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Low back pain is rarely just about the back.

In this solo episode, I walk through what truly matters when you’re trying to solve persistent lumbar issues — whether you’re a practitioner guiding others or someone navigating it yourself.

There are three primary drivers I consistently see:

1️⃣ Manage the Client’s State
If the threat bucket is overflowing, nothing else sticks. Downregulation isn’t optional — it’s foundational.

2️⃣ Build Spinal Capability and Capacity
The lumbar spine cannot carry the entire load. We need equitable distribution of force across the entire spinal system, with progressive exposure to real-world demands.

3️⃣ Restore Movement Intelligence
The brain won’t access what it doesn’t recognize. Using principles from motor learning — self-organization, ecological dynamics, and constraints-based learning — we must re-establish movement quality, quantity, and strategy based on the client’s actual goals.

And we cannot ignore the hips and thoracic spine. They are primary accommodative zones. If they don’t move well, the lumbar spine pays the price.

This episode is about clarity, not complexity.
 About solving, not chasing symptoms.

Listen now.

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This week on the Leave Your Mark Podcast, we sit down with Jason Mihalik, one of the most influential voices in concussion research and clinical brain health today.

Jason is a full professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Director of the Matthew Gfeller Center, and CEO of the THRIVE Program. His work lives at the intersection of sport, military service, and clinical care—helping athletes, service members, veterans, and first responders recover, perform, and thrive.

With more than 185 peer-reviewed publications and over $30 million in research funding, Jason has helped shape the world's understanding of concussion, recovery, resilience, and long-term neurological health. But what makes this conversation special is not just the science—it’s the humanity behind it.

We talk about his journey from Montreal and hockey to athletic therapy to becoming a global leader in concussion research. We explore how concussion care has evolved, why balance matters in youth sport conversations, and why research only matters if it changes real lives.

A thoughtful, grounded conversation with someone who truly walks the line between science and service.

If you liked this EP, please take the time to rate and comment, share with a friend, and connect with us on social channels IG @Kingopain, TW @BuiltbyScott, LI+FB Scott Livingston.

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In this episode of Leave Your Mark, we sit down with Scott Simons—professional speaker, wellness strategist, and mindset coach—whose work helps leaders and teams build clarity, resilience, and sustainable performance in a world that rarely slows down.

Over the past two decades, Scott has delivered more than 300 talks, partnered with over 350 organizations, and inspired thousands to take ownership of their health, leadership, and well-being. His work is grounded in a simple but powerful belief: well-being is not a luxury—it is a leadership strategy.

Scott is the cofounder of four social impact ventures, including the DESTA Black Community Network, Padua Wellness Centre, Organik Corporate Health, and the Be Human Club. Across all of them runs a consistent thread—human-centred leadership informed by behavioural science, performance psychology, and real-world application.

What Scott shares in this conversation goes well beyond frameworks and theory. His insights are shaped by lived experience, including personal struggles with mental health, addiction, and the ongoing work of purpose-driven entrepreneurship. The daily practices he teaches are the same ones that keep him grounded, clear, and resilient.

This is a thoughtful, honest conversation about leadership, ownership, and what it actually takes to thrive—personally and professionally—over the long game.

If you liked this EP, please take the time to rate and comment, share with a friend, and connect with us on social channels IG @Kingopain, TW @BuiltbyScott, LI+FB Scott Livingston.

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Adam Virgile is a husband, father, and the Vice President of Integrated Performance Sciences with the LA Clippers, where he sits at the intersection of data, physiology, sport science, and real-world decision-making.

In this role, Adam works across departments to help ensure that the information being collected actually informs the decisions athletes and organizations make every day — and, more importantly, that those decisions lead to meaningful action on the floor and behind the scenes.

Adam is also the co-author of The Sport Science Handbook, written alongside Marc Lewis, Director of Applied Sports Science for the Houston Texans. The book was created to offer the guidance they both wished they had earlier in their careers — practical, experience-driven insight for practitioners navigating the complexity of modern sport.

