TFC Audio Project: Recent Episodes
The Foot Collective
Welcome to the Audio Project, our community podcast at TFC. A place to tell stories, discuss complex topics and help give you back responsibility for your health through improved awareness.
This week we talk about the concept of movement nutrition. We cover what it is, why it's such an important concept in rehab and in health in general, why so many of us don't get enough movement nutrients and simple steps that you can take at home, in the office, and outdoors so that you can have a more nutritious movement diet.
This episode is all about play. We look at what play is, where it comes from, how to do it, and why it's so important for physical and mental health. Plus, we also cover our vision for creating a play-based injury prevention and performance enhancement culture.
On the first episode of this new series, James & Mac introduce the newest member of TFC Australia, they talk about the story of TFC Australia so far and the vision for the podcast, and they explore the major projects that they'll be working on this year.
This week's episode is from the Mi-Fit podcast, recorded in September 2020. DJ Hillier is the host, and he asks some really great questions about all things feet. They cover things like footwear, bunions, and running. The goal was to keep it simple and to cover the essentials when it comes to understanding foot problems and issues that people will face.
Andy and Nick talk about footwear. They unpack why the shoes on our feet present the biggest problem and the biggest opportunity when it comes to foot health. They compare natural and conventional footwear. They discuss the SAID Principle and talk about why footwear is such an important element in the business model of natural podiatry.
Malcolm Saunders is the founder of Light Cellar, a specialty superfood shop and a teaching kitchen. Nick hears Malcolm's story and they talk about food and current events in Canada at the time of recording.
Happy New Year! Topics include: ground living, the recent birth of his daughter, and what it means to raise wild kids.
Mike and Nick unpack the concept of embodiment. They talk about what the term means, how it's shaking up the world of neuroscience, and practical examples where our body and our mind affect each other bidirectionally.
Nick and guest Jay Nera dive into Covid-19 and politics. Whether you agree with their points or not, we hope that you find the conversation interesting and thought provoking. Thank you for listening!
Nick and Minnesota Foot Nerd, Andy Cook, talk about how it's never too late to focus on your health. He shares his mission with how he wants to help people who want to move more and improve their physical health, but don't find meaning in heading to the gym and doing the typical workout.
In this intro episode to the new show, Nick and Mitch Harbaugh cover mindfulness and meditation. Mitch tells his story about how his meditation journey began and they define and compare meditation and mindfulness. They talk about why meditation is such a powerful tool and finish by giving some practical tips for how to start your own mindfulness & meditation practice. Hope you enjoy!
Andy and Nick talk about the business of natural podiatry. The goal was to present the case for the financial viability of practicing natural podiatry as compared to conventional podiatry. Andy shares his transition story, they talk about new revenue opportunities available to podiatrists who make the transition, the alignment of interest between patients and practitioners, and they talk about the concept of replacing symptom treatment based services with preventative education based services.
Chad Little is a footwear creator, shoe educator, and a former designer at Jordan Brand and Nike. They talk about his story of why he became a shoe designer, his time at Nike, his frustration with how shoes are made, and finish by talking about the potential of footwear and what he's working on now.
Mitch Harbaugh is a Foot Nerd from the Tampa region, a content creator for Beam Tribe, and he also leads the mind pillar for the Foot Nerd Program. They discuss the Foot Nerd Program, his interest in the mind, the world of distraction that we live in, and the process of exploring inner space.
Nick talks with Golden Harper, the founder of Altra Footwear, about the world of footwear, the story of Altra, the path he took to create a global footwear brand, and some of the friction that he faced along the way.
Nick and Ashley talk about the Jane Elliott experiment, policing, and Ashley shares a few stories about her life when she's encountered racism.
Mark Sharafinski Jr. is a Foot Nerd from the United States. Mark and Nick talk about why they feel natural footwear is a superior alternative for runners including those who are logging some serious mileage. They discuss footwear as a utilitarian foot protection, why eliminating foot wear technology allows you to tap in the body's natural technologies, they cover heel striking, and also finish talking about Mark's upcoming footwear reviews that he's going to be creating for TFC App.
