JMack Slaughter - "You Only THINK You Know"

Speaker 0 00:00:00 I think I'm a better doctor because I understand reading people so much of music and, and acting is understanding what the other person is seeing and what the other person is experiencing. And as a doctor, if I'm only seeing and experiencing what happens from the white coat forward, I'm missing one of the most important aspects of being a doctor. And that's empathy, that's sympathy. That's being in that moment with that other human being, understanding the depth of pain that they're in, and showing them that you're there with them. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, even if you can't help them, being there with them is a form of consolation and treatment in and of itself. I heard, um, Dr. Kent Bradley talk, who, if you remember, was the US doctor that was in Africa and got Ebola. Speaker 1 00:00:58 Oh, wow. Speaker 0 00:00:59 And he said that one of the most important things that he did in Africa treating Ebola was suiting up in a hazmat suit around one of the most dangerous pathogens out there and holding a human being's hand while they died. Speaker 1 00:01:24 Wow. Speaker 0 00:01:24 That's the most important thing he could do with this time. After his 11 plus years of training, the most important thing he could do is sit there, hold their hand and talk to them. And knowing that being a doctor is, is so much more than sitting behind a computer and tap, tap tapping. I think that taking a fresh perspective from different fields and being able to apply them to the new field that you're diving in is, is a huge advantage. Speaker 1 00:02:09 Jay Speaker 2 00:02:11 MDA Slaughter, how would somebody come up with that name in the first place? Well, I'll tell you how his mom and his dad knew in advance that he was going to be a successful musician, singer, actor, and emergency physician. Yes. This is one diverse cat. You're gonna love him. I've known him for years, yet gapped this entire period of his life where he accomplished all these wonderful things. And I'm anxious for you to hear the trajectory of his career. What inspired him to change certain things and what he's doing to change the world. Now, as a TikTok guy, let's see how this works out on the T cast Jmax Slaughter. All right, cool. It's amazing to have you here in this context. Yeah. Cause we just barely started getting re uh, refamiliarizing ourselves Right. With one another's families and everything else. So yeah. This will be interesting for me too, because I know a lot of the typical questions you get. I'll try to work around those and really kind of dig a little deeper. Cool. Because I, I knew you as a person and I, I don't know you as well as a person now than I did when you were a person. Speaker 0 00:03:26 You knew me when I was like six years old, dude. Speaker 2 00:03:28 Was it that? Yeah. Speaker 0 00:03:29 Was that young? Seven? Maybe. I was so young. I mean, I think I was first grade. Speaker 2 00:03:35 That's amazing. Yeah. So when you read a bio, obviously, uh, it interests me to know that someone's an American actor, a singer, and an emergency physician. Yeah. Yeah. And, and then you, you get the Sesame Street recollection of guess which one doesn't belong. Right. Because you have this creative Speaker 0 00:03:54 Stuff. All these things is not like the, uh, Speaker 2 00:03:56 And I knew your family as a creative family. Everyone's a musician. And I can completely see where, uh, creative crossovers happen, where you have actors and musicians and dancers and different things that are natural crossovers. Um, now you were a musician but weren't at the time. I knew you as a kid were not a multi-instrumentalist. So you started out on drums were fantastic. You Speaker 0 00:04:21 Taught me Oh, Speaker 2 00:04:22 Well you Speaker 0 00:04:22 Taught me with your long flowing blonde hair Yes. And your sweat shorts that wrote up a little too high sometimes. And be like, Speaker 2 00:04:29 <laugh>, this Speaker 0 00:04:30 Is this happening over there. Speaker 2 00:04:31 No longer a secret. <laugh>. Thank you. Thank you. Um, and, and I knew you, your sister played and your, both of your parents have played. Yeah. So, and then, uh, tell me about what happened when you, cuz you were doing some acting then too, right? You were doing, uh, Casa Manana weekend shows and things like that. Right? Yeah. So tell me how you ended up going from, uh, teenager JM into, I'm gonna do a career as a creative. How did that exactly happen? Speaker 0 00:05:02 Well, I mean, I, I always just found myself in entertainment and on the stage because I was the youngest of three kids that were very active in the local performing community. My oldest sister Sarah, was Little Orphan a for the summer musicals, which was a huge deal back in the day. And this was in, you know, the eighties. And she was like nine or something like that. So she was absurdly young to be given this very important integral role in this, um, show that, I mean, Kossmann at the time, uh, I think they sat 1300 people and they would do a show every single night for like two and a half weeks or something like that. So that's, that was a really big deal for her age. And so that really launched us into the world of performing. And so when I was three years old, my mom pulled me up on stage and wanted me to sing, but I didn't have a little boy, like little boys choir voice. Speaker 0 00:05:59 I had kind of more of a raspy voice, like I still kind of have at this point. And so you did. I sang like Elvis and like Jerry Lee Lewis and stuff like that. And, uh, you rocked out. I rocked out, man. I rocked out and I really, uh, enjoyed my time on stage, but never had to really actively pursue it cuz I was just doing what the rest of the family did, you know. And then I kept doing shows at Casa Min Yana, got into a boy band when I was 15 years old. Kid Crad, who's nationally syndicated, put together a boy band on his radio show and like, I don't know, like 99 or something like that. And, uh, the audience ended up voting on who was gonna be in the band and they voted me in as the baby. Yes. And, uh, they didn't know that I actually was too young to be in the band, but I lied about my age. Speaker 2 00:06:47 Did you Speaker 0 00:06:48 Really? I did, I did. I said I was 16 and I was really 15, but instead of just like taking it a year back for my birth date, I made up a whole new birth date. And so I would like get caught in lies sometimes and be like, uh, I mean, you know, That's Speaker 2 00:07:02 Awesome. Speaker 0 00:07:02 It was completely ridiculous. But our first show, because we were on such a big platform and we, you know, we're birthed on that platform, 4,000 people came to our very first show. Speaker 2 00:07:11 Where was that in locally Speaker 0 00:07:13 Or? Yeah, that was locally. That was at Grapevine Mills Mall. Yeah. It was like when it was first opening. