The Inspiring Journey of ER Doctor JMack Slaughter from Boy Bands to Medicine

In this episode,  Britt chats with the incredibly talented Dr. JMack Slaughter, who has started over multiple times in his life, from being in a boy band to becoming an actor, then an ER doctor, a social media influencer with over 700,000 followers, and a philanthropist. He shares his story and offers insights on living one's purpose and start living from the heart.

Dr. Slaughter's interview is filled with inspiring stories and insights on starting over and living your life's purpose. He shares his experiences in the entertainment industry, including opening for Bon Jovi and touring with Destiny's Child, and his decision to pursue a medical career.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to start over or find their true purpose in life.

Keep up with Dr. JMack's funny and informative social media accounts
Insta @dr.jmack
TikTok  @dr.jmack
And inspirational non profit organizations
@musismeetsmed
Slaughter Family Arts Awards
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Transcript

Lindsey: 0:15

Welcome everyone to another episode of Can We Start Over podcast

Britt: 0:21

edition. The only edition there is.

Lindsey: 0:26

Oh no. I've been doing a live journal for this. You didn't

Britt: 0:30

know. I'm more of a Facebook kind of guy, so I must have missed

Lindsey: 0:34

that. Oh, it's not on the internet.

Britt: 0:39

Where do you host your live

Lindsey: 0:40

journal? Well, every Tuesday at 6:00 PM I go down to whatever local tavern we are near, and I act out the scenes from the podcast of the previous week. Wow. I thought you were going yoga classes in classes format. So it's like, The story is a girl writing in the jour in a journal in her room about this podcast that's about a family taking a trip. And I acted out at a local tavern and it'll be coming actually to a local tavern near you. Dear listeners, soon. Ooh,

Britt: 1:15

so let me guess. This, uh, one person act is about a family of five that sells everything. It goes on a year long trip to find a new home. And along the way, interviews people that have started over in profound

Lindsey: 1:32

ways as well. It's exactly what it is. Wow. How did

Britt: 1:36

you know? I don't know. It just came to me. But today, actually,

Lindsey: 1:40

today's a great day. Yeah. Because we do interview people. Yeah. From time to time, we interview people that have started over in cool, incredible ways. People that decided to live their purpose, decided to start living from their heart. And if I can think of a person that I know in real life that lives their purpose, that lives from the heart, that is kind, cool, funny, courageous. The first person that comes to mind is actually our guest

Britt: 2:06

today. It's Dr. Jay Max Slaughter, and in our interview today, we talk about the various ways that he's started over in life from being a star in a boy band, to becoming an actor, then to becoming an ER doctor and a social media influencer with over 700,000 followers on the internet and a

Lindsey: 2:25

philanthropist. Yeah, jmax work and his friendship and. Family and just the way he lives his life is really inspiring. I think it's gonna inspire everyone who's listening. When we started deciding to do interviews, we were both like, oh, we have to interview Jay Max. Yeah, he is definitely

Britt: 2:46

one of the first people on the list.

Lindsey: 2:48

Yeah, because he just, he's has an incredible story. And he's an incredible storyteller. I really have so much fun following him on social media. One, because I don't see any of my friends in real life right now, so it's nice to see friends in whatever way I can, but the way he authentically talks to patients and medical personnel, you can just tell. He like cares about patience. He cares about what's happening in the system in all the ways that people are being cared for. And then he also cares about. The people that he is working with too, and I think that's why he has such a great following.

Britt: 3:26

We are recording this episode from Villa number two in Thailand.

Lindsey: 3:31

Don't tell them the villa number, the helicopter starts circling,

Britt: 3:37

uh, our second villa. Uh, first one, if you listen to last week's episode was a little bit of a tough one. A little bit for no specific reason. Yeah, for lots of internal and external reasons. I don't know. Probably mostly internal to be honest, cuz it was, it was beautiful and you know how I'm gonna get off this island,

Lindsey: 3:56

you're gonna fly, I think.

Britt: 3:58

Yep. And yeah, the only way to do it, that's the only way to do it. I mean, I could boat, but it's gonna take a long damn time. What I'm gonna do is go to going.com where we have an elite membership and find the cheapest flight. We've been doing that for our trip and we get updates on mistake fairs. You know how cool that is? They'll send us a mistake that an airline makes and they'll post expensive flights for really cheap, and you can get up in there. Get a really cheap flight. It'll also give you the best deals on economy class, on first class. All the classes super cheap. So if you want to know all of the best deals on flights, go to our show notes and check out going.com. Sign up and get all the good info. All right, and I think that's all the housekeeping we have today, Lindsay. Yeah.

Lindsey: 4:41

All right. This is a great episode. Let's get to it. Let's do it.

Britt: 4:46

So, man, uh, uh, let me start out with something crazy. What's the craziest thing you've seen this week?

Jmack: 4:52

What's the craziest thing I've seen this week? Yeah. Okay. Literally, uh, it wasn't on Easter, it was a couple of days before Easter, but there was a guy who came in who was having. Uh, chest pain, some difficulty breathing. And fortunately, that's one thing that Dr. Google gets, right. Anytime you're having chest pain, you go to Dr. Google, it's like, you need to go to the er. Yeah, right. So they get that one right. Fortunately, um, but this guy ignores, Dr. Google decides to fly down to, uh, El Salvador. What is in El Salvador? Things are getting worse and worse. He goes to the little hospital there and they basically, their eyes get really big as they're imaging. His body with, with an ultrasound. I guess they didn't have a CAT scan machine there. And they were like, you need to go back to America right now, like, go back to America and get treated. And I found a mass in this poor guy's chest that was so big. I mean, uh, it was, it's not the size of a watermelon, but maybe a size of like a small watermelon, like cantaloupe. I don't know. But it was so big. It was 20 centimeters and it was so big. It was pushing his heart up into the side. Um, and not, not too much bigger, and it would cause something called cardiovascular collapse basically, when your heart just like can't continue to plump blood out to the rest of your body and, and you're done. And so poor guy, so he's like going through biopsy right now to figure out what the mass exactly is and everything. And, um, but it's, oh, did, so

Britt: 6:14

did he think he could get out cheaper if he flew to El Salvador or like, what was the

Jmack: 6:18

say? I mean, he, he already had a vacation scheduled and he was like, I'm not gonna let this get in the way, but you need to let it get in the way. Right. If you're, Having chest made a shortness of breath. Stop your vacation plans to go to the er. Oh my gosh.