Nick and Mike unpack the dialectic and socratic method. They start by defining some terms, talking about the relevance of the dialectic in today's world, discussing the obstacles the prevent high quality discussions, and they talk about what goes into a good faith conversation and dig into the fact that we're all in a sense making crisis right now.
German Foot Nerd and leader of Beam Tribe, Felix Oehler talks with Nick about how he came across TFC initially, why he chose to become a Foot Nerd, the journey so far with Beam Tribe, and around midway they start telling their stories about fasting.
This is our first official episode of Podiatry 2.0! Nick and Andy Bryant discuss all things related to podiatry as they approach the launch of their newest community at TFC, The Natural Podiatry Community. On this first episode they compare old podiatry to new podiatry, podiatry school, they cover some base assumptions that currently guide the practice of podiatry and how they need to be updated. They also talk about the resistance they see in the field of podiatry to taking a more natural approach to treatment.
Nick talks to Emily about her recent Wim Hof cold exposure & breathe experience and how cold exposure and breathe work have played a role in her health process. They end up talking about the healthcare system and its shortcomings, while also proposing potential solutions to solve those problems.
In the second episode of this series, Nick and Ashley talk about slavery, privilege, personal responsibility, and some of the problems with social media when it comes to a topic like racism.
Nick and Mike dig into a topic they feel is in desperate need of a nuanced conversation: Posture. They start by defining posture and then talk about the myth of perfect posture. They unpack whether posture matters or not, the importance of joint alignment, and finish with unpacking why exploring "bad postures" can be a really valuable element when building resilience.
Lori Sharp is a Foot Nerd and a movement coach from Ventura, California. She's a runner and she's also the person behind our newest Instagram account called TFC.Runner where she shares her running learning journey with our global TFC community. They talk about her running story, why so many runners get injured, and the effect of cushioned footwear on how we move.
In our new show called Critical Conversations, Nick talks with Jay Nera about critical thinking and how our ability to think deeply is what separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. They discuss the effect that social media is having on our culture and they touch on the topic of privilege and masks briefly at the end of the episode.
Andy Bryant is a podiatrist from Melbourne, Australia and he's a wealth of information when it comes to feet. They talk about how we discovered TFC, what got him interested in joining the Foot Nerd Community, and how his practice approach has shifted along with some of his keystone daily habits.
Austin Einhorn and Nick talk about the untapped power of play as a training tool and unpack the problem of non-contact injuries.
Nick has a second conversation with Food Team Leader of the Foot Nerd Program, Matt O'Meara. Nick and Matt had a great chat about some practical tips when it comes to improving food choices. They riff on some tiny changes that everyone can start to make when it comes to food, navigating the supermarket, and they finish with why spending more on food works out to be cheaper in the long run.
Mike and Nick unpack the topic of emotional intelligence. They start by defining what it is and why it's important. They talk about models of emotional intelligence, the value of self-awareness, critical feeling, the effects of social media, and they finish by talking about expanding emotional vocabulary in order to improve recognition of our emotions.
Welcome to Episode #1 of Black & White Conversations! Ashley and Nick are going to be doing a series of six episodes on a monthly basis with the intention of improving, understanding, and sharing our life and learning experiences in the hopes of creating some nuanced dialogue about a topic that seems to be tearing us all apart. Our hope is that these episodes will invite anyone of any color or background to engage in the learning process with us and hopefully see things from both perspectives. We know racism is a big problem but until we have open conversations without the fear of saying the wrong thing, it's going to be really difficult to come together a build a better society we can all be proud of. That's the goal of these podcasts, hope you enjoy!
Mike & Nick revisit the concept of social media. They talk about the importance of using social media intentionally instead of unconsciously. They talk about the limiting nature of written words when it comes to human-to-human communication. They go over what they consider to be a healthy use of social media from their own experience, and they finish by talking about their personal philosophies of how they use social media to share their experience.
Canadian Foot Nerd from Comox, BC, Matt Omeara is a health professional working in the space of holistic acupuncture, pain, & nutrition. They talk about the food elevator pitch, food vs. food products, reconnecting with internal signals like hunger and feeling full, and they also touch on fasting near the end.
