 42:26
  Yes.
• 42:27
  Yeah. And
• 42:29
  so when it comes to
• 42:32
  fast-forward now, so you have your own practice-
• 42:35
  Yes
• 42:35
  ... which is amazing.
• 42:37
  Mm-hmm.
• 42:37
  So proud of you.
• 42:38
  Thank you.
• 42:39
  What is your family-- Are your family still around and-
• 42:42
  Oh, yes. Yeah.
• 42:43
  Yeah.
• 42:43
  Actually, my mom works my front desk right now.
• 42:45
  Oh my gosh.
• 42:46
  I have my nephew working for me and stuff too.
• 42:49
  So he's one of my physical therapy aides there.
• 42:50
  He's been there for a few years now. He's great.
• 42:53
  Wow.
• 42:54
  My wife, she's a CEO. She runs everything in the behind the
• 42:58
  scenes and stuff.
• 42:59
  Yeah.
• 43:00
  Like making sure billing's going good, making sure our assistants are doing their
• 43:03
  jobs.
• 43:03
  Mm-hmm.
• 43:04
  So it's just a family business, and because of it,
• 43:08
  we're able to employ people. We're able to employ people in the city.
• 43:11
  We're able to mentor others in the community.
• 43:13
  So-
• 43:15
  Business has been good. I've been blessed and-
• 43:18
  Wow
• 43:18
  ... I'm just continuing to grow, and we're actually looking for another location
• 43:21
  here in Bakersfield right now.
• 43:22
  That's awesome.
• 43:23
  Yeah, so hopefully this year we'll be up and going here in Bakersfield too.
• 43:26
  Okay, so outside of Wasco then?
• 43:28
  Yes. Yeah.
• 43:29
  Okay.
• 43:29
  Yeah, right. We're looking here at different buildings in Bakersfield at the
• 43:32
  moment.
• 43:32
  Wow.
• 43:33
  So, yeah, we'll be having two practices hopefully soon.
• 43:36
  Okay, so exciting.
• 43:37
  Yeah. Thank you.
• 43:39
  Is that happening like in the next six months?
• 43:41
  Yes.
• 43:41
  Okay.
• 43:42
  Yes. Mm-hmm.
• 43:42
  Okay. Man.
• 43:44
  Yeah.
• 43:44
  And so insurance-based.
• 43:46
  Yes, insurance-based and-
• 43:47
  Okay
• 43:47
  ... some cash services too.
• 43:49
  Mm-hmm.
• 43:49
  That's what I kind of want to start implementing in the new clinic.
• 43:53
  Just-
• 43:53
  Mm-hmm
• 43:53
  ... more
• 43:56
  modalities like hyperbaric chamber.
• 43:58
  I want to do like-
• 43:58
  Yeah
• 43:58
  ... some red light therapy, and I want to-
• 43:59
  Yes
• 43:59
  ... be able to start implementing these things as well.
• 44:02
  They work.
• 44:03
  Yeah.
• 44:03
  Yeah.
• 44:03
  And so I want to do insurance, and those will be additional cash
• 44:07
  services too on the side.
• 44:08
  Yeah.
• 44:09
  So that's what... In Wasco, the space that we have is a little bit
• 44:13
  smaller, so-
• 44:14
  Mm-hmm
• 44:14
  ... it's just mostly just insurance-based, but the location I'm looking at in
• 44:17
  Bakersfield right now, we will have enough space to be able to do both.
• 44:20
  Okay.
• 44:21
  Mm-hmm.
• 44:21
  Man. Well, that's so exciting.
• 44:24
  Mm-hmm.
• 44:24
  Let me see. It looks like we have about five minutes left, so
• 44:28
  we're doing pretty good.
• 44:29
  Yeah.
• 44:31
  Yeah.
• 44:32
  Yeah. So I have a clinic here, cash-based, so
• 44:36
  definitely that would go along with what you do-
• 44:38
  Mm-hmm
• 44:39
  ... like for the wellness portion, right?
• 44:40
  Yes.
• 44:40
  And the hyperbaric is amazing. I don't know which one, if you've been
• 44:44
  shopping for them, but-
• 44:46
  No
• 44:46
  ... there's just so many awesome benefits with it, even if you're postoperative,
• 44:50
  as you know, or-
• 44:51
  Mm-hmm
• 44:51
  ...
• 44:52
  dealing with dementia for brain health, wound healing.
• 44:56
  It's just unmatched.
• 44:59
  Yeah.
• 44:59
  So-
• 44:59
  Yeah, I actually-
• 45:00
  ... highly recommend.