Britt: 6:31

That is bonkers, man.

Jmack: 6:32

Yeah. God. Poor guy. Well, let, let's, hopefully does, well, let's, let's

Britt: 6:35

rewind a little bit. Uh, yeah. So let, let's start at the beginning. We're gonna talk about your starting over story, which has happened multiple times, really in different ways, right? Uh, so you started out, you're, you come from a family of

Jmack: 6:48

musicians, right? Yeah. Yeah. So I literally, at three years old, I joined the family singing group. So they put me on stage and my two older sisters sing. Um, and, you know, little cute dance moves like, think like fifties, like do what dance moves on stage. And my dad would play guitar and sing. And although my dad was a songwriter, we mostly just did like covers from like the seventies and stuff and yeah. But, um, had a lot of fun performing together for years. And then, You know, did, uh, a lot of theater at Casa Min here in town, which at the time was in the round, which was so cool and unique and yeah, I remember going think like

Britt: 7:27

when I was a kid and seeing plays there. Yeah. Yeah. It's such a

Jmack: 7:30

cool space. Yeah. So unique. What a unique way to see theater. But then they changed it over the years. But, but when we would perform there, they'd seated 1300 people. So I mean, what a way to get experience in, in the performance world, to be in such a professional setting. I'm so lucky. Awesome.

Britt: 7:48

So it's such a young age. Was it easy to, I guess, since that's all you knew, starting out early, was it easy to just get up in front of that many

Jmack: 7:56

people? Yeah, I just didn't know any different. Yeah. So you just kind of did what your older siblings did and uh, and it was the easiest thing in the world, and by the time I was self-conscious it was too late. Like my mind was already completely habituated to it. Right. And at the same time that every other teenager is like, I don't wanna wear anything that brings attention to me. Yeah, I could, if you wanted me to like go on stage in like a peacock outfit, I would do it and I wouldn't even second guess it. I was just so used to it. That's

Britt: 8:24

awesome. So at what point, or was there a point where, uh, did that inform, I guess, your taste? I mean, for a while, obviously, but did you start branching out into different things? Was there a point where you're like,

Jmack: 8:36

ah, I don't want to do this thing way, taste like with performing? Yeah. Um, and music and all that stuff. Yeah. I think I was just kind of like, you know, following in the footsteps of my family for a really long time. And, and even I just followed, I. Followed the, the pathways that just kind of led me to random things like a boy band. I was in a boy band for two years and we got to tour and do all these big shows, but like ultimately I didn't really like that kind of music uhhuh, it was just, it was like another performance. It was another gig for me. Right. And I was playing a part really. Um, but I personally, With my friends, developed our, you know, our own music sensibility and I loved Foo Fighters, you know? Right. And I loved violent femes and like, that's what I was excited about, you know, and the cure and stuff. And so it felt, it was very bittersweet to grow up performing, dreaming about performing in front of 70,000 people, which I got to do. But then also playing music that I really didn't love. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was like awesome and terrible all at the same time. I know. Mostly awesome though. Mostly awesome, right? I think about it all the

Britt: 9:38

time, like no matter how cool I think I am, do my kids think I'm cool? They probably don't. Yeah know and I know super cool people that do amazing things for people that are, you know, are famous and their kids are just like, ah, you're boring. Right.

Jmack: 9:51

Right. Yeah. That, that's cool. Comparison is the thief of joy. Yeah. Theodore Roosevelt said that comparison is the thf of joy. Yeah. And so no matter, no matter what you've done or what you're doing, you know, there is a way that you can compare yourself with somebody that is just way cooler. Yeah. And doing things way better than you that could pull away from the enjoyment that, that you get outta what you do. But yeah. Right. Kinda gotta ignore some of that stuff. So what was the name of the boy band? The worst name ever.

Britt: 10:20

The Hot Pocket kids.

Jmack: 10:22

The Hot Pocket kids. That sounds like dirty in some real sick. I have a whole list of

Britt: 10:28

them. I have some much dirtier ones, but

Jmack: 10:30

really, no, it was, um, it sounded more like a gospel group than a boy band. It was Sons of Harmony. Awesome. And so you got, so you got to tour. I didn't make it up though, but

Britt: 10:43

it led you to some really cool stuff. You played with Destiny's Child,

Jmack: 10:46

is that right? Yeah, yeah. We got to, we got really lucky because we opened up for all these huge acts when they came through D F W, because we were put together on a radio show with a legendary. Uh, DJ that was nationally syndicated named Kid Craddick. So he was just like, you know, had, you know, millions of listeners. They actually are the ones who ended up voting on who got into the group and all this stuff. And so, because everybody felt, you know, um, a part of the. The process of developing this group, um, they, we got 4,000 people to show up to our very first show. Yeah. Wow. So, so like the first time that we've ever played together on stage, there were 4,000 people waiting for us. So it was, it was really crazy and everything just accelerated so quickly. Um, but we were, we were forced to rise to that level really, of professionalism and uh, and it was such a cool thing to happen. But, but anyways, because of Kid Craddock. You know, we got to open up for Bonjovi and like Hansen and Jessica Simpson and um, and Destiny's Child. And when Destiny's Child, child came through, we opened for them. And then the people who was. Who, who were tour touring with them? Their name was BB Mack, if you remember. Yeah, no, I remember. Yeah. Until you, Becky Baby, they're like, one of'em got sick or something happened and they were like, oh no. Like who are we gonna have for the next, like whatever, five or six shows on tour with us. And we were like, whoa. So we got to tour with Destiny's Child. That's

Britt: 12:15

awesome. And so it was such a quick, what did you say, two years I guess, that you were doing

Jmack: 12:19

that? Two

Britt: 12:20

years Uhhuh. So not, not quite enough time to develop a bad heroin. Problem and uh Right,

Jmack: 12:25

right, right. That's equipment. Do another six months and yeah, I would've gone down the make an

Britt: 12:29

EDM record and. Whatever that leads you to.