Nick and guest Brian Mackenzie had a great chat about breathing, how he got into breath, and the physiology of respiration. They touch a bit on mental health and they finish by talking about what it means to be a health story teller.
On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick dig into the topic of mental training. They talk about the importance of having a mental training practice & different methods for mental training. They share some stories of their individual practices and how they've evolved over time. They finish talking about some really simple steps you can take to begin creating a daily mental training practice.
On this episode of Nerd Talk, Nick's guest is Brent Day. Brent is a college professor, Foot Nerd, and strength & conditioning coach. In the episode they talk about the Foot Nerd Program, the five pillars of health, and they talk about the future of online education in a post-covid world. They also chat about Brent's experience as a strength & conditioning coach, and how he applies the five pillars when he works with his athletes.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick unpack the concept of lifestyle. They go over what lifestyle means, how changing your lifestyle really means changing your identity, and how we inherit our lifestyle but can always change it. They finish with some actionable tips for each pillar of health to give you ideas on how to get started changing your lifestyle in order to benefit your health.
Nick and Clayton go deep with a conversation centered around the concept of mobility. They talk about mobility training, how to make your mobility gains stick, using lifestyle to avoid losing mobility, and they unpack the powerful benefits of a daily practice to maintain your joint mobility in the same way most of us have a daily practice of brushing your teeth.
In their first time speaking together, Nick and Moses get into the weeds on how to rebuild a broken healthcare system from the ground up. They cover the fundamental problems in today's system, some first principals and assumptions that they know to be true, and they talk about how the entire education system from kindergarten all the way up to medical school needs to change in order to achieve sustainable health by shifting our cultural values.
The human mind is bias to zone in on short-term benefits and we aren't great at seeing the long-term effects of our immediate behaviors which can end up having some negative effects on our health over time. Nick and Mike talk about why we've evolved to be that way and more importantly how we can broaden our perspective towards thinking long term.
Tim's a physiotherapist, a Foot Nerd, a good friend, and in this episode Nick and Tim talk about the Foot Nerd Program, the evolution of his treatment approach, lessons learned as a wrestler, and habits.
John Lindsay is part of the TFC Footwear squad and he's been putting out awesome content on Instagram. Nick and John decided to connect so he could share his story and they had a great conversation about his movement journey, daily habits, and some principles that he uses to guide him in his training.
On this episode, Nick chats with Clayton Weakley about building habits, dialing in a morning routine, the pros and cons of working from home during strange times like this, and how to build a better relationship with social media. Clayton's a Foot Nerd, a mobility coach, he's obsessed with rock climbing, and he's been on the podcast before.
On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick have a conversation about immune function and do their best to simplify the biology of the immune system. They talk about how the five pillars of health influence the immune system and what you can do to create a more resilient defense system so that you can be ready for battle if you do come into contact with something like a virus. They finish the episode by making some observations about how the pandemic is being managed in their own hometown, and how we can all do our own part to ask questions and make sure the best interest of the public is being served with decisions made by country leadership.
On this episode originally recorded from March 19, Nick redefines what it means to be "healthy". He unpacks the concept of movement snacks, talks about the importance of doing fun stuff everyday during these strange and uncertain times, talks about connecting with others during isolation, and last but not least some live Q&A at the end.
On this episode of Nerd Talk, Nick chats with Mark Sharafinski Jr. Mark's a physician, Foot Nerd, and he's got a great running story that he shared in this episode. They talk about the Foot Nerd program, using movement to enhance learning, potential solutions to the health problem, and they finish with a chat about key habits that he implements on a daily basis. This was one of Nick's favorite conversations to date on the podcast, and we hope that you all enjoy it and find the content useful.
Mark's Instagram
@Mark_Ski_
In this new series, we have taken the audio from Nick's previous Instagram live on March 17th where he covers foot health, fear immunity, actionable tips to improve your sleep, and some Q&A from the TFC community.
On this episode of #shoptalk Mike and Nick discuss the current situation. They talk about their personal experience, things that you can do to manage anxiety, focusing on health, as well as some of the powerful positive lessons that can be learned so that we can create a more resilient and anti-fragile self and society when we get to the other side of this.
