Dr. McClain is the author of the book Cheating Death: The New Science of Living Longer and Better, which comes out next January.
Though nutrition and wellness have been ingrained in Dr. Rand McClain since childhood, his journey to becoming a leader in alternative and progressive medical treatments has been anything but orthodox. From being the earliest promoted to senior account manager in Deloitte’s history at the time, to his stint as a professional boxer in Argentina, to being accepted to medical school at age 37 after being repeatedly told it was impossible, Dr. Rand has never been a fan of the “status quo”. Dr. Rand’s patients (many of which are A-List celebrities and world-class athletes) come to his practice, Regenerative and Sports Medicine, in search of the innovative treatments in which he specializes. From bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), hyperbaric oxygen therapy, cryotherapy, platelet rich plasma and stem cell therapies, Dr. Rand has dedicated the past 35 years to redefining what it means to be in optimal health.
Hello Dr. Rand, welcome to BrandEducation, what’s your favorite word and why?
Stubborn: making sure you get what you deserve. With that definition, it can either be a positive or a negative, right? I have always been pretty good about being tenacious and focused, but my lesson(s) have often been about differentiating between worthy efforts versus not so worthy and applying my stubbornness to the right objectives and goals.
What’s the book that changed your life?
Adelle Davis’s nutrition book, Let’s Get Well. I read it when probably no more than 11 years old and was fascinated by the notion that one could control and improve one’s health to a significant degree with the foods we eat and supplements in hindsight, that book along with my mother’s efforts to feed us children very nutritious foods and avoid sugar (notions well before they became even remotely mainstream) really sparked my interest to pursue what I do today.
What makes you laugh the most?
I really enjoy British humor. The often absurd, but witty humor that doesn’t necessarily hit you over the head. And I love puns,even though they are often called the lowest form of humor. Double entendre makes me think and laugh, especially when not so obvious.
If you were a superhero, what powers would you have?
If I were a superhero, I believe my only attribute would be something akin to sustainability, tenacity, willfulness, pain management, and never quitting. It’s probably more of character flaw, but one of my biggest —if not the biggest —fears is that of quitting. It scares me because it sometimes feels as though there is not an “out”—an option to rest — or, often enough unfortunately, take a break from something that may be painful. Sounds kind of whiny perhaps, but there may be some athletes out there who can relate because many athletic endeavors require and involve a lot of pursuit toward a goal without option for “taking a break” (although arguably the better athletes now employ the “no brain, no gain”concept over the old “no pain, no gain”.) Of course, this could apply to the pursuit of any goal – athletic or otherwise.
If you could tell your younger self anything, what would it be?
So many things! From, hey, take the time to work on flexibility (not only physical but mental) to slow down and be thoughtful about to what I channel my energies.
What inspired you to start writing?
I wrote my book with the idea of simply spreading the word about what is available to us out there.
Mainstream medicine is very financially driven and in part because of this very focus only on certain treatments and avenues of treatment. I want people to know how many available therapies and resource there are available to improve healthspan.
What motivates you?
Challenge. Any worthy goal involves a challenge– one to which I believe I can contribute – I feel motivated.
Do you have any advice that you can offer to those just starting in your industry or craft?
As Joseph Campbell would say, “follow your bliss”. Don’t necessarily take your time, but be thoughtful in deciding what you really want to pursue and why. As they say, if you enjoy what you do it is not work.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I live with my wife up in the hills of Malibu and enjoy staying home with her, exercising, gardening and working on our home together. We are blessed in that we enjoy many of the same things in life so weget to do a lot of things together and enjoy each other’s company. With a tiny bit more free time, we have been able to enjoy traveling with our bicycles and touring and climbing some select regions in the US, France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. For my 60th birthday, we are staying up in Santa Barbara so that we can spend the weekend climbing the hills there including Gibraltar – one of the sections included in the Tour of California race.
State a random fact about yourself that would surprise our readers.
I am really not naturally much of a talker. I– and patients know this and will attest to it– will talk your ear off when it comes to medicine and ways to improve your healthspan, but I am otherwise pretty quiet and content to be so. Even my parents will joke that I didn’t start talking until I was about seven years old. And, I was a pretty shy kid.
Who are your cheerleaders?
I am blessed to have a few very close friends and even not so close friends that are encouraging to me and for that I am very thankful. It is no secret that many doctors live for that pat on the back and a simple thank you for additional motivation. My Team at RSM is one of my biggest group of cheerleaders. My COO, Michael Bell, is really the lynchpin in putting together our group of like – minded Team members who enjoy the medicine we practice and helping others optimize their health. I know that may sound like a line, but anyone else who is enjoying what we are at RSM knows what it is like when you finally develop the right Team and environment. Of course, my wife and family are very supportive, but my Team and our patients are the biggest cheerleaders.
What’s the single most important reason for your success?
This is an easy question to answer. A focus and devotion to the medicine and its application to each and every patient seen as an individual. I know this also may sound like a line, but when you focus on doing your job the best you can, the rest follows. In medicine, I believe that this pursuit of excellence and success are one and the same. And, for those with a more business oriented focus, I argue that the business success will dovetail from this premise also.
What was the tipping point for your business?
From both a “business” standpoint, and more importantly, an achievement of goals standpoint, finding the right group of Team members to support the effort were the absolute key. No one person can run the show. I have a business Bachelor and master’s degree, and I can tell you, this is one major flaw in that education. There is not enough (really any) emphasis placed on the importance of each and every member of the Team without whom the “wheels don’t turn”. Yes, different roles earn different wages, and there are, of course, reasons for that, but the mistake made by many, if not most, seems to be the idea that someone who earns a lesser wage is somehow less important than a higher paid team member.
How do you generate new ideas?
Necessity is always a powerful driver, but some of my best new ideas come from taking a step away from the “regular”– the day to day responsibilities– and just dreaming a bit using one’s imagination to think of other possibilities. This is often a lesson hard learned for me that sometimes the better thing to do when burdened with what seems like an excessive number of responsibilities is to take a moment to “relax” and brainstorm the issues rather than lower the shoulders more and dig in toward hammering through the issues with sheer force of effort.
What’s the key lesson that you want everyone to take away from your work?
Be your best advocate for your – and maybe someone you love’s – health. Look for and evaluate all the resources available to improving healthspan.
Find out more at: https://drrandmcclain.com/ and https://psrmed.com/
Listen to Dr.Rand’s interview on The Relatable Voice Podcast.