Jmack: 12:34

Yeah. So yeah, it was, it, it very naturally played itself out to where we went from, you know, touring and everything was going great to us realizing that the boy band wave was kind of going to come to an end. So we needed to like reinvent ourselves and figure out like what we were gonna be next. And ultimately all of those feelings that I had had all along, which was. This is great. I love performing. I am a performer right now, but I'm not an artist. Um mm-hmm. And, and, and that just nagged at me to the point where I was like, okay guys, it's, it's time to kind of part ways. Um, and that, that was like well received with a couple of members and like not well received at all with That's

Britt: 13:16

how it goes when you have that many people in a group, especially something where you've had some level of success. You know you're gonna have that.

Jmack: 13:23

Yeah, yeah. Totally. Totally. Because ultimately, like. One of the guys was truly destined to be in a boy band. Like that's what he was meant to do. That's what he was just really built for. Mm-hmm. In many ways, performance-wise. And so he was like, you're ruining my dream. And I was like, I, I, you're right. I think I am. Yeah. I'm so sorry, but I have to be true to myself. Right,

Britt: 13:42

right. But yeah, those things have a shelf life, you know? Mm-hmm. But so are

Jmack: 13:47

any of those guys Yeah, those aren't, those aren't the type of acts that are like touring until they're 80 and their fans are still showing up. I mean, Maybe, you know, maybe Backstreet Boys are gonna make me eat my words on that one. But it seems like you might have a comeback tour.

Britt: 13:59

You know, you could do the legacy tour tonight.

Jmack: 14:02

Maybe another 10 years. Yeah, yeah, maybe. Maybe. Uh, that would be very interesting to see us just like hobbling around on stage with arthritis and stuff. So you went on after that, you kept

Britt: 14:14

playing music, you were playing with Ryan Cabrera for a while,

Jmack: 14:16

right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Ryan and I would play some shows together and we wrote some music together. Um, and, and really what I, what I was, what I did was I moved out to LA to pursue a career in music, but ended up getting pulled into the world of acting. And in my brain, I was like, okay, great. I'm gonna make some money in acting and this is gonna support my music in some way. I didn't know how really, but I was like, let's just. Keep going. I've, I've, I'm very reactionary with everything in my life. I'm like, this a cool opportunity is presenting itself. Like I can't say no. So let's go, let's see where this leads. And, um, and so ended up, you know, doing some TV shows, uh, was on one, um, sitcom that was on for a year. That was super fun. To work on and then did a movie with Keenan Thompson. That was pretty cool. And all along the way, I was kind of just trying to figure, well, how do I incorporate my music? And I never really figured it out. And right as I was leaving LA and I decided to become a doctor and stuff, Ryan Cabrera reached out and he was like, Hey. He was like, I need to write. It's like five more songs for my album and I need help. Um, let's do this. And so we, we work together and I think that album went gold, so it was pretty cool. Oh, that's awesome. Be a songwriter on an album that, that went gold. Absolutely.

Britt: 15:29

So, yeah, so that story's pr pretty common that you're working in one sort of art. You go to LA and you kind of get pulled into another. Yeah, sort of art, was there a specific moment where that happened or was it just kind of just, you know, flowing all over the place to where you're just like, okay, now I'm into act now I'm just, I'm doing this acting, or was there like a moment when like your manager was like, Hey, there's this acting thing and you look like, you look like you could be the, the guy for

Jmack: 15:55

this. Yeah, I think, I think my manager knew that in the back of their head, but they never really kind of discussed their playing with me. Sure. They just had me play shows and they invited a bunch of TV and film agents to come out. Yeah. And um, and fortunately one of them that came out was like young and hungry and was like, you're gonna, you're gonna be a star. You know, and started like sending me all over LA And it, the way you mentioned that, how like one, one art form can like, kind of lead to another if you're open to it. The, the music and the acting has had always had this bidirectional relationship because if I was only an actor and I moved out to LA, I don't think I would've acted a day, you know? Sure. Like on set. Yeah. It was because I was out there as a musician. That's one of the things that kind of like defined myself, and so I would go to these acting meetings back in the day. They would just like, Put you in a room with like really impressive like executives and writers and developers and you know, people who were casting agents and stuff. And that was your time. It was called a general. Mm-hmm. You would just meet with them and be like, Hey, there's this new kid, or whatever. And I would bring my guitar, nice, nice, nice. And then we'd talk about, and then the boy band would come up and then I'd play music for'em, some songs that I'd written and stuff, and, and it helped really a lot. I think a lot of what ends up getting you. Jobs in one way or another is being present in someone's mind. Just not like in the forefront, but just kind of deep under the layers somewhere to where they're aware of you and when a project comes up, you know, whether, whether it's in acting or music, or whether you're developing a non-profit program, like whatever, it's social media stuff like I'm doing now. If you're just. In there. If you just hold this little tiny space in somebody's brain when they're trying to figure out how to put together all these puzzle pieces to create this bigger thing, you're in there and, and the subconscious kinda be like, oh, jam. I could be good for that. I think that's how I've gotten involved with a lot of different things is that for one reason or another, because of the the different things that I'm doing, I've, I've been able to like, Just kind of just take this little tiny place in people's subconscious and when they develop these projects, they're like, Hey, you wanna be involved? And I'm always like, let's go. What are we doing? You know? Yeah. I think

Britt: 18:03

that's the trick is just catching that slip stream and existing in that world and being open to whatever is gonna happen, you know? Because if mm-hmm. You're passionate about music, maybe you get into this acting thing. But that still gives you space at some point, or at least a way to get back into the music if that's what you're feeling. Totally more. You're just, you're in the place. That's awesome. Totally. Totally. So at what point were you, like, where, how did Doctor come into this? Like, you, you had already lived this fantastic life. Yeah. And where, where did, where

