Finding Relief: An Interview with MedZone

All right.

Hey, everybody, what's going on? This is a special, special episode, special interview right now, chatting with Joe Freeman over at Medzone. Joe, how is it going?

You know, it is a beautiful day in Kansas City. Everybody's having a good time. We have no complaints. Wake up on the right side of the grass every morning and it's pretty simple.

Right on. I love it. So a lot of people probably were introduced to your product either, you know, they've seen it, you know, advertised on some of the, some of the air travel lately. I know you guys have been doing a bunch, bunch of events, doing a great job with that. Obviously you came on, we chatted on the podcast a little while back, but I thought it'd be good to get a, to get a follow up in chat a little bit more about the products line, what you guys are up to and just get docs acquainted with what I think is definitely one of the top products on the market. And hey, showcase what you guys are up to, open some eyes and maybe it can, maybe it can be a super value add for some of the docs out there listening.

Well, no, and I appreciate that. We appreciate you having us on. You know, this is our busy time of the year. And for the docs out there, you know, especially the sports docs, they definitely understand, you know, everybody's outside, they're, they're playing sports, they're active, people are going for more walks, they're just more active and so, you know, a lot more susceptible to getting injured, getting hurt. And on our end, we also, we want to be able to bring the prevention piece to them as well. We have a lot of people who, you know, they come to us because summertime ailments, you know, whether it's pain zone, which most chiropractors know of because they hurt themselves. But we also have our Chafe Zone product, which is chafing prevention, our Blister Zone product, which is blister prevention. And those are preventative in nature. So before you go out and play tournament baseball, or before you go mow your yard, or before you go on that long week or on vacation, that long walk or on vacation, you know, we offer prevention tools. It's busy for us. This is our busy time of the year.

Right on. That's an interesting aspect of it because I know we've talked a lot about the Pain Zone product, which is kind of the flagship topical analgesic, but dive into a few of the others because I think it's an interesting differentiator from a product perspective. With you guys. But I think it's a really interesting point for a lot of docs out there specifically related to that sports realm. As you started to touch on what are a few of the other products that you have out there and how have docs been utilizing them?

You know, it's been surprising since we've got into the chiropractic market and you know, this. We really just got in after the first of the year. We've been around since 2001, but we came to the chiropractors with Pain Zone, which is our topical, and it's had a great reception. We've had a lot of success with it. But it's interesting. We're at a trade show and this is our, this is our Chafe zone product. It's a chafing prevention stick. It's for your midsection, sports bras, anywhere in your legs, thighs. And so what happens is they're saying, what's that? They're looking on the table and saying, what's that? And a lot of docs that we've talked to like this because it's something that makes it unique to them, to the practice. It gives them something that they may not have thought about, a patient may not have thought about before, but they've definitely experienced. You know, I don't care who you are, at some point in your life, you've had swimsuit, rash, thigh rub, chafing, something, whatever you want to call it, you have that. And so they like the fact of offering them something that you can prevent that, you know, very painful irritation. And then, you know, from us, we look at it as, we're not a one trick pony. The company, you know, been around since 2001, founded by a certified athletic trainer. So we've got the medical piece down, but now it's a, it's something that's. How do we help a chiropractic office? How do we help them help their patients? How do we help the office be more profitable? How do we help them have good vendor relationships? You know, nobody wants to deal with a bunch of jerks, so deal with somebody that's fun and that's productive. And so our product line, as you asked, so this is our blister prevention. It's a small travel size stick. It's for your hands and feet, you know, and honestly, when I'm at a trade show, I put that on my feet on the morning before I go out because you're on your feet all day. But people use it for high heels, work boots, gloves out in the yard, Crossfit or industrial uses anywhere. You wear gloves. So you get chafing, you get blister prevention. We have Burn Zone product, which is one of our products that a lot of people like. You get sunburn, turf burn, wood burn, things like that, bug bites, insect bites. It takes the sting out. It's got 1% lidocaine, so it takes the sting out of it. And so the whole product line is this whole concept of prevent, treat, and manage, you know, the aches and pains that people have. So we like to think that we can bring value to the docs and that we can bring value ultimately to their patients by having a great product line and more than just one, you know, have multiple opportunities to help a patient with whatever may come up or hopefully prevent some of the things that come up.

