Driver Recruiting Happy Hour Podcast
Dr. Mark Manera is Passionate About Driver Health
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Founder and CEO of Supply Chain Fitness, Dr. Mark Manera, joins the podcast to talk about the health risks for professional truck drivers and what can be done to combat those risks and improve the overall driver lifestyle.
SHOW NOTES:
Today's Guest: Dr. Mark Manera, Founder and CEO of Supply Chain Fitness
Dr. Manera received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) from Maryville University of Saint Louis in 2019. Working in physical therapy, Dr. Manera became intrigued by the unique lifestyle of truck drivers and now works to with drivers and trucking companies to overcome the obstacles and barriers facing drivers on the road.
Today's episode covers health, diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes, as well as the different options available to anyone who is looking to make a healthy change.
Supply Chain Fitness, formerly known as The Trucking Fitness Company, partners with trucking companies to improve to health of every employee at their organization through different programs built for drivers, office staff, warehouse, and the shop.
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About Our Hosts:
CDLjobs.com has been providing trucking companies pre-qualified driver leads through their lead generation website since 1999.
Ten4 Recruiting has several services built to serve the recruiting needs a carrier may have, including driver sourcing, advertising, and database follow-up.
Darin:
Cheers everybody, and welcome to the Driver Recruiting Happy Hour Podcast. With me, as always, is the President of Ten4 Recruiting and a former snake milker for the Chattanooga Zoo <laugh>. Matt Beach. Beach, why'd you get out of that line of work?
Beach:
Man, I don't have a response for that. I was not ready for that.
Darin:
Were you fired?
Beach:
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Apparently you milk, You're supposed to use,
You're, you're, you're not supposed to use the sa you're not supposed to milk the snake with your arm. It's not like, it's not, you're actually supposed to put it in a cup with a piece of plastic, with tape. I mean, and, and then milk the snake, but not like, well, let me milk it this way. But people, when people think milking a snake, it's not, they don't have, you know, like a cow would. And I thought that was really the first part. So I went to the very back end of the snake going, where's it at? And they're like, are you serious? So
Darin:
Looking for the udder
Beach:
Yeah, there wasn't, there wasn't, so anyway, yeah. It, it wasn't the snake snakes. I don't know if they enjoyed it or not, but they, <laugh> was
Darin:
No, no complaints.
Beach:
No complaints. <Laugh>, <laugh>.
Darin:
All right. I I, I, I asked you to be on your best behavior today.
Beach:
I'm not
our guest. Our guest is a doctor, and I'm, I want you to think about how far we've come.
Yep.
Darin:
Our first guest was Iverson, right?
Beach:
Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>,
Darin:
That's a guy that went through the Minnesota public education system and just learned how to spell doctor. And now we have a doctor.
Beach:
Yeah, we're big time.
Darin:
So, I mean, holy cow. Let's, let's pick his brain, find out what's going on with him, and introduce Dr. Mark Manera. Mark, good morning.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Hey, good morning. Thank you. I feel like we have so many mutual friends that it's like, it's crazy, it's taken this long for all three of us to get on a call, but I'm really excited for the podcast.
Darin:
Yeah. And you might lose some friends over this.
Beach:
Yeah, exactly.
Darin:
This happened before.
Beach:
<Laugh>
Darin:
People will shun you after this performance here. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Mark, you're based out of St. Louis?
Dr. Mark Manera:
I'm in St. Louis. I'm in St. Louis. What about both of you?
Darin:
I'm in Iowa,
Dr. Mark Manera:
Iowa.
Darin:
Matt is in Chattanooga.
Beach:
Just on the outskirts of Chattanooga.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Cool.
Darin:
So to begin with, tell us a little bit about Supply Chain Fitness and what horrible decisions you made in life that led you up to talking to us two monkeys here this morning.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah. So like you mentioned my background, I'm a, I'm a Doctor of Physical Therapy and kind of growing up did not have any ties to transportation or trucking at all. Both my parents were in the medical field, and that's kind of how I got into physical therapy. But got going through school, graduated working in a physical therapy clinic, had the opportunity to rehab a ton of drivers and really see firsthand what, you know, 20, 30 years behind the wheel can do to someone if they don't make their health a priority. And I'm not sure if either of you have been to physical therapy before. Have you guys?
