Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube - https://youtu.be/_9k9BO4g9zY 

After years of developing and refining his orthopedic clinical skills, Paul Marquis founded Ortho Eval Pal to assist other healthcare practitioners to improve their orthopedic outcomes. The company offerings consist of a broad array of educational tools including podcasts, videos, continuing education courses, and coaching. Join Paul as he discusses his personal educational journey and his diverse entrepreneurial pursuits.

Transcript

Voiceover: So you're a PT or PTA grad who's feeling the spark of something more. Maybe you dream of building your own business, one that's constructed around your vision, one that empowers you to make a real difference on your terms. This feeling, it's the entrepreneurial itch. And you're not alone. Countless PTs and PTAs are taking the leap to entrepreneurship, crafting careers that are as unique as they are.

Welcome to the Innovate and Rehabilitate the Entrepreneurial PT podcast. In each episode, we'll dive deep into the world of PT-preneurship with Inspiring physical therapists and physical therapist assistants just like you, who are crushing it on their terms. We'll uncover their secrets, their struggles, and the incredible impact they're making. From building your PT boss dreams to navigating the business side of things, will equip you with the knowledge and inspiration to turn your vision into reality.

So, whether you're just curious about starting your own business, or you're already out there making your dreams a reality, this podcast is for you. Get ready to unleash your inner entrepreneur. Let's do this!

Scott Giles (SG): My name is Scott Giles. I'm the founder of Scorebuilders and your host for today's podcast. I want to extend a special welcome to today's guest, Paul Marquis. Paul's a master clinician and the Vice President of clinical operations at County Physical Therapy. He's the director of their clinic in Presque Isle and oversees five other clinics. Paul has nearly three decades of orthopedic and sports experience. In 2014, Paul founded Ortho Eval Pal, an educational offering designed to assist healthcare practitioners to improve their orthopedic clinical skills. The company's offerings consists of podcasts, videos, continue education courses, and coaching. In addition, Paul is the owner of a medical education company and invented a commercially available calf stretching device called Easy Slant. 
Paul has a PT-centric family. His wife, Beth was a classmate in the physical therapy program at the University of New England and currently works in home care. His daughter recently graduated from Husson University as a physical therapist as well. So this is a this is a family thing for Paul, and they're thinking about it and talking about it at the dinner table as well. So, Paul, welcome to the show. I'm super happy to have you on Scott.

Paul Marquis (PM): Scott I'm very happy to be here. Thank you for having me on the show.

SG: Yeah, absolutely. And Paul, it's so funny because we've known each other for, I don't know, probably close to 30 years, but very peripherally because when I was the director of clinical education at the University of New England and County Physical Therapy and yourself especially, we're, we're grateful enough to, to educate many of our students on their clinical experiences. And that's where I started to know, you know, the kind of quality of that you folks provided up there and the, and the, the type of master clinician you are. But what was funny is when I left the University of New England, I, you know, obviously I haven't, hadn't seen you, you're quite a ways from where I am in the last 15 years or so.

And then we're at CSM this February and I'm at the train station literally headed home like exhausted, probably looking at it as well. And I see this guy kind of across the way and I'm kind of looking over him like I, I, I know that guy and, and I couldn't place it. And then I'm thinking like, that looks, that looks like Paul Marquis, but he looks too young. And you're, and you're like, you're looking good and everything. And I'm like, looking like terrible. And so anyways, but I couldn't pull the trigger. I just wasn't confident enough. It was you because that's how good you looked. And, and so, so anyways, so then we get on the train. I was kind of mad at myself. I was like, why didn't you just say something? I really think it was you. So anyway, so as you know, we were both having to be working in different cars on our computer. I'm like, I'm gonna find his e-mail and send him a message. And so we did. And sure enough, it was you. You got immediately back to me. And then we started talking. And that's how I became aware of all the things you've been doing in Ortho Eval Pal. And I started becoming a faithful, you know, listener and watcher of your videos. And I think they're tremendously well done and, and an amazing resource. And that's how I got the idea to say, hey, would you be interested in, in, in coming on the show? So a lot of respect for what you've done and the diversity of your activities. And I'm really looking forward to unpacking some of this in the next, you know, 30 plus minutes or so.

PM: Yeah. Well, Scott, first of all, you must be getting older and your vision must be going because if you thought I was looking OK, that's, you know, there's something wrong with you. But yeah, I know. And the same thing with me. I was like sitting at the at the train station and I was thinking to myself, I know this guy from somewhere, but I don't think I've ever met you face to face before. So I, you know, I'm like, who's this tall guy in front of us? And when I look super familiar, but I had graduated from UNE before you started at UNE. So that just tells you how old I am. And, you know, it's funny how we were talking about test taking the other day and we were, you know, filling in the dots when we took our board exams and how, how long ago that's been, but how quickly it's gone by and how much we've learned in the last 30 years or so. 
But you know, I, I really, I really thank you for, you know, connecting with me that day and I, I've learned a lot from you since then and you've been a great resource for me. So I really appreciate you taking the time to do that and taking that step. And it's definitely something I'm, I'm sure we're going to talk about today is, you know, how do you get from point A to point B? And oftentimes it's just taking the step, you know, and, and not holding back and, and, you know, if somebody says no, they say no, that's fine. But moving forward and making, you know, good relationships, I think is, is the key to moving forward.