Yeah, I think that that's awesome. And if you hear any background noise, I live really close to Air Force Base, and the Blue Angels are literally flying overhead right now. So if there's any. If you hear any jet engines going on. Yes, it is. It's preparing for an air show.

Well, I can say I've never been on a Facebook live with the Blue Angels associated in any way for us.

There you go. I know something that you and I have chatted about, and I won't put you too much on the spot about it because I know this is a work in progress. But the research aspect, that's something that I know from a Med Zone perspective. Speaking with you privately, that's something that you guys take really seriously and are looking to go ahead with. And I just would ask you, for you, why is that? Obviously, it's important to me. It's important to a lot of the docs listening out there.

Why?

What's it. Why is that important to you? You know, as the CEO of Med Zone, as somebody that's kind of out there and really has a great line of products already already out in the marketplace. What does that research component, what gets you excited about it? What precipitates your desire for it? Tell us a little bit.

You bet. So I think from our standpoint, we're the new guy on the block in this marketplace. And so you've got some very bright doctors who say, I see a lot of people with this pain zone or they pain product, so why are you different? That's the first question that comes up. And why are you different than insert name of another product, whoever that. Whatever they use right now. So for us, it starts with one. We have to have awareness, let people Know that there is another option available. Two, it starts with differentiation, or I'm sorry, secondary is differentiation. So the fact that we have three active ingredients, no water, you know, it's a very high potent product, high impact product for people who are hurting. So that's important. And then the research is more of that validation. We want people to, we want to associate ourselves with people in this marketplace that are saying, hey, this works. It's very preliminary. We're talking with an entity right now that everybody will know if we can make this work, about how to do some clinical tests about how Pain Zone can work with ultrasound or Pain Zone can work with the Graston technique. We're talking about some different things like that and we're getting people to use it. But I think it's a form of validation because the one thing we've learned about this market, you've got really smart people in the chiropractic profession. They just want to make sure it works before they give it to their patients. And so with that, it's another layer of credibility. And also it's a great opportunity for us to, you know, for research and development. We're talking about, you know, how does Pain Zone work with ultrasound? Well, in the discussion, we realized that, hey, this is another way that it could work with Graston technique. And you complement our Chafe Prevention product and Pain Zone together. And so those are how ideas come about. And I hope that's what our customers and prospects see is that, you know, we're not the same old thing. Since 2001, we've had a lot of iterations and we're always looking out for ways that we can help a doc be more successful in helping a patient. Because at the end of the day, that's what matters. That's how we feel good when we go to bed at night. And how we make an impact is by doing that. So clinical is a big piece of affirmation that it's a good product. And it's, you know, people like you, Jeff, you know, everyone knows that if you didn't like it, we wouldn't be talking.

Right.

But once you do, and the other thousand docs that have, that's how we start getting the word out. So it's important to us for those reasons.

Yeah, I think, and I think that's a really, it's a really interesting point. And it's, and it's well said because there's, hey, in all manner of healthcare, you know, there's a lot of products out there. There's A lot of services, a lot of people doing a lot of different things, which is awesome. And I've seen the leaders ultimately step up and take that educational role. Right. Taking, taking it seriously and saying, hey, like, we don't. We know what we have, but let's find out the how and the why behind it and exploring that. And as you said, I think it's an interesting spiderweb effect where you might start out looking for one thing, but the interesting thing about research is it spurs on a creative other idea. And those are where some breakthroughs can certainly happen. And so I just would commend you guys on certainly taking that stance of, hey, let's go with the research and tying that into the education component. You and I touched on this. Just a tidbit in the podcast, but I'd love to have you expand upon it. One of the things that when we initially talked as well, kind of impressed me and caught my eye was the fact that, hey, when you have a product in your practice, you want to be able to make sure that you get it out to the community. Yeah, revenue is a side effect of that help the value that you give to somebody else. But really being able to educate and kind of provide a nice little platform for docs to get better, I hate to use the word training, but really to get better information on how to use a product in their clinic, make sure it's not collecting dust all over the place and also not feel like they're just hawking something 24 7, which nobody wants to feel like. And that feeling stinks. So I loved what you had. You guys were in the process of really putting together what I'd call probably a really robust platform. But talk a little bit about where that educational component, as far as product usage and also how you can communicate that to your patients come into play for you guys.