A lot of people have been sending Nick ads lately for what are being sold as running shoes but would probably have more in common with moon boots or hovercrafts than anything you should be covering your feet with. In this episode Nick hopes to share his thoughts and cut through some of the confusion out there and just talk about shoes worn for running.
Inspired by a recent sweat lodge experience that Mike and Nick had together, they decided to research the physiological and psychological benefits of both heat and cold exposure. They also share some of their personal experiences and why they enjoy regular doses of cold and hot exposure in their own life.
Alex Herrera is part of a group called Tribe Wire, who TFC has worked with for a second year in a row to create a rewiring retreat in Costa Rica. The topic discussed on this episode was connection. Connection to yourself, to others, and to your habitat.
On this episode of #SHOEtalk, Nick talks to Lukáš Klimpera, the mind behind Ahinsa Shoes. Nick visited Lukáš recently on a visit to the Ahinsa HQ in Czech Republic. After spending 3 days together, they decided to record this conversation to share the awesome story behind Ahinsa Shoes and why it's a company that TFC plans to work with in the future with the goal being to bring high quality functional footwear to the masses. We hope you find the conversation interesting!
https://ahinsashoes.com/
https://tfc-shop.com/
On today's show Nick chats with James Dooner for their third and final podcast for the January Seminar tour. The topic for this one is movement. It's a really big topic, so this will probably be an intro episode for several more to come. James is the movement team leader at The Foot Nerd Program, meaning he overseas the movement research team and leads the development of TFC's movement specific events. They're going to be launching a movement workshop later in 2020. Always a pleasure talking movement with James. Hope you enjoy the episode!
On today's chat Nick talks with James Dooner in an effort to unpack the five pillars of health and to expand on the fact that each pillar affects every other pillar. James is the Lead Foot Nerd for the Australian division of TFC. We hope you enjoy the conversation!
On today's episode, Nick has a chat with Phil Evans. Phil is a super interesting guy. He's a shoe maker, father, and someone who has a super intriguing story to share with the world. They have a great conversation about how he got into shoe making as well as his experience taking a different path when it comes to educating his kids. Hope you enjoy!
On this episode of Health Conversations, Nick speaks with TFC's Australian division director, James Dooner. James is a Foot Nerd, and all around beast when it comes to movement and being the example when it comes to health. They talk about TFC's new event format for 2020, the value of a morning routine, thoughts on each pillar of health, and what it means to be a good thinker.
On this episode of Health Conversations, Nick speaks with Paul Oneid. Paul's an elite level powerlifter and the co-founder of a company that has created an awesome app to help you better understand all the data that we can now collect when it comes to health. They talk about the power of awareness, what conscious living means, training auto-regulation, and about replacing New Year's resolutions with commitments to change.
Happy New Years! In this episode of Health Conversations, Nick speaks with Ray McClanahan. Ray is a legend in the world of foot health and luckily Nick got the chance to sit down with him in Ottawa for a weekend to talk about how they can continue spreading the message of health when it comes to feet, and how to create a better future for the footwear industry. They talk about footwear, bunions, empowering people with responsibility, and his history of how he got to be where he is today.
In this episode of Health Conversations, Nick sits down with Karen Holowati, a local psychologist from Ottawa. They start by talking about what initially directed her to pursue psychology and the education involved in becoming a psychologist. They talk about being ready for change, her approach to therapy being based primarily on listening and helping gain clarity to the changes that they need to make. Merry Christmas and we hope you enjoy this one as much as we did!
On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about the topic of complex adaptive systems. Humans are complex creatures and are exposed to a massive amount of environmental variables and because of that--things aren't always straight forward & predictable when it comes to solving problems like pain or disease. Understanding the science and the concepts behind complex adaptive systems can provide an improved perspective when working with humans.