Darin:
Yes.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Okay. So, you know, it's not, it, it's not like going to your MD where, you know, you're he or she's in and out in five minutes, and, you know, that's it. I, I kind of really got to know each of the drivers, learn more about their lifestyle, learn more about the industry, and just kind of really intrigued and interested and specifically intrigued about some of the unique barriers that they face when it comes to trying to be healthy out on the road.
And there was one driver in particular that I was working with who had just had a total knee replacement, and I was rehabbing him. And during that process, there's a ton of time on the table that I'm stretching, and I small talk with them. So you you know, it overshadows all the screaming because it hurts us all get out when you're going through that process. But really just talking to them, learning, you know, hearing some probably big fish stories of his 37 years out on the road. And just really intrigued about some of the lifestyle. And, you know, he was, now, I know a typical driver of, he was obese. He actually had to lose weight to have that surgery, but diabetic. And he was, you know, trucking and diesel was in his blood. He had been out on the road for 37 years and that was the only thing he's ever done.
And so, just kind of hearing how much he loved the industry, but also the sacrifices he's made from, you know, being out on the road, away from his kids and family throughout those years. And that intrigued me to go look a little bit deeper into the health and fitness of drivers. And just really shocked when I saw some of the stats on, you know, 70% of drivers are obese, one in every seven have type two diabetes. And then the kicker, to me, that was the scariest and craziest was that as a truck driver, your life expectancy, 16 years less than the average population.
Darin:
Wow.
Dr. Mark Manera:
16 years. And, you know, to me, being in the health and fitness world, I don't think anyone's career should define their health. But the experience I saw in the clinic, and then as I've gotten deeper and deeper into it, the more and more I talk to drivers is that's how I feel like is happening at trucking, is trucking is defining a lot of drivers' lives.
And when you look at it from an industry wide standpoint, I think the health of drivers is affecting everyone. But it's this taboo topic within the industry that's just kind of easier to sweep under the rug and not do anything about it. And that's why I really saw a huge gap in the industry when I came in and said, you know, there was really no one coming in and trying to own the space of building something specifically for drivers that helps them live a healthier lifestyle anywhere at any time. And so that's what sparked me to start what was The Trucking Fitness Company, and we actually recently rebranded to Supply Chain Fitness.
Beach:
Darin, I, I gotta, I gotta say something. And Mark, not to overshadow this, but Mark is probably the number one podcast guest that we had that is phenomenal with his hands. Have you noticed that when he's talking?
Dr. Mark Manera:
It's my Italian coming out. It's my Italian coming out.
Beach:
This is, and I heard everything you said, but I was just like, in trance going, he's here, he's doing this, he's, he's telling the story. And I was like, for people who, who, who can't see or just, you know, driving in their truck or whatever, then they're listening to this. This is, this is a work of art.
Darin:
Yeah.
Beach:
Yeah. I dunno if it's because you're a physical therapist or whatever it is.
Darin:
Are you Italian?
Dr. Mark Manera:
No, it's my Italian blood.
Beach:
Massaging the calf, its touching. I mean, phenomenal with your hands, bro.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Well, thank you.
Darin:
And Mark, there's some insight into the podcast. You just gave us this five minute explanation. It's fascinating. And all Beach noticed was your hand movements.
Beach:
No, I told you I heard because one thing, he's like, you know, the, the, you said that the, your health should not be focused around your, your job. You know what your, your work Right? And what you're doing.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yep. Yeah. Your career shouldn't define your health.
