Lashawn Merritt is not just a sprinting legend but a symbol of dedication and excellence in the world of track and field. Born on June 27, 1986, in Portsmouth, Virginia, Merritt has spent almost two decades as a professional athlete, achieving unparalleled success in his field. He made history by winning gold in the 400 and 4×400 meters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and repeated this feat at the 4×400 2016 Rio Olympics, showcasing his remarkable talent and determination. Merritt has an overall total of 12 medallions combined including Olympics and World Championships.

Beyond his achievements on the track, Merritt is a compassionate philanthropist and motivational speaker. He is the founder of the Lashawn L. Merritt Foundation, established in 2018, which focuses on uplifting underserved communities by promoting health and wellness, education, and mindfulness. In addition to his foundation work, Merritt travels the world, changing lives through his powerful public speaking engagements. His inspiring story and words of wisdom continue to impact audiences globally, leaving a lasting impression on all who hear him speak.

Merritt's journey as a professional athlete and his dedication to making a difference in the lives of others, both through his foundation and public speaking, embody the spirit of true sportsmanship and humanitarianism. His legacy extends far beyond the track, leaving a positive mark on the world.

TRANSCRIPT

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  You made it to Chiro Hustle! Sit back and learn from the greatest influencers in the profession on the world's number one chiropractic podcast. Before we dive into this powerful episode, please remember to subscribe to our channels and give us a 5-star rating on iTunes to continue hustling.

This episode is brought to you by…

ChiroHD – More than an EHR; Practice Management, Simplified.

EVO Creative Media – A boutique, high quality video content co-op.

The Chiro Hustle Podcast is sponsored by ChiroHD, EVO Creative Media, 100% Chiropractic, Chiro Health USA, Imaging Services, Chiro Moguls, New Patients in a Box, PureChiroNotes, Titronics, Sherman College of Chiropractic, Life Chiropractic College West, Pro Hockey Chiropractic Society, Pro Baseball Chiropractic Society, and the IFCO.

Now, if you're looking to increase contributions toward preserving The Sacred Trust within the Chiropractic Subluxation model; in a way that honors our Innate and Universal Intelligence but lack the time and energy to launch a new initiative? Then, check out our Patreon page and choose the option that best fits your ability and desire to invest toward The Big Idea in support and restoration of freedoms to speech, medical and family health.

Now let’s hustle!

