Ep9: Do You Believe in Miracles? with Greg Bay of Coretection
Episode Summary:
Sarina talks with Greg Bay, a sports physiotherapist and the creator of the CORESHORTS™ technology – Core Activation System. He tells the incredible story of how this medical-grade compression garment was created and his company formed, all from a simple idea at a happy hour! Today, CORESHORTS™ provide an innovative solution for athletes or any person who suffers from low back, pelvis, hip, and groin injuries.
Raw Transcript:
Speaker 1
0:00
I'm Sarina Fazan, taking a risk, making a difference, and changing the course of your life. Remarkable stories from people defying the odds. You're listening to Trailblazer. Hi, everyone. I'm Sarina Fazan and welcome to Trailblazer. It's a podcast where you hear from amazing people who are trailblazers, people who are making a difference in this community. Joining me is Greg Bay. He is the co-founder of CORESHORTS™. Hi, Greg! Before you even say anything, I want to also say you are a team physiotherapist for Canada's national soccer team.
Speaker 2
0:38
Yes, that's correct.
Speaker 1
0:39
Wow. Well, there's no pro sports being played right now. What an unprecedented time, Greg.
Speaker 2
0:46
Well, it really is we take a look at sports and on one hand, it's a gift to be involved. On the other hand, what we get to know is there's such a huge economy behind it and, certainly when the athletes aren't out there, that secondary economy of employment and really some of the mental happiness that people get from their activities is also being limited.
Speaker 1
1:13
Absolutely. You know it's on on both ends. We as consumers love to watch sports and the athletes of course love to play sport. So as a team physiotherapist, how do we keep ourselves healthy?
Speaker 2
1:29
Well, certainly the pro athletes have a number of directions from their sports sciences group, and they've got leadership groups, and they're following very specific regiments. They would have had a number of fitness items delivered to them so that they're well-catered and looked after. But the rest of us have to get creative. I heard the other day that one of the biggest shortages was people ordering online fitness equipment, which one one hand is awesome to hear and on the other hand, is to say, well, how do we get creative around the house so that we can still maintain some health?
Speaker 1
2:08
Absolutely. Okay. Speaking of that, I know you've been a team therapist for years. I mean, decades of experience, correct? You started in the 80s.
Speaker 2
2:20
Yes, it adds up pretty quick. It's hard to believe one day you wake up and it's a bit of Rapunzel. You know, it's bang, you're 30 years later. Yeah.
Speaker 1
2:28
Well, that's it. I mean, it just shows that you're such a credit to the profession. And during this time though, you also created an amazing compression short called CORESHORTS™. Can you tell us about that?
Speaker 2
2:44
Sure. You know, as a therapist, we're always looking for ways to get our athletes and our clients back into their normal daily function as soon and as healthy as possible. And the biggest thing that that I didn't have was I didn't have a product that bridged the gap between sort of core injury which would be lower abdominal, groin, hip flexor, high hamstring. I didn't have anything that bridged the gap between injury and functional recovery, getting people back into their activities.
Speaker 1
3:20
So, it was so interesting when you and I were talking before, you said with the Canadian team, with the soccer team,you would just have to rely on the rap, correct?
Speaker 2
3:32
Yeah, that's correct. I taught athletic injuries for a number of years at some of the local universities, and we would teach this hip spica, which is a extra long tensor bandage that wraps around the waist, wraps around the thigh, wraps it back up to the waist again. And the answer was that they were very inefficient. You either had to tape a right leg or a left leg or tape for an internal or an external rotation to the thigh. The bottom line was, it was probably the best we had for a number of years. But, in my view, it just wasn't good enough.
Speaker 1
4:06
And weren't you afraid that perhaps the wrap would also come unraveled on national television?
Speaker 2
4:12
That was always the joke I'd say is, that we'd always wrap them and put extra tough skin and extra tape on them, because it would be very embarrassing for this extra long tensor to be dragging along a player as he made a sprint down the wing. You know, and it's caught on national television. So I always said that the wraps were primarily made not to fall off versus them having a real good anatomical function.
Speaker 1
4:42
Well, Greg, you know, I have to say, I come from a family with a medical background. I'm the black sheep of the family, everybody in my family's in the medical profession except for me. So speaking of that, I know this is more than just a job to you. It is a passion to keep people healthy and keep people at their best. So how frustrating at the time was it for you that the only thing you could really rely on was, you know, wrapping up your patients. Not only not only on the field, you also have a private practice?
