Dr. Andrew Wells: Hello, this is Dr. Andrew Wells, my good friend, Dr. Jason green. And today we have a special episode of a laser light show. We have two amazing guests, we have Randy and Bethany Flores and we’re really looking forward to to getting a chance to interview them.
Transcript
Speakers:
Dr. Andrew Wells
Dr. Chad Woolner
Randy Flores
Bethany Flores
Dr. Chad Woolner: Growing up in Portland, Oregon, I used to love going to laser light shows at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. They would put on these amazing light shows with incredible designs synced up to some of my favorite music. From the Beatles to Pink Floyd to Jimi Hendrix and Metallica; they were awesome. Little did I know then that lasers would have such a profound effect on my life decades later. As a chiropractic physician, I have seen first-hand just how powerful laser therapy is in helping patients struggling with a wide range of health problems. As the leader in laser therapy, Erchonia has pioneered the field in obtaining 20 of the 23 total FDA clearances for therapeutic application of lasers. On this podcast, we’ll explore the science and technology and physiology behind what makes these tools so powerful. Join me as we explore low level laser therapy. I’m Dr. Chad Woolner along with my good friend Dr. Andrew Wells and welcome to The Laser Light Show.
Dr. Andrew Wells: Hey, everyone! Welcome to the laser light show. Today, we’re thrilled to have two amazing guests for an interview we’ve been eagerly anticipating. Bethany, Randy, welcome to the show.
Randy Flores: Thanks for having us.
Bethany Flores: Thank you.
Dr. Andrew Wells: This is a special episode because both of you have incredibly interesting and admirable jobs. I believe a lot of people will want to listen to this one. If you don’t mind, could you give us a bit of background on who you are and what you do? Bethany, ladies first, we’ll be gentlemen.
Bethany Flores: Well, first of all, this is our first podcast together, so that’s pretty cool and exciting.
Randy Flores: Yeah, we’ve done separate podcasts before, but this is our first joint one. Thanks for having us.
Dr. Jason Green: Yeah, thanks for spending time with us. You guys play off each other naturally, as we noticed in our pre-show conversation. I’m excited to see you bounce off each other. Bethany, go ahead.
Bethany Flores: Yeah, so I grew up doing gymnastics competitively from the age of five to 12. Initially, I hurt my back at 12, which was devastating because gymnastics was my life. I followed the doctor’s advice to be a couch potato for a year, but then, against their recommendation, I got into long-distance running, triathlons, obstacle course racing, bodybuilding, and finally, CrossFit. Despite facing injuries and back pain, I’ve been a professional CrossFit athlete for the last seven years. It’s been a wild ride, but I’m proud to say I make a living doing what I love. I grew up in Austin, Texas, and I’m just a wild child at heart, trying to find my place in this world.
Randy Flores: That was the most abbreviated version. Usually, there are more details, but well done on getting through it quickly. My story is also usually longer, but I’ll give you the short version. We both grew up in Austin, Texas, although we didn’t know each other when we were younger. We randomly met at a strength and conditioning conference in South Carolina. I got introduced to sports in middle school, even though neither of my parents played. My focus on academics was emphasized by my dad, but I ended up joining the football team because my friends were into it. I played through high school and college but realized a professional sports career wasn’t in the cards for me. However, my passion for understanding how the human body works and adapts to exercise led me to a career in strength and conditioning. I’ve worked with various sports teams at different universities, and currently, I’m the strength and conditioning coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. Bethany and I have been married for a little over a year now.
Bethany Flores: Yeah, our anniversary just passed, and I had a friend remind me. It’s close to my birthday, so that tends to take the focus.
Randy Flores: I’m just as bad at remembering those dates. It falls close to her birthday, so that usually takes precedence.
Bethany Flores: Especially turning 30. Oh, gosh.
Dr. Andrew Wells: You know, I find that like I and my wife, same thing once we like skipped like, holy cow. It’s our anniversary. And what I found I’ve known friends and couples, that same thing, and it usually means you’re doing a lot of really cool stuff. And like same for us. We were just busy, like head down working doing things and it’s not that my wife and I don’t love each other, but it was like we got stuff to do. And especially for you guys, you guys are working with number one. Some of the best athletes in the world or as in Bethany’s case, one of the best athletes in the world. And like that, that takes a different level of focus that occasion and commitment to what you’re doing. And sometimes things like that kind of slide, slide, slide under the radar, it’s like, I can tell you guys are laughing about it. And clearly you love each other very much. It’s funny, it’s funny how the world works that way when you’re like, laser-focused on getting a job done. And so congrats on not remembering your anniversary.
Bethany Flores: One of many, I’m sure. But I want to say I’m gonna brag on us for a second, I think to add on to that. Our goal when we got together was to do as much work with each other as possible. So whether it’s just like questions with each other devotion, and I feel like that goes way far and beyond just celebrating a day because you’re celebrating, you know, every day once a week, you know, so it adds up really quickly.