SG: No, exactly. That was a good example, you know, pulled on a past relationship. And, you know, and Paul, you're a true entrepreneur. I loved it when I got a call from you the other day and you're like, you texted me like you got a minute and I'm like, yeah, yeah. And he's like, hey, I've got this idea. And like, I love, like I get fired up and that kind of stuff happens. It's it's really great. So anyways, we'll get into all of that. 
But so alright, let's go back to the beginning. Paul, how did physical therapy even become on your radar? How did you decide to go to the University of New England and pursue the degree? Yeah, well, to be totally honest with you, I was a sophomore in high school and I was at a men's softball game. I was playing, actually, and I was on deck and I was listening to my now boss, Mark Rossinghall, talking to somebody. He had just started in physical therapy, and he was talking to a friend of mine about PT. And I had no idea what it was, but I was kind of eavesdropping a little bit because I was curious. And that night after the game was done, I went home and I asked my mom. I said, do you have any idea what physical therapy is? And she says, I have no idea what you're talking about. Well, as luck has it, my mom went to work the next day. She worked at a bank. Mark happened to come in. He had a couple of checks to cash. And my mom says Paul mentioned your name last night, and she said that, you know, he was interested in physical therapy. What's physical therapy all about? And he says, well, why don't you have him give me a call? You can come down and do some observation. Well, that night, my mom came home. The next day, I made the phone call. He had me come in a day after that. It was kind of like in the summer, something like that. And I walked into the clinic, there were several patients going. I remember he had this patient with a fractured Patella he was working with and, and he was really guiding her and helping her along. Even though she was having a tough time, she was obviously in a lot of pain. 
Within 5 minutes, I knew that's what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a PT. So I started studying as a sophomore in high school. I started studying anatomy and really, to be honest with you, my high school grades were not great. I wasn't, you know, I was a very humble and quiet student. I wasn't super studious. I always worked hard as a, as a high school kid. So always had jobs and, and played some sports. But you know, the educational part of it was just not my strong suit. But I had this interest in PT and I started studying anatomy and from that point on, I never let off. And so I applied to UNE and, if you remember back then, there were like 1500, you know, spots and or 60 spots for about 1600 applicants. And, and, and I was having a hard time getting into the program. My high school grades just weren't great enough. But I did get in under the occupational therapy program and I started the prereq classes and I kept going to the advisor and saying I really want to get into PTI, really want to get into PT I was getting my grades up there. I was pushing it really hard, built some great relationships. And then other folks were kind of falling out of the program. I stepped in and then from there just enjoyed my college career and became president of the class actually and, and the liaison between students and the teachers. And it just kind of went from there. I had some very excellent clinicals and I think that that really helps to jump start you having a great clinical with some great mentorship while you're at the clinical is key. And then I just, I just went from there.

I, I then started at Cary Medical Center. I had this kind of a FFELP loan type repayment program. I started into that. I was there for about 6 months. I was looking for something a little more aggressive and I happen to have evaluated a patient one day, kind of pulled out an unusual diagnosis out of that patient, sent a letter to a local orthopedic surgeon, said I'm really concerned about this. The surgeon brought the patient and did surgery and I had, I had nailed the diagnosis. So he took my letter and brought it to Mark Rossinghall at County Physical Therapy and said, Mark, you need to, you need to read this and you need to talk to this guy. You may be somebody you want to employ. And, and so Mark gave me a call and said, hey, listen, are you interested in coming to work for us? And at that point I was, I really wanted something more aggressive. I wanted something more in the sports and orthopedic field. And so Mark took me under his wing, pushed me hard. We worked in a very, and we do work in a very high-volume clinic. We see patients from all over the place. So we've had people to drive from Prince Edward Island, which is a 7-hour drive to come see us. And you know, we have people, it's not uncommon in northern Maine because we're so spread out that people drive an hour, an hour and have to come to therapy two or three times a week and so high volume of, of patients. So we got to learn a lot. I was very well guided and and mentored by Mark, who had a lot of experience and was very aggressive and, and, and here we are. 

SG: So you've been with County PT your entire physical therapy, but besides your brief stint at Kerry Medical Center, the acute care hospital, you've been with county being your entire career?

