The Jason Wright Show

DR. Gus Vicker

Dr. Gus Vickery is a licensed, practicing medical expert who recognizes the good health possible within you.

In our modern society, sometimes it can feel as though our doctor or clinician isn’t connecting with us on a one-to-one level anymore. Visits feel shorter. There are more forms to fill out instead of human conversations. And most of all, there is often a corporate wall between you and personalized healthcare: insurance companies and their stakeholders want to treat your symptoms, not you.

Dr. Vickery can help guide you on your own deeper, uniquely personalized journey to help you understand the root causes of your discomfort and illness, and make vital changes to heal and become healthy.

It’s all about the journey.

Dr. Gus Vickery is an author, speaker and the founder and directing physician of Wild Health Asheville (formerly Vickery Family Medicine) in Asheville, North Carolina.

He established his practice with a commitment to delivering holistic, compassionate, and evidence-based care. But when he realized that many of his patients were suffering from a complicated set of symptoms that were the result of underlying habits and could not be treated with conventional medical approaches, he set out to develop a comprehensive program for treating his patients’ ailments so that they could finally feel the good health and vitality that all of us deserve.

* Board-certified family physician* Honor medical graduate from Medical College of Georgia* Founded Vickery Family Medicine in 2005* Founded Synergy Health Solutions in 2015* Currently teaches medical students and family medicine residents from UNC-Chapel Hill medical school and East Carolina University medical school* Past president of Western Carolina Medical Society (WCMS)* Past chairperson of Moving Healthcare Upstream, local Development Council initiative

Dr. Vickery founded Vickery Family Medicine in 2005 which has grown to 11 medical providers serving in 3 locations including The Clinic at Biltmore, an innovative direct to employer clinic for The Biltmore Company. Vickery Family Medicine has received numerous awards for customer service and quality.

In addition to practicing full time traditional family medicine, Dr. Vickery has spent countless hours studying cognitive behavioral science, motivational interviewing, neuroplasticity and brain training, meditation, biomechanical health and movement, nutrition, and the science of sleep. Dr. Vickery’s holistic health curriculum has been used very successfully by The Biltmore Company for their “healthstyles initiative”, a health improvement program for their employees.

Dr. Vickery also studied health care delivery and founded Synergy Health Solutions, an innovative direct to consumer organization helping improve access and reduce cost while providing effective care.

He remains passionate and committed to doing whatever is necessary to advance the cause of equipping everyone with the resources needed to experience their best health.

When not attending to his professional responsibilities, Dr. Gus Vickery spends his time with his best friend and wife, Kelle, and their 3 children exploring the outdoor spaces of Asheville, North Carolina.

We are absolutely going to have another pandemic like COVID in the future. It’s just going to happen. History always repeats itself.

Further, you and all all share a disease. It’s called aging. We were all born with a death sentence. Sorry to sound so morbid, but it’s true.

So what can we do to prepare for both this future and present event with such adverse effects on our health? It turns out we can do a lot.

In these three books I have found incredibly actionable tactics for slowing aging and boosting my immune system. I have purposely put them in order of how you should read, which is as follows:

Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To by David Sinclair

The Immunity Code by Joel Greene

Breath by James Nestor

These three books should serve as textbooks in your study of and effort to become healthier and more resilient. Listen to this episode of The Jason Wright Show and find out why!

👉 My Interview with Joel Greene

👉 My full review on Joel Green’s book “The Immunity Code”

BUILDING A PHYSICAL CULTURE 

We designed Allegiate to give everyone access to the same athletic strength and conditioning experience as the best athletes in the country.

While playing college football at USC, we were trained by the top strength coaches in the country, and as a result we were in the best shape of our lives.

Post-college, we tried every fitness option out there, but we couldn’t connect with the all-cardio-focused workouts or the big box gym culture. We were seeking the camaraderie, the high-energy training style, and (most importantly) the results we were used to.

WE WERE SEEKING SOMETHING THAT DIDN’T EXIST—SO WE BUILT IT OURSELVES. WELCOME TO ALLEGIATE.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/RlPPmg9E35s?wmode=opaque&enablejsapi=1https://www.youtube.com/embed/1N74L_matrg?wmode=opaque&enablejsapi=1HISTORYFOUNDERS’; BIOHEAD COACHCOACHESTHE SPACE

ALWAYS BUILDING SOMETHING STRONGER

A few years after our college football days, Allegiate started as a blog. In 2014, co-founder Cody Romness was writing articles about the connection between strength training and success. Through his initial musings, he reconnected with co-founder Steve Blackhart, a former teammate at USC. Blackhart was going through the pains of not having a place where he loved to train, or an engaging training program to follow.