Randy Flores: Yeah, we don’t have like a strict schedule with that stuff. But we try to at least once every two weeks or so it obviously varies with schedule, what conversations she might have going on, or if I’m traveling some months, I’m gone, you know, 20 plus days out of the month, depending on the NBA schedule. But we’ll still try to do things over the phone, whether it’s like, like she mentioned, question books or their little couple’s devotional books that we use, and I feel like it allows us to maybe answer some questions that don’t get brought up otherwise in relationships sometimes. And I feel like this has happened to some other couples that we know is, you know, years down the road, they might be married, or they might be together for years, but simple things like how do we manage our finances? Or what do we think about, you know, XY and Z that, you know, get brought up by these books, and it ends up being an hour conversation just off of one question, that might not even actually be related to the question, but you just take it in a completely different direction. But it’s still like, super productive to keep things because we’ve been together, about four years total. Yeah. So it keeps it like fresh, and it keeps us continually learning about each other and
Bethany Flores: Accountable, just accountable.
Dr. Andrew Wells: Yeah, you know, it’s it’s exceptionally mature and profound of you guys, especially at the young ages that you are to have that mentality towards each other and towards marriage. You know, because a lot of times it takes marriage going through a trauma to get to that level. And those who have discipline and actually focus on building their marriage working on their marriage the entire time, rather than just in their marriage are the ones that have really, really special marriages. And so, you know, my own story with that is my wife and I, we do we do the same thing. And I’m sharing with you guys earlier for young kids, 1210, eight, and six. And the reason that we’re able to keep the flame the way that it is because we focus on each other. And I think that that’s really important to set that time aside every single week, every single other week, or whatever it may be, as long as there’s consistency and schedule, and you stick to it. And Bethany, you’re exactly right. Accountability. That’s massive. And so our story is such that and not to go off sideways here. But our story is such that we go yeah, we go as far as that, like family meetings, and we’re drilling down on business stuff, and marriage stuff and real estate, everything else. And so kudos for you guys for getting out ahead of that. So awesome. You know, one of the things that I wanted to ask you guys just on the on the relationship side is obviously you guys. You’re both into physical fitness, rehabilitation performance, massive performance at the highest level. How much of that? Do you get done with it throughout the end of the day, let’s say you work the nine to five, which you don’t work nine to five, none of us do. But that being said, Is that something you guys want to talk about when you get home? So when you get home and you’re having these conversations at night? Are you sharing, hey, this is the latest recovery strategy I learned or the most performance-based strategy I learned? And I want to segue this into lasers here shortly. But I just wanted to get a feel for is it something that at the end of the day, you come home and you’re burnt out on that subject matter? And just like I’m done with it, I need to sit here and just relax and not think about anything? Are you guys excited to talk about that with one another?
Bethany Flores: I’d say it’s like half and half. Like I think we’re both into physical fitness and we actually have a passion for it. So it’s always a topic of discussion. But that’s why we do like the question book too because it gets us out of our comfort zone of just talking about workout stuff and rehab, whatever. And talking about other subjects, or you know, like, well, we’re normal people we flip on the TV and we’ll binge-watch whatever show we’re gonna watch. But I think it’s always like we always talk about it. I don’t think it’s not a topic of discussion that happens on a day-to-day basis throughout our day, but that’s why I forced ourselves into other conversations.
Randy Flores: I would agree with that, I think. I don’t know, I think it’s something my mind always goes towards. Because like, for I mean, for both of us, it’s a huge passion of ours. So like, even if we spend an hour or so, like disconnected from sport or training or anything, I feel like it always ends up coming back later, you know, like, mainly, mainly, I think the conversation kind of steers towards like, things she can do or like, in the case of the laser like that coming up, hey, this might be really good for you, or, or what do you think of, you know, changing something in your training to this, like, it’s so it’s consistently a topic that’s coming up every single day, like so? Basically, the answer that when we get home, like that kind of mindset, at least for me, when I get home continues, like I don’t just completely disconnect from work. I think the part maybe I disconnect from was maybe the more of like, you know, I don’t want to come home and always talk about players or coaches or things that are going on there. But from like a training perspective, I feel like that’s something that stays on my mind all the time. And it might not even be like just training or you know, strength or it might be like something that’s coming to mind right now as I am about to finish Peter as he is booked out live. So maybe it’s more like, you know, things for longevity or things that she’s actually forced me to do a little bit more, which is like, you know, cold shower in the morning kind of stuff or like, we’re probably going to buy a plunge and that kind of stuff that puts me out of my comfort zone. But it’s like, I think that’s how we’re both wired. Like, she likes doing the mouth tape at night. So now I do that, too. She’s got the, you know, she prioritizes sleep. So she’s got the, the eye covers that, like it’s a whole thing when she goes to bed. So it’s like, I feel like it’s just a part of our lives at this point.