• 45:01
  Yeah, I actually went through it too.
• 45:02
  I was in a hyperbaric chamber just because of my car accident.
• 45:05
  Oh, yeah.
• 45:05
  Yeah, so that's when I kind of started learning about it.
• 45:07
  I'm like, "Why are they putting me in this machine?" Because I didn't know nothing
• 45:10
  about it, but now that I'm getting more into just
• 45:14
  obviously more services and stuff like that, I started doing my research on it.
• 45:17
  And there's actually another doctor in Fresno that I kind of like share ideas with,
• 45:21
  and he kind of shares ideas with me too.
• 45:23
  And he has a few of his clinic over there in Fresno too.
• 45:25
  Wow.
• 45:25
  So,
• 45:27
  I'm always trying to network, and my brother's actually in MP school right now too.
• 45:31
  Oh, that's so cool.
• 45:32
  So he'll be graduating this year too.
• 45:34
  Leading the way.
• 45:35
  Yeah. So he'll be graduating beginning next year.
• 45:39
  So,
• 45:40
  hopefully we could partner up next year also, kind of get some things-
• 45:43
  That's amazing
• 45:43
  ... going there too.
• 45:44
  Yeah.
• 45:46
  For the hyperbaric, when you had your...
• 45:48
  So it was for your burn treatment, right?
• 45:50
  Yes. Mm-hmm.
• 45:51
  How many days per week did you go, and for how long?
• 45:54
  I really don't remember, but I know they were putting me in there at least once a
• 45:57
  week from when I was already
• 45:59
  conscious, when I wasn't in my... Early on, when I was in an induced
• 46:03
  coma, I don't know how much times they put me in there.
• 46:05
  Oh my goodness.
• 46:06
  Yeah, because I was in an induced coma for a few months.
• 46:08
  Wow.
• 46:08
  So, after that, after I woke up, I know-
• 46:11
  Mm-hmm
• 46:11
  ... they were putting me at least in there like once or twice a week.
• 46:13
  Okay.
• 46:14
  Yeah.
• 46:14
  Okay.
• 46:14
  What I could remember.
• 46:17
  That's insane. Do you feel like there's any...
• 46:19
  Did you have any
• 46:21
  fuzzy memory?
• 46:24
  I would say probably like a year after.
• 46:26
  There is a
• 46:28
  post-hospitalization-
• 46:29
  Mm-hmm
• 46:30
  ... situation that happens where it's like you have to get yourself back
• 46:34
  to baseline.
• 46:36
  Yeah. I feel like there was a lot of times where people would
• 46:39
  ask me things, and it wasn't even around the time of my accident,
• 46:43
  but-
• 46:43
  Mm-hmm
• 46:43
  ... it would be difficult for me to remember it still.
• 46:46
  And
• 46:47
  I don't know if it was just because of the car accident or the trauma with the car
• 46:51
  accident, but I did feel like I had a fog
• 46:55
  brain for a long time.
• 46:56
  Yeah, brain fog. Yeah
• 46:56
  ... yeah.
• 46:58
  Just taking, I think maybe the medications too, just because-
• 47:01
  Oh, totally
• 47:01
  ... I was on so much like-
• 47:02
  Pain, so much
• 47:02
  ... Ambien, narcos, and oxycodones and obviously
• 47:06
  the morphine drip when I was in there and stuff like that.
• 47:09
  Oh my God.
• 47:09
  I was just on so much things that sometimes like...
• 47:12
  I remember one time, I even told my mom, because my mom was there with me a lot,
• 47:15
  and I told her, "Oh, one of my tias came to visit me," and stuff like that.
• 47:19
  And she's like, "No, nobody was here." But I was seeing stuff too just because I
• 47:22
  was-
• 47:22
  Hallucinations.
• 47:22
  Yeah. Just because I was-
• 47:23
  Totally
• 47:23
  ... on so much medications.
• 47:24
  Yeah.
• 47:25
  So, I feel like it took me a while to finally get back to
• 47:28
  myself, even when I got out of the hospital.
• 47:30
  Yep.
• 47:31
  Yeah. Those medications are no joke.
• 47:34
  But the fact that you did it is just amazing.
• 47:37
  Amazing.
• 47:38
  Yeah.
• 47:38
  Did any of your interviews-- I'm just so curious.
• 47:40
  Did any of that ever come up in your interviews? Because they're invasive.
• 47:44
  Yeah.
• 47:44
  They're actually cruel.
• 47:46
  Yeah.
• 47:46
  So did that ever come up?