Jmack: 18:34

does Doctor come in? It's so interesting because I am a very impulsive person, but I like commit to my impulses. It's like the, if, if, if, if I have like, uh, if I could like list my, like top three strengths or whatever, it's like being able to just go with a gut feeling and 100% commit to it. But there was, there was a need, there was a need for a change, uh, before that impulse came around to become a doctor and that really was having this wave. Of amazing opportunities from the boy band to guest starring on the TV shows to, you know, being, uh, ha having my own TV show essentially to being in the movie. And then I, I signed what's called an exclusivity contract. It was like a talent hold to where I got paid six figures by Warner Brothers to not work for any other network, which is like sweet. Yeah, that's the dream gig. Like you're getting paid and you don't even have to work. But ultimately what was bad about that is that I didn't work right. And so I got paid well to not work. And that sounds great for most of the world, but man, not for me. Mm-hmm. Like I realized through that time that I wasn't doing anything, which ultimately only ended up being eight months, but it felt like an eternity for me that I, I felt like I had no purpose. And, and I, I had no challenges on a daily basis and all of the growth that I had been, you know, e experiencing and enjoying over the past, whatever, five years in entertainment had just like stopped. And I was just in this like plateau. I. And I was like, oh, how long is this gonna last? And in my brain, I, I knew, and I knew correctly, that that plateau could last forever. Mm-hmm. For actors. Mm-hmm. That you can, you can just plateau or valley, however you wanna think about it for a long time. And then later on, like, look at Ben Brendan Frazier, hey, 10 years later, oh, he's doing all this stuff and he is so great and he is so happy he is getting paid again and all this stuff. But like, what was his life like for those 10 years that we didn't hear anything about him? You know? Right. And I just, I saw that and I, with my personality and my ultimate, ultimately what I have now identified as a d h adhd, I couldn't, I, I couldn't do that. I, I need to be, um, forced into situations on a daily basis where I have to rise. To the occasion and, and be my best. And that's, that's what ultimately is fulfilling to me. And um, and I knew it wasn't gonna be acting long-term, so I was like, what the hell's it gonna be? And right at that same time, my sister Lisa was working in the ERs and just telling me the craziest stories of life and death and love and hope and devastation. And I was like, that's what I need in my life. Oh man.

Britt: 21:16

It's great that you were able to identify that at such a young age, you know? Mm-hmm. A lot of people would be in that situation and. Who knows what direction it could have gone in, but you had that energy that you needed to use and you put it into something new.

Jmack: 21:30

Yeah. Right. And I'm so glad, I'm so glad I did. And ultimately, I, a lot of it really did have to do to do with my ADHD and things like, my life makes so much more sense when I think back, like through the lens of adhd. I'm like, oh, that's why I am the way that I am.

Britt: 21:43

Yeah. Oh man. That introspection. Yeah. That, especially now we're, uh, I'm 40, I think you're close to 40, right? Getting up there. Yeah. Yeah. Later

Jmack: 21:50

this year. Yeah.

Britt: 21:51

Oh my God. Oh, that's exciting. Uh, yeah, as it feels like around this age, I'm, I'm realizing what all of these things in my past have, or have, you know, what have caused. Whatever, whatever. Right direction I went to. And it's like, ah, things are making sense now. Oh,

Jmack: 22:07

do you feel like, do you feel like you were sleepwalking through part of

Britt: 22:09

your life? Yeah, absolutely. I know, yeah. I, I look back and I'm like, was I just compartmentalizing things, you know, just to, to like cope, you know, like that that's not totally healthy. So now I'm like, yeah, trying to find all these new ways to just be present in life and understand. And Lindsay

Jmack: 22:26

is, And And taking control. And taking control of, of your life. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Britt: 22:29

And luckily I have a wife that's a mindfulness teacher that can Yeah. Keep me grounded and now be here with my kids remembering things and trying to sort through all these great experiences I've had in the past that, yeah, I just felt like I was sleepwalking

Jmack: 22:43

through, you know? Yeah. I felt like I was sleepwalking too, and the, fortunately the sleepwalking like led to really wonderful things, you know? Yeah. Like that was really cool. Right. But I don't, I don't, I, I don't know if I truly did have control over my life other than, you know, choosing to say yes to those really great opportunities. Right. I just, I just was going in instead of being mindful and being choosy, you know? And I feel like I have that control now, so it's cool. Exactly.

Britt: 23:08

So, uh, I know what kind of medicine you're into. Wait, tell our folks, tell everybody listening. What, what, what made you pick, uh, er.

Jmack: 23:18

Yeah, so emergency medicine is like a, a playground for an A D H D brain because there's so much simulation that's coming at you all the time, and it's always something different. And even if it is, you know, the same, so we see in the er, anything. From like that guy that I told you about earlier with that huge mass in his chest that like the radiologist called me and he was like, this is the biggest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. I can't believe it. And I'm looking at the images and I'm like, oh my God. Just having your mind blown during shifts with these, these like crazy pathology, um, to people coming in and like, I had a guy two nights ago that was like, I'm here for work now. I was like, okay, like I was just taking care of somebody who's having a massive stroke two seconds ago. This guy's like, I'm here for work note, and um, my daughter's pretty tired, so I'm gonna need to go to sleep soon. So can you just, can you go ahead and just gimme that work note? You know, and I'm like, I mean, wow. Yes. I wanna, I, I, I'm a people pleaser. I wanna make you happy, but like, The guy who's having the heart attacks gotta come first. Right? I'm sorry man. You're gonna have to wait for a little while for us to get things in motion for you cause you are not the medical priority right now. Right. And so we, we see a huge, uh, variation in, in what we take care of in the emergency room and it just, Lights my brain up and I just love it. So how do you

Britt: 24:35

make time and, uh, I guess like emotional space in your brain for your family? I mean, you're coming from like these mm-hmm. Life or death situations. Mm-hmm. And then you come home and maybe your kid's crying and yelling and having a tantrum, you know, like Yeah. Mm-hmm. Or, or whatever. Or just wants to hang out. Like, how are you, how do you make yourself present