PM: Yes. Yeah. And after about, I want to say maybe 10 years, I became president of vice president of clinical operations where I kind of oversaw the growing clinics. We started in a very small clinic, 3 tables, you know, probably, I don't know, 700 square feet and just the two of us super high volume. And then we moved over to Ashland, Maine, which is super rural. We, we did a little contract out there, ended up in Presque Isle where I now work. And, and since then we've been in four different clinics because we've always outgrown every clinic. So we're in a 15,000 square foot facility now. And we have, you know, 5 therapists at work along with me. And we have 6 clinics throughout the state of Maine that I helped oversee and kind of help triage patients with. 

SG: Now that that's wonderful. So what, so Paul, I guess one of the things I wondered is how, I mean, you mentioned mentorship and things like that, but I, I, I know that you're, you have a real thirst for knowledge and that you know that you don't become a master clinician and have a passion for the stuff like you do by accident. So what, what do you, how did you evolve as a clinician? Because look, your whole business now, you know, which is a side hustle ortho eval pal, but has, you know, it's been very successful. We'll get into that in a little bit. But I mean, how do you that's based on you having the knowledge to share with people and to educate people, etcetera. But how do you become a clinician that's qualified to do the kind of things that you're so obviously well prepared for? How does that happen? You know, a lot of new grads will be listening to this and I think it'd be helpful for you to give you an idea of to give them an idea of your journey. 

PM: Well, I'm kind of unusual in the sense that, you know, when I see something and I can't get a good diagnosis on it or I feel like I'm kind of stuck, I number one, I'll go out and I'll look for the information. I'll do my research. I'll spend my evening, sometimes weekends looking up information so that I can optimize what I see. You know, as I tell people, oftentimes, especially those that I coach, it may look like a duck, quack like a duck and walk like a duck, but it smells like a dog. Then therefore you shouldn't treat this as a duck. And, and so I'll do a lot of research on my own.

The other thing that I've done over the years is built up a really strong relationship with many different clinicians in different fields. So physiatry, orthopedics, neurology, neurosurgeons. I have a cell phone full of contacts and if I get stuck, all I have to do is text them, e-mail them, call them. And, and I think that's been very, very helpful. So I say, you know, like I did with you the other day, I have this scenario. Can I run it by you? I, I, I'll call a physician and I'll say I have this really unusual presentation and it usually perks, you know, the idea in the, in the provider to say, hey, I want to see this patient also, they've learned that when I send them patients, it's very interesting. We have a great conversation back and forth, but I think that developing great relationships with people who know more than you do in certain areas is extremely beneficial. And so that has helped to, to guide me. 

You need to remember too that I don't go to work at 7:00 in the morning and leave and look at my watch and say, OK, it's 4:00, I need to leave now. You have to, you have to work it longer than that, especially in physical therapy. And so we, I put a lot of my lunch times are into research or doing a podcast. Whenever I do a podcast, I make sure that I do a lot of fact checking just to make sure that, yeah, I've had these ideas. I've learned all this stuff for 30 years, 32 years plus. But I just want to make sure that that it's factual and that everybody is getting great information. So I kind of Fact Check myself before I get going and that extra research when I'm preparing to do a video or I'm preparing to do a podcast. I've learned so much by doing that. It's been incredible. But it has taken a tremendous amount of work and grit. 

And you know, you can't let other people bring you down. It's just amazing at how many trolls there are out there on YouTube and on social media and there, you know, the imposter syndrome. We talked about this a little bit when I interviewed you on my show and, and how that can, that can drive you in two different directions. It can drive you down and you may just hang it up and say, I can't do this. Or you can move forward and, and use that, that fuel, you know, for, for your fire and however you want to use it.

SG: No, that's great. And your, I mean, the quality of your stuff is super high level. And I love also when you're able to incorporate actual patients into the, into the podcast and the videos. And it's, it's just so helpful. And I would encourage anyone with an, you know, looking to improve their orthopedic skills to, to give Paul stuff a listen. And Paul, I mean, how many podcasts alone have you done at this point in time? What are we up to like three?

SG: I think the one that I did with you just launched this morning on September 17th, and that was episode 354. 

SG: That's amazing. Yeah, credit to you. So, So Paul, how did you get to the point where you, you know, obviously you knew you had good clinical skills, you knew people seek you out, you know all that. But how did it get to the point where it's like, you know, look, I want to, I want to, I want to get back, I want to get this information out there. How did you even formulate an idea to move forward with the ortho eval pal?