Beach:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that. Career should not define. When I think of, you know, again, not to, not to overshadow what, what truckers go through, God help 'em right on, on a lot of them, but even, even trucking as a whole right now is very stressful. I mean, it, I mean, just some of the stuff recently that's been happening, you know, with layoffs, furloughs and different things. I mean, it's stress. Recruiting is very stressful, but nothing compared to what, what drivers go through. I mean, just the matter of being on the road every single day, where am I gonna find a place to park? Am I gonna be able to get some rest? Where's the next place I'm gonna eat at? I mean, it's are
Darin:
Mark, I realize it's, it's very complicated and there's a lot of things into it, but I mean, I'm someone who has to put aside time to exercise every day. I, I've got a somewhat structured time that I can do it. I have a treadmill a bike, weights in my house. I can't imagine trying to set aside exercise time as a professional driver with none of that stuff. Very little access or opportunity to find that stuff. And a schedule that changes every day. What, I mean, what are your, how do you tackle that?
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah, no, I mean, and, and before I kind of go on to that rant, I did want to just, Matt, what you just said there. I, I completely agree. I think the demands of this industry are really tough regardless of if you're in the truck or if you're in the office or the warehouse or the shop, regardless. And that's kind of why we made that transition you know, from Trucking Fitness Company to Supply Chain Fitness and building out programs for the whole organization so everyone can speak the same language, but there's a personalized program that fits your lifestyle with, with the driver at focus because they live such a different lifestyle. And you know, Darin, what you were mentioning on, you know, the fact of, there's a a lot of barriers that get set up for a driver out on the road if it's hours of service, if it's their, you know, maybe they have a dedicated route and they kind of know where they're at, or, but a lot of people just all over the place in different place every single night.
And then you have lack of access to a gym, lack of access to a lot of unhealthy or, you know, access to a lot of unhealthy food. There are some healthy options out there, but, you know, fast food and Loves truck stops. It's, it's really easy to take the easier route and grab the Snickers bar versus digging a little bit deeper and trying to find that healthier option there. And then, you know, just the mental demands that being focused and on the road for 11 hours being on the job for 14 hours a day can have, it sets people up to just, man, I want to just zone out and watch Netflix when I'm done working instead of, you know, going out for a walk or, you know, going and doing some exercise. And so what I saw from day one is that, number one, like I said, we have to set something up that drivers can do anywhere at any time.
They can do it in the back of their truck or outside of their truck, depending on where they're at. I was talking to someone who's in Manitoba, Canada the other day, and it's negative 30 degrees, so we're putting him in the, in the truck workout. He didn't want to get outside and do the workout <laugh>. But, you know, there's a lot of people who do like to get outside and, you know, it's a mental clarity thing, you know, especially during the summer or spring when it's a little nicer outside, but something that meets them where they're at. And it doesn't matter. They have everything ready to go when they, you know, put the truck in park and they turn the brakes off versus saying, all right, now I have to find a gym. I have to now find a gym that has truck parking. Now I have to figure out what I need to do for my workout once I get to a gym.
Okay. And now, oh, I only have, you know, 20 minutes I have to drive to the gym. You'll work out in five minutes and drive back. And it's, it's all of these things that just makes it really easy for drivers to say, eh, I'm not gonna do it. And so what we've done, we've built an app that's right on the driver's phone, I call it, you know, a personal trainer in their pocket, because they all have a one-on-one coach that they build that relationship with, that they get a personalized exercise and nutrition program for that they can do. We've got programs from an exercise standpoint, like you mentioned in the back of their truck, we give 'em all the the equipment they need so they all get a resistance band. And we do body weight exercises, we got stretching routines, we've got circuit based stuff.
We got some drivers who just want some accountability around going for a daily walk every single day. And then, you know, on the nutrition side of things, we do a habit based nutrition program, and we can go into that more if you want, but just in general, it's not, here's a meal plan, figure it out, out on the road. It's, Hey, we understand it's really tough, you know, for a lot of drivers, it's not a, you don't have to find the healthiest option. You just need to pick, you know, pick a little bit of a healthier option, right? One step in the right direction, and let's just focus on taking one step and building one habit at a time. And as that, that becomes a part of your day-to-day routine, let's stack other habits on top of it. And so,
Beach:
So I, I, I, I've just, I've gotta go, first of all, I gotta get, I gotta say this. My, my favorite candy bar of all times of is Whatchamacallit. Now, I'm not saying we're not promoting,
Darin:
I'm sorry, is what?
Beach:
A Whatchamacallit.
Darin:
Oh, do they still make those?