Speaker 2
5:16
Exactly. So I'm busy in the office and busy on the field and, and you know, the wrap also was completely dependent on the quality of the person wrapping it. So, there was such a huge variation, whether you had the right supplies, whether you had the right technique, and whether you got the experience doing it, and you also needed somebody else to do it. So, you know, part of my education was getting together over a happy hour and discussing with a mentor and other therapists just what we did during the week and what things puzzled us and where we had to troubleshoot together. And it was out while we're having a beverage one night that we were troubleshooting this groin injury problem, and I was complaining about it, and we sat down and we troubleshot about the fact that what do we need to do to come up with an idea that can be better. So we reviewed the anatomy, we went through the function of it, and some of the latest research, which of course, is 20 to 25 years old now. And, you know, it just came to us, we flipped over the beer coaster and, bang, we drew an X and said, there it is. That's what we need to do. It needs to be simple, needs to be a single garment. It needs to be athlete-proof, all they need to do is put it on and go. And so the concept was born out of us being frustrated, but also it came out of the fact that we had these study groups and these interest groups working together.
Speaker 1
6:46
Isn't that something though? Like, here you are with your mentor, colleagues, and you're at a happy hour. And this idea that you've been grappling with for years comes to you.
Speaker 2
7:00
But you know, I think that the social aspect when you can get together and discuss things, it allows for people to be on a stage where they can contribute, not be afraid whether something's right or wrong. So it allows a great deal of trust, but it also allows for a great deal of creativity at the same time.
Speaker 1
7:21
Well, when you created it, then it was a few days later you came up with the name, though, correct?
7:27
Oh, yeah.
7:28
Tell us about that.
Speaker 2
7:29
Well, it's really weird because you go to bed and all of a sudden at two in the morning, you wake up and it's like, wow, CORESHORTS™. How simple is that? So, you know, i didn’t even need to write it down because I never slept the rest of the night because I was so excited about the fact that they're shorts for the core and that's the name of the product. So the next day I got up, I did a lit review for trademarks and trade names and it wasn't there. And within a week, I consulted a trademark specialist. And we started the process and, lo and behold, we got to trade name the word CORESHORTS™. You hear all the time where a writer wakes up and has to write down the words to these amazing lyrics. It's sort of came to me the same way to name to name the product.
Speaker 1
8:26
And you went so much farther than that, you name the product, and now it's patented on top of that, right, tell us about that. So you have this amazing short and clearly you did your homework and got a patent.
Speaker 2
8:40
Yeah, you know, what's interesting is, human anatomy hasn't changed for thousands of years. And the function of anatomy is primarily what we're learning more and more about. So, what I did was I basically worked on the design, mimicking the actual anatomy and the function of the anatomy based on what the research was telling me. And we did a preliminary search in the patents and it wasn't done. Our primary product fell under girdles. Wow. Yeah, most of the siting of the patent was on different patented designs based on girdles. And, essentially, CORESHORTS™ is a type of functional stability girdle as opposed to just being a compression short. But it was really, really exciting when we we got the notice from both Canada and U.S. patent agencies that this product had enough uniqueness to it to warrant the fact that it was awarded a patent. That was a real huge day because to own a patent on human anatomy, it’s pretty special, and it also, of course, means it can't be duplicated by another company.
Speaker 1
10:05
It's a game changer, really, I mean, it's significant that you have a patent.
Speaker 2
10:10
On that, you know, it really is they always say a patent only as good as your ability to defend it, and then only as good as the ability for a judge to make a decision. But I think what it does is it lends credibility to the uniqueness of the product, but it also lends valid validation to the product on the function of the human anatomy.
Speaker 1
10:33
And you know, and speaking of that, I know you've worked with so many pro athletes in your career, but this short that you created is not only for the professional athlete, because again, you're in private practice. There's three levels of the CORESHORTS™ from what I understand, can you go through them? It's 3.0, 2.0, and 1.0, correct?