• 47:48
  Yeah, they would ask me questions about like, you know-
• 47:50
  Oh my gosh
• 47:50
  ... yeah, they would ask me everything.
• 47:52
  Nasty, right?
• 47:52
  Yeah.
• 47:53
  Like nasty. I'm sorry. Did you have however, I don't know the percentage of your
• 47:56
  burns, but it's just like-
• 47:58
  Yeah
• 47:58
  ... that's so personal.
• 47:59
  Yeah.
• 48:00
  That's the level that we get put through-
• 48:03
  Mm-hmm
• 48:03
  ... to get vetted to be here.
• 48:05
  Yeah, they want every detail. They want-
• 48:06
  Yeah
• 48:06
  ... everything that you've been through, everything that you're going through at
• 48:08
  the moment. They make sure that you're not
• 48:12
  stuck on these medications still-
• 48:14
  Yeah
• 48:14
  ... that you've actually been able to kick them and-
• 48:16
  Yeah
• 48:16
  ... I was able to pretty quick-
• 48:19
  Yeah
• 48:19
  ... after, I'm like, "No, I need to get off these things because they're not even
• 48:22
  working anymore, so there's no reason for me to be taking them."
• 48:24
  Yeah.
• 48:25
  So I just kind of toughed it out and was able to get away from everything-
• 48:28
  Yeah
• 48:28
  ... to the point where I don't need nothing now, and I'm able just to live a
• 48:32
  healthy life and exercise every day and just eat
• 48:36
  right and take natural supplements and stuff like that too just to
• 48:40
  keep feeling better.
• 48:42
  That's really badass.
• 48:43
  Thank you.
• 48:44
  It is. Okay. So today, do you
• 48:48
  feel like there's any pain that you still have to manage, and that you do
• 48:52
  that
• 48:53
  in very organic, non-medication ways that
• 48:57
  would help other people?
• 49:01
  Me personally, I try to do everything natural. I have a sauna at home.
• 49:04
  Yeah.
• 49:04
  I have a cold plunge at home. I started
• 49:09
  using peptides too.
• 49:11
  Love it.
• 49:11
  And I recommend--
• 49:13
  I don't recommend, but I tell people, "This is-"
• 49:15
  I do. I recommend-
• 49:18
  I like all of them.
• 49:18
  Yeah. I'll be like, "This is what I would do now if I was in your shoes."
• 49:22
  Yeah.
• 49:22
  I'm a big believer-
• 49:23
  That's more proper.
• 49:23
  Yes, it's more proper. So-
• 49:25
  Yeah
• 49:25
  ... I tell them, "This is what I would do if I was in your shoes."
• 49:27
  Yeah.
• 49:28
  "If I was having the issues you have, I would be doing PPC
• 49:31
  157 with TP 500 and-"
• 49:33
  Yes.
• 49:33
  "... I would be doing these things if I was like-"
• 49:35
  I'll take that.
• 49:36
  Yeah. So, me too. So that's the things that I've been doing that are more
• 49:39
  natural now-
• 49:40
  Yeah
• 49:41
  ... versus, because right now especially since I've been running a lot more and I
• 49:44
  still have a lot of scar tissue around my knees and-
• 49:46
  Oh, yeah
• 49:47
  ... just all the burns and stuff, and then I still have some discomforts here and
• 49:50
  there, so in order to be able to recover faster sometimes-
• 49:53
  Mm-hmm
• 49:53
  ... I do use peptides like that.
• 49:55
  Yeah.
• 49:55
  I try to get in the sauna at least three to four times, just not for that, but
• 49:59
  for cardiovascular health and stuff like that too, so-
• 50:01
  Yep
• 50:01
  ... that's why I try to-
• 50:02
  And turning over your cells-
• 50:04
  Yes
• 50:04
  ... autophagy, mitochondria.
• 50:05
  Yeah, so that's why I try to do all that. So I always recommend it to people.
• 50:09
  I always tell people, "Try to do the natural things," right?
• 50:11
  That things that are going to decrease your inflammatory system.
• 50:14
  Yeah.
• 50:14
  Try to eat better, try to stay away from a lot of sugary
• 50:18
  foods.
• 50:19
  Yeah.
• 50:19
  And sometimes they don't want to hear it, especially the older Hispanic population
• 50:22
  and stuff like that. They're so stuck in their ways and stuff.
• 50:24
  Yeah.
• 50:24
  But I feel like a lot of younger people, they listen, and I'll tell them, "Make
• 50:28
  sure you get your blood work done. Make sure you ask for your hormones.