Beach:
Yes.
Dr. Mark Manera:
I don't even think I've had one of those before.
Beach:
Well, you don't have those Mark, right? Don't have, no, there is no, no, you don't. Now, when I, when
Darin:
Mark's not a candy bar guy,
Beach:
When I think of,
Dr. Mark Manera:
No I am. That's the problem.
Beach:
When I think of a truck driver and, and working out, first thing that comes to mind is, an over the top and just working the system. Yeah. Yeah. Like one day I'm driving down the road and I'm gonna meet, you know, Bull Harley, whatever his name is, I'm fixing to put him over the top just working that, you know, boo you know, in the,
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah.
Beach:
Just, just a beast. Just to,
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah so we had a TikTok video that used that clip that went, that went viral, and we were like how how truck drivers think they need to work out what they actually do. We had clips of all of our members and stuff like that. But you know I guess the first part, we do not promote any drivers to do any health or fitness exercises while driving. Let's focus on the road and safety, I want to get that out there.
Beach:
I get it.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Um but, but
Darin:
So Mark is, is walking enough? I mean, for somebody just starting out I think, I think a lot of it is, it seems overwhelming to think I have to start an exercise program.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah, definitely.
Darin:
I don't have time. But you, you say you've got programs, I mean, as simple as walking, is it? Yeah. Is that enough? Can you out, what's the phrase? You can't out exercise a bad diet is that,
Dr. Mark Manera:
You know, what, when, what comes, what's, you know, saying what's more important, your diet or exercise, it, you, if you look at the research and you talk to a certain person, one person will make an argument, one's better, the other person will make the argument that another one's better. At the end of the day, if you want to be healthier, you need to think about both of 'em, right? And I think our culture in general, this is outside of trucking, I think this is just in America, maybe North America as a whole, when it comes to health and fitness things, it's an all or nothing approach. It's, I'm starting this diet, I'm starting this workout plan, I'm changing everything. I'm making this 180 degree flip, and I'm setting myself up to fail day one. And I'm like holding on for dear life, and then I'd fall off, right?
There's a, in the fitness industry, there's a whole term called yo-yo dieting because you're on, off, on, off, on, off. And then you end up in the same spot 20 years later. But you know, you've tried to make a change like 30 times, it's just failed after a week or two. And so what I tell drivers, and, and I think when you take that approach and you throw trucking on top of it, it makes it even more difficult because of some of those barriers that we talked about. But when I tell drivers is, let's set this up from day one because your health goes with you for the rest of your life. Let's set this up in a manner that smaller than, you know, let's, let's start a lot smaller and let's just focus on we're doing one thing. If it's going out for a daily walk for five or 10 minutes, that's an awesome step in the right direction.
And once that becomes consistent and you build up some of those smaller wins, then it starts to become a little easier to stack other things on top of it. And then, you know, six years down the road, you're still growing over time versus, you know, 20 in and out, in and out, in and out attempts later for, for the other person. Does that make sense? And so, I, I think the other, at, at the end of the day, walking's awesome, you know, if you're trying to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, you're not gonna get there by walking alone. I don't think a lot of people are trying to be Arnold Schwartzenegger. So,
Beach:
Oh, I'm, no, no, no, no.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Ok, there you go.
Beach:
I'm no, no, no, no, no. No, I am.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Ok.
Darin:
Beach got put on a walking Beach, got put on a walking exercise at the beginning of the year. They told him to walk a mile every day. And at the end of the week, his wife had to go get him. The clown was seven miles from home standing there in the cold. He needs a lot of direction.
Beach:
How many steps, how many steps around...Darin. Here's a, and I, I know, I know Doc knows this. How many steps around a truck is one?
Dr. Mark Manera:
I don't know. I, I think there is a stat on how many laps there are, it is to do a mile
Beach:
Around a standard 18 wheeler. How many step, how many st or how many laps? Sorry, not steps. How many laps?
Dr. Mark Manera:
How many for one mile? I, I don't know. I, I would be lying, I'd be pulling it out of my,
Darin:
Is it 52?
Beach:
No, Google told me it was 33.