Speaker 2
10:54
Yeah, yeah. So the one of the big things we had to do is say, listen, we can use this same anatomical principle to provide three different levels of support. People say to me, I play this sport, what do I need? And the answer is, well, let's back up the question and say, how much stability do you need for your sport? So, we've got three levels of support our 1.0, which is a really, really nice X support system, that's four-way stretch. So it could fit sort of different shapes and allow for what I call a hug and a kiss to stability. And it's measured out at around 50 millimeters of mercury compression, so there's an actual monetary number to it. Our 2.0 is two-way X, which means that it only stretches in the length of the design of the X. So that as you move it tightens and as you move back, it's shortens. So it's a very kinetic or dynamic stretch the 2.0, around 20 to 25 millimeters of mercury. And, then what we call our Ferrari, which is 3.0. It’s a full support compressive system, that's 25 to 30 millimeters mercury, when it's put on the right shape and the right size, according to the sizing chart. So it's really dependent upon how much stability you need, as opposed to what activity you're doing.
Speaker 1
12:27
Now, I hope this does not sound like a stupid question, but I remember my third grade teacher always saying, there's never a stupid question, right? So for people that may not know exactly what mercury means, how would you describe that?
Speaker 2
12:41
Sure. We're looking at a circumference pressure. So an example is you blow a balloon up, and there's a bit of pressure on a balloon. So the millimeters mercury is really that type of pressure that it's measuring from a circumference. So when we take a look at the shorts, if we go back to the 1.0, it would be a really nice firm compression, 2.0 because it's two-way in the X is going to provide a higher degree of compression, but more resistance when your leg moves.
13:17
Okay, all right.
Speaker 2
13:18
The 3.0, which is the highest tension, it's going to provide a little more resistance for the leg moving, but at the same token, it increases circumferential pressure more. So, really, the millimeters of mercury is just a measurement of circumferential compression that they use in compression socks as well. So it's a very common sort of measurement.
Speaker 1
13:40
You know, I I tried the short and I love them because I feel like it sucks me in too. And one of my most favorite people is a guy in our office, Gabriel, also said when he saw the shorts, that this would be perfect for an aunt of his, He said his aunt has some hip discomfort. Right now, especially with so many surgeries being canceled, I think we just looked at a number, it says 30,000 alone in Canada. The number is like tens of thousands here in the U.S., I would imagine. Wouldn't this short be a great solution for people who are hurting right now?
Speaker 2
14:23
Well, the first thing we want to let people know is, if compression causes pain, don't wear a compression item, because compression isn't for everybody. With that said, though, a few different parts to the purpose of this short, and which differentiates it from a regular compression short, is that a regular compression short is three cylinders, a waist, a leg, and a leg. But what differentiates CORESHORTS™ is that that X system and that cross band system connects a stable leg like standing to a moving leg like walking. And then, of course, the next thing that happens is the other leg becomes stable and the other leg is the leg that moves, very similar to a stride in walking. So, as you push against the short when you're active, it actually creates a little more tightness in the short. So, the more you move the short, the more it creates stability, and it does it by three things. One is the straight compression material. The second is, as you push against something, it actually stimulates your nervous system to work better, and that's a common principle. So we know that that plays a role. And then the third is, by improving stability in motion control, it optimizes or makes your movement better.
15:58
So, when we look at hips, and in particular hip replacements, if we can provide a little more stability and motion control, you can often help reduce some of the pain that's in the hip to at least allow the person to be able to have a little better life and a little better movement, especially for those people whose hip replacements have been canceled. Because they're on the waiting list. They already know they're getting their hip replacement. But, right now, they're having pain and limited movement and their health is declining because they're not able to get up and around. So I'm not going to be a guy from a medical point of view that says that's going to help everybody, but I can tell you that, if it's due to OA of the hip, getting a support system can make a difference to improving mobility while you're waiting. And the secondary part is, after surgery, the biggest thing is you need a lot of stabilization and you need a good rehab program, and CORESHORTS™ have been known and have a lot of people benefiting, during their recovery after hip replacement, to improve and get back to function sooner, but also safer.
Speaker 1
17:10
Well, because you cannot even think clearly when you're in pain. I mean, when anybody is in pain, When you are in pain, you can't think clearly. Everything else in your life doesn’t seem to matter.
Speaker 2
17:28
And listen, as a therapist every day, my job is to be creative on how to help people reduce pain and increase their function. And these shorts weren't created to make money. These shorts were created to solve and create a solution to low back, pelvis, and hip pain. And that's what they're designed to do. That's what they're based on the functional anatomy in the research for, and the bottom line is is that's exactly why created them.