LUKE MILLETT (PRODUCER):  Hey guys, welcome to episode 588 of the Chiro Hustle Podcast. I'm your producer, Luke Millett, and here's your host, James Chester.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  So today we have the opportunity of interviewing Lashawn Merritt. We talked about winning a gold medal and becoming a public speaker. Stay tuned for the full episode. Welcome back. This is another episode of the Chiro Hustle Podcast. We have Fastman over here, Lashawn Merritt. I'm really excited to have this guy on a gold medal winner. We'll start with that. Chiropractic has been in this man's career throughout his professional career as a sprinter. I'm really excited to talk about his career and how Chiropractic has had an impact on him. We're going to talk about from coming a signed athlete by Nike at 18 years old. We're going to talk about his journey around being and his next step in this world has become a professional speaker. So if you guys are looking for somebody to keynote, any of your organizations, international chiropractic organizations, state associations, anything of that nature, reach out to Lashawn and let him support you with his message. And then we will ask him to tell his story about how chiropractic interacted with his professional career. But before we do that, I let everyone know our big why. Why do we do what we do at Chiro Hustle? Well, first things first is freedom of speech. That's so important to what we do with chiropractic. All those chiropractors out there that are speaking loud and proud about their profession. Kudos to you guys. Thank you. We also believe in medical freedom of family health, freedom and chiropractic plays a huge role in that. So if you do not see a chiropractor and you're watching Lashawn today, listen to what he has to say about how chiropractic can have a positive impact on your life. And he was under Dr. Dave Pascal's care and was introduced to quantum neurology. So really excited to share his story. And then more philosophical with chiropractic, we do protect the sacred trust. If you don't know what that is, pause the interview and go find out what BJ Palmer's last words were, you're going to know more about chiropractic than you previously did. I guarantee you. And then we support subluxation-based chiropractic. We believe in innate intelligence and universal intelligence. We believe that when man or woman, the physical gets adjusted, it connects them to man or woman, the spiritual. And with that, was Sean Merritt episode 588 Chiro Hustle. Welcome.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  Thank you, James. Thank you. I'm glad to be here.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  It's an honor. You know, like these kinds of shows really matter for niche markets. And when you have something that matters, like in the professional speaking world, like, you know, you really want to go out there and inspire people, like connecting with different audiences is going to be something that gives you momentum moving forward. So thank you for being a guest on chiropractic's number one podcast. Yes, sir. So jumping right into this. Tell how you first were introduced to chiropractic and how the profession influenced your 17-year professional career.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  All right. So I was introduced to chiropractic in high school. I always been an athlete. So coach took me a couple of times in high school because of football and all these sports. But it wasn't until I really turned pro like I turned pro in 2005. 2006. I met Dave Pascal, and we started doing quantum neurology with this laser light. People thought he was crazy. I remember I walked up to him one time and I was feeling a little. Imbalanced. I felt a couple of different things to win out. Moves around and I came back to him. He adjusted me, went out and feeling anymore. He had me hooked from that day. He had me. So he traveled with me all over the world. I travel 13 out of 16 competitions a year are either in Asia or Europe. I'm taking 14-hour flights. I'm laying on beds. I'm 63. I'm not a small guy. So I'm laying on these small beds and they're paying me to show up to do my best. So they're paying for this body of mine almost like a Formula One car to be in tip top shape. So I knew how important chiropractic care was. But the balance of the body, the force application, just keeping everything aligned. And we did 17 years, couple Olympic games, couple world championships and Dave Pascal was there with me the whole way. There's been times where I didn't have a chiropractor, and things didn't go so well. But we can talk about that later.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Well, you know, I think that just the achievements alone, let's retrace back a little bit to when you first started taking running serious and you told me about this this meat that you're at and then you get this phone call from Nike.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  Yep. I was a freshman in college. I ran an invitation on Arkansas. Meating Arkansas. I was the only collegiate in the meat in the competition. And I won. I ran the second fastest time ever in history. Nike called me about a month and a half later and said, look man, you just beat everybody we pay to run this event. So we're going to pay you to give up your college eligibility, but would also pay for whatever college you want to go to. So I felt like it was a win-win for me at 18 years old. I became a professional in the sport of track and feel like an adult really quick. And I had to live it. I was in it.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  You know, that's a lot. And being a career athlete, tell us about what it was like when you were getting chiropractic care.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  I can remember me in 2012. This was Olympic year of London games. At undefeated season, I had one Olympic trials and everything. And I was in Monte Carlo. Three weeks before the games. And I felt off a little bit. I felt off. I remember it was a long flight. And I got there. I was handling the race wheel. And I got on the second curve and pulled a hamstring.

