He was a junior music major and saxophone player at the University of North Texas when he hurt his ankle playing basketball. The injury was severe enough that he underwent physical therapy (PT). While being treated as a patient, he found PT fascinating. So much so that he dropped his music major, earned a bachelor’s in kinesiology from the University of North Texas and eventually a master of physical therapy from the University of Texas Medical Branch and a doctor of science in physical therapy (ScD) from Texas Tech University. He practiced PT at the University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, from 1997 to 2003, before serving as an associate professor at Texas Tech.