Speaker 1
18:01
You know, it seems to me, too, that this would be very beneficial for a mom after she's had a child. I mean, I remember not to get too personal, but I had a C-section and was in a lot of pain for a long time. I wish these were around, or I wish I knew about them at the time. My daughter is 12 now.
Speaker 2
18:22
You know, and that gets back to the shorts not being sports specific, it's function specific. We take a look at a lot of postpartum instabilities, not only from the C-section and the disruption of the lower abdominal function, but also of course through natural birth. My wife's a physical therapist, she does a lot of postpartum care. And we used to put a lot of people in sacroiliac joint belts, and they were okay but very uncomfortable because all they did was provide circumferential pressure to the pelvis, for the SI in the pubic area. But with CORESHORTS™, it distributes the force a little more evenly. And the most important thing is, it ties in the low back, the pelvis, and the hip, as a functional complex, so that the moms can get up and they can do more activities of daily living, they can go push the carriages, they have less pain, their ability to transfer in and out. So it's really designed as a full unit from low back, pelvis, hip support. And I'm really, really proud of the fact that there's such a need in the postpartum care, because until now they've had is get a tight pair of pantyhose or wear a sacroiliac joint brace. So, it's really cool to see and get the people phoning saying, hey, you've made such a difference in my life. It sort of fills your cup.
Speaker 1
19:58
I know that's priceless. So speaking of making a difference, so many people now are working out more than ever because they are home. They're doing more exercises at home. We've only talked about a couple of the patients, like the moms and people who may have hip injuries. Of course, we've talked about athletes and so many others, but for those working out at home right now, would you also recommend CORESHORTS™ for them?
Speaker 2
20:32
Well, I would. First of all CORESHORTS™ are not a replacement for medical evaluation and a very good rehab program. Because in the end, our goal is that the body creates its own optimal movement and function. But there are times where we need to backfill or supplement that with a little extra support to allow us to get to that end goal. So, right now, so many people are at home and it's so exciting to see the postings of people getting started on exercise programs and other people advancing it. I think that that's one of the good that's going to come out of the fact that we've had such a change in our lifestyle. But with that said, you know, if people are looking for a little more pain reduction from low back, pelvis, hip, you know, as long as compression doesn't increase pain, then CORESHORTS™ is a significant addition to helping them improve optimal function.
Speaker 1
21:34
Well, and I know as well that you also have two girls. Yeah, two girls, and you and I were talking about this a while back. I have a 12 year old as, as you know, and she loves to ride horses. She's an equestrian. This short is also great for these young athletes.
Speaker 2
22:00
When we take a look at kids, what's really fascinating, is we take a look at 12 year olds now and they're stronger than ever before. They play more of a sport, they play more of that sport longer, and they actually have less diversity. So a lot of times, in these young athletes, their legs are developed and mature, but their core stability isn't quite there. So I call it the puppy dog syndrome when the front half of the dog makes it around the corner. And you know, when we're taking a look at the fact that, with with our kids, and improving stability, first of all, nothing beats a thorough, well-developed exercise program. But with that said, the stability that the CORESHORTS™ can provide can just give that extra hug and a kiss for motion control, which then can allow for a little better function. And you know, I got to say that CORESHORTS™ do not weaken you. They're not designed to move you, you have to push against them, turn it on. So people can say, oh, just bracing make you weaker? Well, for us, it's a dynamic functional motion control system that you have to turn on. So there's been nothing out there, and our research has not shown that it creates any weakness, but actually helps promote optimal movement patterns.
Speaker 1
23:32
Well, for some of those that may be joining the podcast a little bit later, will you explain to us again, Greg, how is CORESHORTS™ different than other compression shorts?
23:44
So the biggest difference is this Core Activation System or the X that we built into the short. Functional human movement requires you to have one leg in the ground in one leg moving, unless you're in the full pike position during gymnastics or diving competitions, you know, and even in an equestrian when the leg isn't necessarily on the ground, it's grounded, and you need a lot of core support. So the biggest thing with CORESHORTS™ is this dynamic X system connects one hip to look to an opposite moving leg, both front and back. So, as you move your leg, you actually increase the tension in that front cross diagonal, which mimics the human anatomy as the anterior diagonal stability system. It then tightens, which improves motion control, and then bang right away as soon as that leg stops moving and your other leg moves, well then the opposite X, both front and back, create a tightness. So that you're constantly creating this dynamic X system as you move, mimicking both the anterior and post exterior diagonal sling systems, which are your built in anatomical stability systems.