Jmack: 24:57

for that? Or do you have? Right. That's something that I struggled with for a really long time because when I was in residency and I was doing 30 hour shifts and I wasn't working out and I was eating whatever was around me. Mm-hmm. So I was not being mindful at all with what I put in my body. And, uh, and I, and I, I've just felt. Terrible all the time. And, uh, and put on top of that a ton of emotional traumas that you're experiencing on a regular basis. And I was numb and I wasn't present and I wasn't, I wasn't the dad or the husband that I wanted to be emotionally. Um, and one of the best things that has happened to me after residency is taking control mm-hmm. And exercising and eating so much better. Um, having somewhat of a normal schedule. I mean, I'd still do overnights and, you know, my, if you look at my shifts on, like during the week, there's some morning shifts and afternoons and evenings and all that stuff, but I don't, I'm not doing 30 hour shifts. Mm-hmm. And I don't have an hour drive to and from the hospital like I did before as well. And so I, I'm, I have so much more time now outside of the hospital to work on me and sorting things out in my head. And, and ultimately doing the social media stuff with, which I'm sure we'll talk about in a little while, but I, it has been so terribly therapeutic. To talk about the things that I've seen and to talk about the injustices ultimately that were done to me as a, a young medical student with just like power crazy attend trauma surgeon attending, you know? Yeah. But it's like, it's like I've been able to, Open up and start to address those things that I experienced. And once and once I really kind of open up that box, I can't close it right now. And it, and it's a great way and, and it's in a great way. And I, I'm emotionally present again for, for my wife and for my kids. And, and you'll see it in my videos too. I'll cry on video and stuff. Yeah. And it, and it feels great to do that cuz I'm just, that's authentically what's happening inside me and I just let it come out. And it, it feels awesome afterwards. Right? It, you know,

Britt: 27:02

this doesn't have to be a linear thing, let's just move Yeah. Into the social media thing. How, yeah. How did that, I mean, obviously you've kind of talked about how that came up. Like you need to get that out and let people know. Yeah.

Jmack: 27:14

How did you start? Well, I, you know, I think I always was curious about social media. I was social media, curious for years and years and just looking at other people's accounts and stuff. And ultimately part of me still needed that. That entertainment side still needed to be that performer that I was for 20 years. It's so hard. I mean, in my brain, I was gonna turn my back on music and turn my back on performing and acting and all that stuff, and I was just gonna be a doctor, and that's what I was gonna be and who I was gonna be. And you know, your, your heart and your brain has other plans for you and it, and you'll figure out, you'll find a way. To incorporate your passions into your life if you allow yourself to be open to that. And so it's slowly crept back in. And one of many ways that it has manifested itself in, in my life has been through social media because now there's, now it's not all just about like, how pretty can you look in front of this like backdrop that you, you know, waited in line behind all these other influencers to stand in front of and smile, you know? Right. Instagram and TikTok. And it all changed to like, Who, who can convey a message in a really sincere and authentic way. And that's, that's when I started jumping on board. Cuz I was like, I know how to, I know how to be myself on camera. I did that for years. It's a, it's ultimately a skill to be able to just like, push all of the external thoughts away and just focus on what you truly wanna say. Like you would if you were at a dinner table with somebody. You know, that's a skill to be able to do that. And I, and I had that skill and so I just started. Doing it. Um, and it was really during Covid seeing all the misinformation going out there and the lack of trust and systems. And I was like, well, what if it's like their friendly neighborhood doctor that's telling them. The the data that I truly know and have and have been exposed to and stuff. And so that's how it began and it did really well. And then I realized I did not want to be just a covid doctor because I felt like, you know, medicine in the emergency room had so much more going on than just like, Is Covid real and talk about vaccines and people go, there are a lot of accounts. They got really pigeonholed there. And I just, I realized that I, it was such a great outlet for me in so many ways, like I was talking about therapeutically and also just like scratching that itch to be a performer again. Yeah. And um, and now after two years of doing it, somehow. I've gotten like over 650,000 followers and I don't know how many views I counted up a year ago, and it was like over a hundred million views. I'm sure we're over 200 million or more than that. I don't know what it is, but I love doing it. It's so fun, it's so rewarding. And ultimately when I do get the chance to talk about the traumas of being a medical student somewhere in my brain, I'm incepting young medical students to not do that to the next generation. Right. When Incepting attendings to stop doing that to their, you know, med students that they're teaching. Awesome. Yeah, and I

Britt: 30:06

think your honesty on this plat, on the platforms that you're on, Is really appealing. And that's probably helped your traject trajectory because I know when I, when I'm taking in any sort of media, podcasts, whatever, I'm, I wanna relate to somebody, you know? Mm-hmm. And you're out there, like you said, you're crying in some of your videos. Yeah. You know? Mm-hmm. You're telling the truth. You're talking about this. You're not giving a one-sided answer to anything. Mm-hmm. And that's great. And this, this season we've been. Doing a lot of interviews. We interviewed a men's coach recently, a friend of mine who, um, he's a men's coach, but, uh, he also saw the misinformation in like the men's movement. Right. And he's out there trying to correct some of that, that men can heal in their own ways, you know, there mm-hmm. Are people that have like a very, a very manly vibe, you know, and they can heal totally like a man, and it doesn't have to look. Like anything they think it needs to look like. They can cry, they can live out all of their emotions. They can actually share that with people and not just, Hey, get over it. You know?

Jmack: 31:13

Yeah.

Britt: 31:14

Totally. Totally. So yeah, these themes keep coming up that you have to put it out there, you know, you have to release all this stuff if you're, if you're gonna heal, you know?

Jmack: 31:22

Totally, totally. I completely agree. And I, I love what he's doing actually. I literally was just thinking about, as I was falling asleep last night, how my dad. Um, this is such a random, random thing, but we were, we were like in, you know, at the rodeo together. He took me to the rodeo when I was like, I don't know, five or four or six or something. I was so, so young. But aware enough. So, I dunno, I must have been six or something, but we're in the bathroom and this guy comes in and he is like, he is like, I can do math. And my dad and I are like, like, you know, like peeing in some sort of like weird like trough thing that only happens at the rodeo, you know? And my dad's like, okay. You know, and he is like, I'll do some for you right now. And he is like two plus three, plus seven, and he is adding this stuff up. And the more he talks, the more it becomes very apparent that he's mentally challenged, right? Mm-hmm. That he has an intellectual disability and, uh, but the way that my dad just interacted with him and just made, made him. Feel, you know, validated in his ability to do math and make him just, you know, just feel, feel like another normal, uh, guy in society just, just really stuck with me. Just like the kindness that, that my dad approached that awkward social situation with really stuck with me. And it's to be able to set that example. For the men of the next generation is so important. So that, that makes me so happy that your friends, you know, that's like, that's what, that's what his platform is. Right? I, I love that. I wish that there were more people like that out there, cuz ultimately that's how I learned that it was okay. To, to, to let things out, you know, emotionally and still be a man. Right. And still be able to, you know, take care of your family in, in the way that satiates that, that need, you know, as a man and, and, and I don't know. So, uh, that makes me really happy. Awesome.