Soon after, the two connected with co-founder Tim Caron. At that point, Caron was the head strength coach at Army West Point. In 2016, Caron helped spearhead Army to an explosive victory over Navy – their first win in the historic series in 15 years.

After the victory, Caron was poised for his next professional challenge and opportunity. He wanted to leverage his knowledge, passion, skills and potential in a way that would impact more people.

A few weeks later, our three co-founders quit their jobs, moved to Los Angeles, and went all in on Allegiate.

Tim Caron: Tim’s last stop before Allegiate was as head strength and conditioning coach for football at Army West Point. He served in that role for three seasons, the final of which Army defeated Navy for the first time in fifteen years. Prior to that, Tim was an associate strength coach at USC where he was in charge of swimming and diving, and assisted with football. He was directly in charge of nutrition, return to play, and football’s internship program. 

Cody Romness: Cody heads up marketing and sales for Allegiate. Before co-founding Allegiate, Cody worked in business development for Patreon, a successful startup on its way to $1 billion in transactions made to creators. Before that, Cody spent 4 years as a general manager for Renman MB working directly with music business legend Steve Rennie – manager of platinum-selling rock band Incubus. A graduate of USC, Cody played football for the Trojans and started on kick-off. 

Steve Blackhart: Steve recently completed his MBA at Harvard Business School. He’s currently working in M&A. Previously, he founded Black Eagle Advisors, an M&A advisory firm. He was a finance professional at FFL Partners and Bank of America Merill Lynch. Steve played wide receiver for USC. 

TIM CARON IS THE HEART AND BRAIN BEHIND ALLEGIATE.

With two master’s degrees and years D1 coaching and weight training,

Best Friday Ever 2-25-22 Are You Living Your Own Adventure or Watching Others Live Theirs?

CODA won Best Picture! This is a GREAT movie without a preachy message!

Here’s the trailer.

In this episode I discuss The 6 Week Vitruvian Challenge. I hope you will look into it if you are interested in the “Improve always in ALL ways” lifestyle. You can learn more HERE.

I went a week without coffee. Here is an article I wrote documenting the experience

I tried some new tea this week, and it’s amazing. It’s an herbal tea by Teeciono. So far I love their teas, and I am NOT a hot tea guy. With my decision to drink less coffee, this has been a good alternative.

I hope you are having the best Friday ever, and have the best weekend ever. I’m pulling for you!

JW

Rob Howe has become a dear friend and inspiration. He is the founder of Diabetics Doing Things, which includes one of the most popular podcasts supporting awareness of Type One Diabetes.

Rob is also the Founder of Recreation Dallas, a creative marketing firm. Rob and I love to geek out on self improvement both physical and mental. We love to keep up with the likes of Time Ferriss, Kevin Rose, Dr. Peter Attia, Dr. Andrew Huberman and basically anyone we think will make us better.

This is such a wide ranging conversation, and I had so much fun having it with Rob.

Rob Howe is a Type-1 Diabetic living in Dallas Texas. Diagnosed on January 1st, 2005 at the age of 16, Rob was the recipient of excellent care from the incredible endocrine staff of Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. They assured him that as long as he took care of his health, he could achieve all the goals he had for his life. After living with Diabetes for 10 years, he decided that there were probably people living with Diabetes who could benefit from his story, and he started Diabetics Doing Things in 2015 with a simple mission: Help One Person. Over 1 million podcast downloads (and counting) and speaking at dozens of Diabetes events across the world, Diabetics Doing Things has certainly met that goal, and Rob is living proof.

Diabetics Doing Things was born out of the idea that not everyone receives the same kind of treatment during diagnosis that Rob received at Children’s. Those people need to hear stories of their Diabetic peers who are out in the world living their lives and accomplishing the goals they’ve set for themselves. Through the telling of each other’s stories, Rob continues to build Diabetics Doing Things with the hope that the community will continue to grow and provide encouragement, positivity, tools, tactics, hacks and hope for everyone with Type-1 Diabetes, while educating the general public on the hopes, struggles and thoughts of the Type-1 Diabetic community. 

Rob is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Recreation Dallas, a full-service advertising agency in Dallas Texas, which he started in 2016 with his business partner Sterling Hayman. Rob also is a teacher and performer at the Dallas Comedy House which he credits for refining his skills as a performer and interviewer. He is 31 and lives near Downtown Dallas with his Fiance Erica and their two dogs Rowan and Enzo and cat, Michael J. Fox. 

