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Mick has founded, grown and sold several successful health care businesses all while having an impact in the world of high performance sport. He’s worked for over a decade in women’s Rugby League as a physio for the NSW Origin team and as Director of Medical & Performance for the St George Illawarra Dragons (NRLW). What he is probably most well known for is his work in the sport of MMA where for close to a decade has worked with some of the world’s best fighters in the UFCs most notably with future hall of famer Alexander Volkanovski. In addition, through his clinics Mick has helped drive the careers of many practitioners who have gone on to work in the NBA, A-League, NRL, Summer and Winter Olympic games. This is a fascinating story of someone who has uniquely been able to find the balance of building several profitable businesses all while traveling the world and working with some of the world’s most ferocious and elite athletes.

Highlights from the episode…

• On the back of poor experiences in private practice, Mick went out on a limb and started his own practice with an emphasis on providing an environment that staff can thrive in.
• Building relationships and the importance of putting yourself out of your comfort zones to reach out to people, share ideas and most importantly add value to others.
• Mick shares the realities of running a private clinic in the sporting landscape and what he is doing to try curate an environment for his staff to learn, get exposure and still be able to pay the bills that come with running a small business.
• Mick has contributed to the success of many practitioners who have gone on to hold prestige roles in sport and shares the number one characteristic in those who gone on to work at the highest level. 
• With no background in MMA how Mick caught the eye of the UFC Champion Alexander Volkanovski. 
• How Mick got famous after being mentioned on the Joe Rogan Podcast by chucking a pen at Volkanovski in the attempt to teach him what many don’t understand about "Pain".
• How Mick was invited to spend a week with 2023 NBA Champions the Denver Nuggets and provide workshops to their world class medical/performance team.
• Where does manual therapy sit in current practice? 
• What is the difference between placebo effect and being misleading?
• Mick gets candid about his own journey in sport and the tension that exists with certain dogmas, decisions and whether it’s worth the ongoing pursuit to work in sport.
• How Mick is changing the game for so many practitioners to scratch their itch in sport without needing to deal with the volatility, long hours, poor remuneration etc. that can often be associated with sport.
• What is entailed in a UFC fight week. Mick gives us an unprecedent insight into the week leading in Championship fight in the UFC.

People mentioned:

• Dan Lawson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-lawson-00946661/?originalSubdomain=au
• Alex Volkanovski: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Volkanovski
• Tim Brennan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-brennan-bb916497/details/experience/
• Chris Jaffrey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR4P27SNi3k

Mick Baines contact details: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-baines-36170b153/
• Website: https://mickbaines.com.au
• South Coast Health Hub: https://healthhubsc.com.au

Host: Luis Resa

Contact me on:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-resa-a975196b/
• Email: [email protected]

Thanks for listening and please leave a review. If you would like more information on anything mentioned in this episode simply send me an email.