PM: Yeah. So I, you know, I'll go back to like about 2010. I was, I was at a course, I used to go to a lot of continuing education courses and I've been some great ones. And, and the one that I was at had a great presenter who's a very well known physical therapist. And I was sitting there, it was close to lunchtime and I was thinking to myself, I, I haven't really learned a ton today. So I was getting to that point where I was feeling like what I was learning in the clinic from my mentorship, from my experience, from me learning and looking at the evidence, I was really getting a lot out of that. And I was thinking to myself, I can do this. Like there's no reason why I can't be the one up on stage there and do it. And, and as I mentioned in the podcast, when you and I were talking, you know, I was, I was bullied in high school. I was told by teacher I would never be a physical therapist. I couldn't make, I didn't have what it took to make it. And I just, I'd always had this feeling of, you know, being too humble and, and not aggressive enough to be able to get out there and do that. And there's nobody in my family who owns a business there. It's just, there's not a big business background. We're from northern Maine. We work hard. My dad always said keep your nose clean, work hard and everything will fall into place. But as I was at this course, I just, I thought to myself, I can do this. So I, I finished up the course, I went back and I just started writing some notes down and started putting it on paper. And then I started using some of my connections, you know, some of the physicians that I was working with and said, how willing would you be to come to my course and talk about the intricacies of a reverse total shoulder and, and how that surgery is, what are some of the contraindications afterwards? And what should we be careful? And, and they just jumped on that like white on rice. It was incredible. And no matter who I asked, they never refused. And they all came and, and helped me out.

I did a majority of the lectures and, and, and you're looking at the studio here, you're looking at the secretary, the administrator, the video editor, the, you know, and I'm not very good with that stuff, but I do like to put a patient in front of me and take them from top to bottom. And then in some of my live classes, I was bringing in live patients, patients with actual issues. And, and patients are always gracious enough to say, yeah, number one, you're, you're helping me out. You're going to put 25 to 30 sets of eyeballs on me to give suggestions on how I could get better. And I want to help other people understand this, you know, from the real thing. And that's what people really like is they like to see patients with actual issues. And that's not always easy, especially like when I'm Youtubing this, I may do an evaluation like last week I had two great evaluations that were just not super usual.

And here if I jump off the train here, you know, pull me back on Scott because I, I can get a little excited about this. But I had this this young lady, she came in, she was 16 years old. And I'm not going to give the diagnosis because I'm probably going to do a podcast about this one. She comes in, she's been having pain for a year and a half, shoulder and neck pain, and she'd been seeing another provider for a year with no improvement. Within a minute, just by asking her a series of questions, I had her diagnosed and she does not belong in physical therapy. She does not belong in chiropractic care. She does not belong in any orthopedic realm. And so we, we totally pivoted with this patient. She's not going to come back to see me because she doesn't need to, she needs to see a different specialist. And we were able to do that within a minute. And, and I know there are a lot of people out there that can take an hour to evaluate something like this and then still go ahead and do treatment on something that is not properly evaluated. So that's where I, you know, you know, and another situation was I was at a physical and, and I had a medical student come in and, and like I was when, when I was young, I was green, I was learning. She did my reflex. She was reflex testing me on the left side, got a great reflex for L4. And then she went to the right side and she struck me 9 or 10 times and she couldn't get a reflex. And she stood up and she says, I think you have a herniated disc in your back. And in here, I have, you know, 25 years of experience at the time. And I said, why don't you try hitting it right over here? And she struck it. She got a great reflex. And I said, you know, that that can really misguide you. And that's where I started to really feel like, you know, we could help medical providers, not only physical therapists, but occupational therapists, chiropractors, PASN PS: in regards to performing a better evaluation because the number one reason people don't get better is because. They misdiagnosed the patient. And the second reason people don't get better is because you treated the wrong problem. 

And so I don't get heavy into treatment, although that's what I like to do. The evaluation part I think is super, super important. And if you can get that and you can target your evaluation a little bit better, then that's icing on the cake. Your treatment, your treatment outcomes are going to be so much better and so much more efficient. And so that's kind of how I and so I keep learning. I learn every day. I think that it's important that you still open up a book or I mean, I say open up a book. I still open books, but, you know, get reliable information from reliable people who have a lot of experience and, and make it a team.

SG: Yeah, No, I and I love, you know, well, you're such a likable guy and that I love that you, there's no hesitation to reach out to these. I mean, a lot of people might be very intimidated to reach out to a neurosurgeon to you know what? They're not going to want to do this for me. They're not going to want to be on my show. They're not going to want to. And I mean, and look, they respect you. You have a good relationship with these people. And like you said, almost universally, they're willing to to jump in and assist you, which is fantastic. So sometimes I think you just have to put yourself out there and be willing to ask the question and to and I like that the fact you were just sitting at that course thinking, you know what, like this is fine, but I think I could do something even better. And you had had the courage to do that, especially where you talked about how shy you were as a student in high school and you kind of, you know, sat back and kind of let things happen. I mean, you've really taken charge of your physical therapy career and things have and things have blossomed because of it.
But Paul, how about the how about the business side of things? Like you said, you really didn't have any business background. Like you're, you know, I was going to ask you kind of jokingly, like, you know, Paul, how many people do you have on your staff? Do you have a videographer? Do you have a web designer? Do you have a technical team? Do you have, you know, and but I mean, you built your own website. You, I mean, like all these things you just figured out how to do. So I mean, are you going to tell me like, you know, you grow cotton to have textiles and you design and sew your own clothes and you churn butter every morning as well. I mean, is there any limit to what you're willing to do?