Thank you. I think that's a great opportunity for us to talk about the Med Zone minute. You know, one of our business philosophies is position, don't compete. You know, if I go out and try to compete with everybody, I'm one of 50. It's our role to position ourselves to be a brand and a product line that is truly unique in the the marketplace. So one of the things we did, we created the Med Zone minute. And it's intended to be short minute. Ish. Some to. Some are a minute and a half, but about a minute videos. Because what happens is we get the same questions. So we're not surprised by that. So who is medzone? How Is Pain Zone different than the competition? Can I use it with ultrasound? You know, what are the three active ingredients? What we've done is we put a collection of videos together that are short snippets that give those answers. One, it educates the docs. Okay, so that's great. That's important. We need to make sure they're squared away. But if you think about the practice, a lot of times the docs are with the patient and they're not at the front desk, they're not with the chiropractic assistant, they're not with the other members of their team. So what we wanted to do was position ourselves as a company that's giving them a more rounded viewpoint of information so they could share. So from our standpoint, you go to MedZone Minute and you have a staff look at here's an objection and here's a way to answer it. And so it's consistent because the patient feels more comfortable in that standpoint too, because you think about the benefit of the practice. The doctor says it, the chiropractic assistant says it, the front desk says it. And it's all consistent and it's all genuine and it's all knowledgeable. Wow. That patient feels comfortable and they have more value in their visit and the next upcoming visits and more trust in the, in a healthcare provider. And so that's a part of it too. And that's what that was intended for. And, you know, I would always reach out to your viewers, you know, if other people, you know, want to see it, you know, put it on Facebook, send me a quote or send me a question, or send you a question and you forward it to me. We'll send them links to show them some of the videos. But the whole intent was Med Zone Minute was about how we as a company, medzone, could educate the professionals, the staff, everyone there on what are questions about these products and then what are some of the benefits of these products as well? I think if we do that, it helps the doctor, it helps the staff, and it ultimately helps the patient as well. Yeah, that's the kind of stuff we want to be involved with.

Yeah, no doubt. I think that that's, it's really cool because again, from my perspective, you know, the educational component, the research component is just core to being in the health care field. So for you guys to pick that up and kind of start running with it is, it's, it's pretty cool to see. I also know you're going to be pretty, you know, pretty active. You know, you've been active. Touch on a couple of the. I know you've been to some cool events lately. Touch on a couple of the cool events that you've been to. Anything you have lined up that you're at liberty to talk about? Love to hear about where you guys are at so docs can keep their eyes open and know where you're going to be.

You bet. And we appreciate that. You know, we've been a lot of different state shows. We've been to Wisconsin, Kansas, Missouri. We're going to Texas. So a lot of the big Midwest shows we're going and we're getting great feedback. We were at Logan last week. We had six people deep in our booth. Our head of sales was down there and he texted me and he would, with all smiles, emojis. And I called him back and I didn't get a call back. And he told me later, he goes, I had six people in the booth. They want to know, what's this stuff with the red top? So Logan, we went to Parker. Parker was a big event for us, and it was really the eye opener for me that. That people are out there, they're looking for something, and, you know, it may not be a replacement. It may be an addition to something they already carry. And I'm fine. We like that, you know, but give the patient two options. So Parker, Logan, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Wisconsin. Great reception up at Wisconsin. Shout out to the wca. They did a great job putting on a good show. We had the head of Wellness for the US Open, Dr. Jeff Poplarsky. Great guy. He is just super, super, super smart. Specifically about golf and golf, you know, exercises and training and treatment and how to use chiropractic. You know, he's a chiropractor. So how do you use that to complement. And he's the head of wellness for the US Open. That's cool. So, you know, his June, he's going to be busy. We've been. Our products have been at the US Open for the last two years, and we've always had one or two. Well, this year, the whole product line's there. He likes them. His team's gonna have access to him. Then in the summer, I mean, obviously we're gonna be at fca. Sweet. We'll be down there. Big presence down there. We know that's a big deal to a lot of folks around the country. And I think our successes along the way will help us, you know, have a better show and a better turnout down at fca, you know, we're based in Kansas City, you know, forward thinking chiropractors group is coming to Kansas City. I think they have a keynote speaker that's a good guy, really smart, wears a black T shirt. But, you know, they're in our backyard. And those are a lot of creative thinkers. And so in addition, there's a big show in Vegas next week. College athletic trainer symposium. Oh, cool. You know, we're talking about chiropractors, but when you put the 400 best athletic trainers from all the college programs, you know, Alabama, Stanford, you know, you know, Alabama to Xavier, all down the list. These are really, really smart medical professionals. And so we're out. We have a big athletic training business. And so we're out working with those guys as well. We want to be noticed in the marketplace. We want to be out there in the marketplace. And we always look for feedback on the products and we always look for, you know, people to say, hey, it works great, or hey, I've got a question, I need some answers. And so that's part of it. It's summertime and you juggle, you know, kids schedules and vacations and all that kind of stuff, and then you just get this stuff done. And we will continue to be that way a lot.