None:  Pulled a hamstring. I was undefeated.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  I waited four years to run. And I wanted to be the second person in history to go back-to-back in the 400 meters and win gold. And I got there and pulled a hamstring. And I felt my body imbalanced before I took off. But I was there to handle business. And it was what it was. I got to London and couldn't compete in the games. And ever since then, I made sure Dr. Pascal was with me. Years after that, I was number one in the world for the two years after that. But that was a big lesson for me. And I knew it. I could feel it and I ran, and things happened. But I'm grateful.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Yeah, we learned through it, right? Absolutely. And one of the things that I think is really inspiring about you is you kept on honing your skills and getting your craft down. But that wasn't just on your own. Earlier, I noticed that someone was helping you set up your lights. And I go, a lot of the guys that go and hit podiums. Like it's not just them. It's the grandparents that drive them to practice. It's the people that helped them with their endorsements. It's the people that make sure that they're getting on the airplanes and making sure that they're getting their food and making sure they're getting their chiropractic. Like there's a lot that goes in into like the personal development behind it. And I know one of the things you said that like set you apart, which you want to maybe impress upon the future people that might listen to this, like kids and whatnot. It was how you built your network of support. Absolutely. Talk a little bit about what that did for you and helping with your development.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  It started when I was younger. I was fortunate enough to have great parents who always told me, just go out and have fun with whatever I did, whatever I did. Neither one of my parents were athletes. So it wasn't that stress in the home to be a great athlete. It was just to have fun and do what I love to do. My mentor when I was younger happened to be my baseball and football coach who took me to his house. We would say grace together. He taught me the man. Man. He taught me hard work. He taught me respect. He taught me how important character was. And as I grew through sport and just through life, I realized the support I would get from people because of my character. They could see something in me that you don't necessarily see in yourself all the time. But they saw this in life, and I stayed on track. And because of having good character, good manners and being coachable and everything, I developed this amazing team outside of the home. It was a line and they grew and gravitated to me. So through my success, through high school, I kept a great team. When I became pro, it was still about Lashawn Merit when it was time to line up. But I knew it was all about the preparation and I didn't prepare on my own. I had my chiropractor. I had my agent. I had my massage therapist, my strength coach, my track coach, spiritual coach. I had all these people around me speaking light and positivity in me. And I was sacrificing a lot of things, but I was still happy. And that core around me kept me going higher and higher. It was that core base and that foundation of character.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  So back to London. How did you recover from that hamstring injury?

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  Oh, man. London was tough. London was tough. I was really, like I said, I was on that year. I was doing well. I had beat everybody. It was an undefeated season. And right after Monte Carlo, I went straight to hyperbaric chambers. Nice. I went straight to hyperbaric chamber. I was in London.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  I did one weekly for an hour.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  No, I love it. Man, I love the habit. And we were going deep. We were deep sea diving in a big hyperbaric chamber. So it was the hyperbaric chamber. Four or five hours a day mixed with quantum neurology and getting adjusted and getting great sleep. Amen. Then when I got recovery, baby, recovery, then when I got there, I wasn't able to compete in the first round because the nerve had been disrupted. So I took that. I didn't stay around London. And even though I wanted to, there was a lot going on. I actually hopped right on a plane and flew back home and started my recovery. Straight after people say, man, you should have stayed here. We could have this. And I had bigger freestyle fry. You know, in that next year, which was 2013, I became more a champion in field.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Well, see, that's the storyline. How does a champion come back? You know, and that's the head game. You know, a lot of times I know because guys will go through and get a surgery and NFL to a knee. And they never trust their body again. How did you gain trust back with your body once you got back to the top level? Yeah.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  That's a good question. The preparation and the recovery was intense. I actually went to Dallas. I was training at MJP. Michael Johnson, he was the former record holder in the 400, has had this facility where I could get treatment. And I could work out. And I could get my diet and everything there at once. So I just sacrificed the time, went there and dove in, just like I do everything else. I kept my body aligned. I was intentional with things I did. I stayed, prayed up. I knew it wasn't going to be a thing where it was an overnight turnaround. It was going to take time. No stranger to delay gratification. In the sport, we start training in November, but we don't compete until like May. In the sport, the people that really know about the sport think of the Olympic Games, they think I compete every four years. So I've had four years spans of just the delay gratification. So I knew that the body had a way of healing itself and it was just going to take time. And I just needed to do everything I needed to do within that. Like I said, which was keeping the scars tissue down, keeping my body aligned and overall just keeping a positive mindset on things.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Yeah, I think what I've learned over this conversation with you is we got to take it from pain to brain. Let's not get to the pain cycle, but if we get to that cycle, how can we recover as fast as possible? So where the brain reconnects with not being depressed. And I know a lot of times, you know, I've been an athlete my whole life too. And if you hurt yourself or you get something going on that ain't like, like it isn't what you want. Get depressed. And it has an impact on how motivated you are, how engaged you are. Like, and it's great that you had a team around you, and you went right to work. So I think that that's a huge step for people to listen to say, look, even if that you're at the top of your game, like a chiropractor, say you're seeing 400 a week and you're taking care of your community. And all of a sudden you get a rotator cuff, like rehab back, come back stronger, come back better, help more people become a better servant and, you know, find ways to succeed through it. So I think that's really important for people to hear specifically the chiropractic world, because there are nagging injuries to chiropractors, you know, after 20 years of practice or 10 years of practice. And, you know, it's important for people to know that like they are professional athletes too, you know, they're in it all day. That's true. They're taking care of people. So I like this, man. I like where this conversation's going. And you really want to become a speaker and network greater and become somebody that can share your experiences through your professional speaking. Who are the, what's the ideal target groups for you to speak to?