PM: It's funny you say that, Scott. So as a matter of fact, I also own a tree farm and it's a family business and we all work on it together. And, and it's a it's a great time. And to be honest with you, you know, it's, it's about four or five acres of trees and we harvest every spring and they're for transplant. And it's a family affair. My son drives a skid steer, my daughter lines them up, she cuts the root, my wife preps the baskets and burlap and I do the wrapping and people come pick up their trees and they're super happy. It's like going to the ice cream stand and getting an ice cream. You know, it's like, whoa, I got this tree I'm going to plant and it's good. I'm going to watch it grow the rest of my life. But I, I do that.

SG: I was dead on apparently.

PM: No, no. Oh yeah. That's just a, a very small fraction of what I do. And so the, but the interesting thing about it is that it's, it's, it's pretty laborious. And, you know, we, we work hard, but it cleans, it cleans my head out. I, I need that because I have, you know, so many different connections. So not only are we doing like live courses, but we just developed an online blood flow restriction training course and non-biased course. It's like a, you know, 9 to 10 hour course. It's all moduled out and very clean and crisp and, and, and a great course that took, you know, some time to put together with a colleague of mine. 

SG: That's a very hot topic in clinical practice these days. 

PM: Oh, it is, it is. And so, you know, it's, it's made me very busy to have my hand in all of these things. And so, but I absolutely love it because it's, it's all stuff that I enjoy. And you know, as a physical therapist, as you know, the return on investment is not grand financially, OK. And you, you might pay $150 to $200,000 to go to school. You have a hundred $150,000 worth of debt and you come out making seventy $75,000 a year. That's hard to pay off. It's hard to buy a house with that and buy a new car and, you know, keep yourself going. So I don't know too many physical therapists who don't have a side gig of some sort or you know, a side hustle. And it's something I've always had. I've always had two or three jobs and it's just been in my nature. That's how I was kind of brought up. And unfortunately I'm not great at all of them.

And so one of the things I've decided in 2025, you know, moving forward in the next several months is I'm going to start making some decisions on what I say yes to and what I say no to. And you know, it's, it's hard to balance everything out and keep everything on task, especially if you're not technically advanced and, and you can't keep track of this stuff very well. So I still have everything written out and lots of notes and, and it becomes overwhelming after a while and it can be a little fatiguing. And I, I never, I never hang my head and I, I've always been that type of person where, you know, you push hard, you sleep when you're dead type of thing. But it's kind of catching up with me. I'm getting a little older and, and so I'm going to be making some big decisions and I'm going to be saying to know to some people and I'm going to be taking care of Paul a little bit better. And I want to refine some of my products. I want to make my website better. I want to do better YouTube videos. I want to do more coaching. 

You know, that that has been really enjoyable to me. The one-on-one coaching where, you know, I've coached people all around the world, basically, you know, France, Italy, Scotland and all over the US from PTS to doctors to medical students. And that's been that's been one of those, you know, things that I really want to build up because I so enjoy it.

SG: No, that's great. Give me a sense of ortho Eval Pals reach these days. I mean, you've been in business for what we say 2014. I think it started. But how many folks are you dealing with or using your products or listening to you on a regular basis?

PM: Yeah. So I, I mean, I was looking at it was I'm getting something like 20,000 hours of watch time on YouTube a month and we're at about, you know, 126, 127 thousand subscribers on YouTube. I podcast every Tuesday and you know, I think I've missed maybe 2 Tuesdays in 354 episodes. And so that is kind of kept me on track. I get a lot of great feedback from folks and, and they give me some great ideas on how to do other podcasts and other topics. And so the content, there's tons and tons of content. 
And, and so like I said earlier, I'm reaching people all around the world with coaching and I am really getting close to wanting to do some sort of online consulting with patients. I'm just, I'm going to have to meet with some more connections and make sure that I'm doing it correctly and, you know, get the legal side of things taken care of. I just want to make sure we're good with that. But on a daily basis, probably four or five times a day, I get patients. You know, I'm from, I'm from India. I don't have any medical access. I have this issue. I just need some guidance. I just, you know, I don't need you to treat me. I just need to know, you know, what direction should I go in? Or I've been..

SG: How do people discover you is it through the Ortho Eval Pal that they reach out to you?

PM: Through Ortho Eval Pal, through YouTube. YouTube has been a great generator of of, you know, getting people to me. And so I'm getting a lot of folks like that where I know I can, I can help in a different way. And, and so that it's kind of one of those things where I can give a broad topic on a podcast, but doing the one-on-one is, is really rewarding and patience, you know, really enjoy it. I've done it with a couple folks and they're like, you know, I've been the greatest thing is, is to hearing the responses from people. Really it's not about the money that I'm making because really I've not made a tremendous amount of money. It's a it's a nice passive income on the side and I think we can really build it up to be something more than that.

