Where did you grow up, and where did you go to grammar school? 

I’m proud to say that I’m a true San Francisco native. Especially since we are so rare these days. I was born and raised in the Richmond District and went to St. Monica School. I attended Catholic school from kindergarten through 12th grade. During middle school, I would roam around the Tenderloin District because my mom worked at SHC in the Brothers’ Residence, and I had friends whose parents lived or had restaurants in the Tenderloin. The City was a huge playground for me. 

Where do you currently live?

During middle school, my parents bought a house in Daly City. It was the first home that my mom would own and it was a “fixer-upper.” I remember hating the house because it was so dirty and full of spiders and even termites! But my mom continued to assure me that she would make it a home we love. It’s a place where she taught me how to put up drywall, hardwood floors, electrical and landscaping. Yes! She taught me that. We called her the Filipino Martha Stewart. After she passed away, my wife and I took over caring for her house and are truly blessed to allow my girls to grow up in a place that my mom built. It’s a way for my daughters to feel her presence. 

Take me back to a time at Sacred Heart Cathedral. What are some memories that stand out?

I never told Brother Christopher Brady, but I looked up to him. I was always quiet and shy when he was around, but I always felt he was an uncle or something. I appreciated his guidance because I didn’t know how to tell him.          

Did you participate in sports or any other activities?

I started as a freshman on the junior varsity football team and was brought up to varsity during the spring of freshman year. I was a captain during half of my senior year and even played in a Bay Area all-star game with all the schools in San Francisco playing against Oakland. I’ve gotten hurt many times during my years, but my mom knew how this sport was helping me grow. I’d like to say we were successful as a team but our record would say otherwise. My success in winning games wasn’t on the field but off.  During summer school before my freshman year, my GPA was 2.0. As soon as I played football, my GPA never fell below 3.3. I was very involved with the school and completely fell in love with the day-to-days at SHC. I was an officer of school spirit at one point, Block Club, Leadership, Religion and was a summer camp counselor for three years. You could always find me at the gym working out, in the library studying or just wandering the campus messing with any of the teams that had practice after school on campus. I was always willing to offer a helping hand until my mom was off of work at 6:15 pm.   

Who were some teachers/coaches that had an impact on your development as a student?

A great mentor was Brother Chris Brady. He left the school after my freshman year. He was more of my pre-high school mentor. There was also Brother Paul who was always there to lend an ear or help. The ones that made an impact on me the most were my coaches.  Primarily, Coach John Lee. He was able to coach me in a way that always made me feel as if I was stronger than I was. He taught me the value of looking people in the eye with confidence. He also stopped practice at one point and made sure every player on the football team knew how to shake a hand. I can’t stop laughing at how mad he was when someone shook his hand and he called their handshake a “dead fish!”  That is when a person puts out their hand and their hand literally feels like a soft, dead fish. He yelled, “Please, look a person in the eyes and let them know you appreciate them!” I laughed, but I think it was so important. It shows my pride in what I do, but more importantly, my confidence. 

Mr. Pete Gresh was my summer camp boss, and I’ll never forget how fun the summers were under his leadership. He had ideas for projects and games that I still use today for my kids! He was also more than a boss, he was a friend. He valued my opinion, told me when I needed to learn and cherished our time together. I think those summers with my camp counselors and Mr. Gresh were some of the best summers of my life.  

What is the most important lesson you learned at SHC that you use in your life today?

I learned that humility, communication, vulnerability and perseverance are principles in the art of leadership. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way. I knew I was a leader early in my life, but embarrassment and failures created humility and strength. When I was a kid I thought leaders were strong, tough and everyone was required to listen. That mentality can consume you. In my senior year, when I was removed from being a football captain, I learned that leadership is an art that yields self-control to teach, coach, communicate and empower a team to want to listen to you. I'm laughing right now because I’m so embarrassed of myself. I was a leader that didn’t know how to control my emotions. 

I’ve learned to persevere when I’m challenged, stressed or even when I’ve failed. I learned to simply show up for my team even when I’m at my worst. Since high school, I have feared failure, but I accept it and learn from it. I’ve learned to step back when comfortable and step forward when vulnerable. I think my family, friends, coaches and teachers laid the foundation for my success. When I failed they taught me to learn and move forward.