Britt: 33:11

So is there something next in the medical field? Like how long do you see yourself in emergency medicine?

Jmack: 33:17

Forever. Forever. That is your thing. I wanna like, oh yeah. Until I am unable to get around the er. That's what I'm kind of. Recognizing is going to be my limiting factor one day, cuz I literally, I get like 13 to 15,000 steps in for every shift I'm flying around the er. Um, and so, and you need to be able to, you need to be really mobile, um, and, and have the energy for that. And, and I think I, hopefully my mind will be able to take it for a real long time. But like I'm, I have a feeling like once you just get older and the arthritis sets in and stuff like. I don't know. I'll have to slow down and maybe real slow yas aren't just gonna vibe with my brain that much, but to me I wanna do it forever. I just love it. Awesome. And while you

Britt: 33:58

also have more going on, let's talk about, um, your organization, music

Jmack: 34:03

Meets Medicine. Mm-hmm. Tell us about that. So that was the first way that music and performance crept back into my life after I had just completely turned my back on entertainment and basically through my own experience and my mother's chemotherapy sessions. Um, Experiencing, by the way, I, I always like to just jump right to the, the happy part. She's now like, I don't know, like 15 years in remission or something like that. Absolutely. Yeah. She's alive and doing great. Yeah. And that, and that's wonderful. But at the time there was a lot that was really up in the air and I was, I don't know, like 22 or something like that, 21, 22. So I was really young and feeling that helpless and watching your mother. Suffer and be nauseous and, and in pain during these chemo sessions was, it was really hard to see and my sisters and I hadn't performed together in, I mean, maybe 10 plus years. Um, But we realized how we were going to change those chemo sessions, watching our mother have these toxic chemicals pumped into her body, and that was bringing our instruments. And man, that room just like turned upside down and, and there was so much just like love and joy and positivity in there, and music therapy wasn't really a. Thing at this time, you know, when was this? Like 2004 or something? 2005. Like maybe they were just starting music therapy programs, but like there was not one in this hospital and so other chemo patients were like wheeling by like, will you come to room 2 27 next? We're like, okay. You know, and just experience how much music belonged. In the hospitals and, and the positive impact he could have. And, and after that I was like, wow, I have to do something with this. And, and I didn't know what, and I just kind of, it was there in the back of my brain and, and over time my brain just figured it out for me. And it was like, okay, you're going to start a nonprofit and you're gonna raise money even though you've never done that and you don't know how to do that. And you're gonna do all this paperwork and you're gonna figure out how to put instruments into the hands of kids that are trapped in children's hospitals. And I, and I mean that they're trapped there. They, they don't wanna be there. They don't wanna, because I, I experienced that when I was, uh, at tcu. I would volunteer before my mom even had breast cancer. I volunteer at Cook Children's and there were these teenagers there that were just like replaying the same video games on, you know, Dreamcast or whatever they had at the time. You know, like, um, N 64. And, uh, and it, it seemed to me like it just a big old waste of their time. And so I was like, well, what can we do that that could, you know, actually enhance their life? Instead of them putting everything else on pause in their life, what could we do that could add on, um, to, to their skillset? And, and maybe their passions. And so music meets Medicine was born. And to date, I mean, I don't know, I don't know how much we've raised. I need to add it up at some point, but it's well over$250,000, maybe$300,000 for, uh, music therapy programs for putting instruments into the hands of, um, Chronically old children, teenagers. We donated a jam room to Dallas Children's. We raised$150,000 to put a jam room at Children's Hospital in Dallas to where the kids could escape from the room and just experiment, you know? And there's a music therapist in there to kind of help guide'em and everything, and that's fantastic. It's joy to be a part of.

Britt: 37:22

Awesome. So how can people learn more about that or donate? The website, eh?

Jmack: 37:29

Yeah. Go to music meets medicine.org. Boom. And check it out. I'll put

Britt: 37:34

that in the show notes. So it's a, a clickable

Jmack: 37:36

link. Thank you, bro. Ooh, that's beautiful. Clickable link. Clickable meets medicine.org. Check it out. It's just a joy to be a part of. And what's cool is it right now, because before you know, you can see, you can probably hear, listeners can hear my personality. I'm all over the place. Um, And I, I am in the way that I talk with people and that I am with my life and my projects too. And the great thing about getting older is that you. Identify the strengths that you have, and you can just like embrace the hell out of'em and you can identify the things that you suck at, and you can also embrace the hell out of it and be like, that's not what I should be doing. I need someone to help me that's better at that stuff, and I'm getting so much better at. Finding my counterparts with all these various projects that I'm working on to where I come in and do what I know how to do that I do best. And then I have other people who help me to really execute those projects on a day-to-day basis and focus on the details. Because for my A D H D brain, those details are boring and I'll ignore'em, you know? Yeah. But for other people who love details and love, making sure that everything is meticulous and planned out. I'm, I'm just creating all of these relationships through my various projects and it, it makes me so happy to see the impact that the projects can have once a team is balanced. Right.