In this episode of the Leave Your Mark podcast, we explore Adam’s journey, his evolution with integrated performance systems, and what it really takes to connect information, people, and purpose in high-performance environments.

🎧 Listen now and dive into a thoughtful conversation on leadership, collaboration, and making sport science matter.

If you liked this EP, please take the time to rate and comment, share with a friend, and connect with us on social channels IG @Kingopain, TW @BuiltbyScott, LI+FB Scott Livingston.

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This week on the Leave Your Mark Podcast, we sit down with Michael Ouzas.

Michael’s journey is one many athletes quietly face—but few talk about openly. A former professional hockey goalie, Michael began preparing for life after sports during the COVID-19 pandemic by pursuing his real estate license. 

What started as a contingency plan became a calling when an injury forced him into retirement earlier than expected.

Since then, Michael has rebuilt—professionally and personally. Over the past five years, he has grown a thriving real estate business, found his life partner, Laura, and recently stepped into his newest role: fatherhood.

This is a powerful conversation about identity, transition, resilience, and redefining success when the game ends—but life keeps moving.

If you liked this EP, please take the time to rate and comment, share with a friend, and connect with us on social channels IG @Kingopain, TW @BuiltbyScott, LI+FB Scott Livingston.

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In this episode of Leave Your Mark, I’m joined by Erin Sills, co-founder of High Impact Lab, for a thoughtful conversation on leadership, impact, and the human side of organizational change.

With more than two decades of experience working with leaders and organizations across the private sector, healthcare, Crown corporations, and innovative global enterprises, Erin brings a rare depth of perspective to how culture, leadership, and performance truly evolve.

Her background includes senior roles in tech and executive consulting, as well as a pivotal four-year tenure with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, where she led initiatives in leadership development, team culture, change management, and employee engagement.

A passionate learner and gifted listener, Erin has a unique ability to create space for meaningful dialogue—helping people think more clearly, communicate more honestly, and lead with greater intention.

This episode is a powerful exploration of what it really means to lead with impact—at work, at home, and in life.

If you liked this EP, please take the time to rate and comment, share with a friend, and connect with us on social channels IG @Kingopain, TW @BuiltbyScott, LI+FB Scott Livingston.

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This week, I want to explore a simple idea that sits underneath almost everything we do in movement, rehab, performance, and learning:

The body can’t access what it doesn’t know.

The nervous system won’t use what it doesn’t recognize as available, safe, or trustworthy. And when pain, injury, fear, or perceived threat enters the picture, entire movement strategies can quietly disappear—not because the body is broken, but because the brain no longer sees those options as viable.

In this episode, we’ll talk about self-organization, ecological dynamics, and why movement doesn’t emerge from instruction alone. It emerges from perception. We’ll explore how constraints shape behavior, why safety always comes before efficiency, and why so many well-intentioned rehab and training approaches fail to create lasting change.

If you’ve ever wondered why someone “has the range” but can’t use it, or why strength and mobility don’t always translate to better movement or less pain, this conversation will help connect those dots.

Let’s get into it.

If you liked this EP, please take the time to rate and comment, share with a friend, and connect with us on social channels IG @Kingopain, TW @BuiltbyScott, LI+FB Scott Livingston.

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On this episode of Leave Your Mark, I’m pleased to welcome Greg Lothian—a man whose life’s work has been defined by service, responsibility, and an unwavering commitment to helping others.

For nearly three decades, Greg has walked three parallel paths. As an Athletic Therapist and Vitality Coach, he’s helped people overcome physical challenges and reclaim their health since 1996. As a firefighter, with 25 years of volunteer and career service, he’s shown up for people in moments of real crisis—when presence, courage, and calm matter most. And as a mentor, he supports his children, his clients, and fellow practitioners as they navigate the complexities of work, purpose, and life.

Greg is deeply principled. He believes in standing up for what’s right—even when the status quo has lost its moral compass—and he holds a clear, grounded view on value: that being compensated well is not only acceptable, but appropriate when it reflects the impact you bring to people’s lives.