I love it. What's the. So I want you to take your CEO hat off right now. What's just. Personally, what's your. And this is, this is not saying anything against the ones you don't mention, but personally, what's been the favorite event that you've been to over the last year? Just had the most fun at personally.

You know, I have to think it's a tie.

Okay.

Wisconsin was really good from a standpoint that Dr. Poplarski was there and the crowd that he drew and the way that we work with him and with the crowd and the acceptance, that was really good. And it was fun. It was. He's funny, he's humorous, he's got golf stories. Just a super, super guy. I think Parker was probably a tie for that because of the mass. It was the largest show we've attended and literally it was non stop. Funny story. My head of sales and I were out there at the hotel. They had $2.50 beers. Well, you can't buy a bottle of water in Vegas for $2.50. And so we would sit down each night and we'd have a drink and be like, holy cow, I'm tired. The good thing, we got good product. We were putting pain zone on our neck and on our back and putting blister zone on our Feet. But it was a great event from a standpoint of the numbers and the reception that we had. And I think it's a great show anyway. But, yeah, those two would probably stand out. But we had great shows at Kansas and Missouri. You know, Logan. I didn't go to Logan. Our head of sales did. He said it was like I said six deep. So he would probably put that on his list. So, yeah, it's good in Kansas City. We've got Cleveland University here. So those guys, we've had some really good conversations with them and some events. And, you know, I really like seeing. Meeting the students when these chiropractic students come through. We were at Cleveland, a funny story kid came up, got the stuff, we had a conversation, and he left. About 10 minutes later, another kid came up. Mr. John told me it's the best stuff he's ever used. I got to get some of this now. He didn't know who we were, what we were. He just knew the red top was what he needed to go get. So stories like that make it fun. But, you know, we're meeting a lot of fun people and a lot of smart people, a lot of professionals. So, yeah, I would say those two. Yeah, you kind of put me on the spot. I would say those two. What's been your favorite thing that you've presented at Jeff?

That's a good question. That's a really good question. I loved when I went up to Jersey last year. It was a ton of fun because, you know, I walked downstairs and Paul's here with me. Paul helps me with all the video, does all the awesome edits, but he was with me, and we go and we show up. And I actually went straight from Atlanta up there, so. And Atlanta was great, but I had a good time. So I get up to Jersey, I'm like, I'll probably be 150, 200 docks here. And I go down and there is like nearly 700 standing room only. And I was like, it's just got real, you know, so. So, I mean, that's always one that stands out because I was like, super, super nervous because it was far beyond my. My expectation so that, you know, that. That was. That's one that. That sticks out. And then, you know, I think rock tape always puts on a great event. We were out in Huntington last year, you know, with them, and they put on a fantastic event out there. So, you know, those are two that probably come top of mind for. For me right away, for. For different reasons. But I'm like, you. I Mean, I think it's just great, you know, go out, meet people. I like to travel. So I think it's, you know, I can't. I feel like I can't lose, let's put it that way.

I agree. I know when we were at Parker, one of the things that was the most fulfilling to me was we had some docs come by on Wednesday and a couple of them, they were hurting, you know, they hurt their back, they were sore and they were looking for anything. They happened to be in our aisle and saw, saw our red top and they stopped. They, they weren't coming for us, but they got some stuff, said I got to use this on my back. And so they went and used it. They came back the next day, two days after that, and they're giving us, There are raving fans, you know, they're giving us testimonials. We've got video out there on imedzone of all these testimonials where people are giving us. This is really good. I use this. I wasn't expecting it to be that good. And so I think that's what made Parker a good show for us too.