Dr. Jason Green: Well, that’s it. It’s both to your worlds, right. It’s it’s performance of hormones of others. And so that’s exciting. We’re big into the biohacking realm as well. Andrew and myself both have ice barrels. I’ve been in it twice today. I love it. So cold immersion and biohacking. We’re all for that. And staying there on that topic. I’m curious. And I think we’ll start with you, Bethany. I’m curious because you shared your journey about your injury and injury recovery and how that’s transformed throughout the years. I’m curious when you were first introduced to laser therapy and what kind of impact at that time it had on you?
Bethany Flores: Yeah, you know, I think I’m gonna let Randy start only because he’s the one that introduced it to me because I had no idea about any of this stuff other than like red light therapy, which I think is completely different than this low light level, uh, light laser, I guess. So I’m gonna let him start because he’s the one that introduced it to me.
Randy Flores: Well, I don’t want to either you guys are the experts in the realm of low-level laser therapy. So I’ll leave it to you to maybe kind of explain how it works and what it does. I’m sure many of your listeners already are familiar with that. But really, you know, Erchonia came in and kind of was presenting their low-level lasers to our staff. And I was, you know, it was more so kind of on our medical staffs like side, but just me being who I am, I wanted to go over to listen in and see like, oh, maybe this can be applicable, though, to what we do. Or, you know, if somebody is rehabbing, can it help speed up the process? Like all that stuff is interconnected. And like, you know, training is part of the rehab process in my mind, and I think our entire staffs mind. So, you know, Dr. Kurt Gare, that somebody who we’ve worked with a little bit and she’s actually gone to see him a couple of times to get some laser therapy done. He was presenting along with Joseph, is it Zapolsky? Is that how you say the last name? Yeah. Yeah, so that they came in and did a presentation for our staff and actually did a little bit of therapy on some of us some test, retest, retest kind of stuff. And, as with anything, like, you’re not going to see an overnight change, and I think that’s the case in any kind of therapy, any kind of diet, any kind of training intervention, like so there wasn’t this immediate, like, Oh, this is profound, like, oh, I put this laser on my knee and it’s all of a sudden 100% But I did feel like there was is a noticeable like, difference whether it was placebo or not on myself, just doing kind of a retest, or test retest after the laser therapy, and, you know, they were talking about some different case studies of people that they helped, whether it was, you know, and I think this was more So Kurt gare, being in the area, talking about a UFC guy that he worked with, you know, some different athletes in the area, and one that stood out to me, was some low back pain that Danica Patrick had that he, I don’t think he directly worked with her. But he showed just a case study of how she came back from some low level or some low back pain. So kind of at the end of this, I was like, well, we might have a perfect case study for you to kind of do with somebody directly related to our staff, even though she’s not on our staff at somebody I can kind of see, you know, okay, she’s doing it every day, she’s doing this at the cadence you want we’re doing the things you want. And if you know anything about Bethany, you know that wants she does something or wants she feels like something works. Or if she believes in something, she’s gonna go 100% All in. So you can guarantee that she’s going to do it as prescribed. So I asked them, well, like, can we have a handheld device and like, test it on her, she has a competition coming up, and it’s eight weeks down the road. So it makes perfect sense. Like her her low back was in a kind of a state of agility? Yeah, it was, you know, it wasn’t the worst it had been to where she was kind of in a debilitated state where she couldn’t train at all. But it was definitely in a in a spot where she had to be very, very careful and selective on how much you she actually put mechanical stress on it. But then even the overall total volume throughout the week. So I asked him, like, Can we can we try it on her. And they felt that was a great idea. Especially given that, you know, she’s at the elite. It’s not just somebody that’s going to CrossFit classes, she’s at the elite level, she’s been to the games, this was her sixth time. So it’s somebody that’s had demonstrated success had a setback, and then you know, is looking for any, any means necessary to try to get her back to that level. So going into that meeting, I didn’t have like, I had seen low-level laser therapy before, but I wasn’t sold like we didn’t, we don’t currently have it at the Lakers facility. So it’s not something I’ve been around, nor do I completely understand the science, like at the molecular level, I know, there’s a few different potential mechanisms for why it might work. Which of those are the most important, I’m unsure of to be completely transparent at this point, but to me, I kind of like, almost like BFR blood flow restriction, like that’s, that’s something that completely has a place in performance and has been demonstrated to be effective, but there are several different mechanisms for why it might be effective. That’s kind of how I view laser therapy as well. You know, and maybe, you know, maybe you guys can shed some light on that for us. But all I know is, if it if it works, I don’t personally care why it works. Like I would love to learn more. But if there’s even a one to 2% difference on her level of pain, or her level of being able to perform or any other athlete that I work with, like then that’s enough for me.