SG: But I was going to ask you about that. I was wondering if you had, you know, if this was a philanthropic organization or maybe you had a rich benefactor from Maine like Stephen King perhaps is backing Ortho Eval Pal. Is there is there anything like that, Paul, that we got me because because the great thing about this is almost all of your offerings are completely free. So you know, I mean, certainly the podcast and many, many things. So I mean, I mean, obviously this is wonderful because what is the one thing especially new grads don't have right is money. But I think once you know, people get a sense of the quality of your offerings, you know, you're going to be a regular on their computer, on their phones, and that's really what's happened to get to the number of subscribers, etcetera that you have. So you know, kudos to you as far as that.
And I'm obviously joking about Stephen King, but, but, but no, it's, it's admirable because this is, this was not done to, I mean, you could have monetized this in a very different way earlier. But I don't think that was, I don't think when you set out to do this, that was even on your radar. Or would that be my guess? Just knowing you and knowing, you know, your work ethic, etcetera.

PM: So I think I, I think one of the things to think about is, is you have a family first of all, you know, they, they come first. And I met my wife when I was in college. She well, actually, we, we didn't get together till we started working together up here in northern Maine, but we went to school together for four years. And and give you a great example of the imposter syndrome. I always thought to myself, you know, she's beautiful, she's so smart. She's like, there's no way in this world will this girl ever say yes to me. And so, you know, she and she was with somebody in college and then she graduated and then she was single. We worked, we were working in the same department together. And I, I said, you know what, enough of this. I'm putting my, my foot forward and I'm going to ask and I asked and she said yes. And we've been together. It's going to be 29 years here. And it's, it's been absolutely awesome. And we have two wonderful children. And, you know, my daughter became a physical therapist, my son a financial advisor and he helps us with our physical therapy finances and which is really helpful.

But you know, it's, it's been a great, it's been a great career. And I, I could have done more. And I always thought to myself early on on, you know, like as I was really getting to be what I thought was good at what I did, which, you know, it takes about 10 years for people that really feel comfortable to say they can evaluate and treat somebody with 100% confidence that they're going to be doing the right thing. And so, and I always thought to myself, you know, how nice would it be if I lived in a place like Boston or LA or something like that where I could see a different clientele of people. I'm here in northern Maine, super, super remote, right on the Canadian border. But once and don't get me wrong, I, I love all the patients that I treat and the people in the community up here. It's absolutely wonderful. And it's I've, I've gone to work every day excited about going to work. Never, ever have I had a day where I felt like I was going to work. And so I've enjoyed that. 

But once the Internet came around and you know, YouTube started, I remember a doctor asking me, you know, Paul, do you, can you send me a video of this particular patient you're talking about? It's very unusual. And I'm like, I can't e-mail that. Like there's no e-mail out there that's going to take that many megabytes or whatever it is. And so I thought, you know, why don't I make a small YouTube channel? I'll put it on that, then I'll put it private and then I'll just send them the link and they can take a look at it. And so that's what I did. 

I started with one little video and then another one, and then get this phone call from a medical student from down in Memphis. And she's like, are you the Paul Marquis that used to have kids, Michael and Gabrielle, you took piano lessons, you know, and all this. And she's. I'm like, yeah. And, and she's like, I'm Michelle. I used to take piano lessons with them. And I'm in medical school right now. And we're watching your Hoffman's sign videos. And, you know, I just wanted to say thank you because we never could see the real thing. And now we could see the real thing. And it really just took that. And I was like, OK, we're gonna start putting some more stuff up like this. And since then, it's just really it's organically grown. I haven't put out any ads to make it any bigger or better. But, you know, I think if I had a team of social media marketing specialists, I think we could really blow this out of the water. 

But I still have this job that I'm very passionate about. I work 40-45 hours a week at, you know, I, I help triage a lot of difficult cases and people and, and I, and I really enjoy doing that. And I'm super loyal to my boss who has given me the opportunity to do whatever I wanted. He said, if you want to do your own courses, go ahead. You want to start a YouTube channel, go ahead. He never said this is going to take a lot of your time and it's going to take from you as a practitioner. 

And in essence, it's actually built the county physical therapy practice because people see me online now on YouTube and, and they'll be looking up, you know, anterior cervical disc fusion or you know, radiculopathy or whatever. And it pops up, they see me doing an interview with a neurosurgeon. They become interested. Then they want to come to physical therapy. They ask for me personally. We evaluate them. They become a surgical candidate. They then become a physical therapy patient and it just kind of comes around and. And that's been really fun to see that whole process. 

SG: Yeah, no doubt. And, and you're right about the Internet being just such a, you know, I mean, the proliferation of the Internet, not the Internet's obviously been around for a long time, but because, I mean, for folks who are listening, like Paul's from the county in Maine, this is very rural now. This is my favorite county story. Now, look, I'm not take this in the right spirit because these are some of the nicest people in the world and I'm not kidding you. So I'd always go up there for site visits. Now, granted, this is just dating me. This is like 30 years ago. This is my first experience. So I go up there and I'm staying at, and it's probably about six hours from southern Maine, five hours, whatever and give or take depending on where you are in the county. And I was staying at Keddie's Motor Lodge. And I pull in, it's like around midnight, I'm getting up there and there's like there's like 4 cars. It's a big, pretty big place. It's like 4 cars is like 10 like orlrida crisper like French fried trucks. You don't mean because there's a lot of potatoes harvested up there. 