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So 4,000 people are showing up and we're singing and like dancing around. And I mean, I was a performer since I was little, but like, I was more, I always wanted to play instruments on stage. Speaker 2 00:07:30 Have you danced before, though? Before? What Speaker 0 00:07:32 Were you during acting stuff? During the acting stuff? I do it, like for the musicals I was in and stuff and I was with like, you know, a touring group called Casa Kids that, you know, we would sing and dance and stuff. But it still, that wasn't my passion. My passion was playing instruments and, and I was, you know, writing music on my own and stuff since I was 13. So being 15 on stage in a boy band was kind of bittersweet. Speaker 2 00:07:55 And at that point, i, i, if I may interject. Yeah. So as a drummer, I know you had some natural talent you off, you obviously had some direction. This is a, a similar story. May maybe, uh, tone to something, uh, where you have athletic big brothers or something. Yes. Girl grows up and she, you know, becomes this great athlete. How much of that became a passion of yours? Or, or at what point did it actually become a passion? Or Speaker 0 00:08:24 Did it instead become a, instead of just like what everybody else was doing? Yeah. Honestly, it was, so my mom told me that I was gonna learn drums and that's when I started with you. And I loved it. I had a lot of fun doing it, but I did it because she told me I was gonna do it. Right. And then after that I learned saxophone and I loved it. But I also did it because she told me I was gonna do it. But the first time an instrument was mine was guitar. Okay. And dude, the first time I picked up a guitar and I played, it was my friend, actually, his name's Jay Brooks, shout out to Jay Brooks, he put a guitar in my lap. I was nervous about the guitar cause my dad played guitar my whole life. And I was like, that's his instrument, you know? Speaker 0 00:09:01 Mm-hmm. <affirmative> like, I think I understand it, but I don't know what to do with my fingers yet. And he was the first person to just put it in my lap and be like, You're learning guitar today. And ever since then, it was just this love affair man. And it's been there, you know, I think I was 12 or 13 when I guitar first got put in my lap. And I've been playing it ever since then. It's been my primary instrument since then, but that's the moment that it became mine, you know? Yep. And ever since then, I've, I've just, I've loved it and I've loved being able to share that with other people Right. On that. And, um, and now teach my kids as well. Speaker 2 00:09:34 And you had an opportunity, so you, so to jump forward again. Yeah. Uh, obviously you've sang most of your life as well as kind of part of the curriculum, so to speak, Right. Uh, being a musician, actor or whatever. <laugh>. So, uh, tell me about, so CRA has a lot of, uh, charitable foundation Yeah. Reaches, reaches out to a lot of people Yeah. And made a really big impact while he was here, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So how much of that were you aware of how much of that band itself was a part of his greater library of, of impact? Speaker 0 00:10:09 So we actually, back, back when I was in the boy band, he would take us around to the children's hospital and we would sing for the kids there. Um, and, uh, and, and, you know, work with the kids, um, on a, on a one-on-one basis if they were interested in like, kinda messing around singing or learning how to like beat box or something like that. Yeah. And, uh, and that, that was my first introduction really to, to the world of, of nonprofits. And he didn't involve us too much more after that. But it's interesting to skip forward, like 20 years after I became a doctor, he had passed away. I had been in close communication with his daughter, Caroline Cradock, shout out to Caroline, uh, wonderful human being. Ended up inheriting the non-profit. And that, that heavy responsibility of how do I keep this thing going without the person that started at all, You know? And she was like, JMac, I I need your help. And I was a doctor at that point, which kid never foresaw happening and didn't get to see happen. Oh, you did? I didn't either, honestly. Speaker 2 00:11:08 Didn't either. I mean, yeah, you just kinda skipped that part by the way, but go ahead. Speaker 0 00:11:12 But, so everything came full circle when she was like, I need you to help me with this. And now I'm on the board of kids' kids. And every single year in, in a a month or so, we're about to take kids with terminal illnesses and chronic illnesses and their whole family, and we take 'em to Disney World. And these are people who have not been able to really leave their city because of, you know, the, the burdens of having chronic illness, All all of the medical reasons behind that, but also the financial burden of that. I mean, think about how much they've had to pay day in and day out for medical procedures and for their daily medicines, et cetera, et cetera. And a lot of these kids have never been on a plane before. And, uh, and we get to take him to Disney World every year. It's just a beautiful thing. Speaker 2 00:11:58 That's awesome. Mm-hmm. Speaker 0 00:11:59 <affirmative>. R I p kid man. Speaker 2 00:12:01 So was that part of your inspiration for, and I may be, I'm getting way, I'm getting already way ahead of myself skipping out. You, like, you just put it to the floor and the rear into swinging all over the place. Right? Speaker 0 00:12:12 I, I'm ADHD anyway, so we can just go on tangents all day long. Speaker 2 00:12:16 I life, Hopefully the audience can follow, like I am. Uh, so you became a doctor. Yeah. You've worked with kids, kids, but you have your own charitable foundation. Kid Speaker 0 00:12:28 Inspired me, Speaker 2 00:12:29 So that's, that's what I was getting too. Yeah. So how did that come about? What, what, was there an antithesis or a particular instance or occurrence that happened where it just, something clicked? Speaker 0 00:12:42 Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, I, being around nonprofits at a young age showed me that you can do nonprofits. It made it, it's something where you could, you could touch and feel. It was tangible. It wasn't just like, Oh, that's something that people far, far away do. It's, no, It's something that you can achieve if you believe in it. And you get people who are also passionate, uh, about that. Cause together you can figure it out as you go along. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, uh, and there was a moment. There was a moment, um, and, and I end up telling this a decent amount, but it also, it just, everything clicked for me. And, um, and it's when my mom was getting treated for breast cancer, she, I was 21 and I at that point had left, you know, music and TV and film and had decided to become a doctor. Speaker 0 00:13:33 And I'm two years in and I'm so self-absorbed. This is what I'm gonna do with my life. It's all about me. And then my mom gets this potentially fatal diagnosis. Right. And it's, you know, it just takes me outside of my ego for a minute. And, and I watch, you know, excruciating hours of chemotherapy. And there is this one particular drug, by the way, cut, cut forward to, you know, I don't know how many years we're out now, but she's been in remission for over 15 years now. So it's a, there's a happy ending. There's a happy ending to this. I need to tell people that up front. But there was a, but at the time, things were uncertain. And this one drug has the known side effect of turning your fingernails in your toenails black and potentially making them fall off. And this is after my mother had both of her breasts removed and lost all of her hair. Speaker 0 00:14:22 And so, so much of her womanhood was taken from her right. In the past months. And she was like, I'll be damned if I'm gonna lose my fingernails too. And so the way to potentially avoid that is to put your fingers and toes in ice because ice vasoconstricts. So it, it um, kind of brings those blood vessels more, more tightly closed. So the toxic chemicals that are being put into your bloodstream, less of them gets there. Okay. And, you know, know, you remember being a kid and putting ice on your head when you bump your head, give it two minutes, and you're like, Oh, this is horrendous. Speaker 2 00:14:58 Right. Speaker 0 00:14:59 <laugh>. But my mom has my willpower and, and she needed that last piece of, of womanhood there. So she kept her fingers and toes and ice for an entire hour. I was a, you know, 21, 22 year old kid. That's, It's so tough to see your mom suffer like that. And so the second time she had that treatment, my sisters and I brought instruments. Hmm. And we started singing and we were jamming and my mom was making requests. And that hour was just like, over that hour just flew by and it went from being this like dark, sad, draining place to this like happy, loving, nourishing space. And like, man, you experience power like that and you're like, I have to do something with this. Yeah. I can't ignore this. You know, And we went week after week and the other patients, cuz music therapy really wasn't a thing back then. Speaker 0 00:15:52 There was like a person with an instrument sometimes that would come into the hospitals, but it wasn't a, a well established thing. Like it's starting to become now. And patients would wheel past in their wheelchairs and be like, Can you come see me in room 2 34 next? And so we'd go over there and wed jam jam out for them too. Really cool. Yeah. And so you feel the power of something like that and you know, you have to do something with it. And so the nonprofit music meets Medicine was born soon after that. And, uh, and here we are, man, um, decade and a half later, we're donating instruments to children, teenagers at children's hospitals. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we support music therapy, spread awareness and financially donate to hospitals so they can create or expand their music therapy programs. We even raised 150 grand a few years back with the help of the Kid Morning show. There you go. Thank you Kid. Morning show once again. And we, uh, created a jam space where patients can come down and experience what we call embarrassment, free musical exploration, where they can put on headphones and jam. Nobody has to hear it if they don't know what they're doing. And, uh, and it's just a beautiful, fulfilling part of my life. Speaker 2 00:17:00 That's absolutely fantastic. Yeah. And so you kind of answered a lot of my other questions too, in that that turning point was also a point, which you, you, I mean, you grew up fast. Yeah. Cause you got all these older people giving you a direction that is so definitive and it's something that your passion's aligned with. And then you started seeing outside of yourself at such a young age. Most people are so myopic on, on their, which is natural, natural. Speaker 0 00:17:28 I mean, you's natural. You're Speaker 2 00:17:29 21 years old, you're trying to figure out what you wanna do. You're gonna try this, you're gonna quit, You're gonna move to something else. Cause you're like this. You, you're Speaker 0 00:17:36 Gonna call your parents every now and then. Yeah. I call 'em every month, every week, something like that. But Speaker 2 00:17:40 Even if you're close to 'em, you're still focused on what you're gonna do and what you're gonna be mm-hmm. <affirmative> and what your vocation is and everything else until you get to a certain age where you, you finally, the epiphany is that the real key is to see outside of yourself. It's not all about you. Right. Yeah. And you had the advantage of seeing that so early. I think that's fantastic. Speaker 0 00:17:58 Well, I'm, I'm very lucky that I experienced adversity at a young age because when you experience adversity, uh, in person, you experience suffering, you have a choice. Are you gonna take those emotions and are you gonna let that, you know, just drag you down, um, and take you into a state of depression, Which is a very natural place, and that's okay when people go there. But there's a defense mechanism that I learned about later on in med school called Sublimation. It's a mature defense mechanism. And you take painful experiences and painful memories, and you turn that into something beautiful and productive and something that can benefit society. And, and you, through the work that you did for our community, um, being, being undercover and all the terribly dangerous situations you put yourself in and all the human suffering that you put yourself in, you did something similar man. Like, you chose to take that and to spin it in into something positive. Right. And that's, I, it's just one of the most beautiful ways to, to take experience and, and, and to handle that. I think that exists. I love the concept of sublimation. Speaker 2 00:19:09 Yeah. That's a, that's a great way to put it too. I appreciate the edu. Speaker 0 00:19:13 Yeah. Yeah. <laugh>. Speaker 2 00:19:14 So if we then back out of, of the deepness here as you were performing. So you at, you did the, the crowd band thing for a while. Yeah. I understand. You got to play for Giant