Bethany Flores: I can kind of share my background. So like I was kind of saying at the beginning, I initially heard it when I was 12 and went through a whole series of doctors for like a whole year. Sadly, at 12 years old, which I feel like a 12 year old shouldn’t have to go through that. Did Airrosti which, you know, whatever. They said that of course they could fix me and then after a couple of visits are like uh, we can’t fix you. Sorry.
Randy Flores: Are you guys familiar with Airrosti?
Dr. Andrew Wells: We just interviewed them like a week ago. It was actually on a different we have two podcasts was a different podcast.
Bethany Flores: Yes, I did Airrosti he sent me off to a different doctor and it was like a series of eight different doctors and a year ending with steroid shots in my SI joint and piriformis and that doctor, it was just basically like, I don’t really tell people to do this, but it seemed you to be a couch potato for a year and I’m like, do it 12 years old, like I went from 36 hours a week of training to zero and just been in constant pain my back going out on me once a month, and it was just simple things like picking a sock off the ground, and I was just in immense amount of pain at 12 years old. So, kind of moving forward got out of pain, kind of sorta, I would still kind of hurt me a little bit, but I just got into running and that seemed to be okay with a long distance running. And if I tried any sprinting it hurt, but long distance was fine. And then that that’s what got me into off school horse racing, and then triathlons. And that seemed to be okay. And then bodybuilding. And then finally CrossFit. And when I got into CrossFit is when I started feeling the pain again. And that would make sense because you’re doing everything, you have weightlifting, I never put personally a barbell on my back until a CrossFit I didn’t know what the weightlifting movements were. So I didn’t know what snatch was clean and jerk all that. And so everything was completely new. But that also brought new back pain, and kind of sent me back to who I was when I was 12. Without going out on me all the time. And just sent me through a series of doctors through my CrossFit career, and everything I felt was like a band-aid fix. So the most relief of Phil was acupuncture. And I think it’s just because there was like a psychological part of getting need to relax and maybe get into like a parasympathetic state, I don’t know. So I think there as much as it is physical, it’s very psychological, when you have chronic back pain for 17 plus years, or at least that’s what I believe. So, yeah, up until this year, working with a certain doctor here, I never had any relief, back pain, like livelihood changing. So he introduced me to a doctor that does PRI. And I think just his, like, I don’t understand the full concept. But the concept that I got from it is, you know, I’m living basically in a sympathetic state just because of the way I stand. So fight or flight constantly have a very arched back. So it’s just putting a lot of pressure back there. Which obviously causes bulging discs, which is what I have bulging discs and l four and l five arthritis through the spine osteophytes that have formed throughout the spine, just because the disc has stayed out so long. So yeah, just living in a sympathetic state with being in the gym, but also outside the gym. So of course, I was going to be in constant pain. And then this past year and 2022 I was actually out for the full season, because my back decided to go on FULL STRIKE mode. And I honestly thought last year that my career was completely done that I was going to have to quit CrossFit and figure out something else to do with my life. But then we were introduced to the PRI person and he’s been amazing just getting me to the point where I feel like I’m in control of getting out of pain for the first time doesn’t mean that I’m, you know, pain-free for the rest of my life, but I definitely have moments where I can train which is amazing. And then I was introduced to the laser this past year as well, and I think that combination there’s something about for me personally there’s a secret sauce to it getting me out of a sympathetic state into a parasympathetic state but then also with the laser with I don’t it’s just like Randy, I don’t know the full understanding of how it works but I’m always looking for a one or 2% noticeable difference in my career so however I can get out of pain I will take it so that combo right there has been been a good combo for me so far.
Dr. Andrew Wells: You know, it’s interesting how we all came into Erchonia’s world from different perspectives. Randy, especially you, being pitched on various techniques, therapies, modalities, and equipment technology. Bethenny, in the CrossFit world, surrounded by a plethora of offerings targeting athletes. We, too, find ourselves navigating through a sea of options. About two years ago, we attended a major health conference in Las Vegas, amidst numerous healthcare providers and vendors. Walking through the vendor hall was overwhelming, with everyone claiming to have a magic cure. We were there to learn and, being podcast hosts teaching functional medicine, we approached vendors with a healthy dose of skepticism. Our focus is on reversing chronic diseases, addressing hormone imbalances, and dealing with issues like sympathetic-parasympathetic imbalance prevalent in the US. Most people, not just elite athletes, experience this imbalance, leading to various health issues.During the conference, we interviewed a representative from Erchonia, not expecting much. As Penny explained Erchonia’s research and FDA clearances for diverse conditions beyond musculoskeletal pain, my perspective shifted. I realized low-level lasers could impact any cell with mitochondria, including those in the brain and gut. Despite not being FDA cleared for brain use, practitioners like Dr. Gary Kirk have found success. This revelation left me excited about the possibilities in functional medicine. After extensive research, we approached Erchonia the next day, offering to host a podcast for them. Surprisingly, they were open to the idea, as they had considered starting one themselves. Thus, our podcast journey began, featuring incredible stories of practitioners using lasers for various purposes, from veterinarians to chiropractors.