Dr. Mark Manera:
33. Okay. Okay.
Beach:
Thirty-Three laps around it. 33,
Darin:
Is that all? I mean that doesn't seem like that much really?
Dr. Mark Manera:
And a, and a dizzy headache as well when you're
Beach:
I know, that's why I'm sitting like how many times, I mean, could that, I mean, you talking about, I want you to walk around this truck 30 some more.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah. Well, the other aspect to all of this is, you know, when I started this, I, you know, what I did, and this was a, I'm sure people listening to this in the recruiting world can empathize with me. And this story is I went deep into face trucking Facebook groups. Wow. That was a that was a culture shock for me getting as my first extent into trucking. But
Darin:
Did you need therapy?
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah, I needed therapy as well <laugh>. But I pulled out 20 different drivers from a bunch of these different groups and we did a beta test. And every single week I got on the call with them and I said, Hey, I know the health and fitness side of things. I'm learning a ton about your lifestyle and the industry. Tell me how we can make this better. And at the beginning, all we did is we had an out of the truck program.
Cause I'm like, no one, everyone wants to get outside of the truck. They wanna do some exercises, blah, blah, blah. And I had this one female driver in the program and she said, Hey, at certain locations I don't feel safe or comfortable from like a people watching me, random people watching me at the truck stop to get outside and work out. Can I work out in the back of my truck? And so that was a great example of like, man, a lot of these drivers have great ideas. I, I never would've thought of that. Or maybe I would have, it just would've taken me a lot longer. Cause I'm a little thickheaded thickheaded. But we created the Inside the Truck program, which has been actually our most popular program. A lot of drivers just like to do it in the privacy of their truck, or they're up in Canada in the winter and they don't want to get outside cuz it's negative 30 degrees. And so, yeah, I think it's, I think it's all about just trying to meet drivers where they're at and give them something that feels personalized and, you know, makes it as easy for them to get into the routine of trying to be healthier.
Darin:
Mark, are you working traditionally with individuals or, I mean, I could see this being a, something that a, that a trucking company would use as a retention tool. Like, Hey, we're gonna set you up with, with Supply Chain Fitness to get you healthy.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah, so we are our main focus is working with trucking companies and coming in and being a partner in that standpoint. Because a lot of these companies will try to do some type of wellness or health and fitness program, but it's the third, you know, third, fifth or sixth, you know, job or task for the HR safety department or maybe Recruiting and Retention. And then when things hit the fan, it falls off and, you know, it doesn't go anywhere or they don't have the capacity or expertise internally. And so we come in and we take a lot of the day-to-day processes away from that. We build out the coaching, we build out the programs. I mean, we already have that all built out, but we give them access to our app and our coaching. And we work with their drivers. And, you know, I think it's a huge opportunity for trucking companies to come in and, and be able to provide another benefit from and, and show drivers you care. And, and also from a retention standpoint, you know, there's a lot of drivers who are sitting there with temporary cards and are, you know, it's every time they see that DOT physical, it's a, it's a scary time of the year every two years or maybe every three months. And I think there's a lot of opportunities here to see a increase in retention from helping drivers be healthier.
Beach:
There was a an orientation comment that I've got from a carrier. It's probably a year and a half ago. And they were like, we're our, we have drivers who show up and they, their medical card is, you know, borderline. So we, we put 'em to a physical again to get a kind of, we, you know, fill a bit in you know, just to make sure. And it's a high DQ. And one thing they found out is the, when they showed up for orientation, the carrier was providing pizza, Coke, different things. And it's like, well, no joke. They're <laugh> blood pressures through the roof, <laugh>. It's like you're feeding them all this junk prior to like, now, go take a test. I mean, gimme a break. I can only imagine what my, my, my cholesterol level was and blood pressure was after Thanksgiving dinner can only, it was, I, whew. It was, it
Darin:
And a lot of of these guys have access to Thanksgiving dinner every day. Yeah. You're going to an all you can eat buffet. It's just, it's, it's easy. It, it, maybe you're eating one meal a day. It, it's, man, it, it'd be hard. It'd be very, very difficult. I think what you're doing, Mark, is, is, is admirable.