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  Well, I've always, I talk to kids all my life to motivate kids because I saw myself as one of those kids and it's just come in and bring great character whenever I talk to kids. My mom's in the school system. I have six nieces and nephews, and I understand that they're the future of our nation. You know, so I've always loved instilling positivity and learning how to study and just manners and yes, mams and yes, sirs and that the hard work pays off all those type things to the next generation, the kids of the world. But I also feel like because the sport was an individual sport and I am an athlete, I'm competitive, but I took it in an approach where it's just about being my best self. You know, everybody is not meant to be the best in the world, but I feel like if you approach things as being your best self in a positive light, you can be better at whatever you do. Having a routine, holding yourself accountable. And when I think about this group of people, I think about the world corporate I think about teams. I think about businesses. So I'm open to speak to anybody. I feel like I have something to give. I feel like I can change lives. I'm comfortable with it. And I feel like the story in itself has a lot of gyms in it where I handle things in a way that's not so calm these days. You know, just the ability to focus. Yeah, I'm in as it should be.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  I love it because you got to stick to the basics. Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir. Please. Thank you. You're welcome. Those things. And, you know, make that your bedrock, make that your foundation. And I think character does matter. And I think that a lot of times those are things that are missed with the heroes of our nation and the heroes of our culture. And I think that we do need to go back to the basics again. And we need to go back to respect for each other and kindness and courtesy and things of that nature. So it is cool that you can be a mentor to people. And it doesn't matter what walk of life they're coming from. If they're CEOs, hey, you can learn from Lashawn. Hey, you're a professional team. Hey, Lashawn's going to come in and half time you. You know, whatever it might be.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  The sport demands an inner voice, a positive inner voice, especially to be able to have a seven year career in being in the top three in the world throughout the majority of those years. You know, and then training and then at the track, you have 30 seconds before you have to get up and put the same 200 meters in. You're doing interval work. And there's nobody there to pat you on the back or tell you need to get up and how much energy to put in. There's this inner voice that's needed, this positive inner voice that people need in life. You know, and I live this. I've dreamed it. And I've achieved an executed on the highest level. And that's something that that I can share.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  I love it. I love it so much. And I know that this is going to inspire. You know, you said that you want to connect with people and share hope. And if you could just change one life, that would be important to you. Absolutely. You know, and I think that that's a huge takeaway for people, even if you are Olympic gold, you know, or a guy that runs a podcast for a living that loves chiropractic. Like, if I could just change one person's life with this show, maybe it's through your story that somebody says, wow, I need to go find a chiropractor just because, you know, I don't feel connected or something ain't right. Or I feel like I need to recover from something. Like that's the power of the story.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  And I think, right. Can I practice care? Let me be able to clearly send the signal from my brain to my body, especially when it was time to really execute at an Olympic game or a world championship. Yeah, I had to connect it daily because I was working daily with intention. But when it was time to really throw down and execute on the highest stage, and my mind to be clear, my body to be free, the chiropractic care in the quantum neurology, allow the nervous system to work and fire exactly like I needed it to.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  See, that's a beautiful thing, and that's what people need to hear. You know, I think everybody that has kids out there, go get your kids checked by a chiropractor. You know, everybody out there that has an aspiring student to become an athlete, get their spines checked by a chiropractor, not just the scoliosis checks at school, like take them to an actual chiropractor, get them an x-ray, get them a proper exam, and see what we can do to help develop them into the next Olympic sprinter.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  That's right. I love it.

This episode is brought to you by…

ChiroHD – More than an EHR; Practice Management, Simplified.

EVO Creative Media – A boutique, high quality video content co-op.