Now, sitting before two individuals using lasers for personal use, I appreciate the experimental approach you’ve taken as “guinea pigs.” It’s heartening to hear that this year has been positive for you, despite lingering injuries from previous years.
Bethany Flores: This year, for me specifically, was just like, I want to focus on health and wellness. In the past, I was so abusive to my body and my mind. I haven’t competed in the last two years because in 2021, when I got to the CrossFit Games, I got COVID, so I couldn’t compete. Two days before, I was putting it out there. So, we ended up staying in an Airbnb.
Randy Flores: Yep, shriveled up in a bed. It sucked too because I actually felt the most fit I had felt in my career. It was a bummer not to compete. Then, of course, the following year, my back decided to go out during a portion of the CrossFit season. In CrossFit, if you don’t do a part of the season, you’re out for the whole season. That’s what happened to me, unfortunately.
Randy Flores: I don’t know if y’all are familiar with the setup, and it seems to change every year. But with CrossFit, there’s a qualifying event in February called the open. It’s worldwide, and you submit videos. They do different workouts for weeks one, two, and three. Then they take the top 10%, and you move on to quarterfinals a few months later. If you miss any stage, for example, the open, you miss the entire season. That’s what happened to her in 2022. She was at the quarterfinal stage, which, up to that point, she had no problem getting past. But she had to sit out a whole year because her back went out warming up for one of those events.
Dr. Jason Green: So, Bethany, has this year been a healthy one for you?
Bethany Flores: I wouldn’t say it was healthy, but I made it through. That was the goal. I wanted to make it to the CrossFit Games and compete again. It’s had its ups and downs, and I’ve had to hold back the entire year, putting my health and wellness in front of performance and competing. It takes a lot of self-control. The last two years not competing put things in perspective. I’m more than an athlete, so what else am I here on this earth to do? It allowed me to start a whole self-growth journey, build self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-respect. That’s why I think I was able to make it through the season.
Dr. Jason Green: What were some core strategies you used for recovery to get to that level? Did laser therapy play a role, or were there other prevalent recovery strategies you used?
Bethany Flores: I did a lot of bodybuilding this year, said no to a lot of things, and had to perform on the floor both with semifinals in May and the CrossFit Games. It was scary competing like that, but it was cool to compete with the little that I had.
Bethany Flores: I think with anything, it’s never one variable, but it’s always multiple. And I wasn’t introduced to the laser until the last half of the season. So I didn’t have it from basically January till May. Would you say May or March or June? Yeah.
Randy Flores: We didn’t get it until late June.
Bethany Flores: Yeah. So I had to figure it out. That’s why I started working with the PRI doctor about last year at this time, and slowly started seeing changes with that. But that takes a ton of effort and a ton of work because he’s not doing manual work on you. He’s giving you homework, and it’s up to you how much you want to do. I’m obsessed and crazy, with OCD tendencies. Once I started feeling a little relief, I was like, Okay, I’m hammering this. So that was a big thing. And then I think a big thing this year, too, was, like I said earlier talking about sympathetic and parasympathetic state, finding ways to get myself into a parasympathetic state as quickly as possible, in the middle of training sometimes, and definitely after training. So simple things like putting your feet up on a bench and just laying on your back and just hanging out there. I introduced meditation, which I had never done before. And doing that twice a day. I’d always been into rehab stuff, like foam rolling, and all of that is definitely a part of my routine every single day. But I don’t think that played a huge role in getting me through this year. I would definitely say just working on the parasympathetic state was the biggest thing until adding in the laser.
Dr. Jason Green: You know, it’s interesting because maybe I’m wrong here. But I would assume that Randy’s role as the strength and conditioning coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, right? On that team, I would assume that what you did, Bethany, is very different than what the professional athletes are doing in that realm. Maybe they’re not putting their feet up on the bench. Maybe they are focusing on sympathetic and parasympathetic. But Randy, if you don’t mind speaking to kind of what that team does for performance and recovery, and perhaps I know your style, you guys are still new in this relationship with Erchonia and low-level laser therapy. But do you think that has a place? Or maybe it already has a place? And what does that look like?