Britt: 38:58

So along with Music Meets Medicine, you have another organization with your wife, Rebecca, the Slaughter Family Arts. Right. Tell us more about that. How, how does. All of this, like committing to this, like fulfill you. This is,

Jmack: 39:11

oh my gosh. In so many ways. So, so Rebecca and I both were given more opportunities growing up than we could ever. Give back, you know, to the people around us. And, um, and in that way we both feel very indebted. Uh, you've already heard about all of the opportunities that I was given growing up with performance opportunities, et cetera. Rebecca is an amazing dancer. She's a ballet dancer. She, um, was dancing in New York with a School of American Ballet, which they're like dancing with the Julliard kids and stuff. And she was in the, these like summer intensive programs with Paris Opera Ballet, where it's like, it was like, 13 to 15 people nationwide were chosen to do these things. And she was doing that and on full scholarship. Um, and so in the back of her mind, she always wanted to be able to give out scholarships and give people the opportunities that she was given. And in the back of my mind, I've always known that I gotta figure out how to pay it forward or else there's gonna be such a crazy karmic debt that I, I don't know what's gonna happen in the afterlife, but it's gonna be bad. Or the current life. I don't know how that ends up coming back to you, you know? But you gotta pay forward in some way. And we both recognized the fact that we were very passionate about that, and we were like, let's give out one scholarship. And then, you know, my a d ADHD brain was like, but that's not fun. What if we gave out like 10? What if we gave out 15? What if instead of just doing it for this one school, we did it for six schools and then, but six schools, that's not enough. What if we did it just for the entire Fort Worth area? And so basically it's grown to the point in three years. And this is a testament to, to working with other people, to finding your counterpoints. The people. If, if you're the guy who loves creating the plans and knows how to raise the money, but you can't execute and you can't get the details, find the people to do the details. Or if you're the person that's so good at the details and you're just like terribly passionate about a certain cause, but you need somebody who's better with the creative side about it, find that person, you know, or reach out to me cuz I love the brainstorming process. Reach out to me, let's grow some stuff together. It's one of my favorite things on the planet, but at this point, We've now given out, uh, over 40 awards and over$60,000 worth of scholarships to young fine arts students in the Fort Worth area. And we're beginning that process of repaying all of the ways that we have been paid, you know, throughout our life through performance opportunities and scholarships, et

Britt: 41:37

cetera. Fantastic. And we'll make a clickable link for that too. Yeah. For everyone to learn a little more. Slaughter Family arts awards.org. Sfa

Jmack: 41:45

awards.org. Boom. Yeah, we actually have our ceremony coming up just in a couple weeks. Um, Brett, where, where in the world are you right now, by the way? I can't keep up. We're in Ojai, California at the moment, Ojai, California. Okay. But when this airs will probably be in Japan. Oh my gosh. Oh. Oh. I can't wait to follow you guys throughout Japan. I've been dreaming about going to Japan for so long, so, oh, we're excited. It's gonna be wonderful.

Britt: 42:07

Awesome. So how do you have a daily, like spiritual practice or any, any sort of practices that keep you aligned with what you're doing? Like you have so much going on, how do you, right. How do you keep grounded and keep some sort of order with all of this?

Jmack: 42:24

That's a really great question. I mean, I think, honestly, I think working out is, is my way that I kind of am able to ground myself. Um, it's interesting, there are some mornings where it's really rare, but it happened a couple days ago where I just woke up and I was just really anxious and I'm like, I'm not an anxious person, but with the wrong situations, not eating right, not sleeping right. Yep. Not working out. Um, pretty much everybody I think, can turn into a ball of anxiety. At one point, it was like, it felt like paralyzing anxiety and I was like, what is going on? And, uh, and I realized I, I re, I hadn't worked out in like four or five days. The hard thing about being an emergency doctor and being involved in a lot of things is that you don't have a normal daily routine ever. Mm-hmm. Ever, ever, ever. And so I, I woke up with that and I was like, I. I think I just need to go to the gym right now. And it, like, it sounds meat heady, you know, but it's, it's not, it's not about like being ripped or getting bigger or anything like that. It really is about literally taking your cortisol levels. Mm-hmm. And it's measurable. They've, they've done experiments on your cortisol levels, which is your stress hormone floating around in your body, doing all sorts of damage in many, many ways, including increasing your blood pressure and heartset and after you work out. Those cortisol levels just go, ugh. Yeah.

Britt: 43:40

You know? Oh, I totally know the, actually last night, Lindsay and I both woke up around 3:00 AM just inexplicable, inexplicably look at each other, and we just both have these like cortisol dumps going and we couldn't get back to sleep. We're like, what's going on right now? There's nothing to be stressed about right now, but of course, every situation you can think of is going through your head and you're like, what's going on? Right. But every morning we both get up. It's so interesting how that happens, right? It's crazy, but every morning we both get up and we do. Um, walk, run for about four miles, and that makes it so much better. Like after that we're like grounded. We're feeling good, and it's all coming back. Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's also been another running theme this season too. We've had a health coach on and we were talking about quick. Well, nice.

Jmack: 44:22

Yeah. Yeah. I think it's, for me it's, it's working out and it's music. When I'm, when I'm playing music on a regular basis, uh, and specifically right now in my life, it's when I'm playing music with my kids. Mm-hmm. Because it's just, I mean, I'm a big fan of like, you know, um, as many birds as I can with one stone. You know, it's like, it's, it's checking off this box in my brain that I need on a daily basis to know that I'm interacting with my children and helping them grow in some way. And at the same time, it's checking off, you know, that part of me that, that needs to. Play music and perform. Um, and it's, yeah. It's just that it is so wonderful and fulfilling to play music with my kids. And I've, we've actually been playing music on stage together, which is so cool. Nice. We've now, I think we've performed like five times in the last six months or something. Wow. Um, even we played the Kessler, which is like a totally legit venue. Absolutely. Um, at a, at a fundraiser for music meets medicine, and there were like 200 people there. And you know, my daughter was up on stage for like the second time in front of 200 people and her shoulders are down and her mics up and I'm like, okay, we can work on posture a little bit, but. But she executed, she did really great. My son just like has no fear and he's up on stage playing piano and singing at the same time and just killing it. So it's such a cool thing to Yeah, it's to do and, and such a cool release and it's so centering. Yeah. It's so

Britt: 45:43

impressive how into it they are. I've, I've been at your house. Where they just walk over to the piano and start playing and then it turns into a jam and everyone's singing Yes. Beatles songs or it's, you know. Yes. That's so

Jmack: 45:53

cool, man. Makes you so happy. Awesome.