So I check in and, and, and I remember I was getting a text from my wife like, where are you? Like why aren't you there? Like, you know, she's worried about me up there because I think it might have been the winter. It can be rough up there Anyway, So I check in and they said they said would you like the deluxe room or the standard room? And I said, well, what's the difference? And they said the deluxe room is $10 more, but it has a remote control for the TV. You know, you're northern Maine when I'm like deluxe but but that was 30 years ago. 

But my point is it's kind of throwback kind of place. And you are seeing patients, you know, you're seeing patients from all over. And like you said, you've got people driving down from Canada, you've got people, you know, So I mean, it's a big deal. And, and they didn't, you know that the distance as well creates, I think a lot of pressure to make sure those sessions are absolutely as productive as possible because you know, a lot of those folks, you can't do that three times a week, You can't do whatever. And you and they need to rely on your skills because there's not, you know, there's not 20 different clinics with 20 different sub specialties. And so I think you become a real generalist very quickly that way. And I think that's, I think that's probably helped really helped your, your growth and development and in terms of embracing the diversity of what you guys see.

PM: Absolutely, absolutely. And it's, and as you, as you do it, you know more and more you learn that, you know, the resource, the resources were very limited back then. And so it was whatever books you can put your hands on and that was it. And so now it's so much easier to get out there and get some information, especially on social media. But what I should always, you know, warn you about, especially if you're a student, a PT student, PT assistant student or new grad, is be careful what you get on social media. You know, there I, I will watch other people's, you know, social media information and a lot of it can be way off track. So you just want to make sure that the the people who are giving the information are knowledgeable. They've got some research to back it up.

SG: So Paul, what do you, what advice would you have for, you know, folks who, you know, we talked about imposter syndrome. We talked about, you know, maybe not feeling like you know enough at at some point, but but I don't know what. What do you see as maybe the barriers are the opportunities for students these days? I mean, you know, you mentioned how one of your physicians was like, you know, hey, could you put something online and you looked at the YouTube channel. I mean, they're going to be things, especially with AI, right as another piece. But there are so many opportunities we can't even, you know, envision today. But how was a how has a a new grad or just a therapist who's looking for something different? What would you recommend? How can you how can you be aware or know what opportunities to pursue or I don't know. It's very confusing and people get overwhelmed and sometimes they just don't act because it's not a clear direction.

PM: Yeah, it's funny you mention AI because AI is, is really been an anchor that is still in the bottom of the lake while I'm trying to move my boat forward. You know, as I, as I move forward, I, I have stuck with, you know, doing my, all of my podcasting, my videos organically. So I'm not throwing any AI into that. I don't like how it's presented. I don't like that there are people who are not even therapists doing therapy AI type of, you know, social media things and, and just, you know, I don't like that. But nonetheless, I think that if you have a question, you should try to answer that question. If you have a struggle, you should try to figure out, you know, what to do.

So if if one day somebody turned off your water and said you can't have any food, what do you do? You become desperate and you become innovative. And therefore you have to figure out how am I going to feed myself and how am I going to get water? OK, Is there a river close by? Is there a, you know, a stream, you know, do can I make a fire? Can I sterilize my water? And then you have to become creative on how to survive. And I think at some point, that's what has to happen to people. I think we're, we, we have too much access in our hands. 

But I think the number one thing you should think about is, you know, is do you have a struggle? Is there something that is bothering you? Is there a struggle that your patients have or the people around you have? And, and is there some way to fix that? Is there some way to help make that struggle a little less aggressive? And, and that's kind of what I was seeing is that people were learning a lot in school and but they weren't seeing a lot of practical situations or they weren't having good mentorship to guide them. And so therefore you can easily go down the, the, the wrong rabbit hole. And so I think making sure that you have good mentorship and asking those questions, if you're going to be going on a clinical, you know, you want to ask that question, you know, am I going to be mentored? If you're going to get a new job, you know, am I going to be mentored? Can I ask questions? And you have to be willing to accept constructive criticism #1 as a, as a new grad, as a student, you know, if, if a therapist or your CI says, I really think you need to do this or you need to do that, or you, you should listen to it. You should be not reactive, but you should think and feel before you react. And, and that will get you, you know, where you need to be. 

But I, I think that, you know, just working hard, you have to work extra. It's just not going to fall in your lap. I, I never, I, I think that if I'd had just done physical therapy, just treated patients, not pushed myself a little bit more or not helped my patients get the answers that they needed. I, I think I just, I wouldn't be here on this podcast today and I wouldn't be doing what I do, you know, with YouTube and online coaching and ortho eval pal wouldn't exist. You have to put your best foot forward and you and you have to work. You have to work hard. And by by doing that, you, you'll learn from your mistakes. We've all made mistakes. And the one thing you need to do is learn from it and move forward.