Crowd. Speaker 0 00:19:27 Yeah, Yeah. Speaker 2 00:19:28 Uh, Speaker 0 00:19:28 Uh, our biggest one man we did, it was New Year's Y2K Baby. And there weren't all there to see us. That's for dang sure. Probably not that many were, but there were 75,000 people there. Good. So we got to perform front of 75,000 people, just like all the way down Main Street in Dallas. It was nuts. You just, you couldn't see all of the people. It just kind of like, they disappeared in the horizon at one point and you were like, I think I made it. I think I've made it <laugh>. Speaker 2 00:19:54 And there's something interesting that I think I can relate to also, when you talk about, cuz that's always, you know, me, I was a musician by profession. Oh yeah. And everything else that's been, it's every musician's dream. I know Right. Be able to do that. And there's also a recollection where you kind of refine what really inspires you. And I think I, I recall you saying something about it being a fantastic, um, experience, but missing the aspect of you having anything to do with the creative process. Speaker 0 00:20:26 Yeah. It was bittersweet. It was bittersweet. I, you know, I, I would be on stage in front of 75,000 people. We toured with Destiny's Child. We opened up for Bon Jovi. And so we like did these really big shows, but it was bittersweet cuz I was like, this is exactly what I wanna be doing, but with my music. Right. You know? Of course. And so that was, that was rough. That was rough to, And it, and it was only a matter of time until that weighed down on me enough and, and I ended up, it's Speaker 2 00:20:50 Not rough. It was just a side hashtag Speaker 0 00:20:53 Note hashtag first world problems. Right. Speaker 2 00:20:55 <laugh> hashtag spoiled breath, Speaker 0 00:20:57 Spoiled bra problems. You're so right dude, You're so right. Yeah. But I, but there was, but there was a need there, there was a deep, you know, creative need that wasn't being fulfilled. And I, you know, I I wanted to express that to the world. Speaker 2 00:21:10 And so did is that why you ended up, did you end up splitting from the group on your own? Yeah. Was that the motivation that you really kind of wanted to go be your own creative self? Speaker 0 00:21:20 Right. A hundred percent. Yeah. We had gone to la you know, where we, we toured throughout the south with Destiny's Child and, you know, we got flown to meet with Arista, New York and, um, out in LA with some labels and stuff. And ultimately everybody knew that that particular wave of boy bands was coming to an end. And I just didn't want to waste, We were about to sign more contracts for years and I was just like, Let's, let's just quit while we're ahead. This was awesome. This was a really great experience. But I had some people offering me opportunities to record some of the stuff that I'd been writing on my own. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, you know, based, based on guitar and everything kind of singer songwriter stuff. And, and I went that way. Speaker 2 00:22:00 Okay. Well that was the other question. So singer songwriters, sort of the style that you Yeah. Hear your, hear your own voice in. Yeah. Speaker 0 00:22:06 Yeah. But, but it had interesting manifestations throughout the years and actually joined up with some dudes that were more into like the indie, almost like emo pop punk scene down in, in San Diego when I was living in la. And so we made like a really interesting fusion between indie music that's the best guy and more like singer songwriter stuff. Um, and, uh, and I really enjoyed that band that was called Calendar back in the day. Shout out to the calendar boys. Speaker 2 00:22:32 Yeah. That's, I mean, if you, if you have a, a wide variety of music that you can appreciate and have different people in the group, but that always makes the best. Speaker 0 00:22:41 It does, It does. Speaker 2 00:22:42 I mean, how are you gonna innovate if everybody likes the exact same stuff Right. Speaker 0 00:22:45 Or writes. Yeah. It also makes it difficult too, because then you have people that are trying to push things in different creative avenues, but that's, that's ultimately like what strengthens the overall project. Yeah. So even though you might be butting heads a little bit, ultimately it's gonna benefit the project significantly. Speaker 2 00:23:01 So you played there, you did, and then you've jumped some acting. Yeah. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, I know you've talked in, in other places about how you transitioned to acting those one particular thing. Maybe you can tell me about your transition and then, uh, more specifically about the show that you were on, if there was any kind of interesting impact. I know it was a, a short lived series. Right. But, but it had a premise That is pretty interesting. Yeah. Yeah. And I wonder if even, you know, you know, how much an impact can be you take a hundred people and truly impact them. I mean, you could die and be proud. Speaker 0 00:23:40 Yeah. You're so Speaker 2 00:23:41 Right. And, and we're talking about a lot more than a hundred people by the way. Uh, but I wonder what kind of impact or if you've heard anything about just the premise and the way that show was set Yeah. If it, if it had any kind of impact on anyone else's perspective or anything. So maybe just talk about how you kind of got there and then if that even happens. So Speaker 0 00:24:01 Basically I'm in LA and I'm playing shows out and an agent came to one of my showcases, my musical showcases, and she was like, You should be an actor. And in the back of my mind I was like, This is gonna help my music. Okay. And so they ended up sending me out on auditions. And this was with United Talent Agency, which at the time was like one of the biggest talent agencies in the world. I'm not sure where the heck they rank right now, but they were very impressive back in the day. So that was a really big deal that they decided to take me on. And they sent me out on a ton of auditions. And actually right, right around that time I ended up getting a development deal to develop a TV show around my life. Um, and I even was able to pull my, my two older sisters and on the deal. Speaker 0 00:24:41 So we got paid six figures to develop this TV show. Um, and, uh, and the TV show didn't end up going through, but it was a way to be like, Hello Los Angeles, I am here. You know? Yes. And then that momentum kind of led me into other things. And I guest start on a couple of TV shows. Uh, Amanda Bees had a show called What I Like About You, I even got to work with Tim Curry from Rocky Horror Picture Show, which was sweet. It was on some lame WBE show, but I got to work with him. And then <laugh>, Speaker 