Speaker 1
25:07
And you are an expert on this because once again, for those who might be joining in, not only do you have a private practice, but for 30 years, you've been a therapist for Team Canada, the soccer team. But tell us the story of how you met one of your partners Ed Georgica on the set of Miracle, and Miracle is a movie about a national hockey team. Kurt Russell starred in the movie, but it was so interesting, because I actually have been in a couple of movies myself, when you and I were talking how we both said there's sometimes there's not a lot of action on the set. You know, you sit there and you wait around for a long time. But that actually worked out, because tell us about the conversation you had with Ed.
Speaker 2
25:51
Well, first of all, it's always, from an exciting point of view, it's always exciting to be asked to work in the movie industry, because there's such a really, really cool mystique around it. So we were at training one day and sitting up in the stands, and watching them get set with some of the preliminary work that has to be done and chatting, and it's like, okay, you know, who are you? What are you doing? And Ed says, I'm the consultant on all the equipment, and I just finished with the Ottawa Senators as their head equipment man for a number of years. And Ed’s got a pedigree with the Vancouver Canucks and the BC Lions before that. And he says, well, what do you do? And I says, well, I'm a physio and, you know, I do a lot of sports and work with the national team, and Ed says, oh, one of our media guys is now working with the national team as the administrator and it's like, yeah, we both know Morgan really well. And then the conversation went to what else, you know, what are you doing? I said, you know, I've got this pair of shorts I've been working on for the groin injuries to provide support for injury recovery. And he looks at me with this really funny face and he says, I know those shorts. We got a player in those shorts, and he says those were ugly. But he says the player loved them. Wow. Yes. And we talked about the player, Daniel Arvidsson, and we went through it all. And it's like, well, first of all Ed knows our manager and then he knew the shorts because Ed was actually the guy that got shorts on the player. And it's like, oh, yeah, you really got to tidy up those shorts up, you know? And I says, I know we're still finishing off our beta testing in them and da da da. And he says, listen, I can help you with that. I've got contacts. I can help you get this off the ground. And I says, All right. He says, so while we're sitting there, you know, watching Miracle being developed, and the actors and, you know, the director, it was so cool. We started plotting out of this whole company and how to get it. And then Ed says, I've got a guy, his name's Claude, and he's an ex pro-hockey player, and he's in sales. He knows everybody and he's an amazing salesman, we got to call them. So the next day he gets on the line to Claude and they have a conversation. And it was within a month, we were all sitting in a car together driving to a meeting and troubleshooting. And the shorts went from one of our really early prototypes to within two years having the product on the market and getting started for first year sales.
Speaker 1
28:58
That's so exciting. And Claude actually lives here in Tampa, Florida, where we're broadcasting from, and I had the opportunity to meet him. And it's so neat to know that the shorts are shipped all over the world from right here in Tampa.
Speaker 2
29:14
Yeah, yeah, it's really cool. And, you know, we're just three guys, none of us have MBAs. I'm a physical therapist, Ed’a an equipment specialist and administrator, and Claude’s an ex-player and sales. And, you know, sometimes it just takes some of that organic beginnings and for us to be able to look at it from different perspectives to come together and to make a difference in the world. So it was really, really a cool beginning and we're amazingly good trusted friends. But I can also tell you, there's been some disagreements along the way because we all want the product to be the best product it can be for the right reasons.
Speaker 1
30:03
Well, it's an amazing story from beginning to end.
30:23
Speaker 2
I'm so grateful to talk about this at any time for me truly this is a great opportunity. Just to also let people know because, you know, we're good at getting the product out there and helping people but, you know, sometimes we're not the best at getting out our story. I appreciate the opportunity.
Speaker 1
30:48
Well, I love sharing your story. Thank you so much again for joining us. And in closing, paraphrasing one of my favorite poets, Ralph Waldo Emerson, go where there is no path leave a trail just like you have, Greg Bay, and your team. Thanks so much for listening to Trailblazer everyone, I'm Sarina Fazan.