Britt: 45:55

So what's something in this moment that you would want to create or some sort of experience you want to have that maybe you haven't had before? What's something, I mean, you've all, you've got all this stuff going on. I know there's more in, in your head.

Jmack: 46:07

I know you're ready to do something else. Oh, yes, there's, there's a bunch. There's a bunch in my head, but the, I think the most important thing that I can do in the next 10 years of my life is get my children to the point musically to where if they want to, They will have the skills and, you know, the, the creativity. Cuz ultimately that's, that's a muscle that you flex as well and that, that you develop. And, and, and it's, it's, it's more than even just like flexing and developing that creativity. It's retaining it cuz all kids are creative. It's adults that forget how to be creative. It's figuring out how to retain that creativity over time. But getting my kids to the point to where if they want to, they can pursue. Music in, in to whatever extent they'd like, you know? Right. I'm, I try to incept them, you know, we, like, we go to, like, we, we went to Taylor Swift. I, you know, I, nice, I respect Taylor Swift a lot and there's some songs that I just like a lot, you know, love really, but I'm not like a swift or anything like that. But I want my kids to see at a very young age the power of music and the fact that that's not an accident. That happened because she worked her ass off. Right, exactly. Every single day. Yeah. For the last 15 years of her life or whatever it is. She is a hard, hard worker. And I, and I asked each one of them at one point, I just pointed to all of the whatever, 15, 20,000 people in the stadium. And I was like, why? Why are they here? And they're like, okay to see her. And I'm like, well, why are they here to see her? And they looked up at me and they said, Learn and practice. And I was like, that's right. She learned and she practiced cuz that's the key to success in almost any field, you know? And so I got, I'm, I'm trying to incept them with that. And so if, if you're asking what's, what am I like the most excited about project-wise, that is my project. My project is, is my kids in helping them get to that place where if they would like, that is an open door for them. That's beautiful.

Britt: 48:05

Hmm. So right now, are there any books or music that you love? Are you just like listening to one thing over and over again?

Jmack: 48:14

Um, yeah, that's interesting. Um, right now I'm mostly in the place where I'm trying to expose my kids to. Um, to, to music that I think is awesome and like fun and, and you know, there's nothing that I'm really listening to on repeat, but there's a lot of me just going back in my mind and like, what was I excited about? Because I, I'm still excited about new music, but I'm not excited like I was when I was 20. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like, oh my God, I was so. Stoked about, you know, the newest Radiohead album that that would drop, that would just be like out in left field, just so abstract, you know, like, like kid a, um, et cetera. And, and so I'm trying to like reach back to that, that ex those days of excitement and um, and share those with my kids. So for instance, yesterday, um, my son, when we were in the car together, cuz we always play the like, what do you wanna listen to next game? Every time we're in the car, I say, who wants to listen to a song first? And the kids get, get to like scream all at the same time, you know? And whoever like screams first gets to choose the song, right? And so we go round Robin and I always get to pick and I'm really selective with what I choose. But my son yesterday was like, tonight, tonight. And I was like, yes, I'm doing my job. Cuz I love that song. I love that song. It's such a powerful song, you know, with the, with the, um, with the, you know, symphony behind him and, and um, and with the, the snare, it's just so driving individuals behind that music video that I know that he sees when he hears that. Uh, it makes me so happy that, that, that's something that's like ingrained in him as like, is is like fun, like exciting music and, um, and so, but me personally, I don't know as much. It's more of just like going back and rage against the machine and, you know, old Foo Fighter stuff and like, that's, that's what I'm trying to bring back.

Britt: 50:13

That's awesome. Yeah. It feels so good when the kids actually hear something that you love when you're like, oh, see how this goes? And they're into it. Yeah. That's like the best feeling, you know, like, oh, I'm, I'm not, see, look at me. I'm not a dork. I'm cool. I'm cool. Admit I'm cool. You like Bella and Sebastian? I'm cool. Totally, totally. Yeah. Yesterday they, uh, we turned on a Beastie Boys song and they, they just kinda started moving and I was, it was when we were driving and I'm just looking in the rear, you kind watching them like. Kind of start dancing and I'm like, yes. Best feeling,

Jmack: 50:47

just like I was very happy. Yeah. Yeah, dude, I loved, I loved Beastie Boys back in the day. Oh

Britt: 50:52

man. So we like to end this on a question from Jack and Eli. Yeah. Yeah. And this one, I, I feel like is, is perfect for you. And let me see, what exactly did they say? They said, um, Hey, dad is a head and appendage.

Jmack: 51:08

And I,

Britt: 51:08

I felt, I felt a little stumped. I was like, I would have to actually look up the exact definition of appendage. Um, I don't think, oh my gosh. Yeah, it would be considered an app pigeon, an appendage, but let's act, let's ask a doctor.

Jmack: 51:20

That is hilarious because your son stumped me. I do not know if I would classify that as an appendage, as in my working knowledge, I would not. But after like going, doing a deep dive on the actual, you know, medical definition of appendage, I might, I might include that. Awesome. That is a hilarious question. You know, I'm a hundred percent stunned.

Britt: 51:48

Awesome.

Jmack: 51:49

Thanks for that. Who is that Jack? That was Jack.

Britt: 51:52

Thank Jack has been giving us so many, bro, so many questions. These are just nonstop, like a hundred questions a day. Oh,

Jmack: 51:59

random alert. That's good.

Britt: 52:00

Yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for, for being here, man. I really appreciate, give you, giving us this

Jmack: 52:06

time. Well, man, I, I'm just, I'm a big fan of you guys just as human beings and, uh, the cool experiences that, that you're giving not only you know your kids, but that you're sharing with everybody online and stuff. Um, and ultimately you guys are an inspiration. There's so many people who feel like they're stuck. And their day-to-day routine and are not happy with that day-to-day routine. And to be able to have somebody that they can like, see and hear, um, that has been able to do that successfully, to be able to take that and just like flatten whatever they've built before and just be like, let's do something different. That's, that is so cool, man. That's inspiring. Thanks man. I hope.

Britt: 52:46

Yeah. I hope we're helping some people.