For more background on Rob’s life with Diabetes, after graduating as the Valedictorian of his High School class, Rob went on to receive a full collegiate scholarship to the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs to play basketball, and graduated with honors 4 years later with a Bachelors of Science in Business. In the fall of 2012 Rob accepted an offer to play professional basketball for the Washington Generals against the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters on their 2012-13 World Tour and fulfill his lifelong dream of playing pro basketball. Rob has since retired from the professional hoops, but works full-time on his agency while volunteering as a member of the BeyondType1 Leadership Council, a Board Member for JDRF Dallas, a host and speaker for the

There are 5 questions we should all ask ourselves on a regular basis.

* What are things I need to STOP doing?* What are things I need to DO LESS of?* What are things I need to KEEP doing?* What are things I need to DO MORE of?* What are things I need to START doing?

What are some actions you need to abrogate from your life all together. Everytime you say yes to something you are saying no to something else. What are you saying yes to when you should be saying no?

What is something you need to do less of? Are you eating too much? Are you working too long of hours? Are you speaking your mind a little too much? Maybe you are doing something seemingly good you’re just overdoing it.

What is something you absolutely need to keep doing. There is something you do very well. What is it? How can you ensure you don’t stop doing that thing?

What’s something you need to do more of? Is it connecting with friends? Is it telling your spouse, “I love you more?” Find that thing and find a way to do it more.

What’s something you need to start doing? Whatever it is, write it down and keep a log of every time you do it. Start a streak that you won’t want to break. This will close the feedback loop or at a minimum create small feedback loops to keep you motivated to reach the long term goal.

I hope you have the best Friday ever. I hope you will make a point to improve always in ALL ways!

Until we meet again, I’m out!

JW

Ps.

Please subscribe to the Vitruvian Letter Here! This is my personal newsletter where I document some of the things I’m doing to improve always in ALL ways!

Craig Lewin is the epitome of the “American Dream.” He’s a first generation immigrant, entrepreneur and success. He’s the President of My Fitness Store. He’s also a survivor of extreme anxiety.

Craig Lewin on Good Morning Texas

While we discuss topics such as overall health and wellness, Craig very openly discusses his battle with panic attacks and anxiety. He discusses how fitness helped him to cure and overcome much of the struggle he had with this ailment.

Craig and his family immigrated from South Africa when he was seven years old. Craig has literally climbed from the ground up of the fitness world now as a top industry expert and business owner.

Here are some notes from the interview as mentioned by Craig for anyone who might be suffering from anxiety and or panic attacks:

Notes from Craig he’s found helpful

Also, the therapist mention in the show is:

Nathaniel Smith: 214.205.0237

Please visit My Fitness Store HERE

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Please follow the show on Instagram @jasonwrightnow

In this episode I give my take on a New Yorker article that kind of sent me. While the overall message is to just have fun and be active, there is this element of “fit shaming” embedded in the article.

I’m sick of people like this making excuses for not being fit, shaming the ambitious and industrious among us. Stop making every damn thing about you and your lack of desire or discipline to pursue excellence. It’s tired. Below is the article in question.

EXERCISE IS GOOD FOR YOU. THE EXERCISE INDUSTRY MAY NOT BE

Amid the marketing of unattainable physical ideals, it’s easy to forget what made fitness fun.

By: Margaret Talbot

Lucky are those for whom the benefits of vigorous exercise are more or less the unintentional effects of something they love to do. I am not one of them. My friends have heard me declare that I like to swim, but what I really like is not so much moving purposefully through water as being immersed in it, like a tea bag. I like to walk, but would I do it quite so much if I had not, in a self-sabotaging form of rebellion against the Southern California car culture in which I grew up, refused to learn to drive? During the pandemic, I secretly relished the fact that my yoga classes had switched to Zoom; at home, with my camera turned off, I could look at my phone or play with the dog when other students were asking the instructor to help them refine their asanas. (The dog showed a keen interest in my “practice.”)

My husband, on the other hand, has a positive mania for basketball. Now sixty-two, he has been playing multiple times a week for more than two decades. He went back to the sport after breaking his ankle in a one-on-one game years ago, and again after a basketball sailed into his eyeball and detached his retina a couple of months ago. Sure, he knows that the cardiovascular workout is a boon—on days when his shot is off, he’ll say, “Well, at least I ran around”—but it’s the game he loves.