The Chiro Hustle Podcast is sponsored by ChiroHD, EVO Creative Media, 100% Chiropractic, Chiro Health USA, Imaging Services, Chiro Moguls, New Patients in a Box, PureChiroNotes, Titronics, Sherman College of Chiropractic, Life Chiropractic College West, Pro Hockey Chiropractic Society, Pro Baseball Chiropractic Society, and the IFCO.

Now, if you're looking to increase contributions toward preserving The Sacred Trust within the Chiropractic Subluxation model; in a way that honors our Innate and Universal Intelligence but lack the time and energy to launch a new initiative? Then, check out our Patreon page and choose the option that best fits your ability and desire to invest toward The Big Idea in support and restoration of freedoms to speech, medical and family health.

Now let’s hustle!

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Right, right. So you were in a movie that I watched recently. It was released I think a year or so now, called The Aligned Athlete. It was a movie about Olympic gold medalists, and it was about like people that got to the top of their careers and chiropractic had a profound influence on their careers.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  So what was it like to be a part of that? That was amazing. I was told the story, the back story behind it, and how it was frowned upon so long, how it's taken so long for chiropractors to get respect in this field, right? Because of the bone cracking and it sounds and everything and people not understanding the actual care. And to be a part of that video, it was important for me to let the world know 17 years at the top with all the traveling. It's not a contact sport, but in the sport of track and field, we say it is a kind of a contact sport because of the amount of force we're applying to the ground, daily, the stress level daily. So to be a part of something where I promote chiropractic care, it was amazing. It was amazing. It was great people, great director. I did a seminar before I talked about that, about The Aligned Athlete. And I feel like it's important. I just feel like it's important. Out of all the things I did throughout my career, I trained hard. Yeah, I trained hard. I was coachable. Yeah, I got my massage. I did my strength training, but without my alignment, it's like everything would have been off. I don't know how people don't get chiropractic care who are top athletes. It becomes like that.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  So, so if you go back in 17 years ago, is there anything that you would have done different? As far as my body wise, as far as your career, as far as your body, like, would you, would you make any decisions differently knowing that you're, what, 37 now? Is there anything that you would have changed?

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  You know, I would have, I was fortunate to have great people around me. You know, I had the same agent my whole career. I didn't switch coaches a lot. I didn't have the stress, like I said, from home, but I would have, I would have ran the race with a little bit more confidence, right? And I only say that because there was a part of the race where I was thinking too much. And had I really pushed through that level of thinking too much, I think my times would have been better and I probably would have broke the world record. But my focus wasn't world record. My focus was being the morning aware of getting better, staying healthy so that I can compete and feed my family. And I was in something that I wasn't going to be able to do all my life. So let's just maximize it, do it as long as I can. With longevity, I know I have to learn as much and keep my body in the best health as possible. But I would have attacked the world record. I would have attacked the world record. I would have put myself out there more and just went for it.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  I never did that. No, I mean, it's really, it's, it's important for people to hear these stories, man. I think that that's the part where, you know, we never get to know the person behind the podium. We never get to hear the stories from somebody that does it for the love of the sport. You know, I think that that's really cool. And you know, as I got a chance to interview 1,300 chiropractors in six and a half years, sometimes I get a chance to interview somebody that's not a chiropractor and we could talk about things like this. So let's talk about your mentors. Who did you look up to when you were a kid and like who helped you develop professionally as a, as a, you know, when you, when you became pro?