Beach:
Look an all you can eat sushi buffet has no, no chance with me. I'm, you're gonna,
Darin:
You like sushi?
Beach:
Oh, I love sushi. You're gonna lo you're gonna lose money.
Darin:
Oh, you meant it the other way. I get it.
Beach:
Yeah, you're gonna lose money on, on it. What's there was that,
Darin:
Do you like sushi.. Now, do you like sushi in the traditional raw fish, or do you like the avocado deep fried and with, with stuff around it?
Beach:
If it's on a buffet, I'm gonna eat it. I'm gonna be like a,
Darin:
No matter what it's sushi <laugh>
Beach:
I'm gonna be like a I'm just gonna be like a killer. Well, I'm going right in. I'm, I'm taking everything down.
Darin:
<Laugh> Country Fried Sushi.
Dr. Mark Manera:
There's nothing wrong with that, by the way. It's all in moderation. You can eat a candy bar, you can eat go to go to, you know, have a Thanksgiving dinner. It's just when it's every single day, multiple times a day, and you're just going to town and you know, you, you're drinking soda, you know, a 12 pack of soda every single day, that's where things start going really far down. And so, you know, I I'm, I'm all about going to a buffet here and there as well. And you know, you know, that's talking about stereotypes. That is literally the worst part about owning a fitness company is all of a sudden when you talk to new people or you're like at a conference or something like that, when people are drinking alcohol or, or grabs a cookie from the dessert, they're like, oh, I shouldn't be eating this because I'm in front of the fitness guy.
Like, well why not? I just ate, I just ate a bunch of cookies as well. It's okay. It's, it's all good, man.
Beach:
<Laugh>
Darin:
Well, when you meet Beach and I in person, we will be drinking bourbon. So yeah.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Good, good.
Darin:
Is there, do you have programs for, and Matt kind of alluded to it a little bit as well earlier with the, the, the stress involved inside the walls of the trucking company, the, the recruiting department where you've got people dealing with rejection over and over and over every day, goalposts that continually move. You meet your goal this week and there's a new goal on Monday. It's a high stress docile. I mean, you're not, it's not manual labor other than picking up a phone or typing. Do you have programs for the trucking companies themselves or the employees in the wall, inside the four walls? Excuse me.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah, so we've got four different like programs and we kind of say the center is, and our bread and butter is the trucking the driver program, just because that's kind of what we started with and we've grown from there as well. But, but
Darin:
Oh,
Beach:
Uhoh, he froze.
Darin:
I think we just lost Dr. Mark Manera. It was inevitable. It was our first doctor. It was a matter of time.
Beach:
Yeah, it's gone, he's gone, look at that, look at that, look at that screenshot right there. And he there,
Darin:
He's still got his hands going.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Hey, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I don't know. That's, that has not happened to me. Okay,
Beach:
I'll blame on our podcast. This never happened.
Darin:
This never happens.
Dr. Mark Manera:
I'll, I'll restart that.
Darin:
Right after we mentioned bourbon,
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah, we've got four different programs. And our bread and butter is the trucking program, for drivers, which is the one that we started with. And why we started this whole thing is because drivers just have such a different lifestyle. But like I was mentioning earlier on, is that, you know, the demands of this industry and just as a whole, trucking companies don't just have drivers. They have different divisions. And if you're really wanting to take this seriously, it needs to be treated like safety culture where, you know, everyone in the organization is speaking the same language and we're all trying to, you know, work together to, you know, make some of these changes. And so what we've developed is a program for office staff, a program for the warehouse, and also a program for the shop. And so now when we come in and we're work with a trucking company, we have a program that's built for the lifestyle of all these different divisions of your company. And so if you're in the recruiting division, yeah, we've got a program to help you exercise at home to help you, you know, bring healthier snacks to the office or, you know, build healthy meals wherever you're at. If it's, you know, the pizza party at the office, or you know, trying to feed your kids at dinner,
Beach:
Talking about feeding kids at dinner, that's a nightmare. Right Now, my kids, I dunno what it is, kids today do not eat leftovers. I mean, that was the whole thing with my parents. Like, it's three days. So example, my mom came and visit me and my family, two two days ago, she brought back some German chocolate cake. And I'm like, Ooh, let's do it. It's, it's recipe and everything else. And it dawned on me, I went, mom, did you just make this cake? She goes, no, no, no. I had it prior to Thanksgiving. She's had this in her fridge for two weeks. She was like, oh, it's still good. It's like, I'm like, no, when you leave, I'm throwing this in the trash. I mean, but still, that's how we, like, you're going to eat until every bit of it's gone. My kids won't eat leftovers. Have no, none.