Randy Flores: Yeah, so if you ever have or, in the future, work with NBA guys, you’ll know that there’s just a wide, and this is just athletes, in general, there’s a wide spectrum of the different personalities and the different types of humans that you will come across. Some of those can be very much like her, where it’s all or nothing, or once I find something that works, I’m going to do it as consistently as possible. And they’re very detail-oriented. They want to know why they’re doing certain things, they want to know how it works, you know, this, that, and the other. So that would be like her end of the spectrum, which I find is very common with individual sports, like golfers, tennis players, or track and field athletes, like a baseball pitcher. Typically, they’re very detailed, most of the time, not all the time. And then in team sports, basketball, you know, football, you get those less detailed guys, depending on the position. I feel like you get those less detailed guys, there’s less structured guys, those guys that kind of fly by the seat of their pants. That can be.
Bethany Flores: That was me up until two years ago.
Randy Flores: So I think what you use with certain people can even differ in the setting, you know, we’re just talking about our team and NBA guys. So I think like your very detailed guys or guys that have a set routine and want some consistency, I think, you know, we don’t have low-level lasers yet. But I think that’s something we’re going to get. And I think those guys would be very into it along with some of the other things that she does, which some of our guys do now, to an extent, is some PRI-type breath work and thinking about ribcage orientation versus the pelvis and things that are a little bit more granular than some of the other larger movements you might do. So I think it depends on the athlete. But yeah, I’d say there are similarities between things that our guys do and she does. But I think for her, it’s like, you know, 10 times what some of those guys might do. Like I think some of those guys do cold showers and do mouth tape and do that stuff. But it’s not going to be everybody. You know, it varies quite a bit at that level.
Bethany Flores: Yeah, I’d say it varies too. Like, I mean, I would say in every sport, even in CrossFit, like, I was that type of person for the first five years of my career where I was just flying by the seat of my pants and just hoping for the best and constantly abusing my body. And hey, it worked. Got me to the games five times in a row. So why would I change anything? And so I think the last two years happening the way that they did was on purpose. I believe that for myself. I think everything happens for a reason. And it allowed me to stop myself in my tracks and kind of get to the bottom of myself and fix some things that not only helped me in my CrossFit career but that’ll help me as a future wife, future mom, and just being a better type of myself as a person. So yeah.
Randy Flores: When I read it with a laser specifically, like in our setting, for me, I feel like all of our guys get on the table and do something like recovery-wise, where they might do some type of activation or some type of manipulation when it comes to mobility pre-workout. So at some point, all of them are getting on the table, and it might be post-workout, and they might be getting a massage. So for something like the laser, I don’t see a reason that everybody couldn’t use it, you know what I mean? Because it can complement some of the other things they’re doing. Maybe they’re on the table getting shockwave or they’re getting, I don’t know, dry needling done or something else. But in the meantime, that laser can be on some other point of their body or even on the point, you know, of focus at that time. So it’s kind of like, if it works, why not do it at the same time, you know, and it becomes very, very efficient that way. So I definitely see even with those guys that aren’t going to do it on their own or aren’t going to want to take it into a performance setting, why not have it on them while they’re already getting something else done.
Dr. Andrew Wells
you look at doctors who are who have been using lasers for a long time are really knowledgeable in their area of expertise. They call it stacking, so they’ll stack lasers with with different therapies that they’re doing. And to your point, Randy, yeah, like it’s really really easy to stack lasers on pretty much anything, you can sit in a in a in a cold plunge with a laser on your head. We’ve seen Doc’s in the in the neurological space. So like Danica Patrick, for example, we had her on on our podcast in the in the office where she gets, she sees her doc, and doing actual, like, agility type movements like quick, quick hand motions, while lasering the certain aspects of the brain has a performance aspect to it. And so, yeah, lasers are unique in the fact that you can literally add them to any other therapy that you’re doing to enhance the therapy, or just alone, you can just use lasers alone and shine it on a certain part of the body that has a physiological effect. So it’s, yeah, it’s a unique to unique modality and that in that respect, it ties in with every other thing that you do. Your normal routines. And yeah,
Dr. Jason Green: I was just gonna say, I’m just curious to see for you guys and for your athletes. I’m curious to see what you, what, what are going to be the most common stacks that you do. And I think people are going to be curious to know that, right? Because, you know, in our world and in addition to stacking to the public-facing community, we call it enhancements, right? So you might have a massage that’s enhanced with laser, or you might have one modality that’s enhanced with a laser in some capacity. And that resonates well with patients. They understand that language and understand that verbiage. I think athletes will as well. It’s about what energies you guys are going to see the most value out of when you’re really taking a tissue and you’re extending it out as much as possible doing some sort of dynamic or static stretch shining laser on there getting that molecular benefit to it is going to be something I’m curious about because there’s going to be a lot more emerging research that comes out in time and kind of permeate your applications to it. And I’m curious to see what you guys are going ahead with in time as soon as you guys get your hands on it more consistently.
Dr. Andrew Wells: and I believe I may be wrong on this. I believe low-level laser therapy is the most researched modality in history. I think I may be wrong on that. So someone may call me out and fact-check me on this, but I think if you do like a PubMed search, there are over like 12,000 research articles on the use of low-level laser therapy for all kinds of different things. And so yeah, then the research and it’s growing. I think it’s also growing faster than any other modality as well. It’s pretty fascinating.