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  So when I was younger, I thought I was going to be a professional baseball player. And I loved baseball. My mentor was my baseball coach, his niece, Mary Bruce Smith, Hall of Famer is from my area NFL. So oh, yeah, we used to go from like the hood to Bruce Smith house couple times a year. So I always got to see something more than what I was. I didn't really know I was going to be able to acquire this and be on a level as a Hall of Famer in my sport. But no one Bruce Smith early on played a big role in my life. Let me just see something different than what I was used to. My parents at home, the base at home was always strong for me and supporting me. When I turned pro, Dr. Pascal, that he was a great mentor. I had coaches along the way that were great mentors, but Pascal was there a lot. You know, he was there when I was at these competitions around the world, the night before when I was looking at film or I was feeling something and maybe dialing myself a little bit. The morning I woke up, I mean, I'm getting chiropractic care the night before straight off the plane. When I wake up, when I get to the stadium, because I wrote the bus during the world during the warm up, he's the last person I would see before I stepped onto the track. So that's how important and how much I trust chiropractic care. But back to the mentor, right? The people that was around, like I said, my agent, my coaches, I never really had anybody that famous that I kind of looked up to. What I did do is days before and the night before my competition, I would always look at people like Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Tiger Woods, Mayweather, Conor McGregor, these people in these individual sports that these high intensity individual sport. And I would get little gyms on just how to stay present. You know, it's not a team sport. So it's not relying on a quarterback or anything. These sports, you have to stay present. You're going to be exposed the whole time you're actually competing. So I would get a lot from interviews from the greats in individual sports.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  So let me ask you, was there ever a time during your professional career that there were like one to two dudes that you're like, I'm going to beat this dude. Like he's going down.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  It's been a couple throughout my career. First five years, it was one guy who was dominating who I had to beat the next five years. There was another guy who came up where he ended up being like the Nimmering guy. And I had to digger him out to be the Nimmering guy. So it was only maybe three guys throughout my whole career where we actually studied film to beat this guy. And it's a chess game. I mean, I studied film more than the norm. I probably did everything more than the norm, but also always gave my self time to rest. I understood, one of the athletes who understood how important rest and recovery was. I wasn't a workhorse. I worked with intention and I did the work. I worked hard, but I also rest. I took my rest. And that also was contributed to my longevity. Talk about studying the film a little bit. I'm

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  really interested. Like, how did you get into studying the film and how did it give you edge?

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  When I was younger, my high school coach would always call me to his house to look at film, film myself, film of practice, film of competitors. I remember he worked at a TV station, right? When I was in high school, he worked at a local TV station. And we would, I would go to the school's training, then I would go to training after school. And this guy would call me at midnight sometimes to come to the TV station to watch film. Then I still went to class the next morning, but we would watch so much film that I knew what I was doing while I was doing it in motion. I saw myself do it so much. So in training, I could connect everything. I could be moving and know what I look like without seeing myself because I connect things, right? He would go to competitions and sometimes just record me around the track around the 400. So one lap, it would just be a film of just me, every stride. As soon as I finished the competition, there's a warm-up area. We would leave the track, go to the warm-up area, and I'm instantly looking at film. I'm looking at myself, going around this track and talking it out, and I'm connecting the mind with the body on what just went on for the next time or for training. So you get like this coach's eye. I look at myself enough. I even took it to the point where I would know the night before I would study my competitors what they did in their last race, what their tendencies are, because for me it was when this is easy as possible because I have another race in about three or four days. So I was able to visually visualize the race. I did a lot of mental visualization. Like just I could close my eyes and go with the race in my head, strive for stride, and clock it, and I could clock similar to what I run in real life. I was able to connect the body, and I think some of this stuff has something to do with the alignment of the body and being able to connect. I was even able to in training sessions, I would have five or six, 200 meters, take a break, it may be a minute break in between two minutes, whatever the case may be, but I was always able to tell the coach what time I ran. I had this internal clock. I had developed this internal clock. I passed the finish line and I could tell him exactly what time I ran. I wasn't counting in my head, but I could develop this internal clock by doing things with intention and being aware and being able to have the body and the mind connect, and it worked for me for a long time.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  I think that that's just really important for anybody that watches this in the future, just to know that the more that you study your art and you observe your own tendencies, your own skills, the way that you do things, you can prevent injury, you can have more longevity, you can train yourself, you can study what other people are doing, your opponents, and you can get better at your craft. Because chiropractic is a science, it's a philosophy, and it's an art. The part that most people don't really know that are out there is chiropractic is an art. Each chiropractic performs their art a little bit different. I believe that if they were to study their art a little bit and watch some film on themselves doing their craft, they'd probably find a lot more fun in practice because they're the only person they're competing against. They're training and taking care of people and doing the adjustments. Sometimes a busy office will adjust 400 people a week. I've seen it. Yeah. When you have a practice like that, just imagine if you watch yourself on tape and watch your technique and watched it and studied it and saw what you're doing and seeing how you could maybe put your hip a little bit different, or your elbow could go down a little bit different, or your hand position could be a little bit different. Then that builds that excellence into that professional, that career, longevity. Watch the tape, guys. Shoot the film. Watch yourself work. I think it's a really good idea for people. I know we're coming up on the edge of our time. I know that you have a foundation, the Lashawn L. Merit Foundation. Talk a little bit about that and why you established it.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  I felt like it was important for me to be able to give hope, inspiration, resources to kids that were in the position that I was in. I didn't, I liked the resources, but I kept a great attitude. I had people pour into me scholarship opportunities to compete against people nationwide when I didn't have the funds here in Portsmouth, Virginia, and letting them know that this holistic approach that the mind, body, and spirit matters. If I could be a person of character to give support, give hope, I'm here for. The Lashawn L. Merit Foundation, that's what we're targeting to build resources and, like I said, be that person of character for the next generation because it's important. We need role models. We need leaders.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  We need people that protect the future. I think that that's really great that you're doing that. You know, giving people resources in a community to plug into. Last question for you. Yes, sir. Chiropractic, again. We're going to bring it all back full circle. Let's do it. Where do you see the profession going in the next 20 years? Chiropractic care