Dr. Mark Manera:
My my grand, my grandpa I grew up eating all these leftovers and as well, but my grandpa we have a joke in the family. It's a, he born in Czechoslovakia went through World War II and like in that area and all this other stuff. So not, you know, food was something that, you know, he didn't have plenty of it growing up. And so it's very close to him. And so growing up when I was a kid, he used to make this thing called poison soup, we would call it, where he would just, at the end of the week, put all the leftovers into a soup pot and make a soup and just go to town. And so that is like the, I never had poison soup, but I ate plenty of leftovers, I,
Beach:
You know, you're gonna have to make it.
Dr. Mark Manera:
No <laugh>
Beach:
You gotta make some poison soup. I, I gotta see this. You, that needs to be a TikTok video
Dr. Mark Manera:
I don't see it myself.
Darin:
There you go.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah.
Beach:
I'm going to.
Darin:
So Mark, what's your upcoming schedule? Where can, are you gonna be at any conferences, trade shows, that kind of thing? In 2023?
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah, so I, I think off the top of my head, I think I'm probably gonna be at come in in March. But other than that, right now I've been going to a lot of the conferences that I'm speaking at. So if there's anyone listening who's looking to, you know, bring this topic of, you know, health and fitness into the conference and want someone to speak on it, I'd love to come over to your conference. And you know, I'm not sure right now, I'd have to look at my schedule. I, I know I'm going up into Canada in April for a conference as well. But I think that's all that's on the books at this moment, you know, with being a startup, the the conference budget is lean and you know, we go to the ones that we can get in and, and speak at.
Darin:
The biggest bang. So how can people reach you online or how, I mean, what's the best way for people to get in touch with you? Hopefully this generates some some movement towards what you do and some questions and and you know, maybe it's something we all need to take a look at in 2023 is trying to do a little bit better health-wise and promoting health-wise for the trucking industry. How do people get ahold of you?
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah, so Supply Chain Fitness.com on all social medias, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, Supply Chain Fitness, we're on there. I'm really active on LinkedIn at Dr. Mark Manera. And my email is
Beach:
Hey, we've got a, we just got a a a comment from one of our listeners that said that we've been doing a calorie counter on Dr. Mark Manera and it says that we, based on his hand motion and movement, Dr. Mark Manrara has burned 120 calories. Nice.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Let's gooooo. <Laugh>.
Beach:
Good job.
Darin:
Mark lost seven pounds during this while I ate two donuts. That's, that's impressive. <Laugh>.
Dr. Mark Manera:
I'm telling you, you guys gotta try the standup desk while podcasting. It'll be a good thing.
Darin:
Yeah, I'm, you know what, that's gonna be something I'm seriously looking for. I, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do that. I should just stand more while I work, period. Just stand.
Dr. Mark Manera:
I can't do serious. Like, I can't do like concentrated like research or like typing or doing even emails when I'm standing. I don't know what it is. That might be my ADHD I, I need to sit and just like focus, but when I'm here and talking, it's so much better.
Darin:
Well, Mark, we sure appreciate you coming on and talking with us. Matt, we appreciate you not showing him the rash you wanted him to look at.
Beach:
But this... Offline Mark, please make sure you stay offline. I gotta show you something.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Yeah, I'll, I'll, I'll send you the invoice. All right, <laugh>
Darin:
This where we cut out.
Dr. Mark Manera:
<Laugh>. All right. Thank you for having me.
Darin:
Thanks everybody. Be safe and keep on trucking.
Beach:
Thanks Mark.
Dr. Mark Manera:
Thank you.