• 50:31
  Make sure-
• 50:31
  Yeah
• 50:31
  ... that you're doing it at least twice a year."
• 50:33
  Yeah.
• 50:33
  "Because if you're 21 years old, there should be no reason why you have so low
• 50:37
  energy, so make sure you ask-
• 50:39
  Seriously
• 50:39
  ... for your hormones."
• 50:40
  Yes.
• 50:41
  Because a lot of the time, even a lot of doctors, I feel-- I don't know if it's the
• 50:45
  insurance base, because a lot of them, you have to push them to check your
• 50:48
  hormones. And I'm just like,
• 50:51
  "Why haven't you got your hormones checked if you're feeling-
• 50:52
  You know what?
• 50:52
  ... so low energy?"
• 50:53
  I don't want to speak for all doctors, but I can say that it's
• 50:57
  not common that your training
• 51:00
  includes hormone management.
• 51:03
  Okay.
• 51:03
  It's almost like we're trained to just send people to endocrinology, and
• 51:07
  I say we because I have a primary care background, family medicine.
• 51:10
  Mm-hmm.
• 51:10
  So you do rotations through different specialties, but-
• 51:14
  Mm-hmm
• 51:14
  ...
• 51:15
  the core of the guideline
• 51:17
  recommendations is really a referral.
• 51:20
  So-
• 51:21
  Okay
• 51:21
  ...
• 51:22
  on one hand it's like, oh, handle everything in-house, but on the other hand it's
• 51:25
  like this is a specialty, so don't touch it.
• 51:29
  So I'm like, uhh-uhh-uhh.
• 51:30
  Yeah.
• 51:30
  So then I had to taught myself through-
• 51:33
  Mm-hmm
• 51:33
  ... going to these different courses and
• 51:37
  reading books and just making myself the specialist, right?
• 51:41
  So getting-
• 51:42
  Mm-hmm
• 51:42
  ... the board cert in it so that now I know what to do with it because
• 51:47
  it's in every single patient.
• 51:49
  Yeah.
• 51:49
  And it's every single thing that it's-- Yeah, it's just associated to so
• 51:53
  much pathology. It's like you have to know it.
• 51:56
  Yeah. No, and that's-- Yeah, I didn't know that, because I'm not in your
• 52:00
  field-
• 52:00
  Yeah
• 52:00
  ... 100%, but-
• 52:01
  Yeah
• 52:01
  ... I always recommend it to them. I tell them sometimes we have to give a little
• 52:05
  fib, like, "I'm trying to do everything positive.
• 52:08
  I'm trying to get good sleep. I'm trying to eat good, and I still have low energy."
• 52:12
  Yeah.
• 52:12
  If you tell them those things, they'll be able to do your hormone panel now.
• 52:15
  Maybe.
• 52:16
  So yeah, maybe. Maybe if you push them a little bit more. So I always push for it.
• 52:20
  I always push for blood work. I personally go through
• 52:24
  a company online, and I get my blood work done twice a year, and they're
• 52:28
  able to give me my results on the app, and I'm-
• 52:31
  Yeah
• 52:31
  ... able to talk to an NP on there and you kind of just get what I
• 52:35
  need from there-
• 52:35
  I love it
• 52:35
  ... and stuff like that. So
• 52:37
  that's what I do, and that's what I always encourage other people to do, too,
• 52:40
  because if you don't even know what's going on in your own system-
• 52:42
  Yeah
• 52:42
  ... how are you going to be able to take care of yourself?
• 52:44
  And-
• 52:44
  Yeah
• 52:44
  ... that's why I love the medical field. I love everything about it.
• 52:48
  I love encouraging people to seek help, to be able to talk to
• 52:52
  professionals.
• 52:53
  Mm-hmm.
• 52:53
  And if you're talking to one that they're not doing enough, find another one.
• 52:57
  Yes.
• 52:57
  Yeah, so-
• 52:58
  Yes
• 52:58
  ... it's very simple.
• 52:59
  Exactly, yeah. I love that because if one doctor's saying no,
• 53:03
  there's still somebody out there for you. Maybe you're not a good match.
• 53:06
  Yeah.
• 53:07
  And so it's just a lot of people don't even know that they can do
• 53:11
  that, and that maybe there's just a different personality style-
• 53:14
  Mm-hmm
• 53:14
  ... that would better fit with you.
• 53:17
  Yeah.
• 53:17
  So, yeah.
• 53:18
  Yeah, a lot of them get hooked, like you said.
• 53:19
  Yeah.
• 53:20
  Sometimes they don't know they could.
• 53:21
  Yeah.