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  in the next 20 years. I see it being just as important as rest. I understand how important it is for the well-being of the body to maximize your potential from the mind, body, and spirit. I love it. I'm a big advocate of it. I see it being the norm for all sports. That's just sports. That's a way of life. I feel like it should be a way of life

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  for overall great health. So if I can summarize that, you think Chiropractic is great for just general recovery, just as much as sleep.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  Yes. Perfection and recovery, just as much as sleep. I do. I do. I actually do. I don't know people will understand that, but I've needed Chiropractic care before I went to sleep. And that's just from a physical standpoint. Now everybody, I feel like everybody doesn't beat their body up as much as I did. And I'm not beating my body up right now, currently, because I'm retired, but I still get Chiropractic care to keep my mind sharp and keep my body healthy.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Amen. So if you're a coach, if you're a player, or if you're a guy in the stands watching, go check out some Chiropractic. Work on your body, work on your mind, work on your spirit, and plug into Lachon Merit, the Lachon L Merit Foundation. And check out what he's doing. If you guys are out there and you're looking for somebody to be a keynote at your next speaking engagement or your group, reach out to Lachon. If people wanted to connect with you further, where can we send

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  them to? I have the Instagram is the machine Merit. I got that name through the sport because I handled it and I didn't really break down towards the end of my race. So they ended up calling me the machine, the machine Merit on Instagram. I have the Sean Merit Facebook page. And you can reach me through the foundation page also.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  And that is that's the That's the Merit. Lachon L Merit Foundation.com. So reach out to him on Instagram, the machine Merit on Instagram and check out Lachon L Merit Foundation.com. And his handle on Instagram is at Lachon Merit. Is there anything I didn't ask you today that you'd like to share with our audience?

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  You know what, right now I'm also doing speed camps around the US youth speed camps. I did it with my foundation. I do a couple through the foundation for kids that can afford to pay for them. And I do something with Nike. I partnered with Nike and put on speed camps. So I'm in a position where I don't really want to be a coach right now. I've been doing it all my life, but I really understand the sport. You know, I understand the sport. I have the coaches, I, and I also have the experience and I have the knowledge from a character standpoint that could take a kid to the next level. You can be fast as a cheater, but if you're not coachable and you don't have what it takes between here, you're not going to give it so far.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Be that Bruce Smith. Well, Lachon, thank you for being with us. You are episode 588 of the Chiro Hustle podcast. It's been real honor to have you on as a guest.

LASHAWN MERRITT (GUEST):  Thank you, James. Yeah, I look forward to the next time we connect.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  And I always close out by telling our audience. You're just one story away. Keep hustling. I'll see you guys on the next episode. Thank you. Bye for now. Thanks for listening to Chiro Hustle. Don't forget to subscribe and check back next week to continue hustling.

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