Bethany Flores: Yeah, be intrigued. Yeah, for me, I definitely stacked it. I stacked it when I meditated in the morning and at night. And then definitely with the PRI exercises. I would stack it with that so it was pretty interesting.
Randy Flores: Yeah, and at the games like even in the back in the warm-up area, she was sure it looks pretty crazy to like some other athletes back there, and definitely got some looks but while she’s in different poses or doing some of her PRI stuff or doing like, what’s that balloon called that you have? The ISO panic? Yeah, just different things to get her props. I had the laser honor in the back. So I’m sure that was a sight to see for some other people, which I’m not surprised. Most notably some of the people that are on the other end of the spectrum, like there were a few athletes that actually did fairly well. But there’s one girl I won’t name specifically, but she didn’t seem to warm up at all, which is crazy to me. But insane. Yeah, I can’t do that. Anyway, but yeah, so we would, she would stack it on her own, like set it on something in the morning, or if I wasn’t here, like just day to day, multiple times a day. And then like, free of that. Or even back in the hotel room. whenever she’s recovering. I was holding it. And just kind of scanning different areas of her spine.
Dr. Andrew Wells: So what does, what does the next year look like for you guys?
Bethany Flores: Do it all over again, basically, yeah. And it’s a long season for both of us. But it’s actually kind of cool are our seasons lined up pretty well because this month, particularly every year is usually off for both of us. And then it’s just like back to the grind in September for the rest of the love and months of the year. So yeah, my goal, our goal, probably compete for another two or three years. And then we talked about, you know, having a family. So hopefully, we get to do that if it works out. And then I am always a competitor at heart. So hopefully, I get to do some type of competitive thing the rest of my life, whether it’s CrossFit or something else, but it’s been very enjoyable to do CrossFit because it’s the thing closest to gymnastics for me. And I think that’s why I switched to so many sports until I found CrossFit because I was like yeah, I like it. But there was always a but but with CrossFit there’s not a but because you get everything in just a big huge melting pot. So yeah, for me it’s hopefully compete for another couple of years and then have some little mini Randy’s get back into competing. Hopefully, there’s been a lot of CrossFit athletes that have had children and then competed again. So it’s really cool.
Dr. Andrew Wells: I wanted to ask you this question I came across an interview of Randy, and you were talking about, you know, back in I think it was 2020 in the games and COVID. And Randy said something in the interview was really smart. It was like there’s a purpose behind this. We don’t know what it is. And it sucks when you’re in that moment where you’re looking working towards something all of a sudden, like, your dream kind of gets shattered. But it’s so it’s been a few years since that has that kind of like sometimes you don’t have the answer of like, what’s the purpose? Why is this happening? It has that have you started to figure out what that is yet? Is that has that become more clear?
Bethany Flores: Yes, it’s just a self-growth journey, for sure. There was a lot of low self-esteem and low self-respect for myself. But I think through the last few years, I’ve just really grown as a person. And that’s always like a fork in the road decision when things like that happen, like you can either just give up and be like, well, this isn’t for me. Or you can decide be like no, like, there’s always something that you can do. So I definitely got to work on the mental side the last couple of years, which was very necessary, not only for my career but just in life in general. And he’s kind of seen me blossom as a person. So it’s been really cool. And I’m definitely not done growing. There’s a lot more to go. But I think through this process of the last two or three years, it’s just allowed me to blossom as a person. And honestly, I think if I didn’t go through the last two years, I wouldn’t have made it through the season this year. So that was really cool to respect myself and say no to a lot of things in the gym and still be able to compete at the highest level. You guys are gonna be really good parents.
Randy Flores: Yeah, we’ll see. We’ll see. Yeah.
Bethany Flores: What about you? What’s what’s next for you? These next couple
Randy Flores: Well, I guess I’ll be a dad and three years.
Bethany Flores: You’re already a dog dad.
Randy Flores: Oh, well. Yeah. Have a dog for a creature dies. Bella does just 80% of the day. Yeah. Yeah. So we’re a dog parents right now. Yeah, training I think just continue to ride this this NBA lifestyle until, you know, kids come around I do think we’ve kind of talked about that it’s gonna be harder whenever just with the travel schedule. And there are definitely people that do it. You know, have kids but being on the road for 40 Something games, the years going to be tough. So I guess we’ll cross that bridge whenever we get there. But until then, just continue to to ride this NBA wave. And I feel like I’m in a good spot. I’m in an organization that I want to be in an area that we want to be at. I’ll be at La I’m not sure. Is the ideal place to raise kids? I don’t know.
Dr. Andrew Wells: No comment.