On this #SOLOcast episode Nick talks about universal footwear sizing (UFS), the idea of crowdfunding a 100% transparent company with the 2021 launch of TFC Footwear, he revisits the topic of ankle mobility and talk more about the ankle mobility solution as a product that TFC is going to launch in 2020, he touches on an update for TFC App regarding Android issues, and finishes by talking about transitioning to minimal footwear and changing your mindset when it comes to sitting.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about common injuries. Their goal with this episode was to simplify the common and preventable issues that so many people seem to encounter. They talk about the fear of movement that comes after an injury. They talk about using movement as the primary modality in recover, load management, and becoming your own scientist by playing with movement during the rehab process.
On this special episode of Health Conversations, Nick has a conversation with Tony Riddle during his recent seminar trip to the UK. Tony is a wealth of wisdom and they cover the topics of rewiring behaviors, defining spirituality, having your physical/social/spiritual needs met, and living a natural lifestyle in our modern unnatural world. He's got some great knowledge on raising kids and spent some time talking about creating better templates for the next generation of humans.
The reality is, as we get older it seems we play less and less. Hopefully this episode inspires you to incorporate more play in your everyday life. In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about play. They talk about what play is, why it's important, how it can be used to solve complex problems, and they unpack the ways that play contributes to physical, social, and cognitive development in children.
When it comes to health, it's really about doing the right things the majority of the time - not really about being perfect all the time. On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about Health Heuristics. They start by defining what heuristics are, how they can be beneficial when it comes to health, and their potential to simplify decisions for a lot of people. They list of a lot of heuristics for the five pillars of health and they riff on each of them explaining why they might be helpful along with their underlying benefit that each one can deliver.
On October 25, 2019, Nick had made a post on Instagram about depression, which evoked a lot of emotion--both good and bad. This episode was made in response to the wide range of reactions, hoping to expand on that post and provide more context and clarity behind its intention.
On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick go over the history of medicine. Since its inception, the institution of medicine has gone through a lot of evolution. And although it can be life saving when it comes to acute issues like fractures or infections, the biggest threats today are no longer acute and medicine is starting to lose its effectiveness. They start by defining medicine, go through a brief history of medicine's evolution, and finish by discussing how modern medicine needs to shift its focus from managing symptoms to treating the root cause of disease if it's going to continue to be helpful and effective in the modern age.
On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about pain. They start by defining pain and how it's really an alarm designed to protect our bodies. They talk about the evolutionary benefits of pain, chronic pain, how pain does not equal damage, how the body learns from pain, and they cover how to use pain to your advantage.
On this episode of Nerd Talk, Nick has a conversation with Emily Gooding. Emily is a local Foot Nerd from Ottawa and also the sleep team leader for the Foot Nerd Program. They talk about her own struggle with foot pain, what got her interested in the Foot Nerd Program, her love for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and they finish by talking about sleep and the powerful bits of information they've both learned so far about this very important yet very underappreciated pillar of health.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Nick and Mike talk about optimizing your learning. They start by defining learning and discuss learning as a skill, as well as how sleep and food affect your ability to learn. They talk about having a process and a method for acquiring knowledge and how training the mind for focussed attention is more important now than ever, especially now considering the fact that we live in an age of distraction.
On this episode of Nerd Talk, Nick has a conversation with Clayton Weakly. They talk about climbing, their TFC Climb project that's aiming to improve the shape of climbing shoes, and the TFC manufacturing philosophy inspired by Patagonia. Hope you enjoy!
On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about balance. Not balance in the sense of balancing on one leg, but balance in terms of work-life balance; seeking balance when it comes to food, technology, stress, and balancing training and recovery. Their goal was really to air out the process of working towards balance in life generally in the hopes that it would be relatable in your life.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about food. They did their first episode on nutrition a while back, and now that TFC is embarking on food education as part of their shift beyond feet and hips into the realm of health as a whole, their perspective on food is changing. As they learn, they have these conversations on the podcast to fill everyone in on the new stuff they are reading about. They talk about food as a whole, what the food problem is, they breakdown the ideology of nutritionism, and finish with tips on how to identify real food.
In this short #solo episode, Nick riffs on squat mobility, active versus sedentary lifestyles, having a sense of purpose in life, the power of self regulation, meditation, and modern medicine.