What would you say to current SHC students who are embarking on the next step of their lives and their profession?

We like to have the confidence to believe we are self-made, but God put the people in our lives to propel us to success. My advice would be to listen and absorb and be ready to build upon a team that wants to see you succeed. Be a student of your profession and allow your new knowledge to prosper through your skill. I believe the more you accept the help and advice the more you will realize that success is built together. Simply, be humble.  

What role do chiropractic practices play in promoting overall health and wellness? 

My philosophy of SHFT and Chiropractic is very different from what is taught and promoted at chiropractic school. Communication, function and movement are at the foundation of our health and wellness approach.  For the adult population, chronic disease is at the epicenter of dysfunctional health and ultimately death. For students and athletes, understanding human biomechanics and physiology as they grow is important in creating healthy habits and longevity in sports. Professional athletes like Christian McCaffery and Tom Brady understand. Just look at how they are able to stay elite for so long. 

We empower and motivate our patients to move better. Simply put, we move healthy communities inside out. Chiropractic is a modality that trains communication from the brain to the body through the bridge of the spine and joints. Although an adjustment may be short-lived, it’s very effective to decrease pain and increase mobility. We teach our patients to reinforce their mobility from the adjustment through massage and exercise.  Decrease pain, move more and move better.    

What inspired you to start your own chiropractic practice and become a chiropractor? Did SHC play a part in your decision to become a chiropractor? 

SHC helped me to love exercise and movement. I attributed a lot of my success in life to exercise and sport. But I can’t say that it made me realize my direction in chiropractic. I honestly think it was a sign from my late mother! I became a personal trainer right after high school and, honestly, I was very successful as a trainer. Let’s just say I made enough to support my family. I believed I needed to create a life for my family that may help generations.

A week before my mom passed away, I used to watch over her health and medical records. I scolded her about her pain medications and how they could interfere with her upcoming surgery. She was so impressed she told me, “Joe, I wish you were a doctor.” I just laughed and sarcastically said, “Yeah right! Imagine me, a doctor.” 

Fast forward a year after she passed, I received three signs from people in a matter of three hours that all told me I was more than a trainer, and that I should look into chiropractic or physical therapy. ”Well I couldn’t get into PT so I checked out chiropractic. Two days later, I did a walk through Life Chiropractic College West. And on my honeymoon, I couldn’t help but think of the decision. I was at a jewelry store in Thailand buying my wife and friends jewelry. The salesman asked, “What do you do?” I immediately said, “I’m going to be a doctor!” My wife was shocked and strained her neck looking at me saying, “What? When did you decide this?”  But with conviction, she demanded, “You will need to finish and not mess around.”  

After all my experience in the professional world, I knew what I needed to do. I was told by “people” that I was too much of a risk, which motivated meto show everyone that I would be successful. But the truth is, as successful as SHFT is, I’m always pushing harder and longer to achieve new goals. SHC has taught me perseverance. 

What would you say the chiropractic field will look like in the next 10 years?

I’m hoping the field works on philosophy and has more of an open mind. There are so many benefits to chiropractic care that are blinded by quick cracks. I want everyone to know that there is no such thing as “instant healthcare” like there is instant oatmeal or instant ramen. Healthcare has changed over the last 20 years and everyone understands the benefits of wellness over time. In the next 10 years, I hope that chiropractic will be a part of every high school, middle school and student-athletes lifestyle. I hope that chiropractic care can aid medical healthcare and that everyone can understand the benefits of better movement.    

Tell us a little about SHFT. Any information you like to include would be great! 

Since 2001, I’ve advocated for healthy living through personalized coaching. My goal was to teach people how to structure health and wellness into their lives from the inside out. Today the mission remains the same, but on a larger scale with better modalities and a team to support it all.  

We educate, train and motivate the community by delivering health programs and individual wellness prescriptions through chiropractic care and functional movement modalities. Our wellness programs focus on the development and sustainability of healthy movements, along with individualized rehab training to keep our professional and student-athletes at the top of their game.