2 00:25:12 That's one more WBE show than I've been on Speaker 0 00:25:15 <laugh>, by the way. Hilarious story. Because, you know, you obviously lift, I lifted super hard before I recorded on that show because I wanted to look like I had some, some guns. You know what I mean? You Speaker 2 00:25:26 Had freaking guns. Speaker 0 00:25:27 I don't have guns like that. No. I don't have broad water guns, you know, but I got a little something going on. But, so I'm working out super hard the day before and I wake up and my arms are like this. And I was like, What the hell? It's never happened to me before. My arms wouldn't straighten out. I mean, I could, but I had to like forcefully push them down. It took me like, honestly like 45 seconds to get it all the way down. It hurt so much. And now I recognize that I was in Rado dialysis, which is actually like a potentially very serious medical condition. Speaker 2 00:25:57 A form of atrophy or something. Yeah. Speaker 0 00:25:59 It's basically when your muscles, you work out two dang hard, you know, your muscles aren't used to it, and your mu your muscle tissue starts rapidly breaking down and you release all your muscle proteins into your bloodstream, It can flood your kidneys, you can have kidney failure. People end up getting hospitalized for this. And I had no idea that was going on. All I knew is that my arms were locked like this. And I was about to record with this like movie TV legend Tim Curry, and I'm supposed to look natural and my arms were like this. And I'm like, How am I gonna pull this up? And so fortunately Speaker 2 00:26:28 I put a book in my hand. Yeah. Speaker 0 00:26:30 <laugh>, fortunately I was a musician on this show. I was playing a musician and I had a guitar, so the guitar case I was holding, and I had a piece of luggage in this hand, and they didn't even know that I actually needed those to look natural <laugh>. And so I put them and they waited my arms down until ah, they look natural. And so the, my arms were kind of straight, the whole scene. <laugh> Speaker 2 00:26:50 That's hilarious. Speaker 0 00:26:50 With Tim Curry. So random and funny. But, so I did that show. I did a TV show that I think you're referring to that was on for a year mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, which in the way of TV shows, that's actually totally amazing. Yeah, That's great. That, you know, before I was in TV and film and I'd hear like, you know, a show only got one season. I'm like, Ha jumps. They only got one season. But actually there are so many hundreds of TV shows that never even get that first episode filmed, that they just die in production. Sure. But not only did we get our pilot episode filmed, we got picked up, we got a full 22 episodes, um, which, you know, we were all really proud of. And we were actually seen by millions of people nationwide every week we were doing really great. Speaker 0 00:27:31 But then ended up like politically dying because this other show in the WB was across from Survivor and Friends, which were the biggest shows. And like, who's gonna watch a WB show when you get Survivor Friends on? And the, the producer for that show that was in that dying slot was like, Forget this new show. Take care of me, because I have all the big shows on this network, you know? And so they put us into the death slot, we died. But kind of what you were referring to is the fact that at the time we were, we were forward thinking it was a TV show about a white kid and his mom moving in with the mom's best friend's family who happened to be black. And so there was a lot of interplay between, you know, cultural differences and differences that don't exist at all. But society at the time kind of told us existed mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so I, I, I would like to think that a certain percentage of the people who watched our show on a weekly basis. And, and the cool thing is, is that it, although, you know, our, you know, our ancestry may have been in your face, you know, visually mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we didn't really talk about that a lot. That wasn't the main focus. The main focus was about family and support. Um, and uh, and, Speaker 2 00:28:51 But there's a beautiful thing about that. It was simple. It wasn't supposed to be Yeah. Deep dive, but Right. Just the presentation Exactly. Might offer up a valid conversation. Right. Speaker 0 00:29:02 And in the early two thousands, that was, that was, that was pushing the envelope a little bit. And so, yeah, I'd, I'd like to think that a certain percentage of the people watching had that normalized for them that much more. Just a little bit more. Yeah. And then, you know, a couple years later shows like Modern Family came out, it was just like a hodgepodge of all death or different ethnic ethnicities and, you know, sexual orientations and everything. And then now it wouldn't be weird at all to do a show like that. Right. But, but at the time it kind of stood out. And so yeah, I'd hope that it would have a positive effect. Well, Speaker 2 00:29:33 That's cool. Yeah. Um, so obviously you'd skipped way ahead of this back in our first two minutes, I think you talked about, Hey, after I left LA I became this doctor. And by the way, <laugh>, um, so one of my, one of my, um, questions has a lot to do with, and I'm, I'm older than you and I often get, uh, people inquiring to me about the same thing. Cause I feel like my career has taken on giant segments that are completely different. And a lot of people might say, which obviously I do not, but a lot of people might say with some validity that if you really want to be great at something mm-hmm. <affirmative>, then you really have to dive and spend your life. We're always learning, which we all concede that. So if you had decided any earlier to do what you're doing, then it could have been that much better. Or if you had just stuck to acting Right. You know, how much better could you be? What do you have to say about just looking back on the experience and the diversity of experience that you have and what impact has that had on your life now in terms of just you as a person? Yeah. And what made you, cuz you, it wasn't your mom mom's illness, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So, and also what made you actually decide to take the completely, to do the 180 into medicine right. From the creative industry. Speaker 0 00:30:55 Yeah. So, um, you, you touched on something interesting there and say, remind me again. You were asking a question right before you talked about, um, what made me spin off into the Speaker 2 00:31:06 World of medicine. Yeah. Um, what part has having a diverse Speaker 0 00:31:09 Oh yeah. You were