SG: No, I, I totally agree. And I think I, I love hearing too, because a lot of people feel like, look, I'm in debt. I can't do this, I can't do that. And, and then they, I'd say 75% of the people that I've had on the show so far are people who really had no money, had debt and just started a passion project. And in many cases it turned into something that they ran with and in other cases it didn't and they pivoted and now they're doing something different. And the cool thing that I see Paul a lot and I see this totally in your case. Is it you've built up this whole cadre of, of items that you do, whether it's coaching, whether it's podcast, whether it's conducting, you know, medical education seminars and all these things. And you've done so many things. And now you're in a position where you can really choose what you do and then double down in any direction you want to go.

Folks think how think how exciting that is. Like you're, you're getting to chart your own course moving forward because of this skill set and network that you've built and that people have appreciated over time. And that's, I don't know, at the end of the day, it seems like flexibility and freedom of choice maybe two of the most important things to living a fulfilling life. And so it's your life work at one level at least your work over the last three decades that have put you in this situation, which I think makes your exciting, it makes your future tremendously exciting. And I think the same thing could, it's hard to see that when you're just coming out of school or you're just, you know, looking to make a change or go into an entrepreneurial activity for the first time. But you know, it, Rome wasn't built in a day. It takes time. And but I, I hear story after story of people who just have the work ethic and the willingness to try. And you know what, we're pretty good as physical therapists and wait. And Paul, I'm also convinced that you'd be really good at Survivor. I'm with the river example in the water. And you know, and I would be the type that was just like cowering in the corner, like thinking like, is there any chance I can get delivery? So hey, I don't want to go there. 

But anyways, Paul, I, you know, I usually end with this question about it's from this podcast, how I built this, like what percentage of your, you know, of your success is luck and hard work? I'm not even asking you that question because you know, you'll be humble and you'll say, oh, you know, I was super lucky. I was this and that. No, Paul, you, you just you, I mean, lucky to find your wife, have a supportive spouse, OK, maybe. But anything else, you put your nose to the grindstone you weren't willing to take. No, you dealt with rejection early in some cases. Or you can't do this. You can't do that. You used it as fuel. And now you've got this, you know, massive offering that's helped thousands of therapists improve the quality of patient care. And I bet those few hours you do sleep at night. I bet you sleep pretty well knowing the contributions you've made to this profession. And I know, I know. You know, I still can't get over the tree farm Paul, I got, I got to process. This is later today. I can't get over that. I'll send you an e-mail with a list of things that we do inside. Yeah, Yeah. 

But anyways, Paul, I have, I have a ton of respect for what you've done. And I really want to thank you for joining us today and sharing your story. And I and I, I really want to push people to, you know, to visit your site to look at your offerings. This is how Paul comes across in in, in his videos and podcasts as well. It's practical information. It's experience based. And there's no question you, you will find your orthopedic skills by engaging in those services. So, Paul, thanks again. I truly appreciate it.

PM: Well, Scott, I really, I really thank you for the kind words. And, you know, and, and just for all the folks who are out there listening, Scott has made this tremendous contribution to everybody's ability to get, you know, into physical therapy, pass their boards and become more confident as physical therapists because, you know, having the confidence while you're treating patients is super important. And, and Scott's been a major contributor to that. And Scott, I thank you for that. I wish, I wish you'd have been a little older than me and would have brought Scorebuilders to me before I took my board exams. But we, we, we passed and life would have been a lot easier having had Scorebuilders. But I hear, I hear your name. I hear Scorebuilders all the time. My daughter utilized the system and it was extremely helpful.

And it's just, it's just wonderful what you've done, wonderful what you're doing with this podcast. I think it's great that we can teach, you know, folks. And I was going to say young people out there who are, you know, becoming therapists or becoming doctors or becoming nurse practitioners, it doesn't really matter. You could be older and, and, and jump into a new profession or a side hustle. You just have to be passionate about it. And as long as you enjoy it and you don't feel like it's a lot of extra work, then it's perfectly fine. And, and go ahead and do it and dabble and, and try it out, you know, get your feet wet and, and, you know, follow what Scott did, you know, follow his model. It was, it was absolutely great. His story's great. And if you listen to him on my podcast, you'll get Scott's full story. And Scott, thank you for all of your contributions.

SG: You're welcome, Paul, appreciate you joining us and thanks for all the listeners. We'll be back next month with another exciting podcast. Have a great day.

Voiceover: And there you have it. Another dose of PT-preneurial inspiration to fuel your journey. Check out more inspiring stories from PTs and PTAs out there making waves by listening and subscribing to our podcasts on your favorite streaming platforms. And don't forget to rate and review this podcast. Thanks for listening.