On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick start by defining psychology. They talk about locus of control and then get into addiction and the self-concept. A lot of people know what they need to do to be healthy, but few people are able to achieve those behaviors so this episode is all about exploring the psychological barriers to achieving health.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about flow state. They define what flow is, how they came to discover it personally, and the potential to harness flow through certain physical & mental activities in order to boost performance. They chat about using flow to enhance creativity, ways to hack and trigger flow states, and also the insane benefits of training your ability to tap into flow in order to boost productivity.
On our first episode of Nerd Conversations, Nick's guest is Mike Filipovic, a pedorthist from Ottawa. Mike is one of the 26 newly admitted Foot Nerds in the maiden 2019 group from around the world. They talk about his schooling as a pedorthist, how he heard about TFC and his initial impressions of it, and also what made him gravitate towards joining the Foot Nerd Program.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick switch things up and talk about the upper body--specifically neck and shoulder issues. Upper body issues make up a large portion of the business that they see in clinic, and the same simple actionable education-based approach that they apply to feet and hips can just as easily be applied to target the root cause of these upper body issues. They talk about problems at the neck & shoulder, how they come about, how they're currently treated, how they view treatment, and the simple things you can do to resolve them and prevent issues at the shoulder & neck.
On this episode of Health Conversations, Nick's guest is Jay Nera. Jay is a powerlifter who at one point in his career was the strongest human in his weight class. He's also a gym owner, health advocate, and just an overall wealth of information when it comes to athletic performance and philosophy. He's got a deep understanding of the mind and shares a very similar mindset with Nick when it comes to questioning the status quo in the perpetual search for the truth within different topics.
On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about behaviour change and building good habits. As health professionals, their biggest role in helping people restore optimal health is having people understand the bad habits to break that contribute to their issues, as well as how to create sustainable healthy habits to achieve long term improvements. They talk about some behaviour theories from psychology and compare short term & long term consequences of certain behaviours and review the fact that it's more about creating good systems than about simply creating good goals.
In this episode of Health Conversations, Jeff Shub is back for another round and we talk about mental health, nutrition, and TFC's new Foot Nerd Program. Jeff talks about what it's been like for him as one of the first twenty-five Foot Nerds admitted to the program in February 2019.
On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about back pain. They distinguish between acute and chronic back pain and get into the prevalence of back pain. They go through the major causes of why it’s such a big problem, as well as some simple solutions to protect yourself against it. Happy May!
On this episode of Health Conversations, Nick speaks with Kris Desjardins. Kris is a physiotherapist who attended TFC's recent seminar in Toronto and had a really interesting discovery when it came to the movement world and her integration of pilates into her practice.
On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about getting back into running. Living in Canada, many people will take a break from outdoor running during the winter months so now as we approach spring, many will be looking to get outside and start training more regular kilometers. They review a few elements they feel could really help their patients get back into running, and talk about the opportunity to improve your skill of running, with the goal being to develop a sustainable running practice & prevent common injuries.
In this episode of Health Conversations, Nick talks with Tom Broback and Brad Baker, two physiotherapists from Minnesota who helped TFC organize their seminar in Minneapolis. They talk about the silly things they used to do in training and talk about physio school, how rehab has an amazing opportunity to shift and teach health instead of managing disease, and strategies to take back physical education in grade school. They get into movement screening along with a few other topics that the conversation lead to.
In the first episode of #SHOEtalk, Nick's guest is Braxton Garma, better known as the man behind KōNEA Footwear (@wayofkonea). Nick got to visit his workshop during his trip to Kauai where they had a great conversation about the vision for TFC Footwear and what they're setting out to accomplish. They talk bout the problems that they see in the current footwear industry, how footwear can be improved, and they go a bit in depth into how they plan to lead the charge with the FC1, launching at the start of 2020 with a crowd funding campaign.
On this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick cover the five pillars of health and do a recap of their recent trip to Costa Rica where they taught on their retreat. They go through what they feel are the five most important elements of health and how the retreat let them tap into each one of them in a way that modern society tends to neglect.