talking about going deep into one thing versus experiencing a lot of things. Yeah. It's really interesting because it all depends on what you want in life. Like, do you want to be the Michael Phelps of swimming? Are you like, okay with being the Ryan Lochte kicking some ass and then moving onto something else, experiencing something else and making a positive impact in some other form, you know, uh, of, of either, you know, creative, athletic or, you know, a career, um, perspective. And for me, although I've done a decent amount of projects that are like, you know, somewhat high profile and stuff Oh, notable along. Thanks bro. Thank Speaker 2 00:31:54 You. For sure. You, I mean, that's the point of the question for Speaker 0 00:31:56 Sure. So much of it really is, is about my experience. I'm like, what, what I want to get out of it, you know? And it's, it's, it's selfish in a way that I, I wanna dive deep into things and I wanna, I want to go where my excitement and my passion leads me. I don't wanna do things that bore me. I don't wanna do things that feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over. Um, to, to what, to what end? Why, why, you know, if I'm doing that because I'm potentially gonna cure cancer one day, well hell yeah, hell yeah. I want people to do that. If I'm gonna do that because I want to reach some sort of egotistical milestone and say that I was the number one actor in the world or something like, like that, eh, I'm not as excited about that. Speaker 0 00:32:42 Yeah. You know, but what's interesting is, is that by diving deep, and I have done very, very deep dives into many different arenas in life. Um, you know, is it, it seems like it would be a superficial dive to only work for four years in TV and film. But for four years, I, I am, uh, I hyperfocus my adhd, I'm all over the place. But when I'm passionate and excited about something, I'm spending so much more dedicated time than somebody who now we would term as like neurotypical would approach something. Because when I'm passionate about something, I just don't stop. Um, but when you do these deep dives in all these multiple different fields, when you dive into a new field, you have this perspective on that field that other people don't have. I'm not your normal doctor. And because that, I think I'm a better doctor, I think I'm a better doctor because I understand reading people so much of music and, and acting is understanding what the other person is seeing and what the other person is experiencing. Speaker 0 00:33:47 And as a doctor, if I'm only seeing and experiencing what happens from the white coat forward, I'm missing one of the most important aspects of being a doctor. And that's empathy, that's sympathy. That's being in that moment with that other human being, understanding the depth of pain that they're in, and showing them that you're there with them. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, even if you can't help them, being there with them is a form of consolation and treatment in and of itself. I heard, um, Dr. Kent Bradley talk, who, if you remember, was the US doctor that was in Africa and got Ebola. Speaker 3 00:34:32 Oh, wow. Speaker 0 00:34:34 And he said that one of the most important things that he did in Africa treating Ebola was suiting up in a hazmat suit around one of the most dangerous pathogens out there and holding a human beings hand while they died. Wow. That's the most important thing he could do with this time after is 11 plus years of training, the most important thing he could do is sit there, hold their hand and talk to them. Yeah. And knowing that being a doctor is, is so much more than sitting behind a computer and tap, tap tapping. I think that taking a fresh perspective from different fields and being able to apply them to the new field that you're diving in is, is a huge advantage. And are there doctors out there that are going to climb some sort of like, rank list that exists and best emergency doctors or best cancer doctors or something like that? And, and always be notches ahead of me because they knew they were gonna be a doctor since they were five. Hell yeah. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But man, I'm so happy with my path so far, and I love the diversity that my past experiences have brought to my current experiences. Speaker 2 00:36:01 I am too, man. I'm super proud of and impressed. Thanks, bro. I say proud of you, but I don't mean that in a condescending way, but you Speaker 0 00:36:08 No, no. You Speaker 2 00:36:09 Were a long time. So you were, Speaker 0 00:36:10 You were a grown ass man when I was a baby. So you can say you're proud of me all day long and that'll make me feel great. Speaker 2 00:36:16 Yeah. I don't know if I was a grown ass man, but Speaker 0 00:36:18 You were a grown ass man. Teagan, your hair was at your butt cheeks. That means you're a grown ass man. Speaker 2 00:36:23 I was alive long enough to grow that out, <laugh>. Exactly. But I think that's about it. I think if I still acted the way I did that was about the same age you were when your mom got sick. That's about how Speaker 0 00:36:32 I was. Yeah. Oh, that's crazy to think of teaching all that. Speaker 2 00:36:34 Yeah. So perspective wise, that's no grown ass man. Actually <laugh>. Right. Speaker 2 00:36:39 <laugh>. I'm still trying to figure it out too. Yeah. But, uh, but I do appreciate that about you and, and I don't personally think there's anything wrong with being the best at something either. But I, I can relate to, and my father was the same way, and my father's father was the same ways they get into something become completely, there is no plan B if I die trying, this is what I'm gonna do. I I see nothing else, this is all I'm doing. Yeah. And then feel getting that sense that you're done with it and seeking out something else. Yeah. And I've had the same sentiment when I, when I left the music industry for police work and everybody was like the same thing. Like, what, what, Wait a minute, what are you doing? Speaker 0 00:37:23 But how often did your creativity come into play when you were undercover? Oh Speaker 2 00:37:27 My gosh. Oh, I can't, Yeah. I mean, I have the same, I have the same parallels Right. Without such an incredible amount of, of stories that you have. But, uh, it is absolutely fantastic way to go. It is. So the world Speaker 0 00:37:39 Was way more amazing than what I done. Speaker 2 00:37:41 The world needs the jmax slaughters man and Speaker 0 00:37:43 The team Speaker 2 00:37:44 Road waters. Uh, I'm, I'm super proud to have you, man. And um, man, I think that's, that kind of sums up really what I wanted to, wanted to get out of you is just a, the paint, the picture of what