• 53:21
  And sometimes they
• 53:23
  build that bond because they've been with them for five to 10 years-
• 53:26
  Yeah
• 53:26
  ... something like that, or this is a family doctor.
• 53:28
  That's why I've been knowing them my whole life, and I'm like, "Okay, but if
• 53:32
  they're not doing what you think," like even for myself-
• 53:35
  Yeah
• 53:36
  ... my physical therapy approach is more physical.
• 53:39
  Yeah.
• 53:39
  I like to take more of a physical approach, more-
• 53:42
  Yeah
• 53:42
  ... movement approach.
• 53:43
  Yeah.
• 53:43
  I
• 53:44
  don't use hot packs. I don't use cold packs. I don't really use TENS units.
• 53:47
  I get people moving, and I-
• 53:49
  Yeah
• 53:49
  ... do manual therapy and-
• 53:50
  Yeah
• 53:50
  ... so my physical approach may not be for everybody either.
• 53:53
  Right.
• 53:53
  So if there's a lower-level patient and they're so used to the traditional physical
• 53:57
  therapy, and they're used to the-
• 53:58
  Yeah
• 53:58
  ... hot packs and the cold packs-
• 54:00
  Yeah
• 54:00
  ... and the TENS units. Okay, well, there's places for that.
• 54:02
  Absolutely.
• 54:02
  There's a city over that you could go to, and they'll-
• 54:04
  Yeah
• 54:05
  ... do that for you.
• 54:05
  Yeah.
• 54:06
  But-
• 54:06
  And it's not personal.
• 54:07
  Yeah, it's not personal.
• 54:08
  You won't even be offended.
• 54:08
  No, I'm not at all because I'm like-
• 54:11
  Same
• 54:11
  ... yeah, so I'm not offended at all.
• 54:13
  There's a-
• 54:13
  Yeah
• 54:13
  ... place for you.
• 54:14
  Yes.
• 54:15
  And I'm not for everybody.
• 54:16
  Exactly. Same.
• 54:17
  But it's good to-
• 54:19
  Yeah
• 54:19
  ... know that also that I'm not going to get offended, that-
• 54:22
  Yeah
• 54:22
  ... it's okay, but
• 54:24
  me, as a physical therapist, I might
• 54:28
  not be your cup of tea. I might not be the type of treatment that you want.
• 54:32
  Yeah.
• 54:32
  Same thing with medical doctors.
• 54:33
  But you might be.
• 54:34
  Yeah, I might be. And- ... majority of the people that go there love it, because I
• 54:37
  get-
• 54:37
  Yeah
• 54:37
  ... them moving. I teach them things they've never been through.
• 54:40
  They say they've never been to a physical therapy place like that because majority
• 54:43
  of them will just have them lay down.
• 54:44
  Yeah.
• 54:44
  When I have these people moving up and down the hallways, and
• 54:48
  they didn't even know they were able to do things like that, but I'm-
• 54:50
  Yeah
• 54:50
  ... teaching them that they could, that their bodies-
• 54:52
  Yeah
• 54:52
  ... are resilient, that they're stronger than they think.
• 54:54
  Trust their body.
• 54:54
  Mm-hmm.
• 54:55
  Yeah.
• 54:55
  And they start believing themselves to the point where they're like, "My pain is
• 54:59
  gone.
• 55:00
  I haven't had pain in a month." And I'm just like, "Yeah, it's crazy what movement
• 55:03
  will do, right?"
• 55:04
  Yeah. No, it really is.
• 55:06
  Mm-hmm.
• 55:06
  That's the answer.
• 55:07
  Yeah.
• 55:08
  So, well, it looks like we are needing to
• 55:12
  wrap up, but-
• 55:13
  Yeah
• 55:13
  ... it's been an absolute pleasure having you on.
• 55:15
  Thank you so much for sharing your story. It is super inspiring.
• 55:20
  How can people find you if they want to reach you-
• 55:22
  Yeah
• 55:22
  ... maybe for a referral or anything?
• 55:24
  Okay. My name's Francisco Padilla, and my practice is Padilla Physical
• 55:28
  Therapy and Fitness Incorporated.
• 55:30
  We are located here in Wasco, California right now, and we are going to be
• 55:33
  having another location in Bakersfield soon.
• 55:35
  I love it. Oh.
• 55:36
  Thank you.
• 55:37
  Keep living your purpose.
• 55:38
  Thank you so much for having me.
• 55:39
  Looking forward to having you.
• 55:39
  It was a pleasure meeting you.
• 55:40
  Thank you.
• 55:40
  Okay, thank you.