Nick's guest this week is Alex Herrera. Alex is one of the team members with TribeWire Nosara (@tribewirenosara), which is the team of people that helped organize the retreat that Nick and Mike recently taught on in Costa Rica. Alex taught the play portion of the retreat, as his specialty is play and movement. They have an awesome conversation that includes the value of sweat lodges, and how it can be used as a tool for physical & mental health and to even build communities.
In this episode of Health Conversations, Nick has a chat with Jeff Shub (@theurbanbarefoot). Jeff was kind enough to host Nick at his home during the Miami, Florida seminar & did a great job of gathering a bunch of people in the health and wellness space in Miami to promote a great event. Jeff has a super unique story of how he's applying his medical degree. They talk about feet, health, shedding away the complexities of modern life, and how simple health can really be when you look at things from an airplane view.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick discuss knee pain. It's something they see so many people struggle with in their clinic and they find that it isn't being effectively treated by the medical and rehab community. They go over knee anatomy & how the hip and ankles effect your knees. They talk about patellofemoral pain syndrome, the research around that, & the things that contribute to it. They finish off with the things that they look for when someone walks into their clinic with knee pain and what you can work on to get rid of and prevent knee pain for good.
In this episode, Mike and Nick talk about their mission to rescue the profession of physical therapy. They talk about how the industry needs to change, how what we learn in school is outdated and ineffective, and the business of physio. They talk about trying to work towards realigning interests in terms of aligning patient outcomes with the compensation structures, which are currently out of whack. Most importantly, they get into how they see amazing opportunity & potential in the physical rehab world that's being untapped right now.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick discuss plantar fasciitis. When it comes to feet, this is a big one. It's a common issue a lot of people encounter and we really wanted to simplify it and help people understand how such a common problem is actually completely preventable and very simple to address when you actually understand what causes it and what you can modify in your life to avoid those causes. They go over what it is, the major variables that cause it, how it's currently treated, what you can do to restore pain-free feet and also to avoid ever having the problem again once getting rid of it. Enjoy!
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick unpack what it means to live a movement based lifestyle. Most modern humans today live a sedentary lifestyle, one with very little movement & lots of sitting in chairs, which takes a toll on our health big time. They review the fact that exercise isn't enough to offset 10 hours a day of sitting in a chair, and discuss ways of incorporating more movement and less sitting in the other 15 hours of your day that matter most.
In this episode of Health Conversations, Nick sits down in Sydney, Australia with the official director of TFC's new Australia division, James Dooner. They talk about physical therapy University programs and compare Canada and Australia's educational approach. They chat about feet, balance beams, their different perspectives on practicing, and cool stories about their own individual experiences.
In this episode, Mike and Nick talk about a topic that carries a lot of controversy: heel striking. Diving deeper into the nuances, they go over heel striking as it relates to walking and running, why humans start to heel strike, cushioned running shoes, and running efficiency. They hope to be able to provide a better understanding of why it's important to prioritize running form as well as why getting out of cushioned shoes and off your heels is so important.
In this short episode of Health Conversations, Nick has a chat with Olivia Urquhart during their travels in Australia. The topic of this one: high heels, from a women's perspective. Enjoy.
In their new show called Health Conversations, Nick interviews Paul Thompson, also known as "The Barefoot Podiatrist," during their recent trip to Australia in a Sydney Airbnb. They had an awesome conversation about feet, the world of foot rehab, podiatry, and the future of health content and footwear. Cheers!
Daniel Donnelly is a friend of TFC's Nick and Mike from Ottowa. They talk about his experience going barefoot for two full years, how solo hikes can reconnect you with nature, and some philosophy, which Daniel happens to be very well versed in.
Happy New Year! In this episode, Mike and Nick sit down with fellow physiotherapist, Nick Hanna, during their recent trip to London, Ontario. They talk about what physical therapy means to them, how school needs to change, their role as agents of behavior change, and they engage in a few thought provoking questions about hypothetical cases and how they would each approach them.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick have a conversation about nutrition. While neither are formally educated in nutrition, both wanted to have a discussion about food and dive into the simple concepts about what humans are designed to consume for fuel, and the problems they predict to see in 2019 having seen the food people are putting in their bodies this past year. As physical therapists who treat patients everyday, it's a topic very relevant to them as well as one of personal interest that they try to navigate themselves on a daily basis, regarding what to eat, the effects of what's eaten, and how to clean up their diet for a better functioning body.