you've become and how successful you are is just contingent on how much you can give of yourself. How good can you make yourself in order to, to give that to other people. Totally. And I see that in you and I really appreciate Speaker 0 00:38:10 That. Hey, thank you man. Thank you. And it's really cool. Everything is now come full circle again. Things keep coming full circle in my life with the boy band to working with the nonprofit kids, kids mm-hmm. <affirmative> and, um, you know, from, from acting to medicine and then now back to acting with the, the videos that I'm doing online and stuff like that. Right. It's just, it's so cool. It's so cool that I, I was able to have enough transitions early on in my life, I think to where I'm comfortable with those transitions. I'm comfortable saying, Okay, now it's time to not just be a doctor. Like now let's be a doctor or actor kind of thing, you know, <laugh> Speaker 2 00:38:49 And be ornery. It's, it really is impressive. So that was my, my final question is about the things that you're doing now Yeah. And the direction that you want to take them. Where do you wanna end up, you know, down the road or can you see even that far because you're so into what you're doing Yeah. And so many new things, but you're, you have your, have a massive social media following. Yeah. Which for someone like you honestly is no surprise, even though the accomplishment is insane, but you do a fantastic job. You are leveraging all of the things that you've accumulated through your life. I can completely see that. Speaker 0 00:39:26 Yeah. It, like, it all makes sense now. It's funny because along the way I really did, you know, watch and study people on social media and uh, and I was very interested in it. And ultimately I'm glad that that didn't exist when I was in LA because I would've never left to become a doctor. But I would've stayed in LA and I would've become like a gaming streamer or something, or tried to figure out how to just work on social media all the time. But I'm glad that didn't exist because along the way in medicine, I'm just kind of like watching and researching and like seeing, you know, what's, what's happening in this world. And one of the things that always stuck out to me was like, the people that have the best content are the people that are just being their authentic self Yeah. Speaker 0 00:40:06 And are sharing experiences that they have naturally on a day to day basis. And I was like, Man, I wish I had something like that. It's too bad I don't have something like that. And then one day I was like, Wait a minute, I do have something like that to share what I'm seeing and experiencing in the emergency departments every single day is crazy. It's exciting and it's heartbreaking and it's educational and, you know, they're just these moments of like pure joy and deep sadness. And you just, you have, you experience this spectrum of human emotion during almost every shift if you're open to it. A lot of people in medicine are numb to it. A lot of people are walled off because they've experienced too much of that sadness and death and terrible, terrible diagnoses that they've given people. But fortunately after residency now, I was super burnt out in residency and I felt very few emotions, uh, openly. Speaker 0 00:41:03 I can talk about that now mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But I, I ended up, you know, working my way out of that through many things, you know, um, working on, you know, myself and diet and exercise and trying to sleep. Right. <laugh>, despite the demands of Sure. The schedule of being a doctor, um, and, and being okay. Being, being okay with with those, those negative emotions, accepting those and talking through those and stuff. I've gotten it back. I have, I have my emotions back. And so I do feel those on a regular basis in the emergency department. Just yesterday, man, just yesterday I had a patient who, without divulging too much information. Yep. She was very young. She had had four Speaker 0 00:41:46 Terrible earth shattering miscarriages already. And I can't say how old she was, but she was shockingly young to have already had four painful miscarriages. And I told her she was pregnant. And um, and she got so excited, but then she got so sad, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and she was like, Is the baby okay? And I was like, I don't know yet. That's, we're about to find out. Right. And so we're both on pins and needles as I'm taking care of other people who are having heart attacks and like shoulder dislocations and stuff. And I'm like, Man, I hope that baby's okay. And um, and it turned out the hormone levels were totally normal and baby looked nice and healthy and baby had a normal heart rate. And I had to go in there and be like, We, we have to be cautious because this is happening so many times. Speaker 2 00:42:29 Temporally enthusiasm, Speaker 0 00:42:31 We don't know, we don't know where this is going, but right now, in this moment, you have a happy, healthy baby in there with a strong heartbeat. Wow. And we both just had this moment of victory, you know? Yeah. And it was beautiful and I got to fully experience that. And I don't know if I had that same situation in residency whether I would've been able to actually experience that and be in that moment because you do, you just get numb at some point. And that's one of the reasons why doctors end up leaving. Doctors and nurses end up leaving medicine. And one of the reasons why the suicide raid in doctors is almost double that of the general population. Speaker 2 00:43:07 So how, how do you, how did you finally end up figuring out how to shelve some of the emotion Yeah. And ingest other parts of the emotion as part of that job as a doctor was the same. The experience as a police officer, you have a lot of the same mm-hmm. <affirmative> kind of, uh, you know, suicidal, depressive, uh, crazy stories. Right. From people that just haven't figured out how to handle it. And I, I remember, you know, experiences driving by somebody in an accident, you know, where you see the blood and the struggles, whatever, and you're not on duty. And it was making me Speaker 0 00:43:43 Sick. Yeah. Yeah. But Speaker 2 00:43:44 If you're on duty and you're showing up to some tragic scene, you're automatically thinking you need to go over here, move this over here, I need you to call this or whatever. But those are completely opposing emotional states. They are. And you, and like you said, you can't be so business that you lack the ability to empathize. Speaker 0 00:44:05 Right. Speaker 2 00:44:06 So how have you managed to juggle that without, It's difficult. Speaker 0 00:44:11 What I'm saying, it's difficult