Unlike him, I have pretty much always had to cajole and guilt-trip and science-splain myself into exercising, even though I know from experience that I feel better, lighter, calmer afterward. (There have been long periods of my life when I didn’t even try.) This means that I am as familiar with the discourse about exercise as with exercise itself. I’m surely not the only one: the history of fitness is in large part the history of admonishments to become fit, and of advice on how and why to do so.

On this much we should agree at the outset: exercise is good for you. Virtually all medical professionals would sign off on that proposition, and so would most of the rest of us, even at a time when some portion of the population rejects plenty of other health-related expertise, like calls for vaccinations. Being physically active has been shown to decrease the risks of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers; combat anxiety and depression; strengthen bones and muscles; sharpen cognition; improve sleep; and extend longevity. All exercise is not created equal: my twenty-minute afternoon strolls hardly compare to my husband’s two-hour basketball games. But a little is better than none, which is comforting to remember. Getting up from your desk every hour or so is better than not doing so. Even fidgeting is better than sitting still—a bit of foot-jiggling increases blood flow.

Exercise has not always been recognized as an unassailable good. For much of the twentieth century, as the journalist Danielle Friedman writes in her canny and informative new book, “Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World” (Putnam), vigorous exercise for women was considered not only unfeminine—women wer...

Brandon Jones is one of the few people I know who when asked once upon a time, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ was able to answer and did it and still is.

Brandon is a Master Sifu. For over three decades he has practiced and taught the art of Praying Mantis Kung Fu. Being curious about martial arts myself I decided to reach out to my old friend and learn about this ancient discipline.

I’m glad I did. This was a fascinating conversation about one of the oldest traditions known. I hope you enjoy.

Seven Star Praying Mantis is the primary style taught at Tyler Kung Fu & Fitness. It is a complete system utilizing both the hands and feet in combination with submission and throwing technique. This system is known for its quick and extremely effective self defense applications.

The legendary Wong Long, developed this system while spending his days at the Shaolin Temple. Taking the best techniques from 17 other styles of the time, Wong created one of the most effective fighting systems ever developed in China. This system includes striking and kicking as well as joint locks, throws, and close quarter techniques.

Seven Star Praying Mantis Kung Fu focuses on learning to effectively use the attackers own force against them. This includes evading and balance disruption techniques and also focuses on strengthening and conditioning the body. With an emphasis on principles over specific techniques, practitioners are better prepared to deal with dynamic situations that occur in actual combat.

The graphic on the right depicts the lineage that can be traced from the founder of Tyler Kung Fu and Fitness (Brandon Jones) all the way back to Wong Long, the original founder of Seven Star Praying Mantis Kung Fu.

https://www.tkff.com/kungfu.html

Follow on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/TylerKungFu

World Series Champion Pitcher Josh Tomlin

Full disclosure-I’m a fan of Josh Tomlin the man not the player. Sure, I love when Josh is on the mound for the Atlanta Braves (my favorite team of all time) but really it’s the man I love and admire.

Josh has been in the majors over a decade now. However, he’s still the humble, hard working ‘good ole boy’ from Whitehouse, TX. He’s a husband and dad and a friend.

In this conversation Josh and I just shot the bull and got into some of the inside scoop of what’s happening in MLB from a player’s perspective. I think you will find it very insightful.

Here’s a little more about Josh from the Wikipedias

Tomlin was coached by his father until he began playing high school baseball.[1] Tomlin attended Whitehouse High School,[2] Angelina College, and Texas Tech University.[3] He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 11th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.[4][5]

Cleveland Indians[edit]

Tomlin with the Cleveland Indians

Tomlin was drafted again by the Cleveland Indians in the 19th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, and did sign. Since 2006, he has played with various minor league baseball teams including the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, Lake County Captains, Kinston Indians, Buffalo Bisons, and Columbus Clippers.

At Columbus, Tomlin went 8–4 with a 2.68 ERA in 20 appearances, including 17 starts. He has an overall minor-league record of 51–24 with a 3.20 ERA.

Tomlin was promoted to the Indians to make his major league debut against the New York Yankees on July 27, 2010,[6] where he outpitched the Yankees’ CC Sabathia, earning a 4–1 win. In 12 starts for the Indians, Tomlin went 6-4 with a 4.56 ERA in 73 innings. In 2011, Tomlin pitched most of the season in the Indians rotation, finishing with a record of 12-7 in 26 starts.

On May 7,