Naturally curious and systems-oriented, Greg has a passion for problem-solving, meaningful conversation, and thoughtful debate. He’s endlessly interested in how people think, move, adapt, and change. At the center of it all, he sees parenting as both life’s greatest challenge and its greatest privilege—an ongoing balance of structure, mentorship, and the freedom to fail.

An unrelenting entrepreneur at heart, Greg is on a mission to elevate standards in the global health industry and help both practitioners and clients achieve outcomes that are not just better—but sustainable.

This is a conversation about service, integrity, leadership, and what it really means to make your work—and your life—matter. I’m honored to share it with you.

If you liked this EP, please take the time to rate and comment, share with a friend, and connect with us on social channels IG @Kingopain, TW @BuiltbyScott, LI+FB Scott Livingston.

You can find all things LYM at www.LYMLab.com, download your free Life Lab Starter Kit today and get busy living https://lymlab.com/free-lym-lab-starter/

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This week, I’m joined by Bob Alejo—one of the true pioneers of modern athletic performance.

With more than 40 years in the field, Bob’s career spans NCAA Division I athletics, Major League Baseball, and the Olympic Games. He has worked at institutions such as UCLA, North Carolina State, UC Santa Barbara, and Cal State Northridge, and spent time with the Oakland A’s during the Moneyball era, and later again in the mid-2000s. Along the way, he’s been associated with over 20 NCAA National Championships, MLB postseason success, and a U.S. Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Games, with continued involvement through London in 2012.

In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore the evolution of strength and conditioning, the importance of understanding sport culture—not just sport science—and how trust, adaptability, and mentorship shape long-term success. Bob reflects on lessons learned from elite athletes and coaches, his experiences navigating major shifts in professional sport, and the responsibility coaches carry beyond performance outcomes.

The episode also moves into deeply human territory, as Bob shares powerful reflections on fatherhood, leadership, and a meaningful experience supporting New York firefighters and their families in the aftermath of 9/11.

This is a thoughtful conversation about legacy, service, and what it truly means to leave your mark—both in sport and in life. 

If you liked this EP, please take the time to rate and comment, share with a friend, and connect with us on social channels IG @Kingopain, TW @BuiltbyScott, LI+FB Scott Livingston.

You can find all things LYM at www.LYMLab.com, download your free Life Lab Starter Kit today and get busy living https://lymlab.com/free-lym-lab-starter/

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This week on Leave Your Mark, I’m joined by Max Lapierre.

Max played 11 full seasons in the NHL, spending time with the Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, and Pittsburgh Penguins, with additional years in the AHL and European professional hockey. Drafted by the Canadiens in 2003, Max carved out a career built not on hype but on work ethic, competitiveness, and an edge he had to earn every single day.

But what makes this conversation powerful isn’t just the resume.

It’s the honesty.

Max shares what it was like growing up in a small town, betting on himself early, navigating trades that shook his identity, and living with labels that didn’t always reflect his true capacity. We talk about pressure, confidence, being misunderstood as a player, and how certain environments can either limit you—or unlock you.

We also dive into his post-playing transition. Just before retirement, Max co-founded the podcast La Poche Bleue with Guillaume Latendresse—what started as something fun between friends exploded into one of the most influential hockey platforms in Quebec and beyond. Alongside that, Max has built a thriving career in broadcasting with TVA Sports, offering sharp, thoughtful insight into the game he lived.

At the center of it all is family—his wife Natasha, their three daughters, and the values Max is now intentional about passing on.

This is a conversation about earning your place, adapting through uncertainty, and learning who you are when the jersey comes off.

Episode 454 with Max Lapierre.

If you liked this EP, please take the time to rate and comment, share with a friend, and connect with us on social channels IG @Kingopain, TW @BuiltbyScott, LI+FB Scott Livingston.

You can find all things LYM at www.LYMLab.com, download your free Life Lab Starter Kit today and get busy living https://lymlab.com/free-lym-lab-starter/

Please take the time to visit and connect with our sponsors, they are an essential part of our success:

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