Randy Flores: So yeah, I mean, until then, I think I’m pretty set on what I’m doing where I’m at. And really enjoying it. It’s definitely like, not only has it been way different every year, but it’s different, like every single day is a different challenge, a different puzzle piece or puzzle to figure out as far not even just from the training aspect, but just the managing personalities, the consistently changing roster that you get the coaching staff has been different from year to year. Even the front office, a little bit has changed. So there’s definitely always something to navigate, but it is, for the most part, fun. Obviously, there are difficult days. But that’s any profession, I think so. Yeah, I’ll keep this going. We’ve talked about maybe some projects for ourselves down the road. I know she wants to write a book at some point and has already kind of just started brainstorming on that. And I think that’s something that’s come out of this journey over the last two years for her as it’s given her more time to kind of put her thoughts on paper. And, you know, I don’t think that’s organized yet. But you know, there’s no, there’s no set due date for that. So I think something she’s going to continue to work on. And then we’ve talked about together putting out programming and stuff like that. I think a lot of people do online programming, but we want to kind of do something a little bit different, hopefully. So I think that’s kind of the more near future. But I think both of us recognize that, oh, I’ll be it. We have really cool professions. She’s a professional athlete, and I work with, you know, professional athletes. I think we both feel like we have a higher purpose. And we’re still consistently trying to discover that. So we don’t have the answer to like, what long term might look like for us, but we’re going to continue to grow and see where it takes us. Yeah.
Bethany Flores: It’s a good answer. Yeah, I think we always just want more for ourselves. And it’s like, enjoy what you do have and be proud of what you are doing. But I don’t think the train stops for us. So it’s just,
Dr. Andrew Wells: I love this. Yeah.
Dr. Jason Green: Spoken like true athletes too, right? I totally love that. And it’s most important to, you know, one of the things that was most important for me in my journey is just stopping to enjoy the journey. Right? Yeah. Personation. And so, you know, it’s not about the next thing. You guys are in really special places in your life, places that then, you know, 99.9% of people don’t ever get to. And so enjoy that ride while it lasts. And I’m excited to watch both of your stories blossom for years to come. Yeah.
Bethany Flores: Thank you. Thanks. Appreciate that.
Dr. Andrew Wells: Of course, of course. Well, thanks, guys for being on the podcast. This is a really fun interview. And I know that the listeners will have a lot of people listen to this episode. And I think you’ll get a lot from your journey. And I love, you know, I think if we were to kind of sum up this episode, the word I think Bethany, you said, is growth mindset, really kind of encapsulates what we’re talking about. And yeah, I wish you guys the best. Your career at the Lakers, your career, Bethany as an athlete. You guys are doing some amazing things. And it’s I will continue to follow you guys. Now that I know you and I’ll be curious to see where this world takes you guys, and no doubt it’ll go somewhere really nice.
Randy Flores: Yeah. Yeah. Thank you guys so much for having us. Thanks for being on we appreciate Awesome. So for everyone listening, thank you guys so much for listening. If you found this episode valuable, please share it with somebody that can also get value from it. And we look forward to speaking with you on the next episode. Thanks, guys.
Dr. Chad Woolner: Thanks for listening to the Laser Light Show. Be sure to subscribe and give us a review. If you’re interested in learning more about our Erchonia lasers, just head on over to erchonia.com There you’ll find a ton of useful resources including research news and leads to upcoming live events, as well as our Erchonia’s community where you can access for free additional resources including advanced training and business tools. Again, thanks for listening and we will catch you on the next episode.
About The Guest(s):
Bethany Flores: Former professional CrossFit athlete with a background in gymnastics and a passion for fitness and overcoming injuries.
Randy Flores: Strength and conditioning coach for the Los Angeles Lakers with a background in sports and a passion for training and helping athletes reach their full potential.
Summary:
Bethany and Randy Flores, a power couple in the fitness and sports industry, share their backgrounds and how they met. Bethany, a former professional CrossFit athlete, overcame a back injury and pursued various sports and fitness activities. Randy, a strength and conditioning coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, developed a passion for training and helping athletes while growing up. They emphasize the importance of working together and staying connected in their relationship, even amidst their busy schedules.
Key Takeaways:
Bethany’s journey from competitive gymnastics to becoming a professional CrossFit athlete.
Randy’s introduction to sports and his passion for training and helping athletes.
The couple’s commitment to working together and staying connected in their relationship.
Quotes:
“I grew up doing gymnastics competitively… I now have been a professional CrossFit athlete the last seven years.” – Bethany Flores
“I grew passionate for just gaining an understanding on how the human body worked, how it adapted to exercise, and how I could maybe train others to adapt in a positive way, too.” – Randy Flores
“Our goal when we got together was to do as much work with each other as possible… we’re celebrating every day, once a week, so it adds up really quickly.” – Bethany Flores
“It keeps us continually learning about each other and accountable.” – Randy Flores