That makes sense. That makes sense.

Like you said, it was making it real.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool. So what's. Where's the best place for any docs out there, you know, that are, you know, kind of watching this on replay or watching live? What's the, what's the best place to learn more about medzone? Where would you direct people? I know also, I'll let everybody know, you know, don't hesitate to leave comments down below after because I know you and I will both keep an eye on this thread for sure. We're happy to dive in, so. But where's the best place. Where can people learn more, Find out about what you guys are up to, see what's up.

Well, I'd be remiss if I said they shouldn't listen to the podcast of the evidence based chiropractor, they shouldn't watch the Facebook videos. But in addition to that, so we've set up a website about the company and the product specifically for chiropractors and that website's iMedzone. I M E D. So there you can see videos, you can see a little video of me, you can see a little bit more about the products you can get, you can sign up for samples, that kind of thing. That's probably the best place. But hopefully you go to our Facebook page and you're going to see what people are saying and where we're at and the kind of things that we're doing. Because while we're definitely focused on the chiropractic market, that's wildly important to us, we think it's beneficial as a company to be focused on all the pieces of our market. So you might go there and see what we're doing at a golf tournament. You might go and see what we're doing at an athletic training event or what we're doing with high school youth athletes, stuff like that. So you can go to our Instagram account, gomedzone. You can see Facebook imedzone most about the information. And I'd love for people, if they have comments about where they want to find us or, hey, have you thought about this? Or have you thought about this? And I know you've mentioned this, we did a campaign in the spring on Southwest Airlines, and I'll give Southwest a place plug. One of the things that was important to us is that we know a lot of people were flying Southwest. And so we had ads in the Southwest magazine that was promoting ask your chiropractor for pain zone. And we got some great feedback on that because we thought it was important to promote chiropractic as an industry, but also promote our product. And then we'll be doing that again in the fall to have the same kind of thing. So if you were in January, February, March, or April on Southwest, and you went to the crossword puzzle page, because they only look at two pages in the magazine crossword puzzle and the drink page. So we thought it'd be better to be on crossword. But then we'll be back in July and August out there, too. But those are the kind of stuff that we're doing because we just want people to see us. We're doing some events. The cool thing is a lot of our docs are starting to do summertime events, and they're calling us. You know, we have a doc just yesterday, Dr. McIntosh's office. They're like, hey, we're going to this big run. Can you help us? What can we do together? And that's what's fulfilling as a small business owner. Like, man, they want to partner with you. They really, you know, they want to get with it. That that's what makes it cool for us.

Sweet. Yeah. Love it. So I just put a link down below. So check out imedzone.com for sure. And I'd say, you know, again, you know, kudos to you. You know, as I, as you just talked about and as I've talked about, I think getting out there and really, I'll just say it as it is, putting your money where your mouth is and getting that out there on the airline and plugging ask your chiropractor. Just never seen anybody else do it. I give you guys a ton of credit for that and as a chiropractor myself, a ton of thanks because I think that sort of promotion in a professional way that's getting people seeing the name of chiropractic is something that we just don't have those billions and trillions of dollars that the pharmaceutical industry does. And for you, as somebody that's running your own thing while it's tied very tightly with chiropractic, tied to healthcare, absolutely tight. I think it's a huge move and I commend you and you guys on taking that step to do it because I know it made me smile when I opened it up. So if anybody didn't check that out or didn't see it when it was in, as you said, you're running it again.

So go to our Instagram page and you can see pictures of the ad because we had customers who were posting pictures, so that was cool. And like us on Facebook, give us comments on Facebook, that kind of stuff. Very much. We'd love to. Following on social media. We have some surprises planned for this summer on social media, so hopefully your audience will get to participate in some of that too.

No doubt. We'll look forward to it. Joe, thanks for taking the time today. I think it was awesome. And we'll keep the conversation open. I'm sure everybody's going to see more of you and so certainly everybody will always see more of me.

So thanks, Jeff. Go have a great summer. Hey, don't forget to use your pain zone and chafe zone this summer so you don't get hurt at any time. So thank you for the time today very much.

You got it. Well said. I'll see you later on, Joe.

Take care.

Bye. Bye.