because it, like you said, when when there is a moment, when there is a true emergency that comes into the er, if somebody is dead and it's my job of bringing them back or they're actively dying in front of me, I can't be emotionally present with that patient in that moment. So it has to be able to turn on and off. And man, <laugh> the answer is, I don't really know. I think, I think through the years of doing it, I mean, I've almost been an ER doc for 10 years. It's crazy cuz I still feel young at heart, but you're Speaker 2 00:44:41 Young Speaker 0 00:44:41 <laugh>. But I've been doing it 10 years, you know, including residency. And, um, and I think the, the most important moves that I made to be more emotionally present during my shifts and after my shifts, because if you are emotionally, if you're an emotional wall in the hospital at all times, there is a hundred percent chance that that's gonna spill over into your personal life too. And then you're gonna be less invested emotionally as a father unless emotionally invested as a husband or wife or partner, you know, or son or brother. So you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so to, to, to be able to break down that wall appropriately is, um, is I, I feel like honestly, um, a gift, not that I have, but it's a gift that I have been given over the years that, that ability to me is, I feel so fortunate to have that, but to get that first I had to clean myself up a little bit. Speaker 0 00:45:44 You know what I mean? Yeah. I had, I was eating terribly in residency. It's just like whatever's around calories, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. <affirmative> survival mode. You're in survival mode. Right. You're in survival mode with your sleep, sleep anywhere, anytime you're in survival mode just with your physical condition, I was in horrendous shape, started working out again, exercising again, part of that is like being a dad and like just being present with my kids and my kids want to go on scooters and scoot around. I'm gonna get on scooter, I'm in scooter around with him, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and then that's cardio. I don't count it in. My brain is cardio, but that's cardio for sure. My son wants to play basketball. That's cardio. I knowingly lift multiple times a week. And again, I knowingly like cleaned up, cleaned up my eating and I very purposefully started talking about the horrors that I experienced on a regular basis in my past and in my present in the emergency departments. And man that just unlocked it for me. And when I was uh, a young doctor, I would see older doctors that were like numb. And I looked up to that and I was like, I'm gonna be like that one day cuz I thought it was cool. And man, that's not cool. It's good for your patients in very specific scenarios. Right. And very specific scenarios. You want to be completely unaware emotionally of what's going on. You Speaker 2 00:47:00 Want them to believe you're gonna take care of business because Speaker 0 00:47:03 Yeah. And so, and so you need to be able to master that ability, but outside of those extremely serious life threatening moments, it is a huge detriment to your life to be numb and cut off to the rest of the world. And, um, and so yeah, I I feel very fortunate that I've been able to, um, a achieve that ability over Speaker 2 00:47:27 The years and maybe just the, the, the simple acknowledgement of saying that you feel like you've been given an opportunity to balance those things Yeah. Makes you face that balance a little bit naturally. I, I, and now I would say, I would dare say this is why it's not for everybody either. Right. You can be smart enough to become a doctor, that doesn't mean you should be a doctor. Right. True. Right. So, um, That's fine. I'm grateful you're a doctor. Speaker 0 00:47:54 Hey. Oh, come Speaker 2 00:47:55 On dude. Can do it. Speaker 0 00:47:56 You, you could do bro. I'm grateful you're a policeman. I there's no way I could ever do Speaker 2 00:47:59 That. Well I, that's long in my past too. That's way past that also cuz that was, again, that was my, I'm digging in and then all of a sudden now I'm over here. Are you Speaker 0 00:48:08 Adhd? Speaker 2 00:48:09 I'm, I don't think so. Okay. But I do have that part of, uh, I'm too introverted to be that, but yeah, yeah, yeah. I do possess that part of the personality, like I said. Yeah. The hyper focus. You get into something and you just, you Speaker 0 00:48:22 Can't that Speaker 2 00:48:23 In anything else. Speaker 0 00:48:24 That's all there is. And Speaker 2 00:48:25 Then you somehow grow tired of it. It's not like you dislike it, you just, another interest sparks. And when that happens, you can't divide them as well. Right. You really just have to say, Oh, now I wanna do that. And you just take that Right turn wherever that is. Right. So, no, no, I'm not adhd. I mean, like I said, I could ask you one or two questions prerecorded, we'd still knock out an hour and a half. <laugh>, you don't even, I'm just a hologram here. And you're like knocking out boys knocking out the answers, man. It'd be no problem at all. So, uh, I'll get back to the last question cause I know we've, we've, we've crunk through this, but Yeah. What's in store you've got, is there ways that you want people to be able to reach you or your foundation or what do you have plans in the on where they can find you on socials, whatever. Speaker 0 00:49:11 Talk about that. Okay, so follow me at dr dot j Mac, on Instagram, on TikTok, on YouTube. Um, go to music meets medicine.org and check that out. Um, we have multiple other programs that we're developing under music meets medicine as well. Um, there's just a lot of exciting, um, fulfilling projects that I'm involved with right now and uh, and I feel so fortunate to be given the opportunities to, to be doing them. So follow along. More fun stuff to come. Yes, Speaker 2 00:49:44 <laugh>. Love you brother. Speaker 0 00:49:46 Love Speaker 2 00:49:46 You man. Thanks for coming dude. Speaker 0 00:49:48 Thanks for having me. Speaker 4 00:49:49 Keep on keeping on the golden age. Caffeine. It's some sideline. You're on another situation. See the road from the stripes with the lights coming on. Freedom came upon a cat of str victory. Another dog page to turn another situation. Speaker 1 00:50:26 And Speaker 4 00:50:26 Henry til the is Speaker 1 00:50:31 Your on Til Speaker 4 00:50:38 The Sun Pass around trees and see which way to turn Speaker 1 00:50:46 To Speaker 4 00:50:49 See the road from the way it's another to, it's another. Speaker 1 00:51:29 The soul is Speaker 4 00:51:35 Cries. What's never seen will go. Don't talk about it. What one can clean will never know. Oh, what's.