The shoes that humans are wearing in 2018 are a big part of why so many today are faced with foot-specific issues. To understand why these shoes exist in the first place, Mike and Nick look back to when humans started wearing shoes, and why, and end up discovering a lot about the origins of these foot-deforming shoes.
In this episode, Mike and Nick unpack the details of the Vibram lawsuit that started in 2012. This is something that gets brought up a lot, but is often misunderstood due to all the misinformation out there. They attempt to address some of these misunderstandings by covering the main points put fourth in the case and have a conversation about each one individually. By the end, you can make up your own mind as to whether the verdict makes any sense and what lessons we can learn from it.
In this week's #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about the dangers and benefits of technology, what technology means to them, health tech, the internet, social media, and our addiction to tech through dopamine pathways. Then they get into how the technology of footwear, vehicles, and furniture have change the modern human for better, or for worse.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick have a conversation about what they feel are essential elements in an optimal and balanced physical practice. They cover what a physical practice is and the benefits of having a physical practice, including comparing movement in an exercise and touching on their own stories of how their personal training has shifted. They break down elements like mobility workshops, strength training, movement exploration, among a few others. Enjoy!
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick debunk some common myths that they encounter regularly with both patients and social media. Myths like: bunions are genetic, flat feet are genetic, pronated feet require motion control, needing cushioning in your shoes because the ground is hard, needing arch support, and even taking a different perspective on why people's feet get cold.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick have a conversation about a topic they get tons of questions about: switching to human footwear and making a transition away from conventional shoes to footwear that let's our feet function optimally. They explain the features that define conventional and human shoes, the harmful aspects of conventional footwear, and how to work on your feet to bring them from normal to natural feet. Lastly, they talk about running and switching to human running shoes.
In this episode of #shoptalk, TFC's Mike and Nick have a conversation about the potential for physical education in grade school, and of creating a movement rich environment to enhance how developing brains absorb information. They also talk about the work of Dr. John J. Ratey, and his focus on the relationship between exercise and the brain.
In this episode of #shoptalk, TFC's Mike and Nick get into how they use the scientific method to guide their teaching and treatment approach. They break down the key elements in the process of science, emphasizing the use of logic, reason, and critical thinking as a base before applying science properly, and also cover the some shortcomings of published research. Enjoy!
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick have a conversation about one of the massive issues they see everyday in their clinic: hip dysfunction. They chat about why our hips get so stiff in the first place, issues that it can cause downstream, and how you can start getting your hips moving and functioning properly again.
In this bonus episode of #shoptalk, TFC's Mike and Nick have an in depth conversation about drugs. They sort through the misperceptions surrounding drugs, trying to clear the air about what a drug is, the benefits and dangers of certain drugs, including pain medicine, anti-inflammatories, and recreational drugs like alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and last but not least finish off by talking about cannabis, which became legal across Canada on the same day of this episode's release.
In this episode of #shoptalk, TFC's Mike and Nick go over sports specific footwear, including golf shoes, running shoes, cleats, and lifting shoes.
In this episode of #shoptalk, TFC's Mike and Nick dive deep into orthotics. They talk about the history of orthotics, why they get prescribed, what they do, and their overall thoughts on them. Their conversation challenges the way that many health care professionals treat feet dysfunction today.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about body awareness, stability, and balance. They talk about what balance is, why people lose the ability to balance, how to train it, and why they place such a big focus on hip stability in their practice.
In this episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick talk about how their practice has changed over the past 3 years, taking a macro view of health with their patients, a shift away from passive modalities, and the 'protect-correct-develop' framework that they use to guide them in their clinic and with TFC.
In the first episode of #shoptalk, Mike and Nick go over a big issue they face everyday in their physical therapy clinic: ankle mobility. They talk about why tight ankles are a big problem for the joints upstream, what causes the ankles to get tight, and some easy advice on restoring optimal ankle mobility.